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San
José, Costa Rica, Friday, May 1, 2015,
Vol.
15, No. 85
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 Ministerio de Seguridad Pública
photo
These are some of the flight
helmets.U.S. donates
flight equipment
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The United States donated some $220,000 in police equipment to the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública and its Dirección del Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea. Among the donated items were scanners that can check for explosives for use at airport terminals. There also were Darth Vader-like flight helmets, life jackets for water rescues, binoculars and vests. The United States has emphasized in its donations the provision of materials that can be used to impede the drug trade.  Ministerio de Obras Públicas y
Transportes photo
This is one of the test devices
that officials hope to use.Contract glitch
delays saliva testing
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The transport ministry's efforts to obtain testing devices for saliva to administer to suspected drunk drivers has been delayed. The Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes said that an error has been found in one of the bid documents, and the entire process must be done again. The ministry plans to purchase the devices from the United States, and there are three firms ready to submit bids. In the meantime, the ministry said that it made arrangements with the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social to continue doing blood tests for drunk driving suspects. The new request for bids is expected to be published in a few days, the ministry said. Renewed probe asked in newsman's killing Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The Mexican weekly newspaper Zeta has asked officials to renew the investigation of the unpunished murder of its co-editor, journalist Héctor Félix Miranda, where the mastermind has still not been identified. Zeta’s complaint comes at a time when the two killers, Victoriano Medina Moreno and Antonio Vera Palestina, are due to be released from prison after having completed their sentence. At the time they killed Félix Miranda, in 1988, they were security agents at the Aguas Calientes racetrack in Tijuana, where Félix Miranda had reported serious irregularities. The Inter American Press Association said it supported the request. Association President Gustavo Mohme, editor of the Lima, Peru, newspaper La República, stressed the solidarity of his organization with Zeta, which he called “one of the media outlets in Mexico that has suffered the most direct attacks and losses of life in recent decades.” The Félix Miranda case is one of the emblematic investigations which the Inter American Press Association submitted in 1997 to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. With that body as intermediary, the association and the government of Mexico signed an agreement in 2004 for review of the case file, but several weeks later Zeta’s new co-editor, Francisco Ortiz Franco, who was heading the review, was himself murdered. The chairman of the Association's Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Claudio Paolillo, editor of the Montevideo, Uruguay, weekly Búsqueda, declared, “In this case there has been no closure, since the mastermind has not been identified, thus the person or persons who gave the order to execute Felix Miranda remain unpunished.” Zeta is an investigative weekly that focused on the drug gangs and crooked politicians. For many years Tijuana was under the control of the Arellano Félix drug cartel. And this gang and drug wholesalers like them are the people the newspaper targeted in his reporting, as well as the links between organized crime and the politicians. Jesús Blancornelas founded Zeta with Félix Miranda in 1980. Blancornelas was the target of an unsuccessful assassination attempt in 1997. He died in 2006. Geolocators for tiny birds supported By the The Condor: Ornithological
Applications news staff
A pair of newly published papers in The Condor: Ornithological Applications lay out a method for outfitting birds with geolocators or
Unlike radio transmitters, which are best suited to tracking the movements of birds over relatively small areas, geolocators calculate a bird’s position using sunrise and sunset times and can record their movements over an entire migratory cycle. Peterson, Streby, and their colleagues developed new methods for attaching both types of trackers to small birds, using harnesses made of elastic thread or jewelry cord that don’t require metal or plastic parts and can be placed on the birds smoothly and quickly. “It took a lot of brainstorming and effort in the field to get things just right with transmitters on small songbirds. Once we had it working, we refined the method over several years, and then all of that knowledge translated smoothly to geolocators,” says Streby. Weighing just 8 to 10 grams each, golden-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) are the smallest birds yet to be outfitted with geolocators. The researchers captured 20 golden-winged warblers at each of two sites, one in Minnesota and one in Tennessee, in May 2013 and fitted them with geolocators using their new method. When the warblers returned in the following spring after having traveled over five thousand miles, geolocator-carrying birds did not differ significantly from control birds in return rate, migration timing, or body mass. “I think one of the best things about working on this project was the feeling of excitement when one of our marked individuals returned,” says Peterson. “When we analyzed the data and had the migration routes of these tiny birds laid out in front of us, it was just kind of awe-inspiring to think that they were making such an epic journey twice a year.” Kindergartner lashed with cable By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Fuerza Pública reported that a 6-year-old girl was disciplined by lashes with a cable. The 67-year-old grandfather was detained. The case unfolded in Barra del Colorado Sur when a school director went with police to seek the child. The director told police that two days earlier the girl's kindergarten teacher noticed marks on her back and legs. The girl and a brother, 4, lived with the grandfather. Police said the man became hostile when questioned about the girl and that a warrant was needed to see her. The Patronato Nacional de la Infancia, the child welfare agency, is involved in the case. The children were abandoned by their mother two years ago, police said.
