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San
José, Costa Rica, Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 155
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Jury still out on
spicy food and aging
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Costa Rica's cuisine runs counter to an observational study that suggests spicy foods are linked to lower risk of death. Still, there are many persons here older than 100 years. Everyone can agree that the Tico food is generally mild with the possible exception of Salsa Lizano or a Caribbean pati meat pie. In fact, many tourists are disappointed because they thought all Latin food was hot, as is typical in some regions of México. There are some condiments here that will stop the table chatter for a few minutes, and there are Indian restaurants and jalapeños and other chillis available at the market. The British Medical Journal said that previous research has suggested the beneficial effects of spices and their bioactive ingredient, capsaicin, include anti-obesity, antioxidant, anti-inflammation and anticancer properties. The journal published a report by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences who examined the association between consumption of spicy foods as part of a daily diet and the total risk and causes of death. The researchers had access to a data base of some 487,375 individuals. During a median follow-up of 7.2 years, there were 20,224 deaths. Participants who ate spicy foods almost every day had a 14 percent lower risk of death compared to those who consumed spicy foods less than once a week, the report said. The association was similar in both men and women, and was stronger in those who did not consume alcohol, it added. Fresh and dried chilli peppers were the most commonly used spices in those who reported eating spicy foods weekly, according to the report. The medical journal issued a caution that this study did not prove causation. One commentator said that eating spicy foods might be related to other dietary or lifestyle factors. Merchants lure mother's day shoppers By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Aug 15 is El Día de Madre, which is only a bit less festive than Christmas. Restaurants already are announcing their specials for that day, and merchants are jostling to get their share of the holiday spending. Not coincidentally, the day also is the Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The day, a Saturday, is a legal holiday here. But shoppers have to be careful. The economic ministry's consumer division is expected to soon report on a survey of stores selling items suitable for mother's day gifts. Every year the survey shows that some merchants jack up the prices on items like major appliances and even flowers and candies. Trump lives
up to his image
in debate
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Billionaire real estate businessman and television personality Donald Trump was center stage Thursday night as 10 leading Republican presidential candidates looked for a break-out moment at their first debate on the road to the November 2016 election. The real estate mogul and nine others squared off in Cleveland, Ohio, for the debate that gave Americans their first look at the major Republican candidates, six months before the first nominating contest in the Midwestern state of Iowa. The outspoken candidate met expectations at the start of the debate. Asked if he would pledge to rule out a run as an independent if he does not win the Republican nomination, Trump declined. "I will not make the pledge at this time,'' he said. The feisty Trump also refused to apologize when questioned about his past insulting comments about women, including calling them "fat pigs," "dogs" and slobs." "The big problem this country has is being politically correct," Trump said. "I don't frankly have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn't have time either." Joining him on stage in the important election swing state of Ohio was a field of seasoned governors, rookie senators and a never-been-elected outsider, most of whom steered clear of directly targeting Trump, who is leading in many recent polls. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, widely seen as a frontrunner and a favorite of establishment Republicans, acknowledged he must be able to differentiate himself from his brother, former president George W. Bush, and his father, ex-president George H.W. Bush. "I'm going to have to earn this," Bush acknowledged. "Maybe the bar is even higher for me. That's fine. I've got a record in Florida. I'm proud of my dad, and I'm proud of my brother." Highlighting one policy difference with his brother, Bush acknowledged the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq was a mistake, even while blaming President Barack Obama for the subsequent rise of the Islamic State. "Barack Obama became president and he abandoned Iraq," Bush said. "And when he left, ISIS was created by the void that we left, and that void now exists as a caliphate the size of Indiana." Obama's campaign against the Islamic State was the target of widespread criticism from the debaters, many of whom called for the U.S. to utilize combat troops to help defeat the radical extremist group. But Sen. Rand Paul, who has frequently called for less American military intervention overseas, said the U.S. must hesitate before it funds rebels who are fighting the Islamic State. "ISIS rides around in a billion dollars worth of U.S. Humvees. It's a disgrace. We've got to stop. We shouldn't fund our enemies, for goodness' sakes," Paul said. In one of the feistier exchanges of the night, Sen. Paul clashed with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over controversial surveillance of Americans and foreigners by the U.S. National Security Agency "I want to collect more records from terrorists and less from regular Americans," said Paul, who is an outspoken critic of the NSA's bulk collection of American telephone records. Gov. Christie shot back, calling Paul's answer completely ridiculous. "You know, senator, when you’re sitting in a sub-committee just blowing hot air about this, you can say things like that. When you’re responsible for protecting the lives of the American people, then what you need to do is to make sure that you use the system the way it’s supposed to work," Christie said. The exchange was reflective of a widening gap within the Republican Party between those who favor more hawkish national security policies and those who prefer a more libertarian approach. An enthusiastic crowd of 4,500 filled the arena, cheering on the candidates, which also included former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Before the main event, seven Republican presidential candidates who rank lower in the polls took part in a separate debate and quickly challenged Trump's conservative credentials. Former Texas governor Rick Perry contrasted Trump’s tough talk on immigration control to his own record, in which he deployed the National Guard to stem the tide of illegal immigrants. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina took a shot at Trump as well, saying his shifting positions on key issues make him untrustworthy. Perry and Ms. Fiorina shared the stage with former governors George Pataki and Jim Gilmore, the current Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton was the other favorite target in the pre-debate forum, especially when the moderators asked foreign policy questions. South Carolina's Graham urged Americans not to support the former first lady and secretary of State. "To all the Americans who want a better life, don't vote for Hillary Clinton. You're not going to get it," Graham said. The 10 who competed in the prime time debate on the Fox News Channel were chosen based on an aggregate of polls the network used to determine the field. Similar models are expected to be used for future Republican debates. Trump headed into the late evening debate with a solid lead in the national polls. A Bloomberg survey released Tuesday had Trump at 21 percent, handing him a double-digit lead over the rest of the field. Democrats made some news of their own Thursday. In Washington, the Democratic National Committee announced plans for its presidential debates, the first of which is to be Oct. 13 in Nevada. It said four debates are planned for early presidential primary states in advance of the Iowa caucuses, which begin Feb. 1. Key Democrat Schumer rejects Iran deal By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. President Barack Obama's effort to sell the Iran nuclear deal to a skeptical Congress has been dealt a serious setback, with one of the president's top allies, Sen. Chuck Schumer, coming out against the pact. "After deep study, careful thought, and considerable soul-searching, I have decided I must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of disapproval," said Schumer in a statement late Thursday. Schumer, a senator from the state of New York and one of the top Jewish lawmakers in the U.S., released the statement shortly after another influential Jewish Democrat, Rep. Eliot Engel, also from New York state, announced his opposition to the deal. The likelihood has been increasing that U.S. lawmakers will pass a bill rejecting the Iran nuclear deal when they return from recess in September. President Obama says he would veto that decision, but needs the support of his fellow Democrats to sustain the veto. The agreement, reached last month between Iran and six world powers, will lift sanctions in exchange for Tehran scaling back its nuclear program and allowing intrusive inspections at the facilities. In a five-page statement explaining his concerns, Schumer said the inspections regime was inadequate. "Inspections are not 'anywhere, anytime;' the 24-day delay before we can inspect is troubling," he said. Schumer also expressed concern the money freed up by the sanctions relief will allow Iran to increase its funding for militant groups across the Middle East, further destabilizing the region. "Better to keep U.S. sanctions in place, strengthen them, enforce secondary sanctions on other nations, and pursue the hard-trodden path of diplomacy once more, difficult as it may be," he said. President Obama defended the deal in an address Wednesday, saying it "cuts off all of Iran's pathways to a bomb" and is the best way to prevent another U.S. war in the Middle East. The White House has not yet responded to Schumer's statement. It is not clear how many more of Schumer's fellow Democratic members of Congress will follow his lead and publicly oppose the deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several powerful pro-Israel lobby groups have been putting intense pressure on U.S. lawmakers to reject the deal. Non-partisan anti-proliferation group Global Zero on Thursday said it was disappointed in Schumer's decision, saying the deal "is in the national security interests of the United States and our allies." Congress must vote on the nuclear agreement by Sept. 17.
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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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 |
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 155 | |
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Depictions of undersea life in the interior of the boat are getting some last-minute touching ups. |
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Nacional
de Guardacostas photo
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| Coast guard boat being transformed into Golfito maritime
museum |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A retired coast guard boat is being converted into a maritime museum in Golfito, and the public is invited to view it starting next Wednesday. The museum is a joint project between the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas and the Federación Costarricense de Pesca. The goal is to display creatures that live in the nearby Gulfo |
Dulce as an
educational project. Carlos Hiller, the painter, is working on the interior panoramas. He is well-known for his depictions of undersea life in general and those in the vicinity of the Parque Nacional Isla del Coco. The museum is at the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas in Golfito, and admission is free. |
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Weed!
