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San
José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 194
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Media battered
by all that diversity
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The restructuring of the
world's media also is affecting electronic
outlets.
The impact of media diversity
first became apparent with major
newspapers scaling back expensive print products and placing more
emphasis on their digital offerings. Some erected what are called pay
walls.
La Nación in San José did that in the hopes of raising revenue that could not be earned with online advertising. An
analysis of the news
Now lean times are being seen
in the broadcast media. Canal 9 in Santa Ana just laid off 120 staffers
and said that it would just air canned material. That irked some
lawmakers who noted that there is a law that requires radio and
television stations to air at least 30 percent of its programming
generated in Costa Rica. But the lawmakers also found that the fine for
not doing so is just 3,000 colons, a bit less than $6.
Canal 9 and the other
broadcasters are in competition with forces that
did not exist just a few years ago. YouTube, iTunes and a litany of
other online media providers are available wherever there is Internet,
and the millions of pads and tablets can easily access them.
The broadcasters, who are spending top dollar to buy electricity to put their signal in the air are at a disadvantage. But there is an even more troubling aspect to the great diversity in the media. Many persons are being disconnected from the flow of professional news. Pew Research reported in July that more and more Americans are getting their news from Twitter and Facebook. And the younger set are the most likely to be doing this. Pew also reported that 61 percent of the so-called Millennials report getting political news on Facebook. Only 37 percent of this age group that became adults around the turn of the century watch political news on television in a given week, Pew found. Even fewer read serious newspapers or magazines even online. These facts have caused even those serious outlet to dumb down their product in an effort to reach younger readers and viewers. Neil Postman warned about how the public addition to amusement could cause an overall lethargy that could lead to unintentional surrender of basic rights. His 1985 book "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business" pretty well summarized a situation that exists today. Even television commentators are noting that the U.S. presidential campaigns are being smothered in personalities and showbiz that are basically without political substance. From a commercial standpoint, merchants are finding fewer and fewer outlets where they can reach the customers they need at a reasonable cost. Email has pretty much imploded due to excessive spam and viruses. Canal 9, which has been owned by Grupo As Media S.A., has a history that stretched back to 1962 when it was one of only two television stations in the country. As Media acquired it in 2008. The television channel was the only major station to experiment with news in English. But the station management declined to advertise the evening show, and many expats did not know of it. Ironically advertising seems to be at the root of the station's financial problems. Just as it declined to advertise its offering, station managers said the company had a hard time in obtaining paid advertising. The situation will only grow worse as advertisers experiment with the various social media networks, and the public has a large selection of free and amusing offerings. Police
inaction irks Montes de Oca mayor
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Municipalidad de Montes
de Oca is involved in a battle with a
local restaurant mostly because officials declined to issue a liquor
license in March. The newest development is a blast at the police by
the municipal mayor.
Alcohol would seem to be a key ingredient in the firm's business plan because the name is Pub Rock. The location is 200 meters south of Avenida Central in Los Yoses not far from the local police station. That is why the municipal mayor issued an email Wednesday wondering why the police officers who work there are not more vigorous in preventing illegal drinking. The mayor, who is a member of the Partido Renovación Costarricense, said that municipal inspectors have been denied entrance to the restaurant and neighbors complain of illegal alcohol sales Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The operator of the restaurant, whom the mayor identified as Javier Goldoni González, is appealing the denial of the alcohol license to the Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo. Trejos said that last Saturday municipal inspectors found a large crowd of young persons at the restaurant and were denied entry on the grounds that the activity inside was a private party. The mayor said it was incomprehensible and unacceptable that police authorities would not notice these grave situations when they are asked for help from the municipal inspectors. The municipality includes the commercial section known as San Pedro. Expat's expertise
leads to book on audio
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
While many expats are writing
fiction or autobiographies, Grecia
resident
"The first was about how to
market a business online, but I
simply gave it away rather than publishing it. My next project is
to revise and update that first title and publish it for real."
He credits Costa Rica with providing the atmosphere for writing. "The peaceful, quiet, and gorgeous natural scene here is inspiring and quite conducive to writing," he said. "This new audio-related book was written in about two weeks." The book is "iHi-Fi Audio Setup Guide: Enjoy More Authentic Music From Any High-Fidelity Audio System." More information is HERE! Lottery
agency restructures tiempos
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The announcement Wednesday by
the nation's lottery agency might be a sign of the times. The agency,
the Junta de Protección Social, said it was cutting the price of
its tiempos series. Others might just call it marketing.
