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A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Monday,
July 28,
2014, Vol. 14, No. 147
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Our readers' opinions
A reply to a scathing critiqueDear A.M. Costa Rica: This is in reply to the letter to the editor written by Ralph Simonson on Friday, July 25. I live in Costa Rica and have done so for a little over 10 years. Like many people who live and visit here, I am frustrated at times by the lack of efficiency and bureaucratic incompetence that you meet sometimes. And I don't know anyone, neither local expat nor tourist, who likes the traffic. However, I would like to clear up some errors in Ralph's letter. Ralph complains about the secondary manual inspection that he had to undergo before leaving Costa Rica at the airport. This is not a Costa Rican policy, but an American one for flights entering the States. If you fly to Panamá or a South American destination, you don't have to undergo this second check. Indeed, in many other airports in the world, if you are flying to the U.S.A., you have to undergo a secondary inspection or security check at your boarding gate or before you board. Ralph further complains about the $29 exit tax that everyone is forced to pay upon leaving Costa Rica, and states that "no other country has this." Again, this is inaccurate. Nearly every country in the world has this tax (or a similar type of tax). It is merely included in the cost of your ticket. They might call it something different, but look at your ticket breakdown, you'll find TSA security tax, airport improvement fee, etc, etc all in that cost. Other countries are just more efficient than Costa Rica, and they don't make you pay it separately. Further on, Ralph talks about the rate charged on his credit card bill. He states that he was charged the rate to "sell colons" and complains about this. He may well have been overcharged, but he also talks about the buy=sell rate. I think maybe he is misunderstanding how the currency exchange works. If he makes a $100 purchase, and the colon buy/sell rate is 545/555 respectively, he should be charged 55,500 colons for his purchase by the store, not 54,500 colons. In effect, he's buying 100$ for 55,500 colons. The reason he's not being charged $100 straight on his card, is likely because the store or place of business does not have the facility to charge in dollars with his merchant account (most businesses do not). They can only charge in colons. For his own credit card, if on his bill, if he was charged significantly more than $100, what is happening is almost certainly that his bank is charging him a rate that is not 545 (likely 535 or 530). Many American/Canadian/European banks do this. They will advertise "No foreign exchange fees," and that is true. They won't charge you a fee, but they will stiff you on the exchange rate. This is the same thing that many of those exchange booths in airports do. Costa Rica has a lot of issues and problems, in some respects things are improving, in others, no. But at the end of the day, let us make sure our criticisms of the country are accurate. A further note here, the editor states that: "Businesses that decline to take credit cards sometimes are defrauding the country by not remitting the sales tax." I feel it is important to note that merchant fees for smaller businesses can be in excess of 7 percent. Thus, if you buy something for $100 in cash, the store gets $100. If you buy something for $100 on your credit card bill, the store might only get $93. That is another reason why a cash discount of about 5 percent is so common in Costa Rica. And that is a cash discount con factura or with the official bill. Shaun Dolen
Santa Ana Paying in cash here is usually better Dear A.M. Costa Rica: This tourist, having lived here before, should have known it is usually better to pay in cash rather than use a foreign credit card for several reasons. First, exchange rates favor the establishment. Second, most credit card companies have currency exchange fees. And third, whether you are in the States or in a Third World country, the more people having access to your credit card information, the more you expose yourself to theft or fraud. I have found it prudent to look at the price on the menu before ordering food. In those rare instances where they don't have the prices, I ask for a menu with them and have been accommodated. That way, if I don't like the prices, I can just leave, as opposed to paying and then complaining. As for the $29 exit fee that no other country charges, what about the U.S. transit visa, that costs $100? And many countries have various other fees and constraints for both entry and exit. Check out the processes for getting in and out of Panamá! It sounds like this tourist had an unhappy experience that could have been better had he spent some time preparing for his trip beforehand. John French
