Costa Rica News and Views: 12/01/2004

Thursday, December 30, 2004

The Latest From URCCR

To any investor who filed a claim against the
Brothers:

The judicial procedure is set to start in
February, but the process will be delayed by all
those having filed a formal claim against LEV
and/or OV thru their lawyers.

If you or anyone you know filed a claim, there
still is time to withdraw these claims by
sending a registered letter to the lawyer
canceling the contract and demanding the return
of all documents, specially if you only agreed
to be represented because of erroneous promises
to receive invested funds back shortly.

A copy of the letter must also be sent to
prosecutor Walter Espinoza at ...

Fiscal Walter Espinoza
Edificio Tribunales de Justicia - 2do piso
Ministerio Publico
San Jose, Costa Rica

For additional information, please call 296 1936
or email us at: uccr@ticostuff.com.

We are still holding information meetings for
Villalobos investors on the first Wednesday of
the month, at 7 pm, at Denny's Restaurant in
front of the Hotel Irazu-Best Western.

Our next information meeting will be held this
coming Wednesday, January 5th.

Thank you
Grupo UCCR

Unidos, venceremos!
United, we will succeed!
Unis, nous vaincrons!

UCCR Home page / Inicio:
http://www.ticostuff.com/uccr/

Join us today! UCCR membership form:
http://www.ticostuff.com/uccr/memberform.htm

AfÃliese hoy! Grupo UCCR formulario de membresÃa:
http://www.ticostuff.com/uccr/afiliacion.htm

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Friday, December 24, 2004

Hello,

As many of you will have noted, there has been no digest since last week. This is because everything has slowed down here for the holidays. Therefore, there will only be this one digest this week, and probably only one next week as well. We will begin normal daily coverage on Monday, Jan. 3. Of course, if there is an emergency, we will let you all know with a special bulletin.

We wish all of you out there a safe and happy holiday season!

Destiny Worldwide

=========================================
>>Costa Rica News Digest<<
=========================================

A publication of Destiny Worldwide Net
http://www.destiny-worldwide.net

Also Visit the Costa Rica Page:
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=========================================
TODAY'S CONTENTS
=========================================
Feature Article: There is no justice in the land!
*Puntarenas man to greet Christmas in prison

Feature Article II:
*Banco Elca creditors try to stave off bankruptcy

*News Digest

=========================================
SPONSOR'S MESSAGE
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are high taxes, unfair litigation, lack of
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You cannot be truly successful and free unless
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includes being financially free, and learning
the ingredients to true success.

These secrets used to not be available to the
ordinary person. They were the guarded secrets
of the elite.

Destiny Worldwide is unique in that we not only give
you the education you need to succeed, but we also
give you access to cutting edge tools in many
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From e-commerce to success in your career, regular
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the many risks out there today, our constellation
of services gives you the advantages you need to
succeed.

Go to these websites to begin running down the road
to your successful future today!

http://www.destiny-worldwide.net

http://www.offshorearnings.com

You'll be glad you did!
=========================================
FEATURE ARTICLE
=========================================
*Puntarenas man to greet Christmas in prison

This Christmas will not be a great one for Chuck Shannon, the real estate

agent from Puntarenas.

He is in jail there branded as a child molester. He may be, but there also is

a possibility that he is a victim of Costa Rica’s judicial system and the

current emphasis on prosecuting child molesters.

Shannon is in preventative detention after three workmen on a building in an

adjacent lot told police they saw him molesting his daughter in an upstairs

bedroom.

Shannon complains that the statements are not consistent, but a prosecutor

and a judge put him in jail for investigation, and representatives of the

Patronato Nacional de la Infancia, the child protection agency, put his

4-year-old daughter in a foster home. That was Oct. 19.

The same evening someone burglarized his rented home and pretty well cleaned

it out. The burglary was easy because Shannon was not there. He was in jail.

A judge has denied a third appeal of his preventative detention, Shannon

learned Thursday. He decided to change lawyers. But little can be done now

because the courts are going into recess until Jan. 17.

Shannon, in a telephone call from the prison in El Roble Thursday, was

explaining his situation when another inmate stuffed a piece of paper in his

back pocket and set it on fire. This apparently is the way one is informed he

has talked too long on the public phone.

Life has not been good in the prison for a Canadian national facing a

molesting charge.
Shannon said a group of inmates forced him from one cellblock because

of the nature of the allegations against him.

Outside the penal center his real estate business has pretty much been

destroyed. Several deals in the works have collapsed because he is jailed, he

said. One transaction lacked only papers being filed, he said. But the papers

were still sitting on his desk when police arrived to take him into custody.

Shannon has been in Costa Rica for 10 years. He has made a few enemies. He is

in a dispute with his landlord. He has complained repeatedly about a nearby

bar that plays music at a high level on Saturdays. He won a custody action

against his ex-wife. He has complained about a lawyer working for a

government agency.

He said he is surprised that he was jailed so quickly because he knows of no

evidence against him except the statements of the workmen, who say they

witnessed him taking indecent liberties with his daughter. Shannon says that

the bed in his bedroom where the act was supposed to have taken place cannot

be seen from the window.

The workmen, residents of San José, were constructing a home on an adjacent

lot. Shannon said that his lawyer was not allowed to be present when the

three men made their declaration to investigators.

He also says that two examinations of his daughter, a forensic examination

and a psychological evaluation, fail to support the allegations of sexual

abuse. Prosecutors have yet to present their full case to a judge.

Still Shannon said that this Christmas season "I still don’t even know where

my daughter is."

