Bud

My reading suggests that we actually are talking about a convention center in David and a separate convention center in Boquete. In both cases, if my viewpoint is correct, I doubt that I will see either in my lifetime. Perhaps it might be more appropriate for Boquete to be a business conference center rather than a convention center. Just my thoughts.

Two New Convention Centers - 1 in Alto Boquete, according to NewsRoomPanama.com. Emphasis in below quote was added by me. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/twonew-convention-centers-on-stream

From Newsroom Panama: For the complete article, see http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/road-blocks-to-protest-filling-of-reservoir

According to this article, filling of the Barro Blanco reservoir will happen between late May and August 2016 for testing purposes. Is that really a "good sign", as stated in the title of the article? There are two sides to this coin. http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/A_Good_Sign_for_Barro_Blanco_Hydroelectric_Station

You always bring a studied, well written, and sincere expression of your thoughts and feelings about this subject. And you do so without attacking or being condescending. It is clear that you care deeply about your country, which is our "adopted" country. Thank you for sharing here, and for tackling some important social issues. When Marcelyn and I started CL last October, we were hoping that we would see a lot of postings similar to what you routinely post here on CL. One of our goals was to help integrate the diverse cultures found in the area. Your postings are right on target. That makes us happy. We appreciate your being a CL member, especially an active contributor. On the issue of the garbage, at this stage in our lives, we believe strongly that the solution to almost every problem in the world comes from education. We understand that there are two sides to the garbage dilemma (your "chicken versus the egg" comments above), but we suggest that education is where the solution really starts, not providing the resources first. Thanks for being a CL member.

Thanks, Keith. My gut instinct was that the article was, at best, specious. Otherwise it would have been front page headlines on every newspaper, and the lead article on TV and radio news. Back into my cocoon now.

I struggled with this posting for several reasons. "Panama banks lose US correspondent accounts" is the title of an online banking article of the CaribbeanNewsNow.com website (click on that name to see the online version of the article). If this is in fact true, then it seems to be a really big deal for just about everyone in Panama. Here is the article itself:

Drafting of new regulations by the Varela administration regarding private tourism investment in protected areas is continuing. This initiative aims to exploit protected areas in order to develop sustainable and ecological tourism. http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_Private_Tourism_Investment_in_Protected_Areas I suspect I won't see anything of this in my lifetime.

Bad news for the hotel industry in Panama continues. See http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_Hotel_Occupancy_Rates_Down.

The more general topic of the sharing of tax information among countries continues to expand. Here is another article about Panama agreeing to comply with OECD standards about what to share, how to share, and with whom to share tax information. http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_and_the_Automatic_Exchange_of_Tax_Information

And now at about 1:15PM on Friday afternoon, the following notice:

Twin Wolf is correct. This appears to be the entire ning.com service, not specific to boquete.ning.com.

You were correct, not mistaken. The initial reports did say postponed. But then subsequent reports clearly said cancelled. However, this is an ongoing story. Citigroup has apparently revived the bond transactions, and they are moving forward again as of late yesterday. Here is one report to that effect: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/citigroup-revives-bond-panamas-tocumen-210504213.html

There is more "fallout" from this Waked case. A very large bond issue for expansion of Tocumen Airport has been now been cancelled. For more details, see http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Tocumen_Bonds_Sale_Canceled_Because_of_Waked_Case. Opinion here: It seems that this case and the Panama Papers are taking a huge toll on business activity and economic stability in Panama. Once begun, these topics take a loooooonnnnnng time to smooth out.

October is the height of the rainy season here in Boquete, and my experience is that it is a low tourist time in Boquete. Dia de La Raza (Day of the Race) is not a national holiday in Panama. (BTW, national holidays are posted on the calendar here on CL.) I have not done an exhaustive study of the lodging occupancy rates in October, but would be really surprised if there were a shortage of rooms during October. For those interested in reading a bit more about Dia de La Raza, you may wish to visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day for an overview. It is nice to read that some people do a fairly thorough due-diligence prior to transplanting themselves. My recommendation is to spend a minimum of six months here prior to making a big decision. But I also admit that I did the exact opposite. My decision was made literally on the same day that I saw Boquete for the first time back in 2001.

I agree with you. Keith is well informed and generous with the sharing of that information.

Two Sailors, When we read this posting we were both saddened greatly. Our hearts go out to you. There is a lesson here that all pet owners/pet lovers should learn. Be prepared. In fact, that goes for being prepared for humans as well, such as the benadryl, and perhaps epi-pens, etc. Nothing beats being prepared during a crisis. We are working on our emergency kit now.