The tiempos are the weekly lottery for those who do not want to invest a lot of money. The agency said that a full sheet of five tiempo tickets will cost just 1,000 colons or a bit less than $2. In contrast the weekend lottery can approach 20,000 colons for a full 20-ticket sheet when the prize is a big one. Each drawing every few days has two 75,000 winners, two 150,000-colon winners and one prize of 300,000 colons or about $570. Gambling is usually a loser's game, but the lotteries and other games put on by the Junta are worse than most. That is because the Junta supports 437 social agencies and organizations out of the proceeds. Quake felt strongest in capital By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
posted at 2:15 p.m. Earthquake experts say that a 4.5 magnitude quake today in the hills overlooking Quepos was felt more strongly in San José due to the soil underneath the capital. The quake took place at 11:51 a.m., said the Laboratorio de Ingeniería Sísmica at the Unversidad de Costa Rica. The epicenter was estimated at 4.8 kilometers east of Naranjo de Aguire and 9.3 kilometers east northeast of Quepos. |
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 194 | |
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| Two women are murdered, and the suspects are their companions |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A convicted robber on leave from prison is the principal suspect in the murder of a 25-year-old woman Wednesday afternoon. The dead woman, who had the last name of Reyes, was one of two women who died from gunshots in separate incidents. The body of a third woman, possibly a murder victim, turned up after she had been missing for 10 days. The suspects in both killings are companions of the dead women. The convict was identified by the Fuerza Pública by the last name of Barboza. He is 26. Officers said that he had been released from prison on a form of leave and that he was under the obligation to sleep each Wednesday in a prison facility. He had been sentenced to six years. The woman died at the scene in Los Guidos en Desamparados from what initially was described as eight bullet wounds. |
Fuerza
Pública officers obtained an identification of the suspect from the woman's family members and detained him a short distance away. The killing happened about 1 p.m. The second shooting happened about two hours earlier in Cuatro Reinas de Tibás. The victim was a 27-year-old woman by the last name of Garita. Fuerza Pública officers said they found an infant who appeared to be the woman's daughter at the scene. The suspect has the last name of Araya. He is 20, said the Fuerza Pública. The body of the dead woman was found in a La Uruca vacant lot. She was tentatively identified by the last name of Marbelly. She was 31, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. A man collecting refuse to resell found her about 7 a.m. The cause of death was yet to be determined, said agents. |
| Lawmakers troubled by pensions that are not ended by
recipient's death |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The latest scandal is that the country's pension officials continue paying recipients even if they are dead. Lawmakers heard Wednesday that the Dirección Nacional de Pensiones has distributed 1 billion colons to 2,377 dead recipients. That is nearly $2 million. And there does not seem to be an easy way to force the survivors to return the money. |
So lawmakers
are considering changing the pension law to create easy ways to recover
the losses. Costa Rica is not the only country that has pension problems. The United States Social Security Administration has been known to pay dead expats, too. There is no foolproof way to determine when someone dies especially when survivors have an economic reason not to make the report. That is one reason why U.S. expats here are burdened each year with reports they have to send back to the agency. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 194 | |||||
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| U.S. wines found to contain unexpected amounts of natural
arsenic |
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By the University of Washington news staff
A new study found arsenic levels in 98 percent of red wines tested exceed U.S. drinking water standards, but that health risks depend on one's total diet. The University of Washington study tested 65 wines from America’s top four wine-producing states, California, Washington, New York and Oregon. Researchers found all but one have arsenic levels that exceed what’s allowed in drinking water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows drinking water to contain no more than 10 parts per billion of arsenic. The wine samples ranged from 10 to 76 parts per billion, with an average of 24 parts per billion. But a companion study concluded that the likely health risks from that naturally-occurring toxic element depend on how many other foods and beverages known to be high in arsenic, such as apple juice, rice, or cereal bars, an individual person eats. The highest risks from arsenic exposure stem from certain types of infant formulas, the study estimated. The two studies from a university electrical engineering professor, Denise Wilson, appear on the cover of the October issue of the Journal of Environmental Health. “Unless you are a heavy drinker consuming wine with really high concentrations of arsenic, of which there are only a few, there’s little health threat if that’s the only source of arsenic . |
in your