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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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 |
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, May 1, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 85 | |
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| President names new tourism minister along with other
officials |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Expotur exhibtion begins Thursday for a two-day run, and there will be a new tourism minister to participate. He is Mauricio Ventura Aragón, a former president of the Cámera Nacional de Turismo. Although a minster is not an obligatory ingredient for the tourism marketplace, the country would be in an awkward position without one as hundreds of out-of-town participants visit. He replaces Wilhelm von Breymann, who was squeezed out last month under pressure form the tourism industry whose members claimed he was not supportive enough. Ventura was one of a handful of selections announced |
Thursday by
President Luis Guillermo Solís. As usual, the tourism event Expotur starts Wednesday night at the Teatro Nacional at 6 p.m. followed by cocktails at 8:30 p.m. in the Crowne Plaza Corobicí. The closed event is in the Hotel Wyndham, San José-Herradura. This is where sellers meet with those who purchase tourism packages in bulk. The Asociación Costarricense de Profesionales en Turismo has put on Expotur for 30 years. Solís also named Fernando Llorca Castro as minister of Salud, Marcelo Jenkins Coronas, as minister of Ciencia y Tecnología and Elian Villegas Valverde as executive president of the Instituto Nacional de Seguros, a position made vacant when the president picked Sergio Alfaro as the new minister of the Presidencia. |
| There are plenty of reasons to stay off downtown streets
today |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Today may be a holiday for some, but police started closing down streets early today in anticipation of a morning march and the 6 p.m. speech by President Luis Guillermo Solís. This is a state of the union address, and the audience includes the diplomatic corps. The traffic police and the Fuerza Pública will be tested by the workers parade, starting around 9:30 a.m. in the western reaches of Avenida 2. The march will end at the legislative complex. During the day lawmakers will be electing legislative leaders for the next year, and the successful candidate might indicate |
if
the president's massive package of new taxes will be
approved. The new
legislative president has a lot of power to assign various bills to
committees. The presidential address will be televised. The Policía de Tránsito also said that they were covering principal vacation routes because many Central Valley residents are taking advantage of the three-day weekend. Expats probably should plan on avoiding the downtown today and into the evening. The legislative area from the Museo Nacional to the Biblioteca Nacional will be closed all day. These are key routes. Avenida 2 usually is open to normal traffic after 2 p.m. or so as marchers reach the legislature. |
| American football game, Caribbean Bowl III, planned for
Jacó Saturday |
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Special to A.M. Costa Rica
A visiting U.S. American football team will take on the Bulldogs of Santa Ana Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Garabito Stadium at Jacó Beach. The Costa Rican team will include players from the Federación de Fútbol Americano de Costa Rica teams: Toros, the Pérez Zeledón Predators and the San Jose Titans. The game is the Caribbean Bowl III. The visiting team is the All American Football Events USA Patriots. They have been here before. |
The Patriots
crushed the Bulldogs, 68 to 6. at the inaugural
Caribbean Bowl I, hosted on the grounds of ULatina in Heredia but took
an unexpected loss, 13 to 6, the following year from the Bulldogs at
the Caribbean Bowl II, also held in Jacó Beach. The Patriots have returned once again to Costa Rica to take revenge on the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs players have the advantage of being acclimatized to the coastal heat that seemed to affect the Patriots playing ability last year. There is a 2,000 colon admission, which will be donated to the Jacó girls' soccer program, said organizers. |
| Palmares picks new firm to handle the municipal trash pickups |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Municipalidad de Palmares said it has selected Manejo Integral Tecnoambiente S.A. to handle the local garbage. The municipal trash will be taken to the Parque Ecoindustrial de |
Miramar in
Puntarenas where it will be capped with a layer of clay each day, said
the municipality. The municipality said the firm got the job for a year and that the collection days for residents would remain the same. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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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, Friday, May 1, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 85 | |||||
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| Diet swap between Africans and Americans highlights danger
