Bud
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September storm warnings
Posted on September 4, 2016 in Panama
A Pacific lightning strike off the Cinta CosteraPost Views: 199SEPTEMBER is typically the time when Panama has some of its worst storms and the civil defense agency SINAPROC issued its first warning for the month on Sunday September 4 .
The meteorology division of the electric transmission company ETESA, forecast heavy rain storms with strong gusts of wind.
Expect more of the same in the coming weeks, compounded by uncertainty over the effects of climate change.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/september-storm-warnings
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Siempre, great use of imagery to provide directions. What kind of tools did you use to create the annotated JPG? And where did you get the image (from Google?)?
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Their business name is Casa Decor Boquete. Their name here on CL is @Casa Decor Boquete.
We have no first hand experience with that business or the owners, but two friends had positive things to say about them. One comment was that she seems to have good "design sense" (their phrase). I have no design/decorator brain cells, so don't ask me what that phrase means.
Hope this helps a bit, although I think you are more interested in their successes at selling things.
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I added the highlighting of the "Boquete SETI" connection.
QuoteAliens? “Strong” Signal Detected From Sun-Like Star Being Verified By SETI
by Nancy AtkinsonArticle Updated: 29 Aug , 2016
We’re not saying its aliens, but this could be the most enticing SETI-related signal from space since the famous “Wow! Signal” in 1977.
Over the weekend, interstellar expert Paul Gilster broke the news that “a strong signal” was detected by Russian radio astronomers from the region around the star HD 164595. This signal has attracted enough attention that two prominent SETI observatories are quickly making follow-up observations. Alan Boyle reports in Geekwire that the Allen Telescope Array in California has already been observing the star system and the Boquete Optical SETI Observatory in Panama will make an attempt this evening, if the weather is clear.
Doug Vakoch, the President of METI International (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence) told Universe Today via email that the Allen Telescope Array has already completed its initial reconnaissance of HD 164595, “with no indications of alien technologies at radio frequencies.”
“The first step in following up a putative SETI signal is to look at the same frequency where it was first detected,” Vakoch said, and with the nil detection from the ATA, “now it’s time to search other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.”
Vakoch said METI International will be observing HD 164595 for brief laser pulses from the Boquete Optical SETI Observatory in Panama as soon as weather permits.
“It looks like the Boquete Observatory will be hit by heavy thundershowers late this afternoon and into this evening,” he said, “so we’ll likely need to wait to observe until another night. Once the evening sky is clear in Boquete, we’ll have about an hour to observe in the direction of the constellation Hercules shortly after sunset.”
The signal from HD 164595 was originally detected on May 15, 2015, by the Russian Academy of Science-operated RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, Russia. It is located about 95 light years from Earth in the constellation Hercules. The signal had a wavelength of 2.7 cm, with an estimated amplitude of 750 mJy.
Gilster wrote on his Centauri Dreams website that the researchers have worked out the strength of the signal and that if “it came from an isotropic beacon, it would be of a power possible only for a Kardashev Type II civilization,” which means a civilization capable of harnessing the energy of the entire star, and developing something like a Dyson sphere surrounding the star, and transfer all the energy to the planet.
Freeman Dyson theorized that eventually, a civilization would be able to build a megastructure around its star to capture all its energy. Credit: SentientDevelopments.com
If the beam was narrow and sent directly to our Solar System, the researchers say it would be of a power available to a Kardashev Type I civilization, a type of civilization more advanced than us that is able to harness the full amount of solar power it receives from its star.
Of course, like any other signal, such as the recent study of the dimming light curve of KIC 8462852 (Tabby’s Star) that is still being researched, it is possible the signal comes from other “natural” events such microlensing of a background source or even comets as been proposed for both Tabby’s Star or the “Wow! Signal.”
The SETI website explains that narrow-band signals – ones that are only a few Hertz wide or less – are the mark of a purposely built transmitter. “Natural cosmic noisemakers, such as pulsars, quasars, and the turbulent, thin interstellar gas of our own Milky Way, do not make radio signals that are this narrow. The static from these objects is spread all across the dial.”
And so Gilster said “the signal is provocative enough that the RATAN-600 researchers are calling for permanent monitoring of this target.” You can see a graph of the signal on Centauri Dreams.
