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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 230 | |||||||||
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| Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
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 Photo by Patrick Wiedemann
The full moon Sunday also was a blue moon, meaning that it is
the third full moon in a season that has four full moons. Typically a
season of three months has three full moons. The next one will be Aug.
31, 2012, astronomer says. This is the origin of the expression 'Once
in a blue moon.'Slide blocks Limón route and missing vehicle sought UPDATE: The traffic agency said that the route to Limón was opened by 9:40 a.m. today but the road still is a mess. No wrecked vehicles were found. By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Another massive slide blocked the San José-Limón highway in Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo and motorists reported that they thought at least one vehicle was caught in the debris. Rescue workers said later they could not locate any vehicle, but they were expected to keep on searching today. The highway, Ruta 32, remained open during the early part of the month when heavy rains were ravaging the road infrastructure elsewhere. Rains returned Sunday, and they are considered at least a partial cause of the slide. The site is 11 kilometers or about seven miles north of the Zurquí Tunnel on the way to Guápiles. The Interamericana Norte has been opened, according to Tránsito police. That road was blocked by a large boulder at Cambronero. Workers had to knock down at least seven similar rocks that threatened the roadway. However, the Interamericana Sur continues to be blocked by slides that severed the road between Paso Real and Palmar Norte. The highway has been out of service there since Nov. 3. Elsewhere transport workers are installing $8.4 million in bailey bridges. These are the temporary metal bridges that the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes uses whenever a road is undermined or falls away. The on-lane bridges can be installed quickly and provide access to areas that have been cut off by bridge collapses or other road disasters. The bulk of the heavy rain Sunday fell along the Caribbean coast and in the mountains. Similar conditions are expected for today. Luxury sailboat begins cruises in Costa Rica By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Star Flyer, one of a small fleet of luxury sailboats, was to have begun operations in Costa Rican waters Sunday. The boat operators plan 16 seven-day cruises using Caldera on the Pacific as a home port. The boats can carry up to 150 passengers. Most of them will be North Americans. The announcement was made by the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo. The boat will make stops at Golfito, Drake Bay, Quepos and Playas del Coco, among others, the institute said. The boat is part of the Star Clippers fleet that started operations in Belgium in 1991, the institute said, adding that the Star Flyer is expected to return to Costa Rican waters next year. Dumping along river bank can be a costly action By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Police in the Cartago area have been getting complaints of men with a red truck who were dumping trash in a river. They reported they caught up with two men fitting that description Sunday and found branches and other trash dumped onto the banks of a river in Liceo de Paraiso de Cartago. The men had a bad day. First, each had an outstanding arrest warrant for unrelated cases. Then traffic police assessed a 400,000 fine because the driver did not have a license, was contaminating a river and lacked other documents. The men were taken into custody on the warrants, and the municipality has the option of assessing other fines today, police said. Local fines can range up to a half million colons or nearly $1,000.
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 230 | |||||||||
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| Country
gearing up for another festive holiday season |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Christmas season is beginning to pick up steam. The post office, Correos de Costa Rica, announced that it has new post cards ready with Christmas themes that can be sent anywhere in the world for 405 colons, about 80 U.S. cents. The first Christmas fair took place Sunday at the Centro Nacional de la Cultura. It will be repeated next week. The postal service offering are cards with religious and |
secular themes. The cards were
designed to foster feelings of peace and love during the holiday
season, the postal service said.
There is a Christmas tree, Santa, wise men and the Holy Family. The event Sunday at the culture center was dampened Sunday by afternoon rains. The Christmas offering returns next Saturday and Sunday with storytellers, musicians, traditional games, clowns, puppets and a rock concert Saturday night. For those preferring big band, the famous Orquesta de Lubín Barahona plays Sunday at 5 p.m. |
| Some court hearing will be available on the Internet soon |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A pilot plan is putting the cases at three courtrooms in San José online. The audience are those in the Poder Judicial, but officials plan to expand the audience to the public. The courtrooms are that of the Tribunal Contencionso Administrativo, where the actions of the government are contested. The project takes advantage of the trend toward oral arguments in the courtrooms. In the past the bulk of a court case was argued with paperwork files, and this would not have made good television. The Poder Judicial said that 115 courtrooms in the country already are wired for television, and taping a trial is usual. |
But now the events
inside the courtroom will be available elsewhere. When the video feeds become public, viewers should not expect Perry Mason or the antics of any of the other television lawyer shows. They also may not know the background of a case. Court files in Costa Rica are sealed to all but the litigants and their lawyers. Unlike other countries, in Costa Rica a citizen cannot read the various filing of a case, which is why a lot of criminal actions disappear into the judicial system and the resolutions never are made public. The new television system was the centerpiece of a visit by foreign judges to Costa Rica Friday. The videos play on computers but the feeds are password protected |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 230 | |||||||||