COMMENT: When this administration's witch hunt against middle aged gringos
began, we knew it was only a matter of time before events like this happened.

This witch hunt, along with total disrespect for foreign investors, shows the

exteme short sightedness and mean spiritedness -- if not downright repugnant

EVIL of this administration, and also shows a judicial system totally out of
control and not shy about abusing human rights. Just ask why Osvaldo

Villalobos, who never did any harm to anyone, but instead helped thousands of

people, sits in jail for over 2 years before charges are filed, yet an

insane, homicidal maniac of a woman in Alejuela who has assaulted at least
6 people, putting one in the hospital, and may also be responsible for at

least one murder, runs around free on the streets.

Give us a break. A couple of idiotic workers claim they see child

molestation going on, the police cart the poor guy away even though no

evidence of such an event exists, take the child away to a foster home, and a

short while later the guy's house is robbed? This stinks to high heaven.

Yet someone who is a deranged menace to society is allowed to roam the

streets free? What a joke this government is! The sooner a stop is put to

this outright EVIL the better off all of us will be!
=========================================
FEATURE ARTICLE
=========================================
*Banco Elca creditors try to stave off bankruptcy

A Banco Elca creditor group is trying to recapitalize the failing institution

before bankruptcy becomes a fact.

The group calls itself the Asociación de Inversionistas y Acreedores Banco

Elca. At a meeting last week, the lead members outlined a plan for creditors

to allocate part of what they are owed so the bank can again function

independently.

The Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras took over the bank June

29 because the institution had less cash available than the law mandates. The

creditor group consists of persons who had deposits in the bank that have not

yet been redeemed.

A number of expats used the bank, and some had on deposit there the $60,000

they need to qualify as a rentista resident. Many persons who had deposits of

$10,000 or less have been paid off by an emergency fund maintained by the

Asociación Bancaria Costarricense, the organization of private banks.

Depositors have been told by officials that, based on prior experience, that

if the bank falls into bankruptcy each can expect about from 50 to 60 percent

of the deposits to be returned within the next 3 to 4 years.

The meeting last week at a Moravia school was an effort to avoid the

bankruptcy option. The proposal is for depositors to turn over to the bank 35

percent of what they are owed. In return, they will receive a proportional

amount of stock.

Carlos Alberto Alvarado Moya, the bank’s jailed president, has agreed to

place his stock holdings, some 52 percent, into a trust, proponents of the

plan said.
Depositors would then be able to sell their shares after the bank

resumed normal business.

Earlier plans that the bank would be purchased by U.S. or South American

investors seem to have fallen through. About 20 persons attended the Moravia

meeting, according to one creditor who did.

Creditors expect the superintendencia to move ahead with bankruptcy plans

Jan. 17 when the nation’s courts reopen after Christmas vacation. The agency

had sought bankruptcy for months but has been slowed by constitutional court

actions brought by creditors. The constitutional issued are not fully

resolved.

The recapitalization plan faces skepticism among some depositors. They wonder

who would run the bank since none of the depositors has bank management

experience.

One also wondered if the 35 percent rebate to the bank would be based on the

book value of the depositor’s accounts or the actual amount the bank now

holds. Estimates suggest that the bank and all its assets would cover about

80 percent of what depositors are owed, although paying back the smaller

depositors reduced this number somewhat.

A depositor not involved in the bailout plan also wondered if the real goal

of the plan is to allow Alvarado to regain the presidency.

Depositors also wonder how much the superintendencia has been spending in

keeping the bank operating. The agency says that it has cut monthly expenses

from 145 million colons ($322,000) to 104 million ($229,000) and has laid off

73 of the bank’s 158 employees. It also has reduced its own staff from 22 to

12.

=========================================
NEWS DIGEST
=========================================
*What's Open During the Holidays?

The holiday season is upon us, with most government offices closing their

doors until January, while others staying open for most of the coming week

and then closed well into the second week of January.

Many businesses are either closing or on limited hours this week. It is best

advised to call ahead before making a visit. Banks and financial institutions

have announced their hours as well.

The telephone company as well as other utilities will close their officers on

the December 25, 26, and 31 and then January 1 and 2, back to work on full

schedule on January 3

Retailers are perhaps the only operators who will work right through the

holidays. Many will be also be open Christmas and New Year's day.

Banks have varying hours. State banks (Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), Banco

Nacional (BN) and Banco Polular, will be closed on the December 25, 26 and 31

and then January 1 and 2. Private Banks like Banco Interfin and Scotiabank

will be closed December 25, 26 and the 29, 30, 31 and January 1 and 2.

Embassies will also be on holiday schedule. The U.s. and Canadian embassies

will be closed on Decemebr 24, 25 and 26 and then on limited hours on

December 27, 28 and 29. Most embassies will then be closed between December

30 and January 2.

Emergency services will be open during the holiday season.

Following are important telephone numbers:

Emergencies: 911
Red Cross: 128
Firemen: 118
Transit Police: 222-9330

*Constitutional Court Gives Ericsson GSM Contract the Green Light

When it was finally over for the Ericsson company in Costa Rican their

contract to install 600.000 GSM lines, it appears not. That's the word

yesterday from the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), who can now

move ahead with finalizing the contract.

The turn about comes from a decision by the Sala Constitucional -

Constitutional Court - (Sala IV) that overturned a decision by the

Contraloria General de la Republica and it's Comtproller, Alex Solís, who was

removed this week.

On September 22 of this year, the Contraloria rejected the contract between

ICE and the Ericsson company, that totally lest the country with the needed

additional GSM lines that were to have been installed by this month and on

the market in a few months.

