|
|
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for more details |
| A.M. Costa Rica's
Second news page |
||
|
San
José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 29, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 126
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
Shooting victims include man in wheelchair By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Four individual died by gunfire Friday, including one victim who was confined to a wheelchair. Shootings continued through the weekend. The disabled victim had the last name of Obando and was 33, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. He was found about 5 a.m. Friday in the Proyecto Manuel de Jesús Jiménez in Cartago still seated in his wheelchair on a public street but with fatal bullet wounds to the chest, said agents. Another shooting victim was a 50-year-old man with the last name of Jiménez, who was walking about 2:30 a.m. Friday in Los Guidos, Desamparados. The Judicial Investigating Organization said that a vehicle passed him and someone inside opened up and shot him several times. He was dead at the scene, agents said. Also early Friday in Desamparados a woman died and three men suffered wounds when a man dressed in black entered a drinking establishment and began shooting. The bar is in San Antonio de Desamparados. The woman was identified by the last name of Ramírez. She was 23. Also Friday agents were called to León XIII in Tibás where the body of a man later identified by the last name of Montero was on a sidewalk. Agents said that the 25-year-old man had multiple gunshot wounds. The most seriously wounded was a woman with the last name of León who suffered a bullet wound to the head Saturday night. She was in a vehicle traveling in the San Diego section of Tres Ríos. Someone in another car fired into the one in which the woman was riding, said agents. Also Saturday night a man identified by the last name of Alcazar showed up at Hospital San Juan de Dios with a bullet wound to the left leg, said judicial agents. The 29-year-old man reported he was shot on a street in Barrio Corazón de Jesús where he was involved in an argument with another man. At Hospital México four men showed up with various bullet wounds about 11 p.m. Saturday from La Carpio, La Uruca. Judicial agents said they were victims of individuals in a vehicle who drove through the area shooting randomly. Agents said they recovered shells from a 12-gauge shotgun and from .38-caliber and a 7.65-caliber weapons. Also Saturday agents were called to Hospital Calderón Guardia where a man hospitalized there since May 25 died. He was 28 with the last name of Guerrero, said agents. The man suffered knife wounds in the section of Cartago known as la Carpintera. He also is believed to have been the victim of an argument.  Casa Presidencial
photo
The sixth
Marcha de la Diversidad was a colorful event Sunday ashundreds walked Paseo Colón and Avenida Secunda to seek approval for same-sex marriages from the legislature. U.S. citizen dies while swimming By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A U.S. citizen has died in the Pacific just off Flamingo in the vicinity of the Isla Pata. The reason for the death was not clear. The Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas said that its crew members were told that the man was swimming and just did not surface Saturday. The coast guard responded in time to recover the body. Pre-teen reported missing from Tibás By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Investigators are seeking a 12 year old girl who has been reported missing after leaving her home in Cinco Esquina de Tibás Friday afternoon. She is Laura Michelle Bravo Renteria, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. Information can be telephoned to judicial agents at 800-8000-645 or via email at cicooij@poder-judicial.go.cr. Turtle volunteers report attack by poachers By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said that two of its volunteers were attacked by poachers on Playa Pacuare Thursday night. A guard protecting the volunteers fired eight warning shots and then became a target of poachers who returned fire, the organization said. A group of 11 volunteers were on the beach to protect nesting turtles and their eggs, the organization said. Sea Shepherd said an estimated 10 poachers confronted the volunteers and attacked them with branches and machetes. The volunteers suffered minor injuries, the organization said. A second guard was attacked by three poachers but managed to fend them off, said Sea Shepherd. The organization said that the group was warned June 16 of a possible attack and reported these concerns to the Judicial Investigating Organization. Suspects captured after delivery robbery By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Judicial agents have been following a gang of robbers for some time. So Saturday morning when a delivery driver was held up at an Heredia commercial center, agents were able to stop four suspects in San Antonio de Belén. Agents said the delivery driver was forced into the truck and detained while four men loaded merchandise in their own vehicle. The driver was making a delivery to a shoe store, agents said.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this Web site are
