Don't jump just yet

Today's cover photo is a scene from the Theatre Guild of Ancon's current production of "It's a Wonderful Life," with Artie Pollack shown on the left and Patrick Casal to the right. Pat Alvarado, who edits Sparky the Wonder Dog's advice column in our Fun section, usually does the Theatre Guild's photography, but this time the guild's president, Catherine Hopkins, wore the photographer's hat along with several others.

As in the play, these are times of trouble with villains at work, but with good reason for hope. The Panamanian economy is still bad, but there are a few upward indicators too. This country's politics are still sordid, but it seems that the factions are slowly backing away from a constitutional crisis between the executive and legislative branches. On the world scene, the news is dominated by war, but the bad guys are taking a beating.

As regular readers will know, my own opinion is that the events of September 11 made a war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban necessary, but on the other hand I'm not one who thinks that warfare is somehow glorious, nor am I like the folks at Time/Warner/AOL/CNN, who believe that endless repetition of only one side of a big story constitutes proper war coverage. This time various aspects of President Bush's War on Terrorism are discussed and debated in our Editorial, News, Opinion and Letters sections, and in the Review section one of the "Cool Internet sites" is more chilling than cool, as it's a link to a BBC interview with the Taliban's fanatical Mullah Omar. If you have a strong opinion about the war and believe that it's morally wrong to publish an opinion opposite to or different from your own, then this issue will offend you and I don't apologize.

Along with the Internet sites, our Review section covers the play from which the pictured scene is taken, plus it includes a long article on Panamanian press coverage of a rather mundane piece of legislation as an example of how private forces have been brought to bear to impose political censorship on this country's media.

In the Arts section, mention is made of Janet Levi's new trilingual edition of her Kuna words coloring book. Sadly, this work is just beginning to be sold, and already one of Panama City's upscale private schools is pirating it. If you are interested in supporting one of the more prominent but by no means wealthy of the artists in this country's American community, order one of Janet's coloring books or bateas by email at batealady@hotmail.com or visit her website at http://www.batealady.com . My own battle with piracy also made the news lately, when La Prensa listed me as one of the nation's violators of freedom of the press for filing a criminal complaint about their unauthorized and unpaid use of my copyrighted photographs. Their publisher, the pathetic thief with presidential pretensions Ricardo Alberto Arias, didn't get any support from international journalism or human rights group for his asserted "right" to steal my work.

The Theatre Guild's play figures on this front page and in the Review and Arts section, but it might also have appeared on the Community page. Similarly, our Business section includes an illustrated story about the Who's New annual crafts bazaar, which could easily belong in the Arts or Community section. Also, the lead News story is about a security forum hosted by three important American community groups, the American Chamber of Commerce, the Navy League and the American Society. US charge d'affairs Frederick Becker, US embassy security chief Carlos Matus and a retired US Navy SEAL who plays a leading role in the Moscoso administration's security apparatus, Mike Fitzgerald, had some interesting things to say at the event. Given the frequent emails that come into this publication asking whether Panama is a safe place to visit, I think that many readers will want to look at this story first. And then Willy Carrera's Business section piece on the state of the Panamanian economy might also fit well enough into the News pages. Does all of this make us "multidisciplinary," "eclectic" or something like that?

Well, I try. At the moment, the rent for our office and for our website are almost due, and there is some question whether the money will be there. Payment of salaries is even more doubtful, and holiday bonuses are out of the question. If you like The Panama News and are disposed to help us in our attempt to sustain independent English-language journalism on the isthmus, order a copy of my book "9°N" ($25, which includes postage) or make your donation by sending a check or money order to:

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

Despite all of the difficulties, life in Panama and working at The Panama News are wonderful experiences, and I hope to continue. Lend me a hand if you find my efforts worthy.

Sincerely,