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San
José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 254
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Friendly tropical sun can inflict real damage on skin By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Someone should write a song titled "I'm getting sunburn for Christmas," because that looks like what the forecast holds. The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional says that the weather today will be the same as Monday with some humidity becoming clouds but with moderate winds and sunshine over much of the country. There also will be temperatures favorable for sleeping over night. The tropical sun can really do damage to expats and vacationers who forget that a good breeze fools the mind into not recognizing that the skin is getting cooked. This is probably a good prediction for the next three months as the dry season really takes hold. Land in Limón returned to former owners by new law By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
President Laura Chinchilla signed a law Monday that validates the titles of some 10,000 persons who have been living in limbo for as much as 30 years. The law returns some 132,000 hectares that has been in the possession of the Junta de Administración Portuaria y Desarrollo Económico de la Vertiente Atlántica to previous owners. That's about 326,179 acres. The property involves some 4,000 agricultural producers in the areas of Tortuguero, Dabado, 4 Millas de Siquirres and 4 Millas de Matina, Fátima and La Cureña, all Limón province, said Casa Presidencial. The principal benefit is that occupants will be able to receive public services and also post their properties for loans. Blacklisted Internet hookup blamed for access problems By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A handful of readers reported Monday that they were unable to access the news pages of A.M. Costa Rica via their Internet connection. They were in Atenas, San Ramón and Grecia. A check of blacked connections shows that at least one of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad Internet addresses has been flagged internationally as a source for spam. This may be because a user there has a computer infected by a virus that is sending out massive amounts of unwanted emails without the owner's knowledge. The blacklisting probably can be circumvented by the use of an anonymous Internet proxy, which are available on the Web. Pope and ex-pope meet to exchange Yule wishes By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Pope Francis made a Christmas visit to pope emeritus Benedict Monday and said he found his 86-year-old predecessor looking well, according to television footage released by the Vatican. Francis, who was elected in March, spent about 30 minutes with Benedict in an ex-convent on the Vatican grounds where the former pope has been living in near isolation. “It's a pleasure to see you looking so well,” Francis told Benedict, who in February became the first pope in 600 years to step down instead of ruling for life. Television footage released by the Vatican, only the fourth time Benedict has been filmed since his resignation, showed him looking alert and in better health than on previous occasions. He greeted Francis, 77, at the door of the residence, standing with an ivory-handled wooden cane. They walked to a chapel where they stood and prayed before speaking privately in another room. When Francis left Benedict, he said, “Merry Christmas, pray for me.” Benedict responded, “Always, always, always.” Benedict resigned Feb. 28, saying he no longer had the physical and spiritual strength to lead the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church. Southern Brazil suffers from extensive flooding By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Intense rain and flooding in southeast Brazil have killed at least six people and forced 40,000 more to leave their homes. Civil defense officials say the heavy rain that began last week has wreaked havoc in 45 Brazilian municipalities, causing flash floods and mudslides. Some major roads crumbled under the violent downpour, while several others have been flooded. In 24 hours, 130 millimeters of rain has fallen in Espirito Santo state. That's more than five inches. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 254 | |
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| After Christmas, the horses take to the
streets of the capital |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The day after Christmas Costa Ricans always revisit their rural roots with the Tope Nacional, a gigantic parade of horse through the downtown. This year some 690 police officers will be along the line of march and some even in the parade. The tope, which means encounter in English, is time for big hats, boots, sunburn and perhaps a little beer. There were about 5,000 riders last year. The six- to seven-hour event brings out a large crowd, and some will be camped on their pickup beds or set up with ice chest, snacks and perhaps even a small kitchen to see the riders, carriages and other animal-powered vehicles. |
As always, crowds draw crooks, and
