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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 1, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 63 | |||||||||
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 Photo by Jerome Ives
Casket containing
Andrés Cruz Castro is carried from theAtenas church. It seemed as if the whole town came to pay their respects, said resident Jerome Ives. Carelessness
is the cause
for field and forest fires Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I find it necessary to write in respect to the death of Andrés Cruz Castro, and I beg the public to be aware of what can happen when we become careless. What I mean by careless is setting a fire to clean a field, or carelessly dropping a cigarette on a roadway or near dry material. After fighting fires for the U.S. Forest Service, and the California Department of Forestry, I find it totally absurd that the Costa Rican government does not fine people who are burning in this dry weather. If the person(s) are ever found who started the fire, they could be charged with killing this young father. But I doubt that will ever happen. Thanks for your time. Jerome
Ives
Atenas  Photo by Jerome Ives
Photographer Ives said he
hoped the photos could bepublished, to honor the brave young father and husband. Emergency declared on fires in region around Buenos Aires By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The national emergency commission has declared an alert for the forested area around Buenos Aries de Puntarenas where two large fires have consumed up to 210 hectares, some 518 acres. The Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias took the action Saturday. The blazes were in the area known as Olan and also Sabanas de Oca. The commission said that the topographic and the type of vegetation made fighting the blazes difficult. Involved in the effort were the Cuerpo de Bomberos, the Cruz Roja Costarricense, the Fuerza Pública, the Municipalidad de Buenos Aires, the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados and private firms. The emergency agency noted that this is a critical period for forest fires because of the prolonged dry season and because in many areas there was below average rain in the last year. The agency said that the period of danger would extend until the first two months of May. There also are many small blazes around the country that could become major ones. Despite overcast skies some days, Semana Santa has seen about zero precipitation in most of the country. However, some rain is expected for today mainly on the Caribbean coast with possible afternoon showers in the central mountains, said the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional. The wind is expected to be mostly moderate but with some gusts. The weather institute reported gusts Sunday of up to 43 kph or about 27 mph. The gusts are another problem for fire fighters. Wind gusts already have been a factor in the death of one fire fighter. Fire officials said they believe that Andrés Cruz Castro, a music teacher with three children and a volunteer fireman, was trapped when a strong wind caused a covering of vegetation to burst into flame and generate thick smoke. That was at a blaze last week at Cerro Tárcoles en Turrubares. Buenos Aries is in the southwestern part of the country inland from the Pacific coast.
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 1, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 63 | |
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 Photo by Ken Beedle
Worshipers dressed as Roman
soldiers in Cartago guard a recreation of the Hill of Calvary where
Christ died. |
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Pageantry of
procession and drums sent shivers through some
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The weather cooperated fully as Semana Santa pageantry took place under clear and sometimes cloudy skies. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were filled with processions originating from just about every church in the country. Some were at night lighted by torches. Others, like the resurrection procession Sunday were in the full light of day. The Good Friday procession that brought a statue of Jesus to a recreated hill of execution in Cartago included dozens of Roman soldiers. |
One resident confessed that "in the
past we had taken the time to spend as most Ticos, on the beach.
