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 A.M. Costa Rica/José Pablo
Ramírez Vindas
Woman's message is that we all are children of God at protest
against Israel Friday outside Centro Colón.Our readers' opinions
to reflect market reality Real estate story fails
Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Congratulations on your outstanding coverage of Thursday's earthquake. It's the most up-to-date, complete coverage I've found online, in English or Spanish. Your entire staff deserves kudos for its professionalism and hard work. On the other hand, your article "Cloudy Real Estate Market Not Seen As A Firesale" is, in my opinion, absolute garbage. It appears to me that the staff writers responsible for this article are not knowledgeable about real estate and have relied primarily on sources within the real estate industry who have a vested interest in being optimistic and, in some cases, self-delusional. For example, you report that "Sales in the Central Valley and San José area are slow but steady. Prices may have come down slightly." How did you come to this conclusion? From real estate brokers trying to project an attitude of optimism and confidence? Did you make any attempt to verify actual sales data at the Registro Nacional? I think you'll find that there have been very few sales, and that those that have actually closed are either at deeply discounted prices or under unusual circumstances. Sellers who haven't drastically reduced their asking prices because they don't need to sell and are "willing and able to wait for a buyer" are living in a fantasy world, fueled by the same sort of naive optimism that your article promotes and encourages. You haven't done your readers a service with this sloppy reporting. Jim Scarborough
Curridabat Comments on terrorism misplaced and uninformed Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I was most disturbed by Mr. Sartuga's uninformed and inflammatory response to one of the many market insights I shared with A.M. Costa Rica. I am not in the least sympathetic to the minor anxiety which it created for him for a few fleeting hours. After eight incident-free years, ignoring the possibility that the increased frequency and severity of terrorist actions throughout our world might soon witness another tragedy in the Northeast U.S. is not only naive but somewhat delusional. Not only did 9/11 occur in my hometown, where my extended family and lifelong circle of friends reside, but 100 yards and directly below my former home in Lower Manhattan. As the below articles indicate in words and pictures, the devastation of Al Qaeda's most historic attack on the U.S. homeland haunted me both visually and viscerally for years after the actual event, and will for the rest of my life. Once I became able to return to my home and remove the apocalyptic dust from every inch of it, it became unsalable for quite some time, and I was forced to remain. In the two years that followed, I observed the daily cleanup of the WTC site from start to finish. I watched dozens of funeral processions, which routinely occurred every time a rescue worker uncovered the partial remains of one of those who lost their lives. As the below articles will also demonstrate, I poured significant personal resources into the creation of a memorial to those who lost their lives in 9/11, enabling their families to heal themselves of grief. The "Ascent" memorial bronze was unveiled across the street from the WTC site and is permanently installed in the chapel at the base of New York's Citicorp Center. The base is engraved with the signatures of hundred's of family members who suffered loss and will forever contain their private notes to lost loved ones. I sincerely hope that you or your loved ones never have to experience what any of us directly impacted by 9/11 did. My comment was merely to suggest that if a large population of people again falls victim to comparable events, many will likely seek to relocate to the terrorism- and military-free country in which we fortunately live. I would demand an apology for his infantile and ignorant outburst but it would be meaningless to me. If he is decent and rational enough to regret his comments, please instead channel that energy into selflessly helping strangers who have suffered immeasurable loss, as I have. http://www.catskillmtn.org/guide-magazine/articles/ 2004-04-ascent.html http://www.srlabyrinthfoundation.com/911.html Marc Schweitzer
President, Costa Rica Mortgage
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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 Photo by Ken Wells
Buildings are close to collapse at the end
of the precipice advanced by the quake
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Finding possible location of
bodies is just part of the problem
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Finding the remains of a battered vehicle is just half the battle, Colombian rescue workers found Sunday. Getting access to the wreck is not that easy. The rescue workers were part of a team of six from the Fuerza Aérea Colombiana who came to help after the earthquake. They spent Saturday evacuating tourists and residents of the affected communities. Sunday they sought out places where bodies are presumed to be trapped. One of these is in the hard-hit community of Cinchona where at least one car is half way down a slope and buried by hundreds of tons of dirt. Two of the Colombians are pilots, and the other four members of the team are trained in rescue. One dangled from the Colombian Black Hawk helicopter in an effort to gain access to the crumpled car. He worked with a member of the Costa Rica Cuerpo de Bomberos, but they retreated after analyzing the danger of the rock and dirt above. The said they would try again today. In addition to the Colombian team, four U.S. helicopters and 34 individuals from Joint Task Force-Bravo, Honduras, are providing support in the stricken area. The task force began flying search and rescue missions Saturday in coordination with the national emergency Commission, according to the U.S. Southern Command. The crews evacuated 90 people, including two wounded |
 Ministero de Gobernación,
Policía
Colombian soldier tries to enter vehicle in Cinchonay Seguridad Pública/Guillermo Solono victims, in the vicinity of San Miguel de Sarapiquí Saturday and continued their search for victims Sunday, the command said. The Joint Task Force-Bravo team includes U.S. Army and Air Force aviation crews, rescue, medical and support personnel. Joint Task Force-Bravo also responded to flooding near Limón at the end of November, the Southern Command noted. |
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Environmental consequences of
quake reported to be grave