Update: A member of the SETI@Home team posted a note online that they were “unimpressed” with the paper from the Russian radio astronomers. “Because the receivers used were making broad band measurements, there’s really nothing about this “signal” that would distinguish it from a natural radio transient (stellar flare, active galactic nucleus, microlensing of a background source, etc.) There’s also nothing that could distinguish it from a satellite passing through the telescope field of view. All in all, it’s relatively uninteresting from a SETI standpoint.”
So, this detection might not be as exciting as originally reported. Also SETI senior astronomer Seth Shostak has now weighed in on the topic, also with measured skepticism on the excitement, with a post about this event on the SETI website.
What has probably fueled interest in this signal is the striking similarities between the star and our Sun. HD 164595 is a star just a tad smaller than our Sun (0.99 solar masses), with the exact same metallicity. The age of the star has been estimated at 6.3 billion years it is already known to have at least one planet, HD 164595 b, a Neptune-sized world that orbits the star every 40 days. And as we’ve seen with data from the Kepler spacecraft, with the detection of one planet comes the very high probability that more planets could orbit this star.
The signal has been traveling for 95 years, so it “occurred” (or was sent) in 1920 on Earth calendars. (There is a good discussion of this in the comment section on Gilster’s article.)
Why the Russian team has only made this detection public now is unclear and it may have only come out now because the team wrote a paper to be discussed at an upcoming SETI committee meeting during the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Tuesday, September 27.
As Gilster wrote, “No one is claiming that this is the work of an extraterrestrial civilization, but it is certainly worth further study.”
http://www.universetoday.com/130515/aliens-strong-signal-detected-sun-like-star-verified-seti/
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Community – In Water I am Free
Post Views: 104
This is a wonderful slide show created by Linda Sherman from photos taken by Doreen Delong the day the handicapped members of the Fundacion Pro-Integracion went to the water park. It’s well worth 3 minutes of your time and we guarantee you will have a tear in the side of your eye by the end.
The Handicap Foundation will have a table at the Tuesday BCP market on September 6 with information on how you can volunteer and/or donate. They will also have a fund-raising book sale at BCP on September 21. Mark your calendars, please.
http://panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com/blog/news-from-panama/community-in-the-water-i-am-free/
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Shelving sex education problem
Posted on September 2, 2016 in Panama, Your Man in Panama
Post Views: 100BATTLE LINES remain drawn between churches and advocacy groups over a proposed law mandating the teaching of sexual education in public schools as “casualties” climb at over 33 a day.
The National Assembly has crumbled over the years in the face of Church opposition, and donned blinkers when faced with statistics showing an ever increasing rate of adolescent pregnancies, and STD’s including children as young as 10.
Reacting to a church organized massive march the craven deputies returned law 61 to first debate on August 6.
One wonders how opponents with unwed teenage children would react to the news that they were about to become grandparents, or that a son or daughter had developed AIDS.
President Juan Carlos Varela, widely accused of resemblance to a tortoise, has never been slow in funneling government funds to church related projects.
Faced with the threat of massive street demonstrations, he decided to create a commission to study the law.
Commissions which tend to drag on for years are a favorite political tool for shelving a problem and much loved in Britain where they are deemed Royal until the final “report” is ready to gather dust on the shelves and the “problem” has disappeared from the headlines.
Panama’s “inter-institutional commission” will study the proposed law and will be led by the Ministry of Education, which has courageously created three proposed curriculums for primary, pre-secondary and secondary students.
Also on the commission will be Vice President and Foreign Minister Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado and officials from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Development, The Institute of Women, The Secretariat of Adolescents and Family, The Gorgas Memorial Institute and Social Security.
The commission will seek input from various sectors, including churches and non-governmental organizations. The goal is to build a consensus.
“We seek agreement on a proposal in line with the realities of the country,” the government said in a press release.
But with opponents announcing , massive protests before an agenda has been drawn up, and craven deputies looking to retain their seats in 2019 don’t expect any move that spells change
Deika Nieto) , a member of the Board of Panamanian Association for Family Planning (APLAFA), says that from 2014 to July this year the institution treated over 7,000 of which 2, 349 were teenagers aged 15-19 and 85 other girls aged 10-14 years.
Until July this year the Ministry of Health reported over 5,000 teen or younger pregnancies not counting those admitted to private or social security hospitals, and a plethora of newborns left in garbage containers, in toilets or on the street. That’s a rate of 33-40 pregnancies day
Other consequences
Paul Cordova planning and evaluation manager at APLAFA, says that pregnancy brings consequences in three fundamental aspects:Health, with minors at a higher risk of dying in childbirth or during activities.
