Our Common Sorrow

Since August had five Fridays, it has been three weeks since the last issue, and these have been eventful weeks. We had a lot of news about Panama ready, plus the first of Joe Cross's series from Israel, when a day that I had planned to spend working on this issue was instead spent watching the TV set in horror.

All Americans - including, I might add, Arab-Americans and the several million Muslims in the United States - feel personally attacked by the vicious criminals who committed the infamous acts of September 11. Woe to those responsible, including those who harbor them.

What a lot of people in the United States may not understand is that many Panamanians feel the same way. In our three-person office, we are all Panamanian citizens. The vote to take military action sufficient to eliminate Osama bin Laden and the Taliban would bethree to zip. Naida de Justiniani, our business manager, was relieved to see her niece, who worked in the World Trade Center, shown on television running down the street with terror on her face - that marked her as a survivor. Across the hall in the Panamanian Girl Scouts' office, sentiment is exactly the same, but expressed much more in terms of morals and religion - they are totally offended that someone could have committed such crimes in the name of God.

We Americans have our differences among ourselves, as do we Panamanians, and then Panama has its differences with the United States. But in this confrontation between evil forces and the American people, the United States and its allies, including Panama, stand as one.

Meanwhile in Panama, the president is in such trouble that any distraction has to help her. She commuted the prison sentence of a fugitive drug dealer who happened to have a brother working in her Ministry of the Presidency, and her subsequent move to rescind that action after the storm of criticism has not eliminated the odors. The tale of the helicopter that fell out of her entourage last February has resurfaced with spectacular new admissions, which raise the scent of a $1.8 million insurance fraud and at least some presidential role in it. President Moscoso has been suffering from some health problems of late, but her political woes are far worse. Read all about it in the lead story in our news section.

Also in the news section, Joe Cross is back from Israel, where, as frequent readers will recall, he has been following the cycle of violence for The Panama News. See the first of series of stories in this issue.

(Joe, who was raised Zionist, went to Israel and was disappointed by what he saw. In the wake of the attacks on airliners, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by Muslim fanatic suicide commandoes, and because a crowd of obnoxious Palestinians cheered those events at East Jerusalem's Damascus Gate, we considered whether this was the right time to publish this article. However, honest journalism means printing the truth and letting the chips fall where they may, and useful journalism is that which helps the readers understand the complicated phenomena that the world confronts. Thus we're running the story now.)

The Middle East was a big controversy at the recent United Nations World Conference Against Racism. The American and Israeli delegations walked out early, citing among other things the declaration of an associated conference of non-governmental organizations as proof that the world's anti-Semites had singled out Israel for hypocritical special condemnation. It's a long document, but if you go to http://www.racism.org.za/index.html and read the NGOs' declaration you will be able to judge for yourself how fair or unfair the statement was.

Our opinion section also goes far afield this time, with John McCain's reaction to the events of September 11, some comments by people around the world about the same, my take on the economics of boxing as an indicator of Panama's problems, Michelle Lescure's column on a Central American crime wave, and Reporters Without Borders on China's crackdown against Internet dissidents.

We highlight one of several ongoing photography exhibits in our arts section, while Roxanna Cain is back with two book reviews and the dining section takes us to the old Napoli. Meanwhile, Sparky the Wonder Dog stands guard on the fun page, and one of Panama's two currently reigning world boxing champs graces our sports section, along with other characters encountered at Panama City's boxing gyms.

Our travel section has a photo spread about the road building between Albrook and Balboa. Our outdoor section this time stinks, or shall I say that it did when I took the photo, and whenever else people pass by that scene.

Possibly the business story of most interest to you is about The Panama News itself. There have been discussions about new investment and restructuring, but nothing has yet borne fruit and we are still desperately broke. We had hoped to be in a position to return to print by September, but that's not going to happen. We need to get back into print for the Internet version to survive, and we need a cash infusion to get back into print. If you have any suggestions, queries or offers, send them to editor@thepanamanews.com. If you have any contributions toward the cause, mail them to:

The Panama News
Apartado 55-0927 Estafeta Paitilla
Panama, Republic of Panama

We are, of course, most grateful for all of the help that has pulled us through our hard times so far. Any other small business in our condition would have folded months ago, but so far we have managed to get by with a little help from our friends.