Hugo Chavez
Panama to formalize indigenous languages
la prensa
The government of Panama has announced that they will formalize the languages of the native peoples of the country. This, according to a statement released by the National Assembly's subcommittee on Indigenous Affairs.
The bill, which is currently on the discussion table, establishes that bilingual inter-cultural education be implemented obligatorily in the public and private schools operating in indigenous communities.
With this initiative, the indigenous languages of Panama will become official, parallel to Spanish, and will be taught across all indigenous regions, collective lands, and surrounding areas of Panamanian territory inhabited by native populations.
The institutions responsible for advising and providing guidance on this project, including the Ministry of Education and the Spanish Language Academy, will work with the traditional authorities of these native communities to implement bilingual education.
In accordance with the objectives set by the Panamanian authorities, this bill seeks to facilitate the flow of communication between public and private institutions and members of indigenous communities.
Panama has seven indigenous groups, representing 10 percent of the population, among which are the Ngäbe, Buglé, Emberás, Wounnan, Kunas and Nasos.
story by Panama Jack
This is something that I do not understand. If things are so bad in Venezuela how come no one in the country has the Balls to put a bullit in Hugo Head. Now the big monkey of Venezuela wants to take over the banks to finance his war against the United States of America.
Panama
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday said his government may target more banks for state intervention, sparking investor jitters two days after his government shut four private banks.
World
Venezuelan benchmark bonds fell by the most in three months and the cost to insure Venezuelan debt shot to its highest since July amid what one analyst called "significant distress" in the financial system.
Authorities closed four small banks on Monday owned by a wealthy businessman with close ties to the government, citing internal irregularities.
That brought hundreds of worried depositors onto the streets, and sparked talk among Venezuelans that more of the nation's nearly 50 banks may also be closed or taken over by the state.
Reviving memories of a 1994 financial crisis that wiped out half of Venezuela's banks, opposition TV stations have been running stories of stranded depositors, though the government says it is protecting those affected by this week's closures.
"We have our radar switched on to another group of banks," Chavez said in a speech, without giving more details.
"Rest assured that if I was forced to intervene in all the private Venezuelan banking (system), I will do that, no one should doubt that."
Venezuela's benchmark global bond due in 2027, one of the most widely traded emerging market bonds, slumped 4.250 points to bid 68.000 on Wednesday, offering a yield of 14.231 percent.
It was the biggest one-day percentage fall in the price of the bonds since August 26. The bond's yield was its highest since July 27.
The cost to insure Venezuela's debt annually against default climbed to about 27 percent of face value on Wednesday compared with about 25 percent, according to data from Markit on benchmark five-year credit default swaps, the highest level since the end of July.
The bank interventions raised pressure on financial firms already hit by Venezuela's economic recession, said Goldman Sachs analyst Alberto Ramos.
"Depositors remain agitated...there are also reports that a number of brokerage houses are experiencing some distress," wrote Ramos.
BLAME-GAME
Chavez said he was aware of telephone calls and Internet messages meant to spark a bank run and undermine his government.
He said Venezuela's wealthy elite would suffer, if it was they who were behind them, as the plan would backfire and "the private banking system would fall".
Opposition leaders blame Chavez allies -- whom they mock as the "Bolibourgeoisie" after Chavez's idol and independence hero Simon Bolivar -- for enriching themselves through mismanagement of some banks.
Chavez said the old guard wealthy elite were the real "mafia" who were fanning fears in the financial sector.
"I blame all the oligarchy for causing the problems of capitalism, corruption and a barrage of attacks that try to generate (bank) runs," he said.
On Sunday, Chavez, a socialist, said he would not hesitate to nationalize any private banks failing to sufficiently help national development and lend to the poor.
On Monday, the government shut down Banco Confederado, Banco Canarias, Banco Provivienda and bolivar Banco.
Those four banks accounted for just 6 percent of the South American nation's deposits, and their administration was taken over by the government on November 20 for violations of solvency regulations and unexplained capital increases.
In power for a decade, Chavez has nationalized broad swathes of the economy since 2007, including Venezuela's biggest telephone and electricity companies, as well as $30 billion in projects to extract crude from tar-like deposits.
The only major private bank, foreign or Venezuelan, to fall into state hands under Chavez was Spain's Banco Santander unit Banco de Venezuela, sold in July for $1.05 billion.
(Additional reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez in Caracas and Karen Brettell in New York
Martinelli meets with Italian prime minister
President of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli, met privately with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday.
Among the results of the meeting between the senior officials was the obtainment of 300 grants for Panamanian students to study master's degrees at Italian universities. This, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Communication. The European country also agreed to donate a school to Panama, and further pledged to provide technical assistance and donation of equipment to the fight against drug-trafficking in Panama, said the bulletin.
