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San
José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 9, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 134
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A peaceful resolution has been found in Bribri de Salitre, where locals torched a native's home Saturday as part of a land dispute that has dragged on for years. After a few days of mediation, government officials managed to cease aggressions against native people that also resulted in a road blockage to keep police away. Around 70 non-natives formed the mob that set a Bribrí's house aflame by throwing burning items, including flaming arrows, and setting the inside on fire. The statement said investigators are looking to find those who committed the violent acts and that the blockage was lifted early Tuesday morning. Ana Gabriel Zúñiga, a vice minister of the Presidencia, spearheaded the mediation in Salitre and said she and other government representatives met with the native group to assure them reentrance to their homes and with non-natives to alert them that further violence would not be tolerated. “It needs to be made clear that without dialogue and without joint construction this conflict can't be solved,” Ms. Zúñiga said. “It requires a solid approach on both ends for the process of land recuperation to move in a way that is respectful to human rights and that does not generate violent reactions.” Joining Ms. Zúñiga during her discussions were the vice minister of Justicia y Paz and the vice minister of the Fuerza Pública. She added that investigators are also looking into a problem with the drinking water supply that apparently arose during the roadway blockage. In the past, native peoples' waters have been deliberately contaminated to force them to move. Non-native groups have also destroyed forest and depleted the soil, which the Bribrí heavily rely on to live. Salitre is located in the country's southwest, within Buenos Aires de Puntarenas. Conflicts between the native Bribris and the non-natives are centered upon the area reserve. Monday the United Nations called for an immediate stoppage of violence in the area. The organization said it was worried that more human rights violations would occur without government intervention.  Ministerio de Gobernacaión,
Policía
y Seguridad Pública photo Police have blocked off home where drugs
were found.
Attempted
robbery leads to coke discovery
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A situation that began with a domestic violence call to police early Tuesday morning resulted in four arrests for drug trafficking. Fuerza Pública officers were called to a house in Pozos de Santa Ana where they found two people tied up and gagged inside with two others attempting to flee via taxi. Authorities said it obviously wasn't a case of domestic violence that caused the call, but an inter-gang drug raid where one group was trying to steal a supply from the home. A police report said the subjects were in possession of packets containing cocaine. According to a Fuerza Pública report, they counted 62 kilograms of cocaine total. Police also found a Glock handgun and a bulletproof vest in the house. Police later detained the driver and passenger in the taxi. They were a Colombian and a Costa Rican. Minister of Seguridad Pública Celso Gamboa said authorities noticed that a portion of the home's walls had been broken with a mallet and chisel, where they found the packets of cocaine. Gamboa said there could be even more cocaine hidden throughout the house. He added that the house is thought to be a headquarters or warehouse that distributes cocaine within the country. “Everyday these drug trafficking groups are being discovered faster and faster by our police forces,” Gamboa said.  Voice of America
photo
New York tourist poses with Statue of
Liberty lookalike.
