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(506) 2223-1327              Published Monday, June 7, 2010,  Vol. 10, No. 110        E-mail us
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Social networking endangers country's image
By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Internet social networking accelerates life in the 21st century.  It also proposes challenges to everyone doing business in Costa Rica. 

More importantly, all the negative comments about Costa Rica are going to kill the country's tourism future because the negative runs rampant through social networks.  The country's marketing system better catch up fast.  The country is plagued with bad reports, from out-of-control property thefts to Americans getting beaten up at popular tourism destinations.

Social networking is the practice of expanding social contacts through connections among individuals, and although the process is as old as civilization itself, the Internet has accelerated the pace while increasing the amount of information that can be shared.

For those living in Costa Rica or considering relocation here, the Internet social networks are as important as ever. While in the past much of the information has been disseminated by those with a profit motive, the Internet social networks allow individuals to share first-hand information and experiences. A person is now able to consult instantly with dozens of other persons to determine if retirement in Costa Rica would fit their lifestyle or if a particular doctor, dentist or real estate broker has a good reputation.

Social connection is especially valuable for a newcomer who lacks roots in a new country, language skills and years of assimilation that can only come from growing up or being educated in the culture.

While many have been aware of networks like Facebook, Myspace and Youtube it’s possible that living in Costa Rica has distracted expats from the magnitude of change that is occurring on a truly global scale. Collectively these three social networks receive 250 million unique visitors per month, and have been in existence for no more than six years. ABC, NBC and CBS combined can only manage to reach 10 million viewers per month.

Radio as the first form of electronic mass communication took 38 years to reach an audience of 50 million.  Television accomplished the same in 13 years while the Internet took four years. Facebook reached its first 50 million people in just two years, and presently there are 400 million registered and active users on the network. To put this in more perspective, this is a number that exceeds the total population of the United States.

Facebook is rated as the No. 2 page on the Internet by the Alexa ranking service, and is exceeded only by Google, which presently serves 76 billion Internet searches per month. Google served just 2.7 billion searches per month in 2006, and the increased volume of information is not and probably never will be a problem for massive networks of computers.

The effects of Internet social networking are particularly visible through American expats, who are informal ambassadors to nations like Costa Rica. One expat in Costa Rica can link to hundreds of relatives and former high school and university classmates, which expand exponentially. This reason alone is enough for the Costa Rican government to really consider how its treatment of expatriates has an effect on tourism.

The country is quickly reaching the point where one well-connected expat with a negative attitude can deter hundreds of people from vacationing in Costa Rica. No amount of expensive promotion on the part of the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo can counteract the damage that hundreds of expats talking about things like pollution or crime can do.

Nations like Costa Rica, unfortunately, are in danger of falling so far behind in bandwidth that the speed of now marginally broadband ADSL
world on a cloud

connections will resemble the dial-up Internet of the 1990s. As the former telecom monopoly struggles to implement 3G Internet service, the United States already enjoys 4G services in every major market.

One typical 4G phone can provide an Internet connection for up to 5 devices, and it is expected that the typical package will deliver between 5 and 12 Mbps by the end of the year. Following the dynamics of smartphone and social networks like Twitter is vital because it is predicated that in just 10 years mobile phone will replace the desktop computer as the dominant Internet device.

Web pages that do not automatically adapt their layouts to smartphones are in danger of becoming as obsolete as print media. Equally so, it is vital that any Web site with a future embrace social networking in a meaningful way. It’s no longer good enough to simply link to a profile on a social network without providing systems for commentary or social interaction directly on the page.

Some experts predict that the traditional Web site as we know it and even many blogging platforms will fade away in the coming years under a wave of information, much of which will be generated by social networks. While professionals talk about the loss of journalistic standards or declining quality of information, the more successful media outlets look for ways to aggregate information from social networks and moderate discussion.

At this point, no one has emerged as a leader in the realm of social networking among the English-speaking community in Costa Rica. The U.S. Embassy has a Facebook page. However its Web site is not a portal for social networking. For example, the Spanish-language news publication La Nación allows readers to comment on the news on its Web page in real time through a Twitter account. No English-language outlet of comparable professional standards provides any level of instant social collaboration.

Print media is truly dead, and while Costa Rica does have one English-language print newspaper the reasons for its continued existence seem ambiguous. Time is also gradually eroding the base of English-speaking people who are still willing to participate in the newsprint culture.

The average American teen on average sends 2,272 text messages per month and can be expected to never subscribe to a print newspaper during his or her lifetime. The next generation will in all probability view any form of print media as an expensive waste of environmental resources. Social networking is vital if this generation is ever to know much of a place like Costa Rica.

Costa Rica better clean up its act and get into the 21st century because the days of traditional media are numbered.  Most important, the country needs to clean up its act, because its dirty laundry is aired instantly on the Internet, and there is little opportunity to counter the negative impact.