In addition to Martinelli and Berlusconi, the meeting was also attended by Vice-President and Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela and Panama's Ambassador in Italy, Guido Martinelli, and was held at the Palazzo Mezzanotte (center of Milan).
The Panamanian delegation participated in the IV National Conference of Italy, Latin America, and the Caribbean, held from Dec. 2-3 Milan.
Overturned bus leaves 14 injured in Panama
A “panel” style bus overturned yesterday afternoon near the entrance to Veracruz, leaving 14 people injured.
According to initial reports, the Los Santos-bound bus flipped over upon colliding with a cone that had been placed on the side of the highway leading from from the capital city towards the countryside.
Apparently, the driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned.
The injured were taken to Santo Tomás Hospital and Hospital del Niño. Others were treated by 9-1-1 service personnel and the National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC).
Martinelli congratulates presidential winners
Panama President Ricardo Martinelli Monday congratulated the winners of elections held in Uruguay and Honduras, the latter of which resulted in the ouster of controversial leader Manuel Zelaya.
"Two election campaigns were held in which millions of Uruguayans and Hondurans went out to practice democracy, and now we must recognize the winners," the president said.
Martinelli, who is in Portugal for the XIX Cumbre Iberoamericana, was one of first world leaders to congratulate Porfirio Lobo, who won the presidential election in Honduras.
Zeleya is currently staying at the Brazilian embassy, and the election was called to resolve the political crisis that has gripped that country. Moreover, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela have refused to recognize the election results.
Martinelli, however, has stood solidly behind the election as a way to bring the situation to a close. Panama has been deeply involved in the negotiations to bring political peace to Honduras, and Sunday's election is seen by many, both in and out of Honduras, to be a step in that direction.
Panama: Visitor Arrivals Down For The Year
story La Prensa
The number of visitors coming to Panama between January and September this year dropped 2.1 percent as compared to the same period of 2008.
The country received 1,075,000 visitors in the first nine months of this year, a drop of 23,000 as compared to 2008, according to figures published by the Comptroller General of the Republic.
September marked the fifth consecutive month when visitor arrivals declined as compared to the same month the year before. But the decrease was just 3 percent, a marked improvement from the previous four months when the drop was much greater.
The small decrease has some within the industry predicting that Panama could see a rebound in visitor numbers in the coming months. The Comptroller also estimates that, while visitor numbers are down, spending is actually up by tourists, totaling more than $1 billion, a 1.6 percent increase from the same period last year.
In mid-August, the Panama Tourism Authority and the Chamber of Tourism launched a promotional campaign that offered travelers a discount on plane tickets, hotel rooms and other services.
Ernesto Orillac, an adviser to the Tourism Authority, said that the effects of this campaign should be realized in October, and he expects stronger figures for that month.
Orillac said that he has received a number of positive comments from visitors who booked trips through the web site of Copa Airlines, which is participating in the promotion.
Extremism seen as threat
to advances by women
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A senior United Nations official has voiced fears that rising religious extremism poses a new and major threat against women.
Noeleen Heyzer, the head of the U.N. economic commission for Asia and the Pacific, warns that religious extremism may be a more serious threat to women than other problems, such as warming temperatures.
"My greatest fear is that the rise of extremism — even more so than the financial crisis and the climate change agendas because what we thought were archaic and that we had actually been able to show that these are dangerous laws to have in our societies they are coming back, in terms of stoning of women and the public caning of women," she said.
She expressed that concern to 300 delegates from more than 60 countries in the Asia-Pacific region at the U.N.'s conference on the status of women in Bangkok this week. Delegates conferred on the progress the region has made in improving the status of women.
The economic crisis has taken a toll on jobs usually filled by women in Asia, especially making textiles and electronics. Ms. Heyzer says unemployment and volatile food and fuel prices together undermine the development gains made by women.
Joanne Sandler, deputy director general of the U.N. Development Fund for Women, said the damage from the economic crisis extends well beyond rising unemployment. It often pushes women into jobs that offer no security or are unsafe.
"We can already see even the crisis is creating more informality, less security for women workers; women workers get hit in a particular way — the way that then increases things like violence against women," said Ms. Sandler. "We're already seeing women who are going into more insecure areas of work who then become more vulnerable to sexual harassment, sexual violence."
Ms. Sandler says governments need to give women a say in economic policy.
Devaki Jain, an economist and women's rights activists in India, says despite progress in laws to protect women, many vulnerable populations, such as migrant workers, still face discrimination.
"Women's economic rights haven't been sufficiently embedded into the legal systems to be able to say 'I can't lose this job'. When the domestic workers who migrated to the Western countries now there is less of a demand for them because of the recession, so many of the agencies are just dropping them."
The conference in Bangkok concluded Wednesday, which is when the U.N. Population Fund released its annual report.
The report warns that women, especially in poor countries, are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, especially in agricultural communities. Drought and erratic rainfall force women to work harder to secure food for their households. Girls often drop out of school to assist mothers.