Education, with 6 out of 10 young pregnant girls leaving the school system. in Economic environment because mother and child are dependent on others for their survival.
The educational system as it stands has failed, says sociologist Jose Chamber, and fast decisions are needed.
But we have a commission … and by year end at least another 6,000 child pregnancies.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/shelving-sex-education-action
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Major Canal user declares bankruptcy
Posted on September 2, 2016 in Panama, Panama, World
Post Views: 223THE LARGEST bankruptcy in the history of the shipping industry has been filed by a South Korean shipping company, a major customer of the Panama Canal.
The move came after creditor banks decided not to give financial support to keep Hanjin Shipping. afloat.
The company, considered #7 in global shipping and a regular user of the canal has facws financial problms for several months.
Hanjin Shipping accounts for 1.2% of transits through the Canal, and 2.7% of revenue received by the Cana Authoity (ACP)
Korea Development Bank (KDB), the public bank that led the negotiations on behalf of the creditors announced that it will end its support for Hanjin Shipping from September 4, according to El Economista.
The company had submitted a self-rescue plan, including the support of banks the backing of creditors and the possibility that Korean Air, one of the strongest units of the South Korean group, make a new purchase of shares.
Hanjin operated nearly 100 vessels with a capacity of 20,000 to 25,000 TEUs or containers of 20 feet long.The bankruptcy of the company will force a charge redistribution and routes in the maritime market. Hanjin Shipping was in the register of the expanded Canal as transit number 100 on Sunday August 14 with the ship Hanjin Xiamen.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/business/panama-4/big-canal-user-declares-bankruptcy
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Cell door remains locked for ex-minister
Posted on September 2, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 112PANAMA’S former Minister of Social Development Guillermo Ferrufino, got a key to open one door of his detention cell last week, but the second remains firmly shut.
Ferrufino in better times liked to display his wealth and possessions on social media. But he is now far from his country estate and stables once holding high cost horses.
The Second Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, investigating the alleged crime of embezzlement by renting aircraft through the National Assistance Program changed his preventive detention to house arrest.
But Ferrufino, is still detained at the Police headquarters in Ancon on the instructions of the First Anticorruption Prosecutor investigating him for the alleged crime of unjustified enrichment.
Ferrufino faces two pending trials. One is in the Eleventh Criminal Court for unjust enrichment.
Another is in the Thirteenth Criminal Court for alleged corruption by officials.
Ferrufino once had presidential aspirations, and flaunted a man about town image.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/cell-door-remains-locked-ex-minister
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Ruben Blades’ farewell tour is all about gratitude
Ruben Blades performs at the James L. Knight center Saturday Nov. 21, 2009. Jeffrey M. Boan Miami Herald FileLegendary Panamanian singer-songwriter, Ruben Blades, who is hailed as one of the most important Latin American voices of his time, will perform one of his last Salsa music concerts this weekend in Coral Gables.By Daysi Calavia-Robertson
Special to the Miami Herald
But for the 68-year-old composer, the performance —part of his farewell tour “Walking, goodbye and thank you” — is not a funeral for his career.
“This is not the end. To the contrary, it’s the beginning of a new direction for me and I think the public will understand it better, musically, when the new productions I’m working on now start to appear,” said Blades in an exclusive Miami Herald interview.
“I think most of what I wanted to express within the [Salsa] genre has already been expressed and that’s why I rather say goodbye now when I can still perform a quality show, to the level that we’re accustomed to. But I’m also very excited for all that’s to come and looking forward to walking in new directions.”
For now, he’s imagining a future as bright as the trajectory preceding him. He’s working on the production of a boleros album with Costa Rican group Editus and in the process of recording another album titled “Mixtura,” which will showcase a fusion of several musical genres including rock and pop.
“An album I worked on with Medoro Madera is already recorded — it’s only missing the vocals — and an album of my songs recorded with Brazilian group Boca Livre is already complete,” said Blades. “I’m also recording Volume No.2 of ‘Son de Panama’ and we’re expanding the sound of Roberto Delgado’s orchestra to a real Big Band sound.”
He’s also dreaming up the recording of a Bluegrass album.
The list of dreams, plans and projects is long. That’s why Blades says that this tour is not the end of a story, it’s only the end of a very thorough and happy chapter; a chapter for which he says he can’t thank his fans enough. And that’s what this tour is mainly about: gratitude.
