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San
José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, Vol. 13, No.
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will have reduced prices By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The monthly price fixing for petroleum will mean a 4 percent cut in gasoline prices. The Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos announced the new prices Tuesday. Plus gasoline will go from 703 colons a liter to 674 colons, about $1.35, a drop of 24 colons or about 5 U.S. cents. Super gasoline goes from 721 colons to 691 colons, about $1.38, for a drop of 30 colons or about 6 U.S. cents. Diesel goes from 649 colons to 632, cut a reduction of 17 colons a liter. There are reductions across the board for petroleum products but liquid petroleum gas dropped just 2 colons per 8.5 liter tank. The prices become effective when the new amounts show up in the La Gazeta official newspaper. Petroleum products are the domain of the state monopoly, the Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo S.A. The country has the highest prices in Central America. Our readers' opinions
Commendation for the policewho arrived in 10 minutes Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I agree with an earlier commentator that we are inundated with negative stories, and I would like to offer a positive commentary about Fuerza Pública. I live in a remote area near San Isidro de Heredia. Monday night an intruder was spotted on the property, and the resident gardener gave initial chase. Together, we called Fuerza Pública in San Isidro, and within 10 minutes they arrived on the scene, an extended cab pickup truck with five officers! The gate was opened and they drove onto the property and promptly spread out on a search. The suspect was long gone. I would like to commend the officers that responded for their prompt arrival, thorough property search, and consultation with us before they departed. Bien hecho! A grateful Gringo! Michael
Connolly
Santa Cecilia de San Isidro de Heredia Hassle of online ordering seems to be at officials' whim Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I agree 100 percent with the comments made by John Kouns concerning items ordered over the internet. Occasionally I order parts for my computer over the internet. The item cannot be obtained here in Costa Rica, and they usually cost less than $10. My six month total for these orders does not even approach the allowed $500 /6 months allowed. Who even keeps track of the amount I order? The cost of traveling to the customs office to pick up the item is not worth it. The setting aside of the item to be picked up is solely by whim. John
McClure
Nuevo Arenal Problem with online ordering is true for Costa Ricans, too Dear A.M Costa Rica: I couldn’t agree more with the recent letter “Getting items bought online is a big hassle for expats” Of course not is only a big hassle for expats but also for all citizens for Costa Rica. Not only does it involve costs for traveling to the customs office but it also involves considerable time in getting processed at the customs office. And if one uses one of the shipping companies, there is an additional charge on top of shipping that has already been paid to get it to the shipping office. And usually there is a minimum cost for an article as well. It simply does not make financial and time sense to order any small items on-line. Costa Rica is attempting to move itself towards a more developed state and play on the world stage. It would seem to me that having the local post office near the recipient receive the item and process any tax documents and fees would be the logical thing to do. The item would then reach the recipient in a timely and lowest cost fashion. It would also allow easier access to the goods of the world. The taxes required are of course the right of the elected government, and there are many arguments for and against such taxes on imported goods. Hopefully one day we will see such changes Ron
Chilibeck
Poás Some tips for the expats who wish to order online Dear A.M. Costa Rica: In response to the experience described by Mr. Kouns of Arenal, we would like to say that internet shopping has never been easier in Costa Rica. Having an enjoyable and rewarding online shopping spree requires a small investment in due diligence. That’s it. Know how the international mail forwarding system works before you shop, and then register with a professional mail forwarding company that does not charge a membership or monthly fee. We are fortunate to have a fantastic resource available to us called The Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR) http://www.arcr.net/ Mr. Eduardo Tamayo is available to help you decide if the item you are considering purchasing online is actually worth the effort, and the calculator found on Air Mail Costa Rica, www.airmailcr.com will tell you the total cost of your purchase, delivered to your home or local Correos de Costa Rica Apartado. Please feel free to contact us for more information. Jaime
Ramirez
Air MailCosta Rica More tips for the expats who are ordering online Dear
A.M. Costa Rica:
I notice John Koun’s letter about problems receiving packages. I found a solution to this problem several years ago. There is a company called Mail Boxes Etc in Liberia and Escazú. Get a membership with them which gets you a drop box address in Miami. Many Internet firms ship free in the U.S.A. I’ve used it from Russia and Israel and Australia. Immediately upon my confirmation of shipping order, I forward that to Mail Boxes. They track the shipment, bring it in, pay the taxes and special permits and notify me when it is ready to be picked up at their office. It is pretty easy and costs from 20 to 60 percent of invoice. Get the detail plans from them. It gets costly for heavy items as the rate for freight is about $20 per kilo. I only go once. I understand they will forward it to you if you pay the local postage. Some companies won’t ship when the billing address and shipping address are not the same. Some don’t allow switching carriers, But they don’t get advised that is happening. If you arrange to get a credit card with the same Miami address, no problem. You run a risk if something gets damaged in transit because you can’t prove which carrier did it. I have seen promotion to the effect that Correos de Costa Rica has a similar service called BoxCorreo to bring things to your local post office. It is a bit more expensive, and I haven’t tried it, but it sounds as if it could work well where no Mail Boxes office is handy. Also the Association of Residents of Costa Rica Used to have an Aerocassillas system which I believe is similar. Another system I have used for heavy, costly Items is to find a customs agent who will let you use his address and maybe combine with one of his shipments. There are probably others, so it need not be so painful. Books come in in the regular mail without problems so far. Likewise most small flat packs. But you may have to abandon one once in a while. You just have to find out what the systems are and learn how to use them. Getting exonerations, however legal, is more trouble than it is worth. Joseph
Lassiter
Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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Costa Rica advertising reaches from 12,000 to 14,000 unique visitors every weekday in up to 90 countries. |
| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 215 | |
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| Public schools will begin a diversity
project reflecting reality |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ministerio de Educación Pública is beginning a project to increase the depictions of non-white personages in schools. The ministry is expected to outline the program today at Escuela José Francisco Osejo in Sabana Sur. An announcement of the meeting said that in any school in any place in the country there are images of children and adults posted in the halls and classrooms that could have been taken in Sweden or Holland because the images are of perfect blondes that are removed from the reality of the diversity that exists in the country. The program is being called the La unidad de lo diverso and includes a collection of images that depict children and adults consistent with the Costa Rican environment. The phrase is a popular one in Spanish literature, social science and other fields that have nothing to do with cultural diversity. The phrase even found its way into Venezuela revolutionary literature. The unity of the diverse, as it is translated, has many applications because it appears at first glance to be an oxymoron. The school year is coming to an end in six weeks, but the program comes in the same month as the Día de las Culturas which emphasizes that the country consists of individuals with many racial roots. |
 A
poster announcing the diversity project
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| Migrant workers still have to do
paperwork for immigration |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The country will host some 83,000 foreign agricultural workers who will be involved in the harvest of sugar, melons, oranges and coffee. But they still will have to do paperwork, said the ministries of Trabajo and Agriculture as well as the Dirección General de Migración. There is a special immigration category for temporary workers, but the ministries and the agency will be enforcing the letter of the law this year, they said. That means that the migrant workers, many of whom cannot |
read, have to present an
application showing they have a job, a copy of the recommendation
issued by the Ministerio de Trabajo showing that their efforts are
needed, and a form that shows they have registered with their nation's
consulate. The workers also have to provide two recent passport-size photos. A curious fact is that some of the native workers from the south are probably uncertain of their nationality because they identify first with their tribe. Traditionally they have not recognized a national border. |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 215 | |||||
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| Another study planned for the nation's deteriorating and
dangerous bridges |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
In 2007 the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation did a study of the nation's bridges and found that 1,330 were deteriorating alarmingly and that 29 required urgent work. Now the public works ministry is contracting for another study. The state of the bridges is becoming a political issue. The Partido Acción Ciudadana said Tuesday that the government should cut the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad out of the picture and contract with Universidad de Costa Rica experts. The statement cited the Japanese study. The party does not consider the work of the Consejo to be competent. The university is the location for the Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales. That is the agency that had |
studied and
advised on Ruta 27, the Caldera highway, and also the collapse of the
section of the Circunvalación. In the latter case, the
Laboratorio said that the initial work was not going to hold, but the
government officials ignored this advice. That is why the key highway