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 |
||||||
A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
|
| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 29, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 126 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
Much of the Caribbean coast near rivers is like this: Flooded with a meter or more of water. |
 Ministerio
de Seguridad Pública/Alonzo Álvarez
|
| Caribbean coast hit with heavy damage from another tropical
wave |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A third wave of flooding covered much more of the Caribbean coast and the northern zone. The losses to agriculture are in the millions. President Luis Guillermo Solís declared a national emergency Sunday, and this will allow moving government funds around to assist in the disaster. The Ministerio de Educación Pública suspended classes for a week in the affected cantons of Sarapaquí, Talamanca, Limón, Matina, Pococí, Siquirres, Guácimo and Turrialba Hit again were the cantons in the northeastern part of the country, but this time the heavy rains caused extensive damage as far south as the border with Panamá. Sections of the high Talamancas were hit hard with with flooding from the Rio Tilire. Some resident were in a shelter there. Sunday evening the latest toll included: • 1,585 homes flooded • 745 persons in shelters • 18 schools flooded • 23 roadways damaged • 11 bridges damaged • seven dikes breached • three water lines out of service Highway 32 was knocked out of service by multiple landslides and the collapse of a bridge at Río Frio. A pedestrian bridge was set up over the gap. Most of the agricultural damage came when dikes were breached by the adjacent rivers. Hundreds of hectares were flooded. Also rivers tore off pieces of crop land. Emergency officials issued a low-level alert for the central and south Pacific over fears that the tropical wave would bring heavy rains and damage there. Rain was expected overnight. The rains lessened during Sunday daytime, and Cruz Roja workers were able to reach most communities with food and drinking water. However, there were reports that 12 communities in the canton of Sarapiquí were cut off. Seven other communities also were said to be cut off in other cantons. The Ministerio de Seguridad said that two Fuerza Pública officers and two agents from the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas suffered injuries in trying to help persons on a |
 Casa Presdienciasl/Adriana Ramírez
President Solís
inspects collapsed bridge at Peralta, Turrialba. Consejo Nacional de
Vialidad
This slide was on Ruta 142
between La Unión and the Arenal dam. Officials said Friday that
the route was reopened.boat that overturned in Barra del Colorado. A large wave caught the boat and inflicted broken legs on two of the officers, said officials. They were airlifted to the metro area. Emergency officials are expected to continue the evaluation of the damage today with an emphasis on dikes and bridges. Unlike emergencies last week, the more recent involved heavy damage in Turrialba where the president toured Sunday. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The 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 |
||||||
 |
 |
||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 29, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 126 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Personal air transport might be available from two sources
soon |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Smart phones, essentially pocket-sized computers, already exist. Flying drones with cameras are available to everybody. Robots and self-driving cars are just around the corner. Now, two groups of inventors say very soon the brave will be able to try flying platforms and flying bikes. Being able to fly around as simply as riding a bicycle has been a long-standing dream of many inventors. But the safety and stability of such vehicles was always a huge problem. As relevant technologies, such as quadcopters and high-capacity batteries, have developed within the past decade, the dream of personal flying vehicles has moved closer to reality. The British firm Malloy Aeronautics has demonstrated a prototype of its hoverbike that it says will be a truly personal flying platform. “It's inexpensive, it can carry a decent load, it can get in and out of very small spaces very quickly, and it can be moved across continents very quickly because it can be folded and packed,” said Malloy Aeronautics’ marketing sales director, Grant Stapleton. He said with safety as the primary concern, designers came up with an innovative idea of overlapping rotors, whose, so-called adducted propellers are turning in enclosed spaces. “With adducted rotors you immediately not only protect people and property if you were to bump into them, but if you ever were to bump into somebody or property, it's going to bring the aircraft out of the air,” said Stapleton. The company is doing extensive testing with a one-third scale model, and also with a full scale tethered prototype. |
 Malloy Aeronautics
photo
Personal hoverbike has overlapping rotors.
Inventors say their Hoverbike
will most likely be used
first by the military, police and rescue squads.