police will be on the lookout for illegal activity as well as drunks. The horses are scheduled to start from Plaza González Víquez at 11:30 a.m., but they usually are late. The route is to Avenida 2 and then west to Paseo Colón with a finish at Calle 40, just a block from Parque la Sabana. A lot of the spectators will head later to Zapote for the 2013 edition of the Fiestas, which starts Christmas Day for a run until Jan. 5. It is a big carnival with a main attraction of the 3 p.m. and evening bull fights. That is when hundreds of young Costa Ricans enter the ring with a fighting bull and hope they can walk out. Most of the confusion is televised. And those who have had enough of horses Thursday, can attend the Carnival Nacional in Desamparados Friday. |
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The deliveries
from the south
will be a little delayed now By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Somewhere the party will be a little drier this week. The Fuerza Pública said it confiscated 4,260 bottles or cans of alcoholic beverages in the first 23 days of December. In Barrio el Carmen de Corredores police confiscated 96 cans of beer that they encountered on a bus. Also there were two liters of whiskey. Then in El Rodeo in Paso Canoas police found a woman driving a vehicle in which there were 30 cases of beer and 24 bottles of rum. The alcohol is believed to have come from Panamá where prices are lower. Police also have similar problems at the northern border. Also being confiscated are fireworks that are being brought into Costa Rica for the Christmas and New Year's celebration. |
 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía y Seguridad Pública photo
Police officer checks the
confiscated alcohol. |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 254 | |||||
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| U.S. Asian plans disrupted by bickering and an increasingly
aggressive China |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The United States moved to pivot military, diplomatic and economic resources toward Asia in 2013, but the policy was sidetracked by bickering among allies and an increasingly assertive China. Vice President Joe Biden's December trip to northeast Asia was meant to focus on reassuring U.S. allies Japan and South Korea of its plans to vastly increase resources to the region. But China's sudden expansion of its Air Defense Identification Zone to overlap disputed areas with Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea dominated discussions. Biden said he spoke candidly on the issue in meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "But I was absolutely clear on behalf of my president, we do not recognize the zone,” said Biden in a speech at South Korea's Yonsei University. “It will have no affect on American operations. Just ask my general. None. Zero. I've also made it clear that we expect China not to take action that increases tensions and the risk of escalation.” Japan, South Korea and the United States defiantly flew military aircraft through the area without informing Beijing, while South Korea expanded its defense ID zone to overlap parts of China's. For safety reasons, the United States said its commercial aircraft would follow the new guidelines of first submitting flight plans through the expanded area to Beijing and staying in radio contact with Chinese authorities. South Korea at first refused to comply, but later said its commercial flights would follow the U.S. example, while Japan has flatly refused. The airspace above the Japan-administered Senkaku islands, which China disputes ownership of and calls the Diaoyu, is included in Beijing's expanded zone. Despite concerns about miscalculation or mistakes, the International Crisis Group's Dan Pinkston argued the risk to aircraft from the expanded ADIZs is exaggerated. “In no way is it in China's interest to interfere with any of that,” said Pinkston. “Of course, the question is with state aircraft, with military aircraft. Now I think China would claim to have some legal authority to intercept or take hostile acts against foreign aircraft around the disputed islands in the East China Sea. But, again, do they want to escalate and become involved in that type of hostile action. I don't think so at this time. But, if they want to do that they can do it anyway.” As part of its military expansion and assertion, China's recently launched |
aircraft
carrier, the Liaoning, has undergone training
exercises in the South China Sea, where it disputes territory with
