Costa Rica Cell Phone Companys Come to Panama to Learn

Telecom officials pay a visit to Panamá to check out cell systems in that country

Special to A.M. Costa Rica


Panama’s telecom regulator received a delegation from its Costa Rican equivalent looking for advice on opening the market for cellular telephones, according to a press release from the Panamanian agency. The visitors were led by George Miley, general manager of Costa Rica’s Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones.

Technical matters relating to spectrum designation, regulation, interconnection costs, minimum rural coverage, and the implementation of all of these were discussed.
The report noted that Panama has more than one cell phone line per person whereas the Costa Rican system has only 40 percent coverage. “Panama is 10 years ahead of Costa Rica and, thanks to competition, has seen the results in terms of price and service quality,” said the press release. Costa Rica’s Superintendencia didn’t publicize the trip with as much enthusiasm.

The four companies active in Panama, Cable & Wireless, Digicel, Claro, and Telefónica, have all expressed interest in the Costa Rican market. The recent free trade treaty with Panama makes it relatively easy to come from there.

Underaged Prostitution Report in U.S. Congress! Panama as well as the United States has this Problem

Underage prostitution report
aired in U.S. congress


By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services


A new report says that more than 100,000 Americans under the age of 18 are victims of sex trafficking in the United States. While the illicit sex trade is often considered a scourge of the developing world, experts told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday that it is also a serious problem in the United States.

The report highlights a problem known around the world — the prostitution of young women and children.

Former congresswoman Linda Smith, Shared Hope's founder, explained the severity of the problem at a briefing hosted by the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus.

"Our research showed that it happened all over the United States," said Ms. Smith. "At first I thought, 'No, not in my town.' Yes, in my town."

According to the report, the average age of a child prostitute in the United States is between 12 and 14. Many have run away from home and are lured into the illegal sex trade by men who offer them shelter. Some become addicted to drugs — something their pimps use to keep them under their control. Beatings and physical threats are the norm.

But advocates for child sex trafficking victims say that despite these abuses, too often children are identified as criminals, arrested and put in jail or in juvenile detention.

Ernie Allen is president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

"These kids are victims," said Ernie Allen. "This is 21st century slavery. They lack the ability to walk away. The pimps who use and discard them are the criminals, as are those who patronize them."

Advocates for child sex trade victims say that charging these children with crimes infringes on their rights and creates barriers to getting them the help they need. They advocate a system that protects and rehabilitates these children.

Rep.Ted Poe of Texas, co-chairman of the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, told the panel that there are more safeguards in place for foreign victims of sex trafficking in the United States than there are for American citizens.

"If you are a foreign child and you are in the United States and you are involved in trafficking, the police will treat you as a victim of a crime," said the Republican congressman. "But if you're an American and some trafficker finds you and abuses you and then sells you out through the United States, you're treated as a criminal."

The Shared Hope International report criticizes the U.S. Congress for failing to authorize more funding for social services and shelters for sex trafficking victims.

Condo Prices on the Way Down

Panama Headline News

Condo Prices on the Way Down

Good news for Panama City, the Republic of Panama

Story by Panama Jack

Republicofpanama.net

Well it is about time that things got straightened out here in Panama City, Panama. Everyone was waiting for the current price of condo’s to start dropping, and it is here. With over 120 condo projects under construction and an estimated 8,000 to be put on the market for sale this year alone, the owners of these condos are finally getting the message. They are all not worth $450,0000.00 to $500,000.00. Something that they have been fooling themselves about for the last 6 months. Now with so many units coming on the market the price is dropping fast, a little reality is in the air, they are not going to make those big profits that they have been dreaming about spending. In fact many are going to lose their capital investment of 30% they put down on the pre-sale condos they purchased. This means there will be at least a 30% drop immediately with more soon to come. The people who bought low-end condo units that the $120,000.00 to $250,000.00 are having no problem selling their units for just a little over what they paid for in the pre-sale contract. They made out good. They will get their money back and enough to cover all the trips they made to Panama.Fact is the people who have to sell now are on the short end of the sick. The one who can afford to close and hang on to their condos are the winners.
Reasons.
1. Inflation is about to kit hard and the dollar is going to drop in value making a $120,000.00 worth in 6 years $350,000.00 and with currant high rental market they can went it out for the same as their mortgage payment and take profits at that time.
2. Panama is the capital of Central and South America, Just ask Simon Bolivar. The people of those country’s go shopping in Panama. When they want to go to the big city its Panama City. They have no problem spending their money, Panama welcomes them to shop, unlike the United States that will not allow some young Latin children even go and see Mickey and Donald and Goofy , how rude that children can see them on TV, but never in their live get to go to Tomorrow Land, or Frontier Land or any other fucking land, Like I did as a child. Unless you come from a certain class people, their children have no Problem. ($$$$) Get the picture.
3. The Republic of Panama has the second largest free trade zone in the world, next to Hong Kong. Also do not forget the Panama Canal one of the great wonders of the world. ( How do they do that )>

