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By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Blah. That's it. I tried to stick it out, but screw this. I'm going home, to bed, for some chicken noodle soup broth or something. You know how it is when you really feel "sick." Like that. I'm outta here. Nothing really serious is going on. The hospital guys are still on strike so avoid Transistmica. All the rest is routine. C'ya.

Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

The president of the National Business Council (Conep), Anthony Fletcher, has benefited from contracts which together account for more than a million dollars with the Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Ampyme). Fletcher, president of AF Consultores Especializados, does not believe that his position as a union leader is compromised by providing services to the government: "It's not a sin to obtain contracts with the state (...) I've done better at other times." However, Angelica Maytín, the President of Transparency International chapter in Panama, said "if the president of Conep has contracts with the government while serving as the speaker of the guild, he should make a statement of interest and place it on the website of his organization, so that their members can be aware of the situation and assess whether there is a potential risk of conflict of interest between his role as a union leader and as a contractor."

Last week, Fletcher denied while speaking on SERTV that there is an institutional crisis in the country, as has been stated by a number of civil society organizations. The Chamber of Commerce claimed a lack of consensus of union coordinator for these assertions, and separated from Conep. Fletcher's opinion was reproduced, as support for the Government, in a press release from the Ministry of State Communications.

CONEP Will Ask The Chamber of Commerce to Reconsider: The National Business Council (Conep), which brings together 25 business associations in the country, met yesterday to assess their position following the departure of the Chamber of Commerce. Anthonio Fletcher, Conep president, said the group again invited the Chamber of Commerce to region their ranks, without giving further details of what strategy was used, after the Chamber resigned from the union on the grounds that this spirit has diverged from which it was conceived: to be a coordinating body for private sector organizations that comprise it, to deal with issues of national interest.

"After several weeks of analysis, we decided to separate temporarily from Conep," said Irvin Halman last Friday, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama.

Fletcher, visibly upset following a meeting yesterday that lasted about three hours, said he will not talk any more about the differences between them and the Chamber of Commerce. "There are many goals and things that unite us, superior to those which could separate us," said Fletcher. He said he is not sorry for what he said and that there is no "institutional crisis in the country." It was, in his opinion, a personal opinion that enjoys the backing of some, while being rejected by others. (Prensa)

Editor's Comment: There was a conflict of interest, he got caught, so what. These are business organizations. Is anyone surprised that some of them are making money off of government contracts? Now, if there was an open and transparent system through which anyone could see what company had won which contract, then no one would care. The problem is that this administration is handing out contracts, many times without a bidding process - called "direct contracts" - and of course they are handing them out to their friends. Because it doesn't make any sense to hand money to your political enemies, right?   

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Remember that idiot Francisco Armani? This was the guy who came through Portobelo shortly after the mudslides of early December 2010, when Grey Coy lost his entire family and ended up hospitalized in Colon with a broken pelvis. Panama-Guide readers donated money to help Greg out, and then just before Christmas this guy Francisco Armani showed up. Armani claimed to be a "brain surgeon" who was in Panama working with the Red Cross. In fact, Francisco Armani is not a doctor at all, but he actually went to the Social Security hospital in Colon and "pretended" to examine Greg Coy as a doctor. It was part of his ruse to convince everyone he was really a doctor. Armani promised he could make arrangements for a Red Cross medical evacuation flight to take Greg Coy back to Canada.

But What He Really Wanted Was - The Money: Francisco Armani then tried to steal the donated money by trying to find a way to weasel it out of Greg's children, who had come down to Panama to be with their father. In my book there is nothing lower than a cockroach like this guy - who would try to steal charitable donations from a man who is in the hospital recovering from a broken pelvis, after having lost four family members in a natural disaster. In short, this dude pissed me off. I've been on this guy's ass ever since. In the past 18 months or so I have learned much more about Francisco Armani's real game. He's gotten involved in several criminal enterprises in the past, and when it all gets busted, he turns over and acts as a witness against his former partners in crime, in order to save his own ass. As a result there are no wants or warrants pending against him for the major crimes in which he's participated, because he negotiated freedom for himself in return for information about his former business partners. And of course that means there are a whole lot of people looking for this guy, which is why he has to keep moving all the time. And of course that's why he really, really wants me to remove the articles I've written about him over the years from my website. Today, this idiot wrote me another threatening email, which I post for you below. (more)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (1,515 words)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - The story about Adrian Vasquez suing Carnival Cruise Lines was on CNN this evening. I sent them the raw HD video of the interview I shot with him, and they used a very short clip of that. Hat's off to Judy and Jeff, who knew what they saw that day. Here's a link: Cruise ship doesn't help stranded boater - CNN.com Video

Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

Both the Foreign Ministry and the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) reported that Erick Shcks Bairnals, charged with rape of a 19 years in the Philippines, will conclude his official duties in the AMP. The move comes after the Asian declared the Panamanian diplomat as persona non grata, after he went unpunished in the Philippine justice system because Shcks enjoyed diplomatic immunity. "This action will allow Mr. Eric Shcks to be totally free to exercise, as any other citizen, legal actions to ensure his defense from Panama, facing the investigations to which he was subject in the Philippines, and the total impartiality of the national government with regard to those charges," said a statement from the Panamanian Foreign Ministry. Both Panamanian institutions reiterate they have sought to guarantee the correct application of international law in the matter, rejecting any speculation circulating in the sense that they sought to evade Philippine justice. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: Ah hem. Bullshit. They first flew this guy out of the Philippines, and then once he was back in Panama, they fired him and yanked his diplomatic immunity. Anyone want to place a bet that there is no extradition treaty between Panama and the Philippines? They let this guy get away with rape. It's pretty clear. Shcks was escorted through the airport and flew to Europe with the Panamanian Ambassador to the Philippines. They protected him until he got clear, then they cut him loose. That way, the Government of Panama and try to have it both ways. And, that sucks. Too bad. They had a chance to do the right thing.   

William Dathan Holbert, better known as "Wild Bill", denied today he has any special privileges within the prison in Chiriqui where he is detained. Holbert said he has not paid any prison guard for any favor, saying the section of prison cells where he is being held are used for punishment. Holbert has three hearing dates set for this month for killing five people in Bocas del Toro. (Telemetro)

   

The former military dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega has been hospitalized for six days in a public hospital in Panama City for viral bronchitis, which will keep him in the hospital for the time being, said a family source. Noriega, 78, was transferred last week from the El Renacer prison to the Santo Tomas public hospital in the capital where he remains "with the same diagnosis," said Thays Noriega, his daughter.

At first it was said Noriega would remain hospitalized until Sunday. However, "they decided to leave him ... still inside, I think for a couple of days, he will not be discharged today," said his daughter. Thays Noriega said these types of bronchial infections are "high risk" for someone of her father's age, so she recalled the request made ​​by his family through his lawyers to give him being held as a prisoner in the hospital, or even being released to house arrest. According to Noriega's daughter, both requests are justified because there are "no conditions" at the El Renacer prison to attend the type of case such as her father is presenting now, and in that respect she said it's been three months since they filed their request and they still have not received and answer from prison authorities. (Prensa)   

At 5:30 am today, Gilberto Ventura was taken to the offices of the Third Superior Prosecutor to give his official sworn statement. Ventura is the primary suspect in the murders of five young adults of Asian descent in La Chorrera. Investigation is expected to last until the afternoon. The events will be reconstructed from 18 to 30 May 2012 in La Chorrera, specifically in El Trapichito where the bodies were found. (Dia a Dia)   

Gerardo Alexis Quezada, 44, was electrocuted on Saturday night when he grabbed a high voltage power line. The incident occurred in the area known as the "Bajada de Tommy" in the city of David. Witnesses to the incident detailed that it happened at about 9:00 pm when the subject entered a very dark place to relieve himself, and when he was done, he apparently tried to grab a cable to exit the site without knowing it was high voltage.

