|
|
A.M.
Costa Rica
Your daily English-language news source Monday through Friday |
 |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
| |
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for more details |
|
||
|
San
José, Costa Rica, Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 220
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
 Dirección
de Apoyo al Consumidor photo
Label says in small print
that this is just 40 percent honeyFake honey seems
to dominate the market
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Suppose a liquor distributor took cheap guaro, dropped in some amber dye and called the product "Almost Johnny Walker." That may seem far-fetched, but marketers of honey appear to be doing about the same thing, according to a survey by the economics ministry. The survey found that honey substitutes or syrup are being marketed in a way that shoppers probably think they are buying real honey. Under a Costa Rican directive honey cannot be sold as such if there is anything else in the jar beside the product of bees. The ministry's Dirección de Apoyo al Consumidor conducted a survey in June and September of 55 supermarkets and food outlets in Alajuela, Naranjo, Heredia and San José. There was extensive use of bee hive and honey photos on the labels but far fewer of the containers held actual honey. There was a large amount of honey substitutes, sucedáneos in Spanish, and syrups, jarabes in Spanish. Technically at least seven products had labels that were deficient in one way or another. The surveyor also found that some extra labels had been affixed to the products to hide the fact that they were syrups. The label showing the last date of sale were pasted in such a way that the name jarabe or similar could not be seen, said the ministry. In other cases, the words were much smaller than the word honey on the label as in substitute
honey Some food firms received citations that may end in fines. A beekeeping organization, the Cámara Nacional de Fomento de la Apicultura, participated in presenting the results of the survey. Honey is more expensive than the fructose, glucose and other sugar fluids that substitute for honey.  The Web site with the form
http://www.mopt.go.cr:10039/portal/Documentos/DAM.pdf After a minor
collision the word is DAM
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The new form for drivers involved in minor traffic accidents is called the Declaración de Accidente Menor, which expats can call DAM. This is a form that is supposed to be used starting Jan. 7 by drivers who are involved in minor mishaps where there are no personal injuries. The Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes is suggesting that all drivers print out a copy of this form just in case. Another requirement for use of the form is that the vehicles involved in the collision are able to move under their own power and that a tow truck is not needed, said the ministry. The drivers involved have to agree to the procedure, too. The drivers involved fill out duplicate copies of the DAM report giving details on the accident and the identification of the vehicles and individuals involved. That eliminates the need for calling a traffic officer and allows the drivers to move their vehicles out of the traffic flow, said the ministry. Clearly some expats with limited knowledge of Spanish will be at a disadvantage in such situations. The forms will be used later when the drivers involved in the collision appear at the local traffic court to report what happened. At the court, officials try conciliation to assess damages. At some point the drivers' insurance carriers will need a copy. Not all milk product are for drinking By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Call it the Great Milk heist. Police managed to track down and detain three women and a man who stole 30 containers of powdered milk in Aguas Zarcas. There have been similar crimes in the area. Stealing powdered milk is not as innocent as it may sound. The substance can be used to cut cocaine. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this Web site are
copyrighted by Consultantes Ro Colorado S.A 2015 and may not be
reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
|
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 220 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Grinches at Hacienda ministry are on the prowl for Christmas
purchases |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ministerio de Hacienda has embarked on a pre-Christmas campaign to snag sales tax from shoppers who buy through the Internet. The ministry also includes the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas. The ministry said that its campaign was to help shippers buy products securely through the Internet. In other words, if they try to duck the customs charges or sales tax, the ministry might grab their purchases. That happened four years ago when the Aduana unexpectedly cracked down on Christmas packages that were being delivered by mail. The result was thousands of confiscated packages. |
The ministry
said that shoppers should only use import firms that are
registered. The ministry also urged residents to file complaints
