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Our reader's opinion
Point of view of Ariasconsistent with speeches Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I take issue with Mr./Ms. Penner lambasting Oscar Arias about him daring to suggest, that Uruguay should seriously consider abolishing its army. Where does someone living in far-away British Columbia, Canada, have the gall to meddle in local Costa Rican affairs, anyway? Our President is a visionary and an honorable man. Linking his bold campaign with the current attempt by the Fuerza Pública and the Policia del Transito to ensure that our roads are relatively safe during the upcoming Semana Santa holiday season is completely far-fetched and ill-advised. Don’t we all wish that Costa Rica’s police forces were more forward-looking on an ongoing basis in their endeavors to make this country’s roads safer place to drive. Anybody who follows Oscar Arias’ speeches understands why he is very critical of Latin America spending billions on their armed forces, apparently used to fighting imaginary foes, when the continent needs much more investment in education and public services. If anybody has the right to take issue with the president’s campaign, then it’s most likely the Uruguayans themselves, some of which have done so, whether rightly or wrongly. Marcel M. Pfister
Uvita, Osa, Puntarenas Villalobos victim says he's grateful for closure Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Closure at last! Firstly, I would like to commend A.M. Costa Rica on its ongoing and informative reporting of the Villalobos case over the past years: the investigation, the arrests, the court trial and finally the court awards to the investor/victims. It is finally winding down and will soon be over. The first payments of the 38.59% settlement are being wired out and the second payment should follow shortly. I would also like to commend the efforts of the lawyers, especially Sr. E. Acuña, who has been often criticized for his role in the proceedings. But without their ongoing efforts and petitions on our behalf to keep the case active in the eyes of the court, we, the investors, would probably not have received as much as has been allotted. The United Concerned Citizens and Jack Caine's group are still waiting and hoping. I, for one, am very pleased and grateful to receive a percentage of my original court award. It will help with current lifestyle expenses but, most importantly, it will bring closure to all of us. Eight years is a long time to be in limbo. We can now close the door on our folly abetted by greed and get on with what is left of our lives. I wish all the other groups luck in their endeavor to recover their investment but I, for one, can now walk away with some compensation in my pocket and faith that justice, pursued by lawyers like Sr. E. Acuña, can prevail even in Costa Rica. Again, I say thank you for the many Canadians who have benefited from the efforts of Sr. Acuña et. al. Muchas gracias, Jim Irwin
Toronto, Ontario Returning Nicaraguans slowed by lack of visas By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The immigration director estimates that some 6,000 Nicaraguans entered Costa Rica last week by Saturday night. The immigration director, Mario Zamora, characterized the work at the Peñas Blancas border crossing as relatively tranquil because the Costa Rican consulate that issues visas to Nicaraguans was closed until today. So he said he expects a larger flow of Nicaraguans who need to obtain a visa during this week. The flow of Nicaraguans leaving Costa Rica last week to spend Semana Santa with relatives in their home country has been described as chaos. Zamora took personal charge of the immigration operations and said that he increased the staff and that the office is open from 6 a.m. to midnight.
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 5, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 65 | |||||||||
 Cruz Roja photos
Emergency workers said they made more than 100 rescues, mostly
in the Pacific |
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| Easter holiday saw fewer violent deaths than last year |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Emergency officials seem to have succeeded in reducing the holiday death toll. The Cruz Roja said Sunday night that it registered 21 violent deaths compared to the 35 who died in the same period in 2009. The emergency agency also said that its workers and volunteers rescued more than 100 persons from danger in the water over the Semana Santa. Women fared much better than men this holiday. Only one woman died. She was Ligia Monge Monge, 40, of Llano Grande de Cartago. The Cruz Roja said she was the victim of aggression. She joined three other persons who died from firearms or knives during the week. The most deaths came, as is typical, from water accidents. There were eight, according to the Cruz Roja statistics. They |
ranged in age from 16 to 40.
