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A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 248
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 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía y Seguridad Pública
photo
President Luis
Guillermo Solís is bracketed by smiling officials ofthe Peoples Republic of China at a ceremony for a new public school Monday. Police
school begun with a ceremony
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Officials placed the first stone for the proposed Escuela Nacional de Policía in La Rita, Pococí, Limón, Monday. The People's Republic of China donated $50 million for the extensive infrastructure that will accommodate 800 students. Flags of both countries were in evidence. Construction will take 26 months, officials said. Hurricane seasons were very different By the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration news staff
The Atlantic hurricane season that ended officially Nov. 30 will be remembered as a relatively quiet season as was predicted. Still, the season afforded scientists with opportunities to produce new forecast products, showcase successful modeling advancements, and conduct research to benefit future forecasts. “Fortunately, much of the U.S. coastline was spared this year with only one landfalling hurricane along the East Coast. Nevertheless, we know that’s not always going to be the case,” said Louis Uccellini, director of the U.S. National Weather Service. “The ‘off season’ between now and the start of next year’s hurricane season is the best time for communities to refine their response plans and for businesses and individuals to make sure they’re prepared for any potential storm.” “A combination of atmospheric conditions acted to suppress the Atlantic hurricane season, including very strong vertical wind shear, combined with increased atmospheric stability, stronger sinking motion and drier air across the tropical Atlantic,” said Gerry Bell, lead hurricane forecaster at the Climate Prediction Center operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Also, the West African monsoon was near- to below average, making it more difficult for African easterly waves to develop.” Meanwhile, the eastern North Pacific hurricane season met or exceeded expectations with 20 named storms, the busiest since 1992. Of those, 14 became hurricanes and eight were major hurricanes. The agency's seasonal hurricane outlook called for 14 to 20 named storms, including seven to 11 hurricanes, of which three to six were expected to become major hurricanes. Two hurricanes (Odile and Simon) brought much-needed moisture to the parts of the southwestern U.S., with very heavy rain from Simon causing flooding in some areas. “Conditions that favored an above-normal eastern Pacific hurricane season included weak vertical wind shear, exceptionally moist and unstable air, and a strong ridge of high pressure in the upper atmosphere that helped to keep storms in a conducive environment for extended periods,” added Bell.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 248 | |
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| Museo Nacional to celebrate U.N. designation of Delta del Diquís | |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Museo Nacional will open an exhibition Wednesday featuring the locations in southern Costa Rica where the stone spheres are found. The museum wants to feature the four locations that have been designated as world heritage by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. They are Finca 6, Batambal, Grijalba-2 and El Silencio. The exhibit, “Diquís: Patrimonio de la Humanidad,” is designed to celebrate the U.N. designation. The culture that is believed to have made the stone spheres lived in that area, the Delta del Diquís, from at least 800 A.D.. Descendants still are there. The exhibition has 67 archaeological objects of exceptional quality that shows the work and creativity of the delta inhabitants, the museum said. The objects are of stone, ceramic, gold, bone and shell, an announcement said. There also are large format photos and videos. The exhibit will run through March. The purpose of the stone spheres still is not clear. They are believed to have been made by pecking at them with a smaller stone. Museum archaeologist said they think the spheres were status symbols that were placed in front the the homes of important personages. The museum is now trying to recover spheres that had been hijacked from the area to decorate homes and commercial buildings. The four locations in the canton of Osa, which now makes up a new museum, contains spheres that were found in situ. |
 Museo Nacional photo |
| Some division of traffic agency will work until noon Dec. 24 |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Good news for those who might have had traffic police snatch their license plates. The Consejo de Seguridad Vial said that its violations bureau will be open until noon Dec. 24 to return impounded plates and to accept payment for fines. Other departments of the agency are closing Friday at 3 p.m. |
along with
many other offices of the central government. The agency also noted that those who wish to challenge a traffic ticket issued over the holiday period have until Jan. 16 to do so. The Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes also reported that the restrictions on driving vehicles into the metro area based on the last digit of the license plate will be suspended Monday until Jan. 5. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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2014 and may
