Representatives from the British Embassy, the Nicaraguan Embassy, the Red Cross and other international agencies assembled in Guarari de Heredia Thursday. They were there to assess the damage that occurred to several small settlements that have started to topple over into the Rîo Pirro. 

Several police officers and Javier Carvajal Molina, mayor of Heredia, led embassy employees through several shanties that had suffered severe damage. The shanties are within sight of the Pricemart store in Heredia.

The problem arose in the last few days. Heavy rain saturated the ground. Several of the houses have already fallen into the river and others are at risk of falling in the next few days.

Some 11 families were evacuated Wednesday night. They have taken shelter at a nearby community center, but can only remain there for 72 hours. Most of the families do not know where they will go after that. 

A large percentage of the village is Nicaraguan, and the rest are Ticos. The informal settlements sprang up 10 years ago when families began squatting on the land. Today, the settlements are estimated to contain over 1,000 families. 

Bruce Callow, the director of Nicaraguan affairs at the British Embassy was on hand to assess the situation. "Long-term goals need to be established, but right now these people need food and water." He has been working with the Nicaraguan population for several months and is familiar with the struggles that this situation presents. "Most of the Nicaraguans in the village don’t have documentation, and, therefore, they can’t get any help."

Several of the local villagers have lived there since the beginning 10 years ago, but they know that they can’t stay. "It’s impossible to live here now," uttered Suarez Navarro Anavivian. After living in the village for nine years, she knows she has to leave. "The houses above mine will fall onto us soon. I know we will have to leave, but where will we go?"

The villagers have received several promises for action over the past few days, but nothing has materialized yet, Callow, admitted. "Something needs to be done. Right now," he said, but he could not say exactly how to help the people. "They need a piece of firm land that won’t wash away on them during the night." 

Callow and the other representatives will file their reports soon. The different embassies and organizations will then formulate a plan of action. 

Scamster on run
dodges police here

A convicted scamster wanted for sentencing in New York City for a complex series of swindles is at large again, probably still in Costa Rica.

The man is Brett K. Lurie, now 44, who was arrested here in March 2003. 

Last June the man was let out of jail at a court hearing that representatives of the U.S. Embassy here apparently failed to attend.

The man is so important that agents from the New York Attorney General’s Office have visited Costa Rica to look for him.

On April 25, 1996, Lurie was convicted by a jury and later was sentenced on eight counts of conducting a scheme to defraud in the first degree, nine counts of intentional real estate securities fraud, three counts of grand larceny in the second degree, three counts of grand larceny in the third degree and one count of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree.

The charges all relate to a swindle that led to the bankruptcy of coop units in New York. Lurie later was disbarred by the New Jersey Bar Association.

Lurie was under the supervision of the Primer Circuito of San José.

A spokesman for the embassy said Thursday that staffers generally do not attend hearings for persons who are targets for extradition to the United States.

The spokesman said that the paperwork for Lurie’s extradition had not been fully approved by the courts at the time a judge let the scamster go.

Lurie was the subject of a New York Post article in New York City this week. The Post said that Lurie recently slipped through a police net in Heredia where he has a $700,000 compound.

The embassy spokesperson said that no mention of the man’s flight had been made locally because U.S. officials did not want to jeopardize local police work.

Palm fruit festival
will start tonight

Those orange and green little fruits bobbing in the hot water bath at the local supermarket are called pejibaye, and they will be the centerpiece of a festival this weekend and next in a Cartago community.

This is the 10th year for the festival in the town of Tucurrique. In addition to all types of products made from the pejibaye, the oil rich fruit of the palmito, organizers promise bull fights, traditional arts and crafts for sale, cultural presentations and a chance to see some outstanding countryside.

The community is located some 15 kms. (about nine miles) from the Cachí dam. The area is near the Río Reventazón and the appropriately named Río Pejibaye. Both are known for kayaking or rafting.

The festival opens tonight at 5 p.m. with a cultural presentation at 5:30 p.m.