7,000 volts - Preliminary reports reveal Quezada's body received at least 7,000 volts. This caused the body to be incinerated because it became stuck to the cable, until minutes later specialized personnel arrived at the scene and disconnected the electricity. The individual's family came to the scene and identified the body. They said the man was a resident of the El Varital neighborhood, close to where he was killed. In an ironic twist, his family members also said Quezada was an electrician. Units of Criminology, DIP, DIJ, along with agents of the Prosecutor's Office of Chiriqui, arrived to conduct the postmortem. (Mi Diario)

   

In Panama there are 397,118 homosexuals, considering that 11% of the population admitted to being gay or lesbian, when asked by CID Gallup for El Siglo. According to the investigation, young people aged 18-29 years were more likely to report themselves as being gay, at 17.8%. Only 4.4% of those over 40 years said to have this sexual orientation. Respondents who expressed being gay were asked if they have publicly acknowledged their condition. Of those 63.8% said they had left the closet and admitted their sexual preference, compared with 36.2% who said that had not admitted it in public.

'Morally Wrong' - The investigation also probed how Panamanians value a person who prefers the same sex, and found that one in two people see it as 'morally wrong'. The percentage of those who consider this type of sexual preference as 'morally wrong' increases among people with low education and those over 40 years of age. 29% believe that this preference comes from birth and 16% were unsure or did not respond. (Siglo)

Editor's Comment: Back in the 1940's sex researcher Alfred Kinsey said 10% of the men he surveyed were "predominantly homosexual." Since then there have been many additional studies, and conventional wisdom for the past two decades has pegged the number of homosexuals in any given population at 3% to 5%. But when you eliminate those who are bisexual, and heterosexuals who have only experimented or engaged in same sex practices a couple of times, then that number drops down to about 1.7% of those over 18. The population of Panama is now at about 3.5 million people, so the actual number of homosexuals in Panama is more likely to be at about 59,500. Unless you believe this poll. Then it's 397,118 - but I think that's really, really wrong.   

The families who were affected by strong winds in the city of Santiago, Veraguas province authorities request support. So far there has been a delay in the transfer of materials to fix the roofs that were blasted off of their homes in the area yesterday afternoon. However, mattresses and some furniture have already arrived to the communities most affected by the rains. One of the victims thanked the authorities for the aid that has been delivered, but said they hope to expedite the delivery of materials to fix the roof, fearing for more rain. It was also reported electricity service is being restored to these affected communities. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: This seems to happen quite often here in Panama. There will be a very strong rain storm, and as part of that storm "strong winds" will blow the roofs off of several houses, usually in a tight cluster. Rarely there's a report of a tornado or funnel cloud, and usually it's just reported as a blast of wind. They put the roofs back on, and that's that.    

About 25 suspected members of a gang called "Kill The Nasty (KTN)," based on Calle 17 in Rio Abajo and the surrounding streets were detained by police officers after the area was surrounded yesterday, Sunday, during an anti gang operation. The operation started at 6:00 am. A police checkpoint was established and the identities of 74 persons were verified, among them the 25 detainees, who were turned over to the Auxiliary Prosecutor. The operation was led by Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino and National Police officers. Participating units were the Directorate of Police Information (DPI), the Department of Judicial Investigation (DIJ) and units of the State Border Service (SENAFRONT) for support.

A privately owned vehicle was discovered that was made to look like a taxi, which will be checked out to see if it was used in some criminal activity. Dozens of residences were searched, and six people were arrested when cocaine or marijuana was found. One person was arrested who had an outstanding warrant from Family Court. The operation of prevention, detection and capture was made by the authorities in the early hours of the morning, and took place in the whole area of ​​Calle 17 Rio Abajo.

Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino said "the most impressive of these operations is to see minors handcuffed, and to hear them blaming the adults, which shows that we have, and we are facing a problem of society and family in many occasions." For his part, the Chief of Operations of the National Police, Bartholomew Aguero, said the operations are designed to provide better security and he warned "we will continue to put pressure on the criminals, to provide answers (to the people.)" The relevant authorities must investigate thoroughly to apply sanctions according to law. (Critica)

   

Striking workers from the Social Security Fund partially closed on Monday Via Transístmica in front of the Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid hospital of the CSS. Using burning tires and other objects the striking employees closed one lane of the roadway, one the side that goes to the district of San Miguelito. They set the objects on fire which caused a lot of smoke in the area. The road was closed at 11:55 on Monday and minutes later riot control units from the National Police intervened to reopen the road. Luis Lee, a leader of the protesters, said they have not been approached by the authorities to dialogue, and they demand higher wages. (Telemetro)