Four person died in motor vehicle accidents. There did not appear to be any North American expats among the week's victims. Three deaths were classified as causes unknown, so the statistical information might be updated early this week. In addition, the Cruz Roja said that its ambulances transported 42 persons who were listed as being in delicate condition. That is equivalent to critical in North American terminology. The Judicial Investigating Organization will have a confirmed list of holiday deaths early this week. The lower number of highway deaths might be linked to the intensive efforts by both traffic police and the Fuerza Pública to crack down on drunks. The Cruz Roja reported that it operated 60 aid stations, both in the Central Valley and in the exits from most of the tourist areas. |
 Cruz Roja workers and volunteers provided
aid and assistance to motorists at more than 60 locations
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| Here's a romance that bridged the ocean and language |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Every couple knows that a long-distance relationship is tough. But how about if there is a language barrier. That did not matter to Tarín Gutiérrez Montero and Thomas Liebig, who were married Saturday after a seven-year courtship. He is German, and speaks halting English. The former Miss Gutiérrez speaks some English but does not do German. The groom is enrolling in Spanish classes probably this week. This could be called an Internet marriage, because after meeting her future husband while on vacation in Germany the couple remained in contact electronically. So it was appropriate that Saturday night at the Casa Conde Aparthotel & Suites near Parque de la Paz the whole ceremony was beamed via the Internet to Germany for some of the groom's relatives who could not attend. A lot of grooms are a little disoriented on their wedding day. The new husband had an additional problem; a wedding ceremony in Spanish. Fortunately Barbara Jiménez, the lawyer-notary performing the civil marriage, is fluent in both English and Spanish. She translated her own words and said that she went over some of the dull material beforehand so as not to prolong the ceremony. As is traditional in Costa Rica, after the obligatory civil marriage, a couple can choose a religious one. That is where Marilena Salas, the minister of the Gutiérrez church, came in. She provided the religious blessing and consecrated the rings. |
 A.M. Costa Rica photo
Newlyweds Tarín Gutiérrez Montero and Thomas
LiebigLiebig will become another expat businessman here. He said he is starting up his German firm here soon. He is the son of Monika and Wolfgang Liebig in Germany. She is the daughter of Julio Gutiérrez Morales and Flory Montero of Desamparados. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 5, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 65 | |||||||||
| Water data used to calculate rise of
the Andes Mountains |
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By the University of Michigan news service
Trailing like a serpent's spine along the western coast of South America, the Andes are the world's longest continental mountain range and the highest range outside Asia, with an average elevation of 13,000 feet. The question of how quickly the mountains attained such heights has been a contentious one in geological circles, with some researchers claiming the central Andes rose abruptly to nearly their current height and others maintaining the uplift was a more gradual process. New research by paleoclimatologist Christopher Poulsen and colleagues at the University of Michigan suggests that the quick-rise view is based on misinterpreted evidence. What some geologists interpret as signs of an abrupt rise are actually indications of ancient climate change, the researchers say. Their findings were scheduled to be published online in Science Express. The confusion results when ratios of oxygen's two main isotopes, oxygen-18 and oxygen-16, are used to estimate past elevation, said Poulsen, an associate professor with appointments in the departments of Geological Sciences and Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences. "In the modern climate, there is a well-known inverse relationship between oxygen isotopic values in rain and elevation," Poulsen said. "As a rain cloud ascends a mountain range, it begins to precipitate. Because oxygen-18 is more massive than oxygen-16, it is preferentially rained out. Thus, as you go up the mountain, the precipitation becomes more and more depleted in oxygen-18, and the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 decreases." Geologists use the ratio of these isotopes, preserved in rock, to infer past elevations. |
"If the ratio
decreases with time, as the samples get younger, the
interpretation would typically be that there has been an increase in
elevation at that location," Poulsen said. In fact, that's exactly the conclusion of a series of papers on the uplift history of the Andes published over the past four years. Using oxygen isotopes in carbonate rocks, the authors posited that the central Andes rose about 8,200 to 11,500 feet in three million years, rather than gaining height over tens of millions of years, as other geologists believe. But elevation isn't the only factor that affects oxygen isotope ratios in rain, Poulsen said. "It can also be affected by where the vapor came from and how much it rained—more intense rainfall also causes oxygen-18 to be preferentially rained out." Skeptical of the rapid-rise scenario, he and his colleagues performed climate modeling experiments to address the issue. "The key result in our modeling study is that we identified an elevation threshold for rainfall," Poulsen said. "Once the Andes reached an elevation greater than 70 percent of the current elevation, the precipitation rate abruptly increased. In our model, the increased precipitation also caused the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 to significantly decrease. Our conclusion, then, is that geologists have misinterpreted the isotopic records in the central Andes. "The decrease in the ratio is not recording an abrupt increase in elevation; it is recording an abrupt increase in rainfall." This conclusion is backed up by geochemical and sedimentological data, Poulsen said. "There is evidence that the central Andes became less arid at the same time that the isotope records show a decrease in the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16." |