| Readers give opinions on Ms. Palin,
Amnet and Fox News |
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| Shoe
is on other foot with shameless land grab Dear A.M. Costa Rica: As a expat resident from the U.S.A., living here for just over three years, I have been following the land dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua with some interest. First, I must say that I enjoy living in Costa Rica. Daily, I attempt to be respectful of the fact that I am a visitor to this country and this culture. I am very thankful to have the opportunity and the choice to live in such a beautiful setting and enjoy a relaxed lifestyle. Having said that, I have a couple of comments about the attention given to the conflict going on at the Costa Rican/Nicaragua border. First and foremost, I am a bit overwhelmed at the amount of press coverage, both TV and newspaper given to this issue. This site carries daily stories and the other “English language” online publication has had 5 to 6 stories daily about the conflict for the past 10 days. The only thing that seems to rival coverage of the dispute is “football” which can be seen 24/7 on channels 25, 26, 27, 63, 64 and 65 if you happen to subscribe to the local cable TV monopoly Amnet. Costa Ricans certainly seem to be fired up about this issue: Calls for citizens to take up arms and defend the country from invaders to the north, presidents and ex-presidents carping and finger-pointing about who is to blame, calls for world agencies to intervene to resolve the matter. It certainly seems to have touched a nerve when Costa Ricans face the reality of an illegal land grab. To this I respectfully say, “How does it feel when the shoe is on the other foot?” Someone came and squatted on your land, claimed it as their own and now even though you scream “This is not right,” “This is unjust,” you have no one to turn to. No one wants to listen to your plight. Not unlike countless cases of squatting experienced by North Americans who come here, purchase land for retirement or development, attempt to follow the rules and end up in months or years of legal red tape not to mention hundreds or thousands of dollars of expenses just to get what is legally theirs. While I will be the first to admit, I do not know every detail surrounding the border land dispute (other than the extensive and exhaustive media accounts) I have to respectfully say that while I am simpathetic to Costa Rica’s issue, I am not losing much sleep over it. I guess I will chalk it up to differences in “culture”. I will just give it the old Costa Rican “Pura Vida”. I am learning to adjust to the cultural differences such as: • Criminals can commit crimes, be arrested and then back out on the street in hours. • There is a new traffic law but no one follows it and no one enforces it. • Government run monopolies can write or rewrite policies at will on the backs of its poorest citizens. • Monies allocated to infrastructure seem to vanish into thin air while roads and bridges slide off the mountainside and crash into rivers. • Government officials will get into bed with anyone who will build them a bridge or a football stadium. While I do not always agree with the cultural differences, I am trying to comprehend them and live here as a respectful guest. But in my opinion, Costa Rica you can’t have it both ways, you can’t manipulate a system but then expect that same system to save you when you have to take a dose of the corrupt medicine. Poetic justice? You decide. Bill Ruzicka
There is nothing virile about land grab response Dear A.M. Costa Rica: What a country we live in, our Costa Rica. At first I cracked up when I read about Ms Oriette Zoneta filing a case in the constitutional court attacking the national anthem for having the word virile describing the country and being discriminatory against women. However on reflection based on my observation of Costa Rica’s handling of the Nicaraguan invasion and land grab initiated by Commandant Ortega, I think Ms Zoneta is on the right track. I have not seen one ounce of virility displayed in the response to the invasion of the sovereign territory of Costa Rica. Funny how the ladies of the world properly focus us men on the truth. Once I had a drop dead gorgeous lady insurance adjuster teasing me for settling a case with her too cheaply and well below her settlement authority to pay my client in my full-time lawyer days. What she said has stuck with me for years. She said “NO BALLS, NO BLACK CHIPS.” I suspect she was a good poker player and that she and Ms. Zoneta probably would not get along to well. I hope that Costa Rica’s lady president will follow my lady insurance adjusters philosophy of life and not Ms Zoneta’s, but I am not betting the ranch on that prospect. Oh yeah, and the adjuster who told me that was quite well endowed, and I have always suspected my virility cost me some money. I think there is a lesson in this story somewhere. Should Costa Rica send well-endowed Costa Rican ladies to negotiate with Commandant Ortega? Keep up the good work with your excellent paper which in my opinion has virility. Dan Wise
Barra del Colorado |
Amnet
did correct thing in dropping Fox News Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Although, I do not currently use Amnet since it is not available in my area, I do feel the pain of those clients writing in recently about some Amnet programming not being offered in English (if true). But I am sure Amnet has the right, by virtue of its contract with its clients, to change programming from time to time. My cable companies in the U.S.A. have changed programming on occasion. They have contracts with broadcasters that the terms of which are changed from time to time. If a provider now wants twice the revenue that it previously received from Amnet does Amnet have to continue providing it? The one complaint that they bemoan that I do not understand is the fact that Amnet has dropped Fox News. Shouldn’t they be rejoicing that Amnet has dropped that hateful right-wing spew of the so called ‘fair and balanced’ reporting of Fox News. I use the word news loosely. Now their viewers can use their own mental resources to sort out what they think of the news of the day instead of depending on Fox to tell them what they think! Fox’s ‘fair and balanced’ promotional catch phrase can be forever enshrined where it belongs along with “the checks in the mail” . . . . Here’s a cheer out to the Amnet programming staff. You’ve done a wonderful thing. Dan Hill