The report says discrimination against women hampers development and may make it harder for developing agricultural economies to cope with the effects of climate change.
Embassy worker was rude
to Tica wife seeking a visa
Dear A.M. Costa Rica:
I read with much interest the letter that Tony Kasday submitted to the U.S. Embassy, a copy of which was posted in Wednesday's edition of A.M. Costa Rica.
I would not be suprised if it doesn't bring a flood of letters attesting to the "high-handed and arrogant" treatment given to visa applicants. I too, am ashamed and embarrassed by the actions of the embassy. It is beyond my understanding why those children were denied a visa given that proof of their itinerary and round-trip airline tickets were presented. I suspect that it may possibly be that they want Mr. Kasday to contribute another $400 to their "racket" and take a chance on getting the visas "on appeal."
Upon reading of Mr. Kasday's case, I am prompted to relate my wife's recent interaction with the embassy, as her treatment really goes beyond the usual arrogant high-handedness to the point of utter rudeness. In September, I made a quick trip to the States to take care of some business. Not long after my arrival, I was struck by a car while attempting to walk across a road in Ft. Lauderdale and sustained serious injuries.
My wife, upon receipt of the required forms from the hospital, went to the U.S. Embassy to get an "emergency" visa so she could come to my aid. The third person she talked to at the embassy, a Gringo, not only told her to "shut up" when she was trying to present further proof of her "required ties to Costa Rica" (necessary proof that you aren't going to overstay your time limit), but out of the blue, he told her that he "didn't like her."
Imagine if you will, that she was already nervous and upset about the situation, and then consider his rude attitude toward her. She was so traumatized by it that she says she will never enter that embassy again, and that, I believe, is exactly the result that the staff at the embassy hopes to achieve by it's ill-mannered treatment of applicants.
Steven Mudd
Alajuela
Panama launches movement for peace
la prensa
During the presentation of the campaign, several artists participated, singing songs of solidarity.
The “Panama for Peace” movement, which seeks to raise awareness and reduce violence in the country, will commence their scheduled activities on Dec. 13, with the World March for Peace and Non-Violence.
"This way, the project will start with a summit event, the Global March, scheduled to start at 3 p.m. at Parque Urracá, continuing along Avenida Balboa and Avenida B, and culminating at Plaza Catedral with a concert," informed Roxana Méndez, Deputy Mayor of Panama City.
The World March for Peace and Non-violence began this past Oct. 2 in New Zealand, and has since toured other countries in Oceania, Asia, Europe, and is currently in Africa, said Efren Villarreal, liaison for the march here in Panama.
"Within a few days, the march will cross over to the Americas, arriving in Panama from Costa Rica. First, a delegation will arrive at Tocumen airport to participate in the march in the capital, followed by another delegation scheduled to arrive by land on Dec. 14 to participate in another activity in Chiriquí. The following day, both delegations will travel depart for Colombia and will continue on until culminating the activities in the foothills of the Andes, between Argentina and Chile," Villarreal detailed.
The aim of the march, which is organized by the International Humanist Movement, is to create awareness and promote the putting aside of weapons and wars.
“Panama for Peace”, meanwhile, is a joint initiative of over 45 national civic, academic, artistic, environmental, charitable, and governmental entities.
Hope is the official song for this season and is played by the band Roba Morena. "The lyrics speak of hope for peace among people. It presents the current problems [plaguing society] and attempts to see how to fix them," said Robert Baum, vocalist of the group.
Moreover, Roxana Méndez announced that there will be a contest to receive proposals for projects that promote peace in follow-up to the march. A prize of $100,000 will be awarded to support winning proposals, she added.
Hugo Chavez should be spending his oil billions on his people to stop the crime people don't steal if they have money.
Story by Panama Jack
Hugo Chavez must have forgotten about what happened to his good friend Saddam Hussein when he offered suicide bombers family's $25,000.00 USD to blow up Men, Women and Children of Jewish family's. Last time I saw Saddam Hussein he was hanging from a rope with his people spitting on his dead body. Hugo I am sure that if you do not change your ways that soon your very own people will be doing the same to you and your new friend in Iran will not be able to help because they will hanging themselves. You and the Iranian's have all this money to spend, why not make your peoples life better instead of buying arms and giving them to rebel groups around the world to kill people. Chavez help your people so they do not have to steal and rob and hang you.
Hugo Chaez and Crime is pushing the Jews out of Venezuela
By Jasmina Kelemen (JTA)
Caracas, Venezuela - Esther Benchimol de Roffe arrived in Venezuela as a young bride, leaving northern Morocco more than 50 years ago to meet her groom in a prosperous foreign land.
The young couple fit in easily in a country where, as Spanish-speaking Sephardim, they already were familiar with the language and the Jewish community was established. Her husband built a successful business, and Benchimol raised a family and earned international renown singing the ancient Sephardic hymns she had learned as a child in Alcazarquivir.
