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A.M.
Costa Rica
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San
José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 252
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Cartago
homeless get some help
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Being a street person is no fun. And being one in Cartago, Costa Rica's ice box, is even less fun. Fortunately at Christmas the number of organizations doing outreach increases. The Fuerza Pública and the organization Acción Real sought out the homeless in Cartago over the weekend and provided them with gloves, scarves and blankets. The police agency said that more than 100 persons accepted the aid. Most choose to continue living on the streets and in vacant lots, but police said that 15 accepted the offer of going into one of seven shelters for the homeless in Cartago. The police and volunteers also provided breakfast and other services, such as a bath or a haircut, they said. In some cases, they provided clean clothes or medical services. Petroleum proposal draws opposition By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Even the president's economic council is coming out against a proposal that would jack up petroleum prices. The Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos says that a change in the way prices are calculated will mean a 75 percent increase in the price of liquid petroleum gas, a 35 percent increase in the price of low grade bunker and a 45 percent increase in the price of asphalt. The proposal that will be aired at a public hearing next year has outraged the business community, too. An increase of that magnitude is certain to filter through the rest of the economy and cause prices to increase. For example, plastic is made from petroleum. The Consejo Presidencial Económico called upon the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio and the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía to oppose these increases and seek a meeting with Autoridad officials to discuss the situation. Petroleum prices, including gasoline, are regulated and not subject to free market influences. The petroleum and similar products are channeled through the state monopoly, the Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo, although the company does not do any refining. One indication of the accuracies of the prices established by the Autoridad is that Costa Rican gasoline prices are at least 30 percent higher than elsewhere. The Refinadora Costarricense blames Costa Rican laws and its agreement with the employee unions for the higher prices. Our reader's opinion
Info on Republican errors sought, tooDear A.M. Costa Rica: You do your readers a real service by printing the findings of several U.S. fact checking organizations regarding statements made by the three Democratic candidates for their party’s presidential nomination. These inaccuracies demand the light of day. The factual misstatements of the Republican candidates deserve equal airing, but of those we see nothing. It’s not that there isn’t plenty of material from that side to print, so why not publicize it as well? Does not objective reporting demand it? David C. Murray
Grecia SpaceX rocket
booster lands safely
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Six months after one of its rockets exploded after launch, privately-owned SpaceX resumed operations Monday with a dramatic nighttime launch and a historic landing of its first-stage booster. The Falcon rocket blasted off from the U.S. spaceport in Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying 11 small satellites into low-Earth orbit for communications firm OrbComm. About two minutes into the flight, the rocket's first-stage separated cleanly from the second stage and began a controlled descent back to Earth. Moments later, flight controllers and employees at SpaceX's California headquarters erupted in cheers as television cameras showed the rocket making a pinpoint vertical landing at a former Air Force missile launch site located about nine kilometers from the launch pad. It was the first time a rocket launched into orbit successfully made a controlled landing on Earth. Another private space ferry company, Blue Origin, owned by Amazon.com founder Jeffrey Bezos, successfully landed a first-stage booster rocket last month after a non-orbital flight. SpaceX is one of several companies contracted by the U.S. space agency NASA to ferry supplies, and, eventually, astronauts to the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. The company's Falcon 9 rocket failed during a resupply mission to the space station. Monday's launch was the first since SpaceX redesigned and upgraded the powerful rocket. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this Web site are
copyrighted by Consultantes Ro Colorado S.A 2015 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 Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 252 | |
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| New and shorter route established for hikers to visit Cerro Chirripó | |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Residents of San Jerónimo de Pérez Zeledón are expecting a boost in tourism now that an alternate and shorter route has been established to reach the peak of Cerro Chirripó. The peak is the highest in Costa Rica, and climbing it is an outdoor achievement. Said reporter Helen Thompson when she made the trek from San Gerardo de Rivas in 2008: "After a groggy two-hour walk and a final scramble up to the peak of Cerro Chirripó, the intrepid walker sits 3,820 meters above sea level (about 12,533 feet), with valleys, lakes, and blankets of calm, white clouds spread out below. There is no sound except the wind and an occasional bird, a world void of human presence." Residents of San Jerónimo have been seeking a second access to the peak for years as a way to stimulate development. Last week an agreement was signed between the Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación and the Asociación de Turismo de San Jerónimo. The first group of tourist hikers is expected next month. Banco Nacional said that it supported the project through its social responsibility program. San Jerónimo is a farming community where residents said they see a future in sustainable tourism that would include |
 Banco Nacional photo
The view from the peak is a
natural wondertrout fishing, horseback
riding
and rappelling.