Meanwhile, Martin Aircraft Co. from New Zealand already is testing a full-scale prototype of its personal flying device called Jetpack that can fly for more than 30 minutes, up to 1,000 meters high, and reach speed of 74 kilometers per hour. Martin CEO, Peter Coker, said, “This is built around safety from the start. Reliability is the most important element of it. We have safety built into the actual structure itself. Very similar to a Formula One racing car.” Jetpack runs on a four-cylinder 200-horsepower gasoline engine producing two powerful jet streams. Coker said it also has a built-in parachute. “It opens at very low altitude and actually saves both the aircraft and the pilot in an emergency," he said. Coker said Jetpack will be ready for the market by the end of 2016, with a price of about $200,000. |
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
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
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 |
||||||
|
A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth
news page
|
||
 |
 |
|
| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 29, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 126 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Greek government freezes banks and stock markets By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
Cash-strapped Greece, cut off from further infusions of European funds, ordered its banks and stock market closed for six days beginning today, as the country's financial crisis deepens and a Tuesday deadline for easing it fast approaches. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras went on national television Sunday to announce the moves, hours after the European Central Bank said it will not continue an emergency loan program that had allowed Greek banks to remain open in recent weeks. Tsipras' announcement came after weekend talks between Greek negotiators and their European creditors ended without a deal on terms of an ongoing cash-for-reforms bailout. Without a deal, analysts say Athens likely will default Tuesday on a $1.8 billion loan payment due to the International Monetary Fund. The prime minister blamed European creditors for the crisis that threatens Greece's membership in the 19-nation euro currency bloc. On its current timetable, the banks and stock market will remain closed until Greek voters decide in a July 5 referendum whether to accept new austerity measures demanded by the country's creditors. During the banking shutdown, the reports say customers will be permitted to withdraw a maximum $65 a day and that no cash can be moved abroad unless pre-approved. In a related development, reports from neighboring Macedonia say the Skopje government on Sunday ordered its financial institutions to pull their money from Greek banks. Restrictions also were imposed on the outflow of capital to its southern neighbor. Earlier Sunday, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis hinted that Athens might not make the $1.8 billion payment to the Monetary Fund. He noted that the European Central Bank profited on Greek bonds in 2014, and said the bank should simply transfer that money to the fund to cover the loan payment. Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde voiced disappointment over the stalemate. The White House said President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone Sunday and agreed that it is critically important that Greece accept European reform demands as a path toward growth within the 19-nation euro currency bloc. Shortly after the Greek parliament voted Sunday to approve the July 5 referendum, Tsipras told his national audience that the people must decide free of any blackmail whether to accept the new austerity reforms. He also said his government is urging a no vote unless the terms, said to include new cuts in pensions, are changed. Puerto Rico is bankrupt, New York Times reports By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
A prominent U.S. newspaper reported Puerto Rico cannot pay roughly $72 billion in debts. The New York Times reported Sunday that Puerto Rican Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla and senior members of his staff have said "they would seek significant concessions from as many as all of the island's creditors." The report said the concessions could include deferring some debt payments for five years or more. "The debt is not payable," Garcia Padilla told the Times. "This is not politics, this is math." The newspaper account says the island has more municipal bond debt per capita than any American state. The New York Times said much of the island's debt is widely held by individual U.S. investors on the mainland in mutual funds or other investment accounts who may not be aware of it. The report added that the island, because it is a commonwealth, does not have the option of a bankruptcy. A default would "leave the island, its creditors and its residents in a legal and financial limbo," similar to the financial crisis in Greece. The governor has commissioned a report of the island's financial status by former officials at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The report said "there is no U.S. precedent for anything of this scale or scope." The Times said Puerto Rico has hired Steven Rhodes, the retired judge who oversaw the City of Detroit's bankruptcy, as an adviser. Puerto Rico is also consulting with a group of bankers from Citigroup who advised Detroit on its debt exchange with creditors. Rhodes told The New York Times Puerto Rico needs "Chapter 9 for the whole commonwealth." Chapter 9 is the legal term for a bankruptcy proceeding. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States with commonwealth status. SpaceX cargo shuttle blows up after liftoff for space station By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