   

Saying he was not being given opportunities in the PRD, on Sunday the alternate for National Assembly Deputy Yassir Purcait switched to the MOLIRENA political party during a weekend recruitment drive. In David on Sunday the National Assembly Deputy Miguel Fanovich recruited more than 2,000 people to join the MOLIRENA political party. Likewise, party leader Zenon Gonzalez also added new members to the party, which is growing every day. That same day, Pancho Aleman managed to enroll 1,200 in the district of San Miguelito, Nelson Vergara signed up 800 in Pedregal, and Tito Rodriguez enrolled 1,150. In the province of Veraguas Santana Hernandez enrolled 501, and in the South in Soná another 513 people joined the party, which is getting closer to having a total of 100,000 members. (Estrella)

Editor's Comment: MOLIRENA will be an ally of the Cambio Democratico political party in the 2014 elections. They will be filling the vacuum left by the departure of the Panameñistas in August 2011 when Juan Carlos Varela and Jose Blandon set their alliance with the CD on fire. Any smart individual in the Panameñista party will be able to see that Juan Carlos Varela and party will come in third in 2014 - so why stick around? By switching to the MOLIRENA they are at least keeping their options open. I still see it as CD wins in 2014, PRD in a close second, with the Panameñistas in a poor third showing - just like they did in 2004 - the last time they ran by themselves.   

The Fourteenth Court criminal nullified all proceedings and closed the case against the former Vice Consul of Panama in Tampa, Florida, Maximo Haddad Abad and four other individuals who were investigated for the crime of embezzlement. The judge Secundino Mendieta made his decision, saying that due process was violated because the prosecution did not take the preliminary statement of the accused, and the eyewitness accounts differed. According to the investigation, the patrimonial injury exceeded five thousand dollars. (Panama America)   

A Panamanian man who survived 28 days at sea in a small disabled boat is suing Princess Cruise Lines because one of its ships failed to stop and help. Adrian Vázquez, the fisherman who watched his two companions die at sea, is alleging negligence by the cruise line in a lawsuit filed in a Florida state court by his Attorney Edna Ramos. The 18-year-old Vázquez and companions Fernando Osorio, 16, and Elvis Oropeza, 31, set off for a night of fishing on Feb. 24 from Rio Hato, a small fishing and farming town on the Pacific coast of Panama that was once the site of a U.S. Army base guarding the Panama Canal. The boat's motor broke down on the way back and the men drifted at sea for 16 days before seeing a cruise ship approach March 10. Vázquez has said the men signaled for help. "Tio, look what's coming over there," Vásquez recalled in an interview in April. "We felt happy, because we thought they were coming to rescue us."

But the ship did not stop, and the fishing boat drifted another two weeks before it was found. By then, Vásquez's two friends had died. "I said, 'God will not forgive them,'" Vásquez recalled. "Today, I still feel rage when I remember that." Princess Cruises has said passengers never told the ship's captain they saw a boat. Osorio and Oropeza died later. Vázquez was rescued on March 22 near Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, more than 600 miles from where they had set out.

Ramos said the lawsuit includes testimony from two cruise ship passengers who have said they saw the disabled boat and reported it to a cruise representative on the Star Princess liner. Passenger Jeff Gilligan, a birdwatcher from Portland, Oregon, has told journalists that he was among the first people to notice the small boat. Another birdwatcher, Judy Meredith of Bend, Oregon, has also said she saw the small open boat and through her bird-spotting scope could see a man waving what looked like a dark red T-shirt.

Meredith has said that she told a Princess Cruises sales representative what she and Gilligan had seen and that he assured her that he passed the news on to the ship's crew. The two passengers said they put the sales representative on one of the spotting scopes so he could see the small boat for himself.