Marijuana turns up all overBy the A.M. Costa Rica staff There were several marijuana raids Thursday, but one stands out. That lawyer in Alajuela was accused of again growing the weed on his roof in sight of the court in that community. This is the fifth time. The man who has the last name of Cerdas had 85 plants growing in a hydroponic setup on a glassed-in area on the roof, said Fuerza Pública officers. The lawyer was not the only person arrested. At an apartment in San Francisco de Dos Ríos Fuerza Pública found a small cultivation setup when they answered a domestic violence call. The woman there who filed the complaint allowed police to enter, they said. Officers found 11 plants and branches with seeds. The presumed cultivator of the marijuana, identified by the last name of Solano, was detained when he returned to the living quarters, said police. The Policía de Control de Drogas detained a 16 year old and an adult woman, 21, in a raid Thursday in Desamparados. Agents said they found one six-inch plant growing but a considerable amount of marijuana packaged for transport. Agents said the pair were involved in the sale of marijuana to minors in the area. |
 Ministerio
de Seguridad Púbica photo
Plants are counted on the roof in
Alajuela. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 155 | |||||
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| Another new species emerges from the depths of the Gulf of
Mexico |
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By the Nova Southeastern University
news staff
They are some of the most interesting and unique creatures in the oceans, deep-sea life. Most people can identify a shark or sea turtle or whale, but many are shocked to see what a lanternfish or oarfish looks like. Deep-sea creatures can be down-right scary. Adding to the list of deep-sea creatures, a Nova Southeastern University researcher found a never-before seen species from the deep waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico. There discoverer, Tracey Sutton, is an expert on deep-sea life, and he teamed up with Theodore Pietsch from the University of Washington to formally describe this new species of anglerfish. “As a researcher, the one thing I know is that there’s so much more we can learn about our oceans,” Sutton said. “Every time we go out on a deep-sea research excursion there’s a good chance we’ll see something we’ve never seen before. The life at these depths is really amazing.” Their findings have been published by The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Copeia, an international journal that publishes original research on fishes, amphibians and reptiles. This new fish, which was found between 1,000 and 1,500 meters deep, is a new species of Ceratioid anglerfish, Genus Lasiognathus. The three females specimens found ranged in size from 30 to 95 mm in length. Looking at a photo of the fish, one quickly understands how anglerfishes get their common name. At the ocean depths this fish lives in, there is no sunlight. The only light is that from creatures that produce bioluminescence, which means they generate their own light source. Also, at these depths, the pressure is immense, over one ton (2,200 pounds) per square inch. And the fight for food is never-ending. That’s why these fish have developed their unique way of attracting prey with the appendage at the top of their head, which resembles a fishing pole of sorts. And, like its human counterparts, this fish dangles the |
 University of
Washington/ Theodore-Pietsch
The new species of
anglerfish (Lasiognathus dinema)appendage until an unsuspecting fish swims up thinking they found a meal, only to quickly learn that they are, in fact, a meal themselves. “Finding this new species reinforces the notion that our inventory of life in the vast ocean interior is far from complete,” said Sutton. “Every research trip is an adventure and another opportunity to learn about our planet and the varied creatures who call it home.” Sutton studies the ecology of marine systems, particularly those of the open ocean. As part of those efforts, Sutton is leading a team of scientists and researchers studying the effects of oil spills on deep-sea marine life. That project recently received a boost, thanks to a financial award from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. As for this new anglerfish, the three female specimens are considered type specimens that define the species. As such, Sutton said that they will reside in the ichthyology collection at the University of Washington, which is home to the world’s largest deep-sea anglerfish collection. |
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, Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 155 | |||||||
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 Colin Woodward and
Tufts/Brian Stauffer graphic
This is how the author sees
the United States, Canada and part of México. |
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| Author sees North America as separate regional cultures By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Are the sometimes stark societal divisions in North America rooted in the reality that, although the United States is one country, it is actually compromised of 11 nations with distinctly different cultures with their own values and viewpoints? That’s the argument made by journalist Colin Woodard in his book, "American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures in North America." Woodard says deeply held and divergent opinions on everything from abortion to gun control have deep historical roots. Woodard believes modern-day opinions in each of these nations were actually formed hundreds of years ago by the people who originally settled these regions. For example, Woodard believes the southern part of the United States was shaped by the battle over slavery and today still resists any perceived efforts to increase federal powers. “There’s never been one American culture but rather several Americas,” said Woodard. “The country was settled, not as a single enterprise, but