Open Letters From Readers
Peace Corps volunteers
Dear A.M. Costa Rica readers:
I met a lovely young lady from Minnesota who was here with the Peace Corps to work in rural schools teaching English as a second language.
She was basically "dumped", in the area that had been selected for her.
No previous contact had been made to any of the pueblo schools.
She contacted them, and was told that her help was neither wanted or needed.
She volunteered to help the English teacher at an INA school, but that was three hours a week!
How did she spend most of her time? Meeting up with other Peace Corps workers who were experiencing the same issues and seeing Costa Rica by bus.
Time the real story was told.
Beryl Trafton, San Jose
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Bayer - Monsanto
Dear A.M. Costa Rica readers:
The use of their products in this country destroys our ecological standing with the rest of the world. These are known carcinogens that cause cancer.
They drift in the air, come down and rainwater, and contaminates our food. I'm surprised that you would allow it at all.
Please read all of the scientific studies on it coming from all over the world. And an educated person makes educated decisions.
Sincerely, Carlos Edwards Expat retired here in Costa Rica
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Useless requirements
Dear A.M. Costa Rica readers:
Why take fingerprints over and over to fulfill government red tape. How about birth certificates? You are only born once!
I am amazed at how little trust exists between government offices. How many notaries should it take to confirm a certified document?
The requirement to resubmit documents affirming lifelong benefits every two years is wasteful of time and money.
Regulation is the enemy of a free society.
Harvey Jones, Santiago de Puriscal
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On glyphosate chemical
Dear A.M. Costa Rica readers:
This chemical is much more toxic than you reported and is overused due to the GMO food crops that do not get affected by it.
Farmers overdo herbicides this way and damage themselves and anyone who eats their foods.
Glyphosate/ Roundup and its generics affect people's digestion plus it creates changes in our bodies that sooner or later lead to modern diseases.
People are not aware that our food is poisoning us since this Is a ridiculous idea!
How can our food which sustains life, poison us?
Just apply this chemical, use plenty to kill the weeds because your crops are immune, it damages all the living organisms in our farm and other lands as well, and the runoff is water soluble so contaminates our drinking water.
And use this chemical along all the highways to kill the tall weeds, etc.
Do you believe the manufacturer that it dissipates in a week and does not last for thousands of years... that does no damage to bees, butterflies, other animals and fish, that our crops are better off... that the planet and humanity is safe with this horrid preparation?
I wish you would research this and write a real report on its dangers and what is happening world-wide with the misinformation that abounds around this.
Carol Stanley, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
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My opinion on loans to cover budgetary deficits
Dear A.M. Costa Rica readers:
It is not new and it is not positive. It is a clear example of “mortgaging the future” and it is ill-advised as a method of operating government.
It can only lead to an eventual bankruptcy, and the only winners will be the banking cartel and the politicians who do their bidding for personal benefit.
If a country cannot operate under the funds it has today, how can it afford to pay off the debt in the future, especially when every budget deficit will continue to be financed in the same way? Increased taxes never solve the problem because, in perspective, if you could read the minds of the politicians in power today, you would find that they already have the new tax revenues spent and are planning for more tax increases in the future.
This is what government inevitably becomes . . . theft by force. It is madness and should not be allowed, but if citizens do not hold their elected officials accountable for their actions, they will undoubtedly suffer the consequences at some point.
It is also why it can be considered suicidal to allow the government to confiscate weapons from law-abiding citizens. Leaving weapons in the hands of only criminals and government forces is one definition of insanity.
Don Osborne, Puntarenas
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My thoughts on D-Day
Dear A.M. Costa Rica readers:
I was 5 when World War II started and 11 when it ended and grew up in England during that time. I suffered the loss of my father in the Battle of the Atlantic.
My mother remarried to a Canadian army officer who was responsible for transporting his regiment to France to take part in the D-Day invasion.
On a lighter note, his job was to get them on a train from England. He marched them up and down the platform several times because he could not remember the order to actually get them on the train!
Somebody eventually came to his rescue, but who knows how many of them perished in that dreadful battle where they were nothing but sitting ducks! I think your article was excellent, balanced and included all the nations who took part.
My husband and I wrote a book: "English Girl, German Boy" (he was German) about World War II about our experiences growing up in England and Germany which readers have really enjoyed.
Tessa Borner, Central Pacific Costa Rica
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D-Day invasion
Dear A.M. Costa Rica readers:
My father was in on the invasion at Omaha Beach. He was attached to the Navy demolition unit. Of the 32 men in his unit 28 were killed and 2 wounded. My father and one other were the only men not dead or wounded.
