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San
José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 249
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 Source: Deloitte Business
Barometer
Business
leaders seem to be pessimistic
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A survey of top business leaders has detected a deterioration of their vision of the economy in comparison to what they reported in May. The survey is more of a census of those 137 executives who manage firms that take in $10 million or more a year. The survey was by Deloitte & Co. S.A., and this is the ninth effort. Those who considered the economic situation to be better than in May were 14.9 percent versus 16.3 percent. There was also a decline in the opinion of the investment climate. Some 56.7 percent said that the climate was worse compared to 45.2 percent in May. There has been a steady erosion of those who see the business climate as favorable since a similar survey in March 2010 when some 48.6 percent of the respondents had that view. Those who thought that the economic situation will be worse in the coming year took a big jump from 23.8 percent to 45.2 percent. The bulk of the respondents did not approve of the work of the Luis Guillermo Solís administration. Only 16.3 percent voiced approval while 45.2 percent said they disapproved. Food chamber wants action By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The nation's food chamber is asking the government to take action to improve the competitivity of business, reduce excess regulations and generate employment. The chamber, the Cámara Costarricense de la Industria Alimentaria, said that the new labor code and the expectation of more taxes creates uncertainty. Production in this sector only increased 1.79 percent in 2014, the chamber said, adding that this was not enough to create new sources of jobs. Northern zone struggling with rain By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
While the Central Valley and the Pacific coasts face another day of winds, residents of the northern zone are hoping the water will go down. Much of the country had been experiencing light rain. But along the Nicaragua border residents report days of heavy rain. More rain is predicted for today. The entire community of Barra del Colorado on the Río Colorado is under water. A resident there said that one could take a boat down the main street. The river is running fast because it is fed by rain that has fallen in the mountains and also water from the Río Sarapiquí, residents said. There has been one fatality. A man fell from a boat last week, and his body was found a short time later. This is not the first time that the community has been under water, but the residents said it was the worst flooding in years. There is an up side. The force of the river opened up the mouth that leads to the Caribbean. That mouth had been constricted.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 249 | |
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| Windy weather has had its influence on Costa Rican Christmas
food |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The chilly winds of December have had an influence on Christmas food. This is a time for hot food and hot drinks. One of the traditional Christmas foods is the tamal, a mixture of pork or beef and vegetables inserted into a corn flour masa and then baked and boiled inside a banana leaf. Although the tamal is available year round in stores and some homes, it is identified with Christmas. It is similar to the Venezuela hallaca but that dish usually is bigger and has a stronger taste. Aserrí is the traditional home of the tamal because several companies there make them in large quantities. Those who wish to make their own also can purchase the masa by the kilo at various outlets. The banana leaves are available all over the country. Typically two tamales are tied together with string, creating what is called a piña. These foods have their origins in Spanish cuisine and also what was eaten by the Native Costa Ricans before Columbus. In fact, every Latin country seems to have its version of the tamal. Tamales usually are eaten with Costa Rican coffee, particularly when the wind is blowing. But there is a holiday drink that will make revelers tipsy and fat. It is rompope, the Costa Rican eggnog. The drink is available all year in major stores. The base is milk and eggs. |
 A.M.
Costa Rica file photo
The
typical tamal ready to be consumed with a beer.