diet,” said Ms. Wilson “But consumers need to look at their diets as a whole. If you are eating a lot of contaminated rice, organic brown rice syrup, seafood, wine, apple juice, all those heavy contributors to arsenic poisoning, you should be concerned, especially pregnant women, kids and the elderly.” Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is toxic to humans in some forms, and can cause skin, lung and bladder cancers, and other diseases. As rain, rivers or wind erode rocks that contain arsenic, it leaches into water and soil. From there, the toxic metalloid can work its way into the food chain. The UW study is the first peer-reviewed research in decades to look at the arsenic content of American wines. As a group, they had higher arsenic levels than their European counterparts, likely due to the underlying geology of U.S. wine growing regions. All but one wine exceeded the 10 parts per billion U.S. drinking water standard for arsenic, and many New York wines exceeded the 15 parts per billion drinking water standard for lead. The study looked at red wines, except from two areas in Washington where only white wines were produced, because they are made with the skin of grapes where arsenic that is absorbed from soil tends to concentrate. Washington wines had the highest arsenic concentrations, averaging 28 parts per billion, while Oregon’s had the lowest, averaging 13 parts per billion. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 194 | |||||||
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| Obama policies in Mideast opened the way for Russians By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. President Barack Obama has been trying to win the battle against Islamic State through a combination of international diplomacy and targeted air strikes. And U.S. officials said Wednesday the U.S.-led coalition will continue to fly over Syria. But analysts and lawmakers differ as to whether Obama’s policies in Syria and in other volatile areas of the world are diluting the image of American power and credibility. Sen. John McCain, an outspoken critic of Obama and a Republican, said the administration’s excess of prudence in Syria has “replaced the risks of action with the perils of inaction." “Into the wreckage of this administration’s Middle East policy, has now stepped Vladimir Putin,” said McCain, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But there is a consensus among some analysts that Washington is happy to let Russia get bogged down in the quagmire of the Syrian conflict. White House spokesman Josh Earnest echoed those thoughts Wednesday. “Russia will not succeed in imposing a military solution on Syria any more than the United States was successful in imposing a military solution on Iraq a decade ago, and certainly no more than Russia was able to impose a military solution on Afghanistan three decades ago," Earnest said. According to Molly O’Toole of the Defense One publication, foreign policy analysts, particularly military analysts, feel that because the U.S. has stepped back that there has been a diluting of credibility when it comes to the American brand of foreign policy. By failing to do enough, “we allowed the forces of anarchy and opportunism to prevail,” agreed Michael O’Hanlon, a national security and defense policy analyst at Brookings. But O’Hanlon said the criticism could not be applied to other volatile areas, such as Afghanistan, Ukraine or the South China Sea. “In broad terms, I think the criticism is unfair,” he said. Washington, said O’Hanlon, has stayed fairly resolute in Afghanistan, its rebalance towards the Asia-Pacific has been successful, and the troubles in Ukraine could not have been prevented easily. Reva Bhalla, Stratfor vice president for analysis, agreed, saying the U.S. objective was to take a step back, she said. “And by doing so they were freeing themselves up to focus on other major priorities, knowing that military entrenchment there is a pretty thankless effort after a while,” she said of Syria. At 70 years, U.N. struggles to maintain relevancy By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The United Nations' founders set out 70 years ago to prevent another world war. In that, they succeeded to date, but there has been no shortage of crises and conflicts to test the organization. The world body has grown over those years and as it moves into its next decade will decide what it needs to do to stay relevant going forward. The United Nations was born out of the ashes of World War II and the failures of its predecessor, the League of Nations. At a conference in San Francisco in 1945, the organization’s charter was drawn up, seeking to foster a more peaceful world and promote and develop human rights. President Harry Truman told delegates there were many who doubted they could succeed because of their differences. “But these differences were all forgotten in one unshakable unity of determination - to find a way to end war," said Truman. That October, the United Nations was officially established after 29 of its first 50 member states ratified the charter. Today, there are 193 member states. Michael Doyle, an advisor to former secretary-general Kofi Annan, says the organization got off to a rocky start. “During the Cold War, the split between the Soviet Union and the U.S. created an institution that was at loggerheads with itself. It could only work in the margins in peacekeeping, and those particular conflicts where the U.S. and Soviets wanted to take it off their own rivalry and let it work on the side," said Doyle. U.N. peacekeeping was born during this period. Growing from a couple thousand blue helmets addressing the Suez Crisis in 1956, to more than 100,000 soldiers and police today. Peacekeepers protect civilians and aid workers in some of the world’s most dangerous