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San
José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 221
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 Judicial Investigating Organization
photo
Ms. Arias is led off to jail.Long-time
fugitive caught,
but many others still sought By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Judicial agents picked up a fugitive convicted of attempted murder
The crimes of the others include murder, robbery, international drug trafficking, drug possession and aggravated rape, among others. The woman detained Wednesday was working in a small restaurant in the center of Roble de Puntarenas, said the judicial agency. She had been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for two counts of attempted murder and one of drug trafficking. She was identified as Estrella Arias Méndez and is 51, the agency said. The attempted murder charges relate to a raid the judicial agents made on her home in Pérez Zeldón Nov. 28, 1997. She fired on the group of agents and hit one in the shoulder and another in the chest, the agency said. She was convicted and sentenced, but her lawyer filed an appeal, and she was placed in home detention while the appeal was being processed. Eventually the appeal was denied, but the woman had vanished. Agents thought that she had left the country, so they said they filed an international arrest warrant in 2008. The agents who detained her were acting under the authority of the International Police Agency, which is now housed with other Judicial Investigating Organization offices. The judicial agency said they were tipped off by an acquaintance of the woman as to her whereabouts. Latin newspeople air complaints before human rights commission Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
Ecuadorean and Argentine journalists have turned to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for what they consider an erosion of rights in their countries. The commission held a hearing Oct. 28 that was attended by representatives of 15 Ecuadorean organizations, among them press groups, that complained of a deterioration in freedom of expression and of assembly in their country. The delegation spoke of specific cases of violations of press freedom, and of a communication law in effect since June this year. Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa described those denunciations as “another nonsense by those who lost the elections and by the international bureaucracy.” Vice President Jorge Glass and other senior government officials added their insults and discrediting of journalists in public statements and on social media. The same attitude of belittling those making the denunciations was adopted by the Argentine government, which attacked Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú and Joaquín Morales Solá, who in representation of a group of press colleagues complained to the commission Friday the poor conditions for practicing journalism in their country, campaigns to discredit independent journalists and legal and economic persecution of media critical of the government. Argentina’s ambassador to the Organization of American States, Nilda Garré, who attended the hearing, accused the journalists of seeking to make themselves victims, of being spokespersons of monopolistic groups that resist democratic advances, and of orchestrating campaigns against nationalistic policies in Latin America. The chairman of the Inter American Press Association’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Claudio Paolillo, declared his organization’s solidarity with the journalists and regretted that the right to denounce was not being respected. “Beyond the differences that President Correa or any other person in government may have with the inter-American system there cannot be a lack of respect for the mechanisms which, in seeking justice, are available for all the people of the Americas.” Paolillo, editor of the Montevideo, Uruguay, weekly Búsqueda, added that governments have a right to respond as an opposing party in the same hearings, “but this does not mean that instead of discussing the issues and presenting their views they can end up insulting their own citizens.” "As we in the IAPA have a great deal of experience in taking part in those hearings before the IACHR and discussing with governments, but always in a climate of respect, it is difficult to understand why a president of a country or high-ranking official has to resort to disparaging remarks.” Anyone in the Americas can request to be heard in one of the two hearings that the commission holds each year. The rules of the inter-American system protect the people so that they can present their formal complaints, while it prohibits governments from “taking the witnesses or experts to court or taking reprisals against them or their families because of their statements….” National science fair runs until Friday afternoon By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Nearly 400 students are participating in a science fair that ends Friday There are about 200 separate projects. The students are from the primary and secondary grades. The event is at the sports facility of the Universidad de Costa Rica, in Sabanilla de Montes de Oca. The event was inaugurated Wednesday night. The fair is open to the public today until 4 p.m. At the same time judges will be making their evaluations of the projects. Students form all 27 educational regions in the country are participating in what is called the Feria Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología. Municipality plans job fair for holiday employment By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Municipalidad de Montes de Oca in conjunction with Grupo Mall San Pedro has organized a job fair for temporary employees that will be held Friday. The employment fair will be on the first floor of the Outlet Mall in San Pedro across Avenida Central from the Catholic church there. The hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A number of businesses that have operations in the municipality will participate seeking employees for the holiday season. Mayor Fernando Trejos B. said that an emphasis will be on youngsters who might have an interest in working over the holidays.
