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Senator Chuck Schumer wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today calling for “increased scrutiny” of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in light of potential terrorist attacks against New York City. Pointing to NYPD’s director of intelligence warning that Iran is “essentially” the number one threat, Mr. Schumer argued these diplomats must ”be vigorously monitored.” “With Iran’s increasingly bellicose and threatening behavior, it’s imperative that agents of the Iranian government in the United States receive additional scrutiny to ensure that they pose no threat to New York or the rest of the country,” Mr. Schumer said...

SNIPPET - quote: Dissemination *_is_* collection I always get a kick out of people who tell me I give away intelligence for free. What I do is watch how information moves. Keep in mind that the subject covered on this site are pretty darn esoteric by most standards. What kind of people, for example, even know who Oussama Salhab is? Answers include: Oussama Salhab, his family, friends, associates in and out of Hizballah, people he does business with, spies of various nations, etc. Yep. The barn is free, and so is the food.

For months, Lori Berenson, New York's most notorious revolutionary tourist, has had her fingers crossed, counting on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to overturn her 20-year sentence for terrorist activities in Peru. The Lima government also clearly expected a ruling in Berenson's favor — it announced last week that it would defy any order by the Costa Rica-based court that the MIT dropout-turned-sandalista be set free. But guess what? The court has upheld her sentence, imposed after a three-month civilian trial after her first conviction, by a military tribunal, was overturned following pressure from the Clinton administration. The...

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi still has a few friends left in Latin America. We know that Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's charismatic president, supports him because he can't stop talking about it. With the Libyan rebels firing celebration guns in Tripoli, Chavez came out with a second statement that said he refused to acknowledge any government in Libya but that of his friend. "Without a doubt, we're facing imperal madness," Chavez said in his televised address, according to the Associated Press. And now, Nicaragua has chimed in. President Daniel Ortega has been a longtime ally of Gaddafi. In February, he said he...

Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba continue to be the staunchest supporters of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega have both declared that they will not abandon Gaddafi in this time of crisis. Chavez has actually stated that he will continue to recognize only his friend Gaddafi as the legitimate leader of Libya, whereas Ortega has already offered him asylum... According to the Venezuelan paper, El Universal, the fall of Gaddafi's mean the defeat of Chavez. "At a time when even the Arab League has expressed its full support to the Libyan Transitional National...

Apple Inc. has built up a $76.2 billion cash hoard. Now the question is what the company intends to do with the money pile. On Tuesday, the Cupertino, Calif., company disclosed cash, including short-term and long-term marketable securities, for the quarter ended June 25 increased 15.8% since March to $76.2 billion. That's more than the gross domestic product of 126 countries, including nations such as Ecuador, Bulgaria, Sri Lanka and Costa Rica, according to data from the World Bank. The gigantic sum on Wednesday prompted some investors to call for it to use some of the cash for dividend payouts....

Today at approximately 2:11pm in the afternoon, Upala was rattled by a 5.3 magnitude earthquake that shook products off store shelves and rattled off home furnishings. No immediate damages were reported however later in the afternoon something strange was discovered as a result. While reporting on the earthquake in Upala today, a local news station discovered that a district near the epicenter was missing a river. That’s right…A RIVER. Apparently in the moments following the earthquake, a community stood watch as their river disappeared in to the Earth. As of this writing it is still unknown exactly which community this...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) – A U.S. high school student was shot dead by a hotel security guard in Costa Rica on Thursday after being mistaken for a thief, police said. Sixteen-year-old Justin Johnston was shot in the chest in the early hours of Thursday as he tried to sneak back into his room, breaking a night curfew on a school trip. "It appears the hotel guard thought the guest was a thief," police said in a statement.