Hil, Thank you for posting the picture and providing the update. We know he is at peace now.

Keith, it is good to read that Win 10 is working well for you. I have heard of a few others who also have no problems with Win 10. It seems to be a better outcome if the Win 10 is a fresh install rather than an upgrade from Win 7 or Win 8. Was yours an upgrade or a fresh start? I had the exact opposite result than you had. Win 10 got "accidentally" loaded on one of my several Win 7 machines (as an upgrade), and it was a total disaster. It had nothing to do with the motherboard issue discussed herein, but simply incompatibilities with applications. I decided to give Win 10 a "fair shake" test and so loaded it intentionally on a different machine, but again as an upgrade from Win 7. Same result. All of my machines are now back to Win 7 (Ultimate, 64 bit). This is yet a different issue with Win 10 and why some (many?) are opposed to it. It has to do with privacy. I admit up front that there are two sides to this privacy coin. However, I sit clearly in the "its my data and keep your fingers off of it unless I want you to access it" camp. Here are just a few web links to comments about the privacy issues: The real price of Windows 10 is your privacy Windows 10 violates your privacy by default, here's how you can protect yourself Windows 10: Microsoft under attack over privacy The Windows 10 privacy issues you should know about If asked, I recommend delaying the upgrade to Win 10. That is just my opinion, and worth exactly what someone has paid me for it.

In another topic I recently posted the ACODECO pamphlet about their service and Ley 6. You may wish to download it and keep a copy with you. Here is the link to that posting: http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/2089-jubilado-discounts/?do=findComment&comment=6448

I'm bouncing your line of thought up to a more global level as opposed to our little region of the world; we are just a subset of "a kinder, gentler [global] online community". My opinion here: Not sure I would have used the word destroyed. Perhaps changed for the worse is more on target to my way of thinking. Hopefully this is only a cyclical thing, and tranquility will ultimately show its face again. If so, probably not in my lifetime. Just curious if you can/might elaborate a bit on what caused the meteor, and why it happened? And where is this "new world" of frustration, angst, confrontation, etc., going? At times I think it is because of the massive communication (I use that word only because I don't have a better one) capability -- especially that that is anonymous or lacking in accountability for what is said -- that has been brought about by the Internet and the resulting social media. At times I see it as 'unsocial media.' Truth and responsibility seem to have been tossed out the window. I do not see the ugliness or lack of civility here in Panama to the same degree as in the so-called first world countries.

Thanks for giving me "permission" to say that I (actually we, meaning Marcelyn and myself) have difficulty with WryAwry's name. We just call him 'Wirey'. He seems to be a deep thinker and a deep writer. Like you, I frequently have to study his words to figure out what I think he really is saying. At times, I do succeed in getting his message, and at times I don't succeed. But I keep trying. There is value there. For 'Wirey': Marcelyn and I have a personal policy of not responding to praise about CL, other than, where warranted, to say thank you. [On the other hand, we always try to resolve/mitigate complaints and issues.] But I will say thank you for your positive feedback.

I apparently missed seeing this topic when originally posted. Thanks to Marcela for commenting on it so that popped back up for me. And thanks to Judy for posting the link. Great video, if for no other reason than to see the look of disbelief on Simon's face. And sorry that Marcela is in bed with pain.

It seems to me that the 2016 rainy season has indeed begun. Mother Nature is expressing herself. Yesterday morning at 7:22am was a 3.6 temblor. After our housekeeper arrived, we had a conversation about the difference between un temblor (a tremor) and un terremoto (earthquake); she said it is a matter of magnitude/intensity and duration, a subjective call more often than not. And then late yesterday, while we were on the phone with the USA, there was one blast of thunder so strong that our house shook violently. The lightning was not seen, unusual given its close proximity, but the thunder certainly was heard (deafening) and felt. The other party on the phone said "my gosh, what was that explosion?". That was followed by rain so hard that we could not see the fence, which is just scant meters from the house. And here it is nearly 4:00am and rain, not really heavy, but rain. In one way, this is a thing of beauty.

Panama and Colombia are reported to have signed a treaty regarding the sharing of tax information between the two countries. According to the Central America Data website, "The treaty to avoid double taxation will come into force in 2018 and includes a clause for exchanging tax information upon request, in accordance with OECD standards." For the details, go to: http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Colombia_and_Panama_Announce_Tax_Information_Agreement