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| Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
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proposed for hemisphere By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The nation is proposing the "consensus of Costa Rica" at the hemispheric meeting that had its formal opening Sunday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The meeting is the general assembly of the Organization of American States. The consensus, according to Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Costa Rica's foreign minister, is a new alliance for development that promotes opportunities at a global scale and urges a reduction in military spending. Within this consensus, Costa Rican officials, including President Óscar Arias Sánchez are proposing that developed nations pardon the debts of developing countries so that more can be spent on health, education and housing and less on arms and soldiers, said a statement from the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto. Pacific storm provides water but scant damage By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A line of storms swept in from the Pacific again Sunday afternoon and evening, but the downpours did not seem to cause serious damage. Friday morning the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional issued an alert about a low pressure system in the Pacific. National emergency officials followed suit with their own alert for the central Pacific. A string of storms swept through the country Friday afternoon. The whole Pacific coast is vulnerable because damage caused by hurricane-spawned downpours last year have not been repaired. However, it appears that Sunday the bulk of the rain fell in the Central Valley. Pavas got 62 mms. between 7 and 10 p.m. Sunday. That's 2.44 inches. But the rest of the Central Valley had much less rain, and Limón and Liberia had hardly any, according to the Instituto Meteorológico. Park access for blind and disabled urged By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
An advocate for the blind and disabled is urging Costa Rican officials to improve access to national parks and also provide consideration for the blind at the Museo Nacional. Alberto Cabezas of the Fundación para el Progreso de las Personas Ciegas said that the bulk of the national parks are not open to the blind or persons who are in wheelchairs. He said at parks there are no signs in braille nor are the brochures that explain the park features printed in braille for the benefit of the blind. He said this constitutes a violation of Law 7600. This is the same statute that is causing transit officers to ticket bus drivers whose buses do not have wheelchair ramps. Cabezas also led a fight for blind persons to vote secretly without disclosing their political preferences to persons who were assigned to help them. This requires ballots in braille. Cabezas said Binna Burra National Park in Australia is an example where officials have made efforts to accommodate the blind and disabled. The Museo Nacional should have areas where the blind can put their hands on objects, he said, giving as an example a museum in Barcelona. Spain. Our reader's opinion
Siesta was a tradition through 1960s here Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Prior to the recent phenomena of businesses remaining open all day, siesta was a common practice. As a matter of fact, it was a time when, families had lunch together, discussed what had transpired at school, or work, and some stations played classical music, or we had the Charlas de Agua Dulce, and sport commentators at the Hotel Palace. I attended a Spanish girl's public school in the mornings and an Episcopal-sponsored, private English school in the afternoon. This was in Port Limón. I later moved to San José, where I completed my studies at the Liceo de San José in Barrio México at the age of 15. I was too young to be admitted to the nursing school, so, I went on to become a bilingual executive secretary and bookeeper. By 17, I went on to study nursing, at the Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro. This was the first class, at the university level, 1967. Siesta was still a part of the culture. We wish it could be recaptured. North Americans, had great difficulty with that practice, at the time, and could be heard grumbling at the banks, when they had to return at 1, to continue their transactions. "This is a damn waste of time." They also had, and continue to be frustrated over the many holidays, Dia de los Santos, etc. I migrated to the United States and completed my nursing studies in New York, where I currently reside. I am living at the same standard as my former classmates, in Costa Rica but with some measure of stress. Dorla Alleyne
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Third news page |
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| San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, June 5, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 110 |
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| If there is any time to have hope, it will be Friday |
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| Si por la