"It was a rich country, there were a lot of opportunities," reminisces Benchimol, now 74. "We had many friends and there was a real sense of brotherhood. There was never any racism against us."
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Her tone changes, however, when she considers the futures of her grandchildren and whether she would advise them to stay in Venezuela.
"I wouldn't stay here," Benchimol said. "I'm speaking as a grandmother."
It?s not anti-Semitism that causes her to fear daily for the safety of her grandchildren but "la inseguridad" - insecurity. It's the general term Venezuelans use now to describe an unrelenting crime wave that cuts across the country's economically and ideologically polarized society. The issue consistently tops surveys here as Venezuelans' biggest concern.
Venezuelan Jews say that as citizens of a state in which many have lost faith in the police and judicial system, they fear random violence far more than anti-Semitic attacks. They consistently cite crime as their main source of anxiety.
Last year, Foreign Policy magazine called Caracas the murder capital of the world, tallying the homicide rate at 130 per 100,000 residents. Official statistics are hard to come by because the government has stopped providing details.
In order to gauge crime, journalists rely on the city morgue in Caracas to report how many bodies arrived over the weekend as the result of violence, publishing their tally in newspapers on Monday mornings. In one wave of weekend violence in early October, 56 people were reported murdered in this city of just over 4 million people.
In addition to murder, kidnappings for ransom - a source of high anxiety for the city?s wealthier inhabitants - are said to be on the rise. Jews say they feel at particular risk due to the perception that the Jewish community can pony up a large ransom for a kidnapped Jew.
Yair Rosemberg, a 28-year old theater producer, is less than a month away from getting married. Where crime was once regarded as something he read about in the papers, now it has touched a growing number of his acquaintances, he said.
He and his fiancee probably will move to Israel after they are married; the couple recently returned from a trip there to explore their options. Rosemberg cited it as his main reason for wanting to leave.
That fear, combined with President Hugo Chavez's verbal broadsides against Israel and still fresh memories of a shocking assault last January against the community's main synagogue, Tiferet Israel, is prompting many Jews here to consider whether there is a future for them in Venezuela. Over the past decade, the Jewish community has fallen from a high of about 20,000 members to the oft-cited figures of 13,000 to 10,000, according to local Jewish activists.
Throughout his decade in power, Chavez has referred to the United States as imperialist and belligerent. Following Israel?s incursion into Gaza last winter, Chavez severed diplomatic ties with Israel and ratcheted up his rhetoric against the Jewish state. He refers to Israel as a genocidal state. Once he referred disparagingly to Colombia as the region?s ?Israel? while voicing his displeasure at an agreement to allow the U.S. military access to Colombia's military bases.
Meanwhile, he?s built friendships with and welcomed the presidents of Iran and Libya, part of what he has described as his efforts to build a counterweight to U.S. "hegemony."
Venezuelan Jews say there is a wide gap between the president?s anti-Israel rhetoric and the attitudes of the Venezuelan people toward Jews. Venezuela has not seen the anti-Semitism that exists in some other Latin American countries.
"I would rather be a Jew here than in Spain," said Paulina Gamus, a local political commentator and outspoken critic of Chavez, responding to a question about whether Venezuela is still safe for Jews.
"There, anti-Semitism is among the people. Here, with all of the government?s hostility, the people aren't hostile." she adds. "There isn't a personal sense of anti-Semitism."
Gamus is the only Jew to have served in Venezuela's National Assembly.
While Gamus insists that her home is in Venezuela, the younger generation of her family has mostly left the country. All of her children, nieces and nephews live abroad to escape the security situation, she said.
While not explicitly anti-Semitic, local Jews fear Chavez's constant barrage of anti-Israeli discourse could breed hostility towards their community, adding another layer of stress in a city where many citizens already feel helpless coping with one of the highest murder rates in the world.
"There's a lot of fear that there could be an attack against the community," said Camila Roffe de Levy, a 51-year old biologist in Caracas and Benchimol's daughter.
"No one has attacked us," she explained. "It's not the people, nor your neighbor nor the guy who lives down the street from you. But what scares us is this anti-Israeli discourse that could be wrongly interpreted by people who don't know any better."
A lawyer who divides her time between Miami and Caracas says there is a general breakdown of trust toward the government, which she feels both as a Venezuelan citizen and even more so as a Jew.
She requested anonymity due to her work promoting human rights in Venezuela.
Since the synagogue attack last January, authorities have stepped up protection at Jewish houses of prayer. Many said they were pleased with the security provided during Yom Kippur.
But that day, while many Jews were in synagogue, Chavez praised Libyan President Muammar Gadhafi and invited him to speak on national television in a ceremony that all of the nation?s public channels were forced to broadcast.
"With this man [Chavez] you just never know," said Benchimol. "It's not something you can understand. It's unpredictable."