This does not mean that Blades, whose music career has spanned more than four decades, has always received praise. Controversy has had a special place in his life as an artist.
Blades, who has penned internationally renowned songs such as “Maestra Vida” and “Pedro Navaja,” has openly spoken about political issues, has written socially and politically-charged songs such as “Tiburon” and took public office in his native country as Head of Tourism during the government of Martin Torrijos (2004-2009). In 1994, he ran for president of Panama and there have been talks of the possibility that he may run again in 2019.
But Blades, who also holds a degree in law and political sciences from the University of Panama and graduated from Harvard with a degree in international law, has never let controversy affect him.
“When a person tries to do things differently, it will always produce controversy,” Blades said. “Public figures will always be exposed to criticism and slander. When I criticized civilian and military dictatorships and pinpointed errors in the policy of the United States’ government, it caused me difficulties, especially in places like Florida.”
And although he recalls a time when he was banned in Miami and Havana, the crooner says he feels happy, at peace.
“Popular music should tell the life of the city, the people who live there, from my early beginnings that’s what I always tried to do, tell the stories of the people, tell everyone’s stories because I am a journalist,” he said.
“I’m a chronicler. As writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez once said ‘I try to write honestly about things that others short change.’ I separated myself from what was the norm and from my corner I provided commentary on the city, the country and the world.”
“Right now, I’m healthy, I’m still writing, I’m still recording and working. And that, I will never take for granted. I will always appreciate it.”
http://www.flkeysnews.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article97599572.html
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Drug raid nets politician and border patrol officer
Posted on September 1, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 200A POLICE DRUG raid that netted a Colon politician and an officer of the border security force (SENAN) along with four others, won praise from President Juan Carlos Varela on Thursday, September 3.
He said that the arrests show that there is a “zero tolerance” policy toward corruption and organized crime.
“We are going to purge the police force and the political class of any links to drug trafficking,” he said.
During the operation called “Piedra Negra,” Police arrested Senan Lt. Francisco Salazar and the representative of Viento Frío, Jaramillo Hidalgo, a member of the PRD.
Authorities also seized four firearms, three cars and $2,218.
In the first phase of this operation last week, police confiscated 305 kilos of cocaine, $129,000 in cash and five vehicles. They also arrested nine people.
The investigation had been underway for four months.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/drug-raid-nets-politician-border-patrol-officer
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The tragic loss of a family was also reported in Newsroom Panama at http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/migrant-family-drowned-darien.
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Sex education talks resume
Posted on September 1, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 55THE SEEMINGLY never ending discussions over sexual education in Panama’s public schools resumed in the National Assembly on Thursday September 1.
The Health Commission of the National Assembly began consultations on the bill that would mandate the inclusion of sexual education in the curriculum.
The commission, chaired by Deputy Crispiano Adames, was attended by approximately 20 representatives from various organizations who are for and against the proposal.
The bill was previously approved by the commission, but the full assembly returned the bill to it for further consultations to achieve a consensus after strong opposition from religious geoups.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/sex-education-talks-resume
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Odebrecht loses bid to block probe
Posted on September 1, 2016 in Panama
Post Views: 90THE CORRUPTION mired Brazilian construction company that has received over $9 billion in Panama government contracts has lost a claim filed in Switzerland seeking to block an investigation in that country by the Public Ministry of Brazil.
Menwhile Switzelnd has asked Panama’s help in its investigation into Odebrecht with millions of dollars in bribes funneled through Panama banks.
A Swiss appeals court has dismissed a claim filed by the construction company
The company had sought to prevent prosecutors from receiving documents related to offshore companies and bank accounts related to the Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigation.
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Switzerland, the decision was handed down in the first two weeks of August. It will grant prosecutors in Brazil access to thousands of documents.
Odebrecht plans to appeal the decision to Switzerland’s highest court.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/odebrecht-loses-bid-block-probe
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70 more court rooms as new system kicks in
Posted on September 1, 2016 in Panama
THE CRIMINAL accusatory system is set to be implemented on Friday September in Panama’s First Judicial District.The various agencies being impacted by the change are reported to be “more or less” ready although some are struggling with financial shortfalls.
Agencies involved include the judiciary, the Attorney General’s Office, the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences and the police.
At a meeting on Wednesday, officials from the agencies noted that funds to deal with the new system have been scarce.