The current GSM network installed a couple of years back by Alcatel is

totally saturated with the last of the 400.000 GSM lines going on sale two

weeks ago and sold out in lest than a day and half. There are currently

30.000 TDMA lines still available to those who want cellular service.

The Sala IV decision renews the process and barring any other complications

or setbacks, the news GSM network could be on the market in several months.

The rejection by the Contraloria but ICE in a bind. Now, ICE can complete

it's original plan and not have to go through the hard and long process of

awarding a new bid, that could have taken from 18 to 24 months from start to

finish.

The decision by the Sala IV came following an appeal by the Ericsson company

against the Comptroller himself, which was removed by a Legislative vote this

past week after allegations that Solís had forged his brother's signature on

legal documents and tied to high interest loans to Costa Ricans to make an

illegal visit to the United States.

In addition to the giving the contract the "green light", the Sala IV also

awarded Ericsson costs and damages, based on the argument by Ericsson that

the Comptroller (Solís) had violated due process.

The new GSM network will also have the capacity to send photos and text

messages and possibly expanded to include internet services.

For all this to become a reality, the contract has to be sent again to the

Contraloría for approval before the purchase and installation of the network

can take place. The approval is expected to be obtained in the first weeks of

January following the holiday break and be installed and marketed within

several months.

The contract is valued at us$140 million dollars.

*Calling Nicaragua? No Answer? The Problem Isn't Your Telephone.

Well, it seems the dispute between the Instituto Costarricense de

Electricidad (ICE) and the Telecomunicaciones de Nicaragua (Enitel) is still

going on and as such Enitel has blocked all incoming calls from Costa Rica.

The dispute is over tariffs. A call to Nicaragua from Costa Rica costs

us$0.40 per minute during peak times and us$0.28 per minute during evening

hours (10pm to 7am).

There are about 1.2 million calls from Costa Rica to Nicaragua each month

which grosses ICE some us$462.000.

The dispute is over an additional payment of us$0.12 per minute Enitel wants

to calls made to it's cellular network, ICE is refusing.

The numbers affected are those beginning with:

600 to 608
610 to 611
613 to 618
623 to 629
805 to 807
820
821
830 to 840
841
843 to 848
850 to 856
860 to 889
893 to 899

*Possible solution seen in impasse at airport

The Contraloria General de la Republica and the Consejo de Aviacion Civil

have 45 days to decide whether any further works on Juan Santamaria

International Airport should be postponed.

After three weeks of meetings between representatives from Alterra Partners

and the government, a list of possible solutions has been produced.

Postponing the work on the airport would mean that the construction of a new

road around the southern terminal and a new maintenance building would be put

on hold until further notice.

This agreement would signify that Alterra would have to collect the necessary

funds to pay its creditors on a loan of $120 million. Once this has been

done, work would resume on the modernization of the waiting areas at the

airport. In addition to this, in accordance with a contract approved in 2000,

a percentage of any profits made would be given to the Costa Rican

government.

The agreement also stated that the airport tariffs at Juan Santamaria cannot

affect its ability to compete with other airports in the rest of the

continent.

Alterra will make a request to the International banks that their period of

repayment of the loan would be extended by a further four years. Al Romeu,

the manager of Alterra said that this plan will be put into action Jan. 15.

"Interestingly, the problems that Alterra has faced since it started to

invest in Costa Rica have been very similar to those faced by other

international investors who responded to Costa Rica government invitations to

invest in improving the country’s infrastructure," said Romeu.

Romeu said that it is no coincidence that many companies have already left,

and that those that remain are either considering leaving or seeking to exit

at the earliest possible opportunity. Romeu said that he believes that this

is because of the lack of legal certainty in the country.

COMMENT: ALL of these foreign investments were made duirng previous

administrations who had a respect for contracts and the law. They are now

leaving under attack by an administration that has no respect for investor

rights, and has sought, instead, to steal their investments out from under

them. We see no end in sight to these abuses until the current

administration is out of office.

*Judge awards Calderón more time in prison

Former president Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier probably will not make it

home for Christmas. A criminal judge gave him six more months of preventative

detention Tuesday.

Unless his lawyers are successful in an appeal, the former president will

remain in jail at least to June 22, according to a spokesperson for the

judiciary.

Calderón is being investigated for financial crimes involving allegations of

kickbacks on government contracts. He was jailed two months ago. That term

also was for six months, but an appeal judge reduced the term to two months.

The prosecutor in charge of financial crimes sought additional time Friday.

The decision was made known Tuesday.

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverria, another ex-president, also is in prison

while an investigation takes place. His wife just returned from the United

States and has been visiting him.

Calderón served from 1990 to 1994 but continued in a political power role.

Rodríguez served from 1998 to 2002.

*Chang-Diaz First Naturalized Astronaut

I grew up with a fairly strong Asian upbringing,” said Franklin Chang-Diaz of

his childhood in Costa Rica and Venezuela. “I’m one-quarter Chinese and

three-quarters Costa Rican/Spanish. My paternal grandfather immigrated to

Costa Rica from Southern China - Guangchow. I still have a large number of

family members there.”

Chang-Diaz said that he has the Chinese characters of his grandfather’s name,

Win Tin Chang, a revolutionary who sympathized with Sun Yat Sen in 1910, the

founder of modern China. As with the names of other Chinese immigrants, the

family name evolved from Chen to Chang, using the same Chinese character.