of cancer |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Doctors have long known that the Western diet, one often high in animal proteins and fat and low in fiber, increases the risk of colon cancer. In the United States, the second-highest number of cancer deaths is from colon cancer, a malignant tumor in the colon or rectum, the lower part of the human digestive system. African-Americans are at especially high risk for the disease, which experts say is diet-related in more than 90 percent of cases. A team of international researchers studied what would happen if African-Americans and rural South Africans swapped diets for two weeks. Colon cancer rates are much lower in rural South Africa, where people consume a high-fiber, low-fat diet typical of Africans. The diet swap, though brief, showed dramatic effects on the risk of colon cancer in both segments and raised concerns about the Western diet and its impact on the disease. It produced evidence that the South African participants might someday contract colon cancer if they consumed an American diet. The Americans, in comparison, showed signs of reduced cancer risk over the long term. Stephen O’Keefe, one of the study's lead authors and a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said his team was extremely surprised by the magnitude of the findings, namely the vast changes in the biomarkers for cancer risk. He also said the results are good news in the research of colorectal cancer. "This shows that you can change your environment very acutely with a dietary change," O'Keefe said, "and it has dramatic effects on the interior milieu of the colon, namely the microbiota, and the way that it metabolizes in the digestive system to produce things that either preserve colonic health or actually produce inflammation and increase risk of neoplastic change." |
The study
involved 20 people from each country, ages 50 to 65. The African volunteers were fed a meat-heavy American-style diet that included sausage, hamburgers, french fries, meatloaf and rice. The American group ate high-fiber African meals featuring a lot of beans, fruits and vegetables. The meals were prepared using their typical ingredients and cooking techniques. After two weeks, researchers compared fecal and colon content samples to those taken from the volunteers before the study began. For the American group, consuming the African diet led to much less inflammation in the colon and reduced signs of cancer risk. For the South Africans, the turnover rate of intestinal cells speeded up, a sign of increased cancer risk. O'Keefe gained the impetus to pursue the study through his work as a gastroenterologist in rural parts of South Africa, where he performed colonoscopies on patients with diarrhea-related problems. "We found a lot of parasitic infections, but we never found colonic polyps or colon cancer, or extremely rarely. Then when I moved to the States, a routine screening colonoscopy clinic of the age of patients of subjects that we looked at in the study, namely between the ages of 50 and 65, we find polyps or cancer in about 20 to 30 percent, and the rates are even higher in African-Americans.” He hopes the findings in the study will positively impact the dietary habits of people in the West. "The key message is change your diet, change your risk of colon cancer," he said. "And clearly we based our findings on biomarkers that are legitimate. Now, we need to move into the public health arena to try to advocate the use of a balanced diet containing efficient quantities or good quantities of fiber-rich foods, including fruits and vegetables and grains." The study by O'Keefe and his research team was published in the journal Nature Communications. |
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
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Colorado S.A. 2015 and may not be reproduced anywhere without
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, May 1, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 85 | |||||||
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| U.S. lawmakers expressing different views on Baltimore By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The unrest in the East Coast city of Baltimore, triggered by the death in police custody of 25-year-old resident Freddie Gray, sparked emotional debate in the U.S. Congress Thursday. Not surprisingly, Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed different views on the best ways to tackle poverty, inequality and policing problems. Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi is sometimes referred to as the daughter of Baltimore because her father and brother were both mayors of the city many years ago. She told reporters that the riots this week were not as bad as the violence that erupted after the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. when her brother was mayor in 1968, but she said it has been a sad week. “All of us who love justice and all of us who love Baltimore are deeply saddened by the death of Freddie Gray and deeper wounds that have been laid bare in the Baltimore community,” she said. Mrs. Pelosi called for peace and non-violent action in her native city. She said the root causes of the furor unleashed this week are very complex, but access to a good education and job training for all would be a good place to start. On the House floor Thursday, several members of the Congressional Black Caucus also spoke passionately about Baltimore and offered their apologies to the family of Freddie Gray, whose spinal cord was severed while in police custody. Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, a Democrat, apologized to Gray’s family, saying Congress’ own policy failures are partly to blame. “When you disinvest in education, when you provide no places for kids to play and no summer jobs, Baltimore happens. When you refuse to provide resources for job training, for decent housing and you have a lack of resources to the communities of highest need, Baltimore happens," she said. Ms. Fudge said the budget Congress is working on this week continues to prove that the majority of the people in the House of Representatives care little about the plight of poor and underserved communities. Republican House Speaker John Boehner also expressed his condolences to the Gray family, as well as recovery wishes to the police who were injured in violence in the city this week. He said he disagrees with President Barack Obama that government programs can help fix the underlying problems. “Now the president has suggested more taxpayer money is the answer," he said. "Again, we believe the answer is more jobs and more opportunity.” Boehner said the U.S. government has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in well-intended programs designed to help people get out of poverty, but those programs are not working. He said people do not want to be dependent on government services. Earlier this week, Obama spoke at length about the situation in Baltimore, saying there is no excuse for violence or looting. But he said the United States needs to do some soul searching about the way people of color are treated by police and about the inequality and poverty that fuels unrest. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the president has no plans to travel to Baltimore, because he does not want to divert city policemen to help provide security for him. U.S. adversaries use Internet to spew negative propaganda By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Across the world, this week’s unrest in Baltimore after the death of a young African American following being taken into police custody is being used by America’s adversaries in a global wave of online propaganda and criticism, much of it designed to embarrass the U.S., analysts say. Some western governments like the U.S. and others are beginning to bolster their own social media tactics and campaigns to counter misinformation and criticism spreading via social media. But according to David Altheide, a media researcher at Arizona State University, those options might be limited. "The response has got to be minimal, and very focused," said Altheide, whose research focuses on propaganda and media. "The biggest change with social media is how widespread it is," he said. "Increasingly throughout the world, people are using social media because it's so instantaneous, visual and personal," Altheide said. "That's why social media tends to be very effective. The best response the United States should be limited, truthful, and focused on the problem." But even before the fires in Baltimore had died down following Monday night’s unrest, critics of the United States were up online, seizing on the events. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Twitter account posted the first of eight tweets about the death of 25-year-old African American Freddie Gray following his arrest by police. “Power and tyranny are different. In some countries like US, police are seemingly powerful but they kill innocents," his first tweet read. In subsequent tweets, he criticized what he called the unjust killings of African Americans by police, praised Islam as a religion where police act with mercy, and tweaked President Barack Obama with a tweet calling it ridiculous that crimes against African Americans continue while the President himself is black. Russian comment trolls, on Web sites such as RT, left thousands of often anonymous comments calling the U.S. hypocrites, criminals, slave-holders and much worse. “USA got nerves to teach RUSSIA how police shall behave,” read one comment. Konstantin Dolgov, Russia’s commissioner for human rights, said the unrest illustrates “the depths and systematic character of racial discrimination in the United States.” Militants associated with the Islamic State group hijacked popular hashtags online to blast the West and recruit new fighters. “In the Islamic Religion and Islamic State #IS is no difference between black person and white person” read one of hundreds of tweets from Twitter accounts sympathetic to the Islamic State militant group. Official Chinese state news agency Xinhua published a scathing commentary, along with several stories, calling this week’s riots “…another piece of evidence that the United States is now profoundly divided, and its society has become increasingly unstable while its legal system fails to meet the expectation of its citizens.” There’s nothing new about a state seizing on the misfortunes of an adversary for propaganda purposes. Russia has done that for years. But social media is changing the way the propaganda game is played, experts say. “In many ways the aim of Soviet subversion, or agitprop, until the mid-1980s and of Russian information warfare today are identical,” said Keir Giles, an associate fellow in the International Security Department at Chatham House, a London-based institute for international studies. Giles, who worked in the former Soviet Union, studies the Putin administration’s use of social media to spread its aims and messages. While the old Soviet propaganda may look like today’s more sophisticated messaging directed by the Kremlin, Giles said they’re different in one key aspect. “Amplification of the message is a key aim for use of social media by Russia,” he said. “The troll farms that employ hundreds of people to post on social media, discussion boards, and comment pages for other online media do so partly in order to create the impression that the disinformation put out by Russian state media in fact has widespread support. “Trolls using Western-sounding names will repeat the false or misleading stories from Russian sources, including both Russia Today and any number of fake media sites, as widely as possible,” Giles said. “This can be highly effective.” Giles said that modern Russian propaganda, spread by social media, has several aims, including creating confusion, stirring up emotions, and shifting public opinion in key geographic regions. “The underlying principles are the same: to weaken and destabilize the adversary using any opportunity or angle available, and if possible to influence policy and decision-making,” he said. Two Vietnam ceremonies show political differences By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Vietnamese and Americans both commemorated the Vietnam War Thursday with two very different ceremonies in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. In the morning Thursday, groups of Vietnamese dressed as laborers, farmers, and soldiers paraded outside of the Reunification Palace, where the arrival of Communist tanks marked the end of fighting 40 years ago. In the afternoon, the U.S. consulate dedicated a plaque to Charles McMahon and Darwin Judge, both Marines and the last Americans killed in the Vietnam War. For the United States, Vietnam has been a tragic symbol of military defeat. For Vietnam, April 30 is a day of victory. “After 40 years since the country’s liberation, there’s been development and prosperity,” said former soldier Phung Thi Khuyen, who talked from a park bench after the parade ended. “I’m really glad that south and north have been reunited and the country can be peaceful and happy," she said. U.S. ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius said he, too, was happy to see the progress this Southeast Asian nation has made in recent decades. But the sentiment was mixed with sorrow. “Today’s ceremony is a vivid reminder to all of us who serve overseas that all too often, that service comes with sacrifice,” Osius said, emotion filling his voice. The small, solemn gathering at the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City Thursday was very different from the loud celebrations happening just hours earlier. Vietnamese marched through the central city in outfits ranging from sailors’ uniforms to the traditional attire of ethnic minorities. Doves and balloons were launched into the air, as foreign dignitaries from Laos to Cuba looked on. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung kicked off the parade with a speech about how the society and economy have improved, yet still had far to go. He also used the occasion to criticize the U.S. for what he called barbarous crimes, saying the Americans caused "immeasurable losses and pain to our people and country." Thousands of Vietnamese students volunteered to set up the parade’s colorful backdrops and floats, including Nguyen Ngoc Lam. He said he was grateful to the veterans who died before Vietnam reunited on April 30, 1975. “My parents told me they were happy to have a kid who recognized the historical importance of the day,” Lam said. “We contribute what little we can to keeping the memory alive.” Yet for many people, today was just a day off from work. Ho Chi Minh City was quieter than it has been on other anniversaries after authorities cordoned off much of downtown with barriers that kept the vast majority of ordinary citizens from seeing the parade. They could settle for a TV broadcast of the festivities, but few actually stopped to view the mega screens set up near the city’s Opera House. For most of the public, April 30 comes and goes. But the government still believes it is important to remind its citizens of the Communist victory. It’s also important to U.S. veterans to remind people of their fallen comrades. Juan Jose Valdez, president of the Fall of Saigon Marines Association, spoke at the consular tribute to fallen Marines, Judge and McMahon. “April 1975 was indeed a cruel month, filled with total chaos, utter confusion, and people eager to get out,” he said. Valdez, who helped with the final U.S. evacuation, added, “I believe we carried out our mission as best as possible under stressful conditions.” In Washington, U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives, honoring the contributions of Vietnamese Americans, the service of U.S. and South Vietnamese forces who fought and died in Vietnam, and those who lost their lives attempting to flee the Southeast Asian country. Meanwhile, the author of Canadian’s Black April Day Act, Thursday strongly rebuffed Vietnam's criticism of the measure. The act, passed by Canadian Parliament last week, establishes April 30 as the day to commemorate the thousands of refugees who fled Vietnam in pursuit of freedom. It pays tribute to Canada’s humanitarian tradition of welcoming thousands of refugees during and after the Vietnam War. Sen. Ngo Thanh Hai, author of the bill, said Thursday that the bill "is about a particular moment in Canadian history and has nothing to do with Canada’s relations with Vietnam." He said, "The Vietnamese government never admits the truth. They always ignore the truth since they don’t want the world know their violating rights and murdering people. They have to admit the truth first and foremost, if not, Vietnamese Communists would get to nowhere." Hanoi said its relationship with Ottawa has been damaged by the bill and summoned Canada’s ambassador to express concern last Friday. Big Sunday has become big weekend to volunteer By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Today through Sunday thousands of people around the United States are gathering at schools, parks and community centers to help out with Big Sunday, a volunteer effort that started on a Sunday but has expanded to three days every year in early May. Students and parents will be pitching in at Ramona Elementary School in Los Angeles, removing dead vegetation and beautifying the building. School Principal Guillermo George said a donation from Big Sunday organizers provided $500 for supplies, including plants and paint. “So we are doing a little bit of gardening, putting in some new plants, and also a cleanup for the school," he said. "And we are also doing a little bit of painting.” For many in Los Angeles, where the annual volunteer celebration got its start, and in other cities around the country, Big Sunday has become an annual tradition of helping out with community projects. Hollywood screenwriter David Levinson began the effort in 1999. “We started as just a single day of service, which was called Big Sunday, and then it became a big weekend of service," he said. "This is the 17th one. But now this weekend is the culmination of a year’s worth of helping, and the kickoff for the next year’s worth of helping.” Each year on this weekend in May, people find new friends and help their neighborhoods in ways that often continue through the year. New administrator picked to head U.S. aid agency By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