Heredia Firearm process is ridiculous Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Recently you published an article about firearms, and you mentioned the complexity of legally obtaining one. I just went through what I would call an exercise in illogic purchasing my second firearm even though I currently have a porta de armas permit. You are entirely correct in your statement that many people do not want to deal with the absurdity of entering and completing the process. It took me over two and a half months to receive my new card. If I explained it all to you, it would read more like a short story comedy, and few would probably believe it. The new system that is supposed to be so easy and efficient is the most ridiculous nightmare that some government goofy could create, and that is even with Costa Rican standards for ludicrous bureaucracy. As a retired law enforcement officer, it was amazing to me how such a process could even be created, and it is no wonder many people choose to buy guns off of the street rather than spend months trying to purchase one legally. The criminals seem to have no problem getting them, and the courts do little to punish them. Thanks for your continued service to all of us. Gary Edwin Zavadil
Cambronero Yes, You can get by on English! Dear A.M. Costa Rica: It is stated that one must speak the language to be comfortable here in Pura Vida. Well not necessarily. Following are a couple ways I found around it, i.e., a Tica wife, each of us with a cell phone and sign language! I have been asked time and time again since we retired here "You don't speak Spanish, how on earth are you able to communicate!" I explained that my principal decoder is my Tica wife. We married in San Francisco back in 1964. We are still married!! She speaks better English
The facial expression sparkled of the lady behind the counter who was helping me, and she said Oh, sí. Sólo un minuto and went to the back of the warehouse. She returned a few minutes later with a toilet paper dispenser! I didn't need one but bought it anyway. This is an example of a not so good translation, but, thank goodness, most have happy endings! Jerry Thorman
Canoas, Alajuela Small bus plunges off cliff in Coto Brus By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A bus fell off a cliff in Coto Brus, killing three passengers and injuring 10 more on board. The bus was returning from Quepos when it went off the road and rolled off a 100-meter-high precipice around 8 p.m. Friday. A report from the Judicial Investigating Organization listed the fatalities as a 16-year-old girl, a 44-year-old woman, and a 53-year-old man who appeared to be the driver. All passengers were Costa Rican, according to the organization's spokesperson. Seven of the 10 injured passengers were taken to a variety of area hospitals, according to the report, while the remaining three came away from the crash with only minor injuries. Tractor trailer yields 100 kilos of coke By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Anti-drug police say they found 100 kilos of cocaine hidden in the roof of the driver's compartment of a tractor-trailers headed to Honduras. The truck, carrying water based paint, was searched at the Peñas Blancas, board post, said the Policía de Control de Drogas.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, July 28, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 147 | |
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| Surveillance cameras are a growing trend in Costa Rican communities | |
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By
Michael Krumholtz
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Under the stated aims of improving citizen safety, municipality leaders are putting up public surveillance cameras throughout Costa Rica's streets and parks. Recently, Palmares became the seventh community in Alajuela to install surveillance cameras in its town center. Now Palmares' mayor, Bernal Vargas, says the town is so satisfied with their ability to aid police forces that the current system of 10 cameras could nearly triple in coming months. He said that although public security cameras on every street corner may sound like the backdrop for a totalitarian state, the town's population has given near universal approval of them because police can now respond to any potential robberies or assaults quicker than ever. “Maybe it's a policy that others may see as repressive,” he said. “But our plan for public security in Palmares is more about prevention of crime and that police can arrive on the scene immediately.” San José is also filled with the 24-hour eyes of public security cameras. Monica Coto Murillo, who is in charge of electronic security at the municipality, said seven of the 11 districts are equipped with surveillance systems. She said when the decision to install cameras first came about there were many who voiced their concerns about their rights of privacy being violated but added that those protests have since been calmed by the protocol and rules that surround the issue. Regulation No. 34104-G-MSP, published in 2007 when an initial 3,000 cameras were installed, states that authorities cannot use information retrieved from the cameras for anything but pertinent police investigations. It further says that police working the cameras are highly trained and follow a strict guideline of confidentiality so that information is not handed over to third parties. Ms. Coto said that the cameras are strategically placed in areas that both Fuerza Pública and municipality police have targeted as seeing higher daily traffic or being more at risk for crimes. “We are able to prevent any suspected crimes by immediately catching those who leave suspicious evidence for those watching the monitors,” she said. “The cameras also allow us to evaluate our management of security as a whole.” Though far from a surveillance state, Costa Rica is following a trend |
that
activists and privacy advocates around the globe are protesting.
Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties
Union, wrote earlier this year that the more police cameras there are,
the more likely they are to abuse this power of information they have
over the citizen. “As with any technology, one can imagine scenarios where such systems save the day,” he wrote. “But it is even easier to imagine scenarios where such a technology is abused and in fact such scenarios don't require any imagination whatsoever as experience strongly suggests abuses are inevitable.” Studies done by the civil liberties union have also shown that crime levels do not drop as a direct result of having cameras and that preventing attacks or acts of terrorism are still incredibly hard even with the aid of overhead eyes. In Palmares, Fuerza Pública has total control of the surveillance operations and keeps track of the information 24 hours a day from the monitoring station. The high-tech system of cameras have the ability to capture a car's license plate from hundreds of meters away, pivot at a 360-degree range, and they're bulletproof. Though fancy, another concern of public monitoring systems is their high costs. The whole system was priced around $75,000 as the cameras alone cost around $6,000 each. Palmares is capable of holding up to 17 more cameras, which Vargas said would be a welcome investment. “When people realize there are surveillance cameras around, they take less risks,” he said. Another Alajuela canton, San Ramón, has had cameras since 2011. According to a report written by Oscar Mario Alvarado Vásquez, the head of information technology for San Ramón, installation sprang up after people became worried about clearly illicit acts that were happening at a town park at all hours of the day. Alvarado said the Fuerza Pública officers weren't able to keep an eye on all of San Ramón without the technology's aid. Now police have access to 16 cameras mounted throughout the city of more than 10,000 people. The initial investment cost around $45,000 but the municipality also took out a $150,000 loan from Banco Nacional to pay for the system, according to Alvarado. “Public surveillance is just another tool to improve the way of life for our people,” Alvarado said. “There's a lot of work that lies ahead, but evidence of our local government's promise to its people can already be seen.” |
| Solís reaffirms country's prohibition against
drilling for petroleum |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
President Luis Guillermo Solís signed off Friday on a decree to continue a moratorium on petroleum exploration until 2021. He cited grave environmental risks as he did so and basically insured the country's dependency on foreign petroleum until that date. The president also declared corn to be an item of cultural heritage but he stopped short of declaring a prohibition against genetically modified corn as many of his supporters would have wanted. Solís also endorsed geothermal generating projects in Guanacaste and decreed that government agencies should work together to mitigate the expected drought there. The president also declared plans for wholesale markets in the Choratega and Brunca regions to be in the public interest, an action that advances their construction. With the petroleum exploration prohibition, Solís extends a similar 2011 action by then-president Laura Chinchilla. The original prohibition came when a U.S. petroleum exploration firm managed to surmount some 12 years of legal challenges. The firm, Mallon Oil Co., has a concession to explore for petroleum in the northern zone but the government will not sign off on the agreement. The prohibition also covers offshore efforts. The petroleum decree also ordered the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía to issue a decree telling public agencies not to purchase pieces of equipment that are big consumers of electricity. The decrees were signed in a presidential cabinet meeting in Nicoya Friday. The meeting was in commemoration of the 1824 Anexión del Partido de Nicoya which brought that area into Costa Rica. The location was an appropriate one to talk about corn because the annual tortilla contest had just finished. The decree notes that there is archaeological evidence of corn being consumed in Guanacaste some 5,000 years ago. The president was joined in the decree by Luis Felipe Arauz, the minister of Agricultura y Ganadería, and Elizabeth Fonseca, the minister of Cultura y Juventud. The decree addresses the agricultural uses and also the traditions. The culture ministry has published booklets on the cuisine of |
 Casa Presdiencial photo
President dons a traditional
Guanacaste hat for the celebration.Guanacaste, which is heavily based on corn. There is a movement in the country to prohibit the growing of genetically modified crops. Because corn is pollenated through the air, there is concern that the modified pollen will pollute the existing traditional varieties. Another decree supported the development of the geothermic plant Pailas II in Guanacaste with some $600 million provided by the Japanese Agency for International Development. Another decree declared the presence of arsenic in the local water supply of Cañas and Bagaces to be a sanitary emergency. Ms. Chinchilla issued a similar decree. |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, July 28, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 147 | |||||