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 221 | |
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| President makes a pitch for those stone
spheres at U.N. agency |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
President Laura Chinchilla lobbied at the U.N. cultural organization Wednesday in an effort to advance a decision on the country's pre-Columbian stone spheres. The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is preparing to designate the spheres as world heritage artifacts. Costa Rica is developing an archaeological park in the area of the spheres, the Diquis Delta region in the southwestern part of the country. The president noted that an international team from the U.N. organization visited the site. That was in March 2010. She met in Paris with Irina Bokova, the director general of the agency and explained that the designation is vital for Costa Rica. In January, the president noted, the country received notice that the file on the spheres would be studied and evaluated. The country is awaiting a final decision by the agency. OffIcials here also were supposed to prepare a report on the plans for the archaeological site and how the spheres would be safeguarded from vandals. That was sought last year. Expats and others in the area of the spheres are expecting a big boost in tourism when the U.N. makes its declaration. As part of the visit, the president awarded Ms. Bokova with a Costa Rican decoration, the Orden Juan Mora Fernández, Gran Cruz Placa de Plata, according to the foreign ministry here. The ministry also noted that a leading museum in Paris will open an exposition that includes the spheres this year. Scientists believe the round stones were first created about 600 A.D., with most dating to after 1,000 A.D. but before |
 University of Kansas file photo
John Hoppes of the
University of Kansas is pictured withone of the spheres. He was part of the U.N. team that evaluated the artifacts for the U.N. agency. the Spanish conquest. There are about 300 of them and some are household ornaments in the Central valley. Recent studies suggest the spheres were household ornaments in the pre-Columbian communities where they were made. The speculation is that the spheres were signs of power placed outside the home of various leaders. The Museo Nacional is trying to repatriate some spheres to the original locale. |
| Expat from Quepos receives a rude welcome
in Central Valley |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A bold daylight robber confronted a Canadian expat and took the vehicle she was driving in Rohrmoser Tuesday. The woman, a visitor from Quepos, Candice Weir, suffered an injury to the head when the bandit struck her. The woman had borrowed a neighbor's car and drove it to the Central Valley. She was parking the vehicle in front of the hotel where she was to stay with her husband when the bandit approached shortly after noon. She got out of the car after seeing a firearm and left her papers, credit cards, passport and some electronic gear. The crook drove off. The incident took place in front of the Casa Roland, an upscale hotel. |
The woman's husband, Dale, said that
the vehicle was recovered by police and put in an impound lot. They were unable to recover it immediately because they were not the registered owners, he said. Weir said the couple has lived here for 10 years and has had no trouble of this type in all that time. They continued to stay at the hotel and made a report to the Judicial Investigating Organization. Weir said the agents provided excellent service. There is a perception that crime has diminished in the Central Valley, but in many cases the absence of crime is really an absence of reports by police to newspeople. There was no news bulletin issued on the crime involving Ms. Weir. |
| Museo Nacional promotes democracy with
historical exposition |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Museo Nacional and the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones have set up an exposition showing the growth of democracy in Costa Rica. The exposition runs until Dec. 15. An additional feature is a guided tour that the museum can arrange. The tours are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 p.m. until 3 p.m. at the downtown museum. Tours need to be reserved in advance. The exposition is “Vivamos la Democracia,” which seeks to show the growth of democratic principles in the country. |
María Elena Masis, a museum
historian, said the exposition seeks to enlighten Costa Ricans over the
long road from the Spanish conquest to civic voting rights, according
to the museum, She noted that there exists a decrease in the part
of the population that respects democracy and elections. In Costa Rica women did not get the right to vote until 1949 under the current Constitution. Democracy is not just something historical but it is a form of living in which each Costa Rican has rights and ought to live in a personal manner with values of tolerance respect and confidence, among others, she was quoted as saying. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 221 | |||||
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| Being bilingual keeps Alzheimer’s and
related dementia at bay, says report |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
