Editorial: Panama is…

November 3, 2017

The Wall — **Remnant of the wall that surrounded the Casco Viejo, with more recent buildings in the background. Photo by Eric Jackson.**

Panama is…

It’s a place, with the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south, with Colombia to the east and Costa Rica to the west.

But mostly it’s a nation composed of people. Panama is Indigenous, and European, and African and Asian. It’s Catholic and Protestant and Jewish and Hindu and Muslim and Buddhist and Bahai and non-believing. At The Crossroads of The World, almost everybody and everything passes through, and we have developed our own distinctive if many times imperfect sensibilities of how to pick and choose among what they have to offer.

Do we want to define ourselves as what we are not? It gets to be a slippery slope. And WHO we are not? That can and often does get downright ugly.

Back in 1903 we decided that we would no longer be a part of Colombia’s never-ending civil conflicts. Since then a lot of Colombians have come and woven themselves into the fabric of Panamanian society precisely because they were looking for peace.

We have had a complicated relationship with the United States. Still, along the way Panama embraced and assimilated a lot of Americans, and still does. There is a consensus not to embrace the meanest strands of that society to the north. Even if, as a world boxing power, we often beat them up.

Can Panama be improved? Of course. Let other people brag about how great their countries are. For Panamanians, national improvement is the essence of patriotism.

¡Que viva Panamá!

Bear in mind…

It is not impossible for honest men and patriotic men to live together, working for their country, if they have the flexibility to recognize their mistakes, if they are capable of loving their fellow men and appreciate that others are as worthy as they are to be happy.

Belisario Porras

Power doesn’t corrupt. It unmasks.

Thelma King

The voters need to deploy all their honesty to resist the onslaught of the parties — they should never adopt another guide than their conviction of the merits of the citizens whom they have decided to elect.

Justo Arosemena

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New work by George Scribner

November 2, 2017

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GS1 — **“A la Central” – 11″ x 14″ – Just off Avenida Central in Panama City.**

New work by George Scribner

paintings and lessons by the renowned Panagringo artist / Disney imagineer

Saludos amigos,

A few new paintings from the last couple months and a painting tip.

I’m happy to say my paintings have been accepted at UGallery.com where some of these are available for sale.

https://www.ugallery.com/ProductList.aspx?RC=1&Search=George+Scribner

Enjoy and thanks for looking,

George
scribnerart.com

GS2 — **“Nos Fuimos!” 8″ X 10” – SOLD – This is actually a combination of two shots. I spent quite a bit of time in Photoshop recomposing the image before I painted it.**

GS3 — **“Los Tres Canaleros” – 36″ X 72″ – Three ships heading southbound in Miraflores Lake in the Panama Canal.** **Painted for Galeria Habitante in Panama City, Panama.**

Simplifying shapes in a painting:

GS4 — A little exercise I did for one of my workshops. Painting from photographs is tough – there is so much detail you’re not sure where to start. The idea is to identify the simplest shapes possible then add detail later.

GS5 — **Here’s another example. A simple trick to help eliminate detail is to squint at the photograph. If the shape or detail disappears then combine it with a larger shape or drop it altogether.**

Museo del Canal de Panama

For those of you in Panama (or thinking of going!) the Museo del Canal de Panama in the Casco Viejo is currently exhibiting paintings that were done by a group of Panamanian artists (including myself) for the Panama Canal expansion. Enjoy!

http://impresa.prensa.com/vivir/pinturas-ampliacion_0_4852764755.html

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USA: tax cuts for the rich threaten sacred places

November 1, 2017

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“Congress wants to drill for oil near protected wildlife and Native communities like mine — all to offset taxes for the rich.” Male caribou grazes in open field in Alaska. Photo by Dean Biggins — US Fish & Wildlife Service.

Tax cuts for the rich are threatening America’s sacred places

by Bernadette Demientieff — Gwich’in Nation / OtherWords

Right now in Washington, DC, Congress is making decisions that will affect my future and that of my people — the Gwich’in Nation of Alaska and Canada.

A critical part of our ancestral homelands, the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — one of the world’s last untouched places — could be lost to the thirst for oil.

Some in Congress want to open the area to drilling and use the revenue to offset tax cuts for the wealthy. Meanwhile, President Trump is quietly permitting companies to take the first steps towards drilling here.

The Arctic Refuge, home to wildlife and vast lands essential to my people’s survival, has been reduced to a line item.