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| One person reported to have been killed
in 7.2 Mexican earthquake |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Mexican officials say a strong 7.2-magnitude earthquake has killed at least one person in the western Mexico-U.S. border region. They say the quake collapsed a house and killed a person inside in the northern Mexico city of Mexicali Sunday. The officials say other people are trapped in buildings in the region. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was centered in Baja California, south of Mexico's border with |
the United
States. It was reported to be about 26 kilometers below ground,
some 170 kilometers (about 105 miles) from Tijuana, Mexico. The
earthquake was felt in Los Angeles, California, and as far east as
Phoenix, Arizona in the U.S. Residents of southern California reported a long, rolling quake that shook furniture and dishes. There have been some power outages and reports of stalled elevators in Los Angeles. The Survey has recorded several aftershocks. The biggest was a 5.1-magnitude tremor in Imperial, California, just north of the border. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 5, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 65 | |||||||||
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| Russian to aid Venezuela in nuclear power quest By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Russia has agreed to help Venezuela draw up plans to build a nuclear power plant. Atomic energy was one of many areas of cooperation discussed as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made his first trip to the South American country. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said Friday the goal of the power plant is to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and not to develop a bomb. The two leaders also signed agreements aimed at deepening their countries' financial and military ties. They formalized an agreement to establish a joint venture for oil and gas exploration in eastern Venezuela. Putin finished his trip to Venezuela Friday by meeting with both Bolivian President Evo Morales and President Chávez in Caracas. Chávez has forged close ties with Russia in recent years and has spent more than $4 billion on Russian-made weapons. Venezuela relies on China and Russia as its main military suppliers. The United States has previously cautioned Venezuela against continuing its arms buildup, warning its actions could endanger regional stability. Agrentine president presses claim over the Falklands By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has restated her country's claim to the disputed Falkland Islands, but says Argentina will not resort to military force again to win control of the British-held territory. President Fernández spoke Friday in the southern city of Ushuaia at an event marking the 28th anniversary of the Falklands War. President Fernández said Argentina will continue to press its case on the international front. The south Atlantic archipelago has been under British control since 1833. Argentina invaded the islands on April 2, 1982, and held them for two months until British forces retook control. More than 600 Argentine and 255 British troops were killed. The islands are nearly 500 kilometers from the South American coast. Argentina asserts its sovereignty over them, saying they are located on Argentina's continental shelf and thus within its sphere of economic influence. Argentina refers to them as Las Malvinas. In February, the dispute with Britain escalated after a British oil exploration company began drilling off the islands. Billions of barrels of oil and natural gas are believed to lie beneath the south Atlantic seabed.
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Latin American news Please reload page if feed does not appear promptly |
 U.S. Geological Survey map
U.S. earthquake watchers said they received 51 reports from 27
different locations in Costa Rica about the quake. These are shown by
blue dots.Thursday's earthquake
was elusive for monitors By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The situation could be called dueling seismologists. When an earthquake took place Thursday about 2:50 p.m., reports from two monitoring stations differed widely. The Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica estimated the quake at a 5.2 magnitude and said it was the result of the continual friction between the Cocos tectonic plate and that of Panamá. The observatory placed the quake along the Central Pacific coast south of Dominical. The observatory is located at Universidad Nacional in Heredia. That was not what the U.S. Geological Survey said from its National Earthquake Information Service in Golden, Colorado. The quake had a 4.4 magnitude and was centered somewhere in the Talamanca mountains 55 kms (35 miles) west southwest of Limón Centro. The Red Sismológica Nacional at the Universidad de Costa Rica had no report, perhaps because of the Semana Santa holiday. Several readers expressed dismay at what they considered to be the failure of science. But it has only been in the last 40 years that the majority of geologists even believed in tectonic plates, so earthquake assessment appears to be more of an art than science. The U.S. Geological survey said it logged 51 earthquake reports from Costa Rica about the quake. Most were in the west end of the Central Valley. Only one appears to have been in the Dominical area. |
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