New research suggests that speaking more than one language may delay the onset of different types of dementia. In fact, say investigators, bilingualism appears to be more important than the level of education in warding off dementias. In a study carried out in India, researchers assessed the effect of bilingualism in delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, which tends to strike people at a younger age, vascular dementia, Lewy bodies dementia and mixed dementias. Nearly 650 people with an average age of 66 were studied, and 240 suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of mental decline. Some 391 of the participants spoke two or more languages. Investigators found the dementias began about four-and-a-half years later in those who were bilingual compared to those who only spoke only one language. The volunteers’ level of education had no effect on the outcome. Co-author Thomas Bak of the Center of Cognitive Aging at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland speculates that those who are fluent in more than one language train their brains by switching back and forth between different words and expressions. |
Bok said he
believes this concentration improves so-called executive
functioning or attention to tasks, which tends to decline in people
with dementias. “I am suppressing the other languages. So it means I have to be always active, selectively activating things. And we believe that because this attention mechanism is important in different types of dementia, that is why we find this effect in different types of dementia," said Bak. Researchers found there was no benefit in speaking more than two languages. They also did not see a delay in the onset of Lewy bodies dementia, a progressive form of mental illness that causes hallucinations and causes sufferers to fluctuate back and forth between alertness and periods of drowsiness. To reap the benefits, Bak says it does not appear to matter whether you learn a language at a young age or later in life. “So it’s not something you sort of say that you missed the boat when you do not do it as a baby. It is something that is still quite useful and powerful when you do it as an adult," he said. Scientists found that the benefits of bilingualism in delaying the onset of dementia occurred even in uneducated subjects. |
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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, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 221 | |||||
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| Reports on death of Arafat differ on polonium allegation By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Swiss forensic scientists say samples taken from the exhumed corpse of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat show unexpectedly high levels of the lethal radioactive isotope polonium 210. The findings from specialists at the University of Lausanne were released Wednesday in a 108-page report and posted online by the pan-Arabic television network al-Jazeera. The probe was commissioned jointly by Arafat's widow, Suha, and the network. Forensic experts from France and Russia also took samples from Arafat's corpse in 2012. Moscow has said its examination found no traces of polonium, while results from the French analysis have not yet been released. The Swiss document appears to be the most significant evidence so far linking Arafat's death to foul play. But its authors framed their analysis cautiously, saying the results moderately support the proposition that the colorless, odorless and nearly impossible to detect polonium 210 caused the death. The Swiss experts said their analysis took into account the time lapse since Arafat's death and the nature and quality of the specimens examined. Arafat fell ill in October 2004 and was airlifted to France days later, after he failed to respond to treatment from a team of Mideast medical specialists. In early November, he lapsed into a gradually deepening coma and died Nov. 11. In a separate and still controversial 2006 case, British investigators directly linked polonium 210 to the poisoning death of one-time Russian spy Alexander Litvenenko, who had defected to London. Litvenenko, from his death bed, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder, accusations that were flatly denied by Moscow. Russia later denied British extradition requests for a key suspect in the case, which remains open. U.S., to give Palestinians $75 million more in aid By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Wednesday announced $75 million in new aid to the Palestinians aimed at building roads, schools and health clinics. Speaking at a ceremony in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Kerry said boosting economic development will show both Israelis and Palestinians "that peace has the benefits of economic opportunity and prosperity and a better quality of life." The money adds to the $25 million pledged by the United States in September for West Bank infrastructure improvements. In addition, Germany will put up $10 million towards about 200 projects being identified by the Palestinian Authority. The efforts are due to start within the next six months. The United States sees the economic track as a vital complement to ongoing direct final status negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. Washington has provided more than $4.5 billion in assistance to the West Bank and Gaza since 1994, creating tens of thousands of temporary jobs. China, too, grapples with use of genetically modified crops By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The debate in China over expanding the use of genetically modified crops has reached a stalemate. Analysts say that despite efforts by prominent scientists to expand the commercialization of modified crops, proponents face a public that deeply mistrusts government management of food safety and is suspicious of the science behind GMO products. Over the last three decades, China has lifted millions out of poverty as the heavily populated country has risen to become the second largest economy in the world. Its appetite for food has grown as well. So much so that China now relies heavily on imported foods and