An unmanned U.S. rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station exploded shortly after lift-off Sunday, sending bits and pieces of its 2,300 kilograms of cargo plunging into the Atlantic Ocean. It was the third time in eight months that a station shipment had failed, with a Russian cargo ship returning from the space station spinning out of control upon re-entry in April and another supply ship destroyed in a launch accident last October. Sunday's failure occurred two minutes and 19 seconds into the flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida, when a 63-meter rocket owned by Space Exploration Technologies exploded against a deep blue sky. The rocket was traveling at more than 4,600 kilometers an hour 43 kilometers above the Earth when it broke up in a cloud of smoke. Losing the shipment — including replacements for the cargo in the two previous failed missions — was a huge loss for the U.S. space agency NASA, which is counting on private industry to supply the International Space Station. SpaceX is one of the contenders for the ongoing supply runs and had carried out seven previous successful missions dating to 2012. "It's not clear yet from the data what happened," said NASA launch commentator George Diller. "They are beginning to play back video to look and see if there are any indications in the video what may have happened." SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said the accident appeared to be linked to excessive pressure in the liquid oxygen tank of the rocket's upper stage. Supreme Court decision shows growing tolerance By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Friday’s landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage throughout the United States is an outcome few thought possible just years ago, and shows a nation that increasingly tolerates and even celebrates the hopes and aspirations of gay people. Hundreds of euphoric gay rights backers celebrated outside the Supreme Court Friday, including Lena Hernandez, who wept with joy. “This is such a great day, such a great day for us, for me and my wife,” said Hernandez. “I’m so excited – these are tears of happiness,” said she. Hernandez and her spouse, Candy Cintron, married last year when same-sex unions became legal in the state of Virginia. Although work kept Ms. Cintron from joining Ms. Hernandez at the Supreme Court, the couple spoke at their home near Washington. “When we decided to get married, I was betting on forever,” said Ms. Hernandez. Because same-sex marriage came to Virginia thanks to lower federal court rulings, an adverse high court decision would have thrown into question the legality of their marriage, something they both treasure. Marriage "makes you legal, makes you count,” said Ms. Cintron. The couple is expecting a baby. Without a marriage license, Ms. Cintron’s legal rights as a spouse as well as the child’s second parent could be challenged. “We are both very vested in having the kid,” said Cintron. “We are a couple, and if we go anywhere else where it is not recognized, where does that leave me?” Now, that is one less concern for the couple as they prepare for motherhood. “It is an overwhelming feeling, but I do not want to be in this with anybody but her,” said Ms. Hernandez. “I do not feel like I am doing it all by myself, which is very nice.” But not everyone is cheering. “This is a particularly difficult ruling for the Catholic Church,” said Chad Pecknold, who teaches theology at Catholic University in Washington and says the court decision conflicts with centuries of church teachings. “Same-sex marriage is, in fact, not definitionally marriage, but seeks to imitate marriage," said Pecknold. He worries the legal empowerment of gay people will erode religious freedoms in America and constrain the church’s outreach to society. “This is the fear is that we are increasingly, the Catholic Church and its institutions, are increasingly being vulnerable to anti-discrimination lawsuits because we have a different, we have indeed the ancient view of marriage,” said Pecknold. Some legal experts say that fear is unfounded. “No member of the clergy ever has to perform a same-sex marriage if he or she does not believe in that or wish to do so,” said a Georgetown University law professor, Nan Hunter. “Just like today members of the clergy sometimes do not perform inter-faith marriages if they object to that. It is really about the separation of church and state.” Ms. Cintron and Ms. Hernandez have a message for those who disagree with the Supreme Court. “I would give them my shoes and say, ‘Walk a day in my life, and have your marriage questioned, and have your life questioned,'” said Ms. Cintron. That sentiment was captured by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion in the 5-4 decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Kennedy concluded by saying this of gay people: “Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.” In a dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts said the high court had usurped the democratic process. “The court is not a legislature,” he wrote. Debate about same-sex marriage may go on, but from a legal standpoint, the issue is settled. Gay marriage decision prompts flood of weddings By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Gay couples have been celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling legalizing same-sex marriage with spontaneous weddings and gatherings across the United States, while some conservative politicians and religious groups are demanding stronger legal protections for those wishing to avoid endorsing those unions. Marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples minutes after the ruling in at least eight states in the South and Midwest where gay marriage was previously banned. In Louisville, Kentucky, Benjamin Moore and Tadd Roberts wore matching tuxedos to the county clerk's office to get married Friday. "It's just been incredible and historic and amazing to live this moment," Moore said. The mayor took commemorative photos of him and Roberts getting their license. The courthouse in Georgia’s Fulton County had performed 17 same-sex marriages by 2:30 p.m. local time Friday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Georgia’s gay marriages continued Saturday in DeKalb County, where courts held special hours to handle the high demand. In New York Friday, thousands gathered around the city's Stonewall Inn, the site of riots in 1969 that are regarded as the catalyst for the gay-rights movement in the United States. Gay marriage has been legal in New York since 2011, and Mayor Bill de Blasio marked Friday's court ruling by officiating at two same-sex weddings and at the renewal of another couple's vows on the steps of City Hall. Thousands also gathered in Washington, where the White House was illuminated in rainbow colors Friday night. The reaction, however, was not as welcoming in some of the 14 states that have been holdouts against same-sex marriage. In rural Alabama, a local judge refused to issue any marriage licenses at all to avoid having to give them to gay couples. Pike County Probate Judge Wes Allen said Alabama law gives judges the option of granting licenses, and "I have chosen not to perform that function." Conservative governors in Texas and Louisiana, as well as religious groups across the South and Midwest, also rallied against the ruling. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, a Republican candidate for president, cautioned that the decision “will pave the way for an all-out assault against the religious freedom rights of Christians who disagree.” Religious organizations are exempt from the ruling, and Southern Baptist, Mormon and other churches opposed to same-sex marriages can still make their own decisions about whether clergy will conduct gay marriages in their places of worship. Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, a prominent conservative Christian group based in Colorado, called the ruling “startling in its rejection of a societal understanding of marriage that goes back to the dawn of civilization.” “We are concerned that this decision will fan the flames of government hostility against individuals, businesses and religious organizations whose convictions prevent them from officiating at, participating in or celebrating such unions,” Daly said. The ruling will not take effect immediately because the court gives the losing side about three weeks to ask for reconsideration. Saudi identified in bombing of crowded Shi'ite mosque By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Kuwait said Sunday it has identified a Saudi national as the suicide bomber who attacked a crowded Shi'ite mosque, killing 27 people and wounding 227 others. The Interior Ministry said Fahd Suleiman Abdulmohsen al-Qaba'a is responsible for Friday's assault on the mosque during the holy month of Ramadan. Authorities said he flew into the country at dawn Friday, just hours before detonating the explosives. Kuwait said it has detained the driver of the vehicle that took him to the mosque, the owner of a house where the driver was staying and five others in connection with the attack. The incident in Kuwait was one of three terrorist attacks Friday on three continents. Tunisia deployed 1,000 extra police at tourist sites and beaches in the North African country as hundreds of foreign tourists fled following a terrorist attack at a seaside resort. Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid ordered army reservists deployed at hotels and other tourist sites, and said that about 80 mosques known for radical preaching would be shut down. At least 38 people were killed and dozens more wounded Friday when a young Tunisian militant disguised as a tourist opened fire on a private beach and other facilities of the five-star Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse. The beach, crowded on Friday with European and regional tourists, has since been empty, blocked off by police tape. Tunisia's Health Ministry said Saturday it had identified the bodies of 17 people from Britain, Germany, Ireland, Belgium and Portugal, while still trying to identify others shot dead in their beach attire. In southern France, a man stormed an American-owned chemical plant, decapitated one person, his boss, and defaced the body with Arabic writings while trying to blow up the facility. A suspect is in custody and authorities said he has admitted the killing. In a statement Friday, the White House described the assaults as heinous. Other world leaders, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and European heads of state, also condemned the attacks. In a Twitter statement, Islamic State extremists took credit for the Tunisian slaughter, identifying the gunman as Abu Yahya al-Qayrawani. The Sunni group also claimed responsibility for the Kuwait mosque bombing. U.S. officials said it was not immediately clear whether all three attacks were coordinated by the Syria- and Iraq-based Islamic State. Christopher Chivvis, associate director, RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center, said the factory attack shows that secular France is the target of both al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. He also said the resort attack in Tunisia targeted the last vestige of fully-functioning state security in North Africa. "It’s the only state that’s maintained a democracy after the Arab Spring, but the Islamic State clearly has it in its sights, and in the case of Kuwait, it’s obviously an important American ally in the region, so it should be a concern that it’s been targeted by the Islamic State,” said Chivvis. Michael Pregent, adjunct lecturer on international security affairs at the National Defense University, said while it would be a mistake to assume that all three attacks were coordinated by the Islamic State group, the militants could easily claim credit. “They’ve basically given license to anybody to claim affiliation with ISIS when they carry out a terrorist attack, even though there is no formal affiliation,” said Pregent, using another of the group’s acronyms. “If you do anything in the name of ISIS, that’s good. ISIS doesn’t have to spend money on your operation, ISIS doesn’t have to coordinate it, ISIS doesn’t have to do anything, but they get credit for these things,” Pregent said. Regardless of the horror factor of the three assaults, Pregent said the Islamic State did not gain much strategically from the attacks. He added that the violence did not compare with the 2005-2006 Ramadan campaigns of its predecessor, al-Qaida in Iraq. “It is not impressive compared to what al-Qaida was able to do. In 2005, you had 56 attacks a day in Baghdad, 56 attacks