Scamsters reported using
names of ministries


Both the tourism institute and the public works ministry report that they are not involved in scams that are being worked on the public.

The Ministerio de Obras Públicas said that crooks are making telephone calls to various community organizations and seeking money for the alleged delivery of construction materials. The ministry builds public structures like school lunchrooms but it does not charge for delivery.

The crooks ask that the money be deposited in a certain bank account. Of course the material never is delivered, and the money vanishes from the account, the ministry said.

At the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo officials said callers are using the institute name to inform citizens that they have won a prize after some form of raffle. The institute really does have a promotional program going on, but it does not involve any form of raffle, officials there said.


Rights on Río San Juan
outlined in booklet


The Defensoría de los Habitantes had put together a booklet that outlines in simple language the rights Costa Ricans have while navigating on the Río San Juan.

The national border is the south bank on the river in most places, and Nicaragua had been imposing rules restricting free transit on the river, which is a major transportation route in the underdeveloped northern Costa Rica.

The Defensoría said that Costa Ricans do not have to pay for a Nicaraguan tourism card or obtain a Nicaraguan visa as long as the destination is not in Nicaragua. This also applies to passengers on Costa Rican craft.

Costa Rica took Nicaragua to the International Court in the Hague in order to obtain a favorable ruling on its rights under existing treaties.

Peppers with attitude
may help in weight loss


Capsaicin, the stuff that gives chili peppers their kick, may cause weight loss and fight fat buildup by triggering certain beneficial protein changes in the body, according to a new study on the topic. The report, which could lead to new treatments for obesity, appears in American Chemcial Society's monthly Journal of Proteome Research: “Proteomic Analysis for Antiobesity Potential of Capsaicin on White Adipose Tissue in Rats Fed with a High Fat Diet.”

Jong Won Yun and colleagues point out that obesity is a major public health threat worldwide, linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other health problems. Laboratory studies have hinted that capsaicin may help fight obesity by decreasing calorie intake, shrinking fat tissue, and lowering fat levels in the blood. Nobody, however, knows exactly how capsaicin might trigger such beneficial effects.

In an effort to find out, the scientists fed high-fat diets with or without capsaicin to lab rats used to study obesity. The capsaicin-treated rats lost 8 percent of their body weight and showed changes in levels of at least 20 key proteins found in fat. The altered proteins work to break down fats.

“These changes provide valuable new molecular insights into the mechanism of the antiobesity effects of capsaicin,” the scientists say.

Another wave en route here
to bring clouds and rain


Although the last week has been drier than normal, the country will be swept today by the effects of another tropical wave.

The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional said that the morning will be partly cloudy with high temperatures that will generate thunderstorms in the afternoon. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that the low pressure associated with the wave may develop as it moved over Central America.

The is a low probability that the system will develop into a cyclone.

Paper company prize
includes trip to Osa


Neenah Paper, Inc. has launched a sweepstakes in which the winner will get a trip to the Osa peninsula.

The Alphareta, Georgia, paper manufacture is promoting an environmental line of products, and part of the winner's trip will be to the company's reforestation project. The project is operated with the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and the Friends of the Osa organization.

The Neenah “Eco-Trip for Two” sweepstakes runs to September 30, 2010. During that time, designers, printers, and anyone with a passion for the environment can enter to win by registering at neenahpaper.com/environmentcontest. One winner will be randomly selected from all entries to receive the all-expenses-paid trip, said the company.

We are  shills for U.S.
and he's boycotting paper

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

After this morning's quick perusal of your online publication, I can come to no other conclusion; you have become a shill for the militarization of this region and a proponent of naked aggression and another phony "drug war" in Central/South America.

Any thinking individual left in this world would surely conclude that Sr. Chávez is not the only head of state involved in diversionary tactics designed to take his/her constituency's eyes off the ugly truths of our day, economic or otherwise. There is much to choose from.

We do not need another sickening apologist for hegemony. The truth in these matters is self-evident. All one has to do is open their eyes to what IS, not what unnamed "sources" would coerce us to believe through their incessant assault on our meager defenses via today's tepid "media coverage."

Congratulations! You've become part of the problem & I've boycotted your Web site.