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A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page |
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José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 15, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 116
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 Municipalidad de Desamparados
photo
Workers are taking down the
second floor of the building.Municipality
acts against illegal project
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Sometimes the old Costa Rica rule just does not work. The rule is that it is easier to ask forgiveness instead of asking permission. An apartment developer has found that out the hard way. The Municipalidad de Desamparados reported Friday that demolition has started on some 250 square meters of construction in the Cerámica Poas subdivision in Calle Fallas. The developer had carried the legal fight as far as the Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo. By the time the judicial panel ruled for the municipality two weeks ago, the three apartments has been occupied, the municipality said. The problems were many in addition to the developer failing to have permission to build the two-story structure. The structure also was in an area that violated the zoning rules and intruded on municipal property, said the municipality. In addition, the building was in a place where landslides were possible and construction is prohibited, it added. The municipality went public with the case because it said it was continually fighting against illegal construction.  Ministerio de Seguridad Pública
photo
Shotguns
have pistol grips and no rear stock.
Arsenal
discovered in Los Anonos, Escazú
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Five adults and three juveniles were shooting up the Los Anonos section of Escazú early Sunday. The celebration drew the attention of police, who collared the eight and confiscated an arsenal. In addition to three riot guns. police reported they confiscated a revolver and an AK-47 rifle with banana clips. As police entered homes to make the arrests, they also discovered some 64 baggies of marijuana, they said. Police were unable to determine the nature of the celebration that generated the shots into the air.  Servicio Nacional
de Guardacostas
photo
Crewman pulls in another illegal
fish trap.Illegal fishing
crackdown nets 10
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Patrols from the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas captured 10 fishermen and three boats over the weekend as officials enforced the moratorium in the Gulf of Nicoya. The moratorium is to allow marine species to recover, and the government provides payments to those who are prohibited from fishing. Nevertheless, the coast guard said its crews were able to find illegal nets and traps in the gulf. The coast guard said that more than 100 wire fish traps were located and hundreds of fish were liberated. El Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social and the Instituto Costarricense de Pesca are supposed to be providing economic aid to fishing families while the moratorium continues. GOP senators expect Cuban embassy soon By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Three U.S. Republican senators met with senior Cuban officials Saturday in Havana, with one lawmaker saying the opening of a U.S. embassy on the island is close. Sens. Jeff Flake, Susan Collins and Pat Roberts comprise one of several congressional delegations to Cuba since the December announcement by leaders in Washington and Havana to restore diplomatic relations. "We talked about U.S.-Cuba relations, so just a continuation of the meetings we have had before and will continue to have. We are very excited about the new prospects for full diplomatic relations, and it looks like we're close," Flake said, adding that no date is set for the embassy's opening. Cuba's first vice president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, and negotiations chief Josefina Vidal were among the officials who met with the senators. Flake is championing the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act to his colleagues on Capitol Hill, in an attempt to end travel restrictions on U.S. citizens to the island.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 15, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 116 | |
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This a shot from the new camera installed by the Red Sismológica Nacional on the summit of the mountain. What is being issued continually is mainly water vapor, the experts say. |
 Red Sismológica Nacional photo
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| Volcán Turrialba fails to conform to proposed theory
on eruptions |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A.M. Costa Rica predicted another thrilling eruption from the Volcán Turrialba between June 2 and 9. Instead, the mountain went back to sleep after a June 1 eruption. The May 26 prediction were based partly on some reader comments that the moon has an effect on volcanoes. The effects are well established on the world's tides. There also had been some preliminary work done of the theory by Steve and Donna O'Meara in Italy 25 years ago. The Red Sismológica Nacional at the Universidad de Costa Rica said that periods of calm are normal for volcanoes and that the experts were not discarding the possibility of more eruptions. The mountain still is issuing a steady plume of mostly water vapor from the main crater. |
The eruption
prediction theory was based on the full moon, which was
June 2 and the perigee of the moon's orbit, which was June 9. That is the time when the moon is closest to the earth. The theory is that the period between the full moon and the perigee has more potential for eruptions. The next perigee is July 5 just before 1 p.m. when the moon will be 367,093 kilometers or 228,101 miles from the earth. The full moon took place July 1. The theory suggests that greater volcanic activity can be expected between the full moon and the perigee. Volcano experts at the Red Sismológica Nacional have installed a new camera on the summit of Turrialba. However, the Internet link has not yet been published. |
| Former expat and wife set up campagn to get computers for