Apartments For Rent Panama City Slum-Dog Landlords

Story by Panama Jack

Apartments For Rent Panama City Slum-Dog Landlords

Well if you are thinking about moving to Panama City, the Republic of Panama and you would like to rent an apartment there, for ether pleasure or business, for ether working on the Panama Canal or opening a business or just plan looking for cheap prostitutes. Here is some interesting information about the apartment rental market.

1. All the apartments are overpriced in Panama City, You will be shocked when you check out the prices. You get 2 bedroom Shit whole for $1,000.00 a month and then they will ask for a deposit, you will never see returned. For $1,500 a month, you can get in an older building a 2 bedroom with maids closet, not to be confused with a bedroom. This apartment comes very interesting insects, Woodcutter Ants, they make piles just like termites and you can chase them from piece of wood to piece of wood, but they live in your apartment and are not going to leave, no matter what you spray on them or in the wholes they make in anything made of wood. For $1,800.00 you can get a 2 bedroom furnished in a new building, a nice one. These apartments are very small. But do not be surprised if the roof of a high-rise apartment leaks and you are not on the top floor, also do not be surprised if the windows crack or break and the landlord will not get around to fixing if for about 3 months. The construction on the new building is so poor I am surprised they don’t just fall over

.2. Let me tell you about the landlords of Panama Rental Apartments, They are slumlords millionaires. You might move into an older building to find that this furnished apartment comes with a bed mattress that is so stained that if you look at it you through up. I slept on one for three day and then decided to change the sheets and I think someone had died in that bed, the mattress was so stained, with blood and urine. I went out and bought a new bed and so did my roommate that day. In United States they would through a landlord in jail for such a thing. Degusting. I have a friend that rented a apartment in a older building and when he moved in he found out he did not water or power hooked up to the apartment. When he told the landlord she said what did you expect for $1,500.00. She told him to go hook it and pay for the hookup himself. He found out there where no water pipes to the apartment and no electric wires either. To buy the electric box and install pipes would have cost him $6,000.00 he moved and lost his rent and deposit and I am sure the landlord found some other on the same terms without telling them first.

3. So if you are going to rent an apartment in Panama City, the Republic of Panama, you should find a honest real estate company, explain to them you do want to have any problems with the apartment. You test all water and electric outlets. You make sure the air conditioners are all working, your can not live in this country without them. Make sure they hook-up all utilities for you.

4. Now you can get really nice place for $5,000. Unfurnished. Or for $5,000.00 a month you could end up with an Indian from India as your landlord and hate the man by the time your lease is up.

5. some bay-front Water-front condo’s look good, but you may be moving into a condo next to a sewer outlet to Panama Bay, if you do this expect your apartment to stink at certain times of the day and you also will have a lot of headache caused by the smell.

Well good luck. Jack

Inaugural Address of Ricardo Martinelli

Panama Headline News

Inaugural Address of Ricardo Martinelli
Story by editor Boquete Panama Guide

Inaugural address
by Ricardo Martinelli

Today, before God who protects us and my country, I stand here,
honored by the confidence that the people have given us.

I am enthusiastic about the work that awaits us.

This transfer of command is something that we all value. What we
celebrate today is proof that in Panama the voice of every citizen is
heard, and that the democratic principles that unite us are more
powerful than any difference.

Although they are not here, I want to thank President Torrijos and the
former first lady Vivian de Torrijos for their service to our country.
I also thank them for their so generous support in this transition.
Together we have demonstrated that this people respects the political
dignity of every human being.