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 248 | |||||
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| Those online free services are marketing your privacy,
experts say |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
If you spend time on Facebook, it’s a good bet you’ve seen something like this in at least one of your friend’s timelines – perhaps even this week. “Due to the fact that Facebook has chosen to involve software that will allow the theft of my personal information…” it begins; the first of several paragraphs citing jumbled law precedents. The money line is the third graph. “The content of my profile contains private information. The violation of my privacy is punishable by law (UCC 1-308 1-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute.)” Which is odd, because you’re fairly certain your friend has no idea what the Rome Statute actually is. Not that it matters. This supposed effort is meant to protect your privacy and prevent Facebook from doing whatever they wish with your photos and contacts and other data has no meaning at all. “The law just doesn’t work that way,” writes the myth-busting Web site Snopes. Journalists have been trying to beat back this urban legend for years to no avail. It keeps popping back up, in part because people still want to believe they can seize control of their privacy and prevent Facebook from mining what they’ve posted. But largely, they can’t, analysts say. “You just have to look at the terms of service on Facebook which clearly states they also own your data,” said Raegan MacDonald, European policy manager for the digital privacy rights group Access. “While there may be different levels of protection or control you may have, they have quite a bit of ownership over your personal data,” she said. So, just how much of our private lives does Facebook own – or, at the least, have a license to use for their purposes? Turns out, quite a bit. “The minute you create a Facebook account and login, you’ve just given away any right to privacy of anything you do there,” said Shaun Murphy, the CEO of PrivateGiant.com, the soon-to-launch digital privacy firm that was founded, in part he says, to counter pervasive data-mining intrusions by Facebook and other firms. Murphy often characterizes the intrusions as creepy. “Just recently I was listening to a new streaming radio service,” he said. “I had put in preliminary information just to log in, and one of the ads served up had my name. ‘Shaun is an IT guy…’ and that was super creepy. I deleted it and never wanted to use it again.” |
There are
basically two types of services online, and which type you use has a
major
effect on how much your privacy is protected. The first are sites that guarantee to guard your private data, and keep it private, right up front. You can retain exclusive copyright for any images, or ownership of anything you write. But, Murphy said, it’s going to cost you. “That’s their business model – they’re marketing your privacy,” he said. The second are sites like Facebook that can offer a huge range of services all for free. “All these social media sites out there that give you all these wonderful, shiny features and photo-sharing – they’re absolutely, completely free,” he said. “But ask: ‘Why are these sites doing it for free?’ They’re grabbing your information. From that perspective, if the service is free, you’re the product and you should be expected to be used as a product.” Privacy expert Ms. MacDonald agrees. “These services are not really free. We’re paying with our personal data. That understanding creates a different mentality when entering these terms of service agreements,” she said. Just how much of your private data posted on Facebook do they own? According to the Facebook terms of service agreement, the firm claim license to use posted data such as images and the like for their purposes worldwide. As Facebook spokesman Matt Steinfeld points out, the legal claim of license granted by the user is not Facebook’s assertion of copyright. “When you post content on Facebook, or any information, you own that content,” Steinfeld said. “We have to have your legal permission to share that content. You retain ownership of that. So if you delete that content, we delete it from our servers and we have no rights to it beyond that point.” True enough, but that’s not to say that Facebook doesn’t also use that license to generate revenue. When users grant Facebook that license, the company asserts the legal right to do largely what they want with it. That, said Murphy, can include mining it for information points about the user, using the images for marketing, or providing data to advertisers – a major source of revenue for the company. In other words, you agree to let them use your data as if they own it as long as you’re using Facebook. |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 248 | |||||||
