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The Government
Will NOT Pay Protestors
The
government is staying strong on it's promise to
deduct a day's pay from the salaries of those who
took part in the protest against the Free Trade
Agreement with the U.S. on Monday.
Ricardo Toledo, Minister for the Presidency, sent
letters to various public institutions,
including the Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE), requesting the names of those
individuals who did not show for work on Monday to
participate in the protest.
President
Abel Pacheco, said in a commentary to the
daily newspaper Diario Extra, the protest was
within the democratic framework of Costa Rica
and that though he does not agree with the
protestors, Costa Ricans have a right to
protest.
He also made a recommendation to the young
university student who laid on the ground
naked, as part of his protest, to get
Psychiatric help. Pacheco practiced Psychiatry
before taking over the office of the
presidency.
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Many Would Like to
See Flowering of Commerce
Costa Rican flower man Jorge Cotera is in Houston to gauge whether a free trade agreement could help his business grow.
That business, called Magic Flowers, provided some of the arrangements used to brighten up the Central American Free Trade Agreement talks this week in Houston.
Cotera, who is also treasurer of a flower growers association in Costa Rica, points out that the $1,800 in flowers for the event were shipped from growers in his country to Houston.
He's one of many who hope this gathering will bring them business down the line.
Cotera pointed out that Costa Rica and the United States already have been doing business for some time.
"The U.S. and Costa Rica go way back as friends," he said.
Argentina and Brazil Align to Fight U.S. Trade Policy
A left-leaning statement of intent signed in Buenos Aires last week by the presidents of Argentina and Brazil might have been short on economic specifics, but it did send a clear message: the South American neighbors will resist efforts by the United States to undermine their unity in regional and global trade talks.
The joint message will not go unnoticed in Washington, particularly with negotiators at the World Trade Organization in Geneva scrambling to salvage what they can from the wreckage of the recent Cancún summit and the United States hoping that a meeting next month in Miami will edge the Western Hemisphere closer to agreement on a free-trade zone stretching from Alaska to Antarctica that is supposed to be in place by January 2005.
Using increasingly stern language, diplomats from the United States have blamed Brazil for the collapse at Cancún, saying it was too obdurate in championing the demands of developing countries for an end to farm subsidies in developed countries.
After the Cancún talks, the United States trade representative, Robert B.
Zoellick, called Brazil the leader of the "won't do" countries and warned that America could opt to strike bilateral deals with "can do" nations.
Since then, the group of 22 developing countries, which was known as G-22 and which include Brazil, China, India and South Africa, has shrunk to 12. The defectors, which included Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru, apparently gave in to American pressure.
'Transit'
to Get Tough
on Speeders
Starting
immediately, Transit Police will be monitoring
closing the speed of drivers in front of schools and
downtown areas, in an attempt to reduce the number
of deaths due to being run over by a vehicles.
As well, Transit police will intensify it's efforts
on the highways and major roads.
So far this year, there have been 296 deaths on the
roads of Costa Rica. The majority of deaths occurred
as a result of being hit by a vehicle: 91
pedestrians and 35 cyclists.
Another alarming statistics the Transit authorities
are looking at closely are deaths occurring at
bridge crossings.
Part of their plan is to educate drivers about the
dangers of speeding. So long with their traffic
violations, Transit police will be handing out to
drivers and passengers, leaflets. To date, of the
deaths occurring on the roads, 72 were passengers of
the vehicle.
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New York firefighters deliver petition on WTC memorial
A group of firefighters Tuesday delivered a petition with more than 65,000 signatures to New York state governor George Pataki, hoping that he will influence the decision of memorial designers to give rescuers special recognition.
The petition for a Fallen 9-11 Fallen Heroes Memorial has lobbied for months to separately list the names of the more than 400 firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers killed in the line of duty on Sept.11.
"One hundred years from now, people should know what went on that day," said Fire Lt. Jim McCaffrey, whose brother-in-law, Battalion Chief Orio Palmer, was killed at the trade center.
McCaffrey said the group does not want a separate memorial, but wants the rescue workers' names, units and badge numbers to listed next to their names, and wants the workers' names to be grouped together on any memorial.