Garland M. Baker is a 38-year resident and naturalized citizen of Costa Rica who provides multidisciplinary professional services to the international community.  Reach him at info@crexpertise.com.  Baker has undertaken the research leading to these series of articles in conjunction with A.M. Costa Rica.  Find the collection at http://crexpertise.info, a complimentary reprint is available at the end of each article.  Copyright 2004-2010, use without permission prohibited.



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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 7, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 110

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President plants a tree
Casa Presidencial photo 
  Laura Chinchilla, amid many cameras, plants one of a
  million trees that the Universidad EARTH proposes to sow.


Mrs. Chinchilla again vows
to push renewable energy

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

President Laura Chinchilla restated the country's pledge to produce all power by 2014 from renewable sources.

She said this at Universidad EARTH in Guácimo de Limón. where she participated in a World Day of the Environment event.

She said Costa Rica would distinguish itself among the nations of the world with development going hand-in-hand with the environment.

Our reader's opinion
Writer justified betrayal
of sisters in Acosta

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

On Friday you had an article about eight or more men and three juvenile males who took sexual advantage of two teen sisters, now 11 and 14, for more than a year. That means that these girls were 10 and 13 when the sexual abuse started.

The article concludes with the following statement:  “There was no indication that the girls were molested against their will. Because of their ages that does not make a difference.”

Whoever wrote this article needs to investigate sexual abuse and its severe and life-long emotional consequences to its victims. I also recommend reading on sexual predators and how they operate.

No 10-year-old girl wants to have sex with eight or more men. For God’s sake!

Predators first “groom” the child, seducing the child with gifts and attention. Once trust is built, this is betrayed by a sexual act, which usually terrifies and confuses the child. It breaks a child’s heart to have an adult they trust touch them in a way that makes them feel so ashamed, guilty, and “yucky.” Yes, the child’s body may “respond” to the physical attention, but this makes the abuse all the more confusing,  more shameful. These acts are usually followed with threats of harm to family or to the child if the abuse is exposed. The child has no choice but to continue participating in this sexual abuse. Read that again. A-B-U-S-E.

Children have no power to say “NO” to abuse against a bigger, more powerful adult. The responsibility always lies with the adult. Believe me, these men knew what they were doing. These children DID NOT.

The men were abusing their power over two innocent children. Some of the consequences of sexual abuse for victims include:

Psychological problems (PTSD, nightmares, little confidence, body-harming behaviors such as self mutilation and addiction); social problems (little trust in people, ambivalence toward relationships); sexual problems;  physical complaints; eating disorders; tendency to get involved in abusive relationships to self punish for guilt/shame associated with abuse; Denial/repression; Flashbacks; vulnerability to further abuse because one’s boundaries were violated.

All children are “molested against their will.” This is why it is a criminal offense. Children cannot defend themselves against adults. If the child’s mind/heart/soul/body is  “broken,” they experience a “learned helplessness,” terrible shame and self hatred, and come to believe that this is their only worth. At some point, they block their feelings (numb out and dissociate), which can cause severe problems in adult life. They “identify with the abuser” (Stockholm Syndrome). As their own feelings are meaningless and not valued, they come to value the feelings of the abuser. They then “willingly” participate. They don’t know any better.

Whoever wrote this article is justifying this betrayal of innocence, this heinous crime which causes lifelong damage to its victims, due to his complete ignorance on this issue.

The myths surrounding sexual abuse only perpetuate it.

To imply that these eight or more adult men are victims is a crime against all innocent children, who have a right to be loved and cared for without being used and hurt for the selfish, narcissistic power thrills of adults.
Suzanne Noel
Alajuela

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This is a brief users guide to A.M. Costa Rica.

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Each day someone complains via e-mail that the newspages are from yesterday or the day before. A.M. Costa Rica staffers check every page and every link when the newspaper is made available at 2 a.m. each weekday.

So the problem is with the browser in each reader's computer. Particularly when the connection with the  server is slow, a computer will look to the latest page in its internal memory and serve up that page.

Readers should refresh the page and, if necessary, dump the cache of their computer, if this problem persists. Readers in Costa Rica have this problem frequently because the local Internet provider has continual problems.

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The A.M. Costa Rica search page has a list of all previous editions by date and a space to search for specific words and phrases. The search will return links to archived pages.

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Contacting us
Both the main telephone number and the editor's e-mail address are listed on the front page near the date.

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For your international reading pleasure:


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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 7, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 110

Steven Seagal, under a cloud, cuts short his visit here
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Costa Rica honeymoon is over for action film actor Steven Seagal, who is miffed at being snubbed.

Seagal visited earlier in the year with then-president Óscar Arias Sánchez and discussed unspecified investments in the country.