by entirely separate groups of people founding separate colonial clusters with very different ideals and goals.” The regions overlap national borders. Woodard says the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the founders of these regions aren’t assimilating to an American culture, but to one of these regional cultures, which leads the overall ethos and characteristics of these nations to persist over time. Here’s how Woodard describes each nation: Yankeedom Encompassing the entire northeast north of New York City as well as parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, Yankeedom was founded by radical Calvinists who put great emphasis on education, local political control, and the pursuit of the greater good of the community. Yankees have great faith in the potential of government to improve people’s lives. New Netherland It wasn’t there for long, but the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland had a lasting impact on New York City and northern New Jersey. Woodard describes this global commercial trading society as multi-ethnic, multi-religious, speculative, materialistic, mercantile, and free trading, a “raucous, not entirely democratic city-state where no ethnic or religious group has ever truly been in charge”. The Midlands Woodard says the Midlands — comprised of parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska — are possibly the most American of the nations, having been settled by English Quakers who welcomed people of many nations and creeds to their utopian colonies. “Pluralistic and organized around the middle class, the Midlands spawned the culture of Middle America and the Heartland, where ethic and ideological purity has never been a priority, government has been seen as an unwelcome intrusion, and political opinion has been moderate, even apathetic.” Tidewater This area — encompassing parts of Virginia, Maryland, southern Delaware and northeastern North Carolina — was the most powerful region during the colonial period and the early days of the new republic. Fundamentally conservative, Tidewater places a high value on authority and tradition and little respect for equality or public participation in politics. Woodard says these attitudes are not surprising since this nation was founded by the younger sons of English gentry who aimed to “reproduce the semifeudal manorial society of the English countryside, where economic, political, and social affairs were run by and for landed aristocrats.” Greater Appalachia The people of this nation — including parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois, and Texas — are often stereotyped as rednecks, hillbillies and white trash. Greater Appalachia was settled by “rough, bellicose settlers from the war-ravaged borderlands of Northern Ireland, northern England and the Scottish lowlands,” according to Woodard. Coming from a culture that fostered a warrior ethic and prized individual liberty, these “American Borderlanders despised Yankee teachers, Tidewater lords and Deep Southern aristocrats.” Large segments of the U.S. military have come from this combative culture, including Andrew Jackson, Davy Crockett and Douglas MacArthur. The Deep South Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina make up this nation, which was established by Barbados slave lords as a slave society similar to one in the West Indies, a system “so cruel and despotic that it shocked even its seventeenth century English contemporaries.” The Deep South has historically been a stronghold of white supremacy, aristocratic privilege and a classic Republicanism where “democracy was a privilege of the few and enslavement the natural lot of many”. New France Centered around New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Canadian province of Quebec, this nation is down-to-earth, egalitarian and consensus-driven. New French culture blends northern French peasantry “with the tradition and values of the aboriginal people they encountered in northeastern North America.” Pollsters have found the New French to be the most liberal people in the country. El Norte Parts of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California are in El Norte, which is composed of the borderlands of the Spanish-American empire. Woodard says El Norte — which spreads from the U.S.-Mexico border from 100 miles or more in either direction — is a place apart from the rest of the United States, where Hispanic language, culture and societal norms dominate. In El Norte, being independent, self-sufficient, adaptable and hard-working is valued above everything else. The Left Coast This nation extends from Monterey, California, to Juneau, Alaska, and includes four progressive big cities: San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. Originally colonized by merchants, missionaries and woodsmen from New England, as well as farmers, prospectors and fur traders from Greater Appalachia, the Left Coast has retained a strong sense of “New England intellectualism and idealism, even as it embraced a culture of individual fulfillment.” Today, the Left Coast combines the Yankee faith in good government and social reform with a commitment to individual self-exploration and discovery, according to Woodard. The Far West The high, dry and remote nature of the environment trumped ethnicity in the Far West, where harsh conditions meant most of the colonization was directed by large distant corporations in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco or the federal government because the railroads, heavy mining equipment, dams and irrigation systems were needed to colonize this vast region. Often exploited for the benefit of the nations on either seaboard, Woodard says this nation tends to revile the federal government for interfering with its affairs while still expecting generous federal payouts. Far West states include Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Washington, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Nebraska, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. First Nation This