The Washington Post recently reported on the successful Palestinian drive to achieve statehood recognition from South American countries. Over the past few months, several countries—including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay—have endorsed the existence of an independent Palestinian country. (In years past, Palestine had garnered official recognition from Costa Rica, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.) To a casual observer, the wave of recognition may seem like a spontaneous outburst. In fact, there was nothing spontaneous about it. The flurry of diplomatic activity represents the culmination of a robust Palestinian lobbying push that was blessed and encouraged by former...

Iran: Northern border of Costa Rica They're public and undeniable terrorist strategies, discriminatory and violative of human rights promotes Iranian President in his country and attempts to export to the world. It is also indisputable the serious and imminent threat to mankind posed by Iran's nuclear program, which Ahmadinejad has refused to stop despite the five Security Council resolutions ordering it and the repeated warnings from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Many Costa Ricans believe that a humanitarian tragedy resulting from the Iranian regime would occur "across the world" and would have consequences for our country. Who thinks this is...

A Swiss bank that used its Cayman Islands’ branch to engage in what a US federal judge has branded “predatory lending practices” is being investigated by the US authorities. Senior officials of Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second largest bank, are facing claims that they pocketed millions of dollars by dishing out loans that were impossible to repay. On Tuesday, 15 September, 31 of the bank’s officials received subpoenas demanding that they hand over internal documents that explain why they loaned $375 million to the now bankrupt Yellowstone Club in 2005. The Yellowstone Club, founded by American tycoon Tim Blixseth, was once...

Lately in the news: Beijing provokes clashes with the navies of both Indonesia and Japan as part of a bid to claim the South China Sea. Tokyo is in a serious diplomatic row with Russia over the South Kuril islands, a leftover dispute from 1945. There are credible fears that Tehran and Damascus will use the anticipated indictment of Hezbollah figures by a United Nations tribunal to overthrow the elected Lebanese government. Managua is attempting to annex a sliver of Costa Rica, a nation much too virtuous to have an army of its own. And speaking of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega...

<p>In a statement Thursday, Costa Rica's foreign ministry said the country had filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, to end a situation that "threatens imminent and irreparable harm" to Costa Rica.</p> <p>The suit asks the court to stop "the construction of a canal on Costa Rican soil," according to the statement.</p>

Costa Rica doesn’t ‘officially’ have an army – but apparently it will be home to one for the rest of 2010. A flotilla of 46 United States Navy warships capable of carrying 200 helicopters, along with 10 Harrier vertical take-off and landing fighter jets, and 7,000 combat ready marines available for land based operations is on its way to this Central American country with no standing army.

With the world distracted by currency fights, European debt problems, and other economic challenges, Nicaragua has quietly invaded and occupied the sovereign territory of Costa Rica. It is an act of naked aggression that deserves to be condemned and resisted by governments everywhere, yet most Americans have probably read little or nothing about it. Here’s a brief synopsis of what happened. At the direction of their government, Nicaraguans were dredging the San Juan River, which forms a section of their southern border with Costa Rica. They were doing so in a manner that was damaging many Costa Rican properties, which...

Once again, the leftist thugs of Central America test our mettle and prove the  impotence of international organizations. Haaretz reports that Iran,Venezuela and Nicaragua are working together to encroach on Costa Rican territory: The recent border dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua is a sign of an ambitious plan by Venezuela, Iran and Nicaragua to create a "Nicaragua Canal" linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that would rival the existing Panama Canal. Costa Rica says that last week Nicaraguan troops entered its territory along the San Juan River - the border between the two nations. Nicaragua had been conducting...

The recent border dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua is a sign of an ambitious plan by Venezuela, Iran and Nicaragua to create a "Nicaragua Canal" linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that would rival the existing Panama Canal. Costa Rica says that last week Nicaraguan troops entered its territory along the San Juan River – the border between the two nations. Nicaragua had been conducting channel deepening work on the river when the incident occurred. Sources in Latin America have told Haaretz that the border incident and the military pressure on Costa Rica, a country without an army, are...