grains, and some here feel that genetically modified foods should be allowed to play a more significant role. Supporter Li Ning is the director of the State Key Laboratories for AgroBiotechnolgy at China Agricultural University. He says that although biotechnology would help improve agricultural efficiency, scientists need to overcome resistance from the public. “People in China are so scared about food safety issues, that as soon as someone reports negatively on GMO foods they start to be afraid,” said Li. As an example, he mentions an official from the Heilongjiang Soybeans Association who told the media that consuming genetically modified soybeans had carcinogenic risks. Experts were quick to rebuke the official’s remarks, but Li says people believed the wrongful claims. The genetic makeup of GMO food is modified at the seed level to make crops more resistant to diseases and pest attacks. Currently, China allows the commercial production of GMO tomatoes, cotton, papaya and bell peppers. The ministry of agriculture has repeatedly stated that GMO crops are safe, and the ministry of technology has invested hundreds of million of dollars into the biotech industry. Nonetheless, safety certificates for GMO rice and corn granted in 2009 will expire next year, and commercialization has not been approved yet. Li Ning says that the delay is a result of intense pressure from environmental groups like Greenpeace. “They have organized people to stage sit-ins in front of the Ministry of Agriculture,” said Li. “This has made officials at the ministry very scared. Some of them do not dare take a stance against such demonstrations.” Ronald Herring, a professor of Political Science at Cornell University, says that there is no obviously safe place for politicians on this issue. “Of course, there is no evidence whatsoever of environmental or food safety risk from transgenics,” said Herring, “but in 55 languages the common folk wisdom is: where there is smoke there is fire.” Earlier this year, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering signed a petition letter to push for the commercialization of GM rice. In a recent interview with the Southern Daily, Zhang Qifa, one of the academics that signed the petition, said that this is the best time for China to implement a national industrialization of GM rice. “The technology we have is as good as that of the U.S.,” Zhang was quoted saying. “However, we lack the commercial infrastructure. We must nurture strong agricultural companies to promote GMO rice industrialization.” The large-scale commercialization of GMO crops has been seen as a strategic move to help China solve the problems arising from needing to feed an increasing population while the availability of arable land decreases. Yan Jianbing, a professor at the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement at Huazhong Agricultural University, in Wuhan, has been involved with tasting sessions of GM rice in Wuhan. At one of the events last month, volunteers tasted rice cakes and porridge made with GM rice and promoted the event to reassure the public about the safety of transgenic crop. Last week Li Jiayang, China's deputy minister of agriculture, was criticized in the media for having been a consultant for DuPont, which advocates GM foods and is financially invested in China's biotechnology market. Part of the criticism stemmed from the fact that party rules forbid senior officials from taking posts in foreign companies, but much emphasis was also put on Li’s advocacy of transgenic crop for China’s agriculture. Scientists like Li, a commentary on the China Youth Daily suggested, are pushing biotechnologies in China for their personal gain, while helping multinational corporations grasp sizable economic interests within China. A similar argument was made in August by a major general of the People’s Liberation Army, who argued that the West was threatening food security in China by introducing GMO grains through imports. Currently, China permits the importation of GMO corn, soybean, canola and cotton, but only for non-human consumption. However, an estimated 80 percent of soybeans consumed in China are imported from the United States, Brazil and Argentina, and most of them are genetically modified. In the first half of 2013, seven additional types of GMO crops were given the green light for imports. Farmers have criticized the government's choice to increase GMO imports, which are often cheaper and of better quality than the local produce. China is not alone in struggling with this issue. The European Union is fiercely negotiating a trade agreement with the United States on GMO trade. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of 2014 and might eventually allow U.S. GMO foodstuffs to enter the European market. Greenhouse gases are record, says U.N. weather agency By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The World Meteorological Organization reports the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere reached a record high in 2012. This accelerating trend will have devastating consequences on climate change, the U.N. agency says, unless the world's nations do more to to rein in emissions. The agency’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin notes that fossil fuel-related emissions, mainly from carbon dioxide, account for 80 percent of the increase. It says carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere grew more rapidly last year than the average growth rate over the past decade. The report said the volume of carbon dioxide reached 393.1 parts per million in 2012, some 41 per cent above the pre-industrial level. World Meteorological Secretary-General Michel Jarraud says the increase of carbon dioxide is mostly due to human