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The environmental impact of Thursday's earthquake were very grave, according to a team of experts who toured the area Friday. Thousands of hectares of primary and secondary forest were thrust to the river bottoms below and mountains and volcanoes adjacent to the area of the epicenter lost parts of their external walls, said a report. The report by a team from the Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica said that both walls of the canyon of the Río Sarapiquí gave way in areas dozens of meters to hundreds of meters in size as a result of the quake's ground wave, and that much of the canyon has been denuded to its substrata. All the soil and organic matter, such as trees and shrubs has widened the bed of the river and other streams and some new water courses have been created, the report said. Many of these are now filled with mud and organic matter, the report added. The experts also reported on the impact of the quake on the roads of the area. Many just dropped away to valleys below. The public works, including the asphalt roadbed, the utility poles and wires and private construction has all been buried amid the mud and rocks below, they said. They speculated that many persons were trapped as these hundreds of meters of roadways gave way. They also speculated that there was heavy damage to agricultural fields, pastures and forests. The |
 Observatorio Vulcanológico y
Sismológico/E. Duarte
Local of the Sarapiquí fault according to geological
experts who studied the area of Thursday's earthquake.socio-economic impact cannot be calculated, the experts said. In a second report from the same institution, volcano experts said that there was little chance that the activity of the Poás volcano has been increased by the earthquake nearby. There was a momentary change in the gas output of the volcano witnessed by experts in the crater at the time of the quake Thursday afternoon. The volcano report attributed this to the seismic wave from the quake passing through the hydrothermal network of the mountain. However, the experts did recommend that tourists avoid the volcano, not because of the possibility of eruption but because of the state of the access roads. |
| Police block off access to the
national emergency commission complex because a storage structure fire Friday put out black columns of toxic smoke. Daniel Gallardo, commission chief, said the fire would not hamper rescue efforts for quake victims. About 5,000 packaged meals and hundreds of foam mattresses were consumed. |
 A.M. Costa Rica/José Pablo
Ramírez Vindas
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Importers can seek part of
country's duty-free quotas
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From The CAFTA Report
Companies that plan to bring potatoes, onions, and other restricted foodstuffs into Costa Rica this year, have to apply for a piece of the quota, according to the Ministerio de Comercio Exterior. While 80 percent of the products imported into Costa Rica from the free trade countries are free of duties after Jan. 1, a number of products still have restrictions on the amount that may be imported duty free. Among these are whole potatoes, which has a limit of 318 metric tons. Frozen cut potatoes for french fries has a limit of 3,046 metric tons. Those companies who wish to take advantage of the duty-free importation of such products have to complete paperwork at the ministry. The rule is first-come, first-serve. |
Also available are the rights to
import up to 1,400 metric tons of pork
and 318 metric tons of whole onions. All the products have to have the
United States as a point of origin, according to the treaty. Other products involved in the distribution of quotas are ice cream (174 metric tons), powdered milk (232 metric tons), cheese (475 metric tons) and 6,000 metric tons of rice. Under a separate allotment, firms also can import up to 54,000 metric tons of U.S. rice. There also is a provision to import more than 2,070 metric tons of chicken breasts from the Dominican Republic as well as 2,200 metric tons of powdered milk. Details on the importation process are available at the ministry. |
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Christmas bird count locates
98 species at Turrialba campus and in mountains
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Participants in the 2008 Audubon Society Christmas bird count managed to locate 98 species at the Cartago campus of the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza and the Corredor Biológico Volcánica Central Talamanca. Also those participating in the country managed to locate 880 resident and migratory individual birds, said the |
institution known as CATIE. The count is not nearly a record because some 314 different species of birds have been seen in and around the campus, according to data base reports, said the institution. Each year from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5 bird experts and amateurs all over the world participate in the count to get an idea of the changes in bird populations. This is the first year that CATIE was involved in the Christmas count. |
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for talks on drugs, gangs By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. President George Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderón are expected to meet in Washington this week to talk about drug gangs and related violence. A White House statement said Bush will welcome Calderón to the White House Tuesday. The statement says the leaders will discuss their countries' joint effort to battle organized crime. They are also expected to discuss the Merida Initiative. The initiative is a joint effort to fight cross-border crimes, such as drug-trafficking and gang violence. Mexico and the United States held high-level talks during an inaugural meeting of the Merida Initiative in December. Last month, the United States also released the first part of a $465 million aid package to support Mexico's fight against drug cartels. About 4,000 people were killed in drug-related violence in Mexico last year, despite President Calderon's deployment of 36,000 troops throughout the country to battle drug gangs. World Court to again see case of consular access By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The United Nations' highest court will decide Jan. 19 if a Mexican claim that the United States has failed to grant consular access to Mexican inmates on death row should result in a review of such cases. In 2004, the World Court said the U.S. had violated international law for having failed to inform 51 Mexican inmates of their right to consular access and assistance during trial. The court also ordered the U.S. to review the cases. Under the 1963 Vienna Convention, foreign nationals have the right to speak with their country's consulate after their arrests. Last July, the court ruled the United States should do everything possible to stop the imminent executions of five Mexicans. The southwestern state of Texas executed one of the five, Jose Medellin, in August. Texas authorities said Medellin's arrest, trial and sentencing complied with state, national and international laws, and there was no reason to stop the execution. Medellin was convicted of rape and murder. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President George Bush overstepped his authority by ordering Texas to comply with the 2004 international court ruling and re-open its case against Medellin. |
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