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| Judicial police make arrests in heavy-handed effort to
collect a debt |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Judicial agents have detained two women who are accused of using an informal and traditional method for debt collection. They are accused of having others kidnap the debtor and then taking him to a bank to get a withdrawal. Judicial agents said that the man, a Venezuelan here on business, owed the mother of the women some 25 million colons or about $47,000. Three men abducted the 33-year-old Venezuelan after he left a bar one night last week. He was blindfolded and taken to a home in San Rafael de Alajuela and later to another home, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. The woman kidnappers took the man to a private bank Wednesday. They allowed the man to enter alone under threats, agents said. But he was able to make known his situation to bank officials. Police arrived a short time later. They said he showed signs of having been hit in the face. Investigators detained the women Thursday and conducted searches of their homes Saturday. They said they found a pistol among other evidence. There are enough such cases of kidnapping for debt collection each year for the Judicial Investigating Organization to have a special section to handle such crimes. One reason for such kidnappings is that the courts have been slow and inefficient to handle civil debt cases. |
 Judicial Investigating Organization photo
Judicial agents respond to a
kidnapping alert. |
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 news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, July 28, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 147 | |||||||
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| Modified crop proponents find opposition in Africa By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A new report states that genetically-modified crops, also known as GM crops, would dramatically improve agriculture in Africa. The report, published by the policy group Chatham House, argues the technology is being held back by scaremongering from opponents. Inside a temperature-regulated laboratory, scientists in Uganda are developing what they call a golden banana, more hardy, and with higher levels of vitamins and minerals. Priva Namanya, one of the researchers, said, “We have been able to show that we can increase our vitamin A levels six times.” GM crops offer the best hope of increasing productivity and coping with climate change in Africa, according to the co-author of the Chatham House report, Rob Bailey. “There is a whole host of GM crops in development in Africa specifically designed to address the needs of poor farmers and poor food consumers. Crops like cassava, sorghum, bananas, sweet potato, drought-tolerant maize. And it’s precisely these crops that are stuck at the field trial stage,” he said. The reason, said Bailey, is that governments are reluctant to approve GM crops in the face of intense lobbying by opponents. “They’ve created anti-GM campaigns based on misinformation. So for example, alleging a link between GM crops and infertility, or cancer, or animal deformities. None of which is true, there’s no evidence for any of this,” he said. Opponents argue GM crops are expensive to produce, do not bring higher yields, and introduce more chemicals into the environment. And they say companies promoting GM crops are more interested in profits than in helping poor farmers produce food. On the outskirts of the Ghanaian capital Accra, farmer Tetteh Nartey grows pawpaw, maize and other vegetables, alongside a small dairy business. This year Ghana approved field trials for GM grains like cowpeas. Nartey thinks it's a bad idea. “Anything that is not natural it has got its bad side, if it is not natural then be very careful because at the end of the day we start taking GM products, but who has done the research?” asked Nartey. Ghana’s government insists it has put in place stringent bio-safety laws. But increasing yields through GM crops is not the answer to food shortages in Africa, according to Soren Ambrose of Action Aid. “It’s not so much the problem of producing food, as it is the problem of getting the food that is produced to the people who need it. The continent is very much still struggling with its road infrastructure, with its storage facilities for products and so on,” said Ambrose. Millions of small-scale farmers contribute to African agriculture. Campaigners like Bernard Guri of Ghana’s Center for Indigenous Knowledge fear the introduction of GM crops could drive those farmers out of business. “This is against our sovereignty. It is another form of colonialism where gradually the developed world is conspiring to take over our food system in terms of taking over our land, taking over our seed, and taking over the whole farming food system,” said Guri. But if one African country did approve GM crops, others would quickly follow, said Bailey of Chatham House. “It would become apparent that they’re very useful, that they are potentially higher yielding, that they have resistance to pests of diseases, and consumers could see that they’re not a threat to their health. Then that could unlock a positive chain and you could see GM crops being taken up elsewhere.” Supporters of GM crops argue they could trigger a green revolution in African agriculture. But there are still many who remain unconvinced. Congress has just a week to act on illegal children By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
