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Canada's Exposé
Disappointing
The much awaited Canadian show didn't have much to offer the
Villalobos investors and those living in Costa Rica about sex tourism.
Canada's W-Five news program, something akin to CBS's 60 minutes, ran a
lengthy story on Costa Rica tourism and the faild Villalobos investment
empire Saturday night under the tile - Costa Rica Paradise Spoiled.
The program re-hashed what investors already know that has happened to them,
offering nothing new in the way of news and information. The program
intereviewed a number of investors, mainly Canadians who had invested with
Enrique and Osvaldo Villalobos.
On the flip side, the program centered on Costa Rica's sex tourism. A hidden
camera went inside the Hotel Del Rey, the centre of activity of "gringo
gulch" guided by Casa Alianza's director, Bruce Harris.
The report included scenes of several night spots where girls - mainly young
girls - can be picked up by men who pay to have sex with them.
The program continues on how tourists - sex tourists - by using the internet
are well informed and prepared for their sexual experiences in Costa Rica.
The program can leave viewers with the impression that underage girls or sex
workers can be had every corner and that all tourists come here only to be
with underage girls.
The program, however, failed to mention how underage prostitution is mainly
a local problem and that through the work of Casa Alianza, the government's
efforts to curb or at least explain the penalties associated with underage
prostitution - most tourists are aware that the age of consent is 18 and the
penalties associated with having sex with a minor.
Click here for the full CTV report and video of
The Tourists
segment
Click here for the full CTV report and video of
The Brothers
segment
Today is
"International Women's Day".
International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by
women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the
United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday.
When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by
ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come
together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that
represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace
and development.
International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of
history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate
in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata
initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French
Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity"
marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.
The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the
century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and
turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies.
In Costa Rica, this day will be marked with a gathering a the Parque Central
between 1pm and 4pm, where there will be discussion about women's rights and
responsibilities. And at 4pm there is concert by Guadalupe Urbina.
No
Accord On Nicaragua's Debt to Costa Rica
Costa Rica and Nicaragua are still at odds over a satisfactory agreement
with Nicaragua over that country's debt of about $568.000.000 dollars with
Costa Rica.
Even though Revenue Minister, Alberto Dent, was invited to the Club Paris, a
financial organization, to hear proposals by Nicaraguan officials on how
they plan to repay Costa Rica, there was no conclusion at that meeting.
The parties will wait until they next meeting, with no date set as of yet.
Over the years, both countries have been discussing the growing problem and
have talked about different soultions, but none have prospered to a
conclusion.
Wanted Tico
Arrested in the U.S.
In a role reversal, a Costa Rican man wanted in Costa Rica since
1999, on charges of abusing his daughter, was arrested in Pennsylvania, U.S.
by Interpol.
The man who is identified only by the last name of Soto, had a pending debt
owed to the state before he ran off and became the subject of an
international manhunt.
Soto was featured on Interpol's wanted list which includes names of people
wanted in more than 200 countries. On that list, names of Costa Ricans
wanted include: Pablo y Anita Li, wanted on suspicion of tax fraud; Freddy
Trejos and Enrique Villalobos.
Soto accepted the charges against him and has willingly accepted to be
returned to Costa Rica. Soto is scheduled to arrive today under custody of a
Pennsylvania lawman, who will then hand over Soto to Costa Rican officials.
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Venezuelan president warns US over possible oil export freeze
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned the United States on
Sunday that oil exports would be frozen if Washington continues to support
anti-government protests.
Although the United States has denied Chavez's repeated accusation of trying
to overthrow him, the Venezuelan president has accused US President George
W. Bush of financing opponents seeking a recall referendum on his
presidency.
In a weekly TV and radio show, Chavez said his country "has enough allies on
this continent to start a 100-year war."
He also accused Washington of ousting former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide and warned Bush not to try the same with himself.
"US citizens could forget about ever getting Venezuelan oil" if the United
States ever tried to invade the South American country, Chavez stressed.
Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, is a leading supplier of oil to
the US market, accounting for 15 percent of US oil imports.