Lady
Liberty impersonator wows tourists
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
New York expects more than 50 million visitors in 2014, according to the city’s tourism department. Many of them flock to famous sites such as the Statue of Liberty, a copper-and-iron colossus given to the United States by the French and dedicated in 1886. The monument to American freedom, at 93 meters or 305 feet tall, is a huge draw. And she’s so emblematic of the city that some tourists will shell out $5 to $10 for a photo even with a miniature, mobile version. A recent tourist named Monica, making a day trip with her three children from Washington, D.C., didn’t have time to visit the actual statue. But the kids grabbed mock torches and other props to pose with a couple of Lady Liberty impersonators in mint-green masks and robes. "I know it isn’t the real one," Monica said, referring to the statue, "but to be able to get up close and personal has great meaning to them on their first trip here to New York City." Alberto is a statue impersonator. Like many of those, he’s originally from Latin America, Colombia, in his case. "I make people happy," he said, his voice muffled as he spoke from behind his mint-green mask. "If someone is sad, I make them laugh. Kids like it a lot and that makes me like this job a lot more." Alberto has been portraying Lady Liberty for four years. He calls his work a form of art and a way to survive in this country. While he doesn’t charge, he does ask for donations. It often takes as much as 14 hours to raise $100. "Some people give more than others," he said. No matter what the amount, he said, he and other impersonators "do our job with all our heart and we welcome all tourists to New York. The Statue of Liberty will welcome you!" They’re just like Lady Liberty herself, welcoming immigrants with her torch and the famous inscription from Emma Lazarus poem: "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." The quote remains as relevant and welcoming today as it did when it was added, on a bronze plaque, to the statue’s pedestal in 1903.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 9, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 134 | |
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Bryan Ruiz and Keylor Navas wave Costa Rican flags from the cockpit windows of the arriving jet to return the greeting by fans. |
 Casa
Presidencial photo
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| World Cup team receives an incredible welcome from thousands
of fans |
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By
Michael Krumholtz
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff When the Costa Rican national soccer team returned home from the historic run in the World Cup, players were greeted with thousands of screams and waves from every direction. Miles of fans stretched from La Sele's arrival point at Juan Santamaría Airport down the highway to Paseo Colón and Parque la Sabana, as the team concluded a welcome back party on stage at the park in front of a massive crowd Tuesday night. In reaching the Cup's semifinals, where they bowed out after losing the penalty shootout to Holland, this year's Costa Rican team members went further than any other in national history. The team
Coach Jorge Luis Pinto and Eduardo Li, the president of the country's soccer federation, thanked the fans and the people of Costa Rica for their undying support while La Sele played in Brazil. Following a long ride from the airport to Sabana, the players took the stage around 7:30 p.m. where midfielder Celso Borges took the microphone and introduced his teammates individually to say a few words to the crowd. Towards the end, the Municipalidad de San José |
 Casa Presidencial photos
The man of the hour most
certainly is Jorge Luis Pinto, the team coach who engineered the
victories.then presented Pinto and players with the city's Hijos Predilectos or Favorite Sons honors. Fans towards the front of the stage said they had camped out since early in the morning, waiting more than 12 hours to greet their national team. More World Cup celebrations may be in order for La Sele as post-tournament awards could highlight some Costa Rican players, including goalkeeper Keylor Navas who has a good shot of winning the Golden Glove Award given to the top goalie. In an incredible start that highlights just how dominant he and the defense were, Navas only allowed two goals in 510 minutes of play. One of those came on a penalty kick and the other came when the Ticos were a man down. The Fuerza Pública said the la Sabana gathering was generally orderly. There were 500 officers on duty. Police said 18 persons were detained, including five caught in the act of a street robbery. Other violations included alcohol, weapons and marijuana and cocaine possession, officers said. |
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| Germany humiliates and destroys Brazil before a home crowd,
7-1 |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Germany gave one of the most breathtaking displays of offensive firepower in World Cup history Tuesday and demolished host Brazil in the semifinals, 7-1, to advance to the championship game. Germany's goal total was the most ever by one team in a World Cup semifinal, while Brazil matched its worst-ever margin of defeat and allowed seven goals for the first time in 80 years. Brazil also lost its first official competitive match at home since 1975. "The responsibility for this catastrophic result is mine,'' Brazil's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "I was in charge.'' The Germans seized control early, scoring five times in the first 30 minutes at Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte. Two of those goals came off the foot of Toni Kroos, and teammate Miroslav Klose recorded one to become the all-time scoring leader in World Cup history with 16 goals. Earlier in the tournament, Klose tied the prior record of 15 held by former Brazilian star Ronaldo. Germany's Andre Schuerrle also scored twice, both in the second half. Thomas Mueller and Sami Khedira each added a goal for Germany, which will appear in a record eighth World Cup final. Oscar redeemed some pride for Brazil with a goal in the 90th minute. "Brazil was shocked after the goals. They did not expect that," Germany's coach Joachim Loew said of his team's early offensive success. "They did not know what to do. Their defense was not organized. A little humbleness would not hurt now.'' In 1950, the only other time Brazil has hosted a World Cup, Uruguay beat the Brazilians in the championship game, 2-1. "We wanted to make the people happy . . . unfortunately we couldn't,'' said Brazilian defender David Luiz, who had scored in each of the last two matches. "We apologize to all Brazilians.'' Germany was the apparent favorite entering the match, which featured two perennial football powerhouses that have won a total of eight World Cups. |
Brazil played
without captain Thiago Silva and star striker Neymar.