I also want to take advantage of this opportunity to sent President
Endara our wishes for a prompt recovery.

Here in Panama we have a democratic tradition, which is as solid as a
rock. I am honored that the international community is here to
celebrate with us this great moment. We have never had so many
visitors, from so many parts of the world. All are welcome and we
thank them for participating today, in our first steps toward a new
Panama, which we see on the horizon.

Our country is unique in many things:

It is the biggest inhabited island on the Pacific littoral.

Panama is the only place in the Caribean that has indigenous peoples.

This city was the first to be built by the Spaniards here on the Pacific.

Here Vasco Núñez de Balboa discovered the South Sea.

But we have something more that distinguishes us. We have grown to
become the pass key to the world’s economy. If Marco Polo had lived in
our epoch, he would have used Panama as his modern spice route.

We Panamanians have always played an important role for our neighbors
and the world. And now were are tapped to do it again. In these five
years, we are called to demonstrate how our economic and governance
model can be an example for all who aspire to prosperity and progress.

Juan Carlos Varela and I are two businessmen who have become involved
in politics, to change the way of doing things. We are going to take
hold of our experiences in the private sector and put them to work
where they have never been seen: in the government.

We are going to debureaucratize the state. “Debureaucratize” is a word
that’s a little difficult to say, but he who’s going to work with me
in this government had better learn it.

In the world of business I walked the aisles, asked questions, opened
drawers. I learned to face problems. As my great friend and political
mentor Samuel Lewis Galindo noted, the government of Ricardo
Martinelli will act with firmness and education, but without favors. I
believe that time is gold and very short.

Neither Juan Carlos nor I accept this job to remain seated behind a
desk. I am a simple, plain and direct man. If I fail somewhat in
protocol, I beg your pardon. But we were not elected to add more pages
to the protocol book.

This people gave us a clear mandate to bring change to this
government, from top to bottom, and that is what we are are going to
do. The custom that the politicians put their personal interests above
those of the people is over. The game of having a fat government and a
thin people has come to its end. The era of politicians entering broke
and leaving as millionaires is finished.

In my government, you can put your foot in your mouth, but you can’t
put your hand in the till.

Thus today, we inaugurate a government that’s going to put the
people’s interests first. We know that difficult times are coming. Now
is when the government has to be more agile, more transparent and more
efficient. it is no secret that we are at the beginning of a world
economic crisis.

it is a crisis that we didn’t cause, but all of us are going to
suffer. it is the worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 30s.

In this storm we are all in the same boat, and in the same boat we are
going to face it. The truth is that our government is not going to
have the resources that the previous government had.

But this gives us more reason to act with urgency. The Panamanian
worker sees the storm gathering above. The changes that we have
proposed can not wait any longer. The promises that we made in the
campaign are good ideas. They are the mandate that this people demands

But more than this, they are an integral part of a stimulus plan that
we need to get our economy afloat. Tomorrow we will have our first
Cabinet Council. We are going to be where we were always walking
towards. We are going to be where the change has to happen.

we are going to be the las Garzas de Pacora, not in the Palacio de las Garzas.

That’s where they need jobs.

That’s where they need the subway.

That’s where they lack public safety.

Las Garzas de Pacora is the point of departure for what we are going
to accomplish in the next five years.

I ask you to prepare with me. we will roll up the sleeves and get to work.

We start with this: we are going to raise the salaries of all law
enforcement, because they’re very badly paid. we are going to give
life to one of Juan Carlos’s proposals: we will give $100 a month to
the old people who have not retirement pension.

And for the students who see us on television or listen on the radio,
you can count on scholarships and free books and school supplies. This
we will do for all the poor families in Panama.

We will begin a massive land titling program, so what I can tell
everyone who’s listening who has possessory rights, prepare these
rights because you’re going to have your piece of land titled.

And we are also going to start the biggest jobs program in the history
of Panama after the canal expansion. we are going to start the bidding
for the construction of a new subway that will give the Panamanian
people a better quality of life. But this is just a start.