He was given celebrity treatment Friday when he visited the Judicial Investigating Organization offices. He met with Jorge Rojas, the agency director, and others. The Poder Judicial came out with a glowing press release in which Seagal was praised for his experience in security.

It was Seagal who sought the meeting. Rojas complied and gave Seagal a pin making him an honorary member of the judicial police.

Seagal, 59, says he took an introductory policemen's course in California in the past. He also is reserve deputy chief of the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff's Office, which is described as a largely ceremonial position. Seagal has a home in that state.

Word began to circulate that a former female employee had filed a sexual harassment claim against the actor and that she also alleged that he was keeping several women for sexual purposes. The woman, Kayden Nguyen, sued for $1 million and claimed Seagal fondled her and tried to enlist her as one of his harem.

Seagal's U.S. lawyer said at the time the suit was an absurd claim by a fired employee, according to Fox News.

But the case was enough for President Laura Chinchilla to duck a meeting. She sent the security minister in her place.
Seagal and Rojas
Poder Judicial photo
Jorge Rojas places a judicial police pin on Seagal

The U.S. actor also paid a courtesy visit on Friday to Rene Castro with whom he also discussed security-related issues. Castro is foreign minister.

Sunday Seagal's lawyer here told a television reporter that Seagal would be leaving the county today and forgetting about any investments because he had been treated like a criminal.

Seagal is a legitimate black belt and martial arts professional who was the first American to operate an aikido training facility in Japan.


Decline reported in crime complaints involving juveniles
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Juvenile crime appears to have declined with the Poder Judicial reporting 12,171 complaints in 2009. That is lower than in 2008 by 1,506.

But of those, there were only 202 convictions, according to statistics released Friday. Some 10,034 were rejected and  2,992 resulted in some form of stay. Of the remaining 465  cases for which sentences were handed down, just 43.4 percent were convictions, the statistics said.

Juvenile cases are conducted in private, so statistics are about the only summary available for all but the most major crimes. The Poder Judicial might report a conviction in a murder case, but the suspect is not named. Juvenile offenders can get up to eight years in prison, according to the law.

As expected nearly 83 percent of those juveniles faced with an allegation of wrongdoing in 2009 were males.
Nearly 75 percent were investigated for what would be described as a felony if the suspect were an adult. Some 5,700 cases for the year still were pending. Still serious juvenile crime usually is adjudicated much quicker than the crimes of adults.

In 2008, the Poder Judicial reported that 13,677 separate criminal complaints against minors went to the country's 21 juvenile courts. This was a 2,136-case increase over 2007, according to the Sección de Estadística del Poder Judicial. Of these, some 11,670 were new cases. The rest were left over from previous years.

The increase was 18.5 percent, the judiciary said. Males made up 75 percent of the cases, and 9,373 were felonies or delitos while 3,553 were contravenciones or misdemeanors, the statistical summary said. There were 751 traffic cases, too.

In 2008, 554 minors were sentenced for crimes. Of these just 33.2 percent or 184 went to jail.


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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 7, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 110


Mrs. Clinton plans major U.S. Latin policy address Tuesday

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Hillary Clinton is in Lima, Perú today for the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, but  Tuesday is the day when she will give a broad outline of the Barack Obama administration's  policies towards the countries of the hemisphere at a cultural center forum in Quito, Ecuador.

Mrs. Clinton, the U.S. secretary of State, also will visit U.S. ally Colombia and Barbados for another regional meeting.

Arturo Valenzuela, assistant secretary of State, outlined Mrs. Clinton's trip plans in Washington Friday. In Perú she will meet with President Alan Garcia, who just returned himself from Washington.

In Colombia, Mrs. Clinton is scheduled to meet with Juan Manuel Santos and Antanas Mockus, who are involved in a June 20 presidential runoff. Santos is expected to continue the policies of President Álvaro Uribe.
Valenzuela did not address what Mrs. Clinton might say, but he was pressed by reporters as to why Mrs. Clinton was not going to Venezuela. He said the trip was mainly an Andean one and that Mrs. Clinton was not going to Bolivia, either.

Certainly the matter of the U.S. embargo on Cuba will come up in her meeting with heads of state. In Lima, the U.S. is expected to push today to have Honduras integrated back into the hemispheric organization. The country was blacklisted when its military ousted José Manuel Zelaya, the elected president, last year. Subsequently another man, Porfiro Lobo, won the presdiency in an election. The U.S. is trying to rally sufficient votes for today.

In Barbados, Mrs. Clinton will discuss security in the Caribbean, which means the fight against drug smuggling. Much of U.S. Latin policy is shaped by its war on drugs. Mrs. Clinton also will be outlining Washington's trade policy and the inability of the administration to get the free trade treaties with Colombia and Panamá approved in the U.S. Senate, despite Obama's support.