school kids |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Like a lot of North Americans, Scott Tucker sees a way to help the Costa Rican schools. The former resident has an advantage in that his wife, Ana, is Costa Rican. They live now in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Government budgets for schools are less than adequate, and the Tuckers cite that in the name of their 501(c)(3) organization: Global Digital Divide, Inc. Their short-term goal is to send computers to needy students and schools in Costa Rica. The organization grew out of a family tradition of bringing small electronic items here when they visited. Now they have set up an Indiegogo campaign to raise $10,000 to change lives by helping provide computers, laptops and tablets to needy students, they said. They said they already have six desktop computers, two laptops, a monitor and a printer. With money raised on the donation site they hope to acquire more new and used computers and send then to Costa Rican students and schools. |
 Computers for schools are a sensitive topic in Costa Rica because many schools simply do not have modern machines. Lawmakers were discussing the issue from a budget perspective a week ago. As Tucker pointed out, students will be able to maximize their potential with access to computers. He said the computers also will be set up with a link to the free, online Khan Academy that provides instructional videos and practice exercises primarily in the area of elementary and secondary math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics and English language. Each computer also will have Skype, a typing training program and a set of spreadsheets, presentation and writing software. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 15, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 116 | |||||
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| Cutting carbon emissions might increase hunger, new research
says |
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By the American Chemical Society news staff
As many of the world’s nations prepare and implement plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, researchers say another critical factor needs to be considered. A new study has found for the first time that efforts to keep global temperatures in check will likely lead to more people going hungry. That risk, they say in the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology, doesn’t negate the need for mitigation but highlights the importance of comprehensive policies. Previous studies have shown that climate change reduces how much food farms can produce, which could lead to more people suffering from hunger. Curbing the greenhouse gas emissions that lead to climate change can help maintain the yields of existing crops. But there might be indirect ways in which cutting emissions |
could
actually put more people
at risk of going hungry. For example, some grasses and other vegetation used for biofuels require agricultural land that might otherwise be used for food production, researchers noted. So, increased biofuel consumption could negatively affect the food supply. Also, the high cost of low-emissions technologies such as carbon capture and storage will be borne by consumers, who will then have less money to spend on food. Tomoko Hasegawa and colleagues wanted to get a better idea of how these pieces fit together. The researchers used multiple models to determine the effects of strict emissions cuts and found that many more people would be at risk of hunger than if those cuts weren’t in place. The team concludes that governments will have to take measures, such as increasing food aid, as they address climate change. |
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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A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth
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| British spies were withdrawn due to Snowden, reports say By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
British media are reporting that London has had to pull its spies from hostile countries after Russia and China learned how they operate by decrypting top secret files disclosed two years ago by former U.S. national security contractor Edward Snowden. The Sunday Times said the pullback was ordered after Moscow gained access to more than one million encoded files in Snowden's possession when he fled the United States in 2013, and was eventually granted residency in Russia. The BBC carried a similar report. Quoting a Downing Street source, the Times said the decryption "has meant agents have had to be moved and that knowledge of how we operate has stopped us from getting vital information." The official at Prime Minister David Cameron's office also was quoted as saying there is no evidence of anyone being harmed. The newspaper, quoting separate government sources, said China also had accessed the documents, which are also said to reveal a wide array of Western intelligence techniques. There was no immediate official comment on the report from London or Washington. Snowden worked as a contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. At the NSA, he downloaded 1.7 million secret documents that showed the government secretly intercepting data on hundreds of millions of civilian telephone calls in and from U.S. territory. He fled first to Hong Kong, with Russian President Vladimir Putin first granting him asylum, then residency in Russia. He has been both widely praised as a hero and a patriot for releasing troves of classified information and ridiculed as a traitor for the disclosures. A U.S. grand jury has charged him with two counts of violating the U.S. Espionage Act and theft of government property, but Russia has refused to extradite him. Comet lander awakens to send data back home By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The European Space Agency's comet lander has awakened after a seven month hibernation and communicated with Earth. The German Aerospace Center says the lander, Philae, resumed communication for more than a minute late Saturday. The space agency says the probe sent about 300 packages of data to Earth via its mother ship Rosetta, which is orbiting the comet. Philae became the first spacecraft to land on a comet when it touched down Nov. 12, but it shut down three days later when its batteries were depleted and it was forced into hibernation. Following a 10-year journey from Earth, Philae