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. During Biden's trip, a Chinese warship escorting the carrier got in the path of a U.S. missile cruiser forcing it to change course to avoid collision. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called China's behavior in the encounter irresponsible. China's aggressive moves on disputed territory has, in part, driven calls for the U.S. to rebalance toward Asia, as well as boost relations with key East Asia allies Japan and South Korea. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sought a summit meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye but has so far been shunned by Seoul, and Beijing, for efforts to white wash Japan's colonial and World War II aggression. Meeting China's rise calls for repairing damage to Seoul-Tokyo relations, said Professor Park Hwee Rhak at Kookmin University. "Under the current situation, it is difficult to relieve the threat with a separate South Korea-U.S. alliance and U.S.-Japan alliance”, said Park. “So it is necessary to strengthen South Korea-Japan relations and the U.S. must put forward effort more actively. So I think it will be great for President Obama at the next visit to focus on the U.S. contribution to negotiating closer relations between South Korea and Japan.” Japan's Abe in December hosted leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with an eye towards investment but also part of what he has called forming an arc of freedom from Japan around China's south. The Japan-ASEAN summit statement underscored the need for freedom of navigation in the sea and air, a veiled reference to concerns about China. China has close economic ties with ASEAN but has also irritated members with territorial disputes for dragging its feet on negotiating a code of conduct in the South China Sea. Pinkston notes that although China claims to want a multi-polar world, it prefers to negotiate bilaterally so it can more effectively throw around its political and economic weight. “My hope is that at some point in the future we can get on a path of developing better, multilateral institutions for the region that will take everyone's security concerns into account. And, that we can find a better way than forming trilateral alliances to balance against China or encircle China and so forth,” Pinkston said. “Hopefully, we can find a better mechanism rather than just slipping into a new Cold War in East Asia.” |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 254 | |||||
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| Large lake of liquid water found under Greenland's ice By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A massive lake has been found under the ice in Greenland. The 43,500 square kilometer body of water could have major implications for understanding sea level rise. Researchers at the University of Utah say the lake, known as a perennial firn aquifer, remains liquid year-round despite the otherwise perpetually frozen landscape. “Large amounts of snow fall on the surface late in the summer and quickly insulates the water from the subfreezing air temperatures above, allowing the water to persist all year long,” said Rick Forster, lead author and professor of geography at the University of Utah. The Greenland Ice Sheet is vast, covering roughly the same area as the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah combined. The average thickness of the ice is 5,000 feet. In 2012, the ice sheet lost volume of 60 cubic miles, a record for melt and runoff. “Of the current sea level rise, the Greenland Ice Sheet is the largest contributor – and it is melting at record levels,” said Forster. “So understanding the aquifer’s capacity to store water from year to year is important because it fills a major gap in the overall equation of meltwater runoff and sea levels.” Since 2010, Forster’s team has measured snow accumulation in Greenland and how it varies from year to year. The area they study covers 14 percent of southeast Greenland yet receives 32 percent of the entire ice sheet’s snowfall, but there has been little data gathered. In 2010, the team drilled core samples in three locations on the ice for analysis. Team members returned in 2011 to approximately the same area, but at lower elevation. Of the four core samples taken then, two came to the surface with liquid water pouring off the drill while the air temperatures were minus 20 degrees centigrade. The water was found at about 10 meters below the surface at the first hole and at 25 meters in the second hole. “This discovery was a surprise,” Forster says. “Although water discharge from streams in winter had been previously reported, and snow temperature data implied small amounts of water, no one had yet reported observing water in the firn that had persisted through the winter.” Firn is compacted snow. The consequences of losing the Greenland Ice Sheet could be catastrophic. If all the water retained in the ice sheet melted, it is estimated that the global sea level would rise about six meters, says Forster. Although no one is predicting a total meltoff all at once, keeping an eye on ice formation, runoff amounts and how the water is moving is critical to accurately predicting sea level changes. Until now, calculations of the ice sheet mass changes did not include a year-round storage mechanism for liquid water. Forster says the reservoir’s exact role is unknown. “It might conserve meltwater flow and thus help slow down the effects of climate change. But it may also have the opposite effect, providing lubrication to moving glaciers and exacerbating ice velocity and calving increasing the mass of ice loss to the global ocean.” As for whether climate change caused the aquifer to form, Forster says that’s not clear, but simulations of the Greenland Ice Sheet going back to the early 1970s would suggest it has been around for some time. The study was published online Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience.  NASA photo