I was impressed with the proceedings. The drummers sent shrivers
through me." He was particularly impressed by drums. "What was really impactful was the thundering of drums and the slow march of the participants to their cadence," he said. "It reminded me of the procession in the funeral march of JFK. It was so solemn. The thousands lining the street went quiet so the only thing heard were the drums and occasional bugles. It took one hour to cover the kilometer from the Cathedral Santiago Apostol." The events were a dream come true for photographers. |
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Photo by Ken Beedle
In Cartago a statue of Christ
carrying the cross is preceded by Romans. One carries a sign that says
Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. |
Photo by Daniel Woodall
In San José, a live actor
takes the part of one of the thieves who were crucified with Christ. He
carries a sign that calls him a latro,
Latin and modern Italian for crook. |
| Semana Santa holiday death toll set at 32
by the Cruz Roja |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Traffic was heavy Sunday night as vacationers headed back to the Central Valley from the Caribbean and Pacific beaches. The Cruz Roja reported late Sunday that there had been 32 deaths since the holiday began March 23. The Cuerpo de Bomberos said its crews responded to 25 incidents related to the quema de Judas tradition. That is four fewer than a year ago. Six of the incidents resulted in disturbances that were handled by the Fuerza Pública, said fire fighters. Only trash was |
burned by the youngsters celebrating
the Easter season. That is in contrast to 2008 when a quema de Judas fire destroyed a furniture store in San Rafael de Heredia. Vehicles have been burned in other years. Even though Judas Iscariot is getting a favorable makeover by theologians, the tradition continues to set fires and sometimes burns effigies of the apostle who was blamed for singling out Jesus for His arrest. The Cruz Roja said that the agency made 20 water rescues and transported 70 patients from the scene of violent vehicle accidents. There were 12 deaths attributed to firearms or knives. |
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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, Monday, April 1, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 63 | |||||
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| U.N. vote sought on new arms treaty by Costa Rica and eight
other nations |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Costa Rica hopes to see a U.N. General Assembly vote on an international treaty to control firearms this Tuesday. That was the outcome after three countries, Syria, North Korea and Iran, blocked unanimous approval of the treaty in a 12-nation conference Friday. Costa Rica has been promoting the treaty for years. "Over two weeks of hard negotiations we reached a text that was meaningful, that was implementable, a text that did not touch in any way upon the Constitutional rights of American citizens, a text that the United States could |
support," said
Thomas Countryman. "We look forward to this text being adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly in the very near future." He is
assistant secretary of state for international security and
nonproliferation. He spoke to reporters in a conference call after the
meeting broke up Friday. Some U.S. citizens have voiced suspicions about a U.N.-brokered arms treaty. Under the treaty, nations are obliged to take more effective action against black market arms brokers and cooperate against the diversion of weapons, said Countryman. He said he did not think the treaty would hurt U.S. arms sales because his country already has tight controls. He declined to speculate why the three countries have not supported the treaty. Discussion on the treaty began March 18. |
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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, Monday, April 1, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 63 | |||||||||
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| Business and labor in accord on new immigration proposal By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. officials say big business and labor have reached an agreement on a low-skilled guest-worker program, creating a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants. Under the agreement, a new "W visa" program would go into effect April 1, 2015. After a year, W visa holders would be able to seek permanent status and they would be able to change jobs. In the first year of the program, 20,000 visas would be issued, eventually expanding to a maximum of 200,000 visas that could be granted each year. The number of visas would fluctuate depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demands and data collected by a new federal agency that will monitor the market, the Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research. White House officials said Saturday President Barack Obama is encouraged by the progress of the talks in the Senate as Congress works to come up with a comprehensive bipartisan immigration bill. Immigration reform is a priority in the president's second and final term in office, which ends in January of 2017. The labor and business agreement was reached late Friday in a conference telephone call with the president of the AFL-CIO labor organization, Richard Trumka; the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donohue; and New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who acted as the mediator. The labor organization and Chamber of Commerce have long held major disagreements over guest-worker programs. The dispute covered how high wages should be allowed for workers, and in which industries. The agreement settles the issue in various industries, including hotel, restaurant, janitorial, retail and