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| Sidney hostage taker called sick and disturbed individual By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described the hostage-taking at a Sydney cafe as the sick fantasy of a disturbed individual. Abbott Tuesday joined Australians in mourning the victims of the siege, which ended when police conducted a dramatic, early morning raid to free the hostages. Two hostages and the gunman were killed in the shootout. After placing flowers at a makeshift memorial, Abbott described the Iranian-born suspect as deeply disturbed and said he had a long history of crime, mental instability and involvement in extremism. The suspect, identified as 50-year-old man Haron Monis, was well-known to Australian authorities, but Abbott said the man did not appear to be on a terrorist watch list. The self-proclaimed Muslim cleric was out on bail after charges related to the 2013 killing of his ex-wife. He had also been found guilty of sending threatening letters to the parents of Australian soldiers who died in Afghanistan. During the standoff, Monis forced hostages to hold up a flag with an Islamic statement of faith. In statements to media, Monis said he supported the Islamic State group. Australian officials have stressed Monis does not appear to be connected with any terrorist group. New South Wales police have called the attack an isolated incident. Australian Muslim groups released a statement condemning the hostage-taking and Monis' use of the Islamic flag. N. Korea seeks U.N. probe of U.S. human rights abuses By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
North Korea has requested the U.N. Security Council not probe alleged human rights violations by Pyongyang, but instead investigate what it called brutal and medieval abuses by the U.S. In a letter late Monday, North Korean U.N. Ambassador Ja Song Nam said rights accusations against the North are fabricated and not at all relevant to regional or international peace and security. On the contrary, he said CIA torture crimes need to be addressed urgently by the Security Council in order to prevent what he called a destabilizing impact on international peace. Ja was referring to a U.S. Senate report released last week that detailed brutal interrogation methods used by the CIA in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. Pyongyang, which is considered one of the world's worst human rights abusers, has jumped on the report to argue that the U.S. is not qualified to make judgments about other countries' rights situations. The Security Council Monday voted to place the North Korean human rights situation on its agenda. Officials say the issue will likely be discussed next Monday or Tuesday. A General Assembly committee last month recommended the Security Council refer Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity. The recommendation followed a U.N. Commission of Inquiry that detailed decades of systematic executions, torture, rape, and mass starvation in the North. It said the abuses were unparalleled in the modern world. China, North Korea's main international ally, has repeatedly hinted that it will veto any international court referral, arguing the Security Council is not an appropriate forum to discuss human rights. Native Americans purchase disputed sacred artifacts By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The largest Native American tribe in the American Southwest has bought back seven sacred masks at a Paris auction house after failing to stop the contested sale. The objects sold Monday at the Drouot auction house included religious masks believed to have been used in Navajo wintertime healing ceremonies. The U.S. Embassy in Paris had asked Drouot to suspend the sale to allow Navajo and Hopi representatives to determine if they were stolen from the tribes. U.S. government officials and Arizona's Congressional delegation also tried to stop the sale that netted over $1 million. The auction house said it acted within the limits of French law. The purchased items also included dozens of Hopi kachina dolls and several striking Pueblo masks embellished with horse hair, bone and feathers, thought to be from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Backer of tough gun laws is new surgeon general By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The Senate has confirmed Vivek Murthy as the new U.S. surgeon general after a year-long delay over his support for tougher gun laws. Monday's vote was 51 to 43. President Barack Obama says he applauds the Senate for its vote, saying Murthy will work to make sure all Americans have the information they need to keep safe and so kids will grow up healthy and strong. Many Republicans and some Democrats opposed Murthy for his public backing of stricter gun control and support for the president's signature health care law. But his supporters say the 37-year-old is a well-qualified physician and health expert and will not use his office as a political platform. The U.S. surgeon general has traditionally been the government's advocate for better health, including urging Americans to exercise, eat sensibly and not smoke. Age menstruation starts linked to health of heart By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Most women begin their menstrual cycles at around the age of 13. A new study suggested that those who start menstruating a few years before or after that average appear to be at increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The study by researchers at Oxford University in Britain analyzed data collected from 1.3 million mostly white women ages 50 to 64. They noticed a pattern among women who had their first menstrual cycle at age 10 or younger or at 17 or older. During the more than 10 years the women were followed, those two groups had a 27 percent increased risk of hospitalizations or death due to heart disease. There were 16 percent more hospitalizations or deaths from stroke among those groups, and high blood pressure led to a 20 percent increased likelihood of hospitalizations or