Nuns in a convent in Puebla, México, get the credit for this version of the drink. They used a similar drink from Spain as a model in the 17th century. Usually guaro or a light rum is used to spike the drink but non-alcoholic versions are available. At Christmas some also heat the rompope and add a little cinnamon and maybe some ground walnuts. There are enough versions of the various Christmas drinks and dishes that the culture ministry has made an effort to collect the recipes. They are available in a number of booklets featuring regional dishes. For example the food and beverages this time of year in Limón are vastly different than what is served in the Central Valley. |
| Presidency and Acción Ciudadana reject implications
generated in Brazil |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Both the Partido Acción Ciudadana and Casa Presidencial disavowed any knowledge Wednesday of donations from a Brazilian construction firm that was working here. The Presidency said it rejected categorically the insinuation that tried to relate it to information that linked it to a Brazilian investigation. The names of both the president, Luis Guillermo Solís, and that of his campaign rival Johnny Araya were found scrawled on documents confiscated by the Brazilian police, a news outlet there reported. The issue also was raised in the legislature. |
Accepting
campaign contributions from foreign sources is illegal even
though this sometimes takes place. The company in question
was OAS, which was supposed to
build the
San José-San Ramón highway. The deal collapsed
after residents
demonstrated over the proposed tolls, and then-president Laura
Chinchilla canceled the contract and paid off the company. Acción Ciudadana in a statement said it was loyal to the principles of honesty, transparency and providing its accounts. The document was in the office of José Aldemario Pinheiro Filho, president of OAS. He is linked with many others to the Petrobras scandal in Brazil. The document also includes a list of U.S. dollars, but there is no clear link between the money and Solís or Araya. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 249 | |||||
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| Scammers continue to be creative with ways to steal money
from unwary |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The crooks have come up with another good one. The latest scam is a variation of a friend being stranded in Paris. According to the Judicial Investigating Organization there is a wave of scams in which crooks tell residents here that a family member has been detained in México and is on the way to a Mexican jail. Agents think that those who pull these scams have inside information about the victims, who may be seniors, at least to the extent that they know there is a family member working in Canada or the United States. According to the scammers, the family member was en route |
to Costa Rica
for vacation but made a stopover at a Mexican
airport. There customs agents made an arrest because of the large
amount of money the family member was carrying. The victim here is asked to deposit $1,000 or $2,000 for taxes or similar so that the relative will not go to the Mexican prison. The money is asked to be sent through a commercial firm that provides this service. Agents said that there have been 18 complaints. This type of scam requires personal contact unlike the Internet frauds that claim a friend has been robbed and left without money or documents in a foreign land. The Internet scam usually involves the hijacking of some email user's account. The request is the same: Send money! |
Here's reasonable medical care
Costa Rica's world class medical specialists are at your command. Get the top care for much less than U.S. prices. It is really a great way to spend a vacation. See our list of recommended professionals HERE!amcr-prom
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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2014 and may
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth
news page
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 249 | |||||||
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 Voice of America/Hameedullah Khan
Man, perhaps a father,
carries a wounded child.Funerals
for 141 victims
begin in Pakistani city By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The first funerals are being held for the victims of a Taliban school massacre in Pakistan Tuesday that left at least 141 people dead, most of them young students. Wearing military uniforms and strapped with explosives, seven assailants attacked the military-run facility in the northwestern city of Peshawar, shooting children and adults. Pakistani officials said 132 of the dead were students about 12 to 16 years old. Nine school staff members also died in the siege, which lasted more than eight hours. A provincial official said more than 120 others were wounded in the assault. A reporter said more than 100 of the wounded were children. Maj. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa, a Pakistan army spokesman, said security forces killed the attackers and saved hundreds of lives in a swift operation after the bloodshed began. Heavily armed Taliban gunmen entered from the rear of the school "by cutting and crossing the fence," Bajwa said. ". . . They entered the auditorium, where all the children were going through an exam, and they started shooting them indiscriminately and they caused the maximum damage in the first 10 minutes of their attack." Army commandos responded, killing all seven terrorists, Bajwa said. The attack on the school, in a highly secured part of Peshawar city, began about 10 a.m. local time and ended around 6.30 p.m. (1330 GMT), police said, according to the French news agency AFP. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation for Pakistan's offensive targeting militants in the country's northwestern tribal region, near the Afghan border. The area has served as a major sanctuary and training ground for Pakistani and Afghan militants responsible for terrorist attacks on both sides. Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attacks. Sharif, who arrived in Peshawar on Tuesday, said the "government will not be deterred by this barbaric act" and vowed to continue military operations against the militants. He also declared a three-day national mourning period. Bajwa, the Pakistani military spokesman, said the Taliban gunmen made no demands and started killing children as soon as they entered the building. "They didn't take any hostages initially and started firing in the hall," Bajwa said. But the militants had brought rations for several days, he said, implying that they may have intended to take students hostage. Bajwa said on Twitter that explosive devices had been planted by the militants and were hampering clearance efforts. Doctors said dozens of students were hospitalized, some in critical condition. Authorities in Peshawar appealed for blood donors. Ahsan Mukhtar, a student rescued by security forces, said, "As soon as the gunfire erupted, our teacher instructed everyone to move to a corner of the room for safety.” “An hour later, when the intensity of the fire reduced, army soldiers arrived to rescue us, and on the way out, we saw bullet-ridden bodies of our schoolmates everywhere.” Although the school enrolls some civilian students, many of its pupils are children of army officials, the Taliban's intended target. Germans take to the streets to protest Islamic influx By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