The oldest APA astronaut, Chang-Diaz was born in 1950 before there were

astronauts. He recalled his introduction to the Space Age in 1957 with

Russia’s Sputnik 1. “My mother made clear that human beings could travel to

other planets. I became fascinated with space, characters in science fiction

and space explorers.”

There was no military in Venezuela then, so he never envisioned himself being

a military person in order to be associated with space exploration. His

family had defined astronauts as scientists to him.

“I wanted to be just like my father,” said Chang-Diaz of his adventuresome

father who took the family from Costa Rica to Venezuela during the

big-oil-business days to become a construction foreman building major

infrastructure for the country. “He taught me about a strong work ethic: to

be honest and to be on time.”

Graduating from high school in 1967, Chang-Diaz worked for eight months and

saved $50 before landing on the doorstep of some relatives in Hartford, Conn.

“The language barrier was hard,” recalled Chang-Diaz, who at the time spoke

only Spanish and French. “I almost failed my classes, but things picked up

two to three months before the end of the school year.” NASA’s Apollo

rekindled his sense of purpose in immigrating to the United States. He

received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut

and a Ph.D. in applied plasma physics from the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology in 1977.

“All of the astronauts before me were U.S.-born white males with mostly

military backgrounds,” Chang-Diaz explained. “I am Asian/Hispanic and

foreign-born, but I felt the sentiment [underlying astronaut selection] might

change.” In 1977, he became a U.S. citizen. He felt ready to become an

astronaut: “I was a citizen, I had a science background, I was in good

physical condition and I was in good health.”

Chang-Diaz submitted an application to NASA’s shuttle program in 1980. He was

selected in May and became an astronaut in 1981. “I began to break the mold,”

he said. Chang-Diaz became the first non-U.S.-born astronaut.

As a veteran of seven space flights, he understands his family’s worry.

“Ten days after coming back from my first mission, the Challenger [disaster]

happened. By luck my crew was shifted to the earlier shuttle. It was a

realization of fragility that I didn’t recognize my first time in space. The

first time felt fun, indestructible. I approached my second flight with a

scar. I was no longer a rookie; I had battle scars that hurt.”

His most recent mission in the summer of 2002 was the one right before the

Columbia disaster.

“My wife is a physician with the space program, and it’s a hard moment when

we need to part. There’s now been two accidents, and my wife says, ‘Don’t

push your luck.’ It’s hard on my mother; she takes everything in stride. I

have all the fun up in space, and they have all the worry.”

Chang-Diaz is also director of the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory at

Johnson Space Center. He’s working on plasma rockets to Mars and believes

human travel to that planet will happen in this lifetime. Travel now takes 10

months; Chang-Diaz is working to reduce it to one month. “It will make old

rockets look like horse and buggy,” he exclaimed.

*Silver Coin Withdrawal On Hold Indefinitely

The Central Bank's plans to withdraw silver coins from circulation are on

hold until further notice, according to treasury director Ricardo Rodríguez.

“Initially, the bank's board of directors had chosen Jan. 1, 2005, as the

date for withdrawing silver coins,” Rodríguez told The Tico Times.

“However, as a result of the bidding process (for the production of new,

gold-colored coins), we became aware of costs involved in the production of

gold-colored coins.

“Therefore, the board decided to suspend the withdrawal of silver coins while

we conduct further cost studies,” he added.

Foreigners are often confused because Costa Rica currently uses both silver-

and gold-colored coins for ¢5 and ¢10, silver for ¢20, and gold-colored for

¢1, ¢25, ¢50, ¢100 and ¢500. The latter replaced ¢500 bills last year.

The Central Bank has not issued silver coins in nearly six years, and

announced in February they would be withdrawn from circulation.

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Thursday, December 16, 2004

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

=========================================
>>Costa Rica News Digest<<
=========================================

A publication of Destiny Worldwide Net
http://www.destiny-worldwide.net

Also Visit the Costa Rica Page:
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Subscribe: costa-rica-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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=========================================
TODAY'S CONTENTS
=========================================

*News Digest

=========================================
SPONSOR'S MESSAGE
=========================================
If you want to be successful in the years to
come, with the new technology of the internet,
you need to break free of the limitations that
bind the majority of people. ONe of the worst
problems individuals and businesses face today
are high taxes, unfair litigation, lack of
privacy in financial matters, etc.

You cannot be truly successful and free unless
you use all the tools at your disposal, which
includes being financially free, and learning
the ingredients to true success.

These secrets used to not be available to the
ordinary person. They were the guarded secrets
of the elite.

Destiny Worldwide is unique in that we not only give
you the education you need to succeed, but we also
give you access to cutting edge tools in many
different aspects.

From e-commerce to success in your career, regular
business, and handling your finances secure from
the many risks out there today, our constellation
of services gives you the advantages you need to
succeed.

Go to these websites to begin running down the road
to your successful future today!

http://www.destiny-worldwide.net

http://www.offshorearnings.com

You'll be glad you did!
=========================================
FEATURE ARTICLE
=========================================

=========================================
DISCUSSION
=========================================

=========================================
NEWS DIGEST
=========================================
*Taxi Driver Shoots Man in Bin Laden Mask

Osama bin Laden take note: You wouldn't be safe in Costa Rica!

A 50 year old man who had a little too much to drink decided to play with

drivers along the road in the Carrillos Bajos de Poás, Alajuela that runs

near his house and wound up been shot in the stomach by a passing driver who

didn't get the joke.

Leonel Arias Agüero, in his drunken state put on a mask of terrorist Osam bin

Laden and with a shotgun in arms began to pretend to attack drivers as they

sped by.