Community leaders said that
the hike to the peak would take about
five hours for a reasonably fit individual. They said the existing
route through San Gerardo would take about three hours longer.
The hike to the peak is not for everyone. Expats and Costa Ricans have become lost in the Parque Nacional Chirripó, and those in San Jerónimo said they would encourage hikers to contract with local guides. |
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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 |
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be
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 252 | |||||
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| State power firm is using its own trees to provide project
lumber |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The state power company has gone into the lumbering business, but even it had to jump a lot of legal hoops. The firm, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, has a forestry program that now is cutting cypress and pine in the vicinity of the Cachí hydro project. Over the last two years, workers cut and processed some $97,000 worth of timber that has been used in the construction of administrative offices in Sabana Norte. The firm estimated that it saved 65.5 million colons or about $125,000. The firm said that the trees involved were not native and that they were being replaced in a reforestation program. The trees were at least 30 years old, the firm said. To do this, the state company had to apply to the Fiscalía Forestal of the Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrónomos and also the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía. Cutting trees even on an individual's own land requires a permit. So does transporting the cut lumber. Costa Rica has strict rules because of so much lumber theft from state lands. The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad maintains its own sawmill, too, so it can specify the size of boards and slabs of wood. The company said that frequently its workers need wood of dimensions that are not available in the retail market. The wood also is used for special purposes such as blocks for bracing turbines when they are being repaired, it said. The company said that it has 6,600 trees on 30 hectares that will be lumbered in the coming years. |
 Instituto
Costarricense de Electricidad photo
Workmen move a log into position
at the firm's sawmill. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado
S.A. 2015 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
Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 252 | |||||||
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| Afghan suicide bomber kills six American service members By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The Pentagon confirmed that six U.S. service members were killed by a suicide bomber Monday in an attack on a patrol near Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The Taliban is claiming responsibly for the attack, saying a suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed 19 soldiers. But the Taliban is notorious for exaggerating casualty numbers. The North American Treaty Organization says it will investigate the attack. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter calls the bombing a painful reminder of the dangers U.S. troops face in Afghanistan every day. "As I saw first hand during my visit to Afghanistan last Friday, our troops are working diligently alongside our Afghan partners to build a brighter future for the Afghan people," he said. "Their dedicated efforts will continue despite this tragic event." Carter also said the bombing wounded two other U.S. service members and a contractor. The White House sent condolences to families of the victims and said it will not relent in countering the threat of terrorism that plagues the region. Bagram Air Base is located some 40 kilometers north of the Afghan capital, Kabul. It is one of several air bases for some 10,000 American soldiers engaged in training and advising local security forces in addition to conducting counter-terrorism operations. Monday's attack comes nearly two weeks after a group of heavily armed Taliban suicide bombers stormed a southern Kandahar air base, also housing U.S. soldiers. The siege lasted for more than 29 hours in which more than 54 people, mostly Afghan civilians, were killed. The Taliban later said that assault was part of its plans to mount attacks on all U.S.-controlled bases in Afghanistan. The Islamist insurgency, meanwhile, has stepped up attacks in its bid to seize control of the southern Helmand province, though Afghan officials claimed to have reversed the Taliban gains in Monday's counter attacks. But it is not possible to verify either claim because of the volatile security situation in the poppy-growing Afghan province for the past several months. Nicolas Haysom with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan again urged the Taliban Monday to end its violent campaign and respond to the Afghan government's offer of peace talks. He made the remarks while briefing the U.N. Security Council on the latest situation in Afghanistan. “I call upon the Taliban, who have not yet committed to entering into a peace process, to reciprocate the government’s commitment by themselves stepping forward to directly engage with the government,” Haysom said. He praised efforts by countries such as Pakistan, the U.S. and China for making renewed efforts to promote direct talks between the government and the Taliban. The assistance mission chief said the conflict is badly hurting civilians and impeding both political and economic progress in Afghanistan. “There is no other way for insurgent groups to demonstrate a commitment to the welfare and prosperity of their fellow citizens than to search for a peaceful resolution