An international conflict between Nicaragua and Costa Rica sparked in part by Google Maps is escalating as the search giant admits to yet another geo-goof that could spark yet more tensions. After blaming Google Maps for its troops invading Costa Rica last week, Nicaraguan troops have refused to leave the disputed piece of land, which lies near the border between the countries. Google has admitted to mistakenly identifying the land as part of Nicaragua, an error it has since fixed. The Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States visited both countries in an attempt to resolve the conflict. However, Nicaraguan...

The pressure for a peaceful solution to the Costa Rica - Nicaragua conflict is mounting. Costa Rica officials on Thursday accepted to extend the 4pm deadline at the recommendations of the Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA). to delay taking action. Costa Rica announced last night that it would give its northern neighbour another 24 hours to remove its troops from the Isla Calero, the small piece of land on the south side of the San Juan river, which Costa Rica claims its own. The decision to delay is aimed at buying time for the politician on...

You would think that military professionals would rely on something other than Google Maps in determining where countries have their borders. However, down in Central America, there's apparently been something of an international incident, after a Nicaraguan military commander, using Google Maps as his guide, brought his troops into Costa Rica. He insists that he was just following what Google Maps said, and that he never intended to go into the neighboring country. Yet... the report also notes that there was a Costa Rican flag there, which the Nicaraguans took down and replaced with their own flag. You would think,...

Where in the Hell is PETA?

We are constantly told that Americans are the ones destroying the planet and thus creating many species on the earth to become extinct, but maybe, just maybe we are not the problem. At I have always said that America is the friendliest country when it comes to the environment and animals. So for some proof that Sea Turtles are not becoming extinct because of the lights on beaches during the season that the sea turtles hatch their eggs, take a look at what the citizens of Costa Rica are doing to help save the sea turtles. OK they are...

08.15.2010 16:55:53 / Xinhua Costa Rica reported an alarming increase of 5,000 cases of dengue during the last week, confirms today the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS). According to official data, this Central American nation went from accounting for 16 200 people affected until last week to register at this time a total of 21,200 infected. The authorities acknowledged their concern, as the number of people affected this time than the statistics from previous years and could continue to increase with the arrival of the rainy season. In Costa Rica circulating types 1, 2 and 3 of the dengue...

An 800-year-old, pre-Columbian burial ground with baskets full of human remains was unearthed at a building site outside San Jose, National Museum archaeologists said Tuesday. "It's a funeral complex made from river stones and slabs," Maritza Gutierrez, who heads the digs at the Tres Rios district 10 kilometers (six miles) from the capital, told reporters. The burial ground, dating from about the year 1200, yielded 26 sets of human bones from children to adults, contained in baskets made of plant fiber, an unusual material for native groups predating the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus. Archaeologists also found...

Hi folks. There are lots of blogs out there and websites talking of 46 warships, planes and 7000 troops evacuating the Gulf of Mexico and landing in Costa Rica. Something to do with 'the war on drugs'. Does anyone have the truth on this? Seems excessive for Costa Rica. Is there something big in the Gulf about to happen? I live on the west coast of Florida and I'm scared out of my mind. There are talks of shifts in the plates between Haiti and the US. Supposedly NoAA has blocked view of Tsunami site (don't know, I haven't tried...

With the massive amount of US military on the way to Costa Rica, has our country rolled over and now admitted that it has lost control of the trafficking of drugs, money laundering and crime in general? Ever since I can remember Costa Rica has said, “If ever invaded, it´s neighbors would come to its rescue.” In times past that referred to Venezuela, but now we have Chavez and….well that´s another 100 pesos. The new friendly neighbor must be the United States who is sending 46 war ships, 200 helicopters and 7,000 Marines to rescue us from invading drug cartels,...