Agüero was well known in the area and well known for his practical jokes, so

most of the drivers ignored him, however, a resident who had little time

living in the area, took out his gun and fired at the jokester, hitting him

twice.

Juan Pablo Arce Sandoval, 24 years of age, shot Agüero around 9pm as he was

coming home from work. Scared and fearing an assault he used the .25 calibre

gun he habitually carried in his car, he used to "taxiar" - working as an

taxi driver in San José.

Sandoval told police he never would have imagined that the man was pulling a

prank. "I saw the man in the mask, pointing a weapon and I defended myself. I

feel bad for shooting the man, but I really thought he was going to attack

me", he told police on the scene.

Agüero was taken to nearby Hospital San Rafael de Alajuela where he is stable

condition and is expected to survive his injury.

Police declined to detain Sandoval, saying he had believed he was acting in

self-defense.

Horde of Angry Students Storms Education Ministry

Angry high-school students, along with their parents and teachers, marched

through San José yesterday afternoon in a protest that culminated in a

meeting between Public Education Minister Manuel Antonio Bolaños and protest

leaders to discuss the fate of thousands of students who failed their state

exams this month and who are therefore unable to graduate from high school

next week unless the Ministry of Public Education re-grades the test or

changes its policy.

When the leaders involved in the negotiations returned to the crowd that had

been waiting outside the ministry offices for nearly three hours, they drew

cheers with reports that the minister had conceded the possibility of

re-grading the exams on a curve. Inside the building, however, Bolaños

painted a different picture, maintaining that final decisions would not be

released until Monday, when the results of the ongoing student appeal process

are known.

The exams in question are those administered to all students in ninth and

11th grades (the first and third years of high school in Costa Rica ).

Students must pass the 11th-year exams, or exámenes de bachillerato , to

receive a high-school diploma.

This year, of an estimated 22,000 students who took the bachillerato exams,

only 11,000 passed with a grade of 68.5% or above, according to ministry

estimates.

The standardized exams test student knowledge of math, science, Spanish,

social studies, civic education and a foreign language (French or English).

The math exam showed the highest failure rate, with only 58.9% of students

obtaining a passing grade.

At a press conference held yesterday after the negotiations, which were

conducted behind closed doors, Bolaños emphasized that the figures the

ministry has released are strictly preliminary, since the ministry has yet to

evaluate appeals it has received.

The results have caused uproar among students, parents, teachers, and members

of teachers' unions such as the Association of Secondary Teachers (APSE),

which organized yesterday's march from the APSE headquarters to the Education

Ministry building.

“Every year the exams are more difficult,” Julio Madriz, 17, said in between

shouts of “Pruebas nacionales, ¡abajo!” (Down with national exams!) and

“Bolaños, ¡escucha! ¡Estudiantes en la lucha!” (Bolaños, listen, the students

are here to fight!).

“If they're going to do that (make it more difficult each year), they need to

explain it more, give teachers more time to teach,” he said.

For APSE president Danilo Rojas, the problem is the amount of time the

students are given to complete the exams.

“We don't deny that a small group was able to finish the exams and do well,”

he said, but added the exams were far too long for most students.

While the building's main entrance was closed and locked when the crowd

arrived at approximately 1:50 p.m., officials lifted the metal gate at 2:15

p.m. and allowed a small group of representatives from the crowd, including

Madriz and other students, Rojas, current and former teachers, parents and

members of the press, into the building.

The protestors inside then met behind closed doors for approximately two

hours with Bolaños, Academic Vice-Minister Wilfrido Blanco and Administrative

Vice-Minister Marlen Gómez.

The roughly 11,000 students currently unable to graduate next week will have

to wait until at least Dec. 20 to learn their fate. The last day to submit an

appeal was Monday, Bolaños said, and the ministry is in the process of

evaluating the appeals they have received.

According to Felix Barrantes, head of the ministry's quality control

division, which develops and oversees the administration of the exams,

successful appeals demonstrate a conceptual error in the question or more

than one possible answer.

Both Barrantes and Bolaños emphasized that if even one question is deemed

invalid due to the argument in an appeal that can result in a significant

change in the number of students passing or failing the test, since all exams

would be re-graded.

“Even one appeal can result in a few percentage points' change,” Bolaños

said.

*No Children in the Bull Rings, PANI asks

If PANI - the child welfare agency - has it's way, in less than 10 days, the

favourite sport of "Toros a la Tica" at the annual Zapote fair will see no

children running onto the bullring in front of the bulls.

PANI has made the request at the Ministerio de Salud to prohibit minors from

participating in the running of the bulls at all fairs around the country,

the most popular being the one in Zapote (east of San José) that kicks off on

Christmas day.

Each year the 'bulls' are a tradition at most of the fairs and festivals in

small town across Costa Rica. And each year a number of children are takin to

the Hospital Nacional de Niños - Children's Hospital - in San José with head

injuries and other body parts.

PANI Minister, Rosalaía Gil and the director of trauma unit at Children's

Hospital, Marco Vargas, hope to be able to avoid these kinds of injuries this

year and are confident that their request will get the approval by the Health

Minister.

La Defensoría de la Niñez is worried about the growing number of marriages of

girls who are minors and are asking Legislative Deputies to reform the

current laws, says a report in the daily Spanish language newspaper Al Día.

Changes in the Law With Respect to Minors
According to the report, Mario Víquez, Defensor de la Niñez, tells the story

of a 13 year old girl who entered a common law relationship with her sixth

grade school teacher and later married with the consent of the parents of the

minor.

