What's In A Number?
Senor Ricardo Martinelli was sworn in as Panama´s new president 100 days ago. Though there were four candidates running in the general election, Martinelli won with almost 60% of the popular vote. The latest public opinion poll, commissioned by the daily newspaper La Prenza, shows that Martinelli´s approval rating after the first 100 days is sitting at 89.6%.
How can you account for that high an approval rating? President Martinelli possesses a couple of skills that are rare in politicians. 1.) He has done exactly those things he said he was going to do when he was campaigning, and, 2.) He is a businessman, not a professional politician, therefore he possesses, and exercises management skills. How utterly refreshing!
My Dumb And Dumber Nominations
Three young Americans are still in custody three months after they inadvertently wandered into Iran. They were back packing around where? Oh, in Iraq! What Somalia, Darfur and Burma were all full up? Duh!
Two pilots on a Northwest Airline flight overfly there destination by an hour. Neither pilot heard ground controllers calling them during that hour because they were busy having an argument - oh no, they where both busy on their personal laptops. 'Fly The Friendly Skys With Tweedly Dumb and Tweedly Dumber'? Duuuuuuuh!
A couple were hijacked by pirates in the waters off Somalia while sailing there private yacht. They just happened to be in waters that experienced hijackings in just the previous week. Do you have to take an IQ test to get a boat captain's license? Duuuuuuuuuuuh!
More What's In A Number?
I had noted with some amusement that people in this part of the world can not comprehend distances in our (American's) frame of reference. When you spend your whole life in a country the size of South Carolina (which Panama is) the vastness of the U.S. is incomprehensible, or more precisely one has no frame of reference to comprehend it. They see a long trip as getting on the red-eye bus in David at midnight,and it is 6AM before you get to Panama City. " No Senor, you can not drive from San Antonio to Chicago overnight."
Yesterday it dawned on me that all of us are probably overwhelmed by the numbers that are being thrown around in the U.S. government proceedings. We have become 'number numb'. Sort of, "A trillion is what again?"
Here is my example. Unemployment in the U.S. continues to hover near 10%. And, if you include those unemployed individuals who have given up looking for work, and those who have been forced to take part-time work, the total number is about 15 million people. Let`s convert that number into population figures in Central America?
The total combined populations of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama only totals about 13 million. The two big countries of Honduras and Guatemala only have a combined total population of about 15 million between them. Likewise if you start with the total population of the Dominican Republic (10 million), you have to add the population of El Salvador to equal the U.S. unemployed number. Gulp!
In those terms, 15 million suddenly is a BIG number.
Learn Your Spanish
I still find it interesting that many words in Spanish have so many different meanings. For example the word 'bomba', depending on how it is used can mean bomb, bombshell, thunderbolt, pump (as at the gas station) or a forcer. And a 'bombero' is a fireman, firefighter, fireguard or a troubleshooter. Got that?
But the one I find hilarious is the word 'esposa'. The word means both 'wife' and 'handcuffs'. Proof positive that the Spanish Gods have a sense of humor.
Till Next Time. Pura Vida.
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