to the conflict," he said. New trial scheduled for cop in Freddie Gray death case By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A Baltimore judge has set a retrial date for policeman William Porter, whose trial in connection with the death of Freddie Gray ended last week in a hung jury. Judge Barry Williams says Porter will be retried June 19, after the trials of five other officers charged in Gray's death. The judge declared a mistrial last week when the jury could not reach a verdict in any of the charges against Porter, involuntary manslaughter, second degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct. Freddie Gray was a young African-American man who died a week after his spine was severed in the back of a police van in April. He was handcuffed and shackled by his feet but not buckled into his seat after being arrested. This allegedly caused his body to slam against the side of the van. Prosecutors allege Porter, who is also black, and the five other officers ignored Gray's pleas for medical help. Porter's defense says there is no evidence to convict. Violence broke out in Baltimore on the day of Gray's funeral. The next officer charged in Gray's death goes on trial Jan. 6. Nurses in U.S. get the top pay among largest occupations By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Of the 10 largest occupations in the United States, only one, registered nurse, makes more than the national average when it comes to all U.S. jobs. Nurses make $69,790 annually while the average U.S. worker makes $47,230, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau’s Occupational Employment Statistics program provides employment and wage estimates for more than 800 occupations nationwide. More Americans worked as retail salespersons or cashiers in May 2014 than in any other job, accounting for about 6 percent of total U.S. employment. The 10 largest occupations include retail salespersons and cashiers, food preparation and serving workers, general office clerks, registered nurses, customer service representatives, and waiters and waitresses. That combined group of workers accounted for 21 percent of total U.S. employment in May 2014. The annual average wages for those largest occupations, excluding nurse, ranged from $19,110 for combined food preparation and serving workers, to $34,500 for secretaries and administrative assistants. Food preparation and serving workers also had one of the lowest paying occupations overall, as did fast food cooks ($19,030), shampooers ($19,480), and dishwashers ($19,540). On the opposite end of the spectrum, the highest paying jobs include certain physicians and dentists, chief executives, nurse anesthetists and petroleum engineers. So-called STEM jobs, occupations requiring science, technology, engineering, or math-related degrees, accounted for about 6.2 percent of all U.S. jobs. There are 100 different occupations that account for the STEM jobs. Seven of the 10 largest STEM occupations were related to computers. Ninety-three of the 100 STEM occupations had mean wages that were significantly above the U.S. jobs average. The highest paying STEM occupations included petroleum engineers ($147,520) and physicists ($117,300). The lowest paying STEM jobs included agricultural and food science technicians ($37,330) and forest and conservation technicians ($37,990). Overall, the most lucrative U.S. jobs included management, legal, and computer and mathematical occupations. The lowest paying included food preparation and serving, personal care and service, and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. Each had an annual mean wage of about $25,000 or less. Trump and Mrs. Clinton's aide swap sharp political attacks By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Democrats and Republicans have yet to choose their official candidates for next year's presidential election, but that has not stopped front-runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump from attacking each other. Monday began with Trump calling Mrs. Clinton a liar and demanding she apologize for her claim during Saturday's Democratic debate that Islamic State militants are using videos of his comments as a recruiting tool. Her campaign later said they were not aware of a specific video, but that Trump's comments about Muslims are helping jihadists. A Clinton spokesman, speaking to CNN, put the response to Trump simply: "Hell no." "Hillary Clinton will not be apologizing to Donald Trump for correctly pointing out how his hateful rhetoric only helps ISIS recruit more terrorists," spokesman Brian Fallon said, using an acronym for the militant group. The former secretary of State brought a moment of comic relief during Saturday's debate when after a commercial break she strode back to her podium late, the result of what her campaign said was a long walk to the women's restroom at the site. Trump brought that up at an event Monday night among several personal attacks as he spoke to his supporters. "I know where she went. It's disgusting. I don't want to talk about it," he said. The billionaire also cited the 2008 election when President Barack Obama defeated Mrs. Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination. Trump, who has been criticized for his comments about women, used a vulgar term involving male anatomy to describe Mrs. Clinton's loss in a race she was favored to win. The parties begin the official selection process with the Iowa caucuses Feb. 1, and will pick their nominees next July. Both Trump and Mrs. Clinton lead their races by wide margins, but an average of the latest national polls shows Mrs. Clinton beating Trump in a hypothetical race by six points. Graham quits presidential race and cites lack of any support By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, an advocate for a robust American military presence overseas, dropped out of the 2016 Republican presidential contest Monday, acknowledging that he was winning little political support. The 60-year-old Graham has often dominated the undercard of low-polling Republican candidates in debates that preceded five debates of higher-ranking contenders watched by millions of U.S. voters in recent months. But the quick-witted Graham has not won enough support in national surveys of Republican voters to make it to the main debates. Graham, in leaving the race, told CNN that he believes "the nominee of our party is going to adopt my plan when it comes to articulate how to destroy" Islamic State militants. He has advocated the use of U.S. ground troops in the Middle East to fight Islamic State forces, a stance favored by some other Republican contenders, but rejected by President Barack Obama and the Democratic presidential frontrunner, former secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Republican presidential contest is being dominated by a political novice, billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump, with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida his closest challengers in a field left with 13 candidates after Graham's withdrawal. State-by-state Republican and Democratic presidential nominating contests start in February, leading to national party conventions and the U.S. presidential election next November. The winner will replace Obama as he leaves the White House in January 2017. Emergency sanctuary sought for threatened Bangladeshis By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Leading human rights organizations on Monday urged the United States to offer emergency sanctuary to Bangladeshi writers targeted by Islamic extremists for their secular beliefs. Groups including PEN American Center, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders made the appeal in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. "These writers are unable to seek protection from their own government and are under threat of deadly attack from identifiable non-state groups who have acted on their threats and rhetoric repeatedly in the past," the letter said. Four bloggers and a publisher have been killed in the South Asian nation this year alone, and dozens more have been publicly threatened by Islamist groups. The letter, signed by seven rights groups, said Islamist extremist groups like Ansar al-Islam, the Ansarullah Bangla Team and Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent have claimed responsibility for these killings. The Ansarullah Bangla Team and other Islamist groups have published multiple hit lists consisting of the names of secular bloggers, writers and publishers that they have vowed to kill. "The government of Bangladesh has proved unable to stop these attacks and provide the necessary security to prevent future attacks, leaving these bloggers and publishers with no recourse to guarantee their safety within the country," the letter said. The letter called the situation extremely dangerous' and urged humanitarian parole' for the bloggers to prevent their deaths. Humanitarian parole is used sparingly to bring a person into the United States for a temporary period of time due to a compelling emergency, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Islamic State deserters give reasons for leaving the group By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Recent deserters have told researchers they fled the self-proclaimed Islamic State group because of a mismatch between the words and deeds of the extremist group. They expressed anger at the militants' practice of marrying widows to other fighters without allowing them to observe the traditional Islamic waiting period following a bereavement. Deserters also say they grew disgusted by the endless stream of gory executions and what they called psychopathic pleasure some fighters took in the killings. A dozen deserters in hiding in Turkey were interviewed by Anne Speckhard and Ahmet Yayla of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism. “Defections were the result of exposure to extreme brutality, disgust over the slave trade, observations of deep hypocrisy, a total mismatch between the words and deeds of IS,” the academics wrote in Perspectives on Terrorism, a journal of the Terrorism Research Initiative and the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies. “Charges of corruption and complaints about battlefield decisions that produced unnecessary deaths in their own ranks were also causes of disillusionment,” they said. Three of the deserters had been commanders. One was chief of security at a base in Raqqa. Another was the emir of an Islamic State-controlled town. One was a 14-year-old who was being groomed for a suicide-bombing mission. One deserter from Raqqa said: “There is a well by the name of Hute. There they cover the eyes of the prisoners and tell them, ‘You are free now, just walk now, but don’t open your eyes.’ They walk and fall into the well. It smells horrible because of all the corpses inside the well. I know that over 300 people were thrown into that well.” Another deserter called Abu Shujaa said, “What I don’t like, if someone did something wrong they tried to waterboard him. That I didn’t like. What I don’t like is that if they don’t like someone, they just behead him. Or if a woman is not wearing hijab, they bring someone to flog her, or if someone doesn’t believe, they cut his ear.” “In 2014, I realized that Daesh were liars,” said a deserter called Abu Walid, using an alternative name for the Islamic State group. “For instance, there was an IS guy who raped a woman but got away with it.” Ahmad Abdulkader, who runs a network of anti-Islamic State activists called Eye-On-The-Homeland, says most deserters are local Syrians. He said in an interview in May that out of more than 100 deserters his network