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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 176 |
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More dangerous lightning
predicted for afternoon By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A series of strong storm cells moved west over the metro area Monday peppering the ground with lightning. The same is predicted for today with a hot morning laying the groundwork for strong afternoon downpours. The lightning Monday hit structures near the foreign ministry and in Los Yoses, but no damage was reported. That was not the case Sunday when a 12-year-old girl wielding a machete was struck down by a lightning strike. She was identified by the Judicial Investigating Organization by the last name of Vargas. She lived in Concepción de Pilas and was collecting firewood with two friends. A U.S. tourist also died from a lightning strike on a Guanacaste beach last month. Every year thousands of lightning strikes are recorded by the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional. The institute points out that water in the atmosphere helps conduct the lightning. The girl who died from a lightning bolt did not know it but she broke one of the major rules set down by the weather institute. She was holding a piece of metal in her hand, something the institute warns about. That is why some expat golfers have been killed by lightning in years past. The institute encourages residents to seek protection inside houses with the windows closed or in vehicles. For those caught out of doors during a thunderstorm, the lower is better, the institute says. In fact in some cases, persons in an open field should lie on the ground, said the institute. August traffic deaths were unusually low By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Transport officials say they are pleased because the highway death toll in August was half that of other years. Some 15 persons died on the nation's roads in August, they said. By contrast, 37 died in August 2010, they added. In all, there have been 210 highway fatalities this year, which, if extrapolated, suggests that the year could close with fewer than 300 deaths, a figure traffic officials are hoping to see. That figure still is eight more than in 2010, they noted. Still 2010 closed with fewer than 300 road deaths, they said. That was the first time since 2005. Traffic officials noted that prior to 2005 the last time there were fewer than 300 road deaths was in 1996 when there were just 450,000 vehicles on the road. Now there are about a million. Officials also said that since March 1, 2010, some 3,958 persons have lost the right to drive because they accumulated 50 points or more on their license from various infractions. The new traffic law provides for a two-year prohibition if a driver accumulates that number. In some cases, a string of infractions at the same time can result in 50 points.
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 176 |
Expats will soon have access to Netflix
streaming shows |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Netflix, the Internet movie subscription firm, launched its service in Brazil Monday and will be available in 43 other Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, by next Monday, the firm said. Netflix members from Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean will be able to instantly watch a wide array of American, local and global TV shows and movies right on their televisions via a range of consumer electronics devices capable of streaming from Netflix, as well as on PCs, Macs and mobile devices, said the company. Unlike iTunes, the movies come from a central server and no lengthy download is needed. Still there has been no response from Costa Rica's Internet providers who maintain the fragile system which may be flooded by Netflix streaming signals. One advantage is that if the signal is dropped, viewers can pick up their show at the same point when service is restored. Netflix also allows viewers to pause the signal. The company reports it has 25 million customers in the United States and Canada. The firm has been streaming movies since 2007 and added service to Canada last year, it said.. The firm said in July that it would be entering the Latin American market shortly. Costa Rican residents, including expats, who tried to sign up for the company's services received an Internet page |
that said their computer IP address said they were outside the United States and they could only sign up for notices when the service would be available in their country. The company also offered to send CDs containing movies to U.S. mailing addresses for overseas customers. The price for a monthly subscription in Costa Rica and the rest of Central America will be $7.99, the company said. The company said that the streaming video would be available on televisions with Internet hookup, computers, Xbox 360, PS3 from Sony, iPhone, iPads. iPods, Google TV as well as others. Some 200 different devices in the United States can receive Netflix streaming, the company said. The monthly subscription price allows customers, called members by the firm, to access any number of movies, television shows and foreign offerings, according to the announcement and Web page. Some expats and perhaps some Costa Ricans have rigged their computers so that the Netflix servers think that they are in the United States. So they have been watchings the company's shows for months. |