Islamic Iran / Hezbollah's roots in Brazil (& Latin America) UN approves Iran sanctions [9 Jun 2010] ... UN approves Iran sanctions. Twelve Security Council members endorse fourth round of sanctions against Tehran; Turkey and Brazil vote against proposal, Lebanon abstains; decision marks compromise between US demands, Russia's and China's conditions... http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3902831,00.html Turkey? We all know that the current Islamic party's Mr. Erdogan was looking for an excuse to go against Israel, especially since the Gaza operation, the Flotilla Jihad boat incident only helped him in his anti-Israelism campaign. Analysis: Erdogan's harsh Israel rhetoric tests ...2 Jun 2010 ... The...

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has named Costa Rica's Christiana Figueres to be the organization's top official on climate change, his spokesman announced Monday. UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said the 53-year-old Costa Rican, currently San Jose's climate change negotiator, would succeed Yvo de Boer of the Netherlands as the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). De Boer tendered his resignation after last year's failed Copenhagen climate change talks.

As usual I was listening to Rush while working in the yard. Actually I listen to Rush quite a bit less that in the previous 20 some years. Thats because he has nothing left but to state reality and it is not pretty. The future of the US looks mighty grim. In 2006 I retired, left Calif and moved to Texas. Left Calif for the same reasons. Its future was grim and getting nearer the cliff. I made an entry here back in 2004 about how bad Calif was. While moving to and living in the hill country outside of...

Note: The following text is a quote: March 30, 2010 Eritrean man pleads guilty to alien smuggling WASHINGTON - Samuel Abrahaley Fessahazion, 23, an Eritrean national, has pleaded guilty to helping smuggle illegal aliens to the United States for private financial gain, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Custom and Border Protection (CBP). Fessahazion, aka "Sami," aka "Sammy," aka "Alex" and aka "Alex Williams" pleaded guilty on March 29, 2010, in Houston to one count of conspiracy and two counts of encouraging and inducing aliens to come to, enter or reside in the United...

I have seriously been thinking of leaving the country. My hope is pretty much gone that we can turn any of this around. Who would I be staying for....to support the people who ride in the cart and don't contribute and hate this country? I'm too old for all this and if the immigration bill goes through, I totally believe all is lost. How can we pay VAT, Tax and Trade, Healthcare, Local sales taxes, income taxes, etc., etc. and survive? So overused today, but it's "non-sustainable"

Note: The following text is a quote: Somalian Charged with Making False Statements on Application for Asylum Defendant is Accused of Making False Statements Concerning Participation in Terrorist Organizations United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in San Antonio, a federal grand jury has indicted 24-year-old Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane, a citizen of Somalia, on two counts of making false statements under penalty of perjury to federal authorities concerning his association with global terrorist organizations. The indictment, returned yesterday and unsealed this afternoon, alleges that on October 28, 2008, the defendant falsely omitted on an application for asylum that from...

Remember Danny Williams, the premier of a Canadian province who ditched Canada-care in favor of having heart surgery done in Miami? Lucky for him he didn't speak first with Katty Kay. She might have convinced him he'd be better off in Costa Rica . . . On today's Meet the Press, BBCer Kay mentioned that in some sort of world rankings, the US has the 37th highest quality of care, "just above Cuba, just below Costa Rica." View video here.

San Jose, Calif., Feb 12, 2010 / 07:08 pm (CNA).- Catholics in Costa Rica continue to express disgust following the actions of Deborah Formal, the girlfriend of presidential candidate Otto Guevara. Last Sunday, Formal broke off a piece of the Eucharist and placed it in her boyfriend's pocket.The Costa Rican media has continued to air footage of the Mass which shows Formal receiving Communion, bringing a piece of it back to her seat, and giving it to Guevara.Being divorced, Guevara did not present himself for Communion.The video shows that as she approached the archbishop to receive Communion, the two briefly...

CNN) -- Costa Rica elected its first female president, as the ruling National Liberation Party claimed a historic victory. "I want to thank the pioneering women who years ago opened the doors of politics in Costa Rica," Laura Chinchilla said Sunday to flag-waving supporters in the capital, San Jose. "My government will be open to all Costa Ricans of good faith." Second-place candidate Otton Solis of the Citizen's Action Party had conceded defeat earlier in the evening, as the PLN -- the Spanish acronym for the National Liberation Party party -- forged its way to a nearly 2-to-1 lead. Polls...