Editor's Comment: I broke this story on 13 April 2012 with this article - Panama Castaways Were Spotted By Cruise Ship Passengers - And Ignored By Ship's Captain. Then I spent the better part of a week pushing the story and trying to get someone in the "big" news world to notice. My wonderful and dedicated regular readers helped by sending the articles I had published to their local news outlets. Finally it got picked up in Seattle and Portland. Then a couple of television stations got it. But then when the local AP guys here in Panama published the story, they cut me out and blew me off completely. They rewrote the story as if they had done it all themselves. And now that it's gone around the world twice - many of the news agencies are still cutting me out completely without a word, any reference to www.panama-guide.com at all, or credit. But hat's off to guys like CNN, BBC, and the Guardian who contacted me today, now that Adrian Vasquez has hired a lawyer and filed suit. Ironically, the AP guys contacted me when I was in Bocas researching the Yvonne Baldelli story, looking for information. I told them I would call right back. I wonder if they're still waiting. Oh yeah - (AP Photo/Tito Herrera) - see. Was that so hard?   

The warning issued yesterday by the authorities of the Social Security Fund (CSS) was clear. They will dock the pay of the 30,800 workers, doctors, cleaners and health professionals from five labor organizations, who have said they would participate in the strike called for today, if they do not show up for work. The workers are going on strike to demand a review of the pay scale. For their part, the CSS called upon patients today attend their "scheduled appointments and procedures" and to "not be fooled by a tiny group of officials."

In a statement, the agency said they do not understand the call to a strike, because for the first time in history there has been a general increase of wages for all employees. Yesterday afternoon the National Medical Negotiating Commission convened a press conference to reiterate their support to the striking health workers. They said that they, in turn, will hold a 48-hour strike, in both the CSS and the Ministry of Health to demand they comply. (Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Let's see if this is a small minority action that's going on strike for political reasons, or if they actually represent the majority of the workers. In fact, most of these kinds of strikes are political in nature, designed to make noise and create bad press, while those on strike simply do not represent, in fact, the will or the desires of the majority. It seems strange, but it happens all the time in Panama.    

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Welcome aboard to our latest link swapper - Panama Coast Property. From their website: "The Only Place for West Coast Sunsets! - Our website shows visitors the options of real estate availability on the West Coast of the Azuero Peninsula from the town of Mariato to Arenas. We sell oceanfront lots and homes; ocean view lots and homes; small fincas ready for development; and large fincas for future development. We build homes, roads, water systems and electrical systems." Sounds like a nice place. And of course these guys are smart enough to recognize the value of participating in our long-standing link exchange program. We're not crazy - we use this program to give away a "taste" of exposure - for free. But if you want real results then you might want to consider advertising. The #1 link on our website is Panama Realtor, a long time advertiser whose link has been clicked (as of today) 54,948 times. So yes, you can use this program to advertise your business on Panama-Guide.com for free, as long as you have Panama related English language content on your website. Just follow the guidelines set out above, and get busy...

Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - It has been my long standing policy to publish announcements for non-profit groups and organizations. As long as they are true non-profits and doing good things for the community then this is the way I can help all of them - but anyone who is running a business or making a profit has to pay to advertise. So if you're having a bake sale or an auction to raise money for a cause or whatever, then please, by all means, send me a write-up and I will publish and promote your event on this website - for free.

For example on 26 May 2012 the the American Society of Panama will be having their annual meeting to install their new board of directors. Recently the Bocas Educational Service Organization held their annual charity auction and raised $20,000 dollars to help the local schools in the area. So far this year I've published announcements for a new quilting group, community support projects being conducted by the US Embassy in Panama, the Navy League of Panama, an organization called Art in the Park, Jamuna Burry's Playa Community Mixer, a fund raiser at Finca La Maya, and others. So, I like to do these kinds of things, but you guys who run these events have to help me out.

Submission Standards: Please follow these submission standards to make it quick and easy for me to promote and publicize your upcoming event:

• Text In The Body Of An Email: I need the words that describe what you are doing. Take the time to write it up, and send it to me as text in the body of an email. Let me say that again - slowly. Text only, in the body of an email. If I get the words like that, I can quickly and easily copy the text into an article, mark it up with html for the website, and off we go. It takes me seconds, and time matters when you're doing stuff for free.

• No Formatting: When I say "text only" what I mean is - please do not include any formatting, bolds, bullets, italics, underlining, or any of that other stuff. In order to publish the article in html I just have to strip all of that stuff out anyway, so please don't put it there in the first place. Make it easy for me.