The money is needed for the hiring of new staff and for training and equipment.
Extra work
Superior Court of Appeals Judge Mauricio Marín said that 931 people have been hired to handle the extra work that is expected to be generated by the change.It has also created 70 new courtrooms to hold hearings needed by the new system.
Attorney General representative Rolando Rodríguez said that the agency’s budget request for the new system was only partially funded (it received $10 million instead of the $15 million it requested), but the agency is ready for the change.
“I think we’re ready. There will be some things done on the fly, and there are some budgetary shortcomings, but we will see if we need more,” he said.
The office has hired 351 additional staff.
More police
Police official Luis Vega said that 900 new officers will be on duty on Friday and 500 more will be hired in the coming weeks.He said training programs for the new system are “99.9 percent complete.”
Legal Medicine Institute Director Humberto Mas said his agency is scrambling as it was only granted $35 million of the $76 million it requested for the change.
The agency is expected to experience the greatest impact due to the change.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/70-court-rooms-new-system-kicks
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Food for thought for the many singers, songwriters, performers, musicians, etc., in the Chiriqui highlands area...
QuoteA musical spotlight on Panama
Posted on August 31, 2016 in Art & Music
Post Views: 54TWO CANADIAN expats are the co-authors of a new musical, with a title that will resonate with all who live here, or anywhere else: “PANAMÁ: The Musical”
They are hoping that it will put Panama on the map and become a feature of the local scene serving as a magnet for tourists as the Mousetrap has done in London. Agatha Christie’s famed murder story has been running there since 1952 when its first performance starred Richard Attenborough.
So what makes them think that a musical in Panama will attract a revolving tourist audience? “The name” says co-writer Rob Brown who penned the libretto with his artist /writer wife Yolanda Van Der Kolk taking the audience back in time to when radio was new fangled, and Chicago mobsters filled the headlines. Music and Lyrics are by Tara and Yolanda Van Der Kolk
The promotional theme will be: “You Haven’t Seen Panama Until You’ve Seen PANAMÁ: THE MUSICAL”
Brown, who played a key role in the creation of The Panama International Film Festival is planning an early 2017 springboard production in Toronto, whose citizens have displayed a voracious appetite for long running musical performances.
Meanwhile the couple, who live in Santa Clara, have been jetting to London, New York and Toronto meeting with script consultants, authors and producers as they honed the plot and music.
The Plot
A beautiful American songwriter living in the Canal Zone has dreams of stardom on this new thing called radio. She is forced to leave the protection of the Zone when her poppa dies, leaving the family deeply in debt to an unscrupulous cabaret/brothel owner.She must choose between going to New York with her Panamanian musician boyfriend to pursue her dream, or stay and save her younger sister from indentured service in the brothels of San Felipe
Hot Latin music and dance including The Charleston, The Lindy Hop and the Fox Trot and Bachata band on stage blend to create an explosion of sound and dance.
A Kickstarter campaign will be launch January 3 – February 3, 2017 to raise funds for professional music director and musicians to give the musical score a final pre-production polish.
Discussions are also underway with a leading director and producer of musicals in Panama about translating and presenting a Spanish-language version.
Rob and Yolanda will be at the Canadian Thanksgiving Celebration on Saturday October 8, at the Miramar Intercontinental to share the latest developments with guests.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/entertainment/art/musical-spotlight-panama
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Uber’s future rests with ATTT
Posted on August 31, 2016 in Panama
Taxi drivers protest Uber cash move
Post Views: 131
THE FUTURE of Uber in Panama is in the hands of the Transit Authority,( ATTT) after complaints filed by the city’s taxi drivers.
Rubén Chávez Deputy director of the Authority said Tuesday August 30 that the agency will review the response submitted by Uber in response to the taxi drivers complaint through the National Chamber of Transport.
Chávez said the ATTT is reviewing the service provided by Uber, which has been sued by taxi drivers who argue that the company provides an illegal service. The complaint against Uber was filed Aug. 17.
Illegality claim
The taxi drivers and owners claim that Uber is illegally collecting fares by both credit cards and cash
QuotePanama Uber Manager Juan Pablo Restrepo said that the service the company offers is through a platform that is different than the ones covered by the law of selective transport.
Restrepo insists that the service should be regulated by laws regulating private transport.
That law, passed in 1956, covers services such as chauffeurs.
