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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Dec. 18, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 250 | |||||||||
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challenged in assembly, court By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The prohibition that prevents homosexuals from donating blood would be abolished by a proposal law making its way through the legislature. However, the law may be eclipsed by a Sala IV decision. The constitutional court has given the public 15 days to comment in favor or against the prohibition of the Banco Nacional de Sangre that keeps homosexuals and bisexuals from donating blood. A court appeal says that the prohibition is unconstitutional. In the Asamblea Legislativa, it was Orlando Hernández of the Partido Acción Ciudadana who has presented the legal change. He said that there is no reason to discriminate against homosexuals because half the people with AIDS in Costa Rica are women. "The reality in Costa Rica with respect to this disease is that AIDS inserts itself in the marriage bedroom and that things are changing drastically, affecting loyal wives and their children," he said. He said a requirement for blood donors to list their sexual orientation is obsolete because it is clear that a heterosexual could be the transmitter of the disease. He also said that there is no valid test as to sexual orientation and there is a pressing need for blood. There is no schedule for the constitutional court to make a decision after it receives public comment. The decision, if it comes at all, could be days, weeks or months in the future.
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Dec. 18, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 250 | |||||||||
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 A.M. Costa Rica photos by
José Pablo Ramíez Vindas and Noel Dekking
Mascara demons and colonial ladies, and
over-sized clowns and cheerleaders
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| Now
it is really Christmas, thanks to Festival de la Luz! |
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 Two families get in the spirit
 Fireworks initiate the parade
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 Float of Municipalidad de San José
with Grecian heroic figures
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By the AM. Costa Rica staff
Officials estimated that a million people attended this year's Fesitval de la Luz in downtown San José. The Christmas event features two separate parades, the first during the afternoon and the larger parade starting at 6 p.m. Families gathered in roped off areas all the way from Parque la Sabana to the Iglesia La Soledad on Avenida Segundo. The first parade finished marching down the street at around 5 p.m. which left a three-hour gap in some places between the two parades. |
Even though police were heavily
enforcing the street boundaries, a few
kids managed to evade security and take advantage of the vacant street
by starting up a small soccer-football scrimmage. Other families
used
the extended break to organize family sidewalk dinners. The second parade started with a grand fireworks display followed by a series of giant floats, marching bands, acrobats, clowns and more. Police reported no serious problems. There were 785 officers on the streets. |
| Air
Madrid suspension is blow to European tourism hopes |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The suspension of flights by Air Madrid Lineas Aereas S.A. is bound to reverberate through tourism circles here. The economy airline was a welcome addition to the companies serving Costa Rica when it started flights here in 2005. Tourism officials and even President Abel Pacheco made note of it. In the Óscar Arias Sánchez administration, eyes have been turned to Europe as a place where more tourism can be generated, and tourism providers were hopeful that the strong euro currency would make travel that much more available for Europeans. The airline had been under intense pressure from Spain and México to maintain its fleet of Airbuses better. Rumors that |
the Dirección
General de Aviación Civil in Spain and the parent Ministerio de
Fomento
were about to pull the plug resulted in a sharp drop in ticket sales
and demands by creditors for payment, said the company in a Web page
release. An estimated 100,000 travelers were stranded in Latin America and Europe when the company defaulted. They are not likely to get their money back anytime soon. The company said it had provided names of passengers to Spanish aviation officials so they could adopt whatever measures seemed convenient. Some stranded passengers spent time at Juan Santamaría airport over the weekend. The company was founded only in 2003 and started flight operations the next year. It began having long flight delays this year because of maintenance problems. Flights were mainly from Spain to Latin America and European cities. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Dec. 18, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 250 | |||||||||
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| Castro
reported to have been talking by telephone to officials at regional