landed on the icy surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after separating from Rosetta. Space agency officials say the probe bounced on the surface of Comet 67P twice because its harpoons, which were designed to anchor Philae to the surface, failed to deploy. Scientists say the probe settled at an angle in a dark ditch. They said they hoped as the comet drew closer to the Sun, better light would recharge Philae's batteries enough for it to reboot, make contact, and carry out a new series of experiments. The space agency says the 100-kilogram lander has sent back unprecedented images. The agency says the images show the surface of the comet covered by dust and debris ranging from millimeter to meter sizes, while panoramic views show layered walls of harder-looking material. Scientists hope the $1.6 billion project will help answer questions about the origins of the universe and life on Earth. Comets date back to the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Scientists suspect impacting comets delivered water to the young Earth. The space agency says the comet is about 215 million kilometers from the Sun and 305 million kilometers from Earth, traveling at 31.24 kilometers a second. Rosetta and Philae have traveled an accumulated distance of 6.9 billion kilometers. By Aug. 13 the comet will reach its closest point to the Sun, called perihelion, before veering off again into the deeper reaches of space.  Voice of America photo
David Yáñez
and his bird-friendly wind turbine.Bird-friendly
wind turbine
uses no rotating blades By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Wind turbines are efficient sources of cheap energy but also a source of concern as their huge spinning blades frequently kill birds and bats. A new type of wind generator developed in Spain offers a creative solution to that problem. In 2002, Spanish inventor David Yáñez saw a short film about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the U.S. collapsing in strong wind. It was a vivid example of the powerful vibrations wind can create when it blows past a long pole, such as a car antenna or even a stick of bamboo. It gave him the idea for a new type of wind-energy generator. “The initial philosophy or spirit was to create a generator of dreams that had all the qualities one would want: It should be as cheap as possible, need as little maintenance as possible, the setup as simple as possible," he said. Yáñez and his friend Raoul Martín took the idea to an engineering firm, where they were told it would never work. Undiscouraged, they started experimenting on their own in a small wind tunnel they built. Good initial results were repeated by a larger working model called Vortex installed in a nearby field. “What we have is a mast, which is the top piece and acts as a blade," Yáñez said. "It's constructed from the same material as a conventional generator, and what it does is it oscillates, transmitting the oscillation to a conventional alternator, which by its own oscillation converts the wind's energy into electric energy.” Yáñez said the output of the 6-meter-tall generator, and even that of smaller models, was better than expected. The Vortex creates about 30 percent less energy than a comparable bladed wind turbine, but it is lighter and cheaper to build and maintain. It is made mostly of reinforced plastic and has very few moving parts. Also, it does not create noise and — even more important for many environmentalists — it does not present a threat to passing birds. The current prototype works at wind speeds ranging from 1.5 to 7 meters per second. The inventors say the next step is building a 12.5-meter tall bladeless generator with a 4-kilowatt capacity that could power small businesses or individual homes, or provide supplemental power to a main grid. The commercial version of the Vortex Bladeless generator should be ready for the market by 2017. Save the Children saved by reversal in Pakistan By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Pakistan's Interior Ministry on Sunday allowed the international non-governmental organization Save the Children to resume operations, days after shutting down its headquarters in Islamabad and giving staff members 15 days to leave the country. The ministry did not elaborate on the reversal. Authorities sealed the office in the capital on Thursday, accusing the organization of involvement in anti-Pakistan activities. By Friday, every office in the country was closed. At the time, a Pakistan official said "We have been monitoring their calls and watching their offices and their activities are very suspicious." The official did not specify what activities were objectionable. Save the Children, which has been in Pakistan for 35 years, said in a statement it has no expatriate staff in Islamabad. The charity said "We strongly object to this action and are raising our serious concerns at the highest levels." The charity's expatriate staff was forced to leave a few years ago after a Pakistan intelligence report said the Save the Children organization had ties to Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor allegedly recruited by the CIA to help find al-Qaida head Osama bin Laden. The organization has denied any links to the doctor. Save the Children said "All our work is designed and delivered in close collaboration with the government ministries across the country and aims to strengthen public service delivery systems in health, nutrition, education and child welfare." Another Bush to announce as presidential candidate today By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, the son and brother of U.S. presidents, is set to officially announce his candidacy for the presidency Monday in Miami, becoming the 11th Republican in the race. Bush has raised vast sums of cash for his campaign and was initially thought to be the leading Republican contender. But recent national political surveys show him virtually deadlocked with two other candidates, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has joined the contest, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has yet to officially announce. Meanwhile, the leading U.S. Democratic Party presidential contender, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is campaigning in Iowa, looking to enlist political volunteers in a state that snubbed her when she first ran for the presidency in 2008. Early