We have many more things to do. Nothing is more important than to
lower the cost of food. Thus we will augment the sales point for the
Compita program, and with no more “married” products.

we are going to give more credit to the agricultural sector and
support the self-sustaining farms. In this way we will augment
national production and help our farmers produce more food and cheaper
food.

Two years ago, we built a house for a forgotten Panamanian named
Newton Rodney. Newton taught us a lesson: that like him, there exist
more than 165,000 forgotten Panamanian families that suffer the
tragedy of not having a safe roof over their heads. we are going to
start on a massive plan to build houses for the people. This program
will not only go to those families in need of dignified shelter, but
it is going to create jobs for construction workers and reactivate the
economy.

Everyone who lives in Panama, and those who visit us, deserve a safer
country. we are going to turn our jails into rehabilitation centers
and not universities of crime.

Minors who commit crimes like adults, we are going to try as adults.
And we are going to give more resources and more intelligence support
to our police.

To protect the right of citizens to walk along safe streets is one of
the primary obligations of any government. we are going to meet this
responsibility.

And for those who want to come and invest in Panama, I’m letting them
know that our doors are open. I want to leave our mission very clear:
we are going to make Panama the best place in Latin America to do
business.

This is the best way to generate jobs and have a better quality of
life for all Panamanians. And we are going to complement the free
trade agreements, with the United States of America and all the other
countries of the world, including Europe and our Latin American
brothers.

we are proud of our history and our heritage, of our freedom of
expression, of our freedom of thought, and our freedom to decide the
course that the motherland takes. Panama has to maintain itself as a
leader in freedom and justice, not only here in our house, but in our
region and our continent.

As president, I will do everything within my reach to advance the
ideals of a free economy, challenging the different ideological
pendulum that Latin America has.

We are going to be an active partner with Mexico and Colombia in the
battle against the narco-terrorists, who have invaded our country,
bringing crime, mourning and desperation to our innocent population.

We start this government with an unprecedented mandate: a mandate for
change. But this mandate does not go alone. It comes moored to a great
responsibility, the responsibility to work together, shoulder to
shoulder, leaving behind the political egotisms that have divided us.

We were elected for this: not only for our proposals, but also to
change the way of governing. we are going to change the system in
which one political party only to looks for what it can take from the
other, in which the people look for what they can take from the
government, in which the government looks for what it can take from
the people. it is a vicious circle in which we all believe that we
will win like this — and believe me that it is not so. The truth is
that in this game, we are divided one against the others and we all
end up losing.

The government does not have to be partisan. we are going to govern
with the best, no matter from where the come or their political
affiliation.

We are united for something more important than a political party. We
are united for our country, and in this way, putting the people’s
interest first, we are going to govern.

Some say that the challenges that await us are a lot for just one
person. But they are not much for a united people. This government is
going to keep all the promises that I made. This is my commitment.

The only promise that I probably will not keep is to lose weight, but
believe me that I am going to do everything possible.

Until now we have accepted that the destiny of our country is only in
the hand of the government. But I believe that our hopes depend on
something more powerful than any government. They depend on the sweat
and determination of three million Panamanians.

This is the true formula for our success. In five years, another
president will be standing here to celebrate a transfer of mandates,
put what we begin here will not change, not in five nor in 100 years.

From now on, this government and those who follow it are going to walk
in the shoes of the people.

From now on, our governments will not enrich themselves on the people,
but will only serve the people.

This is a time of great challenges and opportunities. The world
economy is put to the test, and that of Panama as well.

I can tell you: I am not perfect. Perfection is something God reserves
for human beings in another life, and I know that we are going to
encounter obstacles along the road.

But the difficulties are not going to stop us. On the contrary: they
are going to demonstrate our determination. We are going to rise above
this economic storm. We are going to come out of it prepared to
compete, prepared to win.

This is the moment to be a citizen of this country, because the
opportunities the await us are enormous.

I see a Panama with more men and women working.

I see a middle class that’s growing and making more money.

I see new technologies producing an unprecedented economic growth.

I see a Panama with better health, better education and more families
united and content.

We can do anything that we dream. Then, why not make our future the one we want?

We dream big. Our best days are to come. We are Panamanians, united
for a change.

And united, nothing is impossible. United, nothing can defeat us!

I thank all of you, and God bless, and long live Panama.