against individuals and firms that might not be following the law. Hacienda still has not figured out how to assess sales tax on Internet downloads. A lot of software, including violent video games, are available with the click of a mouse. Lawmakers are trying to outlaw violence video games, but they have not addressed the internet issue. Of course, the Hacienda warnings will not affect wealthy Costa Ricans and some expats who do their Christmas shopping in Miami, Atlanta or New York and who then are allowed to bring back items duty-free. |
|
More nets! It seems as if every day the Guardacostas are pulling illegal nets out of the pacific or the Gulf of Nicoya. The nets at right were found at the mouths of the Ríos Térraba and Sierpe in southern Costa Rica. There were 500 meters total from four nets, said the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas Wednesday. Nets are not allowed in the area because the mangroves are prime breeding grounds for many species of fish and other sea creatures. Whoever put the nets there did not inspect them regularly. Fish caught in the net were dead and in bad condition, said the Guardacostas. |
 Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas photo
|
| Lawmakers hear views of defensora regarding dignified death
bill |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A legislative committee was told Thursday that an interdisciplinary group should be formed to consider the concept of euthanasia. Montserrat Solano Carboni, the defensora de los habitantes, made the suggestion when she appeared before the Comisión de Asuntos Sociales. There is a bill, No. 19.440, in the hopper to provide for a |
dignified
death for those in terminal stages. The defensora listed a
number of changes that her agency proposes. The defensora noted that from a human rights perspective the state should not require or prohibit the suspension of treatment of a terminally ill patient. Clearly, the defensora's visit marks the beginning of an extensive debate within and outside the legislature on the topic. She outlines a number of areas that will need to be considered including respecting the desires of the patient. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this Web site are
copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2015 and may not
be
reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
 |
|
||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 220 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Reporter and cameraman in disguise venture into Islamic
State
territory |
|
|
By Ayesha Tanzeem
of the voice of America news staff The so-called Islamic State group had sprung up and gained ground in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province this year. News from the area was spotty at best. No one was sure who the militants were. Afghans? Foreigners? Disgruntled Taliban? Where did they come from? What were they up to? What was the situation on the ground? Locals seemed to be scared and fleeing. Officials were hesitant to admit the extent of the problem. A colleague and I decided to check things out for ourselves. With me were cameraman Rahim Gul Sarwan and a local fixer, whose identity I will not reveal for security reasons. The first step was planning, days of it. We had plans, then back-up plans, then back-ups for the back-up plans, knowing full well that most of those plans could fall apart at any time. Not only were we going to Nangarhar province, the Islamic State militants’ hub, but we were going to Achin district, their stronghold. The Islamic State was not our only problem. Decades of conflict, a weak government and security forces stretched thin as a snare drum combined with the presence of foreigners seen as flush with cash have turned Afghanistan into a haven for criminals. Kidnappings for ransom are a major concern. If you look like someone who has money, you are a target. If you look like a foreigner, you are a bigger target. Other hazards, like roadside bombs and suicide attacks, are more random and harder to mitigate. But this is Afghanistan. You can get hit by shrapnel on your way to a cafe, so you learn to cope with the fear. We decided on a beat-up Toyota Corolla, a staple in Afghanistan, as our transportation. No one would take a second look at it. Then we needed another vehicle: the right cover story, with fake IDs to match. We didn’t want to reveal our identities to hotel staff or local police at checkpoints. Word of a visiting foreign journalist could spread quickly, perhaps to an Islamic State spy or criminals looking for targets. My South Asian looks helped. If I wore local clothing and kept my mouth shut, I could pass as Afghan. I put on an abaya, or long black robe, and kept my face covered most of the time with a hijab or a black scarf. Only my eyes were visible. With my Afghan cameraman and fixer, we could pass as a local family. Our first stop was Nangarhar’s capital, Jalalabad. We picked a low-profile hotel, not a place where foreigners or the wealthy stay, and asked for rooms on the second floor. That would give us time to respond in case of an attack, but keep us close enough to the ground to be able to jump and run if we had to. Jalalabad is much more conservative than the country's capital, Kabul. A woman standing in front of a camera, even in an abaya, would stick out, so we couldn’t do any street shots until the last day. We finished all indoor shooting first and planned street shots that could be finished in less than 10 minutes, and then left for Kabul right away. Throughout the drive, we watched our rear view mirror to make sure no one was following. But the trip to Achin proved even more nerve-racking. Islamic State militants have established safe havens in the district, from which they plan and mount attacks on surrounding areas, capturing and beheading hundreds of locals. They probably had spies among the population. Our plan was to be invisible as we approached. Be local. Be part of the landscape. That included managing my bodily needs. Once we left our Jalalabad hotel, using the toilet was not an option. Public toilets for women are rare in Afghanistan anyway. In a mostly rural area like Achin, they would be difficult to find. And if I found one, I’d risk having to interact with a local. That could blow our cover because I don’t speak the local language, Pashto. So I drank as much as possible the night |
