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Published Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, in Vol. 17, No. 186
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 186
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Arias
at 76 decides he will not run
By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
The 2018 presidential elections here are shaping up to be a brawl. But Óscar Arias Sánchez, the 76-year-old ex-president, will not be a candidate, he said Monday. Arias, who turned 76 just this month, was considered an even bet to try for a third term as the Partido Liberación Nacional standard bearer. His decision is a benefit for former president José María Figueres, who has been acting like a candidate for the last year. Like Arias, he comes with a lot of baggage. Also expected to seek the nomination from Liberación is the younger Antonio Álvarez Desanti. He has sought the nomination unsuccessfully previously, but in 2014 he was the campaign manager for Johnny Araya Monge, who ended up dropping out of a runofff with current president Luis Guillermo Solís. Araya probably could not win the nomination again from his party because he did so, but Álvarez emerged untarnished. Arias and Figueres head competing wings of the party. Of course, Óscar Arias’ decision leaves an opening for his brother, Rodrigo, who is just 70. The younger brother always has been considered an astute politician, although behind the scenes. He served in his brother’s administration. Christiana Figueres traveled the world By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
Christiana Figueres may be able to write a best-selling travel book. She visited China, Paris, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Germany, Angola, Spain, New York and Washington among others. She only spent 6.6 million colons of the Costa Rican taxpayers money. That’s about $12,121. As she was named the country’s choice to be secretary general of the United Nations, she assumed the title of special ambassador according to the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto. The ministry released a detailed list of her travels Monday and included a summary of what the government has spent on her quest. The members of the U.N. Security Council make the nomination, and that is ratified by the General Assembly, so there is a lot of politicking involved. As it turned out, Ms. Figueres, despite her prominent role as secretary of the U.N. Climate change organization, finished out of the money. A new secretary general has yet to be named. Apparently she put a lot of her own money into the campaign, because the ministry noted that she paid for some travel, including trips to Germany and New York. The amount the government had invested in the campaign became an issue when she withdrew, so the ministry prepared the summary. She has said she is not interested in becoming involved in national politics even though her brother maybe a candidate. Art lovers asked to defy the rains By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
Culture-conscious Costa Ricans are being asked to defy the rains, open their umbrellas and visit museums, galleries, parks, plazas and heritage sites Wednesday evening. This is another edition of Art City Tour that opens up the capital’s cultural gems to free visits. The event is organized by GAM Cultural, which also provides free bus service. Some sturdy souls also travel between the locations on bikes. This is the fourth such event this year, and more than 2,000 persons are expected to participate from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.. The Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud is promoting open houses at the Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo in the Centro Nacional de la Cultura, the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, the Museo del Jade y la Cultura Precolombina, the Museo Calderón Guardia, the Museos del Banco Central and the Museo de Arte Costarricense in Sabana Este.
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Colorado S.A 2016 and may not be reproduced anywhere
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 186
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| Multiple
eruptions give some residents a taste of the future |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
“The ash is in my hair and on my clothes!” That was a typical refrain from residents north of San José Monday as multiple eruptions of the Turrialba volcano sent vapor and ash to the west. The eruptions grounded aircraft and sent dark clouds sweeping into the foothills to the north. The bad news is that such eruptions of vapor and ash might continue for some time, perhaps even years, according to the experts. The hardest hit are those with respiratory weaknesses. The U.S. Geological Survey said that ash fall was substantial within three kilometers of the volcano crater. Within 10 miles to the southwest there were minor ash falls. Still, the column of ash rose as much as 4.5 kilometers into the air and traces fell as far as the Pacific coast. The Ministerio de Salud released a list of preventative measures, particularly for those with existing health problems. They included using glasses and a wet handkerchief or mask to protect the face. Also suggested was to rinse the mouth with clean water regularly and to avoid eating in public so as not to accidentally consume ash. The ministry also noted that ash is slippery, and those who run should take extra precautions and that clothing should be changed if contaminated with ash. Although local television made a big deal about the eruptions that took place Monday, a check of news files covering the 1963 eruptions of the adjacent Irazú volcano showed that residents in the capital were shoveling ash off the roofs of their homes to prevent collapse. The Red Sismológica Nacional said that significant eruptions took place at 2:33 a.m., 11:32 a.m., 2:37 p.m, 3:34 p.m. and 4:06 p.m. The column of ash reached 14,235 feet, said the Observatorio |