'Earthrise' taken from Apollo 8.New video
captures moment
when Apollo 8 saw 'Earthrise' By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
On December 24, 1968, as the astronauts of Apollo 8 orbited the Moon, they caught an amazing view of the Earth rising over the lunar horizon. They were the first humans to see it. The view came as a surprise, so the astronauts scrambled to get the right film in the camera to preserve the moment forever. Too late to get the image in color from one window, astronaut William Andrews, with an assist from James Lovell, got the shot as their spacecraft turned, offering another spectacular view. The photo, "Earthrise," became one of the iconic images of the 20th century. Now, NASA has created a video re-enacting the event. It is HERE! "The Earthrise visualization that we released for Earth Day last year really only scratched the surface," said Ernie Wright, project lead with the Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The new visualization tells us not only what time the photos were taken, but also exactly which way the spacecraft was pointing and, therefore, which window each photo was taken from. This will also be the first time we've released a video that's synchronized with the onboard audio recording of the astronauts." To help in the recreation, NASA used data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, known as LRO. "Matching Apollo photography to the lunar terrain required an accuracy and completeness that I think only LRO's data could provide," said Wright. "I worked at a level of detail that required 100-meter resolution with perfect registration. You gain a new appreciation for the care of the LRO scientists who create this data when you get your virtual camera set up and the overlaid Apollo photography just snaps into place. "The key to the new work is a set of vertical stereo photographs taken by Apollo 8," adds Wright. "A camera was mounted in the rendezvous window that pointed straight down onto the lunar surface. It took a picture every 20 seconds. When the spacecraft rotated, so did the images. By registering each photo to a model of the terrain from LRO data, we can nail down the timing of the spacecraft's rotation." Wright went to great lengths to make the visualization as accurate as possible. He used the Apollo 8 flight plan, the onboard voice recording, data on the optical properties and mounting of the Hasselblad cameras, the dimensions and angles of the Command Module windows, a global map of Earth's cloud patterns from the Environmental Science Services Administration 7 satellite on the day the "Earthrise" photo was taken, and the position and orientation of the moon, the Earth, the sun, and the spacecraft.  Steinway & Sons photo
A Steinway awaits the audience
and an artist.The standard in
grand pianos
still is made in New York By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Great pianists need great pianos. Vladimir Horowitz, the famous Ukrainian-American pianist, used to travel with his own personal Steinway when he played concerts around the world. For 160 years, the pianos of Steinway & Sons have been considered the finest in the world thanks to superior craftsmanship and performance. Most concert halls and conservatories in America own Steinways, and pianists from Lang Lang to Billy Joel are Steinway artists. This fall, Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein used a Steinway when he appeared with the New York Philharmonic. “I think generations of pianists’ muscular/nervous systems have been shaped by how the action feels and how the action and the sound merge into this playing experience," Gerstein said. "And for the listeners, it is this experience of listening to the Steinway sound that has really cultivated what we think piano sound is.” Steinway pianos have been built, since 1871, in a factory complex in New York. The company was founded by German immigrant Henry Englehard Steinway in 1853, when New York had dozens of piano manufacturers. “In very early days, they sought very much to create the standard piano of the world," said Robert Berger, Steinway director of customer satisfaction. "Not the average piano of the world, the standard, the one by which all others would be judged.” And those pianos were built to last. Today, a workforce of 300 craftsmen and women turns out about 1,500 pianos a year in the Astoria factory. It takes 11 months to build a Steinway grand, which features 12,000 separate parts. The factory is a beehive of activity. In one area, thin laminates of wood are glued together and put in a press, to create the distinctive form of a grand piano. In another area, so-called belly men put the sound boards into the case. A cast iron plate is added, strings are added, the action, the hammers which hit the strings, is added. Pianos are tuned five times, in all. Twice, during this process, pianos are taken to a pounding room, where a machine bangs on all eighty-eight keys