next year, Iowa Democrats and Republicans will cast the first votes of the 2016 presidential race at party caucuses in the long, state-by-state list of contests to select nominees to face each other in the national presidential election. The eventual winner will succeed President Barack Obama in January 2017. Obama is limited by the country's Constitution to two terms in office. Mrs. Clinton fared poorly in the 2008 Iowa caucuses, with Obama's victory in the rural, farm belt state giving him an early springboard to the Democratic nomination. Other candidates have joined the contest against Clinton this year, but national public opinion surveys show her the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic nomination, and she is ahead in possible matchups against a wide array of Republicans seeking their party's nomination. At her New York rally Saturday, Mrs. Clinton promised to promote equal opportunity and to fight for a hard-pressed middle class. She told thousands of supporters she is running for president for all Americans, including those left behind after the recession. "America can't succeed unless you succeed. That is why I am running for president of the United States," she said to chants of "Hillary, Hillary." She castigated the Republican presidential contenders as out of touch with the needs of American voters and their evolving views on several issues. New York search expands for two who fled prison By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Authorities are expanding their search for two escaped killers who broke out of maximum-security prison in northern New York state near the border with Canada. More than 800 officers are hunting for David Sweat and Richard Matt who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6. State, local and federal law enforcement personnel are involved. Police have mainly focused on a wooded area south of the prison, but say they are expanding eastward. Friday, a prison worker was charged with providing the convicts with materials to aid in their escape. Matt and Sweat used power tools to cut through the back of their cell wall and through steel pipes as they made their escape. Authorities have received more than 700 leads in the case. Previously, the longest escape from a New York prison was three days. Sweat is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death of a sheriff's deputy. Matt is facing 25 years to life in prison on murder, kidnapping and robbery charges following the 1997 killing of a man. Canada holds Somali man in kidnapping of journalists By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Canadian police have arrested a Somali man for involvement in the kidnapping of two foreign journalists in 2008. Police said Friday that Ali Omar Ader was one of the main negotiators of the group that seized the two journalists, Canadian Amanda Lindhout and Australian Nigel Brennan. An assistant commissioner with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, James Malizia, said Ader was arrested Thursday in Ottawa, a few days after he arrived in the country. He said the arrest was the result of an undercover operation in Somalia that included surveillance and wire taps. Malizia gave few details of the operation, and also declined to say whether the Somali government was aware of the investigation. "This is an extremely complex investigation, it required the deployment of a number of investigative techniques over a long period of time. In addition, the accused was located in Somalia which made the collection of evidence more challenging," said Malizia. Ms. Lindhout, a Canadian freelancer, and Brennan, an Australian photojournalist, were kidnapped in Somalia in August, 2008. They were released 15 months later after a reported ransom was paid. The two journalists say they were kept apart from each other during their captivity and were beaten and tortured. Brennan tweeted Friday "Amazing news of the arrest of Ali Omar Ader, aka Adan the Somali criminal involved in my kidnapping. Finally Justice will be served!" Canadian police thanked the journalists and their families for providing witness statements that assisted police in their investigation. U.S. rugby teams prevail and get ticket to Olympics By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Rugby enthusiasts in the United States are celebrating a major achievement for their national men's and women's Sevens teams, which qualified Sunday for the 2016 Rio Olympics. The U.S. Eagles, as the men's and women's players are known, secured their places in Rio by winning their respective finals in the North America and Caribbean Olympic qualification tournament in Cary, North Carolina. The U.S. men defeated Canada, 21-5, scoring three first-half tries through Perry Baker, Danny Barrett and Maka Unufe, with captain Madison Hughes successfully kicking the conversions after the tries. In the preceding match, the U.S. women routed Mexico, 88-0. Rugby is returning to the Olympics next year for the first time since the 1924 Summer Games in Paris, when there was no women's competition, and the U.S. men won gold in the 15-a-side version of the sport. Seven-a-side rubgy is typically a higher scoring game that is popular with fans around the world. The U.S. men join six other teams that already have qualified for Rio: Argentina, host Brazil, Britain, Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa. The U.S. women will compete in the Olympics alongside Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Colombia and New Zealand. Five more teams still can qualify for both the men's and women's Olympic Sevens tournaments through a series of upcoming continental and global repechage competitions. The U.S. men headed into their regional finals brimming with confidence after winning a Sevens World Series tournament for the first time with a Cup victory in London on May 17. The London triumph lifted the U.S. men to a best-ever sixth place out of 22 nations in the end-of-year Sevens standings. The U.S. women finished their Sevens season as the world's fifth-ranked team. The strong performances of both the men's and women's Eagles in the past season have led many U.S. rugby fans to believe their teams have a realistic chance of winning a medal in Rio with a top-three finish. In an interview month, U.S. men's Sevens head coach Mike Friday, an Englishman, said Olympic qualification should mark the start of a process of upgrading national investment in the sport. "We need infrastructure to ensure that American high schools are picking up the game," Friday said. "We also need to create coaches who are able to coach the game to all these potential American rugby athletes who chase the dream of playing for the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, as well as those that want to be an Olympian at rugby." Friday also called for more foreign coaching talent to be brought to America. "If we do well, and we get a medal in 2016, it will be in spite, not because, of the existing rugby infrastructure," he said. The U.S. men will compete in the 15-a-side Rugby World Cup in England this September and October. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 15, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 116 | |||||||||