activity, industry, energy production, land use and deforestation, among other factors. “CO2 is a very stable gas, so it means that there is no sort of chemical reaction which would naturally destroy CO2 in the atmosphere. So it stays for very long periods, hundreds of years, or even more. And that is why, as a consequence, the actions we take now or the actions we do not take now will have consequences for a very, very long period,” said Jarraud. The organization says methane is the second biggest contributor to greenhouse gas and to the potential warming of the atmosphere. About 40 percent of methane reaches the atmosphere from natural sources, such as wetlands and termites. The other 60 percent comes from human activities including cattle breeding, rice agriculture, fossil fuel exploitation and biomass burning. Nitrous oxide is the third most important greenhouse gas. The organization says about 60 percent of emissions come from natural sources and 40 percent from human activity. The U.N. agency notes nitrous oxide also plays an important role in the destruction of the atmosphere's ozone layer, which protects people from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. In its recent report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed that atmospheric concentrations of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide are breaking all records, and are now higher than they have been for more than 800,000 years. Climate talks next week will center on emissions By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Climate talks in Warsaw, Poland, next week address the task of creating a treaty aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement, expected by 2015, will replace the Kyoto Protocol that expired last year. The U.N. Environment Program’s annual Emissions Gap Report, released this week, reviews how each nation is meeting its pledge to reduce the release of greenhouse gases. Climate Change Coordinator Merlyn van Voore warns the opportunity to control those emissions is slipping away. “The emissions gap is still growing. UNEP believes that it is still possible to close the gap, but it will be tough.” The scenarios described in the report find that delay will be costly, but the situation will get even costlier if nations continue with business as usual. Not all large emitters on track to meet pledges According to the report, five of the largest emitters, China, India, Australia, Russia and the European Union nations, are on track to meet commitments made in international forums. Other major emitters, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico and South Korea, fall short. Co-author Taryn Fransen, a senior scientist with the World Resources Institute, said that while the news is not great, she is encouraged that some of those nations have recently put policy changes in place. She points to a new climate law in México, an emissions trading scheme in South Korea and the U.S. Climate Action Plan announced by President Barack Obama in June. Ms. Fransen said even if the United States and every other nation fulfilled their pledges, however, emissions by the end of the decade still would be 18 to 27 percent above where they need to be to keep global temperature rise less than two degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels. Climate scientists say breaking the two degree Celsius threshold would put the planet in danger with increased ice sheet melt, sea level rise, forest fires, and extreme weather. Effect on climate uncertain because of aerosols in air By
the University of Leeds news staff
Natural aerosols, such as emissions from volcanoes or plants, may contribute more uncertainty than previously thought to estimates of how the climate might respond to greenhouse gas emissions. An international team of researchers, led by the University of Leeds, has shown that the effect of aerosols on the climate since industrialization depends strongly on what the atmosphere was like before pollution when aerosols were produced only from natural emissions. The research is being published in the journal Nature today. Ken Carslaw from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds and lead author of the study, said: "We have shown that our poor knowledge of aerosols prior to the industrial revolution dominates the uncertainty in how aerosols have affected clouds and climate. "In order to better understand climate change, we need to turn our attention towards understanding very clean regions of the atmosphere as might have existed in the mid-1700s. Such regions are incredibly rare now, but we are looking for them." Aerosols tend to increase the brightness of clouds, which would increase the reflection of solar radiation to space, thereby partially masking the climate-warming effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Firmly establishing the effect of aerosol-induced changes on cloud brightness is an important challenge for climate scientists. Another U.S. Navy officer held in bribery investigation By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. prosecutors have accused a third senior U.S. Navy official in a widening bribery probe involving millions of dollars in excess charges for refueling and supplying U.S. fleet ships in Asian ports. A Justice Department statement said Navy Cmdr. Jose Luis Sanchez was arrested early Wednesday in Florida. He was charged with accepting prostitutes, luxury travel and $100,000 from a foreign defense contractor in exchange for classified and internal Navy information. This arrest is the latest development in a sweeping probe of a massive overbilling scheme allegedly orchestrated by Singapore-based defense contractor Glen Defense Marine Asia. The probe, first reported last month in the Washington Post, has