at once, to do what the workers call play in the instruments. A whole other area of the factory is devoted to restoring vintage Steinways. “July 2nd of this year was my 40th year with the company," said Bill Youse, who runs the department. "I am also a third-generation Steinway employee. And I am third of four generations, my son actually works here, as well.” Youse says the pianos are excellent because generations of workers have all been dedicated to the same goal. “Aside from some of the materials, like the glues and things which have improved throughout the years, the piano is very, very much the same piano that you would have gotten back in the late 1800s,” he said. And one of his co-workers has been with Steinway for more than half a century. “I am the last one to touch the piano before it leaves the factory," said Wally Boot. "I am the final tone inspector. I have been here 51 years and my job is to listen to the piano and make sure that it sounds even and that everything works.” And few things work like a Steinway. Boot, who grew up two blocks from the factory, says every piano has its own personality. “If it were a bright piano, it would be like a jazz piano," he said. "If it is a mellow piano, it is more for the house, or for chamber music...a model B, this would be a concert piano,” he said. This level of care and craftsmanship helps explain why a new Steinway piano can cost anywhere from $55,000 to $145,000, depending on the model. Steinway's Berger says these pianos often become a treasured family heirloom, passed from generation to generation. “A new owner will say something to the effect of, ‘It has been a lifelong dream of mine to own a Steinway piano,’ or ‘I have saved for years, in order to buy this piano and I have finally realized my dream.’” Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson recently bought the company, striking fear in the hearts of musicians. Would the famously hand-crafted pianos be changed, for the sake of efficiency? Paulson, who owns several Steinways himself, says nothing will change, so that this hand-crafted dream will continue for years to come. American gets a year in prison over Abu Dhabi parody video By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
An American citizen was sentenced to a year in prison in the United Arab Emirates Monday for posting a parody video on YouTube which pokes fun at young Emirati men who imitate U.S. hip-hop culture, his family said. Shezanne Cassim, 29, has been detained in the United Arab Emirates since April after publishing the 20-minute mockumentary film. In the video, which opens with a disclaimer stating it is fictional and does not intend to offend the people of the UAE, Emirati men described as deadly gangsters can be seen practicing throwing sandals and wielding an agal, the cord used to keep in place traditional headscarves. Cassim, an aviation business consultant, was charged with violating the Gulf nation's cyber crime law which makes acts deemed damaging to the country's reputation or national security punishable by jail time and heavy fines. He was sentenced to jail by an Abu Dhabi court, and also fined 10,000 dirhams ($2,723), said his family who live in the United States. “The family is now trying to confirm whether the one-year imprisonment includes time served or means additional jail time,” they said in a statement. Last month, an Abu Dhabi court jailed a man for two years for tweeting about a political trial, highlighting the sensitivity of Gulf Arab states to political dissent, criticism of senior officials and to comments they regard as blasphemous, especially on social media. Cassim posted the parody video online last year. The film, shot in Dubai's Al Satwa area, just a few miles away from the landmark Burj Khalifa tower, remains available on YouTube. Two Indians on trial alongside Cassim were given the same sentence, two Emirati defendants were sentenced to eight months in prison each and one Emirati was pardoned, according to activists. A further three defendants were each given a one-year prison sentence in absentia and fined 10,000 dirhams. Christmas has cultural tilt in Manhattan's ethnic groups By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
What with all the frenzied shopping, the glitzy lights, the incessant pop-style holiday music and a Santa Claus on almost every corner, a mainstream Christmas season in New York can seem decidedly secular, at least in Manhattan. But, in other neighborhoods in the Big Apple, many immigrant and ethnic cultures have their own traditional ways of showing this season’s spirit. There is nothing remotely secular or even ecumenical about the atmosphere at Brooklyn’s Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church. In its golden candlelit sanctuary filled with icons, the devout prepare for Christmas much as their ancestors have done since the 11th century. Choir member Sergey Gordeev comes here every week from his home across the city. He says the mystical music keeps him connected to the Motherland. “For Russians, it truly is about God, about God being born, about our souls being saved. And what I do love is this unapologetic spirituality. It