Your daily |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage |
|||||||||
Home |
Tourism |
Calendar |
Classifieds |
Entertainment |
Real
estate |
Rentals |
Sports |
About us |
|
|
Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
Click HERE for
great
hotel discounts
|
|
Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía
Fuerza Pública officer monitors the new camera system
that watches over downtown Cartago. The system just went into service.y Seguridad Pública photo Police watching Cartago
with electronic eyes By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Law enforcement officials in Cartago are calling the installation of surveillance cameras in the downtown a big step in technology. The cameras are being monitored from a spot inside the Municipalidad de Cartago building but by Fuerza Pública officers. The cameras are not part of the countrywide project planned by the Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública but are the result of a local initiative among the ministry, the Sony company and municipal officials, the ministry said. Cartago now joins other provincial capitals that also have surveillance systems in place. Embassy reminds Canadians that ballots can be mailed in Special to A.M. Costa Rica
Canada’s ambassador in Costa Rica, Neil Reeder, wants to remind all Canadians living in Costa Rica and the region that, under certain conditions, they may be eligible to vote by mail-in ballot in the federal elections Oct. 14. Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, called the elections Sept. 7. Reeder encouraged resident Canadians to determine their eligibility to vote and to make every effort to vote if they are eligible to do so. The embassy said it is making arrangements to facilitate voting arrangements for resident Canadians where possible. Canadian citizens living or traveling temporarily outside Canada can vote by mail. However, they have to meet certain conditions, said the embassy, specifying that A Canadian can vote by special mail-in ballot if he or she • is 18 or older on election day; AND • has a permanent residence in Canada, but is away from the electoral district during the election period; OR • has lived outside Canada for less than five consecutive years (or longer if the voter meets certain employment-based criteria) For more information on eligibility criteria, Canadians are asked to visit Elections Canada’s Web site: www.elections.ca or call Elections Canada in Ottawa, Canada at 613-993-2975 (from anywhere in the world – collect calls accepted), said the embassy. The embassy said that in order to vote, voters must first register with Elections Canada. The embassy will even FAX the forms that voters use to register. The embassy said that voters should register no later than Friday and request a special ballot. The ballot must be at Elections Canada before the deadline of 6:00 PM, Ottawa time, on Election Day. The embassy said that workers there will send back voted ballots if they are received by the end of the business day Oct. 7. Information about candidates is posted on the Election Canada Web site. And more information about voting is linked to the embassy home page. Police sweep in Jacó nets eight U.S. citizens By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Eight U.S. citizens were among the 71 detained in a police sweep of night spots in Jacó Saturday. Officials also said they were surprised to find a 15-year-old girl trying to enter one of the locations that is known as a meeting place of women with foreigners. The sweep was designed to counter sexual exploitation in Jacó, officials said. Police turned out in force. Involved were the Dirección de Investigaciones Especializadas, the Archivo Policial, the Fuerza Pública, the Unidad Canina, the Policía Turística and the Policía Especial de Migración. In all, officials said the identity information on more than 120 persons was run through official data bases. In addition to the U.S. citizens, police said they detained 14 Dominicans, 17 Nicaraguans, 27 Colombians, two Spaniards, a Venezuelan, a Cuban and an individual from Norway. The sweep was the more recent of a series designed to reduce prostitution in Jacó. At least six persons appear to be in the country illegally, and 15 were told by immigration officials that they had to renew their paperwork. Police managed to find 15 grams of marijuana on one women, they said.
