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

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TODAY'S CONTENTS
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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

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FEATURE ARTICLE
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*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!
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FEATURE ARTICLE
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*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.



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NEWS DIGEST
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*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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