This week is Congress’ last chance to respond to a surge of undocumented children arriving at America’s southern border before U.S. lawmakers leave town for a five-week recess. At issue is how much money to appropriate to house and process the juveniles, and whether to alter a 2008 law that entitles non-Mexican arrivals to an immigration hearing. With chaos continuing at the U.S.-Mexico border and protests cropping up across the United States, a politically-divided Congress ponders what, if anything, to do. Republicans say some of the funds requested by President Barack Obama are needed to deal with the crisis, but only if accompanied by legal reform. Sen. John Cornyn says the tide needs to be stemmed in an orderly fashion. “We need to have immigration laws that protect these children and all of us. And it does not mean that anybody and everybody under any circumstances can qualify to come to the United States and stay. That is simply an invitation to chaos," says Cornyn. Cornyn co-authored a bill that would limit the ability of Central American immigrants to petition for refugee status and speed their deportation to their home countries. Democrats, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, worry such a change would punish asylum-seekers with legitimate claims. “It relates not just to Central America. It relates to the American position on refugees and asylum-seekers around the world. Do we want to check out of that and say to other countries, ‘You take them, but do not talk to us about that?” asked Ms. Pelosi. President Obama is urging Congress to act. “It is my hope that Speaker Boehner and House Republicans will not leave town for the month of August for their vacations without doing something to help solve this problem,” said Obama. Speaker John Boehner says an inconsistent message from the White House is part of the problem. “The administration started earlier this month by signaling some openness to changes in the 2008 law to accelerate the process of returning these children to their home countries. Now, the president and his team have apparently flip-flopped,” said Boehner. Three Central American leaders visited Washington last week, and pleaded for humane treatment of their citizens who flee to the United States. One of them was President Juan Orlando Hernández of Honduras, who called for compassion. “Our children should be seen for what they are: vulnerable human beings. They have rights, and we want them to be respected,” said Hernández. The pace of new arrivals appears to have diminished in recent weeks. Nevertheless, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is taking matters into his own hands by dispatching National Guard troops to his state’s border with Mexico. White House seeks program to pre-approve child refugees By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Top Obama administration officials say the United States is considering a pilot program which would involve screening some youths in Honduras to see if they qualify for refugee status in the United States. Officials say the youngsters could be interviewed before they make the dangerous journey to the U.S. border, as tens of thousands of children from Central America have done already this year. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama was considering possible options after talks at the White House Friday with the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Earnest said one idea is a pilot program which would begin in Honduras to screen youths to determine if they qualify for refugee status. “This pilot program is aimed squarely at deterring those individuals who may be contemplating a trip from Central America to the southwest border with the U.S.," he said. Earnest said no decisions have been made. He said the program would be limited but could be expanded to include other Central American countries. The majority of the tens of thousands of children who have crossed the U.S. border with Mexico this year come from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Many are fleeing violent street gangs. “Right now what we are seeing is individuals who feel like they have asylum claims making a very dangerous journey from Central America to the southwest border where they are then put in the immigration system in this country, they are detained in this country, while their asylum claim is considered,” he said. Outside the U.S. House of Representatives chamber, Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican, said he would be opposed to the measure, saying it would encourage more children to seek asylum in the U.S. “The president I think has been consistently tone deaf on this issue, or the White House has been. And this suggestion, when I heard it this morning, without any congressional notification or suggestion, just struck me as way off the mark, very premature and likely to evoke a negative response,” said Cole. On the Senate side, the measure appears to have similarities to a recent bill sponsored by Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, both Republicans. They have proposed increasing the number of refugee visas to the three Central American countries by 5,000 each, and to