Moravia home invaders dressed as cops and
simulated raid |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Crooks in Moravia demonstrated a new technique to invade a home early Monday. The gang showed up in four vehicles dressed as policemen, according to the Judicial Investigating Organization. Other sources said they smashed into a garage door to gain entry in much the same way real Fuerza Pública officers do particularly when television cameras are turned on. This happened at 4 a.m., a prime time for police raids. The location was a home in San Vicente de Moravia. At home |
were two adults
and four children. They were threatened by the fake cops when they
gained entry. Taken were 1,700,000 colons in cash, jewelry and cell telephones, said the judicial police. That's about $3,350. Dressing like a policeman is standard fare for crooks. But the new twist in this case was the number of participants and the forced entry into a home. Judicial police said there were at least 10 crooks. There have been many cases of crooks dressed as police officers stopping individuals on the street or highway. |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 176 |
El Carmen La Catedral La Solidad La Dolorosa |
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Church tour
this Saturday
highlights five downtown By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Saturday Alliance Française plans a walk to the downtown churches, and Monday the French cultural organization released some 19th century photos of the various structures. They were taken at a time when oxen still ruled the streets of San José. The proximity of the churches always has been a surprise for visitors. La Solidad is just five blocks east of the cathedral. To the north three blocks is the church of El Carmen. La Merced is six blocks to the west, and La Doloroso is just four blocks to the south. When viewed from above, the churches set the points of the most powerful symbol in Christianity: The cross. All the churches face west. The larger question is how did all these churches manage to attract a sufficient base of parishioners to survive in 19th century Costa Rica. Architect Andrés Fernández is leading the walk Saturday. It begins at 9 a.m. in the headquarters of Alliance at Avenida 7 and Calle 5. The tour ends at lunch in the café of the Teatro Nacional. The organization promises to reveal many more secrets of the churches. The tour costs 15,000 colons, about $30 per person, but that includes brunch. Reservations can be made in advance at the Alliance locations. There are others in La Sabana and Heredia. |
municipal park of the same name now stands. |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 176 |
Self-publishing growing for authors seeking exposure By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
with A.M. Costa Rica insert More and more authors are taking control of their future by self-publishing their work. In fact, more books are self-published than are issued by traditional publishers, according to Bowker, which compiles publishing statistics. Several expats in Costa Rica have self-published works on the market. Self-publishing means the author not only writes the book but takes on production and sales as well. In earlier centuries, most publications were self-published, but over time the role of author and publisher became separate. However, in the last few years, given the difficulty of finding a traditional publisher, a growing number of new authors have chosen to bypass traditional publishing and do it on their own. "Holly Heights" is Patricia Ruth's first novel. “It’s a slice of suburban life and a story everyone can relate to,” she says. After she finished writing and editing her novel, she was eager to see it in print. “I did try to go the traditional publishing route by sending inquiries to agents and publishers.” It was a long, frustrating and, ultimately, unsuccessful process. “I’m a member of a very popular club of authors that get rejected by agents and publishers," she says. "I’d get rejections from agents. It would come on a strip of paper, maybe two inches long, not even the courtesy of a full page letter. It’s outrageous the stuff you get back." However, despite the setbacks, she was still determined to be published and a visit to a book fair inspired Ruth to do it on her own. “I saw that there was so much going on with self-publishing and empowering authors," Ruth recalls."You know I felt it was very doable.” The first step was to discover how to go about it. ”It’s as easy to start as just Googling the word ‘self-publishing’ and you’ll see that there is quite a number of companies that do provide self-publishing services," she says. "It's really very simple.” CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon, is one company which provides self-publishing services. John D. Steinrucken of Palamares is one expat who uses Amazon. He just published “Gringos in Costa Rica: Stories of adventures, romances, tragedies and humor.” A more traditional author and publisher is Christopher Howard, who has a number of Latin American books for sale on Amazon. He has been doing that for years. He is the author of the “New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica” and the “Guide to Costa Rican Spanish.” He