President Barack Obama has nominated Gayle Smith to serve as the top administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the federal agency mainly responsible for civilian foreign aid. If the Senate confirms the nomination, Ms. Smith would succeed Rajiv Shah, who left the post in February after serving for five years. In a statement Thursday, national security adviser Susan Rice described Smith as a valued colleague and friend. "Her many years of field experience, including in Africa, as well as her steady leadership, sharp intellect and deep knowledge of international development, make her an exceptionally qualified nominee for USAID administrator," Ms. Rice said. Ms. Smith most recently served alongside Ms. Rice as senior director for development and democracy on the National Security Council staff, where her responsibilities included global development, democracy and humanitarian assistance issues. Prior to joining the government, Smith spent more than 20 years in Africa as a journalist covering military, economic and political affairs. She has also been a consultant for a wide range of aid and governmental organizations, including the World Bank. John Prendergast, founding director of the Enough Project, which Smith co-founded, said Ms. Smith "has spent her entire professional life doing work that perfectly prepares her to lead USAID." |
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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 |
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Atheist TV seeks
to influence Middle East
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
In Egypt, a deeply religious country in a deeply religious region, atheism is not only taboo, it is dangerous. It is sometimes even criminal to publicly declare nonbelief. Despite the danger, one group of activists is pushing back with a new online TV channel. Free Mind TV defends the right not to believe. Edited and produced in a studio in the United States, Free Mind TV says it wants to promote nonreligious liberal ideas in the Middle East. On the screen, the presenter appears to be in a sophisticated studio. But in reality, presenter Ahmed Harqan, a former Muslim, sits at a card table in a small bedroom in Egypt, with a green cloth hanging behind him. He asked that his location be kept secret, because many of his countrymen consider atheism an insult to religion, making it dangerous to openly not believe. He speaks from personal experience. Harqan said that in one instance, people on the street were trying to kill him and his wife, Nada Mandour, so he ran into a police station. The people followed and told the police that he appears on a TV program, insulting Islam. The couple were arrested. After they were released 24 hours later, they had to move to a different house to avoid threats and harassment. Ms. Mandour, also a former Muslim, shoots and directs some Free Mind TV programs. Since she abandoned religion two years ago, she said, most of her family has abandoned her. Ms. Mandour said they hate her for being critical of religion and ultimately declaring herself a nonbeliever. She no longer sees her parents and is not allowed in the family home. Nonbelievers from Christian families in the Middle East face similar dangers, said Ayman Ramsy, a former Christian who appears in the broadcasts. Ramsy said it is not technically a crime to be an atheist in Egypt. But he said he had been arrested for expressing his beliefs publicly, accused of compromising the values of society and of insulting religion. Free Mind TV began broadcasting late last year when Iraqi producer Khaldoon Alghanimi moved to the United States, where he feels it is safe to talk about the dangers atheists face in the Middle East. Self-proclaimed atheists are punished across the Arab world. In some cases, they are given jail time. In some countries like Saudi Arabia, atheism is considered a crime worthy of the death penalty. In Egypt, Harqan said he hoped the TV project would encourage people with controversial beliefs to speak openly, diluting the taboo. Ecologist estimates impact of extinction By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
One in six species could be threatened with extinction from climate change unless steps are taken to reduce global warming emissions, according to a new study. Lead author Mark Urban, an ecologist at the University of Connecticut, reviewed 131 articles on species extinction to come up with a global meta-analysis of the issue. The data, published in the journal Science, show that as the Earth warms, extinction risk will increase. Urban said the increase wouldn't look like a straight line, but instead might quickly curve upward. “There is an acceleration of those extinction risks as we get into a warmer and warmer climate,” he said. Today, 3 percent of species are at risk of disappearing, but the extinction rate climbs as the planet approaches 4.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, he said. |
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Page 7: Alaska Airlines plans flights to both airports Special to A.M. Costa Rica
Alaska Airlines says it will add a new service between Los Angeles and Costa Rica's two major international airports. The eight weekly flights from Los Angeles to San José are scheduled to begin Oct. 31 and to Liberia/Guanacaste Nov. 1. Flights will be available for purchase for the new Costa Rica routes starting May 21, pending approval by Costa Rican civil aviation authorities, the airline said. The new flights will be operated with fuel-efficient, next generation Boeing 737 aircraft, it added. Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group, together with its partner regional airlines, serves more than 100 cities through an expansive network in the United States, Canada and Mexico. |