More events are scheduled Saturday and Sunday and also Nov. 6 and 7.  A mountain bike race is Nov. 7.

The pejibaye is high in calories due to its oil base. It also is a good source vitamin A and C and calcium.

The interior is orange and unexpectedly dry. Sometimes the fruit is eaten out of hand, but more often it is made into a flour or a paste.

One feature of the festival, according to organizers, will be a restaurant with all types of products made from the fruit.

An editorial Thursday in favor of George Bush drew nearly 50 e-mail letters from readers. About 75 percent were opposed to the views expressed in the editorial and Bush as a candidate.

The venom of some of the letters suggests that even if re-elected Bush will not be able to lead a unified country.

This newspaper provided space for three weeks to publish the political views of readers. Every letter submitted was published. The editorial had been promised weeks ago. This is the final pre-election comment. 

Some letter-writers were hot:

Your endorsement of Mr. Bush, front page, is unbelievable. The man is a criminal and should be behind bars. HE is top among the reasons I chose to leave the U.S. for Costa Rica.

Others resorted to name-calling:

It is almost as if your editor has no real  knowledge of the issues beyond the booze mentality expressed in your front page editorial. 

I don’t think I have ever read a more simple and stupid editorial in my life, have you ever had any own ideas or are you breastfeed with "Fair and balanced" Fox News.

How insipid and weak-minded.

I will never read your news again nor will I provide any support to your advertisers.

The reasons given in your editorial were the usual shallow, 'faith based' rather than fact based ones. 

Your explanation as to why you endorsed George W. Bush was, for lack of a better term, moronic.

Others were  more supportive of the opinions expressed:

For once I found a Latin American newspaper with convictions. I am tired  of reading Latin American newspapers that always show conservatives in a bad light, and dismissing all the errors and flaws of the Clinton administration.

I am an American and I agree 2000% with you.

I'm proud of you for taking a stand amidst mindless opposition.

Their blind hatred of Bush won’t let them see any other view of the war on terror.

Others reflected the problem voters have in making up their minds. John Kerry, the Democratic candidate has not emerged as a strong option, but said one reader:

I’m not a big Kerry fan, but I’d vote for Mike Tyson before I’d vote for another 4 years of G. W. Bush.

Another suggested the world would be safer if serial killer Charles Manson were free and George Bush were behind bars.

Many letter-writers were thoughtful and dealt with Latin-U.S. history:

Who but the U.S. has terrorized Latin America for the past 100 years, and which presidential candidate would be more likely to invade another country without even consulting others—Bush.

One reader wanted us to sign up:

I am sure you will only to eager to sign for the military to serve over there.

From the letters it became obvious that U.S. voters are getting their news from partisan sources, even if they do not realize that:

Suggestion: Listen to "Democracy Now" radio for up to date non-biased news or move to the U.S. for more information.

Another writer said he would not read us because we had violated some undefined rule of neutrality by showing support for Bush. With that reasoning he would have to forsake The New York Times, too, because that paper endorsed Kerry.

Generally Democrats agreed with this reader’s statement:

While there may be just enough stunned US voters to put Bush back in office, there can be little doubt in the rest of the world who the real terrorist is.

As for A.M. Costa Rica, this reader had the following suggestion:

I do suggest you to move your newspaper back to U.S. or perhaps to Irak, so you can help Mr. Bush to reconstruct it with your words of wisdom.

Another e-mail sugested that the appropriate reponse to terrorism would be a non-violent approach typified by Ghandi.

Towards the end of the rainy season, the single short row of eggplant in my garden produces like the "begat" part of Genesis. Coincident with tomatoes ripening and basil bushes reaching chest level, it promises a bit of Sicily in the Central Valley. With a little cheese, garlic and some olive oil, a cook can conjure up enough variations to make him or her crazy.

