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A.M. Costa Rica
Your daily English-language news source Monday through Friday |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 228 | |||||||||
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 Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
photo
The
highly edible oyster mushroom.
Growing oyster
mushrooms
is one-day course at INBio Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad in Santo Domingo de Heredia plans a one-day course on oyster mushroom cultivation aimed at small-scale production Nov. 24. Costs are $160 for Costa Ricans and $180 for foreigners. Lunch and course materials are included. More information is HERE. The presentation and materials are entirely in Spanish, but oyster mushroom references in English are readily available elsewhere, according to coordinator Ronald Gamboa. This course is repeated regularly. There are several activities on weekends in addition to the usual attractions at the park and serpentarium. Saturday is “Bio-Start-up” day with a variety of small-scale entrepreneurs showing items like natural cosmetics, handicrafts, organic fertilizer, and textiles. Nov. 25 has a Vivaldi Christmas concert. The entrance for residents and Costa Rican nationals to INBioparque for adults is 3,750 colons. Children up to 12 years pay 2,600 colons, and seniors pay 3,000 colons. The reptile exhibit is an extra 1,000 colons for adults and 500 for children. Non-resident foreigners pay $24 for adults and $14 for children with a tour included. Weekend park hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with last admission at 4 p.m. Admission after 3:30 has a reduced rate. The park is also open to the public Fridays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last call at 3 p.m. It is closed the rest of the week. Tico Times publisher says news story was incomplete Dery Dyer of The Tico Times has asked to reply to A.M. Costa Rica in reference to a news article that appeared Oct. 31. That article is HERE. The Missing Facts Because we were not afforded the courtesy of responding beforehand to the incomplete information in Jay Brodell’s innuendo-driven article about The Tico Times’ fundraising campaign Oct. 31, we are making use of our legal right to reply now. In a recent letter, Mr. Brodell defends his story as “factual” and arrogantly shrugs off his failure to contact us by saying, “…there was not much that needed to be said. The public documents on the Web told the story.” Oh, really? Please read on. Following are a few facts which, had we been offered the opportunity to add them, would have made a very different story – a fair and balanced example of good journalism instead of the malicious report that appeared. THE REPORTED FACT: The Tico Times has a debt with the Costa Rican Social Security System (Caja). THE MISSING FACTS: * The Tico Times’ debts – which are no secret, being the reason we had to suspend the TT’s print edition – have nothing whatsoever to do with the fundraising campaign. The debts are being covered by the sale of properties. • All of the paper’s debts, including the Caja, are in the process of being paid. THE REPORTED “FACT”: “Some Tico Times readers” questioned how their donations would be spent. A fact is verifiable. This isn’t. Who were these “readers”? How many is “some”? Why weren’t “they” identified? OTHER MISSING FACTS: As we’ve reported, we plan to use the $8,000 donated by our readers to cover operating costs until The Tico Times rebuilds as an online-only publication, and we’ll give donors a detailed accounting. Facts such as these make the difference between The Tico Times being portrayed as a guilty delinquent trying to mislead its readers, or as a responsible 56-year-old company working with integrity to pay its debts and stay alive. Why were these facts missing? Dery
Dyer, Publisher
The Tico Times
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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 2012 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, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 228 |
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Jo Stuart |
Protesters, mostly students, continue their protest after the sun goes down in this photo taken Nov. 8 in front of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social building on Avenida 2. |
 A.M. Costa Rica file photo/Kayla Pearson
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| There is something for everyone to
protest during march today |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The march today that is likely to tie up traffic all over the downtown is a smorgasbord of social issues. Protesters can favor some or all. Ostensibly the march is a replay of the one a week ago that had the aim of defending the financially strapped Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social. Some Costa Ricans fear Caja programs will be cut. Because some lawmakers and university students got involved in shoving matches with the Fuerza Pública and some even threw stones and sticks, the march today is against alleged police repression, said some organizers. But there is more. Some marchers will be against genetically modified food. Others favor gay marriages, and some are still irked that President Laura Chinchilla vetoed legislation that would have allowed extensive photocopying of copyrighted works. Some union organizers are rallying the troops over salaries. A few still are carrying the torch against the free trade treaty with the United States. And some with ties to the universities are protesting budgets. Yet others oppose a new law that seems to create an official secret act in Costa Rica. Most agree the law is unconstitutional, and the executive branch has promised to change it. All these political issues provide fertile ground for would-be presidential candidates and reinvigorating various organizations. The proposed march is in two units, both beginning about 9 a.m. One group, probably the largest, will walk east on Avenida 2 from the Parque la Merced. Students from the Universidad de Costa Rica will march west from San Pedro. Expats and others probably should plan on being elsewhere today. The director of the Policía de Tránsito, Diego Herrera, said as much Tuesday and suggested that motorists stay out of |