Víquez said the case is in the hands of the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia

(PANI) - the child welfare agency and Ministerio de Educación Pública - MEP

(Ministry of Education) who are investigating.

The Defensor added that "the couple thought that it would be a crime to

register the marriage, however, did so when they learned that it wasn't,

leaving a door wide open for men to freely marry with minors."

According to Víquez, they are investigating this case since the year 2000 and

have discovered 47 more such marriages since.

According to figures released by the Registro Civil (registry office), there

are currently 165 marriages registered where the girl is only 15 years of age

and 234 with 16 year olds and 417 with 17 year old girls, for a total of 816.

The proposal by PANI is to make 15 years the minimum age for marriage.

The Comisión de Asuntos Sociales de la Asamblea Legislativa has been studying

a proposal since July of 2003 that would reform articles 14 and 15 of the

Family Code.

The reformed law would punish from six months to three years in prison any

person marrying a minor. At present, the Código Penal (Penal Code), punishes

a person who has sexual relations with a person under the age of 15 and deems

it to be rape if the minor is 12 or under.

The age of majority in Costa Rica is 18, however, under the current laws, a

person between the age of 15 and 17 can enter into marriage with the consent

of their parents or legal guardians.
COMMENT: Here we go again, with the government interfering in areas that are

none of its business. If all parties are willing, including the parents,

then they have no business saying otherwise. While we may not approve of

this, "things happen," including pregnancies at these young ages, and if the

man is willing to take his responsibility and the parents agree, what

business is it of the government to interfere?

*British Businessman Murdered

A British businessman, Thomas Purvis, 45, from Durham, was discovered stabbed

to death at his home in Sabana Sur, west of San José Monday.

He had been stabbed 11 times, according to the police report.

“It’s possible that the cause of death was revenge because there are no

indications of robbery,” said police spokesman Francisco Ruiz.

Purvis, a 45-year-old British national, was thought to have been in Costa

Rica selling security equipment.

According to local media, he had been selling microchips which can be

implanted in the skin as a security measure.

*Calls Through to Nicaragua Blocked

Calls to cellular phones in neighbouring Nicaragua have been blocked since

last Friday. Each month more than 1.2 million calls to cellular phones in

Nicaragua for a total billing of us$462.000 dollars.

However, a dispute between the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE)

and Enitel, it's Nicaraguan counterpart, where Enitel is asking for an

additional us$0.12 per minute on all calls to mobile phones, has cut service

entirely between the two telephone companies.

Enitel is the state owned Nicaraguan phone company that operates 200.000 GSM

cellular lines. The other three cellular service carriers in Nicaragua are

not affected by the dispute and continue to provide service between the two

countries.

Presently a call to Nicaragua from Costa Rica costs us$0.40 cents per minute

during 7am and 7ma and us$0.28 cents per minute at all other times, plus

taxes.

Officials at both telephone companies say they are negotiating the cellular

phone rates but refused to give any details.

Officials at ICE also say that they hope to have it all resovled by the end

of this week, allowing people to call home to family and friends.

Nicaragua is the number two in destination for calls from Costa Rica.

To resolve the problem, the Regulating Authorities of both countries (ARESEP

in Costa Rica and TELCOR in Nicaragua) and the Comisión de Telecomunicaciones

de Centroamérica (COMTELCA) have been brought in to mediate.

*Who will be the new Controller?

Matha Acosta, the Sub-Contalor, says she is ready to take the post vacated by

Alex Solís Fallas, if called upon. Acosta replaced Solís temporarily until a

permanent replacement is announced. Former presidential candidate, José

Miguel Corrales, of the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) is being sought for

the post, however, he is saying he does not want the job.

Solís was forcibly removed as Contralor General de la Republica after a vote

of the Legislators over accusations of falsifying the signature of his

brother - presidential candidate, Otton Solís - on legal documents and being

involved in high yield loans to Ticos wanting to enter the U.S. illegally.

*Central America Looking to Open Borders
By TRACI CARL
Associated Press Writer

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- Central American nations are putting aside

border bickering to allow the relatively free movement of people and goods

between nations -- a goal that has U.S. officials worried about a jump in

smuggling of drugs and people in a region already plagued by crime and on the

lookout for terrorists.

Wary of concerns but determined to operate as a regional bloc, leaders from

Mexico to Panama will work out the plan Wednesday when they meet in this

Salvadoran capital. Border controls have already been simplified between

Guatemala and El Salvador and officials will be discussing how to add

Honduras and Nicaragua.

Regional integration has been Central America's goal since 1950, when the

region's leaders signed an agreement to create a common market -- a

mini-European Union that could better negotiate in an increasingly

competitive world. But that goal has been held up by regional disputes and

civil wars.

Countries participating in this week's talks are Mexico, Belize, Guatemala,

El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and even the Dominican

Republic, which also joined regional free-trade talks with the United States.

Ministers began discussions Tuesday and presidents will join them Wednesday

to wrap up the summit.

Six of the countries are represented in the Central American Parliament,

which creates nonbinding recommendations for member countries. And, shortly

after taking office in 2000, Mexican President Vicente Fox proposed a plan

for increased trade and improved infrastructure from southern Mexico to

Panama.

Central America and the Dominican Republic have reached a free trade

agreement with the United States that still must be approved by the

countries' legislatures. Panama -- which doesn't traditionally think of

itself as part of Central America -- is following suit on its own.

But the newest step toward becoming a regional bloc is perhaps the most

challenging: Removing customs and other border restrictions, allowing people

and goods to move quickly and easily between nations.

