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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, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 239 | |||||||||
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'Nutcracker' again
returns
to Teatro Nacional stage By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Teatro Nacional will present "The Nutcracker" again this year beginning Thursday. The ballet based on the Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky's 1892 composition. The show here is called in Spanish "Cascanueces." “The Nutcracker Costa Rica is an artistic event that repeats every year for the celebration of Christmas, with a cultural impact and wide participation of young adults, children professionals and students advanced in ballet and dance,” said the theater. The production mixes ballet with a fantasy story of a young girl who dreams of living and fighting evil with her nutcracker toy which in the alternate world is a prince. The stars of the re-enactment include dancers of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet. This school is a pre-professional division of the American Ballet Theatre in New York for children ages four to 12. Patricia Carreras and María Amalia Pendones choreographed and directed the show. Danzay, a school of classical Russian ballet, and the Foundation of Classical Ballet is responsible for all the production work. The Nutcracker will play Thursday, Friday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Dec. 7 at 8 p.m., Dec. 8 at 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m., Dec. 9 at 11 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. and Dec. 16 at 10:45 a.m. and 8 p.m. All shows are in the Sala Principal at the Teatro Nacional. Our readers' opinions
When will someone decideto stand up against crooks? Dear A.M. Costa Rica: What have we become? Can you imagine closing a national park (Ricón de la Vieja) because some punks have been robbing tourists with knives and guns? Rather than to shoot the thieves, we act like scared sheep and punish the tourists and the park. When will someone stand up, like they did in Singapore, and take control? Look everywhere in Costa Rica at the people who live behind their own iron bars in their homes. We are in jail, not the criminals. Tico men, stand up and do something!!! David
Dion
Playas del Coco Comparisons of price should be in Costa Rica Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Kalya Peterson's "There's little holiday spirit" article failed to illuminate. Where's the news in comparing articles from a U.S.-based Walmart with the products available here, used or otherwise? Everybody knows electronics in the U.S. are much cheaper. Rest assured, not a one of your readers who is on the hunt for an electronic item is gonna pass up a U.S. Walmart, in favor of waiting till they come to Costa Rica to try to find it cheaper. So why not focus on compare prices in the COSTA RICA Walmart and other local stores with the used stuff? That might actually have been helpful, to those who are here and cannot get to a U.S. Walmart. Timothy
L. Woodruff III
Dominical Beach
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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, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 239 |
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| Creative youngsters will fight clock to
design useful software |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The event may be called a hackathon, but the 60 youngsters participating are trying to make the world better rather than wreak computer carnage. This is the first year that Costa Rica is involved in the event, which begins Saturday morning. The idea is to create under time constraints some kind of application or digital solution that benefits the public. The output may be to a computer, to a mobile telephone or a tablet, said organizers. Youngsters in seven other countries will be doing the same thing. The themes with which the 15 teams here will work are agriculture, citizen security or health. The event is being sponsored by the Grupo INCO, the Secretaría Técnica de Gobierno Digital, and the Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente. Grupo INCO is a professional creator of ways to handle data. |
The youngsters are not just in the
competition for the fun. The U.S. Embassy is offering four netbooks and
Microsoft Corp. is putting up cash prizes that range up to $1,000. The event will take place at the Fundación Quirós Tanzi, at Flexipark between Santa Ana and Belén. The young programmers will be creating for 36 hours straight, said a spokesperson. They really will not be hacking into forbidden areas. The programmers will be using data from the digital government source to create their applications and programs. The other countries involved are Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, México, Perú and Uruguay. Not all the youngsters involved are programmers. Some are graphic designers, and others related interest. Previous projects elsewhere during what are also known as hack days include a system so citizens can contract directly lawmakers or a calendar that keeps track of vaccination dates and locations. |
| Cartago students will showcase their
business creations |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Students of the public university Tecnologico de Costa Rica will showcase – and sell – science and engineering products they have designed at the school's campus in Cartago Saturday. The fair will include the projects of 50 business administration students, projects that require them to both create products and find out how to run businesses, a press release said. |
In addition, the fair will highlight
the 12-course business administration program that the university
offers. Students from the university's campuses across the country will
showcase products and services ranging from automatic pet food
dispensers to bags with interchangeable lining to baby shower and
children's party planning. The fair will take place Satrurday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m at the university's central campus in Cartago. |