 Observatorio
Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica
photo
Ash swooping down on the Catholic church in
Vasquez de Coronado is reminiscent of the U.S. Dust
Bowl in the 1930s.Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica. Both agencies follow the volcanoes closely, and the Red had scientists on the summit of Turrialba Monday to adjust the surveillance cameras there. The Dirección General de Aviación Civil closed Juan Santamaría airport at midday due to the ash falling there. Eight planes were preparing to take off at that time. Only one aircraft managed to land there Monday night, a summary of flight operations showed. More than a dozen incoming flights were either canceled or diverted. Many tourists spent an unexpected night here with the hopes that conditions would be better today. Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia seemed to be operating normally, but flights to San José were delayed. During the peak of the ash fall some motorists felt the need to turn on their headlights. Vehicles are a whole different story, and owners of those in areas with plenty of ash have been advised to have vehicle filters checked. |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 186
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| Twitter,
struggling for solvency, relaxes limit on photos and links |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Twitter has relaxed its 140 character limit, but before someone starts writing that 1,000-word tweet, the change only means that links and pictures won’t count toward the limit. A report in May hinted that the social media company was considering the move. Later, Twitter confirmed the news and Monday the company announced the changes were rolling out. Twitter, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, has been trying to grow its user base and to find revenue streams. The company has never turned a profit despite a user base of over 300 million users. The company reportedly lost over 2 million users in 2015. |
Jack
Dorsey, who founded Twitter and then left, came back to
the company last year to try to revive its fortunes,
saying he was “not going to be shy about building more
utility and power into Twitter for people. As long as it’s
consistent with what people want to do, we’re going to
explore it.” Like Facebook, Twitter has been encouraging the use of media such as photos and videos, and recently added a polling feature. The company also tweaked the timeline allowing users to see so-called best tweets first or to continue to see them in chronological order. The company announced that it reached a $10 million deal with the National Football League to stream 10 Thursday night games during the upcoming season. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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of
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Colorado S.A. 2016 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 Fifth news page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 186
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captured in Jersey gun battle By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The suspect in Saturday night's bombing in New York City that wounded 29 people is in a hospital recovering from bullet wounds after a shootout with police. Prosecutors have charged 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami with five counts of attempted murder stemming from the shootout that wounded two officers. Police arrested Rahami in Linden, New Jersey, outside Manhattan, hours after police sent out a city-wide bulletin with his picture, saying he was wanted for questioning. A bar owner in Linden called police Monday morning to complain that a man was sleeping in a doorway of his business. Officers recognized the man as Rahami, who opened fire and wounded two policemen before he was injured. None of the wounds is considered life-threatening. The FBI is not saying how they zeroed in on Rahami as the bombing suspect. But investigators saw a man on surveillance video at the bomb site in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, and near a second bomb left several blocks away. The second explosive was found before it could detonate. Investigators also reportedly found fingerprints on a bomb fragment. The FBI wants to question Rahami about another bombing Saturday morning in Seaside Park, New Jersey, south of New York, that forced the cancellation of a charity road race. No one was injured. Other bombs were found in a garbage can at a train station Sunday morning in Elizabeth, New Jersey. One of the bombs exploded while a robot was trying to disarm it. Again, no one was hurt. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Rahami is the only suspect so far. The mayor Monday said there is every reason to believe the bombings were acts of terrorism, and the FBI is looking for any links to foreign terror groups. Rahami was born in Afghanistan and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He and his family run a fried-chicken restaurant in Linden that has a steady number of loyal customers. But it also had trouble with the city of Linden for what neighbors said was round-the-clock noise and crowds at the eatery. Some of the restaurant's customers say they are shocked that Rahami is a suspect, calling him friendly. They say he let local bands practice in the back of the restaurant, and gave them free food. Bombings generate reactions from both political candidates By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Bombs in New York and New Jersey became a point of contention in the U.S. presidential contest and prompted calls for action Monday on Capitol Hill. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said she wants a new intelligence surge to fight terrorism. She said experts in America's Silicon Valley technology hub could help devise ways to monitor Internet conversations among plotters and prevent attacks before they occur. "Let us be vigilant, but not afraid," Mrs. Clinton told reporters in New York. The technological challenge was emphasized by a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who said that U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies are blind to self-radicalized terrorists who have carried out lone wolf attacks on American soil. "It is extraordinarily difficult for our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to identify people who are at risk of radicalization, particularly in a world where they no longer need to travel in order to become radicalized," said Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican. "They can become radicalized through the internet. And with the tech community increasingly developing applications that are encrypted, even when there is suspicion that an individual is undergoing radicalization and may pose a threat to our country, our law enforcement officials are blind to what is happening," Sen. Collins said. On the presidential campaign trail, Republican nominee Donald Trump once again urged tightening immigration standards for people entering the United States. Referring to those who have perpetrated terrorist attacks in the United States, Trump said, "Hillary Clinton wants to allow hundreds of thousands of these same people" into the country. Trump said U.S. police know who a lot of these people are but are afraid to do anything to stop attacks because they do not want to be accused of racial profiling. Mrs. Clinton pledged that she, too, wants tough vetting, but said the county is well equipped to meet the challenge of keeping out would-be terrorists. "And we can do so with keeping smart law enforcement, good intelligence, and in concert with our values," she said. On Capitol Hill, the weekend attacks prompted renewed calls for action. The Senate's top Democrat, Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, has long advocated banning those on the government's terror watch list from purchasing firearms. "Congress must do more to prevent these acts of terrorism altogether," Reid said in floor remarks Monday. "Right now as we speak, there is a loophole in our law that allows potential FBI terror suspects to legally purchase guns and explosives. Stop and think about that." Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican, meanwhile, called on President Barack Obama to sign a bill passed by Congress allowing Americans to sue foreign entities that sponsor terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. "It stands for the proposition that Americans should have recourse against those involved in terrorist attacks on our homeland," Cornyn said. "You would think that that would not be particularly controversial." Sen. Collins, meanwhile, urged greater engagement with America's Muslim community. "For our country to be attacked that many times in a 36-hour period is a call for action," she said. "We need members and leaders of the Muslim community to step up and cooperate more fully with law enforcement, and also to provide a counter-narrative to those young people who, for whatever reason, have fallen under the sway of radical Islamic extremist groups." U.S. feds gave citizenship to 858 awaiting deportation By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The U.S. government has mistakenly granted citizenship to more than 800 immigrants that it was supposed to have deported. An internal Homeland Security Department audit released Monday found the 858 immigrants came from countries that pose a national security risk to the United States or countries with high rates of immigration fraud. The report did not identify the countries. The Homeland Security Department's Inspector General John Roth said the immigrants used different names or birth dates to apply for citizenship. He said the mistakes happened because the applicants’ fingerprints were missing from government databases. "This situation created opportunities for individuals to gain the rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship through fraud," Roth said. At least three of those who were mistakenly granted citizenship were able to use their citizenship to get jobs in security-sensitive fields, including work at commercial airports and maritime facilities. The Department of Homeland Security say all three have had their security credentials revoked. A fourth person has become a law enforcement officer. Investigators last year identified another 953 cases that also appear suspicious. The Department of Homeland Security says the report highlights what has long been a challenge for immigration officials, the fact that old paper-based records containing fingerprints cannot be searched electronically. The audit recommends that paper fingerprints be digitized and added to the government's database. It also recommends that officials create a system to evaluate the hundreds of people who were mistakenly approved for citizenship. Charges have been brought in two of the cases. Immigrants are required to disclose any previous aliases they have used with immigration officials as well as their immigration history, but they sometimes omit that information. Economics remains an issue in the November elections By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Seven years into the recovery, economic frustration remains a key driving force in the anger that seems to be fueling the U.S. November election. Despite new economic data suggesting more people are working, and their wages are rising, a lot of people say the economic recovery has left them behind. Among them is Denise Alber from Stafford county in Virginia. She has two college degrees but has opted to take care of her 98-year-old mother. Together, they receive a fixed income of roughly $25,000 a year, a little more than the poverty rate for a family of two. Looking at her monthly bills, she laments that while the