Uber authorities also appeared before the National Assembly Transportation Committee on Wednesday.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/ubers-future-rests-attt
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Ex-security minister and redirected millions
Posted on August 31, 2016 in Panama
Jose-Raul-Mulino under the spotlightPost Views: 135THE FORMER combative Minister of Public Security José Raúl Mulino, is already under investigation for his role in the Finmeccanica helicopter deal which allegedly involved a $25 million dollar bribe.
While he was in preventive detention, his CD supporters demonstrated on the streets chanting “political persecution” the mantra, for any former administration official facing corruption charges.
Now Mulino is back under the microscope.
In May 2013, the security Ministry, under his management prepared four direct purchase orders for $856,000 each in favor of True Marketing, S.A. for the purchase of devices that allowed the police to verify information about citizens during traffic stops.
They were widely known as Pele police, and were in the end declared illegal by the courts.
The breakup of the contract, which totaled $3.4 million, into four parts meant that it did not have to be approved by the Cabinet Council.
True Marketing worked with the company Pele System, Inc. for the supply of the devices. Eventually, Pele would only receive one of the $856,000 payments, while the other three would go to True Marketing.
Asked about the deal, Mulino said that he does not remembered anything about it.
True Marketing is one of the firms being investigated as part of the probe into alleged bribes paid by the German company SAP in exchange for a contract from Social Security in 2010.
Now the company is also being investigated in the alleged irregularities in the security contract.
The president of True Marketing is Heraclio Carmelo Bustamante.
He could not be reached for comment reports La Prensa.
The company was founded in 2004, and the other co-founder is listed in public records as Carlos Bissot.
The company offers technology services.
Bissot and Bustamante have both been linked to the corruption investigation into the SAP contract.
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/ex-security-minister-redirected-millions
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Marcelyn and I had to make an unplanned trip to David about 12:30PM yesterday, and so we decided to stop at Plaza San Francisco on the way to David for some lunch. It had been a long time since dining at The Garden, which is at Plaza San Francisco. However, when we got there we found every table taken, and more waiting. That is really good news for The Garden.
And so we went to Zum for lunch. Same great service, great food, good prices. We had the goulash with green salad and papas fritas.
It seems that Boquete has a lot of good eateries now. And the Plaza San Francisco area has three of them: (a) Mort's Bakery, (b) Zum Emsländer, and (c) The Garden. You can't go wrong in the Plaza San Francisco area.
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Mizrachi’s wife denies husband’s bribe role
Posted on August 30, 2016 in Panama
Analida Martinelli and gone missing Aaron MizrachiPost Views: 135EX-PRESIDENT Martinelli’s, sister, and wife of businessman Aaron Mizrachi has rushed to the defense of her husband accused of taking a bribe worth 10% of a $14.5 of a Social Security contract (CSS).
She sent a lengthy letter to La Prensa which had carried the story of the German company SAP which paid a bribe to receive the software contract.
The SAP person who paid the bribe, has been sentenced in the US to 22 months in jail.
Prosecutors say that the bribe was paid through the company Advanced Consulting, and it represented 10 percent of the contract’s value. Prosecutors have also alleged that the software was overpriced.
More than a dozen people, including former Social Security officials, have been charged in the case.
But Analinda Martinelli, in an e-mail to La Prensa denied that her husband did anything wrong.
Mizrchi fled the country in Martinelli’s private jet, and is the subject of an Interpol red alert.
The e-mail, which was sent Monday, was in reaction to the story linking Mizrachi to the case, calling him the “key” to the investigation.
“This is not the first time that La Prensa has written something that is wrong in an attempt to destroy his reputation,” Martinelli wrote. “You write lies, and if you want to do something decent and professional, you should rectify it.”
She said that the contract in question was approved by a number of entities, including the Cabinet Council. She noted that current President Juan Carlos Varela was one of the people who signed off on it.
“This contract was approved in 2010, and you should remember who was in the Cabinet Council at that time,” she said.
She also denied that there was any link between her husband and Vicente Garcia, the former SAP official convicted in Florida of paying bribes to Panama officials.
“There is no existence of e-mails between Aaron Mizrachi and Vicente Garcia,” she said, adding that the two men met for less than 20 minutes on one occasion before the contract was finalized.
“It is a lie to say they met many times,” she added.