nation’s native people still occupy this area and still retain the “cultural practices and knowledge that allow them to survive in the region” on their own terms. These are Native Americans who enjoy tribal sovereignty but most of this group is in Northern Canada. Two nations, Yankeedom and the Deep South, which are polar opposites, have historically had outsized influence on the country as a whole and tend to be the superpower nations. As people move around, one might assume the country would become more homogenous, but Woodard says the opposite occurs with Americans becoming more polarized as they move to regions they identify with. “That means, in essence, that we are self-sorting,” he said. “That when somebody has an opportunity to move . . . people tend to be moving to places where they feel more at home, where they are surrounded by like-minded individuals. That ends up with a self-sorting effect that ends up reinforcing the differences between these regional cultures.” Woodard expects the characteristics of these cultures to remain fundamentally constant over the next century, a key reason he aspires to make more Americans aware of their forgotten past. “We in North America, we’re a pretty amnesiatic people,” Woodard said. “A lot of these forces of our deeper history are affecting us in all sorts of ways and are handicapping our country’s political debates but, unlike other people in other parts of the world, we just don’t realize that because we tend not to know our history very well and be aware of these things.” Woodward hopes a deeper understanding of the reasons behind strong geographic fissures in this country will help lay the foundation for a more meaningful political and social conversation in the United States. State Department official grilled on trafficking report By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
State Department officials faced sharp questions from U.S. lawmakers after allegations surfaced that the government's annual report on global human trafficking had been adjusted to further the Obama administration’s international agenda, particularly regarding Malaysia and Cuba. Reflecting lawmakers' concerns, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee demanded Thursday that the State Department hand over all documents it used to rank countries in the report, and he threatened to subpoena the papers if the department did not comply. The chairman, Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee, said there would be serious consequences if any materials were destroyed. Corker issued the order as members fiercely questioned Sarah Sewall, undersecretary of State for human rights. In this year's "Trafficking in Persons Report," both Cuba, with which the United States resumed relations this year, and Malaysia, part of a proposed massive free trade pact — the Trans-Pacific Partnership — escaped the harshest judgment. “Many of us are concerned that the upgrading of Malaysia had more to do with trying to make sure that TPP was entered into successfully than a care for people being trafficked,” Corker said. The trafficking report ranks more than 180 countries based on what their governments are doing to fight such crimes as slavery and sex trafficking. The lowest-ranking nations are put in a category called "Tier 3" and are subject to sanctions. The next step is the so-called "watch list." Malaysia was in the Tier 3 category in the 2014 report and was upgraded to the watch list for this year's report. State Department officials insisted the reporting process was done with diligence and integrity. “Tier rankings do not assess the severity of a human trafficking problem in a given country,” Ms. Sewall said. “The tier rankings assess the government’s efforts in addressing human trafficking problems. "The secretary of State is responsible for the 'Trafficking in Persons Report,' and there is no one who can question the secretary’s commitment to the anti-trafficking cause,” she added, referring to John Kerry. Ms. Sewall's testimony seemed not to convince the committee. Corker said he did not think that “anybody in Malaysia that has loved ones who have been sold into sex slavery would be very comforted” by her explanations. "I don't see how anybody could believe that there was integrity in this process," he added. Kerry said Thursday at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations talks in Kuala Lumpur that he had zero conversations with anybody else in the Obama administration about the Trans-Pacific trade agreement. "The reason I made this decision was based on the recommendation of my team because Malaysia has passed additional legislation in 2014, they've consulted with civil society, they drafted amendments to Malaysia's anti-trafficking law in order to allow the country's flawed victim protection regime to change," he said. Kerry said the fact that Malaysia is now on the watch list means there is still a lot of room for improvement. The committee’s top Democrat, Ben Cardin of Maryland, suggested the law mandating the trafficking report could be strengthened to include congressional oversight of year-to-year adjustments in country rankings. Human trafficking subjects vulnerable populations on multiple continents to virtual enslavement, a practice the United States fights by shaming offending nations. The U.S. “has a moral imperative to speak out against trafficking. It involves labor servitude. It involves sex trafficking. It involves financing criminal activities,” Cardin said. Corker noted that "as many as 27 million human beings live in conditions of modern slavery." Lawmakers also raised questions about whether politics played a role in the State Department's upgrade of Cuba after 12 years at the lowest ranking. The change removed another obstacle between the two former Cold War foes at a time of rapprochement. Russian hackers are blamed for Pentagon email invasion By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. media are reporting that hackers based in Russia penetrated the email network of