had helped flee, only a dozen were foreign recruits. “The foreigners include a Frenchman, a French woman, and a Moroccan,” he said. The deserters Ms. Speckhard and Yayla interviewed say most locals do not join Islamic State for ideological reasons. At first, locals joined partly out of hope and out of respect for its fighting power. But as time wore on, most join out of desperation and hunger. The foreign fighters are more ideologically committed. “Many of our informants stated that Westerners who joined were already heavily indoctrinated in Salafi doctrine before arriving to IS,” write Ms. Speckhard and Yayla. “Unlike the Syrians, the Western cadres were, and generally remained throughout their time with IS, ‘true believers.’” The deserters say preachers, mainly from Saudi Arabia and Jordan, are highly effective in indoctrinating recruits. "ISIS preachers are well educated and impressive,” a deserter called Abu Jamal said. “They persuaded me to be a martyr in just three gatherings, which lasted two hours each . . . I was really affected by the preaching of the teacher, so that you can understand how well they choose their teachers.” Many deserters expressed joy in embracing a strict sharia Islamic course under the Islamic State. Recruiters and trainers also appear to use techniques employed by other violent cults and street gangs. As part of initiations, for example, recruits are ordered to carry out a barbaric act. “As one informant told us, ‘Graduation only happens when they feel a student is ready,'" the study’s authors report. " 'At that point they demand that the student that is going to become a fighter cut off the head of a prisoner, to demonstrate that he is ready.’” According to anti-Islamic State activists in the provinces of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, internal dissension has been on the rise since the extremist group failed to seize the mainly Kurdish border town of Kobani. Arguments between foreign fighters and local ones, who resent the higher pay and privileges given the foreigners, especially Europeans, have at times gotten out of hand, prompting clashes, they say. Abu Mohammed of the anti-Islamic State group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently said earlier this year, “The loss of the city of Tel Abyad has fueled this trend and strengthened the rift that exists between the elements of the organization." Anti-Islamic State activists with a group called Lift Siege also say there has been a steady stream of deserters, including four commanders from the town of Al-Mayadeen. They say Ammar Haddawi, Aamer Al-Naklawi, Mahmoud Al-Khalaf Al-Rasheideh and Abu Obaidah Al-Masri oversaw tax collection in the town, and that they fled with large amounts of cash. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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contents of this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2015 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 sixth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 252 | |||||||||
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Blatter says he will fight soccer ban By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The embattled president of world football's governing body, Sepp Blatter, is pledging to fight an eight-year ban from all football-related activities imposed by the organization’s ethics committee. The three-man panel for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association applied a similar ban on the head of European soccer, Michel Platini. Blatter was in a combative mood when he faced journalists shortly after he received word of his suspension by the ethics committee. “I am sorry that I am, as president of FIFA, this punching ball and I am sorry for football … I regret that I am this punching ball there. I regret for my organization that I have served with heart and conscience during 41 years, but specifically I regret for all the members, the team members working in FIFA,” he said. The ethics committee found Blatter and European president Michel Platini guilty of ethics code breaches regarding an unauthorized payment of $2 million to Platini. Swiss prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into these allegedly illegal payments. Both men deny wrongdoing. Blatter said he thought he had convinced the panel of the tribunal that the payment to Platini was legitimate. He said the tribunal has accused him and Platini of lying, but it has proven nothing. The federation has been mired in scandal since May when 14 officials, including a Costa Rican, were arrested in Zurich and charged in the United States with nearly 50 counts of corruption, including racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering. U.S. dollar strengthens again By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The U.S. dollar improved again Monday against the colon currency. The Banco Central is quoting a rate of 530 colons for selling a dollar and 542.60 colons to buy one. The U.S. dollar has moved from the Friday rate of exchange, which was 526.33/538.81. The improvement in the value of the dollar can be attributed to the action by the U.S. Federal Resrve Wednesdy to increase slighty the prime rate and the announcement that more gradual rate hikes are coming. |
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| From Page 7: Canadian airline WestJet adds two new routes By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Canadian airline WestJet has inaugurated two new routes. They are Toronto and San José and Calgary and Liberia. The Toronto route will have two flights a week on Tuesday and Sundays. The Liberia route will have four flights a week, said Casa Presidencial. The new routes will operate during high season until April, said Casa Presidencial. WestJet began operating a twice weekly Toronto-Liberia route in 2012. |