Silva was serving an automatic one-game suspension because he
accumulated two yellow cards. Neymar, who scored four goals in
the
tournament, was out with a fractured vertebra. Nevertheless, Brazil would enjoy home-field advantage at a stadium seating thousands of its rabid, yellow-shirted supporters. They were hoping that Brazil would repeat its performance from the 1962 World Cup. That year, legendary Brazilian Pele suffered an injury in the second match that prevented him from playing in the rest of the tournament. But Brazil went on to beat Czechoslovakia in the final, 3-1. This time, though, Brazilian optimism quickly turned to despair at the hands of a German offense that attacked with surgical precision. "It was important to stay calm, cool and courageous in facing Brazilian passion," Loew said. Germany, which posted its biggest World Cup win since routing Saudi Arabia, 8-0, in a group match in 2002, next plays the winner of the other World Cup semifinal pitting Argentina against the Netherlands today in Sao Paulo. Argentina, led by four-time Player of the year Lionel Messi, is seeking its third World Cup championship. The Dutch, finalists three times, lost to Spain in the World Cup championship in South Africa in 2010. The Dutch are concerned about star striker Robin van Persie, who has been suffering from stomach problems. Dutch coach Louis van Gaal said he would not be able to make a decision on van Persie's status until the day of the game. The semifinal winners meet for the championship in Rio de Janeiro Sunday. The losers play for third place Saturday in Brasilia. In other news Tuesday, the governing Fédération Internationale de Football Association announced that the 2014 World Cup has broken online viewing records. The organization said, for example, that in the United States alone, a record 5.3 million people watched the round of 16 match between the U.S. and Belgium on the Web sites of television networks ESPN and Univision. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 9, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 134 | |||||
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| Even low levesl of arsenic in water shown to cause tumors in
mice |
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By
the National Institutes of Health news staff
Mice exposed to low doses of arsenic in drinking water, similar to what some people might consume, developed lung cancer, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found. Lung tumors occur in adult mice after being exposed to low levels of arsenic throughout their life. The 50 parts per billion concentration is within the range to which humans are exposed. Arsenic levels in public drinking water cannot exceed 10 parts per billion, which is the standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, there are no established standards for private wells, from which millions of people get their drinking water. The most recent reports from the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados show that more than 10,000 Costa Ricans still receive tap water containing too much arsenic. Drinking water in parts of Guanacaste and northern Alajuela may be overly contaminated, according to the nation's water management institution. Acueductos y Alcantarillados provides water with up to 187 micrograms of arsenic per liter, said the Sala IV constitutional court in a recent decision. That's 187 parts per billion. In this study, the concentrations given to the mice in their drinking water were 50, 500, and 5,000 parts per billion. 50 is the lowest concentration that has been tested in an animal study, and researchers say that because of differing rates of metabolism, mice need to be exposed to greater concentrations of arsenic in drinking water than humans to achieve the same biological dose and similar health effects. The researchers used a model that duplicates how humans are exposed to arsenic throughout their entire lifetime. In the study, the mice were given arsenic three weeks before breeding and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Arsenic was then given to the offspring after weaning, and all through adulthood at concentrations relevant to human exposure. The researchers looked at the tumors in the adult offspring. “This is the first study to show tumor development in animals exposed to very low levels of arsenic, levels similar to which humans might be exposed,” said Michael Waalkes, lead author on the paper and director of the National Toxicology Program Laboratory. “The results are unexpected and certainly give cause for concern.” Arsenic is present in the environment as a naturally occurring substance or due to contamination from human activity. Arsenic may be found in many foods, including grains, fruits, and |
 vegetables, where it is present due to absorption from the soil and water. This study focused on inorganic arsenic, which often occurs in excess in the drinking water of millions of people worldwide, and has been previously shown to be a human carcinogen. In the study, more than half of the male offspring mice developed significant increases in benign and malignant lung tumors at the two lower doses (50 and 500 parts per billion). Female offspring also developed benign tumors at the lower concentrations. Interestingly, the researchers did not find significant increases in lung tumors in either sex at the highest dose of 5,000 parts per billion. “Although this is only one study, it adds to a growing body of evidence showing adverse health effects from very low exposures to arsenic, raising the possibility that no level of arsenic appears to be safe,” said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 9, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 134 | |||||||