| A column in opposition to war, epecially the war on drugs |
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is no secret that I think war is a dismal choice for solving problems
or righting situations. I have not seen or read about a war that
did anything but exacerbate the original problem or set the stage for a
future war. Very often it is the decisions of the so-called
victors that set the stage for future wars. They willy nilly
divide territories into countries without consideration of the culture
or the people. Wars without boundaries are even worse. The war on poverty certainly did not solve the problem in the U.S. The war on terrorism and the war on drugs are two great examples of endless wars that result in no solutions, only an increase in the problem and in the corruption of those fighting that war. One of the main reasons I chose Costa Rica as a place to live is that the government and the people of Costa Rica believe as I do: War solves no problems. No matter how difficult, peace is better. So far it has worked very nicely for Costa Rica and for me, at least when it has come to territorial wars or differences between countries. And I, like other residents of this country, do not live in fear of terrorist attacks or that a loved one will come home terminally maimed or damaged as the result of a war. But now we are faced with the war on drugs, something the United States government has foisted upon this country as its own war on drugs keeps expanding, costing more in both lives and treasure. As every other long-time resident will tell you, when I first arrived in Costa Rica, violent crime was rare. I was told that the people who were up to no good were “opportunists.” They would steal something if the opportunity was there. I do recall a man in a group at a kiosk waving his 5,000-colon note wanting change, and a passerby simply plucked the bill from his extended hand and took off. I also had my apartment entered and my computer stolen when I was not at home. It was, I learned, an inside job accomplished by the trusted guard and my new maid. As I recall, none of these crimes was the result of someone on drugs. They were opportunistic. Today, crime takes up much of the news. Violent crimes and crimes with weapons seem to grow daily. I am sure there is a correlation between the presence in Costa Rica of the war on drugs, and the increase in crime, and the incidents of corruption in the police force. It is no secret that statistics show that more people die from alcohol use than from drug use. Violence and murders within families are often the result of alcohol and/or amphetamines. |
Marijuana as a contributing factor is almost unheard of. The reports connecting marijuana to the commission of a crime are based upon the assumption that marijuana causes one to be violent or to commit a crime. There are no data to confirm this
I used marijuana in the 70s both for medical purposes and pleasure. I have more adverse and lasting side effects from the medical treatment I received than from the pot. I am making this argument because a conference of Latin American countries is meeting in Costa Rica this week to discuss how to deal with the drug traffic and crime in the future. I was surprised at the result of the survey of 1,200 people showing that 81 percent of them think crime will increase if drugs are decriminalized. I disagree. It is a small voice that I have, but I am convinced that most of the crime committed related to drugs is because of the simple fact that the selling and buying of drugs has been declared illegal. How can you control a product like marijuana that is so easily and cheaply grown, has such a large markup and satisfies the basic need of humans to experience a different reality? I hope at least the people involved in the discussion will treat marijuana differently than other drugs under consideration. |
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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, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 239 | |||||
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| Judiciary
considers problems with foreign language use By
Kayla Pearson
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff The Poder Judicial has come to the realization that the judiciary needs to hire more interpreters so persons who do not speak Spanish or have disabilities can communicate and understand proceedings as they happen. To do this, the judiciary has recently approved new guidelines that will be incorporated into the official rules of the institution covering rights, duties and processes to follow for recruitment. According to the judiciary, there are 17 languages and dialects spoken around the country. From 1995, a total of 2,017 cases have needed translators. The top language needs are English, sign language, Ngöbe, Cabécar and Bribri. The regions that most need interpreters are San José, Puntarenas, Alajuela and the southern zone, and the criminal, family, civil, misdemeanor and juvenile courts require the most translators. As of August 2012, the department has invested 21 million colons in the translator program. There are 46 persons registered as translators for the judiciary. They speak Bribri, Cabécar, Ngöbe, Mandarin, sign language, English, Italian and French. It has been an important investment, said officials. "Interpreters and translators constitute a vital tool for the administration of justice in such a way that currently the judicial offices of the country, which require the collaboration of professionals specialized in various subjects, need oral and written translations for the processing of cases,” said Alfredo Jones, executive director of Poder Judicial. “We have a fully accessible system that was designed to fairly and randomly appoint required professionals immediately, which helps achieve the constitutional mission of prompt justice," he aid. The system containing the official list also is accessible on the Web site of the judiciary, which has allowed this same list