Caribbean again facing
rising water and flood threat
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
There is another possibility of a flooding problem in southeastern Costa Rica.
A high pressure system in the Gulf of México is pushing more moisture over the Caribbean coast and the northern zone of Costa Rica, according to the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional. This means continuing rain over ground that already is soaked.
The rivers in the canton of Talamanca are rising, but there are no reports yet of serious flooding.
The community of Sixaola is vulnerable to rising waters. It sits on the river of the same name. Frequently the community is flooded out and residents have to move to higher ground.
The weather institute said that the chilly temperatures will continue and that rain is likely over the mountains around the Central Valley.
The institute said that the meteorological station at Manzanillo registered 170 mm in the 30 hours ending at late afternoon Tuesday. That's about 6.7 inches. The national emergency commission declared an alert for Talamanca and put the rest of the Caribbean coast on notice. That included Limón, Matina, Siquirres, Guácimo, Pococí and even Sarapiquí in the province of Heredia.
While northern Guanacaste remains dry, the rest of the Pacific coast will experience afternoon rains, the institute said.
The U.S. Hurricane Center said there was no evidence that a serious low pressure area would develop during the next two days. Both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific were clear.
The weather institute said that the rain spawned by the moisture laden air on the Caribbean might stay around for the rest of the week.
War Talk by Chávez Got the Attention of Hemisphere
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
When a government's leadership is in trouble, war is a nice option.
That is an option ably satirized in "Wag the Dog," the 1998 portrayal of Washington insiders creating a fake war to distract the public from a sex scandal involving the president. The war was produced by Dustin Hoffman, who won an Academy Award for his role as a Hollywood expert. Robert DeNiro was the amoral spin doctor who chose little known Albanian as the location for the conflict.
The film has been praised for its accidental anticipation of the scandal that engulfed president Bill Clinton.
When the government is authoritarian, the options are greater and can include extensive saber-rattling and even war itself. Some historians believe that Adolph Hitler set out on his reckless course of action mostly for internal political reasons.
Now there are threats of war in Venezuela. Strongman Hugo Chávez called upon his military Nov. 8 to protect the country from the presumed threats of having 800 U.S. soldiers and technicians set up shop at seven Colombian bases.
"Commander of the military garrison, militia battalions, let's form the militia body, let's train ourselves. Revolutionary students, workers, and women: everybody must be ready to defend this sacred homeland called Venezuela," the Venezuelan ruler said, according to a translation by El Universal, the Caracas daily newspaper. "If you want peace, prepare for war."
Colombian officials have complained to the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
Chávez is not the most threatening autocrat. He is almost a parody. He likes to give long-winded speeches and wear red berets. But he should not be underestimated, according to the Diario de Las Americas, the Spanish language newspaper in Miami, Florida. It said in an editorial last week:
"So many are the provocations of the Venezuelan ruler, that no matter how incompatible they might seem with reality, they should not go unnoticed and, therefore, should be seriously considered by the nations of the free world, especially by the republics of the inter-American system."
Chávez also has spent billions on weaponry in Russia. This includes helicopters and fighter jets. Venezuelan troops still are not considered a match for Colombian forces, but the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, the narcoterrorists, are likely to come down on the side of Chávez in any confrontation. Although Chávez and other Venezuelan officials deny it, there appears to be a close relationship.
The unusual position for Chávez is to be seeking to destroy his top enemy, the United States, which also happens to be its biggest petroleum customer.
A.M. Costa Rica file photo
Hugo Chávez at one of his Sunday talks.
As Chávez has tightened the reins on his economy by nationalization and expropriation, the business sector has weakened. The international experts have been leaving, and not many companies want to make investments in Venezuela. Crime has soared.
Nevertheless, Chávez has stitched together alliances with Bolivia and its Evo Morales and Rafael Correa in Ecuador. The Venezuelan leader threatened Colombia earlier after the March 1, 2008, cross border raid that broke up a narcoterrorist cell.
In addition to being at war with the narcoterrorists, the current Colombian government stands in the way of the Chávez plan for a unified superstate he would head in northern South America.
The technique of uniting the people with the threat of war is an old one. Fidel Castro, the mentor of Chávez, has had the Cuban people fearing a U.S. invasion for five decades. Authoritarian regimes in the Soviet Union and in China also have used the technique in times of food scarcities, economic downturns and other adverse social conditions.
The big difference between Castro and Chávez is that the latter has oil revenues to press on with his Bolivarian revolution.
Another difference, which has leaders in the hemisphere on the edges of their seats is that Chávez may actually do it. He says he sees Colombia as no more than a U.S. outpost and the troops being sent there as a threat to his national security.
He says the United States wants to control his oil fields. Chávez also is sulking over his political defeat in backing ousted president José Manuel Zelaya Rosales in his efforts to sow socialism in Honduras.