construction, among others. Schumer is one of eight Senators, four Democrats and four Republicans, who must still sign off on the deal. They all are expected to sign the pact, clearing the way for the new immigration bill to be presented to the Senate in the next few weeks. The House of Representatives is working on a similar bill. Illegal immigrant says he'll come back anyway By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released thousands of undocumented immigrants. The agency said it could no longer afford to hold the individuals in detention. The issue of immigration reform now intersects with deficit reduction, two hot topics on lawmakers' agendas, and provides hope to thousands of immigrants facing deportation in the coming months. On a late December night in 2012, U.S. law enforcement agents entered the suburban Chicago home of César Henriquez, an illegal immigrant living in the U.S., to arrest him. His crime was failing to report for deportation. "There was a lot of pain on my family, and my kids. I have two children. They are almost teenagers. There was a lot of sadness in my house," he said. Henriquez, spent almost 60 days in detention while waiting to be deported, until one early morning in late January. "They woke us up at 2 in the morning, and told us to pack up all of our stuff because we were leaving the facility," he recalled. He was not sent back to El Salvador, his home country, but to suburban Chicago, where he would wait out deportation in his own home. "At first I didn’t know why they released us, but somebody told us because Immigration doesn’t have any more money, so they can’t keep us in custody," he said. Henriquez is one of thousands of illegal immigrants released in recent months. At a news conference in February, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that sequestration would bring problems to her agency. "Under sequestration, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement will be forced to reduce detention and removal and would not be able to retain the 34,000 detention beds as required by Congress," she said. Joshua Hoyt, an executive for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, says he was surprised by the decision. "If we are spending more than $18 billion a year on incarcerating immigrants, hunting them down, stopping them at the border, we’re wasting a lot of money," he said. Hoyt says long-term savings on immigration enforcement could come with bipartisan legislation on immigration reform lawmakers currently seek. "The entire country is now talking about immigration reform, and many of these people would be able to stay, and their families need not be destroyed uselessly," he said. Henriquez wants lawmakers to reach a deal before December, when he expects to be deported. "My message for the president is to stop deporting people and let everybody who has no criminal problems, let them go free," he said. If he is forced to leave, Henriquez says he will spend the money needed to hire a coyote, or smuggler, to get him back inside the U.S. so he can be reunited with this family. Camera took a tour of Pacific after woman lost it in surf By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A camera lost for nearly six years has been found on a Taiwanese beach after a 6,200-mile journey. Lindsay Scallan, the camera’s owner, lost the camera during a choppy, nighttime scuba dive off the island of Maui in 2007. "The seas were really rough. There was a lot of sand stirred up. It was hard to see," she told Hawaii News Now, adding that she’d gone to the beach the next morning hoping to see the camera washed up on the shore. "But of course, we didn't find it, so at that point I just gave up. I was pretty disappointed because I had all my vacation pictures on there. Plus, the cost of the camera," Ms. Scallan said. The waterproof camera floated around the Pacific for years before being discovered by a China Airlines employee last month. The camera had seen better days, but the digital storage card was intact, and the photos were able to be retrieved. China Airlines began a campaign to find the owner and reached out to Hawaii News Now, a local media outlet, for help spreading the word. It didn’t take long before one of Ms. Scallan’s friends sent her a link about the search for her. "I just was floored that it was my camera and it was all my old pictures and it was amazing. I just couldn't believe it had floated so far, so long ago and the memory card was still intact," said Ms. Scallan. China Airlines said it will fly Ms. Scallan to Taiwan to be reunited with the camera, but since she recently started a new job, she’s not sure she can take time off. Computer-like human cell has many applications By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Researchers at Stanford University in California have taken the next step in genetically engineering a computer in a living cell’s DNA. Making cells smarter could have a wide range of medical and industrial applications. Today’s electronic computers are built around vast numbers of transistors, etched into silicon wafers. A transistor is basically a switch used to control the electrical current flowing through a wire. It can amplify the signal strength or turn it on or off. Drew Endy and his Stanford colleagues have created what they call the transcriptor. Instead of electrical current, the device controls the flow of an enzyme, called R-N-A polymerase, along the DNA in a cell. “If you imagine a DNA molecule like a wire, with this enzyme flowing along, what we’re going to do is we’re going to come in with a third signal, just like a transistor, and switch the DNA, such that the flow of the enzyme can either pass through the transcriptor or it gets blocked. And that’s it,” said Endy. By using more than one transcriptor, the researchers were able to issue logical instructions, using concepts like “and” and “or,” concepts basic to