My father passed away four years on May 17th, 2015, I recently came across some of his personal items from World War II and in a plastics zip lock bag was a small notebook. It was dated June 6, and in that notebook written in pencil was of the names of the men that were KIA along with their rank. It appears to be my father's writing. I would like to find some type of World War II museum to display this little notebook as remembrance of my father, Joseph P. McCaffrey I remember him telling stories of the invasion, I went to see the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” when they were shown the part of the invasion my father described that scene to me 20 years before the movie ever came out.
Steven Spielberg created that scene just as my father described it. Thank you for remembering the Greatest Generation every because they truly were and my father was one of them which I can say proudly.
Sincerely, Dave McCaffrey, Terrace Davie, FL.
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Caution rip tide
Dear A.M. Costa Rica readers:
I have been traveling to Costa Rica for 17 years and know the country pretty well. I am always amazed by how many tourists drown in Costa Rican beaches.
From my experience, the majority of beaches in Costa Rica are NOT swimming beaches. Beaches in Costa Rica exhibit strong waves meant more for surfers. Unless the person is a skilled swimmer or surfer, I would suggest they stay out of the water.
Walter Balan, Fort Myers, Florida
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Road maintenance in Costa Rica - Why not?
Dear A.M. Costa Rica readers:
As a legal resident in Costa Rica - a Gringo - some say I should not go around telling Costa Ricans how to make things better. I tend to agree with that.
But this is something I really think Costa Rica needs to change and asap for the good of everyone: citizens, residents, and tourists alike.
Costa Rica makes millions of dollars on tourism, in spite of their reputation as having bad roads.
Residents - Ticos and Gringos alike - have to live with bad roads – in some cases, dangerously bad roads!
The Ticos always tell me - even after three years of trying to get our road fixed with no success - "We just have to be patient!"
I have to ask "Why?" Why is patience said to be needed all the time, when really all that should be needed is the will to do it and the money.
"We don't have the money!" the government says.
But really? The government of Costa Rica really doesn't have the money to fix the roads?
If so, this is not a problem. Let me recommend some methods.
How about a small tourist tax, $1 per person entering the country. With millions of tourists, couldn't we fix a lot of roads? And wouldn't that also help the tourists, most of whom do like to drive here or at least be driven? Would a dollar per person really break tourists who come here and spend thousands of dollars per trip?
Don't want to tax tourists? Okay, what about taxing citizens? Would $1 on each property tax bill be too much to ask? That's a total of $4 a year for every person who owns the land. Wouldn't that get a lot of roads fixed? Not enough, increase it to $4 per quarter!
Don't want to tax property owners? How about a luxury tax on alcohol? A few colones on every beer or bottle of liquor. I bet that would add up to quite a bit of money each year. No?
So you get the point: Taxes and/or fees are needed to be charged in order to fix roads in Costa Rica. Most everyone I talk to would like to have better roads, and I'm willing to bet everyone would be willing to pay some kind of small fee or tax to fix and pave roads!
And one more thing! Do NOT put this in the hands of the municipalidades! The muni seems to pick and choose which roads to fix, not based on need but based on who knows who, and often based on which roads are closer to the muni, while leaving roads out in the countryside - the ones which often MOST need it - to suffer to the point they are almost impassible in the rainy season. They waste money on silly projects to make the city look nicer, new plastic grass for the park or beautification of the central market... while their outlying residents risk their lives having to drive on bad roads to get there!
Put the road repair back in the hands of MOPT! And put a panel in charge of overseeing it, to make sure the money is distributed fairly to each canton and that the roads really in the most need - whether close to town or not - get fixed first!
Why does a progressive, modern country like Costa Rica want to continue being the most popular Latin American tourist destination with lousy, dangerous roads?
Sincerely, James Mancini Alajuela
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The people's voice is an important part of strengthening our democracy and contributing to the public debate on important matters. A.M. Costa Rica encourages readers to send letters to the editor and op-eds to comment on relevant topics of the day. Writers should include their full name and address. We do not allow vulgarities to appear in letters. No defamatory pieces will be accepted. We reserve the right to publish. Send your opinion to: news@amcostarica.com
The views or opinions expressed by the authors are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the senders and do not necessarily represent the opinion of A.M. Costa Rica. Therefore, the newspaper does not accept liability for reader's opinion letter content.
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