I’m disturbed that the push to drill has been allowed to overshadow our human rights. The Gwich’in people have relied on the lands of the refuge for thousands of years. These lands provide everything we need to live and thrive — our food, our clothing, our tools, everything.

My people have always subsisted on the Porcupine Caribou Herd, whose calving grounds are in the coastal plain. This is why we call the coastal plain “the sacred place where life begins.”

This place is vital for the survival of my people. We are caribou people. Our elders say that what befalls the caribou befalls the Gwich’in. If they go, we go. Part of us will die with them, and the other half can’t survive without them.

Our identities as indigenous people are at stake, and decision makers at the highest levels must take that into account. My people, history, culture, and our future must factor into the decision making in Washington.

I’m also disturbed to hear politicians talking about “directional drilling” to justify opening this area as part of the budget. That is, they’re planning on placing drills just outside the boundaries of the refuge and drilling sideways to reach oil under this special place.

Directional drilling is billed as safe and clean technology. It’s not. There is no safe drilling.

Such drilling would allow massive oil infrastructure to squeeze the borders of the refuge, while drills could be sunk into the coastal plain, the heart of the refuge, in the name of exploration. That would disturb the caribou calving grounds and hinder the migration patterns of already declining herds.

And what hurts the caribou ultimately hurts my people.

The Gwich’in Nation has been fighting this fight since it first came up 40 years ago. That’s why every two years, the Gwich’in come together to reaffirm our commitment to protect the coastal plain of the refuge from drilling.

Last year, people came from the 15 villages that make up the Gwich’in Nation. We danced. We sang. We were well provided for, and I felt that our ancestors were sitting there with us. Now tribes across Alaska are coming together again against drilling.

We have a moral responsibility to protect this land for our children and grandchildren. This isn’t a game. Real lives are at stake — our lives — along with special places that are too sacred to drill.

Congress must take drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off the table. It’s up to all of us to protect this sacred place for generations to come.

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Tormentas tropicales dañan los ecosistemas ya alterados

November 1, 2017

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blow — **Vientos fuertes. Foto por J. Morales — Smithsonian.**

Los huracanes pueden dañar desproporcionadamente los ecosistemas marinos ya alterados por los humanos

por STRI

Un huracán puede causar un daño sustancial a los ecosistemas marinos tropicales, especialmente si esos ecosistemas ya han sido degradados por la actividad humana. Un equipo de científicos del Smithsonian descubrió que una actividad específica, la sobrepesca, es especialmente crítica. En experimentos realizados en el Instituto Smithsonian de Investigaciones Tropicales en Panamá, el equipo descubrió que la remoción de grandes peces de arrecife podría cambiar los tipos de especies marinas que colonizan los ecosistemas costeros, haciéndolos más vulnerables a las tormentas.

“Las tormentas extremas tienen un impacto devastador en las personas, como lamentablemente hemos visto recientemente”, comentó Laura Jurgens, investigadora de post doctorado en el Smithsonian y en Temple University. “Más de tres mil millones de personas dependen de los ecosistemas marinos costeros para su alimentación y sus medios de subsistencia. A largo plazo, la resistencia humana a eventos extremos como los huracanes está estrechamente relacionada con la resiliencia ecológica, especialmente después de que hayan pasado las preocupaciones inmediatas de seguridad y de recuperación”.

En hábitats submarinos, Jurgens y sus colegas cultivaron comunidades de invertebrados marinos costeros, con algunas jaulas en el interior para excluir a los peces globo y a otros peces de arrecife. En el laboratorio simularon la afluencia masiva de agua dulce asociada a la lluvia, producto de huracanes en hábitats costeros. Esto causó un shock en el sistema a las ostras, percebes, tunicados y otros organismos acostumbrados al agua salada, que forman una base de la red trófica para peces y otros animales marinos más grandes.

Pero los grupos que estaban protegidos de los peces cuando se establecieron, sufrieron más del 50 por ciento de pérdida de biomasa. En comparación, las comunidades que estuvieron expuestas a los peces durante el desarrollo mostraron poco efecto luego de la descarga de agua dulce. Los investigadores comentaron que esto se debió a que un competidor dominante en estas comunidades, un tunicado invasivo, fue capaz de expandir en gran medida su presencia cuando no había depredadores, y esas especies hicieron que las comunidades fueran más vulnerables a la tormenta experimental. El estudio fue publicado el 31 de octubre en Ecosphere.

