Students at the Universidad de Costa Rica have taken on the job of cataloging all the communications media that operate in the country.

This will be the first such effort in 10 years, according to an announcement. The project is by the Escuela de Ciencias of the Comunicación Colectiva. Included in the census will be companies that are involved in audio visuals, ad agencies, television and radio broadcasters, international press agencies, newspapers and magazines.

Alberto Rojas Rojas, a professor, will supervise the project, which eventually will be incorporated into a data base. The census will include circulation or viewership of commercial outlets as well as the rates they charge for advertising. The announcement noted that the Colegio de Periodistas maintains a list but that the census will be far broader in scope.

The group of 20 students will spend three months on the project. They plan to travel all over the country. Rojas said the goal is to not leave a single communication media out, the announcement said.

Major Intel project
is Pacheco’s topic

President Abel Pacheco has set up a press conference at the facilities of Intel in San Antonio de Belén this morning to help announce a major new investment by the chip-making firm in Costa Rica.

Informal reports suggest that the company is prepared to invest an additional $100 million. The announcement could not come at a better time. Costa Rica is negotiating a free trade treaty with the United States, something Pacheco supports. The computer company’s announcement will support those who favor free trade and the additional investment it will bring to the country,

Ex-president’s farm
target of landless

LA PAZ, Bolivia — Dozens of landless peasants have invaded a farm belonging to the family of former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. 

Head of the country's Landless Movement, Angel Duran, defended the move Tuesday, saying the constitution allows for unused land to be turned over to those who have none.  He said there are plans to occupy more unproductive farmland. 

The landless group joined poor miners and indigenous groups in weeks of violent protest against Sanchez de Lozada. About 80 people were killed and many more injured in the marches that paralyzed the capital, La Paz. 

Sanchez de Lozada announced his resignation last week and fled to the United States.  Bolivia's new president, Carlos Mesa, has promised to respect the country's large indigenous population. 

Chile and Vietnam
sign trade accord

HANOI, Vitnam — Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and his Vietnamese counterpart, Tran Duc Luong, have pledged to increase trade and cultural relations between their countries. 

Their meeting in Hanoi Wednesday, marked the first visit by a Chilean president since Vietnam and Chile established diplomatic ties in 1972. Lagos arrived in Hanoi late Tuesday.

His three-day visit is expected to focus on opening embassies in both countries, providing mutual technical assistance, and improving trade by shipping goods directly rather than through a third country. 

The two presidents also have signed agreements on fisheries cooperation and the easing of visa requirements for diplomatic visitors.

Chevron Texaco faces
big pollution suit

LAGO AGRIO, Ecuador — An Ecuadorian court has opened a billion-dollar lawsuit against U.S.-based oil company Chevron Texaco for alleged pollution. 

Hundreds of Secoya Indians dressed in body paint and feathers marched outside the court Tuesday in this jungle town about 180 kms. (about 110 miles)  northeast of Quito. 

Lawyers representing about 30,000 Indians say the company dumped oily wastewater into local rivers over a 20-year period ending in 1992. They allege the pollution has caused cancer in residents, killed farm animals and ruined crops. They are demanding that the company pay to clean up the area. 

Lawyers for the company challenged the court's authority in the case Tuesday, saying the damages were caused by Texaco and not the company resulting from its 2001 merger with Chevron.  Chevron Texaco representatives have said the oil company followed appropriate practices at the time, and paid for a $40 million clean-up project. 

The case was first filed in the United States 10 years ago, but U.S. judges ruled last year that an Ecuadorian court should hear the complaint. 

Senate in Chile
OKs U.S. trade pact

SANTIAGO, Chile — The Chilean Senate has approved a free trade agreement with the United States. 

The free trade bill passed the Senate Wednesday by 34 to 5, with five abstentions. The vote paves the way for the accord to go into effect early next year. 

The pact, that the two nations signed in June, eliminates tariffs on more than 80 percent of their annual exchange. 

The Chilean House of Representatives and the U.S. Congress already approved the agreement earlier this year. 

Chilean officials hope the agreement will contribute to their country's economic growth. The Bush Administration sees the pact as a step towards building a Pan-American free trade zone.

In New York City, the land of the rudest people on the face of the earth (even rivaling the French), pretty Jennifer boarded the subway train, packed to standing room only, as usual on a workday morning. She grabbed the overhead rail, forcing her into a pose that revealed how beautiful her young dancer's body was. 

She was deep in thought when she felt a rough hand graze her back snagging the spandex as it forced its way down her garment. She turned as far as the crowding of the passengers allowed to see who the rude groper was, but everyone behind her looked on in a New York City stare. 

She felt uneasy the rest of the day, dreading the subway ride home again after sundown. After work, she left her building and walked fast toward the train, avoiding the vomit and urine that was frequently present at the underground station. She had her cell phone pressed to her ear, recounting the morning episode to her father who lived in Arizona. The late October winds swirled trash around her feet as she stepped into the train. The door closed and Jennifer was lost in the darkness.

The next day, Jennifer’s boss grew uneasy when it was 45 minutes past the time when Jennifer was due to arrive. Jennifer was as reliable as the morning sun, so it was extremely unsettling by the end of the day that Jennifer hadn’t replied to the many messages left on her cell phone inquiring as to her whereabouts. Her boss hoped that Jennifer had gone to see her parents in Arizona as she often commented how much she missed them.