There is little that Costa Rica can do even though it could easily be affected by any hot war. President Óscar Arias Sánchez stopped making comments about Chávez after the leader threatened to cut off aluminum for a Venezuelan-owned fabrication plant in Esparza. That would have put more than 400 persons out of work.
Costa Rica still is represented on the U.N. Security Council where the complaints by Colombia about the threats by Chávez are certain to end up. But not much is expected to happen there.
Chavez Loses Again, Maybe He Does Not Have Enough Petro Dollars to Rule the World so He Should Go Back To Banana Dollars
Honduran Congress will rule on Zelaya after vote
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AP – Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya gestures during a meeting at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, …
By FREDDY CUEVAS, Associated Press Writer Freddy Cuevas, Associated Press Writer – 4 mins ago
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Honduran lawmakers will not decide whether to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya until after upcoming presidential elections, the congressional leader said Tuesday, a decision that could undermine international support for the vote.
Congress will meet Dec. 2 — three days after the Nov. 29 election — to decide whether Zelaya should be returned the presidency to finish his constitutional term, which ends in January, congressional president Jose Alfredo Saavedra told local HRN radio station.
Several Latin American countries have warned they will not recognize the outcome of the election unless Zelaya is restored beforehand. But the United States has not ruled out restoring diplomatic ties with a newly elected Honduran government even if Zelaya remains out of power through the vote.
Zelaya warned over the weekend that he would not return to the presidency if Congress votes to restore him after the elections, saying doing so would legitimize the June 28 coup.
The administration of President Barack Obama has repeatedly said that recognition of the election is not linked to any one action, said State Department spokesman Charles Luoma-Overstreet. Rather, he said, the State Department is hoping a broader, U.S.-brokered accord is enacted.
"Congress deciding on the issue of restitution of President Zelaya is one of those things we've urged them to act with expedience on, and we welcome all actions that could move forward toward resolution," Luoma-Overstreet told The Associated Press.
Both Zelaya and interim President Roberto Micheletti signed the agreement brokered by U.S. diplomats last month. However, the two sides are now at odds over whether the pact is being fulfilled.
The accord calls for the formation of a national unity government, but does not require Zelaya's restoration to office, leaving that decision up to Congress. It set no deadline for lawmakers to vote.
Zelaya declared the pact a failure two weeks ago when Micheletti announced the formation of a unity government before Congress had voted, accusing the interim leader of maneuvering to stay in power.
Craig Kelly, a deputy assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, arrived in Honduras on Tuesday, to meet with the feuding sides, said Ledy Pacheco, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa.
It is Kelly's second trip in less than a week to try to revive the accord.
AP Interview: Brazil miniskirt woman soaks up fame
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AP – Brazilian freshmen university student Geisy Arruda gestures during an interview with the Associated Press …
By ALAN CLENDENNING, Associated Press Writer Alan Clendenning, Associated Press Writer – 3 mins ago
SAO PAULO – Brushing back freshly dyed blond hair as she posed for pictures, the Brazilian woman whose short pink dress got her kicked out of college said Tuesday she's enjoying her newfound fame, but wants go back to school — with a security guard.
Just the day before, 20-year-old Geisy Arruda took her first trip on an airplane so she could relive her experience in a comedy skit on one of Brazil's most popular television shows.
Star-struck business executives on the flight to Rio de Janeiro asked if she really was Geisy, then used their cell phones to snap pictures of themselves with her.
It was heady stuff for a 20-year-old freshman from a blue-collar industrial suburb who says she just wants to get a tourism degree so she can fulfill dreams of working for a resort or a cruise line someday.
She'd already appeared on two of Brazil's top interview programs, recounting how she was hounded from the campus of Bandeirantes University in October by male students yelling "Whore! Whore!" and was then expelled by school officials.
The private university, which doesn't have a conservative reputation, backtracked amid a national uproar and said last week she was welcome to return for her regular routine of night classes.
But Arruda's lawyer says she won't go back until she's promised a well-trained security guard to accompany her on campus.
Wearing a black halter top with dressy eggplant-colored satin shorts for an interview with The Associated Press, the daughter of a cleaning company supervisor and a housewife beamed after finding out the AP is an American news agency.
"How cool!" she gushed just before the start of the interview in her lawyer's office.
Then to the photographer as she adjusted her lengthy tresses and took a last look at her brightly painted red nails: "Hey guy, do I look pretty?"
She said she's still stumped that an outfit, no matter how short, would cause such an uproar in a tropical nation where skimpy clothing and tiny bikinis barely raise an eyebrow.
And she again denied the university's claim that she paraded provocatively and raised the dress, resulting in the expulsion.
Arruda said one young man said he liked her looks, then more joined in. Soon other students loudly proclaimed they wanted to have sex with her, snapping pictures with their cell phones. Hundreds were drawn to the scene, creating a sort of mob mentality, Arruda said. Chants of "Whore! Whore!" erupted from the mob as she was escorted from the university in a borrowed white lab coat.
