Yesterday many websites were in a World-Wide Blackout against The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill, and it’s sister bill, Protect IP Act (PIPA), that is currently working their way through the United States Congress and the Senate. These new bills threaten every facet of the internet by letting government regulate what can and can not be seen; a form of censorship - just like China and Iraq does to their Internet users.
Craig's List Blackout in Protest of SOPA and PIPA
Thousands of website owners, webmasters, and SEOs (including Tico Times Directory), joined with the big boys like Google, Craig’s Lists, and Wikipedia and protested for 24/hrs this scary and very unfair bill. The purpose of the blackout was twofold: to raise public awareness, and to encourage people to share their views with their elected representatives.
Fighting online piracy is VERY important and we believe in the copyrights and trademarks protection of others. Unfortunately, SOPA and PIPA bills target the innocent places like American social networks, Blogs and search engines. This alone undermines the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of U.S jobs. In otherwords, those in protest, believe the bill violates a few US Amendment Rights, like the 1st Amendment – Freedom of Speech. Read more...(752 words, 2 images, estimated 3:00 mins reading time)
A few weeks ago at the Auto Mercado in Jaco, it was very evident that even if Thanksgiving is not a Costa Rican holiday, is sure is one of the most celebrated American holidays in Costa Rica.
Signs were up for the holiday and products were already being displayed. Frozen turkeys, stuffing mix (including popular brands like Stove Top), salad fixing, sweet potatoes, green bean casseroles, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce as well as apple, pecan, mince, pumpkin pie and all of the other gastronomical goodies.
And there is something about Costa Rica potatoes (which are a bit sweeter) that makes unreal mash potatoes!
Unfortunately, turkeys are either imported frozen from the U.S. or purchased locally from Pipasa (a meat and poultry company) and is not cheap for a fresh bird: at least $3.50 per pound. So a 20lb bird could cost you around $70USD, compared to one in the US, where specials for birds can be as low as $7USD for a 13lb turkey.
Most will go ahead and buy frozen. PriceSmart and Auto Mercando have 15-18lbs turkeys for over $40. Auto Mercado is probably the most Americanize superstore in all of Costa Rica and imports many American goods along with Thanksgiving products, including stuffing mix, canned pumpkin, frozen pie crusts, canned onion rings and cranberries. Read more...(509 words, 2 images, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)
For the last four years I have been drawn like a magnet to San Jose, Costa Rica for Halloween. A few years prior I read a blog where the Blogger wrote how Halloween in Costa Rica is considered nothing but a “Gringo’s” pagan holiday, that was designed to seduce small children with candy and “not” an acceptable celebration among Ticos. Then it went on about this haunting, peasant folklore of El Cadejos – a young man (Joaquin) from Cartago who loved to party. After Joaquin got blindly drunk for a week straight, his father cursed and transformed him into El Cadejos, a terrifyingly huge black dog with fiery-red eyes destined to haunt Costa Rica forever, scaring those who don’t know when to stop their drunkenness.
I have heard that El Cadejos is slang for massive hangover. Read more...(768 words, 10 images, estimated 3:04 mins reading time)
Costa Rica is an expats haven, taking advantage of their world class medial & education systems, democratic government, gorgeous tropical climate, diverse economy and of course the affordable real estate.
The ones that top the list are Americans and Canadians. Currently, over 100,000 Americans and 20,000 Canadians live in Costa Rica.
Like the U.S., Canada’s baby boomers are reaching retirement, and with the depress world-wide economy, and living expenses getting higher many elderly Canadians are now looking toward Costa Rica. That scale may start to become more balanced for Canadians vs. U.S. citizens, due to some pending laws that some claim are, human rights violations against their own “elderly” citizens.
Canada’s Heartless Grandparent Scandal
Canada has announced that there are approximately “eleven million” people in Canada who are over the age of fifty. Many of these people are aging parents who want nothing more out of life than to live independently (in something as simple as a basement apartment or Granny suite) in the home of adult child “and with the grandchildren” for the balance of their lives. Read more...(547 words, 1 image, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)
Back in April, 2009 we wrote about how Costa Rica was forming the Costa Rica Federation of American Football (FCFA) - since then, the game is becoming more popular with its 3rd season. For more info, contact Cody Gear at 321-218-9209 or via email at codygear (at) codylgearandassociates dot com.
Costa Rica has also been invited to the World Cup of American Football to be held in Mexico City July 13-20th, 2012
American football is alive and well in Costa Rica. This year the league completed its third year. The season which went from February to June culminated in the third championship being won by the Santa Ana Bulldogs. This is the second year that the Bulldogs have won the championship.
Many don’t know that a league exist here in Costa Rica much less that it has enjoyed success and growth over the past three years. The teams are predominantly comprised of Costa Ricans but there are many expats that participate as well. The Costa Ricans are learning the game and each year show steady improvement. The league is fortunate to have a number of qualified coaches but we are always looking for new blood. Read more...(536 words, 1 image, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)
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