 Voice of America/ Rahim Gul Sarwan
Afghan National Army
soldier and Voice of America reporter Ayesha Tanzeem wait at a police
checkpoint barrier in Achin, a district in eastern Afghanistan.before and relied on chewing gum to quench my thirst for most of the day, until we could reach safety. We also knew that the moment we took out our camera or started talking to locals about the Islamic State in Achin, our cloak of invisibility would be gone, so we needed protection there and on the way back. Sarwan, who has become somewhat of a security expert himself after traveling and reporting from so many dangerous areas, knew the district governor, Haji Ghalib. A former mujahid who had fought the Russians and then the Taliban, Ghalib had become a bit of a local media celebrity for his bravery in taking on Islamic State militants. He would provide us security in Achin and escort us back to the highway. We got more security than we had expected. Zabiullah Zmaray, a Nangarhar provincial council member whom we had interviewed, also agreed to accompany us to the district. He was another of the few local leaders who spoke up against the Islamic State in public, making him a target. Plus, he was an archetypal Afghan host and I was now his guest. He was not going to take any chances, either with his life or mine. So, when we set out for Achin, we found two armored cars and dozens of men in bulletproof vests and fully loaded AK-47s waiting for us. On the road, we were joined by Afghan National Army troops, men in armored Humvees with rocket-propelled grenades. Had I just been elected president of the country? This was the most impressive VIP treatment I had ever received. But the entourage meant that our team no longer was invisible. I couldn’t help but remember that some people in this region had been attacked by their own guards. I quietly patted my pockets for items I might need if I had to make a run for it: tracker, backup phone, emergency numbers, local currency. Unbeknownst to our armed hosts, our local fixer was following at a safe distance in another beat-up Corolla, different from the one we’d used to travel to Jalalabad. In case of an ambush, he would be a phone call away. Achin is a dusty place. The main road into the district leads through areas that have witnessed fighting between the Islamic State and Taliban. The driver told me that one bazaar on the way was considered particularly dangerous because militants sometimes throw grenades at moving cars. As we traveled to our final destination, the police checkpoint where the Afghan government’s writ ended, my fellow passengers pointed out holes in the road where explosive devices had recently blown up vehicles. By this time, we had left the armored cars behind and I was in an armored Humvee, clad in an abaya topped by a bulletproof vest. As soon as we got out of the Humvee, we were told to duck and run behind the checkpoint barriers. Apparently, the Islamic State had long-range sniper rifles they had used to kill soldiers at that post. In the end, we got multiple stories and lived to tell them. We got a clearer picture of the Islamic State presence in the area, as well as the group's brutal, repressive tactics and how they’re affecting local people. Would I take the risk again? In a heartbeat. |
Here's reasonable medical care
Costa Rica's world class medical specialists are at your command. Get the top care for much less than U.S. prices. It is really a great way to spend a vacation. See our list of recommended professionals HERE!amcr-prom
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado
S.A. 2015 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
|
A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
 |
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 220 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Egyptian tourism on ropes after suspicious air crash By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Sharm el-Sheik has long been a bubble in Egypt, hosting beachgoers and international conventions when other parts of the country have been deeply embroiled in political upheaval. Surrounded by mountains and deserts and heavily guarded, the resort town is usually viewed as impenetrable, despite militants battling security forces in other parts of the Sinai Peninsula. The plane that crashed last Saturday after taking off from Sharm el-Sheik not only killed all 224 people on board, analysts say. It killed the resort city’s image as a safe haven. Egyptian officials are steadfast, saying it could not have been an attack, and whatever caused the crash will be identified and fixed. “It was an accident,” said Antiquities Minister Mamdouh Eldamaty on Thursday. “People shouldn’t be scared.” Regardless of why the plane went down, argued Ziad Akl, a senior researcher for