Three days passed, still no word from Jennifer. That morning it was again past starting time, so Jennifer’s boss looked up her parent’s home phone number in the file and called. There was a three-hour time difference, and Jennifer’s father, David, answered the phone with a half good-natured, half "why the hell are you calling at this hour" tone to his voice. He listened carefully and quietly while being informed that his daughter could possibly be missing. 

David hung up the phone, acquired a plane ticket to New York via the Internet, loaded up his dog in a plane crate and packed a few clothes and toiletries in a sports bag. He then changed his mind and put the articles in a full-sized suitcase so he could check his bag. He had decided to take an axe, and an axe would never make it through the metal detector at the airport. He left a scribbled note for his wife, and nine hours later, he stepped off the plane in New York City. His dog Harley shivered once, and then they made their way to the building where Jennifer worked. Harley picked up Jennifer’s scent immediately, and followed it to the station where the trains came and went. 

They were there for hours. The dog sat patiently and expressionless. Suddenly Harley howled once indicating that he had picked up the scent, and David hid the dog in his coat and boarded the train. They got off the train where Jennifer would have got off to go to her apartment, but the scent was cold. David boarded another train and backtracked, getting off at every stop until Harley picked up the scent. 

They followed the scent down alleyways until they came to an underground entrance to a small basement dwelling. David knocked, no one answered. He could hear loud music inside and Harley was scratching furiously at the ground by the door, trying to get inside to a familiar scent. David took out his axe and banged on the door with the back of the blade. 

Someone yelled from inside, "Yeah!" 

David said, "I want to talk to you about my daughter." 

From inside a man replied, "I don’t know your daughter, man." 

"I didn’t say what her name was, ‘man’, now, open up!" David ordered. 

The man’s voice cracked as he replied, "I got a gun man. Now get the hell outta here!" 

David screamed in a chilling voice, "Then you better use it now ‘cuz I’m coming in!". Harley backed away. He heard the man indoors scramble away into his house as David began hacking away at the door. He was so strong and determined that it only took about six chops to make a hole big enough to reach his arm into and unlock several locks securing the door. 

Once inside David saw a weasel-like man trying to scramble out the small basement window, knocking away the unstable stack of boxes and books he used to elevate himself to reach the window. David caught the man by the ankle and pulled him back inside. The man was scared, as he should have been, because David had a steely glint in his eye, and he was wielding an axe. David jerked the beady-eyed man about while ordering him to tell him where his daughter was. 

The man continued to deny knowing what he was talking about until David head-butted him in the nose, and lifted the axe far above the man’s skull. As the man started to whimper, David noticed Harley barking and scratching at the floor. 

David continued to hold the man’s arm with one hand as he inspected the floor. There was a hinged opening in the floor, locked with a padlock. David broke the lock with the axe and opened the hatch. It was dark below, so David made the sleazy man walk down the steep steps ahead of him. 

David always carried a small penlight, but it was not enough to see around right away. As David’s eyes adjusted to the light, he saw a small cage with something stuffed inside. David saw that the something had blond hair, much like his daughter’s hair. He took his axe and knocked the sniveling man out, sending him crumpling to the floor. David pulled at the sides of the wire cage, blood veins bulging at his temples until the clips holding the frame gave way. 

The young woman flopped out and began to cry. She was unable to stand because she was weak from thirst and hunger and she had been molded into a small rectangle for three days. David picked her up and ran into the night until he came to a traffic-laden street. He hailed a taxi and had the driver call the police. They rode in the police car to the underground residence where Jennifer’s captor lived, but the place was empty. Apparently, the man had regained consciousness and had run away. David was enraged. He vowed justice for his daughter, and took her to a hotel for a good meal and some rest. The hotel had an on-staff nurse who looked after her all night.

The next day, David boarded Jennifer on a plane for home. He was determined to stay behind and find the scum that had abducted his daughter. Days, weeks and months went by, a full year had passed. David’s hair grew long, and Harley’s hair became matted. 

Sightings of the man were frequent. David and Harley played a tormenting game of hide-and-seek with him, driving him to desperation. He wanted to murder someone, but was not given a moments peace to do so. The man finally decided to leave the country and go somewhere that he would not be recognized nor found. 

He checked out tropical travel brochures then set his sights on Costa Rica. He caught the first plane to Miami, and from there took a plane to Costa Rica. As he danced down the plane ramp at Juan Santamaria International, he was giddy with evil thoughts in a new land, but unbeknownst to him, David and Harley had followed. They watched the man as he left the airport and wandered around San Jose for a while. 

The man could no longer keep his murderous cravings at bay when he saw a lovely woman walking down the street who would be just right. She fit the profile of what he was looking for, light colored hair, good looking with a lively step and a perky smile. He couldn’t help but follow. She was mesmerizing. 

He went into a coffee shop and sat near the woman, fantasizing about her lovely throat. "Hola Jo." The waitress said. "How’s the A.M. Costa Rica staff today?" Jo smiled and started to reply, but the words caught in her throat and her smile faded when she saw a long-haired man with an axe and a shaggy dog crouching behind a bush outside. . . . 
 

Copyrighted 2003 Barbara L. Gerber