Uncle Doug

I don't have it, either.  Of course, Bonnie is my neighbor, so that makes sense....

4 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

 

It's been my experience that Latinos here generally refer to folks from the U.S. as 'Estadosunidenses', 'Norteamericanos', and 'Gringos', but not 'Americans' or 'Americanos'.

Their view, not necessarily mine.

Wait, are Canadians not considered "Gringos"?  I assumed the term applied to anyone whose place of origin is north of Mexico.

Yep, feral kittens  under 8 weeks of age can usually be tamed (the younger the better), but after that the fear of humans is pretty much permanent.

Oh, covered parking!  When I saw the construction, I feared that it was a new building being erected and the parking spots for Super Baru would be lost entirely.  

Now, if the store would sell frozen chicken pot pies, my life would complete...

The best advice is to NOT DIE.

However, there are things a responsible person does in advance, just in case the unexpected happens.  One is to let family members out of country know the location of bank accounts and important documents. Thanks for the post, Bonnie.

Good news!  I never fully understood the underlying dispute, but I'm glad my supply of pineapples is not in jeopardy.  

Donald Trump's previous "cozy" relationship with Martinelli is pretty meaningless. He was cozy with the Clintons and anyone else who could further his interests at the time. 

This arrest could not have happened without the approval of President Trump. I assume the decision was made at the time Varela was invited to the White House. That corresponds with the time Martinelli was put under active US "surveillance." 

The reports that the timing of his arrest was moved up suggests that Martinelli realized that he was no longer safe hiding in plain sight in Miami. It's hard to imagine that he'll be released on bond, although he is certainly entitled to fight extradition in US court. But these recent events certainly indicate to me that Martinelli has no friends in the current US administration,  and that his request for political asylum is effectively dead.

This seems pretty alarming to me.  I hope President Varela shows some leadership pretty quickly.

I am injecting coffee straight into my arm right now, trying to make up for the morning caffeine shortage. That was brutal.

I definitely did not predict this.  But I imagine Martinelli will definitely put up a extradition fight. Bail will be an interesting issue, if it's even available.  

He obviously is a flight risk.

President Trump would been informed in advance. And Panama just broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of Beijing. Maybe it's all a coincidence but maybe it's payoff the Chinese for stalling NK warhead test.  Busy day for Panama

I definitely did not predict this.  But I imagine Martinelli will definitely put up a extradition fight. Bail will be an interesting issue, if it's even available.  

He obviously is a flight risk.

That is what is known as a "Sabado Noche Especial".

Maybe.

Duolingo hasn't taught me fluent Spanish yet.

It was a good radio show this morning. I was a bit surprised by the amount of musical content, although the selections were excellent. I'll tune in again next Friday.

Arrests can (but may not always) show up in a criminal background check. It depends on the local jurisdiction where the arrest occurred, and when or if the data was shared on a national level.

But an arrest can have severe consequences even if the person is found not guilty or the charges dropped as completely bogus. 

For example, if you are charged with statutory rape in Texas, you automatically are a registeted sex offender for life. It doesn't matter that the cop misread the age on a Drivers License. 

Depending again on the local jurisdiction, it might be possible to get something expunged from your criminal record but not if you were found guilty.  It would take a Presidential pardon, or from a state governor to accomplish that in nearly every case.

Random means, by definition, no selective criteria.  I do not believe that several Americans were detained and then returned to the US last Thursday because of random background checks. 

Either it didn't happen,  or it was no coincidence. 

Something doesn't quite sound right.  An arrest is quite different than a criminal conviction.  

It also seems odd that Panama is now capable of running a complete criminal background check on American tourists arriving at Tocumen and returning all those who who ever ran afoul of a policeman at any point in their lives.  Did they hack into the FBI?

We all know the scrutiny on permanent visa applications as well as the effort to end "permanent tourism."   

But that is far different than turning away every American businessman or tourist with an arrest from long ago. 

I don't know how libel law in Panama is adjudicated,  but I can say that if a legal system does not hold that truth is an absolute defense to a charge of slander or libel, it is not a justice system at all.  It would be a system serving only the corrupt and powerful.

If truth is not a defense,  then anyone may successfully sue for being offended.  

23 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

Persons who are obviously of senior age can go to the front of the ticket line.

Fake beards work wonders!  

I have to confess, Bonnie, that I knew that. It was a mild attempt at humor in an effort to help to keep this important notice prominent at Chiriqui Life.  I do hope the residents and businesses on the municipal system are ready for no running water on Monday morning. 

I'd offer my bathroom to everyone on Monday except they've been advised in advance, and I'm almost positive that I'm not quite that generous in real life.  Limited quantities of shampoo, etc....

Note to self:  do not begin shampoo at 7:59 Monday morning...

6 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

A driver has 30 days in which to obtain a Panama D.L. after being granted residency status either temporarily or permanent.

That is true.  If you obtain your permanent residency status before actually moving  to Panama, that 30 days may very well be over even before you arrive.  Drive at your own risk using your passport and hope to hell you can get your drivers license before a policeman does anything more than a cursory inspection at a checkpoint or traffic stop.

10 hours ago, Nancy Drew said:

Now the company is suing her for slander because she told a few friends about her troubles and that caused them to lose business. The company has also threatened to sue News.Boquete (the local email distribution community service) for sending out warnings about them from Alto al Crimen.

Does anybody know if the dreaded "suing for slander" in Panama is anything more than just intimidation by business scoundrels?  My impression of the Panama legal system is that it takes forever in all civil matters.  I don't think the lawyers or judges have any incentive to reach a final judgment. 

I'm guessing that everyone dies of old age before it even comes to trial.  Does anyone know differently?

I receive normal old guy prescriptions like blood pressure and cholesterol stuff from the US.  It's shipped to my Florida forwarding address and arrives here in a couple of weeks.  Panama slaps a $5.00 per shipment fee for "pills" but with my medical insurance, they are still cheaper than buying in a pharmacy here.

There's no procedure at all.  Just expect a customs fee.

1 hour ago, Bonnie said:

I don't understand these Interpol Red Alerts when they know exactly where someone is, down to the condo.

It's more bark than bite.  It's not really an international arrest warrant, but more of a notice that a country (Panama) has issued an arrest warrant.  In the case of the US, there is an extradition treaty with Panama, but it's not even close to automatic extradition.  I don't think Panama has submitted much, if any, of the filings required by the treaty, and Martinelli would obviously fight any extradition order in court, probably for years.

My personal opinion is that Panama isn't particularly serious about getting him back and this is all for show.  With all his illegal wiretapping, Martinelli has plenty of dirt on powerful people in the government.  I doubt that Panama really wants its own Trial of the Century.

That should be pretty close to impossible given the justifiable concerns about both customer security and money laundering. Ask for Carmen at Global Bank. If it can be done, she would know how.