the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff, leading to a two-week shutdown of the system. Media outlets quoted Pentagon officials who confirmed the cyberattack. NBC, which first reported the story, said it was not clear if the attack was sanctioned by Russia's government or was the work of individuals. The attack occurred around July 25 and affected about 4,000 military and civilian personnel. NBC, quoting unnamed sources, said no classified information was seized or compromised, but that the Pentagon shut down the Joint Chiefs' email system during an investigation of the attack. U.S. officials recently confirmed that about 21 million U.S. government employees, contractors and others had personal information compromised in two other cyberattacks suspected to have originated in China. Jon Stewart leaves his job as Television political satirist By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Jon Stewart said goodbye to his fans Thursday, after 16 years on the Comedy Central network's "The Daily Show," which established him as America's foremost satirist of politicians and the media. Stewart, 52, announced last winter that he was getting restless and wanted to move on. Trevor Noah will replace him as host next month. Armed with a razor-sharp wit and a research team adept at finding video evidence of hypocrisy or unintentional comedy among the nation's establishment, Stewart turned a sleepy basic cable entertainment show into a powerful cultural platform. In the process, the show won 22 Emmy awards. A long line of people hoping to get in to the last taping gathered outside the Comedy Central studio on Manhattan's West Side Thursday. First in line was Chad Lance, a 27-year-old musician from Philadelphia who said he arrived at 2:30 a.m. "No one knows who's going to come, no one knows what's going to happen,'' Lance said. "I think this is going to be one of the most exciting TV tapings ever.'' Other fans on line reflected on Stewart's retirement and legacy. Stewart's no-holds-barred style meant that neither conservatives nor liberals were spared. Although he insisted he wasn't a real newsman, Stewart’s humor and heart infused his work and inspired journalists around the globe. The program's new host, Trevor Noah, attended the finale’s taping, but for many, the show will always belong to Stewart. Stewart hasn’t yet confirmed plans for his post-Daily Show life. |
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| 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 |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
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 Ministerio de Seguridad Pública photo
A 26-year-old shoplifting suspect had all this on her
person when shewas detained in San Pedro Thursday, Fuerza Pública officers said. This was her 13th arrest for the same crime, they said. Indexed food prices continue to decline By the Food and Agricultural Organization
news staff
Prices for major food commodities in July hit their lowest average monthly level since September 2009, as sharp drops in the prices of dairy products and vegetable oils more than offset some increases for those of sugar and cereals. Meat prices, meanwhile, remained stable. The Food and Agricultural Organization Food Price Index averaged 164.6 points in July, down 1.0 per cent from June, and 19.4 percent from a year earlier. The index tracks prices on international markets of five major food commodity groups: cereals, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar. In Latin America, however, inflation in June accounted for a .7 percent decline in food prices, slightly less than the month before. In Costa Rica inflation in food prices during June reached 0.4 percent, said the U.N. agency. Regional data is a month behind the world data. In July, the agency said the dairy price index dropped 7.2 percent from the previous month, mainly due to lower import demand from China, the Middle East and North Africa amid abundant EU milk production which has resulted in good availability of dairy products for export. The July vegetable oil price index was some 5.5 percent below its June level, reaching its lowest value since July 2009. The recent slide was primarily caused by a fall in international palm oil prices due to increased production in Southeast Asia combined with slower exports especially from Malaysia, and a further weakening of soy oil prices on ample supplies for export in South America and a favorable outlook for global supply in 2015/16. The cereal price index rose by 2.0 percent from June, but was still 10.1 percent below July last year's level. For the second consecutive month, higher wheat and maize prices, in part due to unfavorable weather in North America and Europe, kept the cereal index rising, but rice prices continued to fall. In July the meat price index remained nearly unchanged from the previous month. An increase in international prices of bovine meat offset a decline for pork and mutton, while prices for poultry remained stable. The sugar price index rose by 2.5 percent from June 2015, largely due to less than ideal harvesting conditions in the main producing region of Brazil. |
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| From Page 7: Contact restrictions ordered on credit agency By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Credit agencies should not send text messages to persons who are not debtors, according to a decision by the Sala IV constitutional court. The case was brought by a woman who said she received constant text messages and telephone calls from a business firm because her brother had a debt. She said that her name had been used as a reference but that she was not a cosigner. She said that such calls damaged her fundamental rights. The court magistrates agreed and ordered that the company involved send messages and make calls in the future only to persons who have incurred the debt. The company was identified in the decision as GMG Comercial Costa Rica S.A., which is associated with the Grupo Monge. The woman was identified only as V. de los Á. R. R. |