"The governor has made clear that the creation of a memorial befitting the heroes who died that tragic day is his top priority and the decisions regarding the memorial are now in the hands of a distinguished jury which has been entrusted with the important responsibility of selecting the winning memorial design," Pataki spokeswoman Mollie Fullington said Tuesday.
Next month, the 13-person jury is expected to disclose the names of finalists selected to design a memorial at the site. A record 5,200 groups and individuals submitted design proposals for the memorial to the Feb. 26, 1993 bombing of the trade center as well as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.
The firefighters' group has been backed by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who has said the rescue workers deserve some form of special recognition, while victims' relatives have said that no victims should be separated into a special class.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has adopted guidelines stipulating that any design should "honor the loss of life equally and the contributions of all without establishing any hierarchies."
Schwarzenegger to meet lawmakers in preparation for governorship
California governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger is to make his first official visit to the state Capitol in Sacramento Wednesday, as an important part of his preparations for governorship, his aides said Monday.
The Hollywood actor-turned politician is set to meet legislative leaders who will play a critical role in his efforts to accomplish the goals he outlined in the recall campaign, the aides said.
Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is expected to meet jointly with four legislative leaders Wednesday, including Senate President ProTem John Burton, Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, as well as Republican leaders Assemblyman Dave Cox and Senator Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga.
Apart from a scheduled meeting with incoming Assembly Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, the new governor also plans to hold person-to-person talks with all legislative leaders over the next two days.
He will also meet with all statewide office holders, namely, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, Attorney General Bill
Lockyer, Treasurer Phil Angelides, Controller Steve Westly, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, and
Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi.
Schwarzenegger is also expected to meet with outgoing Democrat Governor Gray Davis, who was ousted in the Oct. 7 recall vote thatswept the former film star to power.
Davis reportedly offered to acquaint Schwarzenegger with a variety of state and personal affairs during their meeting on Thursday. Davis' spokesman said Davis wants to alert his
successor about budget issues, legal entanglements and other matters
related to the latter's transition.
US general to be probed over religious comments
The Pentagon will launch an internal probe into an Army general's remarks portraying the US war on terrorism as a spiritual battle between Christianity and Satan, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday.
Army Lieutenant General William Boykin, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, had asked for the investigation of his comments, Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news conference. The probe may be conducted by the Army inspector general, followed by a review by the Defense Department's inspector general's office, he said.
"He has requested an inspector general review the matter. It seems to me that's a perfectly responsible thing for him to do, on his part," Rumsfeld said.
The announcement came days after several Islamic and religious groups criticized Boykin for his remarks made in churches and after two prominent senators wrote to Rumsfeld urging an investigation.
Republican Senator John Warner, chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee, and Democratic Senator Carl Levin, the committee's ranking member, warned in the letter sent Friday that Boykin's comments could endanger US soldiers deployed in Muslim countries.
"Public statements by a senior military official of an inflammatory, offensive nature that would denigrate another religion and which could be construed as bigotry may easily be exploited by enemies of the United States and contribute to an erosion of support within the Arab world and, perhaps, increased risk for members of the US armed forces serving in Muslim nations," according to the letter, which was released Tuesday.
Reports about the remarks made by Boykin, an evangelical Christian, during several speeches at churches surfaced last week. In those speeches, Boykin said Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and others hate the United States because "we are a Christian nation" and cast the US war on terrorism as a clash with "Satan."
In one speech, Boykin talked about a Muslim fighter in Somalia who said the US soldiers had failed to catch him because Allah would protect him. "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol," Boykin said.
After Boykin's remarks were reported by newspapers and televisions, Rumsfeld defended the general by saying that whatever he said was in a private capacity. On Tuesday, Rumsfeld repeated that he had not read or seen the general's statements very clearly.
Marine General Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the news conference that he talked to Boykin on Monday. "He mentioned to me how sad he was that his comments created the fury they had," he said.
Pace said there is no doubt that Boykin does not see this battle as a battle between religions. "He sees it as a battle between good and evil. He sees it as the evil being the acts of individuals, not the acts of any religion or affiliation with religion," Pace said.
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