|
A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
|||||||||
Home |
Tourism |
Calendar |
Classifieds |
Entertainment |
Real
estate |
Rentals |
Sports |
About us |
|
|
Marchers covered at least
three blocks of Paseo Colón during the morning event. |
A.M. Costa Rica photo
|
Marchers seek to make
statement against ALL violence
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
At least 2,000 people who oppose violence took to Paseo Colón Sunday morning to walk with visiting Mexican actresses and television personalities. The event was a promotion for the Fundación Rostro Humano, which is developing programs to counter violence against women. A majority of the marchers were women, and nearly all wore white, as organizers had requested. However, the kind of violence opposed Sunday covered a wide range. Johnny Araya, mayor of San José, in a talk defined peace as not just the absence of war from the absence of violence. He mentioned a full range, including violence on the highways and that is caused by organized crime. The march was the most public event of a three-day series, which includes a visit today to the Asamblea Legislativa. Among the actresses were Lilia Aragón, who is well known to viewers of Mexican telenovelas. Also there was Yolanda Ventura, Claudia Lizaldi and Pilar Pellicer. The Costa Rican television personality Vica Andrade who works in México also participated. All gave brief comments from a platform erected in the middle of Paseo Colón at the end of the short march. Despite what Araya said, the women focused on inter-familial violence and violence against children. |
A.M. Costa Rica photo
Typical dancers also participated
Some of the visitors also starred in a benefit performance of the "Secretos de la Vagina" Sunday night. This is a Spanish version of the play "Vagina Monologues." |
Arias travels north in search
of a free trade pact extention
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
and wire service reports President Óscar Arias Sánchez said Sunday he would be meeting with President George Bush in Washington later today about an extension for Costa Rica's approval of the free trade treaty. Arias already had a meeting scheduled with Bush for Wednesday at 11 a.m. in New York. Heads of state are gathering there this week for the traditional individual speeches that kick off the United Nation's year. The General Assembly formally opened last week when diplomats met to settle administrative issues and set this year's agenda. This is the 63rd session of the General Assembly But this week is expected to attract far more attention, as the heads of U.N. member states take turns addressing the assembly. Those addresses begin Tuesday and include speeches by Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Arias speaks at 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to Casa Presidencial. The General Assembly president, Miguel d'Escoto Brockman, a former Nicaraguan priest and diplomat, says he will work to pass major reforms of the United Nations. He took a swipe at the United States in a speech last week when he spoke of countries addicted to war. D'Escoto says it is "undeniable" that some members of the Security Council have "an addiction to war," and he says they are threatening international peace and security. In a scarcely veiled reference to the Bush administration, d'Escoto also said no nation has the right "to decide on its |
own which states are sponsors of
terrorism, and which are not." "By now, over 1.2 million people have died as a direct consequence of that aggression and occupation," d'Escoto said about the U.S.-led war in Iraq. The 75-year-old diplomat, who is a Roman Catholic priest, told reporters later he intends to try to reform the U.N. to give the 192-member General Assembly a stronger role, compared to the Security Council, whose permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain — have veto power over U.N. decisions. Costa Rica holds a non-permanent chair representing Latin America this year. Demonstrators opposed to Mr. Ahmedinajad's policies in Iran are planning a major rally for Monday morning. Diplomats and politicians typically use their time in New York to hold meetings on the sidelines of the assembly. So Bush will be meeting with most, if not all, of the heads of countries involved in the free trade treaty. All have ratified the document except Costa Rica, which still must pass a change to tighten its intellectual property laws in order to be in compliance with the treaty. This is the change that was deemed unconstitutional by the Sala IV of the Corte Suprema de Justicia less than two weeks ago. Costa Rica has been working under an Oct. 1 deadline to come into compliance with the treaty. That deadline also was the result of an extension agreed to by all the countries that signed the pact. Arias also said in his weekend television talk that Costa Rica would soon begin negotiations with the People's Republic of China for a trade agreement. |