“Al eliminar a los depredadores de un sistema, cambia la forma de cómo será en el futuro”, comentó Jurgens. “Entonces viene un evento extremo y cambia el juego, y el nivel de destrucción que se obtiene depende de lo que se tenía sobre la mesa al inicio. En este caso, las comunidades sin depredadores perdieron la mitad de su biomasa, y eso es como eliminar la mitad de los árboles en un bosque”.

Jurgens y el científico de STRI, Mark Torchin, coautor del estudio, comentaron que la investigación arroja nueva luz sobre la resiliencia de los ecosistemas marinos tropicales en una era de cambio global, que los científicos creen que implica incrementos en la intensidad de las tormentas tropicales y los huracanes. También se suma al cuerpo de investigación que muestra cómo los depredadores ápice, por ejemplo, los peces de arrecife, son críticos para la salud general de los ambientes marino costeros.

“Sabemos poco sobre la respuesta de las comunidades marinas en un mundo que cambia rápidamente”, comentó Torchin. “Esto nos acerca a la comprensión de los efectos potencialmente interactivos de la pérdida de depredadores, las especies invasoras y los eventos extremos de tormentas en el mar”. Este es otro ejemplo de cómo podemos usar los datos recopilados a largo plazo para informar los proyectos de investigación actuales. En este caso, los datos históricos de salinidad recopilados durante casi 50 años por el Smithsonian en Panamá nos permitieron parametrizar nuestros experimentos”.

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Power line privatization doesn’t get past the legislative deadline

November 1, 2017

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**In form, the ETESA power line company is a “sociedad anónima” but there is nothing anonymous about its ownership — it belongs to the Panamanian government.**

Power line privatization doesn’t
get through this legislative session

by Eric Jackson

A complicated scheme with many things left unsaid but which clearly implied privatization of the state-owned ETESA power line company, Bill 573, failed to pass by the midnight October 31 deadline. If it is to be adopted the proposal must be brought up in another legislative session. There will be a special legislative session in December to take up the matter of appointments not yet made to the Supreme Court. Theoretically President Varela could add the measure to that session’s agenda but it would be somewhat unusual for that to be done. Controversial court decisions routinely get jammed through around Christmas time when few people are paying attention but controversial legislation usually does not get taken up in that season.

There are business, labor and consumer objections. For legislative leaders there was a more immediate problem, the likely prospect that the PRD part of the polyglot coalition that runs the legislature would defect. Thus the matter was set aside by the National Assembly’s Commerce Committee on October 30.

The big argument was whether private brokers would be allowed into the presently state-owned power line business. That central proposal would separate out the deals that the 16 largest energy users get from those of all other customers. The Varela administration and its appointed ETESA management denied that this would involve privatization. However, beyond the insertion of for-profit ENRON-style brokers, the proposal’s backers gave no coherent explanation of what would happen to the remainder of ETESA. The answer was always jargon about markets. Thus in the legislative committee a plethora of amendments were proposed, allegedly to nail down specifics. While these were delaying the process — for some the main reason for their proposal — the committee could not reach a consensus about private brokers becoming part of the nation’s electricity business. Thus, late on October 30, with just a day or so left to haggle before the end-of-session deadline, the committee put off any vote and thus killed the measure for the session that ended with October.

Bill 573 is not completely dead. The committee intends to hold public hearings and no doubt there will be behind-the-scenes haggling between now and the next session, either a special one with this business on the president’s call or more likely at the regular session that begins on January 2, 2018. However, this is a political hot button — even though it’s a year and a half away the May 2019 general election is making members of a generally disliked legislature wary of doing controversial things that might complicate their political ambitions.

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Third witness says Varela took money from Odebrecht

October 31, 2017

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JCV — President Juan Carlos Varela had previously denied that he took money from Odebrecht. Now the specific allegation is that his party’s 2009 campaign — which was dropped after an alliance with Ricardo Martinelli was formed at a meeting at the US ambassador’s residence — got $700,000 from Odebrecht via a US foundation. Varela’s response to this latest twist is that all of his 2009 contributions were duly reported to the Electoral Tribunal. However, Panama had campaign finance secrecy so there is no press or public access to those records. Photo by the Presidencia.