Guatemala and El Salvador were the first to try it, pulling out customs and

border control buildings on both sides of the border and leaving one common

checkpoint that reviews the passports of those crossing. Most taxes and other

fees are to be paid electronically.

Honduras is expected to follow, then Nicaragua, creating a region with nearly

identical visa and customs controls.

Costa Rica, Belize and Mexico have declined to participate, in part because

all three countries are already struggling with an influx of illegal Central

American migrants who come to either look for work or, in the case of Mexico,

pass through to the United States.

Citing the illegal migration, drug trafficking, corruption and gang activity

that thrives in Central America, U.S. officials have expressed concern about

removing the border checks. Michael O'Brien, the head of the U.S. federal

Drug Enforcement Administration in Guatemala, said the old border controls,

complete with drug-sniffing dogs and car searches, often were the strongest

safeguard against criminal activity.

The United States is also keeping a close eye on the region after several

recent terrorism scares. U.S. officials have said that an alleged top

al-Qaida operative, Adnan El Shukrijumah of Saudi Arabia, spent 10 days in

Panama in April 2001. Honduran officials said he was spotted more recently at

an Internet cafe there.

But Central American leaders say the new border plan won't hamper their fight

against drugs and other crime. So far, El Salvador and Guatemala have put up

more highway checkpoints to keep a closer eye on traffic through the two

countries.

Wilfredo Rosales, El Salvador's immigration director, said a new common

database tracks the movements of people across the streamlined border posts.

Random police checkpoints also help.

For criminals, "It was easy to cross before, but now it's not," he said. "So

I see it as much better."

Erick Frot, a 38-year-old architect visiting the Immigration office to get

papers for his Brazilian wife, said freer movement would bring more

development.

"Countries like ours need to open, not close," he said.

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Monday, December 13, 2004

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>>Costa Rica News Digest<<
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TODAY'S CONTENTS
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Feature Article:
*Bus bound for Costa Rica runs on used cooking oil

*News Digest

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FEATURE ARTICLE
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*Bus bound for Costa Rica runs on used cooking oil

The Sustainable Solutions Caravan wants to show the world how to recyle more

and create less waste.

LARRY COPENHAVER
Tucson Citizen

The school bus spends part of the year in the Bay area.
Photos by XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson Citizen

Itai Hauben, Tom Shaver and Stephen Brooks pour used vegetable oil into a

1972 modified diesel Carpenter school bus they are driving to Costa Rica. The

oil was given to them by El Charro Cafe.
A 1972 former school bus, modified to run solely on used cooking oil, stopped

yesterday at El Charro Cafe, 311 N. Court Ave. to tank up on fat.

"The engine in the bus has been modified to run on used straight vegetable

oil," said Zak Zaidman, 36, one of the 10 members of the Sustainable

Solutions Caravan traveling on the bus from its summer home in the San

Francisco Bay area to winter quarters in Costa Rica in Central America.

The group was founded last year to promote sustainability through the use of

renewable energies, organic farming and sustainable lifestyles, he explained.

That means less waste and more recycling.

The main modification to the diesel engine involved installing a heating

element to keep the fat flowing freely so it doesn't clog the engine's

plumbing, he said. The vehicle also is fitted with a separate tank that

carries a refined biodiesel product that permits easy starting.

"We use the biodiesel to start the engine and get the engine hot, then we

flip a switch, and we go 100 percent used vegetable oils," Zaidman said.

Before loading up on the used cooking oil, there is a check for particulate

materials, which cannot be used in the engine.

Members of the caravan are sustainability experts, eco-technologists,

farmers, mechanics and others dedicated to educating the public about

alternatives to fossil fuels, he said. The group also promotes Earth-friendly

farming, which will be critical if the fuels of the future are to be grown

rather than mined.

The destination of the caravan is Punta Mona Center for Sustainable Living

and Education, an 85-acre organic farm and education retreat in Costa Rica,

he said. For more information, go to puntamona.org

=========================================
DISCUSSION
=========================================

=========================================
NEWS DIGEST
=========================================
*Tonnes of Garbage Left Behind by Festival Goers

The Festival de la Luz Saturday night brought a lot of happiness and joy to

thousands who lined the streets of downtown San José with spectacular

displays, marching bands and dancing.

However, the Festival also left piles of garbage on streets.

As with every parade, a team of garbage collectors follow the parade end to

pick up the garbage left behind by the spectators. The Municipality of San

José estimates that some thirty tonnes of trash was left strewn in the parade

route, that went from the La Sabana park, along Paséo Colon, Avenida Segunda

and ended in la Plaza de la Democracia.

Garbage trucks followed the last parade float and by Sunday morning there was

no trace of the Festival trash, as the streets were again clean.

Perhaps, the hardest parade the clean up crew have to content with each each

year is the December 27 'Tope", when literally thousands of horses take over

the same route and leave a trail of, well, stuff that smells even after being

washed down.

The clean up crew were not the only persons working the parade. Red Cross

personnel and members of the Fuerza Publica and Municipal police were on hand

to attend to those needing medical attention and to ensure public safety.

The Red Cross reports have attended to sixty five persons, seventeen of who

were taken to hospital for closer medical attention during the festival.

Police did not have any major occurrences to report, saying the parade was

peaceful and eventful from their part.

*2006 Election Party Registration Underway

The upcoming 2006 'presidential' elections will be record for the number of

registered parties according to the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE).

The TSE says it has so far 43 parties registered for the 2006 elections, two

more than the same time for the 2002 elections, and will see many more that

it believes are in the process of being formed and will be looking to be

registered.