had to be closed a few days later. It appears instead that the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes has entered into an agreement with the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica in Cartago to do a long-term study. Acción Ciudadana also said that investments in bridge work has fallen by 50 percent from 2010 to 2012. The political party wants the work of refurbishing the bridges to be handed over to another ministry agency to avoid what it said was duplication there. Juan Carlos Mendoza García, an Acción Ciudadana lawmaker, urged action before there is a human tragedy. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 215 | |||||
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 Voice of America photo
This is Maria, age 4Case of little
Maria brings
visibility to plight of Gypsies By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A little 4-year-old blonde girl in Greece is at the center of a Europe-wide row over the treatment of Roma people, sometimes known as gypsies. The girl, named Maria, was taken into care from a Roma community over fears she had been abducted. But it appears authorities may have gotten it wrong. In Rome, which has a big Roma population, there have been allegations of human rights abuses against Roma people across Europe. When police raided a Roma camp in central Greece two weeks ago in search of drugs and weapons, they spotted a little blonde girl who looked nothing like her dark-haired parents or siblings. DNA tests revealed the couple caring for her were not her real parents. They were charged with child abduction. But they insist Maria was given to them. Maria’s real mother has now been found in Bulgaria, and she says she did give the child away in 2009 because she could not care for her. Police are investigating whether she was sold for money. The lawyer for the Roma couple, Marietta Palavara, condemned the actions of the authorities. “Everyone who is involved in this very serious issue must think about the fact that Maria grew up with these people, and that there is only a relationship of love between them," said Ms. Palavara. There was speculation in the European media that Maria may have been stolen. Riccardo Noury of Amnesty International in Italy condemns the press coverage. “It’s a very stereotyped way of depicting Roma communities all over Europe, here in Italy especially, and in Greece, as people who steal babies, people who don’t want to educate their children,” he said. Charalambos Dimitriou, president of the Roma camp in Farsala where Maria was found, says the community feels unfairly targeted. He said the entire community, all of Farsala, has cried for Maria, because she was always here around them. She was not locked in some basement, as some media were saying, he added. In the days following the case in Greece, authorities in Ireland mistakenly removed two girls from Roma communities there over concerns they may have been abducted. In France earlier this month, 15-year-old Leonarda Dibrani was pulled off a school bus by police in front of other students to be deported back to Kosovo. The action triggered violent protests. French authorities insist Dibrani’s family had exhausted the asylum process. Roma support groups accuse European governments of trying to appease the far right. Noury says, "They are victims of violent attacks by private groups. They are victims of human rights violations by law. In France or Italy or in other parts of Europe, they suffer from forced evictions based on the assumption that they are nomads.” In Greece, meanwhile, the lawyer for the detained Roma couple is appealing for their release and for Maria to be returned to their care. Greek authorities insist they have always acted in the best interests of Maria. NSA chief defends agency, denies spying on Europeans By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The head of the National Security Agency, Army Gen. Keith Alexander, is defending U.S. surveillance programs amid a wave of outrage across Europe. Alexander faced a mixed reaction from lawmakers on Capitol Hill at a House hearing Tuesday. The United States is facing a strong backlash from Europe following reports the National Security Agency wiretapped the mobile phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. There are also reports in other countries, including France and Spain, that the NSA was collecting the phone data of millions of their citizens. All the reports are based on data leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The European Parliament sent a nine-member delegation to Washington to meet with members of Congress as well as U.S. trade and diplomatic officials to vent their anger over U.S. surveillance practices. European Parliament member Jan Philipp Albrecht said that the reports about the eavesdropping on the German chancellor were the tipping point. “Now people are really concerned. They see that it is not any longer connected to a terrorist threat, because Angela Merkel is not a terrorist, or not part of a terrorist ring, and they think that there was a red line crossed, which is now spying on everybody about everything,” said Albrecht. Albrecht called for public debate and for the U.S. Congress to pass legislation to balance national security needs with the responsibility to protect basic civil rights. European officials say if changes are not made, important trans-Atlantic trade talks will be suspended. On Capitol Hill, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence held an open hearing on possible changes to NSA spying programs. NSA chief Alexander was on the defensive, saying the people at the NSA are proud patriots who work hard to keep the United States and Europe safe from real terrorist threats. “But what we do not do is spy unlawfully on Americans, or for that matter, spy indiscriminately on the citizens of any country,” said Alexander. Asked about eavesdropping on foreign leaders, Alexander said one of the first things he learned in intelligence school is that it is valuable to learn about the intentions of foreign leaders. Alexander also denied the NSA is collecting the phone records of millions of French and Spanish citizens. Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers also defended the NSA, saying it is naïve to think that other countries are not conducting their own surveillance programs. He said the NSA and other intelligence agencies had prevented another massive terrorist attack on U.S. soil. “This is a time for leadership in a very dangerous and chaotic world; this is not a time to apologize,” said Rogers. On the Senate side, Republican Susan Collins took a different stance, telling reporters, “friends do not spy on friends.” "I think that is totally inappropriate. There is absolutely no justification for our country to be collecting intelligence information on the leaders of some of our closest allies," said Ms. Collins. Ms. Collins and Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein say it is a big problem if President Barack Obama did not know the top leaders of some of the closest U.S. allies were under surveillance. The White House has said the United States is no longer tapping German Chancellor Merkel’s cell phone and has promised to review NSA programs. Motorola plan to market built-it-yourself mobile phone By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Discarded mobile phones represent a large and growing stream of waste, but one handset maker hopes a new kind of phone will stem the tide and offer users more flexibility. In the United States alone, over 129 million mobile devices were discarded in 2009, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Google-owned Motorola Monday, announced Project Ara, which they say will create a free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones. The company says the goal is simple: to “give you the power to decide what your phone does, how it looks, where and what it’s made of, how much it costs, and how long you’ll keep it,” according to a blog post. The phones will be built around an endoskeleton, which will provide the basic frame. Then, a user could snap in different modules. “A module can be anything, from a new application processor to a new display or keyboard, an extra battery, a pulse oximeter or something not yet thought of,” said Motorola. Ara has been in the works for over a year and recently partnered with Phonebloks, a pioneer in build-your-own-phones. "We want to do for hardware what the Android platform has done for software: create a vibrant third-party developer ecosystem, lower the barriers to entry, increase the pace of innovation, and substantially compress development timelines," Motorola said in the post. In a few months, the company said it would invite developers to start creating modules by releasing the first version of a module developer’s kit. Rail tunnel in Turkey links Asia and Europe for first time By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
For the first time, Turkey has connected its European and Asian sides with a railway tunnel. The Marmaray tunnel, which runs underneath the Bosphorus Strait, links the Asian and European shores of Istanbul. Concerns and criticism, however, surround what is being described as one of the country's greatest-ever engineering projects. Tuesday’s opening ceremony for the Marmaray railway tunnel drew thousands. Addressing the crowds, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan invoked the country’s historical past. It was the dream of Sultan Abdulmescid to build this tunnel, he said of the the Ottoman leader from 1839 to 1861. "Today we have fulfilled this dream. We have many historical projects to finish for Turkey and Istanbul. This is in the service of the people," said Erdogan. The tunnel is the deepest of its kind. With a capacity of more than one million passengers a day, the $4-billion project aims to alleviate the city’s chronically congested traffic. With Istanbul vulnerable to earthquakes, though, questions have been raised over the tunnel's safety. Celal Sengor, a professor of geology at Istanbul Technical University, said care has been taken to ensure the tunnel’s safety. "I did the preliminary groundwork for Marmaray," said Sengor. "There is no active fault line where the tunnel is passing. This tunnel will be shaken in a quake, but if it is built in the best possible way, there won't be any risk of it breaking. And those people who built this tunnel are the best in their field." Still, as Erdogan moves ahead with a number of large infrastructure projects in Istanbul, criticism is growing. Critics accuse the government of going ahead with city-changing plans without sufficient public consultation. Such concerns fueled the protests that swept Turkey in June. The tunnel project began in 2004 and was scheduled to be completed in four years. It was delayed by important archaeological finds, however, including a 4th century Byzantine port, as builders began digging under the city. According to media reports, the tunnel project was rushed so that its completion would coincide with the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic, which was marked on Tuesday. The government has downplayed such claims, and it has stressed the potential of the tunnel not only for Istanbul, but far beyond. Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said it ultimately will become an important trade link, allowing freight trains to travel from Beijing to London. "This project connects Asia with Europe, to restore the once internationally important Silk Road," said Yildirim. "The Silk Road needs to be resurrected for the purposes of reconnecting vital trade arteries between Asia and Europe by rail." Analysts say the tunnel is the latest in a series of increasingly grandiose projects aimed at making Istanbul a world center. Political analyst Atilla Yesilada said such projects are seen as key for the ruling AK Party to remain in power. "Their ambitions have no limit. If you look at the GDP figures in the first half of 2013, it is mostly government infrastructure spending that has created the entire growth," he said. "If the growth rate decelerates or the currency weakens, confidence in AKP will be shaken." Construction already is underway in Istanbul for a separate tunnel that's being built under the Bosphorus for cars, a third bridge over the strait, a massive canal that would bypass the Bosphorus and the world's largest airport. In addition, with Turkey entering 18 months of election campaigning culminating in a general election in 2015, analysts say few people expect the current construction boom to end anytime soon. New humpback dolphin brings total to four species By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A previously unknown species of humpback dolphin has been discovered in the waters off northern Australia. Researchers say it now becomes the fourth member of a family of humpback dolphins named for an unusual hump just below its dorsal fin. An international team, including researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the American Museum of Natural History, analyzed 235 tissue samples from humpback dolphins found from the eastern Atlantic to the western Pacific oceans, analyzing the samples for significant variations in DNA. Scientists also compared physical features from 180 humpback dolphins skulls found on beaches in Atlantic and Pacific regions or from museum collections. Investigators concluded the still unnamed Australian humpback is genetically distinct. The newly identified species grows to 2.5 meters in length and ranges from dark gray to pink or white in color. In addition to the Australian humpback, there is the Atlantic humpback dolphin that swims in the eastern Atlantic off West Africa, the Indo-Pacific species that lives in the western to central Indian Ocean and another Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin that inhabits the waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans. They are all considered vulnerable or threatened species, due to habitat loss. The researchers say the discovery will improve decision-making about conservation policies to protect the dolphins' genetic diversity and their habitats. Discovery of the Australian humpback dolphin is announced in the latest issue of Molecular Biology. U.S. lawmakers head apology on malfunctioning health Web By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A U.S. official has apologized for the technical problems plaguing the online component of the president’s signature health care law and promised to see them fixed by the end of next month. The Obama administration is defending the measure known as Obamacare, amid press reports some Americans are losing their existing health care coverage and are unable to sign up for new policies. Lawmakers from both parties continue to express dismay over glitches with online exchanges where Americans are supposed to sign up for private health care insurance at subsidized rates according to income level. Appearing before a congressional panel, the head of two federal health care programs, Marilyn Tavenner, responded to the outcry. “To the millions of Americans who have attempted to use healthcare.gov to shop and enroll in health care coverage, I want to apologize to you that the Web site has not worked as well as it should. We know how desperately you need affordable coverage," she said. "I want to assure you that healthcare-dot-gov can and will be fixed, and we are working around the clock to deliver the shopping experience that you deserve.” The assurance did not convince Republicans like Rep. Kevin Brady, who noted that the administration previously promised the Web site would be functional on its Oct. 1 launch date. “None of that proved to be true. Now we are told everything will be OK very soon," he said. "So why should the American people believe you now?” Ms. Tavenner replied that the overall system is already functional despite technical problems. “It is working. It is just not working at the speed we want and at the success rate we want," she said. "And those are the things we are working on.” Online improvements are not enough, according to Rep. Dave Camp, a Republican who said, “While the Web site can eventually be fixed, the widespread problems with Obamacare cannot. Almost daily we hear reports of Obamacare increasing costs, harming job creation, and forcing Americans off their current plan.” Democrats dispute those claims, saying the Affordable Care Act will reduce the nation’s total health care costs over time and provide coverage to millions of low-income Americans who currently lack insurance. And, Democrats say, Republicans are politically motivated to root for Obamacare’s failure. Rep. Sander Levin: “Democrats want to make the Affordable Care Act work," he said. "Congressional Republicans do not.” Other Democrats urged patience, noting that Obamacare is a massive undertaking barely a month into its full implementation. That argument is likely to be echoed by the president’s point person for Obamacare, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who is scheduled to testify before another congressional panel today. Pakistani drone victims tell their story in Washington By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A Pakistani family appeared at a U.S. congressional briefing Tuesday and recounted events they say were triggered by a drone strike last year in Pakistan's North Waziristan region. Rafiq Rehman, a teacher, said his mother was killed and his children were injured in that drone strike last October. He