To their detractors, they are known as Nazis in pinstripes. But their numbers are growing. About 15,000 people joined a march Monday night in Dresden, part of a movement calling itself Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West. Protesters chanted, "We are the people," copying demonstrators who took to the city streets 25 years ago in the weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall. This time, demonstrators claim 21st-century Germany is being taken over by Islam. The protests have spread to other German cities, including Berlin. "Today we have shown once again that Germans can walk, that we are adults, that we have made the right choice and that we can slowly, very slowly, make things change in our country," said movement founder Lutz Bachmann. Analysts say far right, anti-immigrant movements have long existed in Germany, but the trigger for the latest protests appears to be Berlin’s decision to offer asylum to tens of thousands of people who have fled from Syria's civil war. Ahmed Khawan and his family are among them. They fled to Lebanon before being offered resettlement in Germany. Ahmed’s son, who was born deaf, has been given medical treatment to allow him to hear. “First, thanks to God,” said Khawan. “But second, thanks to Germany. There are so many people who are forced to arrive from Syria illegally by sea or air, but Germany made it so we could arrive in a peaceful manner.” Speaking Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Germans not be taken in by far-right rhetoric. “There's freedom of assembly in Germany, but there's no place for incitement and lies about people who come to us from other countries,” she said, “and therefore everyone needs to be careful that they're not taken advantage of by the people who organize such events.” Jeb Bush tests the waters for 2016 presidential bid By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Former Florida gov. Jeb Bush has taken a major step toward running for president in 2016. Tuesday Bush posted messages on his Facebook page and Twitter account that he plans to actively explore a bid for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, with a final decision expected next year. In his announcement, Bush, 61, said he had discussed a possible White House bid with his family last month over the Thanksgiving holiday. Bush, the son of one former U.S. president and the brother of another, would be considered one of the favorites for the Republican Party nomination should he decide to run. Pundits expect a very crowded field of Republican presidential contenders for 2016. Bush’s stance on immigration reform has drawn fire from conservatives within the Republican Party, some of whom are likely to challenge him in the Republican presidential primaries if he decides to run. Bush said he believes voters are looking for a candidate who embodies big ideas. “You can do big things if you set the stage in a campaign and then move forward,” he said. “If you run with big ideas and then you are true to those ideas and get a chance to serve and implement them and do it with passion and conviction, you can move the needle, and that is what we need right now in America,” Bush added. In the latest McClatchy-Marist poll on potential Republican presidential contenders, Bush came in second with 14 percent support behind 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, who had 19 percent. Bush’s announcement is likely to set off a chain reaction among other Republicans considering a presidential bid in 2016 and could cause some of them to speed up their timetable for deciding on a presidential run. John Fortier, a political analyst with the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, said, “The Republicans will have a large field of people and various wings of the party represented, and it is a little unclear in that multi-candidate race how someone will emerge or who will emerge.” Bush has strong name recognition nationally and is a proven fundraiser. But he has not run a campaign since 2002 and would be running in a Republican Party that has grown more conservative. Bush won two elections as governor in Florida with help from Hispanic voters, and Republicans may be looking for a candidate who can appeal more broadly to a 2016 electorate that will include growing numbers of Hispanic and Asian-American voters. President Barack Obama relied on Hispanic support in his two election victories in 2008 and 2012. Republican strategist Whit Ayres said Bush’s ability to draw Hispanic votes could be an asset in the 2016 election. A Bush candidacy would also set up the possibility of another Bush-Clinton showdown reminiscent of the 1992 election in which Bill Clinton defeated President George H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush’s father. Clinton’s wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is a heavy favorite to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2016, should she decide to run. Jeb Bush is also the younger brother of former President George W. Bush, who left office in 2009 after two terms in the White House. U.S. warns it will veto Palestinian-Israeli plan By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The Palestinians say they will introduce a draft U.N. Security Council resolution setting a deadline for Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, despite the U.S. warning it will block the move. The Palestinian U.N. ambassador, Riyad Mansour, said the plan for a two-year timetable for an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord would be introduced Wednesday in a form that can be voted on. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to develop a response. In comments to reporters ahead of his meeting with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in London, Kerry said it is imperative to lower tensions so there is an opportunity to find a path toward genuine peace. "We all understand the challenges that are presented by this conflict. We all understand that there are pent-up frustrations on both sides and they run deep. We all know the risk of escalation is constant and it's real," said Kerry. Kerry said the United States has made no determination about any possible U.N. resolution regarding Palestinian statehood. The proposal, circulated by Jordan, sets a two-year deadline for the end of Israeli occupation. Another proposal being discussed by France, Britain and Germany would set a deadline only for the resolution of peace talks. A Security Council resolution would need the approval of nine of the 15 members. Any of the five permanent Council members can veto a resolution. That group includes Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States, which has used the prospect of a veto to prevent previous Council action related to Israel. Apple wins old U.S. case about iPod music barrier By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A U.S. jury has decided that Apple Corp. did not act improperly when one of its software updates restricted music purchases on iPods to the company's iTunes digital store. The California jury Tuesday found in favor of Apple in a billion-dollar class action lawsuit filed by a group of individuals and companies that purchased iPods. They sought about $350 million in damages from Apple. After Real Networks developed RealPlayer, which allowed music purchased there to play on iPods, Apple introduced a software update that restricted the iPod to music bought on iTunes. The company said the upgrade was meant to improve the iPod user experience. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers told jurors that legitimate improvements are allowed under antitrust law, regardless of their effect on competitors. The case was filed nearly 10 years ago and dates to a time when anti-piracy software prevented iPods from playing songs downloaded from competing online outlets. Apple phased out the restrictive software several years ago. The plaintiffs are a group of individuals and businesses who purchased iPods from 2006 to 2009. Full investigation promised over Australian cafe siege By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is promising an investigation into how a deranged Iranian-born man with a history of violence and extremism was allowed to carry out this week's deadly cafe siege in Sydney. Man Haron Monis on Monday stormed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in downtown Sydney, taking 17 hostages. The 50-year-old Monis and two hostages were killed when police commandos raided the cafe. Monis was well-known to Australian authorities. He had been freed on bail after being charged as an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife. He also faced more than 40 sexual assault and indecency charges. Wednesday Prime Minister Abbott said at a news conference he wants to know why Monis was not being monitored or detained, given his history of violence, mental instability, and infatuation with extremism. Monis was not on any terrorist or security watch list, despite posting repeated Internet rants against the Australian government, including some statements that seem to support the Islamic State group. The prime minister said he intends to publish a transparent report on the lead-up to the siege, why Monis was not on any watch list, and how such an individual was able to acquire a shotgun. New South Wales police commissioner Andrew Scipione Wednesday said he was concerned from the very beginning that Monis got bail. But he said Monis did not appear on any security watch list because none of his charges were politically motivated. Monis fled to Australia two decades ago claiming persecution in Iran. He has been referred to in the media as a self-styled Islamic cleric, in reference to the non-Islamic practices in which he claimed expertise, including astrology, numerology, and black magic. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 249 | |||||||||
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 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
photo
The
frog is mostly red in Costa Rica
Poison dart
frogs might be on menu
By the Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute
Eating a strawberry dart poison frog is supposed to be a really bad idea. As a reminder to potential predators, the tiny amphibian advertises its toxicity with its loudly colored skin: bright red in mainland Central America and a rainbow of variations on the islands of Panama’s Bocas del Toro Archipelago. Until recently, it was thought the tiny Oophaga pumilio had no regular predators. That may not be the case. As part of a team from Tulane University studying the frog on Bastimentos Island, postdoctoral researcher Matthew Dugas photographed a snake consuming an orange-and-black mottled frog. The images, published in Herpetology Notes, are some of the first photos showing snake predation. They contribute to the small body of evidence pointing to strawberry dart poison frog predation. “Very little is known about natural predators of these frogs but clearly some predators can overcome the frog’s alkaloid defenses,” said Ralph Saporito of John Carroll University, who photographed a rufous motmot, a tropical bird, feeding on O. pumilio in Costa Rica in 2011. His lab is currently setting up experiments with snakes and birds to learn if O. pumilio is a regular menu item for predators and to figure out how the predators tolerate frog toxins. Saporito asks if the toxins are concentrated in some particular predator body part — muscle or liver, for example. He also wonders if predators are capable of sequestering toxins themselves and using them for defense. On the same day Dugas photographed the predatory event, a colleague saw another snake of the same species (an adorned graceful brown snake, or Rhadinaea decorata) strike at a frog. The scientist did not see other predation events during seven subsequent visits to the same site over six weeks. “I’m not sure how common this is, but it is awfully important to figure it out when studying the evolution of toxins and warning coloration,” said Dugas, who was hosted by the institute's Bocas del Toro Research Station. |
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| From Page 7: Banco Nacional sets up a green fund By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Banco Nacional said that it has joined with an Austrian-German consortium to provide loans for firms friendly with the environment. The European entity is Austria Österreichische Bundesforste AG. The credit is mainly for small and medium enterprises that have invested in environmental projects. The type of project that might qualify for this credit would be a hotel that is changing from obtaining power from the electrical utility to creating it with a solar system, the bank said. Also listed were clean water projects. The bank said that it was reducing the interest rate a half a percent for such credits. There also is money available for technical advice for potential projects, said the bank. |