the downtown. Blocked traffic
downtown can have effects miles away, too. President Chinchilla, in a statement Tuesday, supported in principal the right to assemble and protest, but she said that no one has the right to infringe on the rights of others, meaning blocking the streets. She has defended the Fuerza Pública response to the unruly protesters last week. "Unfortunately, in the march last week that began as a peaceful demonstration, it degenerated into a blockade of streets, resistance to authority and in shameful acts of violence that involves some legislators which obliged the police to intervene," said the president. She said that her administration is not disposed to tolerate unjustified blockades of streets or violent acts by those who interfere with the police under immunity, referred to lawmakers who were involved in the scuffle last Thursday. An organization called Movimiento Renovación Universitaria challenged that position later Wednesday night in a statement that said the right to assemble trumps the right of free passage. The organization cited a Sala IV ruling. It also called for clearing the records of the 36 persons who were detained last week. Executing orders of superiors, the police forces brutally attacked young people, adults and women who were in the area of the Caja and detained about 35 persons in an arbitrary manner and also disrespected and hit three legislators who were there, said Movimiento Renovación. The organization also said that the administration of the university was supporting the march. Also supporting the march will be lawmakers of the left-leaning Partido Acción Ciudadana. Three members of the party were involved in the scuffle Thursday. Also marching will be supporters of the Frente Amplio, a political party closely allied with Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and the Cuban Communists. It's sole lawmakers in the Asamblea Legislative, José María Villalta Flórez-Estrada, was involved in the protest last week. |
| Controversial political secrets law
called a big judicial mess |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A penal expert told lawmakers Wednesday that a new criminal law is the biggest judicial mess that he has seen in 30 years. The expert, Juan Diego Castro Fernández, was talking about the new infotec law that creates, among other things, a political secrets act. Much of the law is clearly unconstitutional, but lawmakers passed it anyway, and President Laura Chinchilla signed it. Castro said that the law does not only affect newspeople but also citizens. He said he was concerned by what he called the dangerous judicialization of politics. The measure penalized with prison the disclosure of what it calls political secrets but does not define these secrets. The law also prohibits the use of handles or pen names in computerized messages. Journalism groups are up in arms about the law, which they have battled for months. They were appalled that Ms. Chinchilla signed the document and that it was published as a law in the La Gazeta official newspaper. Penalties run up to eight years in jail. |
Castro said that the law was not a
gag but a guillotine with draconian penalties. The law also prohibits
suspended sentences for those convicted. The Colegio de Periodistas and other groups have been fighting the law for months. The colegio, the journalist professional group, said Friday that an action of unconstitutionality has been filed against the law by the Defensoría de los Habitantes. The colegio is expected to file a companion action. The law comes after a long series of disclosures in the press of various aspects of corruption from the Alcatel bribery scandal to the current problems with the Ruta 1856 at the northern border of the country. Castro was testifying before the Comisión Permanente Especial de Derechos Humanos. Juan Carlos Mendoza Garcia, a lawmaker, said that his party, the Partido Acción Ciudadana, was preparing a substitute text for the law. President Chinchilla has promised to do the same thing. The law is called in Spanish by opponents the Ley Mordaza or "gag law" |
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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 |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 228 | |||||
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| Health
ministry urges actions against diabetes By
Aaron Knapp
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff The Ministerio de Salud urged citizens to adopt healthy lifestyles in commemoration of World Diabetes Day Wednesday. While the health ministry cited data indicating that the mortality rates of the disease are going down, officials in an announcement from the ministry still called on people to be vigilant. Diabetes mellitus is a medical disorder in which a hormone called insulin loses its ability to regulate the amount of the sugar glucose in the blood stream. Glucose can be poisonous in high doses. Although genes cause or at least play a role in the disease, most cases are caused by years without a healthy diet and exercise regimen. The ministry's announcement said that almost 8,100 new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in Costa Rica last year. 56 percent of those diagnosed were women and 50 percent were also between the ages of 45 and 64. About 44 children under the age of 15 were diagnosed last year as well. 689 Costa Ricans died of complications directly related to diabetes last year, a rate of 11.74 per 100,000 people. The ministry also included data showing that the rate of death from the disease is going down. Ministry officials admitted that the death rate is low, but they also said that diabetes can factor into other diseases and complications, especially heart diseases. The announcement said that the highest rates of diabetes are in Alajuela and San José with about 188 and 154 cases per 100,000 people respectively. To prevent the disease, ministry officials recommend that individuals cut down on sugar, fat and carbohydrates, consume more fruits and vegetables, drink eight glasses of water per day, and exercise regularly. Sophisticated cyber attacks predicted for coming year By