U.N. seeks to enhance cooperation on trafficking Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said it has strengthened its efforts to tackle human trafficking in Central America by bolstering national prosecutors’ capacities and improving regional cooperation. The drug office in concert with the U.N. Latin America Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, is assessing strengths and weaknesses of public prosecutors and police to create training courses to be held over the next two years. This scheme seeks to boost law enforcement agencies’ investigative and prosecutorial capacities and aims to increase collaboration in Central America on investigations, witness protection programs and investigative techniques. “We need to make this a long-term, sustainable program capable of supporting not only public prosecution and police services in the fight against trafficking, but also other justice operators, such as the judiciary and border control authorities,” said Felipe De La Torre, a U.N. crime prevention expert based in Mexico City. |
|
You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
A.M. Costa Rica fourth news page |
|
||||||||
Home |
Tourism |
Calendar |
Classifieds |
Entertainment |
Real
estate |
Rentals |
Sports |
About us |
|
|
Venezuela kicks out two Human
Rights Foundation critics
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
and special reports A Human Rights Foundation representative says his expulsion from Venezuela following a negative report shows that President Hugo Chavez will not tolerate any criticism. José Miguel Vivanco, the organization's director for the Americas, spoke to reporters Friday in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Vivanco and his deputy were kicked out of the country Thursday after their group released a report saying Venezuela's human rights policies have suffered under President Chávez. Venezuela's Foreign Ministry accused Human Rights Foundation of attacking the country's democratic institutions and illegally interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs. The Human Rights Foundation report accused the Chávez government of discriminating against political opponents, undermining freedoms of expression and association and disregarding the need for an independent judiciary. It also said the government was trying to restrict the work of Venezuelan rights advocates. In New York, Human Rights Foundation said the expulsions indicate the Chávez administration’s growing intolerant of the increased public exposure and scrutiny of human rights violations occurring within that country. “The U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders compels the Venezuelan government to condemn, investigate, and punish promptly and thoroughly any attacks, threats, or intimidation of human rights defenders,” said Alek Boyd, vice-president of program of the foundation. “Venezuela has become a land of chaos, where it is the government that threatens, intimidates, detains, and forcibly removes two human rights defenders for denouncing human rights violations," he said. Boyd said that Vivanco and Wilkinson held a press conference in Caracas to publicize the 230-page report. |
The report
contains damning instances of violations of freedom of expression,
political discrimination, attacks on organized labor, the elimination
of judicial independence, and the overall degradation of human rights,
said Boyd. Vivanco and Wilkinson were detained by the Venezuelan intelligence service, taken to the airport, and expelled from Venezuela, Boyd said. Vivanco is a citizen of Chile, and Wilkinson is a citizen of the United States. Venezuelan Secretary of State Nicolas Maduro characterized the Human Rights Foundation's behavior as “abusive and rude” and stated that Vivanco had violated Venezuelan sovereignty and law for criticizing human rights violations as a foreign national. Maduro also stated that Vivanco’s report was an aggression emanating from “agencies of the United States government” and that his expulsion should lead to “celebration in the streets for this act of sovereign will.” Saul Ortega, a leading member of the Venezuelan Congress, stated that Vivanco is “a paid hit man who stands in front of the cameras, acting the part of a clown in service of the empire.” The Human Rights Foundation said it categorically rejects the behavior of the Chávez administration and calls on José Miguel Insulza, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, to immediately condemn the actions of the Venezuelan government and activate the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Earlier this year, Monica Fernández, a Venezuelan jurist and human rights advocate, was the target of an assassination attempt the day after Venezuelan government television declared her an enemy of the state, the Human Rights Foundation said. Judge Fernandez suffered a gunshot wound while her fiancée was shot five times. The government declared the failed hit job a car robbery and ceased investigating, the organization said. Judge Fernandez is the organization's director of research in Venezuela. |
News from
the BBC up to the minute |
BBC sports news up to the minute |
BBC news and sports feeds are disabled on archived pages. |
A.M. Costa Rica fifth news page |
|
||||||||
Home |
Tourism |
Calendar |
Classifieds |
Entertainment |
Real
estate |
Rentals |
Sports |
About us |
|
|
Our readers comment
on the candidates for the presidency |
||