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| Obama seeks $3.7 billion to counter child immigration By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. President Barack Obama is seeking $3.7 billion from lawmakers to address the increase in the number of migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, crossing into the United States from Central America. Emergency funding request is aimed at addressing what White House officials are calling an urgent humanitarian situation. The thousands of undocumented migrants who cross into the United States each year all have reasons for making the dangerous journey, only to be detained at the border and sent back. One 26-year-old migrant says the situation was dire in her native country of Guatemala. “We came here looking for a future for our children more than anything, but it is very dangerous there with crime, kidnappings and everything," she said. The woman crossed the U.S. border with her three children, but many young people aren’t so lucky. More than 52,000 unaccompanied minors have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexican border since October, a staggering humanitarian problem that the White House says needs a whole lot of government response. Tuesday, the Obama administration detailed a $3.7 billion emergency appropriation request for Congress focused on four main areas: deterrence, enforcement, foreign cooperation and capacity. White House officials say the proposed funding includes $1.6 billion for border enforcement, including the investigation and prosecution of smuggling networks and the expansion of air surveillance. The money also will be used to speed up the removal of migrants by hiring more immigration judge teams to process an additional 55,000 to 75,000 cases annually. “We are also seeking greater authority that the secretary of Homeland Security could use to more efficiently remove those individuals who don’t have a legal basis for remaining in the country," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would receive an additional $1.8 billion to provide appropriate care for the surge of unaccompanied children and address the influx of minors coming across the border. White House officials say the State Department would receive $300 million for media campaigns in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador warning the public against traveling to the U.S. The funding also would support those countries’ repatriation efforts, including building centers for returning migrants. Republican lawmakers Tuesday accused Obama of not moving fast enough to move more resources to the border. "Appropriate money that it is still going for nation building in Iraq to fund the National Guard on our southern border," said U.S. Sen. Ted Poe of Texas. "Surely protecting our border is just as important as securing the border of Iraq?" For its part, the White House is urging Congress to act fast and consider Obama’s proposal in a bipartisan manner. Washington State legalizes recreational marijuana sales By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Retailers in the U.S. State of Washington can now legally sell marijuana for recreational use. Washington Tuesday became just the second western state, after Colorado, to allow marijuana sales without a doctor's prescription. Washington has so far authorized 24 stores to sell recreational marijuana, and six of them planned to open on the first day allowed for sales. One of the early buyers was Deb Greene, a grandmother of three and competitive runner. She lined up outside a marijuana store 24 hours ahead of time to be first in line. "I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime, and to be able to vote for it and to be able to enjoy it legally was just an awesome thing in my life," she said. A marijuana grower, Bob Leeds, was just as ecstatic about his new undertaking. "This is so exciting. It's just like being a pioneer," he said. "I came out of retirement to do this, and it's the best thing I've ever done." Marijuana laws are being debated in local communities and state legislative bodies throughout the United States. But with the country facing a host of other challenging issues, there is no move afoot in Congress to set a national policy on marijuana sales. Earlier this week New York became the 23rd state to authorize pot sales for medical use. North Dakota's oil boom puts pressure on lawmakers By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
North Dakota is one of four U.S. states with a legislature that meets only once every two years. But, the energy boom in western North Dakota and everything that comes with it is challenging the state government’s ability to respond rapidly to the changing environmental and economic landscape. An abundance of jobs spurred by the extraction of oil in what's known as the Bakken Formation has fueled rapid population expansion in Williston, North Dakota, a town at the center of the oil boom. That expansion has forced the state and local governments to play catch-up, including the Williston public schools. Superintendent Viola LaFontaine says she’s dealing with a surge of new students on a budget outdated by at least a year. “So if I get 300 more kids this year, I don’t get paid for them until the following year," she said. "There’s a year lapse when you get reimbursed for your students. So I have to come up with all the funding now to support my students I have in the system.” One way to resolve this funding issue would be