• No .pdf files, Word .docs, or whatever: Please DO NOT send me a flier in the form of a .pdf file as an attachment to an email. In order to "extract" the pertinent information, I would have to stop what I'm doing, and take the time to write and create the article. Don't send me a Microsoft Word .doc file either. No. Negative. Don't do it. Just simple text, in the body of an email. Please. Otherwise, you won't see your event posted.

• Photos As Attachments: Please send a couple of photos that you would like to see in the article as attachments to the same email carrying the text for your article. Once again, digging a photo out of a .pdf file or a Word .doc is just a pain in the butt that takes time. Also send the logo for your organization if you want.

• Don't Forget Contact Information: Include the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of whoever is running the thing, so people can contact to buy tickets, attend, make donations, volunteer to help, or whatever.

• Planning, Before, and After: If you do it right, you can get three articles about your event published on Panama-Guide. Let's say you have an event coming up in August 2012 and today it's mid-May. You can send me one now to announce what you will be doing in August, to recruit volunteers, solicit donations, or what have you. Then about a week before the event send me another one, as a reminder and to get people to attend. Then once your event is over, you can send me another article to let everyone know how it went, how much money you raised, how many dog's got snipped, or whatever. So, think three. Don't worry about sending too much or too often, and this "three per event" rule is a pretty good standard.

• Don't Be Afraid To Pester: If you send me something for publication, and a day or two goes by and you don't see it on the website, don't be afraid to send me a gentle reminder. As it very often happens I can get completely wrapped up in something important and the smaller things can easily get by me. I will make every effort to handle them all, but you might have to help me out with a gentle slap to the back of the head, OK? It's all good, we're having fun, and it's a good cause, so don't worry about it. Fire away...

• Special For Bocas: When the Yvonne Baldelli situation popped up many people in Bocas del Toro said "oh no, not again." They were just starting to heal from the whole Wild Bill situation. While I was there I invited everyone I could find to seek out opportunities to send me good news stories about Bocas del Toro. The real secret about Bocas is that the community of English speaking expatriates up there look out for and take care of one another. Occasionally situations emerge with local corruption, land swindles, and the completely unexpected like Wild Bill. However those types of negative problems tend to grab the headlines, and the "good news" rarely gets told. So, I invited all you Bocas dudes and dudettes to bury me in the good stuff. But you have to write it and let me know about it, because I'm down here, and you guys are up there.

And There You Have It: Pretty simple, really. Text of the article in the body of an email, with photos as attachments. Wait a day or two and you should see it. No .pdf's or Word .docs. I can slap these puppies out faster than ping pong balls from a Mexican hooker's ... no wait, I can't say that. It might be seen as insensitive... (har.) But then there's this video below. Free Advertising on Panama-Guide.com - you get what you pay for.

Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

"I come to talk about computers, not talk about politics", said President Ricardo Martinelli on Saturday when he attended a ceremony of the Ministry of Education in the Gymnasium Roberto Duran. "Let others play politics, it takes two to fight and if that's the case, count me out," said Martinelli, after having sued the Vice President Juan Carlos Varela for $30 million dollars, and yesterday the Presidency released a report stating the Vice President is not attending the functions as required by the Constitution. Martinelli just handed out laptop computers to students who came from all provinces, took photos of some of the beneficiaries, and after the ceremony he quickly withdrew from the scene without giving time for journalists to ask questions. Left unanswered was his response to statements made on Saturday in David by Vice President Juan Carlos Varela, who said he would not resign, and that the contract with Finmeccanica should be suspended. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: Ha! This week Martinelli repeatedly called upon his own Vice President to resign, sued him for $30 million dollars, and issued at least two official press releases from the Presidency explaining why he thinks Varela should resign, and then on Saturday he says he's not going to "play politics." Gawd, I love this stuff. He's got every element of the whole country crashing into themselves like a bunch of drunks at the bumper cars, and then he just tosses a "screw that" over his shoulder and leaves. Classic. I'm sure he'll come up with something on Twitter later today. Maybe he'll fire someone, that's always fun. "Los Locos Somos -- Up At 3:00 Am -- So Let's Send A Few Tweets To Start Some Random Shit"   

The Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama withdrew yesterday from the National Business Council (Conep), hours after statements given on state television (SERTV) by the chairman of the latter union, Anthony Fletcher, that were released yesterday by the government Press Secretary. The Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the Conep announcing their decision to secede from the union for an undefined period, as they did in 2004 over differences in political and economic crises. "Businessmen deny that an institutional crisis exists in Panama," headlined the press release issued by the Press Secretary to the media, citing statements made by Fletcher on SERTV. The release angered the business community, because Fletcher's position is not shared by all of the members of that guild. "They are breaking the country's institutions and polluting the institutionality of private enterprise," said the businessman Cesar Tribaldos, following statements made yesterday by Fletcher. (Prensa)

Editor's Comment: Even the groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama are becoming more politically charged over the current clash of the titans in Panama. Martinelli is a businessman, and he's making all of the other businessmen pay more taxes, and some of them are very, very pissed off about that. Often times when they say they want to defend "institutions" they really mean they want to keep things the way they were before, when the very rich businessmen could get away with damn near anything, and they never had to actually pay the taxes as required by law. Many of the very rich businessmen in Panama are snarling through clenched teeth right now - but even the richest man in Panama gets exactly (only) one vote. Martinelli is smart enough to take the money from the rich and to give a lot of it back to the people of Panama in the form of government projects, jobs, infrastructure improvements, and things like laptop computers for 93,000 school kids. So, he's pissing off a small handful of the rich, but that's actually part of his master plan for the 2014 elections. If the rich are pissed, the Panamanian poor - who outnumber the rich by about 10,000 to 1 - will probably vote for the CD candidate again. It's worth noting that no other former president has gone after the tax money owed by the rich like Ricardo Martinelli has. Government revenues have gone up every year by a whole lot, mostly due to improved tax collection techniques, bolstered as well by the fast growing economy. In short, the government is rolling in dough, comparatively speaking.   

His hobbies were reading the Bible and working the soil. Jose De La Cruz Arena Morales, 75, had a plot of land where he grew corn and other crops, so every day, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, he stood watching his crops. In moments of rest he regained his strength by reading the Bible while sitting in a hammock, relatives said.

On Thursday at 6:00 pm, the family of Don Jose were worried when they saw that he did not come to his house, located in New Mexico # 2, so they started to call for him and look for him in the other houses owned by the family, but he did not appear. One of his children decided to go to a parcel of land where Don Jose had a ranch in the area of ​​El Tecal in Caimitillo, and he found his father's body inside of the house, face up with multiple stab wounds to the chest; next to him was the Bible all destroyed with a machete stuck in the ground. Sulfur had been thrown on the body.

"We think they killed by grandfather in the morning, because when the rain fell they had already killed him, because the rain washed away the blood," said Jose Arena, grandson of the victim. Yesterday National Police officers arrested one man who is presumed to be implicated in this crime. (Dia a Dia)

Editor's Comment: The victim had been stabbed ten times and whacked four times with a machete. This terrible murder caught everyone's attention yesterday.   

The payment of bus fare with electronic cards have been shown to benefit some users who save money on trasnfers, while others continue to suffer. For Julio Rivas, Metrobus availability remains a problem. In his case, sometimes he has to have 25 cents in currency in one hand and the Metro Bus electronic payment card in the other hand, because he doesn't know if he's going to have to take one of the "Red Devils" that remain in service, or one of the new Metro Buses that also service the same area. Every day hundreds of users face this same reality, however, despite the drawbacks, every day more people are using the electronic cards which cost two dollars and then they have to reloaded.