related deaths. Dexter Canoy, the study's lead author, is a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the University of Oxford's Cancer Epidemiology Unit within the Department of Population Health. He said there is a strong association between the age when a woman's first period occurs and heart disease and stroke risk. If plotted on a chart, he says it would look like the letter U, with the highest risk of cardiovascular disease among those who started menstruating at a very young age at one tip of the U, and those who began later on in their teens at the other. Women who begin menstruating around age 13, which is typical, were seen to be at the lowest risk, according to Canoy, at the bottom of the U. "Whether or not you are lean, overweight or obese, we found the same U-shape association, even if we take into account, let's say, you are taking medications for high blood pressure, or high cholesterol or have diabetes. It seems the association is robust," he said. Canoy does see a link between initial menstruation and weight. Obese girls tend to start menstruating at a younger age. They also often become obese adults, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Canoy says it may be possible to lower the risk of heart disease and stroke in women by fighting obesity in children, which might also increase the age at which girls start to menstruate. "Children who are obese can develop heart disease in the long run. But one aspect that can potentially be prevented is through the mechanism that might involve early-onset of menstruation." Canoy says late-onset menstruation has historically been linked to malnutrition. An article on the link between age of menarche and cardiovascular disease is published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Maternal mortality blamed on lack of clean, safe water By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Almost 300,000 women, primarily in developing countries, died from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth in 2013 according to a new report that blames the deaths on a lack of safe water, sanitation and adequate hygiene. A paper published in the journal PLOS Medicine reports that some 38 percent of healthcare facilities in 54 developing countries continue to lack proper sanitation and a source of clean water, putting women who give birth there at increased risk of death. The article, written by a team of researchers from organizations including WaterAid, the World Health Organization, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the United Nations Population Fund, estimates that 289,000 would-be mothers died from unsanitary conditions, either at home or in healthcare facilities. Despite 15 years of concerted global efforts to reduce maternal mortality, the report notes it remains 14 times higher in poor countries than developed regions. Women in unsanitary and unsafe conditions face a high risk of life-threatening infections, according to Oliver Cumming, an environmental health expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He says the risk increases if pregnant women must walk a long distance to obtain clean water or to use a bathroom facility. “These things produce a range of effects that we don’t necessarily understand but very clearly would bring levels of stress, physical and psychosocial stress, which would pose a risk for the mothers and for the babies," said Cumming. A companion article in PLOS One describes conditions in Tanzania, where less than one-third of births occur in places with safe water and basic sanitation. Nearly 8,000 women in the East African country die each year, either while giving birth or immediately afterwards. The United Nations’ eight Millennium Development Goals, which include improving maternal health and reducing child mortality, are winding down next year. To follow up on progress toward the goals, world leaders are working with the U.N. to come up with sustainable development goals, which are expected to be adopted in September 2015. Cumming and his co-authors say providing clean water and sanitation should be at the top of the list of improvements in homes and healthcare facilities in developing countries. He adds that the new goals need to specifically include improved water quality and sanitation as a stand-alone aim with an eye toward improving maternal and newborn health. “I think it’s a terrible tragedy that women still die during childbirth as a result of the absence of these very basic things being in place, particularly within health facilities," he said. Today nine leading health organizations spearheaded by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are issuing a call to action for governments around the world to focus on better water quality, sanitation and hygiene. The aim is to make greater progress toward improving maternal and neonatal health.  Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory/ Roy Kaltschmidt
Ancient Roman concrete
consists of coarse chunks of volcanic tuff and
brick bound together by a volcanic ash-lime mortar that resists
microcracking, a key to its longevity and endurance. Roman
concrete yields
its enduring secrets By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