through the North Dakota State legislature, which meets in the state capital, Bismarck. But most days throughout the year the scene at the North Dakota state house is an empty chamber, and quiet hallways. Lawmakers only meet once every two years, for an 80-day legislative session. “There are a number of infrastructure issues that probably require more frequent addressing on a more frequent basis than every two years,” said Dean Bangsund, a scientist at North Dakota State University. He points out that as drilling technology changes, and more wells go into the ground, the state's oil development situation also changes. “So every time the legislature meets, we have a new story to tell,” Bangsund said. “Major issues that come up cannot be decided or worked on really for a final decision, other than during a legislative session,” said Jay Buringrud, director of legal service for the North Dakota State Legislature. Buringrud says the state gets around the gap in meetings by granting more authority to legislative committees and the state's governor. “There are committees that are working on these issues on energy development, the impact of energy development and the governor is also working on issues that come up between legislative sessions,” he said. Earlier this year, Democratic party lawmakers in the Republican-controlled legislature wanted to address some of those challenges. They urged Gov. Jack Dalrymple to hold a special legislative session to address funding issues related to the oil boom. That request was rejected. “If you look at it in its entirety, the state is responding, but many people would feel that the state hasn’t responded sufficiently,” Bangsund said. Williston Superintendent LaFontaine is one of those people. “Maybe they need longer sessions than what they do," she said. "Some people say 'yeah they’d be better to meet every year.' I think just make better decisions on the two years you’re there! And help out western North Dakota.” Ms. LaFontaine could wait until January of 2015 to get the help she seeks. That’s the next scheduled meeting of the North Dakota legislature. Study says obesity can cut lifespan by about 14 years By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
It is no secret that being obese is a health risk, but a new study shows just how dangerous being overweight can be. Medical researchers say being severely obese can cut as much as 14 years off a person's life — about the same as smoking. The study says those who are extremely overweight are at greater risk of dying early from heart disease, cancer, diabetes or a stroke. Doctors calculate weight and height to come up with a number called body mass index. People with an index of 40 or more are considered to be extremely obese. The study appears in the online medical journal PLOS Medicine. Psyc trick makes soldiers feel their walk is straight By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The military uses virtual reality to enhance its training. But there is one hurdle to overcome before the experience can be truly immersive: how to fool the senses in a virtual world. The Mixed Reality Lab, a part of the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, is exploring this problem for the Army in a project called Redirected Walking. Virtual reality is no longer science fiction, but a real tool for the military. “Virtual reality is very commonly used for training soldiers and giving them the level of knowledge and preparedness that they need before they are deployed," said Evan Suma. Suma at the Institute for Creative Technologies says there is one fundamental limitation to this technology. “How do we walk around if we are standing in a room that is limited," he asked. Suma says current virtual reality experiences limit the movements of the user. He is working on a project called Redirected Walking to change that. The aim is to trick the users' senses into thinking that they are walking in an infinite virtual world, when in reality they are just walking within a limited space. Suma says developing this software means replicating experiments done in the field of psychology. One of those is how a person’s sense of vision dominates over many other senses. “If I rotate the world slowly around your head while you are in virtual reality, as long as it’s small enough, you will actually believe what you are seeing more than what you are feeling, and I can use that to actually get you to curve and walk in a circle while perceiving that you are walking straight. So that is something that came straight out of psychology," he said. In addition to training soldiers for combat, virtual reality with a redirected walking component can also help those in the military who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. “When you can move around and really walk around a virtual environment, your sense of presence, that is your feeling of being a part of the virtual world, the power of the experience is greater," said Suma. This experience can also be translated to consumers and be applied to different types of video games says Vlad Bahur. “Something like this would be amazing," said Bahur. Wearing a head-mounted display that allows him to see and explore a virtual world of doors and rooms and hallways, Bahur experienced redirected walking during a Mixed Reality Lab open house. He says this can bring gaming to a new level. “All kinds of games, exploration games, first person games, action games, even sport games," he said. Companies and universities are working on technology in which mobile devices, such as smartphones, can eventually track a person’s movements to replace a