is very Russian. It is very Russian not to squirm around things," said Gordeev. The spirit of Russian Christmas is also found outside the cathedral sanctuary, says Holy Trinity’s priest, the Very Rev. Vladmir Alexeev. He remembers the 12 traditional foods his mother would make for the Christmas feast, and the empty chair she would place at the family table just in case the Magi, the three Biblical kings from the East, needed to refresh themselves on their way to Bethlehem to see the Christ child. “… and she was telling me to go looking into the window because probably the Magi are approaching it ... and they are very exhausted and maybe this night they will knock on the door and they will take this chair and they will have some food and they will continue their journey," said Alexeev. While parishioners' children rehearse for the church’s annual Christmas pageant, Alexeev says for rural Russians, the Christmas season has traditionally been a time for folk healing and magic spells. Young women would try to see the face of their future husbands in the shifting shadows of candles. “And if you ask my parishioners, everyone knows how to do that. It is forbidden by the church, absolutely forbidden. But people do that," he said. At a Brooklyn church, it is time for the Sankta Lucia festival, which marks both the Winter Solstice and the start of the Christmas season. A girl wearing a white robe and a crown of candles leads a small procession of Scandinavian Americans. According to legend, Sankta Lucia was blinded by her husband for choosing Christianity over paganism. But her sight was miraculously restored. Lucia then brought light to others. Pageant organizer Victoria Hofmo says customs surrounding the saint are still practiced in Northern Europe and Scandinavian American communities. “So in Sweden, the oldest child, usually the girl, comes with her tray. She has the little Lucia rolls. Lucia rolls are made from saffron, like the sun, and she brings it to her parents at the very point of daybreak. It’s a very lovely custom that we hope to continue," said Ms. Hofmo. Other traditions include the making of miniature nisses, figurines representing mischievous elves and nature spirits, and the cooking of special conical butter crepes. Such seasonal traditions give comfort to Salveig Simonsen. “I love it. It’s an opportunity to keep it alive, to keep the culture going, to get together with people who share the same things, like cooking and baking, and just being with the people who know who you are!" said Simonsen. The spirit of African Christmas fills the main hall at the Ghanaian United Methodist Church in the northern Bronx, where men in fine suits and women in colorful intricately tied headscarves and hats sway and pray in their native Akhan language. In a side room, Rebecca Adjei Ofori, one of the church’s unofficial lay leaders sings a Christmas song with a couple of church sisters. She explains that Ghanain Christmas is all about expressing love and gratitude within one’s extended family. And, she adds, it is a time to publicly resolve any differences that may have arisen within the family since the previous Christmas. “And we do not just talk, we eat! We celebrate with a special dishes, like jollof rice, and fufu and peanut butter soup," said Ms. Ofori. "Oh my God!" This festival of family and food mirrors another profoundly important ceremony in Ghanaian culture: that of welcoming and naming every new child. It too can last for days. Minister Samuel Nketsia connects the ritual and the holiday. “We Ghanaians, when a child is born, we honor that child, So when Christ also was born, as Christians. we also honor Christ as being a newborn child to our family," said Nketsia. "So we adore him!” In this way, he adds, the heavenly and the earthly, the physical and the spiritual, come together in the heart of the community. That, in his view, is really what the Christmas story is all about, wherever you are from. Santa mirrors neighborhood at Los Angeles shopping mall By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
In many western cultures, Santa Claus is traditionally depicted as a Caucasian man with a white beard in a red suit. But around the United States, this symbol of Christmas comes in many colors. In one Los Angeles shopping mall non-traditional Santas are a tradition. He’s known as “Saint Nicholas,” “Kris Kringle,” “Father Christmas” or simply …. "Santa. Yeah he’s a good person. He brings joy to a child, and I really want to thank him for that," said Jason Mata. Mata and his family come to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Mall every year to see this particular Santa Claus because he speaks Spanish. “Go to school, be kind to your parents, do your homework, and enjoy life…be a kid," said a Spanish-speaking Santa. During the holiday season, many U.S. shopping malls set up display areas where children can meet Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas. Most of those who put on the red suit to greet the children are white. But, according to the mall marketing director, Rachel Erickson, a Spanish-speaking Kris Kringle has been a part of the multicultural Santa program for more