screen people in their home countries. The White House has called on Congress to pass emergency funding legislation to deal with the influx before lawmakers leave for a five-week recess in August. House Republicans are working on a bill which would provide substantially less money than the president wants. The bill also would make changes to a 2008 anti-trafficking law that gives children from Central America the right to stay in the United States pending a court appearance. The Democratic-led Senate plans to vote on its own bill, which is not likely to call for changes to that law. Two wildfires in California force evacuation of residents By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Two wildfires in California have destroyed 11 homes and scorched thousands of hectares of land since Friday. East of the state's capital Sacramento, hundreds of homes were evacuated along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range after the so-called Sand Fire burned 10 residences and seven other buildings. The blaze, which fire officials said may have been started by a vehicle driving over dry vegetation, is only 35 percent contained as firefighters face dry conditions, high winds, and triple-digit temperatures. A second fire west of Yosemite National Park quadrupled in size overnight to consume 859 hectares. It forced the evacuation of about 100 homes in the community of Foresta, where one house was destroyed. The park remains open. Federal fire officials are working to contain 19 blazes in six western states, with state and local teams battling dozens more throughout the region. Federal judge shoots down Washington's no-carry law By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that a ban on carrying handguns in Washington, D.C. is unconstitutional. The ruling, made public Saturday, overturns the city's prohibition on carrying a gun in public. Judge Frederick Scullin said in his opinion "there is no longer any basis on which this court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny." It was not immediately clear whether the city intends to appeal the ruling. The U.S. capital had a law prohibiting anyone from carrying a handgun outside the home. Proponents of carrying handguns usually base their claims on the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Second Amendment reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Obama wants big firms to show economic patriotism By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. President Barack Obama has criticized what he calls a small but growing group of big corporations that are fleeing the country to avoid paying taxes. The U.S. leader said in his weekly address Saturday the companies are keeping most of their business inside the United States, but they are "basically renouncing their citizenship," declaring they are based somewhere else to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Obama said a loophole in the tax law makes this action totally legal. The president called on Americans to embrace economic patriotism that lowers the corporate tax rate and closes wasteful loopholes. In the Republican address, Rep. Steve Daines of the western state of Montana said President Obama is waging a war on the middle class. Daines called on the Senate to pass House-approved jobs bills. The White House and Senate are controlled by Democrats; the House of Representatives is controlled by Republicans. Price of new wonder drug for hepatitis C draws protests By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
To hear scientists talk about it, it’s nothing short of a wonder drug. The drug is sofosbuvir, called Solvadi by its manufacturer, and its effectiveness in treating hepatitis C is so pronounced that the U.S. regulators designated it breakthrough therapy when they approved it for U.S. markets last year. The catch is that it doesn’t come cheap: a single pill costs $1,000, meaning the 12-week daily dose prescribed for most patients will cost $84,000. That has brought howls of protests from activists accusing California-based Gilead Sciences of charging extortionate prices. The dispute highlights the continuing conundrum afflicting medical research and spiraling health care costs, not only in the United States but elsewhere. What’s an appropriate price to charge for life-changing, or life-saving, drug therapies and who determines it? Pharmaceutical companies argue they spend billions of dollars to research, discover and test such breakthrough drugs, so the production costs account for just a fraction of the company’s overall investment. Activists, some of whom traveled to the International AIDS conference in Melbourne, Australia, to protest Gilead’s decisions, say drug companies gouge customers and patients with arbitrary pricing that varies widely from place to place. “We want Gilead to explain, number one, on what they’re basing their price, whether it’s $84,000 in Europe and the United States, or even $2,000 in another country,” said Karyn Kaplan, who directs international Hepatitis and HIV policy and advocacy for the New York-based organization, the Treatment Action Group. “We want to understand what is their price based on and why won’t they give a price that will be affordable to all who need it.” Gregg Alton, executive vice president for corporate and medical affairs for Gilead Sciences, said the drug is priced differently around the