also has written guide books about other countries. "One of the key challenges for authors is coming up with their cover," says Libby Johnson McKee, managing director of CreateSpace. "We’ve created a tool called a cover creator, which allows you to use some of our preformatted templates to create your own cover. Once your title is finished and ready for production, we then produce that book, print on demand." However, marketing a book is often more challenging than writing it. “My recommendation is to start local," Ms. Ruth says. "In my community, my local bookstore has a table for local authors. So it’s a matter of getting them to pick your book, maybe do a book signing. I did one. You want to write a press announcement and send it to local radio, TV and newspapers." Self-publishing has its limitations, according to Lorin Rees of Rees Literary Agency. He represents authors to traditional publishers. “Obviously self-publishing gives a lot of control to authors and allows them to fulfill their goals without having to go through a pretty difficult, tiresome and lengthy process and rejections," he says. "However, there are limitations to self-publishing particularly distribution, packaging, editorial support and credibility." Margaret Hollister, who self-published "Inheriting China," a memoir about growing up as the daughter of missionaries in China in the 1920s and 1930s, agrees. “It’s impossible, very, very stressful, so much work and so expensive," she says. “Maybe you write naturally. Maybe that’s a natural thing for you. Publishing and formatting a book and trying to find a market, all that, that is not natural. You need to learn that just as you would learn a profession.” Editor David Minckler helped Hollister publish her memoir and warns others who want to follow her example to be prepared. “I’d say they would have to learn some software and be pretty good at it," he says. "They should know enough to be able to scan pictures, organize a text and proofread.” Digital technology has made it easier for authors, especially younger ones, to self-publish. However, Minckler believes writers will continue to prefer traditional publishers. “A lot of self-published books seem to be pretty trivial and really not of much interest to a wide audience," he says. "So if you're talking about a wide audience, I think established publishers will continue.” CreateSpace managing director Johnson McKee agrees that the traditional publishing industry will always be there. However, she believes self-publishing is here to stay. “Since 2002, the growth of independent published books is over 8,000 percent," McKee says. "So there is really a movement in the industry because anyone who wants to tell their story can be out there. I think that trend of democratization of the publishing process will continue.” As more writers learn the process, McKee says it will become more affordable which, in turn, could attract more people to self-publishing. |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 176 |
Latin America news |
Judicial censorship of media said to favor corruption Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
The Inter American Press Association has voiced concern at a court order in Brazil prohibiting the news media conglomerate Grupo RBS from publishing reports concerning cases of alleged corruption by a Rio Grande do Sul state legislator. In August last year Grupo RBS and the program “Fantástico” broadcast by TV Globo carried a series of reports by journalist Giovani Grizzotti which said that lawmakers in the southern Brazilian state were using allowances to take vacation trips rather than for training courses as they were supposed to be. Following the disclosure the public prosecutor’s office charged 13 of the legislators with misuse of public funds. Gonzalo Marroquín, president of the Guatemala City, Guatemala, newspaper Siglo 21 and president of the hemispheric journalism organization, called the court ban a case of prior censorship and regretted that in Brazil “judges always opt for defending corrupt officials instead of safeguarding press freedom and the transparency that there should be in every government action so as to strengthen democracy.” In the event that any of the media outlets in Grupo RBS, such as its flagship newspaper Zero Hora, fails to heed the court order it will have to pay a fine of 1,000 reals – equivalent to $625 – a day. The legislator initially involved had sued Grupo RBS for libel. Two of the companies that were said to have offered the supposed training courses also filed suit against it, but without success. For several years the Inter American Press Association has been noting a trend among numerous judges in Brazil to protect corrupt officials by censoring news media. The most notable case of such action has been in effect since July 13, 2009, when a court banned the São Paulo newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo from publishing reports about corruption in which one of those said to be involved was businessman Fernando Sarney, son of former Brazilian president and current senator José Sarney. Then in September 2010 a judge prohibited 84 news media in Tocantins and other states from publishing information about an alleged scandal involving the governor, a candidate seeking re-election and the state attorney general. |
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