trouble spots. The U.N. also delivers humanitarian assistance to victims of war and disasters, and tries to prevent and resolve conflicts. More recently, it has taken on climate change and eradicating extreme poverty. Eight men have led the U.N. since 1945. Next year, a new secretary-general will be elected. Many say it is time for a woman. There also are calls for organizational reform, particularly in the Security Council, where five countries hold veto power. “The one thing everyone can agree about is that the Security Council, as it was framed in 1945, no longer represents the power structure of the year 2015," said Tom Weiss from the City University of New York. Doyle says emerging powers want a seat at the table, and elected council members want more respect. “The absence of a larger role of India, of Brazil, of Japan, of Germany, and one could go on, is significant. There are times at which the elected 10 feel like, as they call themselves, tourists rather than players," he said. “However, unless there are some major shakeups, some major structural reforms, that the institution will become more and more marginal, it will become more of a historical relic," said Weiss. U.S. Navy stops arms ship that was coming from Iran By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. Navy says a member nation of a U.S.-backed naval coalition intercepted a ship carrying illicit arms believed to be from Iran in the Arabian Sea last week. A Navy spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, said the small cargo vessel was not formally registered to any country. Hawkins said illicit arms suspected to be Iranian and Russian, including anti-tank weapons, were seized. He said most of the weapons were disposed of at sea but some were saved for analysis by the crew of a U.S. guided missile destroyer, U.S.S. Forrest Sherman that arrived soon after weapons were discovered. Hawkins said the cargo vessel's crew indicated that the ship's destination was Somalia. He said the crew was allowed to depart once the weapons were confiscated. In a separate account of the vessel's seizure, the Saudi-led coalition battling Iranian-backed Shi'ite Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed it had foiled the smuggling attempt. The coalition alleged that Iran was using the vessel to ship arms to the rebels. Pacific Partnership enters the final lap in Atlanta By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Twelve nations are set to continue haggling over trade in cars, drugs and dairy products at a meeting of top trade officials in Atlanta this week. News reports say the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks are reaching a final stage after years of negotiations. Treaty supporters say the pact would increase trade and boost economic growth for participants, who make up 40 percent of the globe's economy. Critics of the pact in the United States say it does too little to protect American jobs, the environment and the rights of union workers and will increase the costs of some drugs. Some Canadian dairy interests are pressing to keep protections for their farmers, but those provisions annoy Canada's trading partners in New Zealand and the United States. Japanese and U.S. automakers are seeking good terms for their industries, and Washington wants to increase the length of time certain new drugs get patent protection. Resolving these and other disputes is made more difficult by pending elections in several key nations, where presidential candidates and legislators who must approve any deal will face voters, including some who fear that trade deals threaten their jobs. U.S. participation in the trade pact has always faced a tough road to approval by Congress, and analysts say the pending departure of House Speaker John Boehner, a strong trade supporter, is likely to make that task even more difficult. The top negotiators from the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam have been trying to work out final details for several days. Trade ministers from these Pacific nations are gathering in what supporters hope will be a push to get a deal finalized. New 'Daily Show' host seen differently in U.S. and home By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
How did South African comedian Trevor Noah do in his debut as host of the wildly popular American news satire "The Daily Show"? The answer depends on which side of the Atlantic Ocean you’re on. In his native South Africa, Noah's debut was widely hailed as a smash hit, with South Africa’s foreign minister taking time out of her schedule at the United Nations General Assembly to visit the comedian in his new New York studio. Having a South African host the show, said Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, is not funny business. It’s cultural diplomacy. "Mr. Noah is assuming an important global platform through which he will be flying the South African flag high,” she said in a statement. On Twitter, many South Africans described him as brilliant, praise coming from people as diverse as comedians to the nation’s sports minister to the national rugby team. But across the sea, Americans described his debut with indifference. In fact, in the youth mecca of Austin, Texas, only one person from among dozens approached by a reporter actually watched the show Monday night. And that one person does it for a living. Omar Gallaga is a technology and culture critic for the Austin American-Statesman, the largest newspaper in the state capital. Speaking the morning after Noah's debut, he echoed sentiments made by other American critics. “I really don’t feel, based on the first episode, that it was much different than 'The Daily