The Panamanian Government Says Duuuuh
The government of Panama has been eagerly anticipating approval of the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the U.S. Ratification of the agreement by the U.S. Congress has been held up primarily because Pedro Gonzalez, the president of Panama's Asamblea Nacional, has a U.S. warrant for his arrest for the murder of a U.S. serviceman in Panama a couple of years ago.(He was acquitted of that offense by Panamanian courts.) However, Gonzalez is scheduled to step down as assembly president, raising the government's hopes that the U. S. congress will then approve the NAFTA agreement.
What you may not be aware of is that there are intense and prolonged negotiations conducted between the involved countries in finalizing these agreements. The U.S. required, among many other things, that the Panamanian government establish "clear rules in government procurement procedures that focus on the principles of non-discrimination, transparency, and due process." (Cynics call this "The Make It Against The Law" rule - if you can't clean up corruption, at least make it visible and against the law.) The agreement specifically sets a $193,000 limit on government contracts that can be awarded without public competitive bids. In addition to the anti-corruption implications of this provisions, it also opens up some of these contracts to U.S. companies.
Well, last week, with U.S. approval of the NAFTA agreement still pending, the Asamblea Nacional passed a procurement law allowing the government to award contracts up to $300,000 without putting them up for public bid. Huh? The explanation is that "members of the legislature apparently were unaware that the changes violated the NAFTA provisions." Note that the assembly just a few months ago debated at length the NAFTA agreement before approving it. And now, not one member, or staffer, or legal adviser stood up and said "but, this violates the NAFTA agreement?" Go figure.
A Visit to The Koran
Last week one of the TV networks here (I think it was the overseas version of CNN) broadcast an hour-long show entitled "Inside The Koran." The goal of the show was to enlighten non-Muslims on how there could be so many divergent interpretations of the Koran in the Muslim world. How can Sufi pacifists and Shiite suicide bombers draw their inspiration from the same book? How can a woman be head of state in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, but not even be allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, the home of the religion's holiest sites?
The most fascinating (and enlightening) portion of the program addressed scientific investigation of the oldest known Koran manuscripts, discovered in Yemen in 1972. They were written in the eighth century without diacritical marks, the little dots and accents that in many languages change the pronunciation of the word. However, in Arabic diacritical marks also change the meaning of words and entire phrases. Some scholars believe as much as 20 percent of the words in the Koran have been mis-identified.
So the Koranic sentence that is widely understood to promise martyrs an eternal romp with virgins - "we have paired them with dark eyed maidens" - could, with the insertion of diacritical marks, actually refer to the promise of a bunch of grapes - "comfortable under white crystal clear grapes." How would you like to be a suicide bomber, all strapped in your dynamite vest, with the school bus full of the hated infidel children in sight, and your cell phone rings with a call from your inam. "Achmed, this just came in. We misunderstood the Koran. It it is NOT six dozen virgins, it is a bunch of white grapes. Didn't want you to be disappointed when you get to the beyond."
By the way, the scholar who explained the 'white grapes' interpretation on the TV show, wisely did so with his face in shadows and his voice disguised. Last year a Palestinian historical scholar of Islam was thrown out of a second-floor window by his students for similar statements.
After a fascinating hour of watching this show, the only thing I could say was "Jesus!" (pun intended)
The Book Store
Every Sunday morning at 7AM this guy parks right under my window and sets up shop. Only bad part is that as soon as he gets set up he starts his sales call - a chant kind of in between an "Extra, extra read all about it," and an auctioneer's chatter, repeating the same thing over and over. There is no sleeping through that, plus I could never figure out what he was saying. Sounds like, "ah doe lah, ah doe lah, ah doe lah" - all run together. And, I have not paid any attention to him once I determined early on that he did not have any magazines in English. But, last Sunday, after 10 months, I figured out what his hawking chant is.
As I walked by his stand coming back from the pharmacy I saw that he had a Suduko magazine in the center of the windshield (if you are not hooked on Sudoku, don't go there). Sudoku books are hard to find here and usually are expensive when you do find them ($5-7). So I stopped and it turned out he had three. So I bought all three - total cost, $3. He even threw in a fourth for free (Sudoku heaven!). As I walked away it hit me - "ah doe lah" - the Spanish pronunciation of "a dollar" if you say it fast. Phew, another of life's big mysteries solved.
Interesting Notes
A recent Time Magazine poll revealed, among other things that, 80% of those polled knew that U. S. TV broadcasts will switch from analog to digital in 2009, but 77% did NOT know who the chief justice of the U. S. Supreme Court was.
Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day, Feb 12, 1809.
In Zimbabwe, where the inflation rate is measured in the thousands of percentage points, President Mugabe last week devalued the currency by loping seven zeros off the currency. So, a ten million dollar note became a single dollar note. Problem solved? Well, you couldn't buy a loaf of bread for $10,000,000 before, and you still can't buy it for a $1.
An Agave Problem?
Agave, a natural sweetener produced in Mexico has caught on as a healthy alternative for other natural sweeteners, due to agave's low glycemic index - lower than sugars and honey. There were 176 new products containing agave introduced in the U. S. in 2007, and agave sweeteners are already available in some major supermarket chains, including Kroger and Whole Foods. Agave sweeteners are also being sold to restaurants, bars (as a cocktail syrup), and to granola, ketchup and ice cream manufacturers. There are also a myriad of new agave products in development, and that is what generates 'the problem'.
Sweetener products can be, and are being, produced from several of the different species of agave. However, now some product manufacturers have targeted the blue agave plant as the basis for their products. Though it is true that sweeteners derived from the blue agave have a more lingering taste, the real motivation is to put a 'designer' twist on their products. Huh? A what? Well, blue agave is the core of tequila. Some brands of tequila use other agave species in their formulas, but a tequila has to have a certain percentage of blue agave in it, or it can not be labeled tequila. In addition, premium (read expensive) tequilas are 100% blue agave based.
What's the problem? Due to the booming world-wide popularity of tequilas over the last ten years, Mexican agave producers were already concerned that they could not keep up with the demand for blue agave. In my case, as someone who does not use artificial sweeteners but does use tequila, I don't think that this it is a big problem. It is a crises! Forget gas prices, somebody do something! Drill off shore, or something. Or find alternate sources - alternate sources for sweeteners that is, not tequilas.
A Big Celebration In The Park
Till Next Time. Pura Vida
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