the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, it is going to be a blow to Egypt’s tourism industry and therefore, the country’s overall economy “Tourism is going to be affected?” he said. “Of course it is going to be affected. Big time.” Militants allied with Islamic State claimed responsibility for the plane crash, saying it was revenge for Russian air strikes in Syria. And it’s a fact that almost all of the victims were Russian, said Akl, which makes the crash’s economic impact on Egypt so significant. Russian tourists are the largest single group visiting Sharm el-Sheik. Egyptian tour guides often speak Russian. Restaurant menus are printed Russian, English and Arabic. And direct flights from Moscow to Sharm el-Sheik cost roughly the same as direct flights between Cairo and Sharm. The tourism industry has been struggling to recover since the 2011 uprising, and catering to Russian tourists has been one of the most successful ventures in this uphill battle. Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the Egyptian economy, being a major source of foreign income and employment. The Egyptian government was planning to launch an international advertising campaign to promote Egyptian tourism just this week. In late September, Egyptian officials had predicted a large increase in tourism in 2016, from roughly $8 billion in income to as much as $10 billion. But now, recovery, according to Akl, will be nearly impossible. “It’s not going to be done through statements,” he said. “It’s not going to be done from officials going out and saying ‘Egypt is safe. Come have a vacation here.’” Egyptian officials say Russian families won’t stop coming because of the crash, and government media repeatedly assert that the crash hasn’t changed the security situation in Egypt. "The Association of Russian Tourist Companies said that according to the latest information the security situation is still the same as it was a few days ago,” read an announcer on Egypt’s state TV Thursday night. At the same time as that broadcast, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi stood at a podium next to British Prime Minister David Cameron while the minister was defending his choice to cancel flights to Sharm el-Sheik. "We cannot be certain that the Russian airliner was brought down by a terrorist bomb, but it looks increasingly likely that was the case," said Cameron. Even if the Russians aren’t following the United Kingdom’s lead and insisting that it's too early to conclude the cause of the crash, Akl says, logic demands that many Russian people will not return until they are confident the crash won’t be repeated. “How popular Egypt is as a target for tourism is going to be reduced,” he said. “This is something we are going to have to face.” Netanyahu's aide apologizes for mocking Obama, Kerry By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new spokesman has apologized for past comments in which he called President Barack Obama anti-Semitic and Secretary of State John Kerry childish. Ran Baratz's apology came just days before Netanyahu and Obama met at the White House. Baratz says his comments posted on Facebook were "written without thinking and sometimes as jokes in language which is appropriate for social networks and for a private person." Netanyahu wrote on Twitter that Baratz's posts "are totally unacceptable and in no way reflect my positions or the policies of Israel." White House spokesman John Earnest said Baratz's apology was warranted, but would not say if the White House believes Netanyahu should replace him. "I would not anticipate that this person's appearance in the international spotlight here is going to have much of an impact on the ability of Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama to work effectively to advance the interests of our two countries." Just a few hours after Netanyahu appointed Baratz as his spokesman Wednesday, old Facebook posts emerged in which Baratz called Obama's opposition to Netanyahu's speech to the U.S. Congress in March an example of modern anti-Semitism in liberal Western states. Baratz also derided Secretary of State John Kerry for having the mental age of a 12-year-old child. Baratz's comments were not limited to U.S. leaders. He called Israeli President Reuven Rivlin so marginal, that if he were sent into the Syrian portion of Golan, Islamic State would send him back. Baratz is a conservative who lives in a Jewish settlement on the West Bank. The Israeli Cabinet still has to approve his appointment. He is not accompanying Netanyahu to Washington. Anonymous has taken over Guy Fawkes Day tradition By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Thursday was Guy Fawkes Day in Britain, marking the 410th anniversary of Englishman Guy Fawkes’ failed attempt to blow up Parliament and assassinate King James I. Until recently, the day has been a uniquely British affair celebrated with fireworks, bonfires, toffee apples, and the somewhat spooky refrain: “Remember, remember!The fifth of November, The Gunpowder treason and plot; I know of no reason Why the Gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot!” But over the past several years Fawkes has made a global comeback. His spirit lives on thanks in large part to the 1980 graphic novel and 2006 movie “V for Vendetta.” The Fawkes mask worn by the protagonist of the film has become a global symbol of rebellion, and has perhaps been most successfully co-opted by Anonymous, a shadowy hacker collective. Anonymous was planning to mark Guy Fawkes Day with what they’re calling a Million Mask March. It is the fourth march to date, and last year saw protests in all four corners of the globe. According to a press release from the group, the demonstrations will take place in hundreds of cities around the world in the hopes that it will go toward “building a better future through collective action.” Four in U.S. are indicted for aid to al-Qaida leader By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The United States has charged four men with conspiring to travel to Yemen to provide thousands of dollars to the late U.S.