the Georgia Institute of Technology news service
The year ahead will feature new and increasingly sophisticated means to capture and exploit user data, escalating battles over the control of online information and continuous threats to the U.S. supply chain from global sources. Those were the findings made by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center and the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Wednesday's release of the Georgia Tech Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2013. The report was released at the annual Georgia Tech Cyber Security Summit, a gathering of industry and academic leaders who have distinguished themselves in the field of cyber security. According to the academic units and the experts cited in the report, specific threats to follow over the coming year include, among others: • Cloud-based botnets – The ability to create vast, virtual computing resources will further convince cyber criminals to look for ways to co-opt cloud-based infrastructure for their own ends. One possible example is for attackers to use stolen credit card information to purchase cloud computing resources and create dangerous clusters of temporary virtual attack systems. • Search history poisoning – Cyber criminals will continue to manipulate search engine algorithms and other automated mechanisms that control what information is presented to Internet users. Moving beyond typical search-engine poisoning, researchers believe that manipulating users’ search histories may be a next step in ways that attackers use legitimate resources for illegitimate gains. • Mobile browser and mobile wallet vulnerabilities – While only a very small number of U.S. mobile devices show signs of infection, the explosive proliferation of smartphones will continue to tempt attackers in exploiting user and technology-based vulnerabilities, particularly with the browser function and digital wallet apps. • Malware counteroffensive – The developers of malicious software will employ various methods to hinder malware detection, such as hardening their software and exploiting the wealth of new interfaces and novel features on mobile devices. “Every year, security researchers and experts see new evolutions in cyber threats to people, businesses and governments,” said Wenke Lee, director of the security center. “In 2013, we expect the continued movement of business and consumer data onto mobile devices and into the cloud will lure cyber criminals into attacking these relatively secure, but extremely tempting, technology platforms. Along with growing security vulnerabilities within our national supply chain and healthcare industry, the security community must remain proactive, and users must maintain vigilance, over the year ahead.” Women make big gains in U.S. congressional seats By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A record number of women were elected last week to the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. When the new Congress convenes in January, there will be about 80 female members of the House, and 20 female members of the Senate, most of them Democrats. House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi held a news conference on Wednesday where she stood surrounded by a group of women, current and newly elected members of the House. She pointed out that for the first time in history of the House, Democratic women and minorities outnumber their white male counterparts. "The most diverse caucus in the history of the world, the first time that a parliamentary body would have a party who had a majority of women and minorities," Ms. Pelosi said. Pelosi said the fact that so many Democratic women won seats in the November elections was a factor in her decision on whether to step down as Democratic leader, which she announced surrounded by colleagues she called her "sisters." "And I have made a decision to submit my name, to my colleagues, to once again serve as the House Democratic leader," she said. Ms. Pelosi served two terms as speaker of the House, the first woman in the United States to serve as speaker, and she oversaw passage of President Barack Obama's health care reform legislation. In the new Senate, 20 percent of the 100 lawmakers will be women, 16 Democrats and four Republicans. And once all of the ballots are counted, as many as 19 Republican women could be sworn in into the House in January. One of the newly elected members of the House, Democrat Lois Frankel of Florida, says she believes women govern differently than men because of their role as the primary caregivers for children and elderly parents. "I think we do bring a different perspective because, for many of us like myself, we have raised our family and mixed it with work," she said. |
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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 2012 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 |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 228 | |||||||||
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| Toyota
recalls vehicles for steering, pump problems By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Toyota is recalling more than 2.7 million vehicles worldwide because of steering and water pump problems. It is the second major recall in as many months for the world's largest automaker. The Japanese auto giant said Wednesday no accidents have been reported because of the defects, which it says could be fixed in about one hour. The problems affect 14 models, including the second generation of the popular Prius hybrid. The Corolla, Wish and other vehicles made between 2000 and 2011 could also have the issues. About 1.5 million of the defective vehicles are in Japan. The rest are scattered overseas, including 670,000 in the U.S. and 496,000 in Europe. It is the latest embarrassment for Toyota, which last month recalled 7.4 million vehicles because of a fire hazard caused by a faulty power window switch. Toyota's reputation for quality took a hit following massive recalls between 2009 and 2011 because of defects causing unintended acceleration in some of