Another witness says that Varela got Odebrecht money

by Eric Jackson

In the October 30 online edition of La Prensa, it was reported that former Panamanian ambassador to South Korea and Panameñista Party activist Jaime Lasso told anti-corruption prosecutors that the Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht gave $700,000 to President Varela’s 2009 presidential campaign. The money, Lasso said, was from Odebrecht through a US bank account in the name of a foundation called Fundacion Don James to the Panameñista Party. That presidential campaign was cut short by a last-minute alliance with Ricardo Martinelli that was brokered at the US ambassador’s residence and the money formally flowed into Varela’s vice presidential campaign. In contrast with previous categorical denials that he took money from Odebrecht, Varela’s response was that all donations were duly reported to the Electoral Tribunal. As these files are closed by law, there is no good way to check that claim.

There are gray areas of the law when it comes to donations by the Panamanian subsidiaries of foreign companies. Campaign donations from foreign interests via foundations to conceal the source might be interpreted to be both a violation of election laws and money laundering. The current political situation in the National Assembly is such that Varela is unlikely to be called to account for any violation of such laws.

Varela was first accused of taking Odebrecht money by his erstwhile chief of staff, Minister Without Portfolio and Panameñista Party vice president Ramón Fonseca Mora (of Mossack Fonseca notoriety). That allegation was repeated by Rodrigo Tacla, an “outside counsel” for Odebrecht who set up chains of shell entities and bank accounts to launder the bribes and kickbacks that the Brazilian company paid to officials in a number of countries. The Public Ministry says that 63 people have been implicated in Odebrecht bribery in Panama, but won’t publish the names of who they are.

Did Varela anticipate the latest testimony? In an October 26 address to the nation he said that “When I assumed the Presidency of the Republic, I made it clear from that moment that nobody would be above the law and it has been that way.” He said that he respects the separation of constitutional powers but also opined that the Odebrecht investigations that a judge has ordered halted must continue.

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United States v George Papadopoulos — the charge and guilty plea

October 30, 2017

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Mr. P — **He has pleaded guilty and will now be a witness. Whether people want to believe him when he says these damning things is another question.**

The Papadopoulos case

documents by the US Special Counsel

For the criminal information (charges in lieu of an indictment), click here.

For the plea agreement, click here.

For the statement of the offense (from which the quote in the graphic above is taken), click here.

Mr. P cops a plea — **From the plea agreement. Mr. Papadopoulos is state’s evidence and he has a story to tell that will be backed up by other evidence and will be the basis for charges against other people.**

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HE LIES! (and… and… and….): The Manafort Indictment

October 30, 2017

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The Manafort indictment

by the US Special Counsel

To read the indictment of Paul Manafort, Jr. and Richard W. Gates III, click here.

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These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.

The Panama News blog links, October 30, 2077

October 30, 2017

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The Panama News blog links

a Panama-centric selection of other people’s work
una selección Panamá-céntrica de las obras de otras personas

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These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.
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¿Wappin? What the Zonians call ping ding / Que los zoneitas llaman ping ding

October 27, 2017

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**Dania María Vergara y Los Distinguidos.**

Pindín, o como dicen zoneitas, “ping ding”

Samy y Sandra Sandoval – El Pindín Caliente
https://youtu.be/stkkT6EchUY

Victorio Vergara – Que No Lo Sepa Nadie
https://youtu.be/Py0Un6JjuXs

Manuel de Jesús Ábrego – La Chola
https://youtu.be/m97Bb9OFie0

Los Mandarrayas – Me vale verga tu amor
https://youtu.be/IjkWrSBfzes

Nenito Vargas y Los Plumas Negras – Es Mejor La Despedida
https://youtu.be/muoAgoWl2CI

Dania María – Más Allá del Infinito
https://youtu.be/Vq1eFHphyLc

Manuel & Abdiel y Los Consentidos – Sirena Encantada
https://youtu.be/-y8WN3afKNU

Teresín Jaén – Amor con papelito
https://youtu.be/CHU4A1j8QTI

Lucho de Sedas – Penas
https://youtu.be/Pk86DRTbMFA

Dorindo Cardenas – El Solitario
https://youtu.be/Fj8BUQnYaqA

Ulpiano Vergara – Gotitas de Amor
https://youtu.be/2_Sb_nhtIQo

Kenny y Kiara – La Fuerza Pindín
https://youtu.be/ZdA6CCvIHG8

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These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.
Estos anuncios son interactivos. Toque en ellos para seguir a las páginas de web.