-born al-Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki in an effort to support violent jihad against U.S. military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the world. In a four-count indictment unsealed Thursday in Ohio, the U.S. charged Yahya Farooq Mohammad, Ibrahim Zubair Mohammad, Asif Ahmed Salim and Sultane Room Salim with providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Farooq Mohammad and Ibrahim Mohammad both face an additional count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The four "conspired to provide and did provide material support to Anwar al-Awlaki in response to his calls to support violent jihad,” said Assistant Attorney General John Carlin. Two of the men were U.S. citizens and the other two were married to U.S. citizens. According to the indictment, from January 2005 through January 2012 the defendants conspired to provide money, equipment and other assistance to Anwar al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki, a key leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, was designated a global terrorist in 2010 and killed by a U.S. drone air strike in Yemen in 2011. “The charges in this case outline a plan to send thousands of dollars to a known terrorist, a plan which came to fruition shortly before one of the most notorious attempted attacks in recent memory, an attack claimed by that same terrorist,” said U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach. Allegations in the indictment charge that Farooq Mohammad and Ibrahim Mohammad obtained money by opening credit cards and withdrawing money with no intention of repaying the amounts obtained from various financial institutions. The indictment further alleges that on July 22, 2009, Farooq Mohammad traveled with two other people to Yemen to meet al-Awlaki. They were unable to meet with him, so instead traveled to Sana’a, Yemen, to meet one of his associates. Farooq Mohammad and his two fellow travelers gave the associate approximately $22,000 to be given to al-Awlaki. “This indictment is a testament to the perseverance of those who stand watch over our nation and is a clear message to those who support terrorism – we will not forget and you will face justice,” Dettelbach said. Pew survey says majority hold global warming concerns By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
As world leaders get ready for a climate conference in Paris, a new global survey says the majority of the Earth's population has some concern about a warming planet — more in developing nations than in richer countries. The survey by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center was carried out in 40 countries. Fifty-four percent said global warming was a very serious problem, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. But in the United States and China, the world's two biggest polluters, the concern was less urgent. While most of those surveyed in both countries said they had some worries about global warming, 45 percent of Americans said they were very concerned, while only 18 percent in China felt that way. Also, most poll respondents said they thought rich nations should bear the heaviest burden of the cost of climate change, and a majority also said drought was the one effect of global warming they feared most. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notes that the earth's average temperature has risen about 1.53 degrees F (0.85 of a degree C) from 1880 to 2012. Solar winds take atmosphere from mars, NSAS reports By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Solar winds are slowing stripping Mars of its atmosphere, according to the U.S. national Aeronautics and Space Administration. Writing in the journal Science and Geophysical Research Letters, researchers say they used data from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission to conclude the Red Planet is slowly losing its atmosphere. “Mars appears to have had a thick atmosphere warm enough to support liquid water which is a key ingredient and medium for life as we currently know it,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator for the NASA Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Understanding what happened to the Mars atmosphere will inform our knowledge of the dynamics and evolution of any planetary atmosphere. Learning what can cause changes to a planet’s environment from one that could host microbes at the surface to one that doesn’t is important to know, and is a key question that is being addressed in NASA’s journey to Mars.” Researchers also said the erosion of the Martian atmosphere “increases significantly” during solar storms. The data indicated that the solar wind robs Mars of about 100 grams of atmosphere every second. This, researchers say “was likely a major process in changing the Martian climate.” The solar wind is a stream of mostly protons and electrons that travels at 1.6 million kilometers per second. "Like the theft of a few coins from a cash register every day, the loss becomes significant over time," said Bruce Jakosky, principal investigator at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "We've seen that the atmospheric erosion increases significantly during solar storms, so we think the loss rate was much higher billions of years ago when the sun was young and more active.” Recent missions to Mars indicate the planet once had abundant water, likely kept in liquid form by an atmosphere much more dense than today’s, which is too cold and thin. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed that the Red Planet may yet have seasonal liquid water in the form of briny liquid. The Mars mission was launched in 2013. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2015 and may not be reproduced anywhere without
permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
|
||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 220 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
||
|
Overdoses called
most deadly U.S. cause
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Heroin and prescription drug overdoses have reached epidemic levels in the United States, surpassing car accidents and firearms as the leading cause of injury deaths, an annual assessment by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has found. "Sadly, this report confirms what we've known for some time . . . Drug abuse is ending too many lives too soon and destroying families and communities," DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said. "Overdose deaths, particularly from prescription drugs and heroin, have reached epidemic levels.' The report found 46,471 people died of drug overdoses in 2013, the latest data available. That same year, car accidents killed 35,369 people and firearms killed 33,636. The number of drug overdoses has climbed more than 50 percent in the past decade. Drug overdose fatalities first became the leading cause of injury deaths in 2008, when a noticeable decline in car accident fatalities occurred. Heroin use has exploded in recent years in the U.S., particularly in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the country. However, heroin use in the Pacific and Great Lakes regions has tripled since 2007, the DEA said. Heroin was also ranked the No. 1 problem by the largest portion of local and state law enforcement agency authorities taking part in the 2015 study, Rosenberg said Wednesday. Methamphetamine was ranked the top drug threat in 2014, and controlled prescription drugs was No. 1 in 2013, according to previous DEA surveys. The DEA report found prescription drugs a far deadlier problem, however. More people abuse prescription medication than cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, MDMA and PCP combined, and prescription drug deaths have outpaced those of cocaine and heroin combined since 2002, according to the report. "We must reach young people at an even earlier age and teach them about its many dangers and horrors," Rosenberg said of drug abuse. But he noted one positive trend shown in the report: the declining use and availability of cocaine. In 2014, cocaine availability stabilized at levels "well below availability levels observed prior to 2007," the first year drug agents noted a significant decline in cocaine availability, the report found. Rosenberg also expressed opposition to the marijuana legalization movement in the country, and frustration with efforts to legalize the drug based on highlighting its medicinal properties. More than 20 states permit the use of some form of medical marijuana, while pro-marijuana groups in six states hope to hold referendums next year on legalizing the drug for recreational use. "What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal, because it's not," he said before noting that elements of the plant have promise for medicinal uses. The National Drug Threat Assessment provides an up-to-date look at the many challenges related to drug abuse and drug trafficking in the U.S. Information for the DEA's annual drug threat survey is provided by respondents from more than 1,100 state and local law enforcement agencies. Highlights in the report include drug abuse and trafficking trends for drugs such as heroin, prescription drugs, and the hundreds of synthetic drugs manufactured outside the U.S. and imported into this country. |
| Costa Rican News |
AMCostaRicaArchives.com |
Retire NOW
in Costa Rica |
CostaRicaReport.com |
| Fine Dining
in Costa Rica |
The CAFTA Report |
Fish
fabulous Costa Rica |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2015 and may not be reproduced anywhere without
permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| From Page 7: Stock market software firm is expanding By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Japanese software company doing business here as TradeStation Global Services, S.A. says it will be hiring 65 more employees for its installation at Ultra Park 1 in Aurora de Heredia. That will bring the total to about 120 persons. The company is part of Japanese Grupo Monex, having been purchased in 2011. TradeStation, which came here in 2012, has developed a real time platform that analyses the international stock market and helps professionals make decisions. The firm said it is seeking C ++ programmers and specialists in testing and automation. |