complicated motion-capture system of mounted cameras currently used to make redirected walking work. Evan Suma says once advanced hardware becomes available, redirected walking software can be integrated for a more realistic, portable and inexpensive experience for both the consumer and those who are training for combat. Study on TB infected kids shows shocking numbers By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Children are getting sick with tuberculosis at a much higher rate than previously estimated, according to a new study. The research also presents the first-ever estimate of new TB infections among children: nearly eight million in 2010. It’s a huge burden but an enormous opportunity to prevent future illnesses, the authors say, because low-cost treatment can stop infection from becoming disease. Hard data are hard to come by, but the World Health Organization’s best guess was that around a half-million children worldwide developed tuberculosis in 2011. World Health calculated that figure based on cases reported to health authorities. But many cases go unreported. Plus, TB in children is notoriously hard to diagnose. So the authors of the new study in the Lancet decided to take a different route. “The vast majority of children who get TB who are young get it from someone in their family,” said study co-author James Seddon, a pediatrician with Imperial College London. So the researchers used mathematical models to calculate how many children were likely to live with a family member with tuberculosis in the 22 countries that account for 80 percent of the world’s TB. They then estimated how many of those children got infected, and how many got sick. They came up with roughly 650,000 illnesses in those countries, more than the World Health’s estimate for the entire world. Most experts recognize the World Health’s estimate is low, so Seddon said that was not a huge surprise. However, the group also found that 15 million children were living with a person with TB and 7.6 million were newly infected. No one had done those estimates before and, he said, they were “much greater than I had anticipated.” World Health recommends preventive therapy for children exposed to or infected with TB but not showing symptoms. However, in most countries with high TB rates, Seddon said, they don’t get it. “Treating children who are asymptomatic and completely well is usually not a priority” in countries with limited resources and large numbers of sick patients who are actively spreading the disease, he said. However, he added, “We would hope that these numbers do strengthen the argument for saying to national programs, ‘Look, you’ve got a lot of children in your country who are infected with TB. And if they’re not identified and given preventive treatment this is going to be a problem that is not going to go away in the future.'” Childhood tuberculosis has not gotten as much attention as adult disease in part because experts did not know how big the problem was. “When UNICEF or other organizations ask us, ‘Well, how many children become sick with tuberculosis every year?’ we end up sort of wringing our hands and saying, ‘Well, it’s very complicated,’ said infectious diseases doctor Jennifer Furin at Case Western Reserve University. She was not involved in the research. “This paper is an incredible addition to the field because it tells us how many children we need to be screening and targeting for preventive measures each year so that they don’t go on to get sick,” she said. And by preventing those future cases, “This will impact not just the health of children, but it will also greatly impact the health of adults as well, and contribute to stopping the chain of transmission that’s unabated in high-prevalence countries,” said Baylor College of Medicine pediatrician Jeffrey Starke, who co-wrote a comment accompanying the article. Hillary Clinton continues to lead in political polling By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got some good news in the latest national poll looking at the 2016 race for president. The same survey, though, also shows that Republicans continue to have an advantage in this year’s midterm congressional elections. In the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Mrs. Clinton maintains an overwhelming lead against potential Democratic rivals. She is supported by 58 percent of those surveyed, followed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 11 percent, and Vice President Joe Biden at 9 percent. The poll comes as Mrs. Clinton continues a tour promoting her book "Hard Choices" about her time as secretary of State. Mrs. Clinton has said she will decide whether to run for president by early next year. Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, said, “Hillary Clinton has weathered what some would say are bad book sales, some questions about her tenure at the State Department, some questions about what she defines as wealth, and yet she sweeps the Democratic field in the 2016 race, so Hillary is still looking very good.” The poll also shows Clinton easily defeating several potential Republican presidential contenders, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former Florida governor Jeb Bush. There is no clear Republican frontrunner at the moment for the 2016 nomination in the Quinnipiac survey. Paul leads a crowded pack with 11 percent support, followed by Christie, Huckabee and Bush, all with 10 percent each. Malloy said no one Republican is surging at the moment, which is not unusual two years before a presidential election. “If you look at it right now, the numbers are 11 percent, 10 percent, 8 