Father and son from U.S.
reported victims in surf


Two U.S. citizens, father and son, became trapped in the surf at  Parrita Sunday morning. The son died and the father was missing.
The Fuerza Pública said it joined a search with the Cruz Roja for the father, whose age was given as 85. The police said they received the alert at 10:15 a.m.

Both men are believed to be named Campbell, but the Fuerza Pública has no additional identification.

Police said the two men were swimming near the Super Sol in Parrita Centro when the mishap took place.

The U.S. State Department reports that from 12 to 14 U.S. citizens died in water accidents in Costa Rica every year.

Talks may begin this week
between Honduran foes


Honduras's de facto leader and the country's ousted president will begin negotiations this week aimed at resolving the political crisis triggered by a coup June 28

A representative from the Organization of American States says the two are ready to open talks, although they will not necessarily meet with each other.

De facto president Robert Micheletti said Friday he had already spoken secretly with Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza of the Organization of American States as part of the process leading to negotiations.

An Organization of American States advance mission is in Honduras preparing for the planned arrival Wednesday of Insulza and several foreign ministers who are to help mediate between the two camps.

Four U.S. Republican lawmakers oppose the Obama administration's efforts to isolate Honduras's de facto government and pressure it to return president Manuel Zelaya to power for the remainder of his term. They met Friday with Micheletti.

Led by South Carolina's senator, Jim DeMint, the conservative lawmakers have criticized Obama's support of  Zelaya.

The U.S. and other nations have condemned Zelaya's overthrow in a June 28 coup.  Washington also has revoked the visas of Honduran officials and cut aid to the Central American country.

The ousted president secretly returned to Honduras Sept. 21.  He is currently holed up in the Brazilian Embassy.

The de facto leaders say he was forced out of office because he was trying to illegally change the constitution to extend his term in office. 

Mass. judge orders father
to produce his son here


A 5-year-old Massachusetts child remains in Costa Rica even though the runaway dad was extradited to the United States earlier this year.

A Probably Court judge in the town of Fall River ordered the man, David Albanese, to either produce the child or give the child's mother $40,000 so she can go to Costa Rica and retrieve him, said the South Coast Today Web site of the Standard-Times of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Albanese was detained in Guadalupe in July 2008.  The boy was about 3 years old at the time, said the police spokeswoman. According to police at the time, Albanese asked the child's mother for permission to take the boy to Costa Rica for a month in August of 2006. The agreement was that Albanese would return by September of 2006, but he did not, said the police spokesman.

Albanese had a brother and a cousin in Costa Rica, said a spokeswoman from the International Police Agency. He spoke a little Spanish and worked at a sportsbook in Sabana Sur, the spokeswoman said.

Albanese is free on $400,000 bail from his April arraignment on criminal kidnapping charges in New Bedford District Court, the Web site said. The man was convicted of failing to comply with two previous court orders that issued sole custody of the child to the mother, said the Web site.

At the time of his arrest, the boy was place in the custody of the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia, the while welfare agency. It is unclear why the Patronato relinquished custody.


Jo Stewart's M incorrect
when he talks about Gringos

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:
 
I would like to comment on Jo Stewart’s Friday column.  I’m a Costa Rican expat living in U.S.A. for over 30 years, and I enjoy reading the news in A.M. Costa Rica and checking out the latest buzz from the American community living in my country.  I left Costa Rica when I was 11 years old, and I visit when I can, usually every three to four years.

Note:  Leftists, progress-hating environmentalists (i.e. Earth lovers but human loathers), and American bashers (i.e. international jealousy) as a whole, will squirm when they hear what I’m about to say.

Let me first say that I love this country, the United States of America.  Its rich history is unmatched, its Constitution is one of the greatest documents in existence, and its unparalleled stance for freedom and economic success has made it the greatest country on the face of the earth.

While I don’t necessarily agree with everything that politicians do in this country, Republicans or Democrats, I am more on the conservative side of the political equation.  Nevertheless, even though I disagree with Mr. Obama, philosophically speaking, he’s still my president.

Now you know where I’m coming from.

Thus, I would like to chime in on the subject of a Costa Rican’s perspective of Americans.  I have deep roots in both countries and therefore feel qualified to also give an opinion.  As you may have already guessed, my opinion is vastly different from “M’s.”

 As a reader of your daily digest for the last three years or so, I have been able to detect, without much effort, how Jo’s weekly column is colored with liberal views from time to time.  Hence, it’s not hard to see that people within her circle of acquaintances would have similar views.  There’s a maxim sometimes attributed to Cervantes:  Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres (Tell me who you associate with, and I’ll tell you who you are).  In this case I’m afraid that this Mr. M espouses some of the same, or similar, opinions as Jo Stewart’s.  Otherwise, I’m almost positive that she would not have used his distorted views for her column.  I can’t help but think that she had a gleam of joy in her eye when she was writing these “findings,” particularly the ones about Christians and Republicans.

Therefore, I could not remain quiet.  This will not be my opinion only, but also the opinion of much of my family and friends in Costa Rica:   We do not hate estadounidenses.   Just the opposite is true, especially those that come visiting from Costa Rica. They are usually impressed by the country and the people.  These are the people I associate with.

Thank you, A.M. Costa Rica, I just wanted to balance the opinions expressed in Jo’s column with a little bit of the other side.  As far as the rich Republicans living in gated communities vs. the do-gooders (the Democrats) go — Talk about ill conceived stereotyping!  Then there are the “beyond silly” missionaries that have sacrificed lofty careers to go to strange lands and give a lifetime to build schools, help the poor, or to simply teach a desperate world about a loving God.  Is this “M” speaking or is this Jo Stuart just being the messenger?