víspera se saca el día “If the previous day is any indication of today. . . .” This dicho supports the notion that the past is the best indicator of how the future will turn out. If it rained yesterday, for example, there is a good chance that it will rain again today. But this saying is more often applied to people: If, for instance, someone has been a ne’er-do-well in the past, he’s likely to continue his wastrel’s ways in the future. This coming Friday Costa Rica will open the 2006 World Cup soccer competition with a match against host country Germany. In the last three practice games Costa Rica has been scored against 10 times, while the Ticos have made only two goals. The German team, on the other hand, has made 13 goals in three practice games. So if si por la víspera se saca el día, holds true, then the Costa Rican team could well be in for a drubbing. But this is soccer we are talking about here, and the team is our beloved selección, the pick of the best players from throughout our brave little nation. There is another dicho that seems more appropriate to the situation than today’s. It is: La esperanza es lo último que se pierde, meaning; “hope is the last thing one gives up.” A very dear friend of mine – also from Costa Rica – works in the same university I do in the States. These days we are constantly e-mailing and calling each other on the phone to scream and complain about these last three practice games and to bemoan our loss of faith in the Costa Rican coach. But come next Friday our hearts will be full of hope and they will be with our boys in Munich at 1800 hours, 10 a.m. Costa Rica time, when they face off against their German hosts. |
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| Tamarindo residents tear down project that was going up on
green area |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The event did not rise to the level of the Boston Tea Party, but Tamarindo residents tore down walls and structures Saturday. They said the municipality has allowed construction on land that has been designated as a park. The Asociación Pro Mejoras de Playa Tamarindo took credit for the demolitions. Destroyed were some sheds that were designed to house construction workers and some waist-high block walls. A statement from the association said that the Municipalidad de Santa Cruz has never disclosed the name of the investor who was involved in the project. A private contractor arrived on the site last month. |
The association is
calling the 6,000 square meters Parque
Independencia, although the land is designated as more of a greenbelt.
A stop-work order was issued three weeks ago, but some 50 association
members, supporters and even their children decided to take matters
into their own hands Saturday. The construction also violated an agreement between the association and the municipality to supervise the area, according to the association. The construction was designed to be storefronts, said the association. The land is designated as open space under the plan regulador or zoning plan for the area, the association said. To change the use, the municipality would have to make formal applications to central government officials, something the association said was not done. |
| Concept of 'restorative justice' is core of law enforcement
congress |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Guess who said this: "Costa Rica is passing through a crisis of violence. Day after day we are told of events of a violent character in our communities, schools, homes and workplaces. The system of justice can't continue to respond adequately before the increase in complaints and our prisons are completely crammed. This increase in violence does not appear to be diminishing." If you guessed a disaffected North American or a mugging victim, you would be wrong. The quote is from the lead item of the weekly bulletin of the Poder Judicial, the branch of government that runs the courts. The bulletin said that officials are about to examine an international movement called restorative justice. The Comisión Nacional para el Mejoramiento de la Administración de Justicia, universities, lawyers and prison officials have organized the first congress of restorative justice here in Costa Rica Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. |
A principal speaker
will be Dan Van Ness, executive director of the
Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, a program of Prison Fellowship
International. He has been active in criminal justice issues for
over
30 years, as a lawyer, advocate, writer and teacher, according to the Web site A good definition comes from the Mennonite Central Committee in Canada, which says the object of restorative justice is to promote justice policies that recognize crime as harm against persons, and that suggest responses that are victim-sensitive, promote offender responsibility to make things as right as possible and engender community participation and support. Punishment is only part of the response that society ought to make, according to this theory. A round table will be held Tuesday in the third floor of the Corte Suprema de Justicia at 6 p.m. Wednesday, the scene shifts to the Colegio de Abogados, also at 6 p.m. In addition other activities will be at the Ciudad Científica of the Universidad de Costa Rica, in San Pedro de Montes de Oca, on Wednesday and at the Universidad La Salle, Sabana Sur, Thursday at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. |
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Fourth news page |
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| San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, June 5, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 110 |
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| Alan Garcia takes presidency of Péru in landslide |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