SAN JOSE – Laura Chinchilla, who was elected Costa Rica’s first woman president over the weekend, vowed in her victory speech to open a dialogue with all sectors of society and improve the quality of health care, education and security. “We do not get a blank check from the people to do anything, on the contrary, they have placed very solemn obligations on our shoulders, (such as) serious and permanent dialogue with all the parties and social sectors,” the 50-year-old Chinchilla said. Chinchilla, of the ruling National Liberation Party, or PLN, garnered 46.8 percent of the vote, with 71.1 percent...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Costa Ricans have elected their first woman president as the ruling party candidate won in a landslide after campaigning to continue free market policies in Central America's most stable nation. With most of the votes from Sunday's election counted, Laura Chinchilla held a 22-point lead over her closest rival. Her 47 percent share of the vote was well beyond the 40 percent needed to avoid a run-off. The 50-year-old protege of the current president, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias, promised to pursue the same economic policies that recently brought the country into a trade...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) – A protege of outgoing President Oscar Arias could be elected Costa Rica's first woman head of state on Sunday, though a conservative rival has upped his challenge ahead of the election. Opinion polls show ruling party centrist Laura Chinchilla, who has promised to expand Costa Rica's free trade pacts beyond the Western Hemisphere, within striking distance of the 40 percent of the vote needed to avoid a second round run-off. A late surge by libertarian Otto Guevara, who wants to replace the local currency with the U.S. dollar and crack down on rising crime,...

While riding in a taxi in my native Costa Rica recently, I saw the country’s magnificent new national soccer stadium rising—it is scheduled to open later this year. The Chinese government bankrolled the $83 million stadium project after Costa Rica ended its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and launched official relations with Beijing. Journalists have referred to the stadium as a “gift” from China to Costa Rica. And, as my cab driver told me, the rulers in Beijing sent hundreds of Chinese workers to do the construction work. The Costa Rican soccer stadium is a symbol of Beijing’s growing interest in...

Several years ago, I enjoyed an amazing vacation in Costa Rica. Shortly after I arrived, I found myself reclining in a comfortable leather chair. I leaned back and relaxed, staring at the flawless blue sky and the steep, misty mountains surrounding San Jose. Soft, soothing music played in the background. I was beginning to drift off when a young woman walked over. She placed her hand on my shoulder. “Good afternoon, Jon. I hope you’re comfortable,” she said, in perfect English. “Can I adjust the chair for you? Would you like something to drink?” “No, thank you. I’m just fine.”...

Sanibel, Fla., was one of the first U.S. cities to endorse the Earth Charter nearly a year ago as a part of Earth Day celebrations. It was also the first U.S. city to withdraw its endorsement. This controversial document, promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev and Maurice Strong for a decade, is seen by many to be an effort to create a new "16 Commandments" to serve as the foundation for a new global religion. Sanibel citizens were not happy about the endorsement. Forty-two citizens and five former mayors signed an open letter, published in a local newspaper, demanding that the endorsement...

When Islamists made their roots south of the border... Venezuela's dictator: H. Chavez that "sees" only money, oil and Anti-Americanism-Power, does "serve" the Islamic Iranian Republic well, giving out passports to anyone. From that "port" it is quite easy for an Islamic Iranian AGENT to arrive into any other Latin American country as a... "Venezuelan". A "random" different case (of a Muslim trying to "blend" into Latin America), a year ago, a Jordanian Arab that "met" a Costa Rican (Tica) girl in Spain (she vouched for him in CR, asw this man came from the area in Jordan where a...