than a decade because the neighborhood is so diverse. “The demographic speaks to the Santa program that we have, and we absolutely want make sure that our Santas are representative and culturally reflective of our neighbors," said Ms. Erickson. The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Mall is located in the heart of the Los Angeles Latino and African American neighborhoods. So the shopping center has two Santas, one Latino and one African-American. Langston Patterson portrays the black Santa and he says the kids get very excited. “It’s a joy to see the kids jump around like grease in a skillet when they see Santa Claus and their very happy and focused. And I enjoy the parents and they enjoy me,"said Patterson. Patterson is the only Santa that Sheila Ford's son has ever known. “We make it a trip, a special trip, every year. And it’s really a surprise he still believes in him and that’s because they connect. And they connect because he looks like him," said Ford. And that personal connection gives extra meaning to the holiday. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| A.M. Costa
Rica's sixth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 254 | |||||||||
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Despite election,
opposition is hobbled in Venezuela By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Opposition politician Ricardo Hernández was elected mayor of Tariba, a small Venezuelan city near the border with Colombia, by a landslide. But he didn't have long to bask in his victory. In the days after Dec. 8 municipal elections in which the opposition won 75 mayoralties, Hernández discovered that the company that collects trash had stopped working, apparently on orders of his predecessor, a member of the ruling Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela. And, the new mayor said, the state government of Tachira, which is controlled by the Partido Socialista Unido, ordered the police in Tariba to hand over its firearms and vehicles to a state force. Hernández' case is far from unique. Across the nation, new office holders in the 49 mayoralties that passed to the opposition from the Partido Socialista Unido complain about what they say are efforts by President Nicolas Maduro's central government to strip their powers. The moves have included taking away responsibilities, including the management of parks, theaters and other cultural centers, and removing assets from local authorities. In some cases, critics accuse ruling party officials of trying to undermine and bypass opposition mayors and governors by setting up parallel governments. Hernández, who won with 62 percent of the votes in Tariba, sees it as punishment for having defeated a Partido Socialista candidate. “It affects the population and the communities which are using those services,” the 37-year-old lawyer said this week during a rare meeting between Maduro and opposition politicians, appealing for an end to interference in his work. But José Vielma, the governor of Tachira state and a Partido Socialista stalwart, denied there was any ill intent. He said the temporary return of some equipment used by Tariba's police, which had been provided by its owners, the state police force, was arranged with Hernández's predecessor. “The weapons, bulletproof vests, patrol vehicles and motorcycles were returned by the mayor... so that we can do maintenance and check them,” Vielma told local media. The central government denies it is setting up parallel administrations, and says it only steps in when local governments are not addressing urgent needs. Maduro, 51, narrowly won the election in April to succeed his mentor, Hugo Chávez, who died from cancer the month before. At the municipal polls this month, the Partido Socialista won 242 or 76 percent - of the country's 337 mayoralties. Overall, the Partido Socialista and its allies took 10 percentage points more votes than opposition parties, showing the strength of Chavismo in rural areas where more mayoral races were up for grabs. Still, the opposition won 75 mayoralties, which was a big increase on the 51 they held before and included wins in the largest cities, including the capital Caracas and second city Maracaibo. After the polls, Maduro called opposition mayors and governors to meet him. But many remained skeptical, noting that Chávez had often seemed to offer an olive branch to rivals, then quickly reverting to his usual combative style. “With this behavior, the government is showing it feels wounded by losing lots of mayoralties,” the opposition coalition said in a statement, referring to Maduro's apparent outreach. Five years ago, during Chavez's rule, his candidate lost the mayoralty of metropolitan Caracas to a veteran opposition leader, Antonio Ledezma. Just months later, Chávez created the new job of head of the government of the capital district, essentially circumventing the mayor and assuming many of his duties, and he appointed a close ally, Jacqueline Farias, to the position. Farias took over the office Ledezma had been using, and many of his responsibilities. Schools, firefighters, civil protection and other key functions were all then handled