The deadline for registration of a political party for the 2006 election is

June 6, 2005, which will include regional, provincial and national parties.

For a party to be registered it must complete the required forms as set out

by the Dirección General del Registro Civil of the TSE and among other things

must include 3.000 signatures in the case of a national party (only 50 for

regional or provincial parties) and must have it's political constitution

well defined.

National parties are those that will be presenting a candidate for the

position of President and Vice President of the country. All other parties

that don't present a candidate for the top spots are considered regional or

provincial.

The national parties expected to take part in the 2006 election are the:

Acción Ciudadana, Alianza Nacional Cristiana, Fuerza Democrática,

Independiente Obrero, Integración Nacional, Liberación Nacional, Movimiento

Libertario, Patriótico Nacional, Renovación Costarricense, Rescate Nacional,

Unidad Social Cristiana, Unión General and the Vanguardia Popular.

*Nicaraguans Head Home for the Holidays

Thinking of spending the holiday season in Nicaragua? Well, consider this.

According to Marco Badilla, director of the Dirección General de Migración y

Extranjería, some 70.000 Nicaraguans are expected to overload the immigration

resources at Peñas Blancas and the Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia during

the next several weeks.

The annual trek of Nicaraguans heading home for the holidays begins this

week. The bus lines have sold most just about every seat to and from

Nicaragua for the period of 20 December to 5 January. As well, private bus

companies have set up special tours to Nicaragua for the holiday period.

The land border crossing at Peñas Blancas will be hardest affected, as most

Nicaraguans use the land crossing to get home for the holidays and their

return, compared to the more expensive way of flying. And, if immigration

officials are correct, most Nicaraguans are expected to bring along a friend

on their return.

The return bus rate at both Tica Bus and Transnica is us$20 that will take

you from San José to Managua, with stops in Rivas and Granada. Nature Air

that has regular service between the Liberia airport in Costa Rican and the

airport in Granada charges us$130 return (us$240 for the San José-Granada

route).

Foreign residents of Costa Rica need to also pay the us$20 consular fee to

leave and re-enter Costa Rica. Tourists and Costa Ricans are not required to

pay the consular fee.

*At Least 50 Houses and Shacks Destroyed in Fire

A fire Saturday night in Pavas, west of San José , destroyed at least 50

shacks and houses, according to the daily La Nación.

No one was injured in the fire, which took firefighters approximately two

hours to extinguish. The lack of fire hydrants, a tangled web of amateurly

crafted electrical connections and the construction materials used in the

shacks contributed to the difficulty fighting the fire, which took place in

the Bribri urbanization, La Nación reported. The only fire hydrant was

approximately 500 meters away.

The fire was first reported at 6:30 p.m. , when a resident called saying the

blaze started in a fire used to cook tamales, firefighters told the daily.

Others witnesses said fireworks could have been the source of the fire.

*Piercing and Tatoo Regulations coming!

Come January or maybe February, the Ministerio de Salud - Health Ministry -

hopes to have regulations in place that govern 'piercing' and tattoos, that

has gotten out of hand. The regulations will give Health officials the power

to close shops if they don't meet the health and sanitary regulations. Health

Minister, María del Rocío Sáenz Madrigal, says that regulation is ready is

waiting for official publication. Once the regulation is published, shops now

in operation will have to meet the regulation or close.

*Nicaraguan President Blamed for Internal Political Crisis

Nicaraguan president, Enrique Bolaños, is responsible for the current

confrontation between the country´s single-chamber Congress and the executive

power, according to political analyst Oscar Rene Vargas.

Speaking to Prensa Latina, Vargas said the president had been reluctant to

start talks on the issue and now is ignoring the reforms approved by

legislators.

He recalled that the General Secretary of the Sandinista National Liberation

Front (FSLN), Daniel Ortega, had invited him "to find some consensual

alternative to the crisis."

Differences between the legislative power and the presidential house became

more sour this week as Vargas ordered deputies to modify the Constitution in

an attempt to gain more power, while declaring he would defend his authority

"at any rate."

In less than one month the parliament ratified Law on Arms, which enables it

to accept or refuse the acquisition of war means as well as to destroy

weapons in the hands of police and the Army.

Another reform gives the deputies the authority to demand that ministers,

vice ministers and state officials report on their work.

The sociologist considered that Bolaños is pushing the nation into an

unprecedented crisis in which he is trying to involve the Army and the

Police.

He warned that if Bolaños accuses congressmen of plotting a coup d´etat there

is no way to sustain such a charge, as the legsilators are only acting in

line with the Constitution.

According to Vargas, the president refuses to listen to the opposition´s

arguments and to see the country´s stark reality as an impoverished

neo-colonial nation.

He ruled out the possibility of Bolaños declaring a State of Emergency, as it

would break the Constitutional order and end up in a a total disaster for the

country.

*Brazil's biggest party votes to leave government

Brazil's biggest political party voted Sunday to withdraw from the coalition

government, a second political blow to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in

as many days.

The Popular Socialist Party voted to leave the governing coalition on

Saturday.

Both parties are unhappy with Lula's conservative fiscal policies.

The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, or PMDB, called on all its members

to quit Lula's government and support the party's own candidate for the

presidential elections in 2006.

However, PMDB's two cabinet ministers, Communications Minister Eunicio

Oliveira and Pensions Minister Amir Lando, have indicated they would stay in

their posts in defiance of their party's threat that they would be expelled

if they do so.

It remains to be seen how many legislators would follow their party's call as

the party is divided.

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