a day: car bombs, kidnappings, assassinations,” Pregent said. Muslim comedians suing N.Y. transit authority on ad By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The New York City transit system is being challenged in federal court by two young Muslim comedians who want to advertise their new movie on subways. The Metropolitan Transit Authority signed a contract for promotion of "Beware: The Muslims Are Coming" on subways. But it now says the film contains disputed, pro-Muslim content, and it wants to block the ads. Comedians Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah, whose Vaguely Qualified Productions made the film, say the bid to block the ads violates their First Amendment free-speech rights, and they're suing the transit authority for allegedly reneging on a signed contract. They have already spent almost $20,000. Glenn Katon, legal director for Muslim Advocates, said the yransit authority made the wrong call. “You can’t dispute comedy," he said. "You can’t dispute the underlying message, which is Muslims are human beings, some of whom have a sense of humor. These are things that I don’t think anyone can reasonably dispute." The transit authority's decision represents something of a turnaround. It got out of so-called political messaging after being burned in a lawsuit over its efforts last year to keep ads sponsored by anti-Islamic campaigner Pamela Geller off its buses. But the transit authority's latest decision is loopy, said transit watchdog Gene Russianoff of the New York Public Interest Research Group's Straphangers Campaign. “It’s really important to have free speech in the New York City subways," Russianoff said. "For people who don’t live in New York, they’re like the streets. They’re where you go to communicate, where you listen to music that's being played by performers on platforms.” "Beware: The Muslims are Coming" is now playing on major streaming services, and the subway promotion was important to the two comedians. They felt betrayed by the transit authority contract decision. “What’s political about saying Muslims love frittatas ... or other posters, like Muslims hate a lot of things, like hipsters who wear winter hats in the summertime?" Obeidallah asked. "There’s nothing political about expressing who we are and telling our story. That’s really the point about this.” Farsad called the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution "totally awesome. It protects speech, all kinds of speech, even speech that we don’t like, and that’s what makes it great.” |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
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 |
||||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
|
||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, June 29, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 126 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
||
|
Here it is, next week already and we are talking about shady spots. You decided on a grass for your lawn and prepared and fertilized the soil.
Once the fabric and nut shells are down, you have a choice. You can put a border around the area with rock, brick, or some other material to keep the nut shells in place or you can put in a border of plants that are shade tolerant, or both. You might decide to continue the green of your lawn right up to the nut shells. In that case, ferns are a wonderful choice for the area. If you prefer to make a complete break from the green, a variegated liriope (mondo or monkey grass, ophiopogon japonicas) is an excellent choice to outline and define the space. Liriope is also slow growing and non-invasive, unlike some other choices. Ivies, for example, will start to creep both into the lawn and onto the nut shells, sometimes within days of planting, and that can be a nuisance. There are other choices, of course. I have seen lovely areas surrounded with begonias and they are impressive. You can probably find wild begonias by fence lines on your property and transplant them or you can visit your local vivero for a wider choice. In partial shade, the Rex begonia develops colorful red and light green foliage to go along with its flowers so it looks wonderful even when not blooming. So, choose your grass seed or sod wisely, try to stay away from a lawn in dry areas, and make good use of shady areas. Your yard is going to look wonderful.  La Garita Central
photo
Plant of the Week Remember the wait for fall for this kind of color? Not any more because chrysanthemums are blooming now, and the color palette is as wonderful as always. Because mums don’t like wet feet, keep them above ground level and feed them well. Trial and error is key here as there is not a lot of information on growing them in the tropics. Find your mums at La Garita Central near San José. 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 |
| Costa Rican News |
AMCostaRicaArchives.com |
Retire NOW
in Costa Rica |
CostaRicaReport.com |
| Fine Dining
in Costa Rica |
The CAFTA Report |
Fish
fabulous Costa Rica |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
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 |
||||||
| From Page 7: Tiny tax proposed for electrical generating By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Representatives of industry are not pleased by a proposal to assess a one centavo tax on each kilowatt of power generated by public and private entities. The measure was proposed by lawmaker Jorge Rodríguez Araya who said in a summary of the bill that the money would go to the political subdivisions where the power was generated to compensate them for the presence of the facility. The summary speaks glowingly of Paraíso in the province of Cartago before the construction of dams. The summary addresses at length of how prime farmland was destroyed by dams and the lakes they created. The bill, No. 19.119, also blames the generating projects and their dams for creating microclimates. A centavo is one one hundredths of a colon. The bill does not address directly thermal plants or wind farms, but the wording is such that they would be included. The Ministerio de Hacienda would be empowered to collect the tax that would be paid by the end user. |