No visit to Rome is complete without a visit to the Pantheon, Trajan’s Markets, the Colosseum, or the other spectacular examples of ancient Roman concrete monuments that have stood the test of time and the elements for nearly two thousand years. A key discovery to understanding the longevity and endurance of Roman architectural concrete has been made by an international and interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers using beams of X-rays at the Advanced Light Source of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The research team studied a reproduction of Roman volcanic ash-lime mortar that had been previously subjected to fracture testing experiments at Cornell University. In the concrete walls of Trajan’s Markets, constructed around 110 A.D., this mortar binds cobble-sized fragments of tuff and brick. Through observing the mineralogical changes that took place in the curing of the mortar over a period of 180 days and comparing the results to 1,900 year old samples of the original, the team discovered that a crystalline binding hydrate prevents microcracks from propagating. The mortars that bind the concrete composites used to construct the structures of Imperial Rome are of keen scientific interest not just because of their unmatched resilience and durability, but also for the environmental advantages they offer. Most modern concretes are bound by limestone-based Portland cement. Manufacturing Portland cement requires heating a mix of limestone and clay to 1,450 degrees C (2,642 degrees F), a process that releases enough carbon – given the 19 billion tons of Portland cement used annually – to account for about 7 percent of the total amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere each year. Roman architectural mortar, by contrast, is a mixture of about 85-percent volcanic ash, fresh water, and lime, which is calcined at much lower temperature than Portland cement. Coarse chunks of volcanic tuff and brick compose about 45 to 55-percent of the concrete. The result is a significant reduction in carbon emissions. “If we can find ways to incorporate a substantial volumetric component of volcanic rock in the production of specialty concretes, we could greatly reduce the carbon emissions associated with their production also improve their durability and mechanical resistance over time,” one researcher said |
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2014 and may
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| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 248 | |||||||||
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 Hidden
Garden Art Gallery photo
Nathan Miller with some of his
worksAfrican and
Tico influences merged
Special to A.M. Costa Rica
Artist Nathan Miller opens his newest exhibit, "Clearly Costa Rica," Saturday at the Hidden Garden Art Gallery in Liberia. Drawn to nature in his youth, artist Nathan Miller surrounded himself with animals and had childhood dreams of being a marine biologist or even a zookeeper. His early drawings showed his enthusiasm with nature and animals, from dogs and cats, to turtles and dinosaurs, Miller gravitated toward all of them constantly drawing and sketching. His travels and education in Israel and African villages of Kenya and its capital Nairobi brought new and exciting depth to his world of art during his teenage years. After his travels, his focus was turned to graphic design when he returned home to Florida, where he furthered his education and received his bachelor of fine arts at the University of Florida. "Due to my travels, for several years," the U.S. expat said, "I was drawn to African themes in my art. My paintings and sculptures were almost always of stylized African figures. It wasn't until my move to Costa Rica that I experienced a new shift in focus and style. "People are drawn to this place because of its beauty, and I don’t know how any artist could live in Costa Rica without being inspired to capture such beauty in their works." Inspired by a myriad of artists, some of Miller's favorites include Renaissance artist Michelangelo, impressionist Claude Monet, and surrealist Salvador Dali, to name just a few. His awe of contemporary artists includes Jay Alders and Jeremy Mann. Miller praises these artists by saying that "Each of these artists, past and present, have striven for excellence, delineated their subjects in their own way, and achieved a quality that inspires and mesmerizes those who encounter their work. Their work depicts reality, but they go beyond what the eye sees and, instead, somehow capture the deeper essence of their subject matter." Thrilled with his relocation to Costa Rica, a land of howling monkeys and hummingbirds zipping by, a place with clean oceans and perfect waves, makes him feel extremely fortunate to see and hear things in their natural habitat. "I feel like, in some ways, we are now working together." Miller will be at the opening Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Hidden Garden Art Gallery is located five kilometers west of the Daniel Oduber Airport. Those seeking more information can call 2667-0592, 8386-6968, or email hiddengarden@thevanstonegroup.com |
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| From Paage 7: Intel to
begin laboratory operations here
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Intel Corp. is due to place its new laboratory into service Wednesday. A ceremony is planned at the San Antonio de Belén plant. Intel promised the lab when it announced that it would be ending its chip manufacturing in Costa Rica and moving the operation to Vietnam. The lab is supposed to give a final approval to all the Intel products before they enter into the manufacturing process. The firm will be putting about 70 percent of its laboratories in this Costa Rican facility, it said. |