Show' under Jon Stewart,” Gallaga said. “The writing felt very similar . . . To me, it felt very much like a substitute teacher trying to hype everybody up over the same lesson plan.” Noah, who is 31, was touted as the younger, cooler version of Stewart, who grew progressively more ornery and gnarled during his 16-year tenure. Noah underscored this point by referring to Stewart as dad during his opening monologue. But it appears Noah will have to try to win America’s youth, many of whom said they just didn’t watch the show. Justin Heubner, a cool, bouffanted 28-year-old bicycle taxi operator, slowly explained this phenomenon. “A lot of people don’t watch TV anymore, at least a lot of younger people, don’t watch TV or have cable,” he said. The debut show was not, he said, a home run. And likewise, he acknowledged that two of Noah’s jokes, one about the lack of indoor plumbing in South African homes, and another about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, were maybe better understood by an African audience. USS Ronald Reagan arrives at its new base in Japan By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
One of the most advanced U.S. aircraft carriers has docked at its new home in Japan, the latest sign of deepening military ties between Washington and Tokyo. The nuclear-powered, Nimitz-class USS Ronald Reagan was welcomed by Japanese officials as it arrived in the port of Yokosuka on Thursday, one day ahead of schedule. At a ceremony, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said the substance and symbolism of the carrier's presence cannot be overstated. "The arrival of the USS Ronald Reagan and the welcome she receives from the people of Japan are visible symbols of our shared commitment to one another and to regional stability," he said. The USS Ronald Reagan is one of only 10 Nimitz-class U.S. aircraft carriers in existence. It replaces the USS George Washington, which is headed back to the U.S. for maintenance work and upgrades. In a statement, Japan's foreign ministry welcomed the arrival of the carrier, saying it will "contribute to the security of Japan and the maintenance of peace and security of the region." Some local groups have expressed opposition to the carrier's presence. On Thursday, a group of protesters in a small boat sailed next to the massive warship with a sign that read, "You are not welcome here." There has long been some local resistance to the U.S.-Japan defense alliance, which has placed nearly 50,000 American troops and some of Washington's most expensive military hardware in the country. Regardless, Japan has tightened its defense relationship with the U.S. and also has been loosening the restrictions on its own defense forces as it attempts to deal with an increasingly powerful China. China is engaged in a decades-long, worsening dispute with Japan over an area around a group of uninhabited islands in the strategically located and resource-rich East China Sea. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
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 U.S. Hurricane Center graphic
Map shows the wind speed
probabilities associated with hurricane. Strong Hurricane Joaquin may hit U.S. By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Hurricane Joaquin has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm as it approaches the Bahamas. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said late Wednesday that Joaquin's winds have increased to a sustained speed of about 185 kilometers per hour. The center says the storm may turn northwest after passing through the central and northwestern Bahamas and head for the mid-Atlantic states on the eastern U.S. coast. A hurricane warning has been issued for Grand Bahama and New Providence islands, where much of the population is concentrated. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami predict the storm will pass over the Bahamas today and Friday. The long-term forecast for the storm predicts it may approach the U.S. coastline by Sunday. Joaquin's track after the Bahamas is difficult to forecast. But at least one computer model has it going straight into the Chesapeake Bay of Virginia and Maryland Sunday and Monday as a Category 2 storm, which would be bad news for such major inland cities as Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Another track has it going out to sea, away from the coast. Separately, a low pressure system stalled over the eastern seaboard is forecast to drench coastal cites Thursday and Friday with several centimeters of rain. |
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| From
Page 7: U.S. impact negligible from Caribbean pact Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The overall effect of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act on the U.S. economy and U.S. consumers continues to be negligible while the effect on beneficiary countries is small but positive. That is the report from the U.S. International Trade Commission. The independent, nonpartisan, fact-finding federal agency, recently issued its 22nd biennial report monitoring imports under the Caribbean Basin treaty, which has been in force since Jan. 1, 1984. Costa Rica used to benefit from this until it entered into the free trade treaty with the United States. The agreement affords preferential tariff treatment to most products of the designated Caribbean countries. The latest report notes that total U.S imports from all Caribbean countries declined for a third consecutive year to $8.5 billion in 2014. U.S imports under the Caribbean agreement totaled $2.0 billion in 2014, a decline of 16.8 percent from $2.4 billion in 2013, said the report. |