so far led to the arrests of a senior agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and another Navy commander who captained a U.S. destroyer. Another commander ensnared in the probe was relieved last month in Japan of his ship's command. Prosecutors allege Sanchez took bribes in return for providing sensitive information on ship deployments. The officer also is accused of recommending specific ports at which aircraft carriers, submarines and other ships would refuel and resupply. Those ports were serviced by Glen Defense Marine Asia. Court records show Glen chief executive Leonard Glenn Francis and another company official were arrested in September in San Diego after federal investigators lured them to the United States by arranging a sham meeting with Navy officials. The firm has serviced navies in Asia for a quarter century, and authorities say the company has been awarded U.S. contracts worth more than $200 million. Number living in poverty increased with new U.S. data By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. government says one in six Americans lived at or below the poverty level last year. That is about 50 million people in total. That figure is three million people more than were listed in a report two months ago. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the new figure is based on a revised formula that is more true-to-life because it includes people who received government benefits that helped lift them out of poverty. An American family of four is officially designated as living in poverty if it earns less than $23,550 a year. But the revised figure looks at things like Social Security payments to the elderly that can put them above the official poverty line. The U.S. economy is steadily improving. But officials say many working-age adults are still not able to find jobs that pay them enough to cover all their bills. Congress already has cut food stamp benefits for poor Americans and is considering even more cuts to help balance the ailing federal budget. Google employees express their anger at NSA spying By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A pair of Google, Inc., employees involved with the Internet company's security systems have publicly lashed out at the National Security Agency with one of the employees accusing the organization of subverting the law by intercepting communications on cables linking Google's various data centers. Nobody at the U.S. National Security Agency or the British intelligence agency “will ever stand before a judge and answer for this industrial-scale subversion of the judicial process,” wrote Mike Hearn, an engineer at Google, on his personal Google+ page Tuesday. The comments follow a report in the Washington Post last week that the NSA had gained access to an overseas cable or switch that relayed Google and Yahoo, Inc., traffic through an unnamed telecommunications provider. The report is the latest revelation based on secret NSA documents leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden. Hearn, whose profile on the Google+ Web site lists him as a Zurich-based software engineer who has worked at Google since 2006, said in the post that he had worked on an anti-hacking system at Google for two years. “We designed this system to keep criminals out. There's no ambiguity here,” Hearn wrote. “Bypassing that system is illegal for a good reason,” he said, noting that the judicial system of warrants and rules of evidence provided an effective and time-honored way to prevent crime while limiting excessive intrusions into privacy. The strident comments echo those last week by Brandon Downey, who identified himself as a network security engineer on his personal Google+ Web page. “Even though we suspected this was happening, it still makes me terribly sad,” Downey wrote. “The U.S. has to be better than this,” he said in a post. A person close to the company confirmed that Hearn and Downey are Google employees. Both Hearn, who personally thanked Snowden in his post, and Downey said they were voicing their personal opinions and not speaking on behalf of Google. Google declined to comment on their postings. Google, the world's No.1 internet search engine, said last week that it was outraged by the government's actions and called for urgent reform. The Internet company has faced its own criticism about intercepting data in the past, most notably when it acknowledged in 2010 that a fleet of cars it operates to map the world's streets had mistakenly collected passwords and other personal data from home consumers' wireless networks over a two year-period. The newly disclosed NSA program, operated jointly with the United Kingdom's Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ, amassed 181 million records in one recent 30-day span, according to one document reported by the Post. It could not be learned how much of that included material from U.S. residents, how the agency redacted data on them or how much of the information was retained. An NSA spokesperson said in a statement last week that the suggestion in the Post article that the agency relies on a presidential order on foreign intelligence gathering to skirt domestic restrictions imposed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and other laws is not true. “The assertion that we collect vast quantities of U.S. persons' data from this type of collection is also not true,” the statement said. “NSA is a foreign intelligence agency. And we're focused on discovering and developing intelligence about valid foreign intelligence targets only.” |
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| A.M. Costa
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 221 | |||||||||
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Hijacker of U.S.
