As Seen From David
- Modern Technology: The Panamanian government has selected Liberty Technologies to provide free internet access to the entire country. However, the selection of Liberty caused a minor stir. The company's bid price ($25.5 million) was the most expensive of the proposals submitted; more than double the lowest bidder's price. The government's evaluating committee stated that Liberty obtained the highest technical score.
- Didn't Get The Email?: The Minister of Labor did an initial inspection of companies to measure compliance with the new minimum wage laws which became law the first of January. Of the 238 companies audited, over 15.5% were not in compliance.
- Back To School: The 'summer' is over here and 800,000 students started the new school year this month returning to the public schools. Tenth graders in 62 schools are part of a new initiative to change the education systems. Sadly, Panama's schools rank very low in surveys of schools in Latin America. Ironically, one of the areas they rank lowest in is Spanish.
- Cracking Down?: The Minister of Justice and Justice announced that investigations revealed that several of the agency's employees had ties to drug trafficking cells. Without revealing names, the minister confirmed that the employees had been "dismissed".
- Tough Talk: President Martinelli's blunt and head-on approach to problem solving has caused a (another) minor stir. In a discussion about fighting crime, particularly drug trafficking, Martinelli suggested that capital punishment should be instituted. Note that the death penalty is prohibited by the Panamanian constitution.
El Valle in Cocle Province
A snap-shot look at El Valle, located in the beautiful foothills in Cocle Province in the central portion of Panama.
More photos below
Jihadist Comedy Central
A few years ago, Amal, who in his village is either the town clown or the village idiot depending on who you talk to, was holding late afternoon 'Happy Hour Court' with a bunch of his cronies. The group had just about finished off their third bowl in the water-pipe bong when Amal made one of those challenges he is famous for, betting the group that he could cause American infidels to take off their shoes before they could get on an airline flight. Even though his buddies at this point in the day were as whacked out on 'happy flower' as Amal, they knew an outlandish vow when they heard it. They jumped on that one.
That evening the guys finally stumbled off to their hovels and were not even out of sight when Amal called his brother-in-law. "Get hold of that clown Richard, the guy going to the university in London. Yea, the one majoring in moron. Give him the '53 Virgins in Paradise' story and send him to see me."
Of course, as you know, Richard was even dumber than they realized - there are even un-verified reports that he asked a stewardess for a match. But, years later, we Americans are all still concerned about whether there is a hole in the pair of socks we have on when it comes time to board the hot-bed, high-risk Dallas to Waco flight. And, all this is taking place in a technological age where a satellite from hundreds of miles above the earth can spot the marijuana plant your neighbor has hidden under his tomato plants. But you have to realize that most of the Homeland Unsecurity agency is focused on developing appropriate procedures for strip-searching nuns and grandmothers in wheelchairs. Those in the agency that are not involved in that research are watching the soaps on Al Jazzera TV looking for secret hidden messages.
This is not a joking matter, you protest? Well I submit that this latest 'threat' suggests otherwise. 'The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight' couldn't connect the dots when a guy who had just recently spent time in Yemen (the latest known Al Queda hot-bed), buys a one-way ticket to the U.S., and despite his father's protestation to the U.S. Embassy that he was a dangerous nut-case, boards the plane without a passport? Dots? What dots. There are no dots to be connected? You don't believe that? Then you try getting on an international flight without a passport! Even better, I can tell you from personal experience that the Pope could not board a flight from the U.S. to Costa Rica or Panama on a one-way ticket. Sorry folks, this plot would have been foiled if we had put the D.C.- area Boy Scout Council in charge of security.
And, then the head of Homeland Insecurity, Janet Ice-Cream-Flavor, explains that the 'system worked just like it was supposed to'. Don't you feel better? The only people in this whole equation who moved fast were the guys who swooped in to 'Mirand-ize' tweedly-dumber. And, a few days later, Obama falls off his surf board long enough to do a Gomer Pyle impersonation - "Golly!" Problem solved! Now they can all go back to trying to get dot-connecting designated a science, and maybe include treatment for dot-connecting-impairment in the Obama Care Health bill.
Meanwhile, Amal and his buddies are watching all of this on TV. "Amal, you are amazing. We didn't think you could ever top the shoes thing. But, underwear? Yahoo! And, how did you ever sell the '53 virgins thing' to a guy who was going to burn his d..k off? We all thought you were smoking some s..t that you were not sharing when you said you could fix it so Americans could not read a book or take a piss for an hour before landing. Amal, you da man!"
Maybe it is closer to a Three Stooges thing? Yuk, yuk, yuk.
And in case you missed it, my novel 'Angels In Panama' is now available by mail-order directly from the publisher.
You Can Click Here To Order
Till Next Time. Pura Vida!
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