its vehicles. European unions in streets protecting austerity plans By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Workers in several European countries went on strike Wednesday to protest austerity measures designed to help their governments get out of debt, but which cut their salaries, pensions and benefits. Angry workers chanted "strike, strike" inside Madrid’s main train station as they scuffled with police. Outside, workers blew whistles and set off firecrackers, as commuters rode by, many on bicycles for the day. Commuter and inter-city trains were canceled in several countries, along with flights and other forms of transport, while government services and some businesses also went idle. “They are taking all our rights away," complained a Spanish union member who spoke for many of his co-workers. "The banks and other business people are bringing us onto the streets, they are stealing our salaries. We do not have any rights anymore.” French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault admonished workers to be patient in what is a global crisis, and said what is at stake is nothing less than the identity of the French nation. “Today, this social model is in danger. There are many things to correct, to change, to modernize and to reform. And France will reclaim somehow its freedom and its autonomy," Ayrault said. The one-day strike was called by the European Trade Union Confederation, which has called for more fairness as European countries work their way out of debt. The strike drew large numbers of workers in economically hard-hit Spain and Portugal, with less-widespread strikes in France, Italy, Belgium and Greece, which has seen large protests this week over its government’s latest austerity program. At London’s Kingston University, labor union expert and Professor Craig Phelan is sympathetic to the workers’ concerns. “It's a sense of crisis. It's a sense that austerity programs have not worked," Phelan said. "Trying to fight recession by simply making budget cuts hasn't been working in Africa, in South America for decades.” Phelan says the unions are right to urge governments to fight recession mainly through economic growth. That would require borrowing more money, which the European Central Bank and other international lenders are not willing to provide without austerity. But Phelan said the political ground may be shifting. “At this stage there is very little that can be done by political leaders," he said. "They have made this commitment, recovery through austerity, and they are kind of boxed in at this stage. We are going to see a continuation of these protests, lower productivity levels, increasing unemployment, insecurity. But it will lead to a change in policies in the next few years.” That will likely sound like a long time to workers in countries that have already had several years of recession. |
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| BBC news feeds may be found on Page 7 HERE! |
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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 2012 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 |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 228 | |||||||||
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Latin America news |
San José
hosting gathering
of regional bioanthropologists By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Asociación Latinoamericana de Antropología Biológica and the Universidad de Costa Rica are cohosting a three-day bioanthropology workshop in San José. The activity, XII Congreso Latinoamericano de Antropología Biológica, is designed to bring persons together to share experiences in health, evolution, ethics, human rights, human genetics and forensic anthropology fields. "This event is a privilege and the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología de Costa Rica celebrates this important activity, " said Alejandro Cruz, minister of science and technology. “Our national science, technology and innovation plan commits us to support all those activities aimed at promoting the vocation of young people and the training of those so it is possible to work in science and technology.” Some themes of discussion during the congress are the search for genes that cause complex diseases that exist in hybrid populations of Costa Rica and African Americans in the United States, studies of ancient DNA in native American populations and the state of reproductive health in Latin America. Asociación Latinoamericana de Antropología Biológica was founded in 1989 in Santiago, Chile, as a way to promote scientific exchange between researchers in the area and in Latin American countries. The association has been meeting every two years in different countries since 1990 as a way to update knowledge and interact with multinational research, said the organization's Web site. An incentives commission of the science ministry donated 10 million colons to finance this congress. XII Congreso Latinoamericano de Antropología Biológica will continue through Friday. Each day begins at 8:30 a.m. and the schedule includes lectures, symposiums and presentations. More information is available on the Web site at http://xii-congreso-alab-2012.org/alab.html. Judicial police top job now has four candidates By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The list of candidates for the general director of the Judicial Investigating Organization shrank considerably Wednesday, according to a court press release. The Comisión de Nombramientos del Poder Judicial, which is a panel of five judges, eliminated 13 contenders for the position, leaving only four persons who could be the new director, including the current acting director, Francisco Segura Sanchez. The other three remaining applicants for the position are the current vice minister of security, Celso Gamboa Sánchez, an organized crime prosecutor, Osvaldo Henderson García, and a criminal judge, Rodrigo Vásquez Retana. Whoever is selected to fill the position will be in charge of the agency that investigates crime in the country. Interviews with the 17 applicants started last week and concluded Monday. |
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