jet plane wants to return to visit By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A one-time U.S. militant who hijacked an airliner to Cuba nearly 30 years ago is returning to his homeland, with the hope of resolving criminal charges that he still faces in the United States. William Potts was a member of a black nationalist group called the Black Panthers when he commandeered a plane with 56 passengers on it at gunpoint in 1984 and ordered the pilot to fly to Havana. It was an era when airline security was lax and U.S. hijackers frequently sought passage to communist Cuba. Potts, now 56 years old, thought he would be welcomed in the island nation a short distance from the southern coast of the U.S. Instead, he was quickly convicted of air piracy and served 13 years in a Cuban prison. Once freed, he married a Cuban woman with whom he had two daughters. The couple has since divorced and his daughters now live in the U.S., prompting Potts to negotiate with U.S. authorities to arrange a charter flight Wednesday from Havana to Miami in the southern U.S. state of Florida. Potts said he is looking forward to a reunion with his family in the U.S. "To go home, to my family, to my daughters, that's what I'm hoping, that's what I'm expecting," said Potts, who has also acknowledged that he has made no deal with American authorities about his fate when he returns to his homeland. He said he is hoping that the prison sentence he served in Cuba will limit further punishment in the U.S. "We have not coordinated anything, that same uncertainty we have to resolve today is that I committed a crime, paid my dues and that's it, it's over. I was condemned to 15 years in prison, not life." Potts said he intends to return to live in Cuba once the U.S. criminal charges are resolved. U.S. visa chief in Vietnam admits accepting bribes By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A one-time U.S. visa chief in Vietnam has pleaded guilty to bribery and other charges for accepting more than $3 million in bribes to hand out visas for entry into the United States. The U.S. Foreign Service officer, Michael Sestak, admitted the scheme Wednesday in a federal court in Washington. He acknowledged that he took bribes to approve nearly 500 visas while serving in Ho Chi Minh City from 2010 to last year. Prosecutors said Sestak conspired with four other people, two Americans living in Vietnam and two Vietnamese citizens, to collect nearly $10 million in bribes that ranged from $15,000 to $70,000. American officials said the 42-year-old Sestak used his $3 million share of the bribes to buy nine pieces of real estate in Thailand, all of which he is forfeiting as part of his guilty plea agreement. Sestak has yet to be sentenced, but U.S. guidelines call for a prison term of about 19 to 24 years. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| From Page 7: U.S. firm to handle Jacó Rays bookings By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Oriens Travel & Hotel Management Corp. said Wednesday that it will handle booking and reservations for the Jacó Rays professional soccer team. The second-division Jacó team will be using the Daystar stadium. Patrick Hundley, principal of Daystar Properties, is building the multimillion dollar stadium for the community which also will be used as a host site for the Womens under 17 World Cup next year, of which Jacó has been selected as a host community. For an area that is rapidly growing in tourism and retirement communities, the amenities and infrastructure the new stadium will offer "greatly increases the general value for Jacó Beach real estate and other international investments," said Ken Chua, resident of Oriens Travel & Hotel Management, which is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He said that implementing the company's reservations system in this arena will further demonstrate the sophistication and versatility of the online booking engine and will certainly help to solidify the firm's growing position within Central America. "This new stadium will be a major upgrade from the facility where the Jacó Rays currently play," Chua added. "As the Jacó Rays continue to become a big draw in the central Pacific, having the ability to seamlessly manage electronic ticket sales, booking hotel/stadium specials and other entertainment hospitality related reservation services, will be of the utmost importance to ownership. Oriens can provide the ownership with these necessary tools." |
