Also a WEEK IN REVIEW.............
Week in Review: Updated every Thursday.
To see previous editions
No cases of cholera since 1997
Twelve years after cholera surfaced again in the continent, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) plans to declare the Central American nations free of the disease by next December 6. PAHO director Mirta Roses made the announcement at a meeting with the ministers of Health from Central America and the Dominican Republic in Panama. She asserted that the region has made extraordinary progress against the disease in the last five years, and pointed out the commitment of the ministers of Health to prevent any new outbreak. Cholera became active in South America in 1991, when a freighter carrying water from Asia with the bacteria arrived in Peru and caused an outbreak that extended throughout South and Central America. From 1991 through 2002, 1.2 million people caught the disease in these parts of the world, and 12,757 of them died. The first case in Costa Rica was imported from Ecuador and the last one was registered in 1997.
Fruitful visit to Taiwan
After his second official visit to Taiwan, President Abel Pacheco returned with the pledge of his Taiwanese peer, Chen Shui-bian, to grant the $25 million needed to build the road linking Naranjo and Florencia, San Carlos, in northern Costa Rica. President Pacheco also rates as a major achievement the fact that he was able to secure Taiwanese funding for the construction of a Convention Center. Taiwan would be the major shareholder in the Center, which would focus on "business tourism" and which would be used by local foreign trade authorities to promote Costa Rican exports.
President gets low grades
The President of Costa Rica, Dr. Abel Pacheco, got very low grades in an evaluation of his performance made by Costa Ricans last June. Ticos graded their President from 1.0 to 10.0 in a survey by the Institute of Social Studies on Population of Universidad Nacional. Even though the lowest passing average is 7.0 and Dr. Pacheco only got it on intelligence, the President said he was pleased with the outcome and thanked Costa Ricans for supporting him. He got grades under 6.84 for "democratic", 6.46 for "accessible", 6.09 for "peacemaker", 6.06 for "authoritarian", 5.73 for "understanding", and 5.58 for "leadership".
Safe canopy touring
Those wanting to see the Costa Rican lush jungles from the tops of the trees by taking canopy tours will now enjoy not only extraordinary views but also reinforced safety. Twenty-eight operators made a commitment to comply with the safety measures established by experts of the Adventure Operators Association to prevent accidents. The rules range from the operation only by qualified guides to equipment that must be certified by international organizations.
German citizen deported
The Costa Rican police deported Klaus Dieter Rossner, a German citizen wanted in his homeland for a $500,000 scam. According to the police, Rossner apparently entered Costa Rica illegally, but was identified through data provided by the INTERPOL. After his arrest on the Pacific Coast, Rossner was taken to San Jose, where he suffered a cardiac arrest. Because of his health problems, the German himself requested that he be deported immediately, instead of waiting for the normal lengthy process of deportation.
Jade Museum opens anew
Jade, ceramics, and stone artifacts can once more be enjoyed at the Jade Museum in the National Insurance Building (INS in Spanish) downtown San Jose. These handcrafts were made between 500 BC and 800 AD. The 3,000 pieces on permanent exhibit, as well as three halls dedicated to the major pre-Columbian cultures in Costa Rica, can be enjoyed on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. through 3:30 p.m., at the 11th floor of the INS Building.
Week in Review: Updated every Thursday.
To see previous editions
No cases of cholera since 1997
Twelve years after cholera surfaced again in the continent, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) plans to declare the Central American nations free of the disease by next December 6. PAHO director Mirta Roses made the announcement at a meeting with the ministers of Health from Central America and the Dominican Republic in Panama. She asserted that the region has made extraordinary progress against the disease in the last five years, and pointed out the commitment of the ministers of Health to prevent any new outbreak. Cholera became active in South America in 1991, when a freighter carrying water from Asia with the bacteria arrived in Peru and caused an outbreak that extended throughout South and Central America. From 1991 through 2002, 1.2 million people caught the disease in these parts of the world, and 12,757 of them died. The first case in Costa Rica was imported from Ecuador and the last one was registered in 1997.
Fruitful visit to Taiwan
After his second official visit to Taiwan, President Abel Pacheco returned with the pledge of his Taiwanese peer, Chen Shui-bian, to grant the $25 million needed to build the road linking Naranjo and Florencia, San Carlos, in northern Costa Rica. President Pacheco also rates as a major achievement the fact that he was able to secure Taiwanese funding for the construction of a Convention Center. Taiwan would be the major shareholder in the Center, which would focus on "business tourism" and which would be used by local foreign trade authorities to promote Costa Rican exports.
President gets low grades
The President of Costa Rica, Dr. Abel Pacheco, got very low grades in an evaluation of his performance made by Costa Ricans last June. Ticos graded their President from 1.0 to 10.0 in a survey by the Institute of Social Studies on Population of Universidad Nacional. Even though the lowest passing average is 7.0 and Dr. Pacheco only got it on intelligence, the President said he was pleased with the outcome and thanked Costa Ricans for supporting him. He got grades under 6.84 for "democratic", 6.46 for "accessible", 6.09 for "peacemaker", 6.06 for "authoritarian", 5.73 for "understanding", and 5.58 for "leadership".
Safe canopy touring
Those wanting to see the Costa Rican lush jungles from the tops of the trees by taking canopy tours will now enjoy not only extraordinary views but also reinforced safety. Twenty-eight operators made a commitment to comply with the safety measures established by experts of the Adventure Operators Association to prevent accidents. The rules range from the operation only by qualified guides to equipment that must be certified by international organizations.
German citizen deported
The Costa Rican police deported Klaus Dieter Rossner, a German citizen wanted in his homeland for a $500,000 scam. According to the police, Rossner apparently entered Costa Rica illegally, but was identified through data provided by the INTERPOL. After his arrest on the Pacific Coast, Rossner was taken to San Jose, where he suffered a cardiac arrest. Because of his health problems, the German himself requested that he be deported immediately, instead of waiting for the normal lengthy process of deportation.
Jade Museum opens anew
Jade, ceramics, and stone artifacts can once more be enjoyed at the Jade Museum in the National Insurance Building (INS in Spanish) downtown San Jose. These handcrafts were made between 500 BC and 800 AD. The 3,000 pieces on permanent exhibit, as well as three halls dedicated to the major pre-Columbian cultures in Costa Rica, can be enjoyed on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. through 3:30 p.m., at the 11th floor of the INS Building.
Of course most of those outfits are scammers, but it's not like it is impossible to generate above-market returns in a given niche market. I've wondered about the Brothers thing since it went 
-up ... they ran for what, 29 years? Sort of hard to believe a non-government Ponzi scheme could keep going for that long.
Phaedrus
-up ... they ran for what, 29 years? Sort of hard to believe a non-government Ponzi scheme could keep going for that long. Phaedrus
WTF is this? This sounds like some 3rd world "paycheck advance" scam gone way, way beyond bad. Offered installments over 10 weeks???? This is a f'ing classic!!!
"U.S. transplant Robert Sharkey, who filed a fraud complaint against Esquivel last March, claims he attempted to cash a check for $50,000 with Vinir Exchange House in the western San José suburb of Escazú last August. Instead of being returned his money - minus the 1% processing fee reportedly charged by the exchange house - Sharkey claims he was offered installments of $5,000 a week."
"U.S. transplant Robert Sharkey, who filed a fraud complaint against Esquivel last March, claims he attempted to cash a check for $50,000 with Vinir Exchange House in the western San José suburb of Escazú last August. Instead of being returned his money - minus the 1% processing fee reportedly charged by the exchange house - Sharkey claims he was offered installments of $5,000 a week."