and other independent thinkers Arenal Dancing show is on air because its a free country Dear A.M. Costa Rica: In her recent diatribe Jo bemoans the fact that Bristol Palin has reached the finals of "Dancing With the Stars" because she is the daughter of Sarah Palin and has little talent. What I suppose she would prefer is that the government take over the show, as in North Korea, Venezuela, etc. (insert name of any socialist paradise) and subsidize it so that it could always be kept strictly politically correct. As for her statement that we all know that those who “stuffed the ballot box” are not always well-informed or discerning, meaning of course those of a conservative bent, we are discerning enough, madam, to evaluate you for what you are: a typical liberal with dreams of obliterating the bottom line and converting the world into a uniform socialist paradise. Do YOU have a bottom line, Jo??? The show is for ENTERTAINMENT!! Bristol is ENTERTAINING!! People want to see her!! Yes the EVIL TV network is making FILTHY MONEY by inviting her to be there. But please spare me your conspiracy theories about the viewers and/or the people running the show, you are letting your jealousy and pettiness show!! Why do you doubt that she is “just like us”? What makes her so different?? Because she got pregnant and then had the baby?? Did she anger you that she didn’t abort the baby?? “If the United States wants to be No. 1 in the world.....”? You say, we got to quit voting for Bristol???? Dear, we already ARE No. 1 and likely to stay that way for a long long time in spite of fault-finders like you. The “bottom line” will always be important in a FREE country. Daryl Hartman
Escazú Viewer free to flip channel Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Jo Stuart’s article (So how come a mediocre dancer continues to advance) smells like - I don’t like your mama’s politics, you wooden soldier. Either that is the reason for the article or ratings and profit are evil. Thank God commercial programming ratings and profits are necessary to survive. Otherwise Jo Stuart would have a prime time show. What Costa Ricans should take away from “Dancing with the Stars” is this is entertainment and you are free to flip the channel. There is injustice on this planet but this one is not even on the radar screen. Jerry Adams
Escazú Limon can draw poison from bite of rare spider Dear A.M. Costa Rica: In reference to the news story that said What may have been the bite of a tiny mosquito last April in Jacó marked the beginning of a medical ordeal for a Denver man. Well funny thing. It happened to me two years ago. I was sleeping when I felt a sharp pain in my leg then another. I awoke to find a black and orange spider about 1 ½ inches across beside my leg. My girlfriend at the time rushed to the kitchen and got a lime (limon) and cut it in half then placed it on the bite marks. A filmy white goo came out, and we went to the hospital where they cut out three small 2” round parts of flesh. The doctor told me that the spider is very rare but the bite can cause coma and sometimes death. He also told me that placing the limon on it right away sucked the poison out and that saved me from getting more cut out of me. To this day, I always shake my bed covers and sheets before going to sleep and spray my house on the inside and out. And have a fear of bugs!! My family wonders why? R. Matija
San José
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| San
José,
Costa Rica, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 230 |
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Latin American news Please reload page if feed does not appear promptly |
Four
journalists honored for defying governments By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The Committee to Protect Journalists lists 25 journalists from around the world who were murdered this year because of their work. And countless others face threats, prison time and harassment. Each year, the U.S.-based Committee honors journalists who risk their lives to do their jobs. This year, four journalists will receive the International Press Freedom Award at a ceremony in New York. Three of them first traveled to Washington to share their thoughts with fellow journalists. Laureano Marquez is a writer from Venezuela who uses humor in his political commentary. "We are the voice for the ones who can't speak out or don't have access to the media. In my case, my work is humor, and humor has always been society's voice," he said. The Venezuelan government wants to prosecute Marquez. He says the government's reaction to his writing shows how freedom of expression in Venezuela is deteriorating. "Media outlets that have been critical of the government have been shut down and also some media outlets are practicing self-censorship. Protest is being criminalized so that people are afraid to criticize the government," he said. Nadira Isayeva of Russia also faces prosecution. She is editor-in-chief of a weekly newspaper in the southern republic of Dagestan and has written about how Russian security forces combat Islamic militants. After publishing an interview with a former guerrilla leader who accused authorities of corruption, the government accused her of being an extremist. She faces the possibility of eight years in prison, but says she feels vindicated by the Press Freedom Award. "I broke into tears because there was a lot of misunderstanding about my personal position and of the position of the newspaper in general," she said. Ethiopian authorities jailed Dawit Kebede for nearly two years for his reporting on the country's 2005 election violence. He remained in Ethiopia, even though many of his colleagues left the country. "I always wanted to be a journalist. It was the only thing in my mind," he said. Kebede says the government's response to his work encourages him to continue. "As far as the government trying to undermine you, by different harassment, that's a recognition that you're doing your professional duty," he said. Iranian journalist Mohammad Davari is serving a five-year prison sentence and cannot personally accept his award. Iranian authorities arrested him last year on charges of "mutiny against the regime," following his investigative report on the abusive treatment of prisoners. Joel Simon is the executive director of Committee to Protect Journalists. "Davari is paying a terrible personal price for doing what journalists are supposed to do, exposing corruption and abuse," he said. The other three award winners face the same threat of prison, but they say that will not stop them from reporting the truth. |
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