percent. All of these people, the top seven of them, are all about in the same position. So there is just not a lot of momentum on the Republican side,” he said. Congress remains focused on this year’s midterm elections where all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are at stake along with 36 of the 100 seats in the Senate. Republicans control the House while Democrats have a majority in the Senate. The Quinnipiac poll found voters would narrowly prefer Republican majorities in both chambers by a margin of 46 to 44 percent, according to Malloy. “Republicans have a slight advantage going into the congressional elections, but statistically not that big a number. In fact if you look at it, people are pretty disgusted with politics generally and certainly with the performance of the Congress. So right now it is kind of a toss-up,” he said. Most analysts predict that Republicans will hold their majority in the House and have an excellent chance of gaining the six seats they need in the Senate to wrest control away from Democrats. John Fortier, with the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, said, “Republicans have an advantage. It is a midterm election with a Democratic president. Usually those elections go to the out party. The president is not doing very well, and I would say on the Senate side there are really a lot of opportunities for Republicans to take seats, seats that are in very Republican areas that are up for grabs.” Obama’s approval ratings have been low of late. But Quinnipiac pollster Malloy said his survey does include a slight uptick in public optimism about the economy, and that could help Democrats in November. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, July 9, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 134 | |||||||||
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 Voice of America photo
Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker
reacts at his victory party in Waukesha after winning a recall election
June 5, 2012.
Documentary
targets money in politics
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The impact of money on American politics is the focus of "Citizen Koch," a documentary that follows the 2012 reelection campaign of Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and explores how big money can threaten the democratic electoral process. Filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin examine the influence billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch wielded over Walker's campaign. According to the documentary, Walker’s ultraconservative Tea Party message was defined by corporate campaign money. The film suggests that the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that loosened restrictions on campaign donations paved the way for wealthy donors to influence elections behind the scenes. Groups receiving the money do not have to disclose where, or who, it comes from. Ms. Lessin believes the people of Wisconsin might have voted differently had they been made aware that corporate money was behind Walker’s campaign. “He gave enormous corporate tax breaks, tax breaks to the wealthiest and he cut social services and he went after public employees and their unions,” she said. "Citizen Koch" also shows how big money politics can backfire. “It doesn’t necessarily mean just because a lot of money is put into a campaign, that candidate is going to win,” said political science professor Richard Benedetto. He says that, unless Americans demand the disclosure and a ceiling on campaign funding, the Supreme Court ruling is here to stay. “Yeah, the guys with the big money get all the influence, where the little guy doesn’t get any but it hasn’t risen to the level where the public is ready to revolt about it," Benedetto said. "If the public was ready to revolt about it, and then you’d see changes being made.” So, go out and vote, says one Wisconsinite featured in "Citizen Koch." “We forgot where the real power is," he says in the film. "You know, you can be living in a cardboard box, underneath the highway somewhere and you at one moment in time have as much power as the guy down the street living in the mansion. And that’s when you go to vote.” |
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| From Page 6: Program seeks to promote interconnectivity By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A non-governmental organization is trying to spread the benefits of information technology into areas where there have been fewer benefits. The Programa Recursos Digitales para el Desarrollo Económico Sostenible is conducting training, promoting the use of free software and setting up workshops. In the last few months, the organization has provided training for 61 youngsters from Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala y Costa Rica, it said. Although many organizations already have the equipment and the means to connect with others on important issues, studies show that there could be more use, said the program, which is being assisted by the Fundación Red de Energía, based in San José. The goal is for more use of social networks and smartphones to exchamge information, such as between agricultural producers or cultural organizations. "In Central America there still is much work to do," said Alonso Alegre of the foundation. "For example the use of the internet to be a daily reality for a good part of the population that is isolated from the use of this tool that today is not a luxury and has converted itself into an indispensable resource in fields such as education, production and culture, if only to cite three cases." |