to bed used by external users to recruit experts in the various languages. However the system has not been fully effective and will undergo some changes. One improvement is a document that outlines the requirements for being an interpreter which was created by judges and magistrates in the first quarter of the year. Officials also recognize that the native populations not only have a language but also a culture. For this reason, interpreters will be hired who can understand different dialects and anthropologists who can convey the culture and traditions of these persons. A problem that the judiciary has run into is finding translators that fit certification standards. In the case of native populations, there is not enough knowledge to adequately determine if a person really has mastered the language to be an interpreter.. However, the problem goes beyond indigenous populations. Validating the qualifications of interpreters for the deaf also present a problem, said Anabelle León Feoli, a judge. A possible solution is a proposal to provide training for those that make up the official translator list. "We talked about creating a commission using a team of judges, prosecutors, public defenders and staff . . . to give this training,” said Ms. León.” Another option is to collaborate with the national council for rehabilitation and special education to make guidelines for the selection process. Three more cocaine cases lead to confiscations By
Aaron Knapp
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Police and coast guard patrols from three countries captured two large shipments of cocaine passing through Costa Rica. The first occurred Wednesday evening when a Canadian Coast Guard patrol boat captured a Costa Rican fishing vessel carrying more than a metric ton of cocaine, according to a report from the security ministry. The second occurred early Thursday morning when agents of the Policía de Control de Drogas found 138 kilograms (304 pounds) in a truck leaving the country for Nicaragua. The first case involved a fishing boat registered in Puntarenas called "Capitán Erson." The boat was crewed by four men and it carried 1,086 kilograms (2,394 pounds) of cocaine on board, said the Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública.. Ministry officials said that the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas had been coordinating with other coastal patrols to catch the boat for the past week. A Canadian Coast Guard vessel bearing U.S. Coast guard personnel caught up with the "Capitán Erson" at around 5 p.m. Wednesday about 350 miles southeast of Cabo Blanco, officials said. The Canadian-American crew took the four crew members into custody. Ministry officials identified them as a 40-year-old with the last names of Acevedo Acevedo, a 43-year-old with the last names Vega Parrales, a 36-year-old with the last names of Pizarro Abarca and a 21-year-old with the last names of Reyes Castillo. Ministry officials said that a Costa Rican coast guard team was dispatched Thursday to retrieve the fishing boat, the drugs and crew. They will return to Costa Rica Sunday, officials estimated. The second case occurred when a tractor trailer underwent a search at Peñas Blancas. Some 138 kilograms of cocaine were uncovered. Drug police detained the 33-year-old driver who has the last name of Lobos. The tractor and trailer were registered in Honduras and the trailer was refrigerated, according to ministry officials. Police also confiscated $140 and 1,360 Nicaraguan cordobas, the report said. Ministry officials also highlighted their achievements so far this year in capturing drugs at the Peñas Blancas border crossing. They said that this is the 24th drug bust at the border so far this year. In all of these busts, police have confiscated nearly 2,800 kilograms (6,200 pounds) of cocaine, 350,000 colons and more than $3 million. Police also arrested 25 people in these incidents, of whom 17 were foreigners. Border police also made a more modest bust of nine kilograms (20 pounds) of cocaine at the Sixola, Talamanca, border post between Costa Rica and Panamá Wednesday afternoon. Officials said that the border guards found the drugs in suitcases while searching a public bus going from Changuinola, Panamá, to San José. No one was arrested in this case, because none of the passengers claimed the luggage, according to a report. |
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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, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 239 | |||||||||
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| Manning
takes the stand to talk about his detention By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A U.S. Army analyst, charged in the largest security breach in U.S. military history, has taken the stand for the first time in a pre-trial hearing on his detention conditions. Bradley Manning testified Thursday about restrictions he endured while in custody at an army base in Kuwait and later in Quantico, Virginia, near Washington. During his three-hour testimony, Manning said the time he spent alone in his cell was draining. He said there were times he thought he was going to die. Manning is accused of downloading diplomatic cables onto compact discs that were sent to the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks. He has offered to accept responsibility for the leak by pleading guilty to reduced charges. A decision on that offer has not been made. The defendant has said that while at Quantico he was locked up alone in a windowless cell for 23 hours a day and forced to sleep naked. The military says the treatment was necessary because he posed a suicide risk. Lawyers for Manning are asking for his charges to be dropped, saying the pretrial conditions were harsh enough. Manning could spend the rest of his life in prison if found guilty. The leaked diplomatic cables and military reports, published by WikiLeaks starting in July 2010, infuriated the international community, often providing blunt and unflattering U.S. views of world leaders' private and public lives. New