silicon-based computers. If biological computing has a future, Endy doesn’t see it embedded in a laptop or smart phone. “We aren’t trying to replace silicon computers or mechanical computers, because they probably aren’t going to be as fast. They’re not going to be as raw-powerful. But they’re going to work in places that the existing computers we have don’t work. So it’s computing in a new space or a new place,” he said. One place could be in agriculture. Endy gave an example of spirulina algae being grown in Thailand. It could be bio-engineered to change color if the water had heavy metals or other pollutants in it. “And you’d get a warning saying, 'you know that batch of food you’re making isn’t safe for people to eat.'” Applications involving human health may be further in the future, because of the need for careful safety testing. Endy said he could imagine foods with computing power that could diagnose the status of the digestive tract. Researchers also are looking at engineering human immune cells to give them a boost in the battle against cancer. The research paper by Drew Endy and his colleagues is published online by the journal Science. Socially isolated elderly die sooner, study says By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A new study has found that elderly people who have many social interactions may live longer than those who are more socially isolated. While numerous studies have linked loneliness and social isolation with an increased risk of death, researchers of the new study say loneliness itself isn’t the problem. What’s the difference? According to Andrew Steptoe of University College London, social isolation means limited or no contacts with friends and family, or involvement in clubs or sports. “Loneliness is a more subjective experience to do with a person’s feelings of companionship or feeling left out,” he says. Because there’s a lot of overlap between clinical definitions of loneliness and social isolation, Steptoe and his colleagues wanted to see which factored more significantly into rates of increased mortality. Working with data from a large study of older men and women called the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, Steptoe says they found no significant correlation between higher death risks and loneliness. But upon conducting statistical analysis, he says, his colleagues found "that social isolation was indeed related to higher risk of dying." Aside from the obvious fact that socially active individuals, due to their increased likelihood of being in physical proximity to others, are more likely to survive a life-threatening situation, Steptoe offers some clues about why people with more social contacts are likely to live longer. “Receiving encouragement to do things or not to do things, other people to help you with your medications or take you to the doctor, and things of that sort — which are not so much to do with the emotional side of it as more the practical side — it could be that those are the more important factors here,” he says. Steptoe says research similar to his Britain-based study is underway in other parts of the world, where traditional social patterns are changing. “In many developing countries, of course, people with a rural background are moving into the larger cities, where the social connections are very, very different," he says. "Often it’s the younger people who are moving, leaving older people in the more rural areas, and so these kind of social connections are going to be changed dramatically.” The research by Steptoe and colleagues into the role social isolation plays in higher death risk among the elderly is published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Eurozone minister says Cyprus cash grab unique By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said savings accounts in the eurozone are safe, adding that Cyprus is a special case and not a template for future rescues. In an interview with Bild newspaper published Saturday, Schaeuble distanced himself from comments on Monday by Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who said the rescue program agreed for Cyprus, the first to impose a levy on bank deposits, would serve as a model for future crises. "Cyprus is and will remain a special one-off case," Schaeuble said. "The savings accounts in Europe are safe." Schaeuble said the problem in Cyprus was that two large banks in Cyprus were in effect no longer solvent and the Cyprus government did not have enough money to guarantee savings. "That's why the other eurozone countries had to help," he said. "Together in the Eurogroup we decided to have the owners and creditors take part in the costs of the rescue, in other words those who helped cause the crisis." Schaeuble said he was confident Cyprus would be able to completely pay back the help. "Cyprus's economy will now go through a long and painful period of adjustment. But then it will pay back the loan when it is on a solid economic foundation," he said. Schaeuble said the euro was stronger today than at any time since 2010. Low-cost projects target developing country problems By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Innovations and inventions which can help people in developing countries were on display recently in Washington. Cutting-edge ideas of 13 college teams from across the United States, included a portable greenhouse, a better container for vaccines, and an earthquake-resistant concrete panel. Many small-scale farmers in East Africa find it hard to grow crops year-round because of drought or too much rain. So a student team from Pennsylvania State University came up with the idea of kits to build small, easy-to-set up greenhouses to help the farmers increase their production up to 20 percent. Team member Arianna DeReus says they're constructed with PVC pipe and rice bags. “Our design is affordable, durable and expandable, and it’s also made