is a watershed moment Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I am a U.S. citizen old enough to remember former president Eisenhower´s outgoing speech warning of the danger to the future of the "military industrial complex,¨ and the subsequent brief period of "Camelot" where a window opened to appear that the U.S. would fulfill its mandate as a beacon of freedom, and democracy, and hope for the entire planet. It was a time where respect for and service in the government had reached a peak that has fallen precipitously ever since, to the point where we now see the sorry state of affairs that a failure to heed President Eisenhower's warning and the path of militarism, mass armament, wars, killing, and vast destruction on so many levels has led to. In a world where the U.S. has for better or worse taken a leadership role for the last century, its government, over the last 40 years has increasingly stood for the protection of entrenched power and financial interests — at all costs — counter to long-term prospects of peace and prosperity. It has become an ever more corrupt system of perverted capitalism making the wealthy few even wealthier, and expanding an ever more desperate, disenfranchised majority, fostering what we now see as ¨terrorism.¨ In a world where technology has shrunk its size, and spanned borders, the U.S. military industrial complex, has continued unabated to foster ¨war¨ as the means to addressing it´s problems. Witness the so -called ¨war on drugs¨ that has succeeded in little more than turning once safe and peaceful agrarian cultures throughout Latin America into hotbeds of organized crime, threatening to topple entire governments in the region in the spreading carnage of kidnappings, and murder. Corporate controlled government has gotten so far off track to the point that they are mimicking the very nadir of evil that they fought so valiantly to defeat in the Second World War: fascism! The entrenched multi-nationals have turned the U.S. into the policemen for a global order that is on the verge of an unprecedented economic implosion from its own corrupt excess and greed. And so as in 1960, we have another watershed moment in U.S. politics. The choice is very simple. Do we vote for a man who personifies out-dated, old world, entrenched oil, corrupt big business controlled corporate government, anti science, and militarism in Mr. McCain? Or do we embrace the future in a bright young energetic progressive voice for a return to a more democratic way of life in Senator Obama? Hari Khalsa
Cóbano Ms. Palin's Pegler quote was repugnant action Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Thank you, Lenny Karpman. Your letter of Sept. 19 was right on the money. Virtually every credible military and intelligence analyst believes putting the Sunni former allies of al Qaeda in Mesopotamia on the U.S. payroll did as much, if not more, to tamp down violence and improve security in Iraq than John McCain's "surge" of U.S. troops did. It's all so surreal this election cycle. What is fact is perceived as fiction, and vice versa. Given the stakes, it's all pretty disconcerting. I just cast my ballot early at my local town hall because I'll be back in Costa Rica next week for several months. In the 32 years since I've been able to vote, I don't think I've seen the U.S. as divided as it is today. Whether one is a Democrat or a Republican, that reality should be very disconcerting to us all. One of the big issues in the race, especially in the blogosphere, is still Obama's former pastor who, we all can agree, made some over the top statements about 9-11 being the result of America's arrogant foreign policy, among others. But what's interesting, as McCain has groveled before the leaders of the fundamentalist Christian right, men he once called "agents of intolerance" who exercised a ". . . poisonous influence on the Republican Party," no one is pointing out that those leaders, specifically Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, said America only had itself to blame for 9-11 because God was punishing us for allowing women to have the right to make their own reproductive health decisions. But, somehow, that's all been swept under the rug. But not the Reverend Wright. He's continually brought up in the blogosphere. One I post on has a contributor who accuses
|
What's really troubling is how many people buy into such paranoid malarkey. It's truly astounding. So, when John McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate, I knew the malarkey was only going to intensify, and it has. John McCain, from all accounts, really wanted either Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman to be his VP. But his handlers knew their pro-choice stance on abortion would completely alienate the already none too excited far right, fundamentalist Christian base of the GOP that McCain's handlers, even if McCain did not, fully understood was essential to McCain having any chance of beating Barack Obama. That's how and why Sarah Palin, a politician McCain met only once, now is, potentially, a heartbeat away from the presidency. Sarah Palin is not qualified to be president of the United States. It has nothing to do with her gender or experience. It has everything to do with the fact she is a religious extremist, albeit of the Christian variety, who views government as the means through which to impose her political and theological agendas on others. Lest anyone doubt that assertion, consider this. In her acceptance speech, Sarah Palin quoted Westbrook Pegler at some length when she spoke of the "small town" values and virtues he praised, and she possesses as a result of having grown up in "small town" (dare I add, white) America. Westbrook Pegler, a man whose work I am currently reading, was a neo-fascist, white supremacist who, in 1965, said he hoped, "...some white patriot of the Southern tier will splatter his spoonful of brains in public premises before the snow flies." To whom was Pegler referring? Robert Francis Kennedy. Yet Sarah Palin, a woman who could become president, saw fit to quote Pegler in her speech in ways that sure indicated she thinks very highly of him. Now, whether Palin is ignorant of Pegler's repugnant views on many issues, or she actually subscribes to them, I don't know, but, either way, her quoting such a vile character in her acceptance speech was, in my eyes, just one more piece of evidence as to why the country and the world cannot afford a McCain/Palin administration. Michael Cook