world. In Egypt, for example, which has a high rate of hepatitis C, the drug will cost just $300 per month. Alton also noted that the company will give generic licensing to several factories, which will push down the price in the future. “It is a fantastic drug. It’s really changing the landscape of hepatitis C and the ability to treat hepatitis C, from a largely untreatable disease to one we can cure with a more than 90 percent rate,” he said. A study by researchers at the University of Liverpool concluded that the Solvadi pill can be made for a few U.S. cents, and that even at $1 a pill, Gilead will make a healthy profit. Alton said in considering the drug’s price, one should take into account that a patient who is cured of hepatitis C is free not only from the disease, but also the financial burden of future treatments. “So actually on a cost basis, if you just look at pure cost, it is actually less expensive than treating HIV, because HIV being chronic, if you actually put the cost of actually treating for life, it turns out to be more,” Alton said. “And, again, the other thing is that we actually hope the cost comes down, that’s the purpose of the generic licensing.” As many as 150 million people around the world have the chronic version of this liver disease that is spread, like HIV, through blood or sexual contact, according to the World Health Organization. For that reason, many HIV patients are at higher risk for contracting hepatitis C. Symptoms tend to surface late in the disease’s path, and can lead to liver cancer. As a whole, the hepatitis family of viruses kills about 1 million people per year, according to the World Health Organization. For now, Gilead is raking in profits. Earlier this week, the company announced second-quarter sales of Sovaldi at a whopping $3.5 billion. That puts this little yellow pill on track to be one of the pharmaceutical industry’s biggest all-time hits, with sales expected to reach those of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor. “We are not at all against Gilead making money. They are a corporation, they are a for-profit entity. So we all recognize and agree that originator companies make investments, and that they should be appropriately rewarded,” Ms. Kaplan said. “However, what that appropriate reward is and the lack of transparency in how pharmaceutical originators, pharmaceutical companies come up with that price, is not in touch with reality.” |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, July 28, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 147 | |||||||||
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Snooping is a
key step before planting
Now that everything is prepared……oh wait. What about that compost we talked about? Compost is wonderful stuff and you can make it yourself. There are many different formulas but the most basic is a third manure, a third
Now we have everything in place and want to plant something. If I left it up to my husband, he would plant sweet corn and Idaho potatoes (and more sweet corn). Sadly, neither seems to grow very well in Costa Rica, at least not where we live. Not that I haven’t tried, but three failures of my corn crop have convinced me that something is wrong. So, what do we plant? First, we want success. I hate to plant something (like corn) and discover that it won’t grow. No one gardens for failure. It’s just too frustrating. The problem with being expats is that we just don’t know what will grow. And you can buy seeds here in Costa Rica that aren’t really meant for Costa Rica (there’s my corn again). My answer? Snoop. Snoop in your neighbor’s yard. Snoop in your friend’s garden. Keep asking, “What’s that?” and, my favorites, “Do you have some seeds to share?” or “May I take a cutting?” Sometimes you don’t even need to ask. Sometimes there is something growing by the side of the road and you can just snip off a piece to take home. And once at home? While it’s true you can just stick your cutting into a pot and keep it watered, I like to add a little rooting compound, sold at most gardening stores. The amazing thing is that, once you have seeds or cuttings in the ground – and they are seeds that are really made for Costa Rica – they grow like mad. True, you may need to water a bit in the dry season, but that is a small price to pay for a lush garden. And don’t forget to keep spare garden sheers in the glove compartment. They make roadside snipping so much easier. Today’s plant: Bougainvillea I have to admit I stand in awe of the bougainvillea and its range of
If you would like to suggest a topic for this column, simply send a letter to the editor. And, for more garden tips, visit the Arenal Gardeners Web page Quakes at Quepos and near metro area By the A.M. Costa rica staff
Quepos and the area around Dulce Nombre de la Unión southeast of the metro area have experienced flurries of quakes. A 4.4 magnitude quake took place just offshore from Quepos Thursday night. There was a second quake of 4.0 magnitude that took place about 20 minutes after noon Sunday. The epicenter was fixed just west northwest of Quepos in the hills. Dulce Nombre and vicinity experienced a 4.1 magnitude quake Friday just 10 minutes before midnight. Then there was a flurry of lesser quakes with the largest being a 3.3 magnitude quake at five minutes past 10 p.m. Sunday. |
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