Known as the 'Crocodile Man', Costa Rican animal lover 'Chito' swims, plays and even feeds 'Pocho' the giant crocodile in what is one of the world's most unlikely friendships. Wading chest-deep through the green water in a 100 sq/m lake in Siquirres, this bizarre and dangerous spectacle draws tourists from around the world. Calling quietly for his five metre long 'companion' before thrashing around, lifting his tail and head above the water. 'This is a very dangerous routine but Pocho is my friend and we have a good relationship,' says 52-year-old Chito. 'He will look me in the eye and...

The Highland Park parents of 28-year-old graduate student David Gimelfarb are searching their son after he disappeared while hiking in Costa Rica. The doctoral student who went to South America a week ago was last seen by a park ranger about 10 a.m. on August 11. Gimelfarb was reportedly driving a rented sport-utility vehicle the Parque National Rincon de la Vieja, friend Michael Kipnes told Chicago Breaking News. His parents, Roma and Luda Gimelfarb, have flown to Costa Rica to look for him. "He [Roma] was OK," Kipnis said about his conversation with David's parents. "She's not holding up very...

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias has been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, the government said in a televised statement on Tuesday. Arias fell ill on Sunday, complaining of a sore throat and temperature, Presidential Minister Rodrigo Arias said. A doctor's visit on Tuesday revealed that the president had the H1N1 virus, cases of which had been reported earlier in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. The president's overall health was good, but following his doctor's advice, he will rest at his home until Sunday, Rodrigo Arias said. The president is expected to return...

Edén Pastora threatened to attack Honduras According to the former military, the Honduran conflict could only be resolved by guns. 18.07.09 - Updated: 18.07.09 06:56 pm - Writing: redaccion@elheraldo.hn Tegucigalpa, Honduras . Former Nicaraguan guerrilla Eden Pastora, threatened to take up arms if there is no agreement in Costa Rica on the return of Manuel Zelaya as president. Pastora, a former Sandinista commander, is known for having led the command that took the National Palace, in the late 70s, during the Somoza dictatorship. See the biography of Eden Pastora According to El Universal of Venezuela, "Commander Zero," he told the...

Al Gore’s campaign against global warming is shifting into high gear. Reporters and commentators follow his every move and bombard the public with notice of his activities and opinions. But while the mainstream media promote his ideas about the state of planet Earth, they are mostly silent about the dramatic impact his economic proposals would have on America. And journalists routinely ignore evidence that he may personally benefit from his programs. Would the romance fizzle if Gore’s followers realized how much their man stands to gain? Earlier this year Gore experienced a notable public relations debacle. The Tennessee Center for...

London, U.K. (AHN) - A research group in Britain has chosen Costa Rica as the happiest place in the world citing its content people, long life expectancy and tiny carbon footprint due to the use of renewable energy.The Central American country topped the Happy Planet Index published on Monday by the New Economics Foundation, a British think-tank. The index measured the ecological footprint, life-satisfaction and life-expectancy of 143 countries. According to the HPI, life expectancy in Costa Rica is 78.5 years and 99 percent of its energy comes from renewable resources. NEF started conducting the survey for the HPI in...

I’m under the impression that every time Caribbean and Latin American countries meet with the President of the United States of America it’s to ask for something or complain about things. Almost always it’s to blame the United States for our past, present and future problems. I don’t think that’s completely fair. We mustn’t forget that Latin America had universities before the United States created Harvard or William & Mary, which were the first universities in that country. We can’t forget that on this continent, as well as the world over, at least until 1750 all Americans were more or...

Costa Rica tops the "Happy Planet Index," a ranking of ecological efficiency among the world's nations, survey officials say. Costa Ricans reported the highest life satisfaction and have an average life expectancy second only to Canada, said a release from the New Economics Foundation, a British think tank that promotes ecology and sustainable economics. Nine of the 10 highest-scoring nations were in Latin America, with the United States reportedly "greener and happier" 20 years ago than it is today. Of the 143 nations surveyed for the Happy Planet Index, the United States ranked 114. While ecological progress is being made,...