To date, the company Sonda, the financial manager of the Metro Bus payment system, has sold over 70,000 cards, indicating that a large number of users have the new way to pay for the service. In recent days, Sonda said they have achieved more than 1 million transfers, representing a savings of $250,000 dollars in travel for all users of this new system. But while some are speaking of savings, there are routes where users continue to demand better service. (Mi Diario)

   

A bus on the internal route in Pedregal, which was full of passengers, fell over into a ditch yesterday in San Jose, Rana de Oro. The Public Relations Department of the Unified Emergency Management (ADD) 911 reported that the vast majority of the passengers were students. In the accident, eight people were injured and seven were treated at the scene, but one was taken to the Regional Hospital in December 24. According to the source, the patient is stable and the injured were children. The other passengers escaped unhurt. It is presumed the accident occurred because the bus tried to avoid an 18 wheeler. Last Thursday the residents of Rana de Oro met with Transit officials to request better service and more buses, because there are not enough servicing the area. (Siglo)

   

National Police officers captured a citizen who was wanted for allegedly being involved in various crimes of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder. Luis Navarro, the Chief in charge of the Police Zone in Chiriqui, said the man, identified by the initials of EAV, was captured by agents of the Special Unit for Adolescents who performed an operation in Pedregal. The man, who claimed to be a gunslinger, was involved in an assault with a knife and has caused injuries to several people. During the UAE Operation in Chiriquí officers also seized 40 pieces of crack, 48 bundles of marijuana, a quarter pound of marijuana, a homemade weapon and unexploded ordnance. The suspect was questioned and transferred to the penitentiary system, while the Public Ministry advanced their investigations. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: The man identified himself as a "pistolero" - or someone who makes a living with his pistol. The old school translation is "gunslinger".   

Agents of the State Border Service (SENAFRONT) destroyed an insurgent camp in the area of Río Mono, in the Darién province. The place was found some days ago and was reported to have a capacity for 100 people. It also had medicines, food and other goods. (Telemetro)

Editor's Comment: The camp was apparently being used to hold people who had been kidnapped, because the insurgents had planted a large number of thorn bushes all around the area to impede movement or to prevent someone from escaping.   

Comparing what his administration has given to those of his predecessors, President Ricardo Martinelli began yesterday the delivery of laptops to students in fourth, fifth and sixth year. "These computers cost $280 and have more programs than what the previous government bought for $460 dollars. There is a clear difference between things that are done well and those that are done wrong," said Martinelli. The government is buying these computers and giving them to students for a cost of $26.7 million dollars. In the "Salon of Peace" in the Presidency, the Minister of Education, Lucy Molinar, took 50 students to Martinelli of the more than 1,500 who are in the CSI. And it's not the TV series of criminal investigation. They are called Corps of Information Solidarity (CSI) because they will have the difficult task of training the other 93,000 students in the "good use" of the laptop computers. The other members of the CSI will meet today at the Roberto Duran arena, where the computers will be handed out, and on Monday will begin the massive distribution at centers in the country. (Critica)

Editor's Comment: Could you see this happening in the United States? Government money used to buy 93,000 laptop computers that are given free to students? A simple approach to a difficult problem. Kids love technology - give them a computer and without a doubt most of them will use it to learn something. Panama has also set up a nation wide free wifi network so these kids will be able to surf the Internet for free as well, from home. Now they won't have any excuse for not doing their homework.    

A diplomat from Panama was declared "persona non grata" in the Philippines over allegations he raped a woman in the country. The information came from the Philippine government and was broadcast on local media in the Asian country. The measure was adopted on Friday, 11 May 2012, following a complaint against the diplomat who had raped a woman on 19 April 2012, said a spokesman of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Raul Hernandez. The situation is complicated and there are protests by Filipino women against the embassy, where on the side a Panamanian flag is flying. Filipino women, activists from the Gabriela Women's Party, protested on Thursday, 10 May 2012 against the Panamanian Embassy in Makati City, Manila, capital of the Philippines.

Philippine Police said the alleged victim said the incident occurred on 23 April, after the Panamanian invited her to his house, where he inhaled an unidentified narcotic substance. Erick Shcks Bairnals, 35 years old, an evaluating technical officer of the Maritime Authority of Panama in the Philippines, who worked for the Panamanian embassy in this Asian country, was released on 30 April 2012 after the Philippine government recognized his diplomatic immunity.

According to the Inquirer newspaper, Shcks Bairnals left last night from Manila's Ninoy Aquino airport, accompanied by the Ambassador of Panama, Roberto Carlos Vallarino, on a flight to Amsterdam. The Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines declared the Panamanian diplomat persona non grata after the ambassador conveyed by letter, the decision of the Government of Panama not to lift the diplomatic immunity of its official, reported ABS-CBN. (Estrella)