confab |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro has spoken by telephone with Cuban officials, as U.S. officials speculate about the state of his health. Cuban state media report that Castro participated by telephone Friday in a work session of provincial officials. The newspaper Granma reported that after Castro heard a summary of the discussions, the officials gave him a round of applause. There were no other details. Friday, a U.S. newspaper quoted the director of U.S. national intelligence, John Negroponte, as saying Castro is very ill and could die within months rather than years. Meanwhile, a group of U.S. lawmakers is in Havana, |
reportedly seeking a
meeting with Fidel Castro's younger brother, Raul. Raul Castro is
running the country while Fidel Castro is ill. Friday Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in a speech in Caracas that he had spoken with Castro by telephone twice the day before. Chavez denied that Mr. Castro has cancer. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that she thinks there will be pressure for change in Cuba after Castro's death. She said the best way to handle that pressure is through a democratic process. A senior official in the U.S. State Department said this week he does not foresee any change in U.S. policy toward Cuba until a leader there commits to change. |
| Calderón
sends troops into his home state to curb trafficking in drugs |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The Mexican government said it will broaden its crackdown on drug gangs, after sending thousands of troops to troubled Michoacan state earlier this week. Attorney-General Eduardo Medina Mora announced Thursday that the same tactics will be taken in other states. He did not identify which ones. Government officials said at least one suspected drug trafficker was killed in Michoacan Wednesday after a gunbattle with soldiers. |
Mexican President Felipe
Calderón ordered the crackdown on the drug
trade in Michoacan, his home state, saying his new strategy will return
tranquility to the people there. Michoacan with its capital Morelia is
on the Pacific coast north of Acapulco. Historicaly it has been a
center of the fishing industry Drug traffickers cultivate marijuana and opium in Michoacan and also use the area to smuggle illegal drugs from South America into the United States. The trade is estimated to generate some $10 billion a year. At least 2,000 people have been killed across Mexico in recent drug cartel wars. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Dec. 18, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 250 | ||||||
| Saprissa
leads most of the way and keeps the crowd calm |
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By Noel Dekking
of the A.M. Cost Rica staff The famed fans of Deportivo Saprissa were out in full force at their home stadium on Sunday, a venue that an international soccer association has crowned as one of the most intimidating in the Americas. The team not only has 23 Costa Rican titles and three hemispheric cups, but also the largest and most aggressive following in the country. Sunday Saprissa defeated Puntarenas, 2–0. With the win the team advanced to the Torneo de Apertura finals where it will meet archrival Liga Deportiva Alajuelense. Only a few skirmishes broke out during the game, mostly between Saprissa fans and security. The crowd seemed to be in more of a celebratory mood than a violent one, perhaps thanks to the victory. Or maybe because Saprissa pulled ahead early with a goal on a free kick in the first five minutes of play. But the advantage didn't stop the loyal following from chanting Saprissa songs, banging away on giant drums, climbing atop security fences, and taunting those sporting Puntarenas jerseys the entire match. Brujas F.C. fans from Escazú were not so lucky in their last departure from the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium. After Brujas defeated Saprissa 2–0 Nov. 11, gangs of young men attacked, stoned and inflicted heavy damage on a bus carrying Bruja fans following the game. |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Noel Dekking
Fans have fun leaping atop the fence that separates spectators
from the playing field.Current owner Jorge Vergara has boosted national pride for the team by instituting a policy of only employing native-born or naturalized Costa Rican players. While the excitable fans may be an intimidating factor for those wanting to attend a match, the stadium has sections of relative calm as well. The rowdiest fans are easily located in the southern part of the stadium, lighting off fireworks and shaking the stands by jumping in unison to Saprissa anthems. The next match, the one with Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, is this Wednesday in Saprissa stadium. A sell out crowd is expected to be in attendance. |
| Central
Pacific surfer wins two categories in tournament at Tamarindo |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Jairo Pérez, the young surfer from the Cantón de Garabito, won both the boys and junior categories at Playa Tamarindo last weekend. This was the second time this year that Pérez took the top spot in the boys category, those under 16 years. Then he competed in and won the junior category, which is for |
surfers younger than 18 years. The Tamarindo surf tournament attracted 135 participants who showed their abilities in waves generally about two meters or 6.5 feet high. Natalie Bernold, 13, of Villarreal de Santa Cruz won the women's junior category. She finished second to Lisbeth Vindas in the women's category. |
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