"It was total terror," Arruda recalled. "And the worst thing was that I had no idea why it was happening."
"I think they just didn't want to study and this was fun for them, the big happening at school for the year, and I was just the joke of the year," Arruda said.
Arruda said she had worn the dress to classes once before, in March, with no reaction.
The evening of Oct. 22 started like any other. She got to her parents' home after finishing work at a cashier's job where she makes 400 reals ($235 monthly), thinking about what she would wear before heading to campus on a public bus. Arruda said she chose the dress because she was heading to a birthday party with friends after class.
After fleeing the campus in tears, she hasn't returned. A spokeswoman for the university said Tuesday that students who scared and ridiculed her in the near riot won't be expelled.
The university has promised to monitor her security, but won't comment on the demand for a personal guard, said the spokeswoman who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with policy.
Arruda is convinced her future is in tourism, and now she might get a job more easily, whether she eventually graduates from Bandeirantes University or not.
"Imagine me abroad," she said with another big smile. "Maybe living in Portugal; it'd be great, different from how I grew up. Tourism is fascinating, I could work on a cruise ship, maybe at a resort, or a travel agency."
Above all, she said, she wants to make more money to help her parents move from the roughly built concrete block home they expanded bit by bit over the years to accommodate a growing family after moving to Sao Paulo from Brazil's impoverished northeast about 30 years ago.
She sees the fame she gained in Brazil and across the planet after her story went wild on the Internet as a funny twist of fate.
"I still can't believe it," she said. "It's like a real strange, stupid movie."
___
Associated Press writers Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo and Bradley Brooks in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.
Panama City Panama Martinelli Supports Vallarino against Dozens Accusations
President of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli, yesterday expressed his support for Minister of Economy and Finance, Alberto Vallarino, following allegations submitted by the secretary general of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Mitchell Doens.
Martinelli, speaking on RPC Radio yesterday, characterized Vallarino as an integral, honest, and capable person who "has demonstrated [this] throughout his life."
For the president, Doens' allegations are regrettable because they have “no argument or justification."
Meanwhile, Doens claims to have submitted to the Attorney General's Office yesterday morning the requested documentation that suggests that Vallarino should be investigated for alleged judicial links in Costa Rica for money laundering.
economy
Finance
Cumulative inflation reaches 1.7% in October
la prensa
Comptroller suggests the increased inflation is likely due to the rising prices of housing, water, electricity, and gas.
Inflation in Panama, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), reflected an increase of 0.2 percent in October 2009 from the previous month, leaving the aggregate value since January at 1.7 percent.
According to a communication released yesterday by the Comptroller General of the Republic, the inter-annual inflation stands at 0.7 percent as compared with October 2008.
The entity claims that the October inflation rise is due to a 0.7 percent increase in the prices of housing, water, electricity, and gas, and an 0.4 percent hike on goods and services.
The chapter on furniture, household equipment, and the division of food and beverage, moreover, reported a percentage change of 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.
Meanwhile, figures for the health sector show a 0.3 percent dip "due to the decline in the price of vitamins", says the entity, while clothing and footwear, transportation, recreation, and cultural and educational services showed no change from September.
Stephenson: Air-naval bases will attack contraband
la prensa
U.S. Ambassador in Panama, Barbara S tephenson
U.S. Ambassador in Panama,Barbara Stephenson, said yesterday afternoon in Colón that she is in agreement with the construction of air-naval bases in Panama.
According to the diplomat, it is an important step towards attacking contraband leaving the country.
Stephenson further informed that the United States government will provide three U.S. security teams to help train the Panamanian security agencies to be installed at the bases, as well as fuel to support the operation of the bases.
Passengers rescued from boat stranded in Bocas del Toro waters Panama
A boat stranded at sea between Chiriquí Grande and Kusapín in the province of Bocas del Toro was rescued yesterday, Sunday, at 10:45 pm, according to a communication released by the National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC).
Preliminary reports suggest the boat suffered a mechanical breakdown, leaving it adrift just after 6:00 p.m. yesterday.
Another vessel passing by caught wind of the situation and managed to rescue the stranded boat and its passengers (three adults and one child), said Gladys Concepción, regional director of SINAPROC in Bocas del Toro.