of local materials," Ms. DeReus explained. "That reduces transportation costs and it also supports the local economy.” The greenhouse is part of an exhibition called Open Minds, sponsored by National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. Each year, it gives grants to more than 50 college student teams which create business models using innovative technology to help people around the world. The top teams are chosen for an annual exhibition. The Alliance was founded in 1995 by the Lemelson Foundation, which supports grassroots inventors. Director Carol Dahl says the young entrepreneurs are helping to lift people out of poverty. “In the developing countries, we see the potential for our inventions to actually improve lives through addressing basic human needs, things like sanitation, access to clean water," she said. "The ability to have health and health products.” This container may improve the health of many people in the developing world by better protecting vaccines. Standard Styrofoam boxes break easily, so the World Health Organization estimates that half the vaccines placed in them are damaged in transit. But a student team from Oklahoma State University hopes that by using a collapsible box, temperature-sensitive vaccines will be saved. Saravan Kumar says the boxes are made from the same space-age material used to fashion small satellites. “They’re made with this thin, insulating material, and they are about 10 times more insulating than Styrofoam, and they’re about 10 times more impact resistant,” he added. This lightweight concrete panel may help homes in Haiti withstand an earthquake. Students from the University of Notre Dame discovered that the masonry blocks used in Haiti are poor quality and not reinforced. Dustin Mix says the cost of building with these panels would be about the same, for a much sturdier and safer home. “It’s a lot better quality and that comes from both the materials we use and the process we use to make them," he said. "It is also reinforced in a way that when the earthquake does come, it can withstand that.” The students hope innovations like these will make a difference for those who need it the most. |
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| A.M. Costa
Rica's sixth news page |
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| San
José, Costa Rica,
Monday, April 1, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 63 |
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Canadian
forces conclude operation in Caribbean basin Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
Canadian armed forces have concluded its first naval deployment of 2013, Operation Caribbe. Operation Caribbe is part of the government’s continued commitment to combat illicit trafficking in the Caribbean basin and Eastern Pacific. As part of this commitment, the "Kingston" and "Summerside" conducted a 36-day deployment while a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora maritime aircraft flew patrols from Jan. 7 to 19 to help suppress trafficking in international waters. “This deployment demonstrates to Canadians and our allies the important contributions the men and women of Canada’s Naval Reserve make in ensuring our coastal waters are protected,” said Peter MacKay, minister of national defense. “Canada will continue its contribution to Operation Caribbe so we can defend against all threats and security challenges to Canada, North America and its approaches.” This is the second time the "Kingston" has been deployed on Operation Caribbe. That ship, along with "Goose Bay," conducted surveillance operations in the western Caribbean from March 2 to April 6, 2012. This deployment marks a number of achievements for the maritime coastal defense vessels including the embarkation of a U. S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment team and the use of the side scan sonar to search for sunken objects associated with counter narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean Basin. Primarily crewed by naval reservists, maritime coastal defense vessels are mainly used for coastal surveillance and patrol. “Through our engagement in the Americas, Canada has played an instrumental role in boosting security in the hemisphere,” said Diane Ablonczy, minister of state of foreign affairs. “By working in partnership to patrol the Caribbean, we are strengthening ties with allies in the region, confronting the scourge of transnational organized crime and helping to keep drugs away from Canadian shores.” The Canadian Armed Forces’ participation in this operation is part of Canada’s goal to strengthen security and institutions, a cornerstone of its foreign policy priority of deepening engagement in the Americas, it said. In collaboration with other government departments and agencies, the Department of National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces have increased its engagement in the hemisphere by participating in exercises and operations, as well as through military training and cooperation. An important part of the approach to engagement in the Americas is focused on building strategic partnerships in the region, including with the U.S. and other key partners, with whom Canada can work to address concerns of mutual interest, it said. This recurring annual operation directly supports the Canadian Armed Forces mission to defend against threats and security challenges to Canada and North America and its approaches. Moreover, Operation Caribbe helps strengthen international and continental partnerships and demonstrates Canada’s specific commitment to improve security in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and to combat transnational organized crime. It also creates opportunities to partner with other nations to suppress criminal activity at sea and keep illegal drugs off Canadian streets. |
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