came to Washington with two of his injured children to tell Congress about the drone strikes. In an interview after the briefing, Rehman said drone strikes have caused great fear in his area. "I want to tell America that women and children in our area are terrified because of the drone strikes, and they cannot acquire education because of the fear of these attacks," said Rehman. The Rehman' account was cited last week in an Amnesty International report that questioned U.S. claims that the drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas are carried out only against imminent threats with minimal civilian casualties. Tuesday's briefing was hosted by Rep. Alan Grayson, a Democrat from Florida. "I think it is a matter of enormous public importance and goes directly to our own national security," said Grayson. Rehman's son, Zubair Rehman, demanded an immediate end to the drone strikes. "I want the drone strikes to end because they kill innocent people. American people should tell President Obama that these attacks kill innocent people and they should end," he said. The Rehmans said they have no connection to any anti-U.S. extremists or al-Qaida militants. |
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Rica's sixth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 215 | |||||||||
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Facebook
self-censorship urged in lieu of general ban By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Facebook’s recent policy indecision over the posting of extremely violent videos has again exposed the larger debate over Internet censorship versus free speech. One media strategist contends the best solution for establishing Internet standards lies in self-censorship. Susan Reynolds, whose Carmen Media consults with international businesses on social media strategy and marketing, says it’s up to each individual to help establish settings and determine what should be seen. “When I think about the controversy, it reminds me that Facebook has become a community gathering place. And that brings up the whole issue of freedom — the freedom to gather, the freedom of speech, freedom from censorship — all of these things that Facebook is now facing having to make decisions about,” said Reynolds in an interview with a news program. The controversy has caused Facebook to waffle on its own policies and desire to become an Internet censor. The debate was sparked by a video that appeared on Facebook back in May showing a masked man beheading a woman. When the video went viral, Facebook reacted to complaints by banning it and other beheading videos, calling them psychologically damaging for young viewers. After re-consideration, Facebook overturned a general ban on beheading videos, saying future decisions about the posting of potentially objectionable material would be made case by case. Ms. Reynolds says Facebook would like to get out of the censorship business, and leave responsibility for user-generated content to the user. For the first time, Ms. Reynolds says she recently alerted Facebook to a photo she found objectionable. “It was a picture of someone being tortured in the Middle East. Personally, I thought it was probably not a real depiction, a real photo, but perhaps something edited with Photoshop. And I didn’t think it belongs in our newsfeed, especially if it’s false. So I reported it,” said Reynolds. What about those who won’t censor themselves or hold different values than us? Would there be value in establishing a content ratings system akin to that found in the movie business? “Who would then be in charge of determining those ratings?,” said Ms. Reynolds. “This is not a top-down content provider. This is user generated content.” |
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| From Page 7: Two cargo lines will share ships Special
to A.M. Costa Rica staff
Two cargo lines that service Puerto Limón have agreed to share vessels and said the new system will provide customers of both companies with reliable, weekly service on larger ships between South Florida, Costa Rica and Panamá. The firms are Crowley Maritime Corp. and Seaboard Marine Ltd. By sharing vessel space, Crowley and Seaboard said they will increase total capacity in the trade by using two higher-capacity vessels, resulting in a continued high level of service, a more efficient operation and reduced carbon emissions in the trade lane. When the service begins in late November, each ship will call weekly at Crowley’s Port Everglades, Florida terminal and Seaboard’s Port Miami terminal before going to Puerto Limón and Colón and Manzanillo, Panamá. Concurrent with the change, Seaboard will be moving all of its vessels that serve Panamá to Manzanillo International Terminals, it said. “Our cooperation in this trade lane will allow us to continue to provide exceptional service to our customers while remaining competitive in the ever-changing market,” said Steve Collar, Crowley senior vice president and general manager, Latin America services. “We are particularly pleased that our combined service will provide the fastest transits in the market to and from Costa Rica.” “This arrangement permits us to gain efficiencies while enhancing service to customers as we are actually adding capacity,” said Edward Gonzalez, Seaboard president and CEO. “Though not the primary reason for rationalizing our services, we are pleased that we can reduce our carbon footprint by doing so.” A vessel will load in Miami and Port Everglades weekly for a Friday departure and then call in Puerto Limón on Tuesdays, Manzanillo on Wednesdays, and Colón on Thursdays before departing north on Saturdays from Puerto Limón. Each carrier said it will continue to provide its full complement of equipment types used in its Central America service. |