and wire service reports LIMA, Perú — More than 11 million Peruvians went to the polls Sunday and elected former president Alan Garcia Pérez by what appears to be a landslide. His opponent in the second round of presidential voting, Ollanta Humala Tasso of Unión por El Perú, conceded and said he recognized the victory of his opponent. The preliminary totals released by the Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales said 77.33 percent of the vote had been counted. Garcia had 5,750,148 or 55.46 percent to Humala's 4,618,301 or 44.54 percent. A statistical projection by Transparency International gave Garcia 52 percent of the total vote, still sufficient to outdistance his rival. The election was uneventful, and both candidates thanked the army and the national police for maintaining order. Garcia's first term as president of Perú ran from 1985 to 1990. It ended with the Peruvian economy in shambles. He assured voters that he learned from his mistakes and would not repeat them. His current term runs until 2011. Humala, a nationalistic ex-army officer, won the initial round of voting in April. Analysts have said his campaign may have been hurt by the endorsement of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Both Garcia and Humala are seen as populist candidates of the left, but their campaigns have sought to emphasize the differences. Garcia has rejected the economic policies of his challenger, saying Humala plans radical changes, including the takeover of key industries. He also recalled a failed military uprising led by Humala in 2000. In turn, the former military official pointed to Garcia's earlier term in office, which is blamed for triggering high inflation and an economic crisis in the late 1980s. The Organization of American States called on both sides to soften the rhetoric. But, the sentiments have already come to dominate the minds of many voters, says Ian Vasquez, director of the Global Economic Liberty project for the Cato Institute in Washington. "Sometimes that happens when you have a political system that chooses among so many different candidates, the candidates that many people don't want end up being the leading candidates," he said before the voting. "And that's one of the comments that Peruvians are making right now, 'how did we end up with the two worst candidates in a run-off?'" Some reports allege that Venezuela's government helped finance the Humala campaign. |
 Partido Aprista Peruano
photo
Alan Garcia during a campaign stop
It would not be the first time that Hugo Chávez has taken a major role in another country's elections. Last year, he was credited with helping Evo Morales win the presidency in Bolivia. Pablo Galarce, Latin America director for the International Foundation for Election Systems in Washington, says the result in Peru has been quite the opposite. "Some of the reporting that is coming out about what President Hugo Chávez has said regarding Alan Garcia has not really been helpful," he said. "I think, surely, Mr. Alan Garcia was able to use the declarations from Hugo Chávez, and use them in his favor. Peruvians are quite, quite nationalistic." One of the key issues in the election was economic policy. Humala has tried to appeal to Peru's indigenous and poor communities, and has criticized a recent free trade agreement signed with the United States. Garcia supports the trade deal, and has promised to continue many of the economic policies of outgoing President Alejandro Toledo. But voters say they are unsure if they can trust Garcia, when he claims to have learned from the economic mistakes of his earlier term. |
| U.N. agency downplays flu role of migrating birds |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
ROME, Italy — Officials at a U.N. sponsored scientific meeting here have downplayed the role of migrating birds as the major source for the spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus. Juan Lubroth heads the infectious disease group for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. He says human activity presents a far greater risk. "Commercialization, the way we produce our animals, the way we market, the way we do not have the proper hygiene or inspection," he said. "It is through the poultry trade, not so much the wild birds." Strategies like monitoring poultry flocks and vaccinating the birds can help target the virus at its source and slow down its spread, according to Christiane Bruschke with the World Organization for Animal Health."We need to increase sanitary measures," she said. "We need to increase bio-security. We still need to kill infected animals, but certainly vaccination can be a good tool in different circumstances." |
Since 2003, when it was
first identified, the deadly virus has moved
from Asia to countries in Africa, the Pacific, Europe and the Near
East, and is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 million birds.
The virus has infected 224 people in 10 countries, largely through
contact with infected poultry. Food and Agriculture veterinary officer Joseph Domenech says outbreaks in Africa are the most worrisome because of the region's inability to respond in a timely manner. "It takes time to react, to respond," he says. "It took two months in Nigeria, for example, and by that time the virus is spreading all over the country. He says the situation is related to the difficulty of the veterinary services and animal health surveillance systems to cope with the situation and to respond immediately. "That's why there is a need for a huge investment to support these systems." The Food and Agricultural Organization estimates it will need approximately $308 million over the next three years to control the virus. So far the organization has received just $71 million in funding. |
| Police net trio who are suspects in armed robbery in Heredia |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
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near La Sabana Park a short time later. Two handguns were confiscated. Some 400,000 colons (about $780) were taken from the store that specializes in sending money to Nicaragua. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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