Crazy? Well, not now, but Western Europeans shunned eggplant until modern times because of the belief that eating it drove people mad. In Latin, mela is the word for apple and insanum means sick, unhealthy, or insane. Melanzane, the Italian word for eggplant, is derived from these two Latin words, hence crazy apple.

Only in Sicily was there no taboo. Eggplant has always been a favorite there, fried in olive oil, roasted, baked, stuffed, stewed, dressed with fresh mint and basil or as caponata — an appetizer, side dish or condiment made of eggplant cubes cooked with celery, onions, garlic, capers, tomatoes, olives, basil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.

For simplicity, Sicilians often eat a slice of eggplant seasoned with a little garlic and salt, grilled, and drizzled with a splash of olive oil between two slices of bread as a sandwich. Ground eggplant, mixed with eggs and bread crumbs and seasoned appropriately is the substance of vegetarian "meatballs." 

A fancier antipasto presentation is layered baked eggplant slices with a thin inner cover of ham or mortadella and caciocavallo or pecorino cheese. It is topped with bread crumbs during baking, cut into wedges, and drizzled with a little olive oil. Another interesting preparation makes the eggplant look like a floor mop or tassel. The whole eggplant is peeled and cut in thin slices lengthwise, leaving the stem end intact for a few inches, rotated 90 degrees and sliced again. It is seasoned with salt and garlic and browned in olive oil.

The variations on these themes using the same ingredients in different forms are too numerous to even list. Among the more common are stuffed baked eggplant halves (the pulp is scooped out, minced, mixed with eggs, bread crumbs and seasoning, stuffed back into the intact skin and baked), rolled stuffed baked eggplant slices (thin slices are layered with the same bread crumb stuffing, rolled up and held together with toothpicks during baking) and layered in casseroles (eggplant 

Dr. Lenny Karpman On  the  food we eat

slices alternate with cheeses, tomato sauce and are topped with bread crumbs). 

Melanzane presumably was such a favorite because it could soak up a lot of olive oil in its cooking and provide a rich, caloric cheap meat substitute. Olive oil is mono-saturated, that is less harmful than most others, but more is not better. Two tips to consider in your own kitchen. 

First, salt sliced eggplant in a colander and drain under the weight of a pot or heavy dish for about half an hour, rinse and pat it dry before frying in very hot oil. The salting may remove any bitterness from the juice. It is believed to decrease oil absorption as well. The hotter oil will brown quicker and sear the surface, retarding the ingress of some of the oil. 

Second, an even healthier alternative is to replace pan-frying with grilling slices only lightly brushed with olive oil. One can eliminate the oil completely using non-stick pans, vegetable sprays, or oil free grilling. Do so if you must, but the flavors of eggplant and olive oil seem to me to be a match made in heaven.

When I forego the kitchen, my wife Joan and I often go to our favorite mellow haven, Bokaos, a Mediterranean restaurant 150 meters north of Auto Mercado on the Santa Ana-Belen Road. The soft music, tasteful art, calming atmosphere and attentive service compliment the sophistication of chef Heiner Guitierrez. The entire menu is quite well executed with clean flavors and perfect ingredients. Before I get sidetracked with the superior fried calamari or the fabulous porcini mushroom flavor of the soup and sauce for homemade pasta at Bokaos, I must return to the quintessential, simple eggplant appetizer, berenhena Bokaos.

The chef cuts very thin lengthwise slices of eggplant with mechanical precision. The lightly grilled slices are layered with ripe tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Three layers topped with cheese are run under the broiler just long enough to warm through and melt the topping. The elegant minimalist marriage of flavors could not taste fresher, had the ingredients just come from my garden. 

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I am always on the lookout for good eggplant dishes in restaurants. Many of the Nuevo Latino restaurants in New York and Miami have eggplant menu items. Do you know of any good ones here? A gourmand friend from Escazú says that three spots near her house serve eggplant appetizers: El Torreon and Il Pomodoro on the old Camino Real behind Los Laurales mall, and Sal y Pepe behind Pops. She favors the last one.