Jahad is a Holy War That What They The Muslim's are Fighting Against All Of Us
story by Panama Jack
They the Muslim's have declared war, a holy war against all other religions , they the Muslims find other religions distasteful and against the will of their God. This is a problem for the rest of the world, be it China or Russia or the Philippines or anywhere in Africa, not to mention the western hemisphere in total. Everywhere there is a war going on on the planet it has something to do with Muslims or Islam and it's rules, that in their minds overrule all peoples and all religions. In the United States the Muslims are destroying one of the principles that this country was built on. Freedom of Religion. Guaranteed in our constitution. But it does not guarantee the killing off of other religions in the U.S. There is a solution for the Muslim problem in the world Russia, China, the United States and Europe and Africa need to site down and say I will not fund or supply weapons to Muslim freedom fighters period. The U.S. has been supplying arms to Russian Muslims and Russia has been supplying Muslims with arms in the middle east and China has been supplying weapons to Muslims around the world. The Muslim religion is not old enough to play with heavy weapons, they are only 1400 years old, that's like a 5 year old child with a hand grenade. If Mecca or Iran need to be nuked so be it, sometime you have to spank a 5 year old child when he is Bad. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad need to be taken and horse -whipped them burred in a pile of pig-shit. He is the number one Muslim treat on the planet and may end up destroying the whole Muslim religion. Muslims around the world need to stand up to him and have him stand down if they want to have the right to worship freely the way they want to. I think it is time the Muslim world wakes up and smells the pig-shit.
Panama Economy Could Grow 5% in 2010
Panama is expected to register an economic growth of at least 5 percent in 2010, according to government officials, who are planning a tax reform as part of their quest for investment to reverse their debt.
While many Latin American economies have fallen into recession this year, Panama's economy will grow by approximately 3 percent, said Minister of Economy and Finance, Alberto Vallarino, at a press conference yesterday.
Next year the economy will grow "no less than 5 percent," said the official.
Despite the predicted increase, the economic growth rate in Panama has slowed markedly as a result of the global economic crisis, after recording an average of 8 percent in recent years.
Bridge collapses in Penonomé
Nearly 400 families isolated and extensive property damage was the preliminary result of yesterday's collapse of a bailey bridge in the area of El Barrigón, El Harino de La Pintada, located in Penonomé, Coclé.
As reported by the regional director of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP), Jorge Juárez, the bridge collapsed as a truck was traveling across the structure. The weight of the vehicle load caused the bridge go down, he said.
The truck driver was not hurt in the accident.
MOP officials rushed to the scene to rescue the vehicle and begin the necessary repair work to restore the fallen bridge.
795 cases of A (H1N1) con
firmed in Panama
The confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1) in Panama have risen to 795, with the largest number of cases concentrated in the metropolitan area of Panama City, said the Ministry of Health (Minsa).
According to the institution, the most affected sectors of the population are those under 15 years of age, followed by the population ranging from 20 to 49 years old. The least affected populations thus far have been residents between the ages of 15 and 19 and those over 50.
Meanwhile, Panamanian authorities are increasingly focusing their prevention efforts on the Ngöbe-Buglé indigenous communities, as recent months have revealed close to a dozen cases in those regions.
Minsa said they will continue to monitor the spread of the virus in different health regions, as well as to actively seek out and contain patients with suspected symptoms of the disease in those areas.
Money Laundering Prevention Panama
Money Laundering Prevention Panama
story La Prensa English Edition
According to the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Panama currently ranks fourth worldwide in the prevention of money laundering, informed the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) in an announcement yesterday.
Evaluations of the FATF from 2005 until the first quarter of 2009, ranked Panama in fourth place out of the 44 participating countries and jurisdictions. Panama placed just below Singapore, Belgium, and the United States, according to the statement.
The international body ranks countries based on their compliance with 40 recommendations for the prevention of money laundering, as well as nine special recommendations on terrorist financing.
Government: Air-naval bases will be 100% Panamanian
story La Prensa English Edition
Minister of Interior and Justice, José Raúl Mulino, announced on Thursday that before the 30th of this month, authorities will install the first of four air-naval bases to combat drug-trafficking, which he confirmed will be "fully Panamanian” and without the presence or aid of the United States.
Mulino said the establishment of these bases is part of the joint agreement signed recently by the security entities of Panama, adding that the first facility is expected to be installed on Chapera island in the Panamanian Pacific.
"These air stations are 100 percent Panamanian, and I will invite all [the media] to the installation of the first one to see if you spot a gringo in the area" said Mulino, responding to questions on whether Panama will receive U.S. assistance to establish these bases.
The official attributed the doubts to an "inferiority complex that we can not do things on our own," noting that the initiative to establish these bases is part of a "comprehensive package to provide increased security to this country.”
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Minerva Bethancourth / The Panama Post
Real estate tourism, a captive market
Boquete and Zona Cuatro with potential for real estate tourism
Investors and businessmen continue looking at Panama as a second home. Capitalizing on this interest, realtors, along with developers and tourism operators, have used their business acumen to make an alliance and create real estate tourism.
Although real estate tourism is a recent activity, dating back three years, is taking shape and representing a new movement to stimulate the construction industry which, despite the international crisis, maintains positive numbers.
The real estate tour includes luxury hotels, resort or country style places, it all depends on the customer's need. The settling of multinational or regional companies in Panama and the arrival of investors from South America, are conditions that promote real estate tourism.
Case of Panama
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