by her. Just days after Ledezma was re-elected as mayor this month, beating Partido Socialista candidate and former information minister Ernesto Villegas, Maduro's government named Villegas in a different role: minister for the transformation of Caracas. “Give the mayor back his responsibilities and his funding,” Ledezma appealed during the meeting with Maduro this week. “This is nothing to do with kindness, it's a question of justice.” The government denies anyone has been usurped. Maduro says Chávez set up state-run organizations in the past that benefited people and were never intended to be parallel governments that interfered with the work of elected officials. Jorge Rodríguez, Partido Socialista mayor of Libertador, one of the five municipalities that comprise the metropolitan district of Caracas, said Ledezma should examine his own performance before criticizing the president. “If Ledezma focused his time in office on exercising his responsibilities, instead of traveling abroad and bad-mouthing the government, the results in Caracas would not depend solely on the central government,” Rodríguez said. Opposition members say one clear case of what they call a parallel government is in Miranda state, which includes large parts of Caracas and where the opposition coalition's two-time presidential candidate, Henrique Capriles, is governor. Shortly after Capriles was re-elected to that office last year, the central government awarded the Partido Socialista candidate he defeated, former foreign minister Elias Jaua, a grandiose new title, “The Protector of Miranda.” Jaua was also put in charge of CorpoMiranda, a new state-run organization that supervises development projects in the state. Jaua says the founding of CorpoMiranda was needed, alleging that Capriles is absent and neglects his duties as governor by prioritizing his work as national opposition leader. There is a similar situation in the remote southern state of Amazonas, bordering Brazil, where opposition politician Liborio Guarulla has been governor for 12 years. First, Guarulla says, his responsibility for operating the local airport was taken away. Next, the state police was removed from his control, and then a radio station and an hotel. The central government also created a new development body, CorpoAmazonas, and named his defeated election rival to run it. “It's a miserable battle,” Guarulla said. |
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| From Page 7: Now is the time to organize finances for next year By Elizabeth Morales Coto* Special to A.M. Costa Rica It has happened to everyone, and it seems to be a recurring dream: It´s December again, and again the
This does not have to be exact to the last penny, but try and make the addition of what all of these items cost you during 2013, divide it by 12 and make the automatic savings deduction monthly from your regular account so that by the end of the year, the expense won’t be felt at all. What items to consider, and make individual accounts for each of them? • Impuesto sobre la renta that you paid on the 2012-2013 period; • Marchamo, car maintenance, gas and car insurance; • Health insurance, health expenses and other insurance (i.e house ); • Household and house expenses (the maid, electricity, phone, TV and internet, water, security, etc); • Food (separate this into the regular groceries and restaurants); • The kids (school tuition, uniforms, books and sports or other classes like ballet, the gym or tutoring); • The family pet (food, grooming, hotel and the vet); • Travel expenses (Give yourself the chance to take one or two trips a year but save for it, plan for it); • Leisure (here you can plan for movies, field trips, concerts and so on); • Extra expenses (clothing, beauty products or treatments, xmas presents and so on); • Involuntary savings (force yourself to save even when it has not been the usual, take out say 10 percent of your income every month. Go down to 5 percent if you must) Try and do the analysis on this list, and you should be O.K next year!!! This will take you 30 minutes tops! But the benefits of doing it will not only make you feel outstandingly responsible and proud of yourself, but it will also lower you anxiety and help you work on some crucial decisions during 2014. The path towards economic freedom is discipline and organization, contrary to what everyone believes to be — the amount of money you make. Organization is a synonym of success!!! Never hesitate to ask the experts any question you might have. Some suggestion might help to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Remember that problems exist to be solved and always be a part of the solution, keep dynamic and flexible to find solutions and make every day a new chance to be wiser. Free advice is available as our all-year-round Xmas gift to you on info@cedadasesores.com. Save money, save time, save effort and prevent problems. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! * Ms. Morales is an engineer with a master's of business administration specializing in business strategy and development. She is a principle in CEDAD Asesores and can be reached at info@cedadasesores.com. |