diagnostic test shows malaria infection quickly By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A new diagnostic test could revolutionize the treatment of malaria, one of the world’s most persistent and deadly diseases, making it possible to diagnose the illness from a single drop of blood or saliva. The test, developed by researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark, detects very low levels of an enzyme produced by the Plasmodium parasite, the organism that causes malaria. This could allow intervention before an outbreak develops, researchers say. “The great advantage of our method is that we can test for malaria using saliva samples and the detection limit is very low — less than one parasite per microliter,” said Birgitta Knudsen, an associate professor at Aarhus University’s Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre and the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. “This means that it will be possible to also screen non-symptomatic individuals and discover cases with very low parasite concentrations. Hence, it will be possible to treat even mildly infected patients and thereby prevent outbreaks before it is too late.” The two most common forms of malaria testing both require blood samples, and there are drawbacks to each. One requires a skilled technician to test the blood, while the other cannot detect low levels of the parasite, Ms. Knudsen said. The new method, which uses a technology called Rolling Circle-Enhanced Enzyme Activity Detection, could prove more time- and cost-effective than current diagnostic methods, and could be performed by personnel who have no specialized training. It could also be used in developing areas, where expensive equipment, clean water and electricity might not be readily available. Ms. Knudsen said the team hopes to conduct extensive field testing in about two years. Escuela Casa del Artista will enroll and give tests By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Escuela Casa del Artista will hold registration for 2013 summer courses and admission tests Monday to Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Museo de Arte Costarricense in la Sabana. The art school is a service under the culture ministry designed to teach and promote art to students of all ages and from all social conditions. The museum has operated the school for 61 years. Prospective students must be at least 6 years old and submit an enrollment form. The courses are free and last from Jan. 14 to Feb. 8. Those who want to obtain a fine arts degree in the specialties of either drawing, painting, sculpture, graphics, ceramics or metalwork can also take an admission test at this time. This program is for persons of all ages who have completed at least their junior year of high school. Following registration will be a graduation ceremony for students of the painting program on Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. This event is open to the public. |
Your place to stay here As high season approaches, we like to feature our advertisers who offer long- and short-term rentals for expats and tourists.
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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, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 239 | |||||||||
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Latin America news |
 Judicial
Investigating Organization photoGrenade
was wrapped in material
Judicial agents
confiscate
a U.S. style hand grenade By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Worried about what to get for the person who has everything? How about a fragmentation grenade? Police detained a U.S. citizen and a Nicaraguan man Tuesday, and said that the pair were engaged in an exchange of such an explosive device. A Judicial Investigating Organization spokesperson confirmed that the U.S. citizen involved is 56-year-old Mark Broffard. Although the device may not have been a Christmas present, such grenades are prized collector items. A photo released by judicial agents clearly showed part of the grenade and the neck with the yellow marking showing that it was of the fragmentation type. There was no report if the body of the grenade still was filled with explosives or if it had been deactivated. According to the report, agents received a tip that the two might exchange illegal explosives on a street in Playa Hermosa at around 10 a.m. Tuesday. When police detained the two men, they found a package with them that contained a fragmentation grenade, the report said. Investigators said they believe that Broffard gave the grenade to the other man. Such a device is lethal, and many were distributed during the Nicaraguan civil war. U.S. forces now use a more modern device. Vehicle inspection company rate request gets opposition By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The monopoly that does vehicle inspections in Costa Rica set off a firestorm Thursday when news leaked out that the company sought a 157 percent increase in rates. The request was to the Authoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos, the same agency that regulates electric rates and gasoline prices. The inspection company, Riteve SyC SA, has developed an elaborate chain of inspection stations around the country and has complained for years that the rates were not high enough. A typical inspection rate for a passenger car is 10,000 colons or about $20. The company wants to raise this to nearly 25,000 colons or about $50. Personal vehicles have to be inspected once a year. Taxi drivers must bring in their vehicles twice a year. The vice minister of Transportes y Seguridad Vial immediately issued a statement in which he said the regulating agency lacks the methodology to determine if a rate hike is justified. He is Rodrigo Rivera Fournier. He said technical studies of this type should be done by his ministry. The ministry, for political reasons, has been reluctant to raise the rates. There have been continual calls for the government to allow other firms to do the same job. |
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