Week expected to bring a return to typical rainy season

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The week promises to be one full of days typical of the rainy season. That means partly cloudy skies in the Central Valley in the morning followed by rain in the afternoon.

The situation was reversed Sunday, when heavy rains fell on World Environment day activities and planned processions of the Catholic Church for Corpus Christi in the Central Valley. The situation is supposed to become more normal today.

The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional said that nearby low pressure areas are shoving winds and humidity into the country. Rain is expected this morning on the Caribbean coast and the northern zone with possible weak rains in the Central Valley.
Later in the day, rain is expected to diminish on the Caribbean coast and the northern zone while moderate to heavy storms are predicted for the Pacific coast and the Central Valley.

Weather watchers are keeping an eye out for more tropical waves of the type that brought heavy rains and destructive winds to Quepos and other parts of the central Pacific coast.

The good news is that all five missing fishing boats have made port in Quepos. Although a boat overturned during the height of the storm late Tuesday and one man was lost, concern mounted for five boats that were unaccounted for.

But one by one they arrived Friday and over the weekend much to the relief of family members and friends.


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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 7, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 110

Medical vacations in Costa Rica

Escalares beating victim
reported out of hospital

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Friends of Ben Vaughn, the Dominical area real estate broker, say he is out of Hospital CIMA.

He is the man who suffered critical head injuries in a confrontation May 11 in Escalares, a community near Dominical.

The message from friends said that he will need therapy but they called the release form the Escazú hospital a big step forward.

A young resident of the community has been jailed in the attack. "Ben risked his life by going after and confronting the group of thieves that have been attacking our area for some time now," said a friend at the time.  "He confronted them, and was alone, they overpowered him and severely beat him in the face and head."

Vaughn got out of the hospital Saturday, said friends, and moved into a guest house in Santa Ana. He suffered multiple fractures of the head as well as other injuries.


Monsanto seed donations
draw concerns in Haiti


By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

Some farmers in earthquake-ravaged Haiti are voicing concerns about the donation of $4 million worth of seeds from U.S. agricultural giant Monsanto.

Farmers' groups say they fear Haiti will lose its peasant agriculture. They say they do not want the farms of Haiti overtaken by multinational corporations like Monsanto.

Monsanto says an online smear campaign about its 475-ton donation of seeds is "imaginative" and inaccurate. The corporation says its critics falsely accused the company of donating genetically modified seed.

Monsanto says it is sending hybrid seeds to Haiti. The company says a donation of hybrid seed to Malawi "turned a region from a food aid recipient to a food exporter."  

Hybrid seed is produced from a cross between two different plant varieties aimed at producing higher yields of stronger plants.

Monsanto says the Haitian ministry of agriculture approved the seed donation to ensure the selected seeds are appropriate for Haitian growing conditions and farming practices.

The first 60 tons of corn and vegetable seeds from Monsanto arrived in Haiti in May. Upcoming seed shipments will include cabbage, carrot, eggplant, onion, tomato, spinach and watermelon.


For your international reading pleasure:


News of Nicaragua
News of Central America
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A.M. Costa Rica
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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 7, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 110


Latin American news
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Mora raids follow claim
of misuse of public funds

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Gilberto Monge Pizarro, the mayor of the Municipalidad de Mora, has been asked to appear at the Pavas prosecutor's office today to respond to allegations that he orchestrated the misuse of government funds.

The allegation of misuse was central to a raid that took place Friday at the municipal building and at the installations of the Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Guayabo de Mora and the Asociación Administradora de Acueducto y Alcantarillado Comunal de Guayabo de Mora.

Three persons were detained and interviewed Friday. They were a man with the last names of Bustamente Cubillo, who is president of the Asociación Administradora de Acueducto, a woman with the last names of Hernández Morales, who is treasurer of the Asociación de Desarrollo, and a man with the same last names who is president of the  Asociación de Desarrollo.

The Poder Judicial said that all three were freed after their interviews.

The prosecutors are alleging that the mayor borrowed 3 million colons from both associations to finish building the Casa de Cultura de Guyabo de Mora. In order to get the money to repay the informal loan, the mayor convinced the municipal council that there was an emergency with a water line and that money had to be transferred from the road fund to fix the water line. Instead the money went to the water companies, according to the allegation.

Ciudad Colón is the principal community in Mora.

The Judicial Investigating Organization said the original complaint in this case was turned in by an auditor.


Teacher faces sex allegation

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A school teacher in the Colegio de Bribri stands accused of demanding sexual contact from students in return for good grades.

The man, identified by the Poder Judicial by the last names of Vargas Vargas, faces allegations involving minors. The allegation said that he demanded that the female students allow him to fondle them. The El Juzgado Penal de Bribri  ordered the man separated from his job and asked the Ministerio de Educación Pública to investigate, too.






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