Panama is…

Bear in mind…

~ ~ ~

These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.

New work by George Scribner

paintings and lessons by the renowned Panagringo artist / Disney imagineer

Simplifying shapes in a painting:

Museo del Canal de Panama

~ ~ ~

These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.

Tax cuts for the rich are threatening America’s sacred places

by Bernadette Demientieff — Gwich’in Nation / OtherWords

~ ~ ~

These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.

Los huracanes pueden dañar desproporcionadamente los ecosistemas marinos ya alterados por los humanos

por STRI

~ ~ ~

Estos anuncios son interactivos. Toque en ellos para seguir a las páginas de web

Power line privatization doesn’t get through this legislative session

by Eric Jackson

~ ~ ~

These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.

Another witness says that Varela got Odebrecht money

by Eric Jackson

~ ~ ~

These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.

The Papadopoulos case

documents by the US Special Counsel

~ ~ ~

These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.

The Manafort indictment

by the US Special Counsel

~ ~ ~

These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.

The Panama News blog links

a Panama-centric selection of other people’s work una selección Panamá-céntrica de las obras de otras personas

Canal, Maritime & Transportation / Canal, Marítima & Transporte

Sports / Deportes

Economy / Economía

Science & Technology / Ciencia & Tecnología

News / Noticias

Opinion / Opiniones

Culture / Cultura

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These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information. Estos anuncios son interactivos. Toque en ellos para seguir a las páginas de web.

Pindín, o como dicen zoneitas, “ping ding”

Samy y Sandra Sandoval – El Pindín Caliente https://youtu.be/stkkT6EchUY

Victorio Vergara – Que No Lo Sepa Nadie https://youtu.be/Py0Un6JjuXs

Manuel de Jesús Ábrego – La Chola https://youtu.be/m97Bb9OFie0

Los Mandarrayas – Me vale verga tu amor https://youtu.be/IjkWrSBfzes

Nenito Vargas y Los Plumas Negras – Es Mejor La Despedida https://youtu.be/muoAgoWl2CI

Dania María – Más Allá del Infinito https://youtu.be/Vq1eFHphyLc

Manuel & Abdiel y Los Consentidos – Sirena Encantada https://youtu.be/-y8WN3afKNU

Teresín Jaén – Amor con papelito https://youtu.be/CHU4A1j8QTI

Lucho de Sedas – Penas https://youtu.be/Pk86DRTbMFA

Dorindo Cardenas – El Solitario https://youtu.be/Fj8BUQnYaqA

Ulpiano Vergara – Gotitas de Amor https://youtu.be/2_Sb_nhtIQo

Kenny y Kiara – La Fuerza Pindín https://youtu.be/ZdA6CCvIHG8

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These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information. Estos anuncios son interactivos. Toque en ellos para seguir a las páginas de web.

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

Power line privatization doesn’t
get through this legislative session

a Panama-centric selection of other people’s work
una selección Panamá-céntrica de las obras de otras personas

These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.
Estos anuncios son interactivos. Toque en ellos para seguir a las páginas de web.

Samy y Sandra Sandoval – El Pindín Caliente
https://youtu.be/stkkT6EchUY

Victorio Vergara – Que No Lo Sepa Nadie
https://youtu.be/Py0Un6JjuXs

Manuel de Jesús Ábrego – La Chola
https://youtu.be/m97Bb9OFie0

Los Mandarrayas – Me vale verga tu amor
https://youtu.be/IjkWrSBfzes

Nenito Vargas y Los Plumas Negras – Es Mejor La Despedida
https://youtu.be/muoAgoWl2CI

Dania María – Más Allá del Infinito
https://youtu.be/Vq1eFHphyLc

Manuel & Abdiel y Los Consentidos – Sirena Encantada
https://youtu.be/-y8WN3afKNU

Teresín Jaén – Amor con papelito
https://youtu.be/CHU4A1j8QTI

Lucho de Sedas – Penas
https://youtu.be/Pk86DRTbMFA

Dorindo Cardenas – El Solitario
https://youtu.be/Fj8BUQnYaqA

Ulpiano Vergara – Gotitas de Amor
https://youtu.be/2_Sb_nhtIQo

Kenny y Kiara – La Fuerza Pindín
https://youtu.be/ZdA6CCvIHG8

These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.
Estos anuncios son interactivos. Toque en ellos para seguir a las páginas de web.