Also on Monday prosecutors outlined their case in more detail against Mizrachi and the others charged in the matte reports La Prensa
http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/mizrachis-wife-denies-husbands-bribe-role
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We agree with Penny. Zum has been a place for consistently good food, good service, and good prices. What more can one ask for in a restaurant?
For Simon, welcome to Boquete and the restaurant business, even if under less than desired circumstances. The whole community is missing George.
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The purpose of this post is to provide a link and the essence of some of the information that is posted around the Internet.
For those who may not know the background here, Don Winner operates (or did operate?) a website called Panama-Guide that focuses on Panama. That is a paid subscription website. Here is a link to that site: http://www.panama-guide.com/.
Disclaimer: what I write hereinafter are not my words, but rather assertions by others related to Don Winner and his website.
Don Winner and that website are not without controversy, in that there are web postings (on sites other than Panama-Guide) to the effect (again these are not my words, but rather excerpts from various postings around the Internet) that it is a "scam", a "fraud", that Don Winner is a "compulsive liar", and that his associates are under investigation for "defrauding" newcomers in Panama, sometimes of sums of money larger than $100,000.00 USD.
On the positive side, Don Winner is credited at times with being a good investigator/investigative reporter.
As best I can tell as of this date, Don's last posting on his website was June 18th, 2015. I am not a subscriber, and so there may be postings of a later date that I am not able to see while in "lurk mode".
You get to decide for yourself what the truth is. If any of you have more definitive information, please post here.
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FBI fingers Martinelli relative in bribery scandal
Posted on August 29, 2016 in Panama
Aaron MizrachiPost Views: 148FBI fingers Martinelli relative in bribery scandal
RICARDO MARTINELLI’S brother in law Aaron Mizrachi, is considered by an FBI investigation to be a key figure in the Social Security (CSS) bribery scandal,
The case involves bribes allegedly paid by the German company SAP to Panama officials in exchange for a lucrative contract from the CSS.
The Mizrachi king pin role is according to an affidavit given by FBI agent Stuart Andrew Robinson to the sixth anti-corruption prosecutor investigating the case.
Robinson’s statement revealed that former SAP official Vicente Garcia dealt with former National Innovation Authority Director Eduardo Jaén and businessmen Aaron Mizrachi and Carlos Bissott,, to arrange for the payment of the bribes. Bissott has since died.
The agent reported that Garcia confessed that he saw a blank contract with instructions on how to send bank transfers to accounts of Mizrachi in the British Virgin Islands.
Jail term
Garcia was sentenced in California, to 22 months in prison for paying the bribes. The sentence was handed down based on the results of the FBI investigation.Mizrachi fled the country on Martinelli’s private jet and is the subject of a red alert by Interpol.
Jaén is in custody and has confessed to investigators that he accepted payments from SAP officials.
Other high ranking CSS officials are also being investigated, including the former director Guillermo Saez Llorens, who, while in office had Hospital City named after Martinelli, a move
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15 Soho Mall shops closed
Posted on August 29, 2016 in Panama
Soho Mall where luxury reignsPost Views: 212SOME 15 shops have closed since May 5 in Panama’s high end Soho Mall, ollowing US against its owners, the Waked family.
The United States Department of the Treasury, through its Bureau of Foreign Assets (OFAC) put Westline Enterprises Inc (project owner) on the Clinton List, along with 66 corporations linked to Abdul and his nephew Nidal Waked, accused of laundering drug money
The nephew is in jail in Bogota awaiting deportation to Florida where a prosecutor in calling for a 50 year jail term.
Meanwhile Panama’s Chamber of Commerce is calling on US authorities to grant operating licenses to the stores.
The store closings were confirmed by Dominico Ferrante during an event at the Chamber
Delicate situation
Ferrante, the spokesman for a group of 80 stores that have invested $60 million in the project, said that “it is a delicate situation.”He said the stores are not receiving merchandise.
“The national government together with the ambassador of the United States must do something immediately to solve what is happening,” he added
The businessman said that two meetings with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on this topic have been cancelled.
Mall employees concerned about their future
Chamber President Jorge García Icaza urged the national government and the US embassy to issue a license to allow stores in the mall to engage in business with US entities.
“There are 80 store owners who have no responsibility for what happened,” he said.
The former Waked flagship is in trust with creditor banks until it is sold.The Felix B. Maduro store chain is also in trust awaiting a buyer.
Sex Education in Panama's Schools, Teen Pregnancy, and the Law
in Miscellaneous Topics re Panama
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