cost of food, medicines and health care have gone up, her family’s income has not. "It's been very, very difficult to maintain the same standard of living. We have not been able to maintain it." Ms. Alber adds that like many Americans, she believes there's a war on the middle class. Ms. Alber’s situation is at odds with new census data showing median household incomes surged 5.2 percent in 2015, the most since 2007. That increase, the first in eight years is another indication that the U.S. recovery continues. However, economists say the increase still leaves household incomes nearly 2 percent below 2007 levels, before the start of the Great Recession. Maya MacGuineas, the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget understands why many Americans feel like the recovery has left them behind. “You used to have a bargain that you would have a job, and your salary would grow through your twenties or thirties or forties or fifties or sixties when you retire, and you would have a secure retirement. I don't think it feels like that anymore.” Economists say it’s that sense of betrayal that’s driving a lot of the anger in this election cycle. Some of it, fueled by a perception that middle class incomes have remained stagnant while the wealthiest have prospered. Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington says the income gap has only widened since the recession. “The top 5 percent is still the only group that has completely returned back to their 2000 levels. So they’ve made up lost ground. There’s inequality across the income distribution and as you say correctly there’s inequality between groups.” Ethnic and minority households saw the biggest gains in 2014 and 2015 with real incomes increasing 6.1 percent among Hispanics and 4.1 percent among African Americans. But minority groups also lost a bigger share of income during the recession and have further to go to reach parity with whites. The latest census figures show African American median household income is about 59 percent of white median household income, and still about 11 percent below what they used to earn before the recession. Most economists say the income gap between rich and poor, between races and gender reflects a structural problem created by the political dysfunction in Washington. One example, says poverty rights advocate Maria Foscarinis at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, is that Washington currently spends more on putting people in jail than lifting people out of poverty. Washington seeking a role in controlling driverless cars By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The Obama administration is seeking to steer the rapidly growing industry of automated vehicles. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Monday said the federal government intends to set the safety standards for cars of the future in which no human is involved in the driving, even while individual states still regulate cars with humans behind the wheel. States, Foxx said, should stick to registering cars and dealing with questions of liability when they crash. The administration, in its most comprehensive statement yet on autonomous cars, also gave a strong backing to the industry that it says will make the nation's roads safer and more efficient. "We envision in the future, you can take your hands off the wheel, and your commute becomes restful or productive instead of frustrating and exhausting," said Jeffrey Zients, director of the National Economic Council, adding that highly automated vehicles will save time, money and lives. The Department of Transportation announced a 15-point safety standard for the design and development of autonomous vehicles, including the vehicle's perception and response functionality, how well the cars manage in case of technical failures, data recording and information sharing capabilities, user privacy and security from hacking. Traditional automakers and tech companies have been testing self-driving prototypes on public roads for several years, with a human in the driver's seat just in case. The results suggest that what once seemed like a technology perpetually over the horizon now appears to be fast approaching, especially with car companies announcing a series of investments and acquisitions in recent months. Foxx and Zients spoke to reporters ahead of a news conference scheduled for today at which they plan to provide greater detail of their guidance to automakers and states. World Bank warns of costs from infections by superbugs By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The growing number of superbug infections could push 28 million people into extreme poverty, hurt the economy as badly at the 2008 financial crisis, make health care costs soar, damage livestock production and cost millions of human lives by 2050 unless there is prompt, effective and sustained action. The warnings Monday come from a World Bank report on the costs of the rising tide of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, that experts say grow from the misuse and overuse of antimicrobial drugs. Global leaders are set to discuss the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance this week in New York. Antibiotics can treat bacterial infections but have no effect on diseases caused by viruses. Patients often pressure doctors to prescribe antibiotics for illnesses where antibiotics provide no benefit. Antibiotics are also fed, by the ton, to livestock in order to help them grow more quickly. Whenever an antibiotic is used, it kills most, but not all, bacteria. The surviving bacteria are antibiotic-resistant and now have no competition for food or space. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria, dubbed superbugs can now quickly reproduce and become the dominant strain of this particular bacteria. That means an antibiotic that was once effective at treating a particular infection now has little impact. Over time, more and more antibiotics have been worn out in this fashion, and the world could now face a future where diseases that were once easily treated are now serious, expensive and sometimes deadly problems. Various experts say the problem is complex and solutions could include better farming practices as well as diagnostic tests to help doctors avoid inappropriately prescribing antibiotics. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls antibiotic resistance one of the world's most pressing public health problems. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents
of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2016 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 sixth news page |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Tuesday,
Sept. 20, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 186
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Pokémon
GO called driving distraction By
the JAMA Internal Medicine news staff
Motorists, passengers and pedestrians beware. A new report published online by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests the wildly popular augmented reality game Pokémon GO is distracting. John W. Ayers of San Diego State University, California, and coauthors hunted through social media posts on Twitter and news stories in Google News to report on drivers distracted by the game and crashes potentially caused by players trying to collect Pokémon in real-world locations. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for a primary target audience of the game, those individuals between the ages of 16 and 24. Young drivers are susceptible to distraction, with the American Automobile Association reporting that 59 percent of all crashes by young drivers involve distractions within six seconds of an accident. Study authors collected a random sample of 4,000 tweets containing the terms Pokémon, driving, drives, drive or car for a 10-day period in July, as well as news reports that included the terms Pokémon and driving. The authors report 33 percent of the tweets indicated that a driver, passenger or a pedestrian was distracted by Pokémon GO, which correlated to 113,993 incidences reported on Twitter in 10 days. Of the tweets, 18 percent indicated a person was playing and driving; 11 percent indicated a passenger was playing; and 4 percent indicated a pedestrian was distracted. Some 14 crashes were attributed to Pokémon GO, including one player who drove his car into a tree according to news reports. “Pokémon GO is a new distraction for drivers and pedestrians, and safety messages are scarce,” the research letter reports. The authors suggest their findings could help develop strategies for game developers, lawmakers and the public to limit the potential dangers of Pokémon. “Pokémon GO makers can also voluntarily make their game safer. Game play is already restricted at speeds greater than 10 miles per hour. Making the game inaccessible for a period after any driving speed has been achieved may be necessary given our observations that players are driving or riding in cars. At the same time augmented reality games might be disabled near roadways or parking lots to protect pedestrians and drivers alike, given reports of distractions herein. Games might also include clear warnings about driving and pedestrian safety,” the report concludes. India sets up its first child porn hotline By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
India on Monday launched its first internet hotline to encourage people to report online child pornography and curb a surge in photographs and videos on the internet showing children being sexually exploited, the founders of the initiative said. Siddharth Pillai, co-director of Indian anti-trafficking charity Prerana's Aarambh Initiative that will run the hotline said it would be the first step to removing online images. "First report, then block, and then take down," Pillai said The hotline is a simple online form which the public, police, internet companies and victims can access in either Hindi or English. Child sexual abuse imagery is a global problem, say experts. There were 96 reports of children in India being sexually exploited in online imagery in 2015, a rise of 140 percent from 2014, according to National Crimes Records Bureau data. |
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| From Page 7: U.S. plans to award $1 million for wildlife By the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
The U.S. Government has allocated $1 million for wildlife preservation projects in Central America for next year, and the application deadline is Dec. 16. In Costa Rica, the government through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified the Osa peninsula and the Parque la Amistad wilderness areas as priorities. The grant announcement specifically excludes marine turtles and birds because these are covered by other programs. The federal agency said that it is providing this funding opportunity to reduce threats to key species and ecosystems in Central America and to strengthen the capacity to sustain conservation processes in the long-term. Because existing protected areas within Central America alone are too small and isolated to maintain ecosystem functions and large scale processes, the Wildlife Without Borders-Central America program uses a landscape-scale approach to conserve the region’s unique ecosystems and jaguars, tapirs, macaws, and other iconic wildlife that can also serve as umbrella species for the rest of the region’s biodiversity, the agency said. There are seven other areas in Central America and Panamá eligible to be included in the grant. Among the priorities is the preservation of jaguars. “Today, direct threats to the jaguar in Central America include: habitat loss and fragmentation, direct killing by humans who view jaguars as a threat to their security or to their livelihoods, and depletion of their natural prey due to subsistence or commercial hunting.” The full grant summary is HERE! |