On Saturday, several hundred thousand Venezuelans went to the streets in
Caracas to protest against the National Electoral Council's decision last
week that an opposition petition for the recall vote lacked enough valid
signatures. The opposition said it collected 3.4 million signatures, but the
electoral council said only 1.8 million signatures were valid, short of the
2.4 million required for a poll.
During his five-hour speech, the president said he regretted the deaths of
at least eight people in recent street protests. On Sunday he promised the
government would investigate the deaths and injuries in last week's
violence.
Mexican
president's US visit achieves symbolic result
Mexican President Vicente Fox concluded his US visit on Saturday
by gaining concessions from President George W. Bush to ease border
restrictions, but observers say the result is of symbolic value to Fox
although it is of significance to both leaders, especially Bush, who is
bidding for reelection.
"We welcome the news that was confirmed today with regard to visitors to the
US from Mexico," Fox told a joint press conference with Bush after their
meeting.
"We appreciate what this will do to the flow of visitors now that they will
not have to be photographed or fingerprinted at the frontier for short
visits to the US," Fox said.
Under the deal reached by Fox and Bush, Mexicans, who enter the United
States by land with a border-crossing card and who travel no further than 40
km and stay in the United States for no longer than 72 hours, will not be
photographed and fingerprinted.
However, observers believe the deal means little as Mexicans have already
been photographed and fingerprinted before they can be issued a
border-crossing card, and whether the deal can be passed by the US Congress
in an election year is a different matter.
And if Mexicans use the border-crossing card as a visa and stay in the
United States longer than 72 hours or travel further than 40 km, they will
still be subjected to the strict immigration measures enacted after the
Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001.
Under the US-Visit program in place since Jan. 5 this year, visitors who
need a visa to enter the United States must be fingerprinted and
photographed to prevent terrorists from entering the country. However, the
controversial program has drawn angry protests from its neighbors.
Nonetheless, Fox, who is under pressure for making good his promise of
promoting a migration agreement with the United States, can now go back home
relieved.
But a pessimistic Bush seemed not sure about congressional approval of the
deal. "There is no telling what is going to happen in an election year," he
said.
Bush has been pushing his immigration reform plan that would allow at least
8 million illegal aliens currently working in the United States to keep
their jobs and open the door for millions more to follow. But the congress
has shown little inclination to tackle the issue in an election year,
leaving Bush almost powerless to enact them.
Still, the deal is significant to Bush who has been trying to woo the
Hispanic community, the fastest growing voting bloc, for his reelection bid.
Facing Democratic criticism of isolating allies by his administration, Bush
has been mending fences with old allies, including Mexico, who fell out with
the United States over Bush's decision to invade Iraq. Mexico refused to
support the US-led war against Iraq in the UN Security Council.
To rebuff the Democratic criticism, Bush tried to patch up relations with
Mexico by holding talks with Fox in his 1,600-acre private ranch in
Crawford, Texas. This was the first time Bush invited a Latin American
leader to his ranch.
Observers believe that a deal on easing migration restrictions, although
hardly feasible, serves the interests of both Fox and Bush as Fox seeks to
boost domestic support and Bush tries to win over the Hispanic-American
groups in a critical election year.
Fujimori
accuses Peruvian president of "ransacking" country
Exiled former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori said in Tokyo
on Saturday that President Alejandro Toledo was "ransacking" the country and
leading it to an abyss."
Fujimori said in a radio program that Toledo ruled Peru in "a terrible way,"
which was mirrored in the discredit shown by 90 percent of the population
and the handling of the country's foreign debt, which soared 20 percent to 5
billion US dollars in two years.
Fujimori's radio program, recorded in his exile home in Japan and
transmitted to the South American nation, is aimed at boosting his return to
"the country and the presidency" by waging weekly criticism of the current
president.
The former president was deposed by the Peruvian Congress and fled to Japan
in November 2000 on charges of corruption, embezzlement and human rights
violation.
Peruvian authorities have requested his extradition to face trial, but the
request was turned down by Tokyo citing his Japanese citizenship that
protects him in the absence of an extradition treaty between the two
countries.
Earlier this week, Peru rejected Fujimori's request to return and run for
president in the 2006 election.
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