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Often a
surprise awaits around the bend
Around the bend and down the road, you can see the most amazing things. Sometimes it’s one of the great trees with a trunk so grand that five people could stand around it, arms outstretched, and their fingertips would barely touch. Sometimes it’s a field strewn with boulders thrown
It is the open ones, then, that you see, so bright and cheerful that you have to stop and snap a picture or two. Then, if you are bold enough, you knock on the door and try you halting Spanish on the owner. My halting Spanish has always been met with a broad smile, even though I can only say, “Su jardin es muy especial, muy bonito.” This is usually met with a cascade of Spanish to which my only answer is to say, “Mi español es poquito.” More smiles and nods, and I am escorted around the yard with the gardener giving me names and describing things with broad gestures. Bulbs and vines, shrubs and trees, the gardener is proud of them all. I am encouraged to smell this one (heavenly), feel the underside of that leaf (a bit like sandpaper). There is a lot of color in these gardens and it is all unplanned, natural. No one ever told the gardener that two particular colors clash. and it doesn’t seem to matter. It just seems bold and alive. A few more pictures, and it’s time to go but not before the hostess insists that you take a cutting, some seeds, a flower or two. Sometimes even a seedling already started on its way. Don’t try to refuse, it would be insulting to say no. Just nod and smile and be on your way. Both your days are brighter now.  A.M. Costa Rica/Victoria
Torley
Plant of the Week
This jumble of begonias — about five feet wide — is right on
the road. They are a wild variety often found growing on or near fences
and they are doing very well in the sun, no pampering needed. If you
saw them in someone’s yard, wouldn’t you stop?If you would like to suggest a topic for this column, simply send a letter to the editor. And, for more garden tips, visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Arenal-Gardeners/413220712106845 |
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| From Page 7: Rejection of a key aspect crimps trade hopes By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Concerted efforts are underway to save President Barack Obama’s trade agenda after lawmakers of his own Democratic Party scuttled a vote critical for congressional approval of blockbuster free trade pacts spanning the Atlantic and the Pacific. “This isn’t over yet,” said Rep. Paul Ryan, a Republican, after Friday’s resounding House vote rejecting a retraining program for American workers impacted by trade. In actuality, Democrats strongly favor the retraining program, but voted against it in order to block trade promotion authority, also known as fast track, that subjects proposed pacts to up-or-down votes with no amendments allowed. The mechanism was critical for getting past trade deals approved, notably the North American Free Trade Agreement of the 1990s between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. House Democrats say such deals have been disasters for American workers and the environment, and are determined to block pending pacts the Obama administration has been negotiating for years. “We can stop it here and save the American economy,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio, a Democrat. While Democrats buck their own president, Republicans are in the unusual position of joining him on a major fight. “The president has some work yet to do with his party to complete the process,” said Ryan. To that end, Obama wasted no time, using his weekly address Saturday to call for free-trade opponents to reverse course. “I urge members of Congress who voted against Trade Adjustment Assistance to reconsider, and stand up for American workers,” said Obama. Publicly, at least, the White House is putting a brave face on the challenge. “I certainly would not rule out the ability of the speaker of the House to convince even more Republicans to vote for Trade Adjustment Assistance,” said White House Spokesman Josh Earnest. “We certainly believe that we can convince more Democrats to vote for a program that many of them have previously supported and that economists can demonstrate significantly benefits middle class families all across the country.” But so far House Democrats are holding firm against proposed trade pacts like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and withholding votes on legislation key to facilitating their approval. “The time has come for Congress to say no to this agreement,” said Rep. Rick Nolan, a Democrat. “The time has come to put an end to them. They have been negotiated in secret for the benefit of the few and kept from the public for the benefit of a few at the top of the economic ladder. The fact is it is destroying the American dream.” If and when another vote is scheduled is up to House Speaker John Boehner, an ardent backer of free trade. “When America leads, the world is safer, for freedom and free enterprise,” said Boehner. “And when we do not lead, we are allowing and inviting China to set the rules of the world economy, and what that does it keep our workers and our products on the sideline.” Retraining U.S. workers impacted by trade is a provision of a Senate-passed trade promotion authority bill. Unless the House passes identical language, trade legislation will remain stuck in Congress, and a major component of President Obama’s economic agenda will be in limbo. |