North Truro and Newburyport, Massachusetts Puerto Viejo de Limón Why not send more troops? Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I read Mr. Lenny Karpman's letter regarding the U.S. troop "surge" into the Iraq war which John McCain so favors and pose one simple question: If this escalation has proven so successful, why are we not sending still more troops? Surely, there are areas of Iraq which still need pacifying. If more troops constitute the magic bullet (sorry!), let's send still more. Why has John McCain not embraced this obvious strategy? David C. Murray
Grecia McCain is battle tested and he walks the walk Dear A.M. Costa Rica: John S. McCain is the best qualified candidate to lead our country in these troubled times and I’ll list my reasons: McCain is best prepared to assume the role of commander-in-chief. Not since Dwight Eisenhower, has a better prepared candidate entered the race. He has served in both peace and in war over a long and distinguished career. He’s battle tested. This is critical in these challenging times. America is involved in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are trouble spots from North Korea to Iran and a newly resurgent Russia to contend with as well. So, this is no time for an amateur to run for president. On domestic policy, McCain outshines the competition. Neither party can begin to solve the problems we face without a bipartisan approach. McCain has reached across party lines on many occasions to put the business of the American People first — often bucking his own party in the attempt. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama has no such record of compromise or bipartisanship in his short Senate career. One major issue is American energy independence from our dangerous reliance on foreign oil. McCain has put forward detailed proposals to increase domestic oil, gas, coal, shale and nuclear energy production. He prefers an all-of-the-above approach that includes alternative energies like wind and solar. He’s not insensitive to the environment — he’s a true conservationist. Obama panders to the environmentalists. His plan relies on unproven alternative sources of energy that could not possibly be brought online without many years of research and development paid for by massive government subsidies. But we need serious energy production in a matter of years — not decades. And there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. We have vast reserves of energy that could easily be produced for Americans by Americans. Hey, this isn’t rocket science: just drill, baby, drill and we can cut our oil imports substantially and do it cleanly and safely while pursuing cleaner alternatives for the long haul. Obama's plan guarantees we'll import more oil than necessary at great cost to our economy and jobs. The difference is that McCain would go much further to streamline the red tape that allows environmental groups and their allies in Congress to endlessly obstruct access to our own energy supplies. Thanks to Ted Kennedy, and his cohorts, we can't even put a wind farm off of our coasts, let alone drill offshore. Sadly, Obama just nibbles at the margins of the problem while the obstructionists continue to delay energy production regardless of the source. Energy isn’t only an environmental concern. It’s a national security issue with me. Obama would be better off working with a McCain administration to get his energy proposals through the Senate. He’d find McCain more than willing to work with him. Finally, I seriously doubt Obama has what it takes to rein in government spending, runaway entitlements, and end earmarks and the culture of corruption that has gripped both parties over the years. Obama has no plan to challenge, much less root out, the kind of waste, fraud, and abuse that typifies much of Washington politics. He never even mentions the deficit and his own record on earmarks is not very inspiring. While McCain is a reformer who knows what's broken in Washington, and he'll hold both parties feet to the fire to fix it. Obama always talks about being an agent of change. But has he walked the walk? No. McCain is the only man talking about reforms who has a real record of accomplishment to run on. He kept his pledge to run a publicly financed campaign whereas Obama broke his pledge to gain unfair advantage from fat cat contributors. As usual, John McCain walks just like he talks: straight up. I like that. It may cost him the election but I do respect the man for adhering to his principles. That's real change as I see it and not just a bumper sticker slogan. Gary Leonewicz
|
A.M. Costa Rica Sports news local and from the wires |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
|