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Another doctor on the staff
Sparky the Wonder Dog has earned his doctorate, and published his dissertation. Lest you scoff, I assure you that his doctorate is as genuine as Dr. Ernesto Pérez Balladares's. You can order this book through Pat Alvarado's website. We're proud of you doc, and you, too, Pat.
This time in the Letters section, Marc Harris takes me to task for publishing an article about his flight to Nicaragua after he refused to answer any of my questions, and a Harris supporter and a detractor from within the ranks of journalism add their bits. Two noteworthy things are that, first, though Harris claims that he doesn't own a plane and then asserts that the plane was used by the US Embassy, a spokesman for the embassy says nobody knows of any such rental and that the embassy would never knowingly rent a plane from a company owned or controlled by Harris; and second, that at the Panama City office that is allegedly handling Harris's business affairs here, they denied to La Prensa that they have anything to do with him. And yes, maybe Marc Harris is right that I'd be richer if I turned The Panama News into a shill for someone like him. Where he's wrong is his assumption that everything and everybody's for sale.
This issue gets into genips and outdoor markets, a phone company that most Panamanians hate and a gun-running probe that's going nowhere and satisfying the Bush administration.
We also have a good set of Cool Internet Sites this time. Teenagers who have problems with acne, or who turn into werewolves when the moon gets full, may find some of the sites interesting. And then there's a link to a document published by the US Army South, which will be making a return visit here next year. I got an email from a US military employee recently, inquiring about the recent meningitis outbreak in David --- it seems that the Southern Command is serious about the construction projects that the visiting engineer units will be performing, both from the standpoint of protecting the health of American soldiers and for the purpose of knowing where their work is really needed.
I expect the Americans to be well received here. I hope that they are able to successfully walk the tightrope between not offending the Panamanian government and not lending propaganda assistance to or working on the farms of unworthy politicians.
I have receive some emails from Panamanians who want to know where the bases will be, and how much rent the US will be paying for soldiers to live in their Panama City apartments. These are naive questions, which reflect an unfortunate servile attitude in which people who ought to know better still look to the United States to solve Panama's problems.
In our Opinion section, a column by Casa Alianza that Willy Gutman sent us deals with an egregious attack on freedom of expression in Guatemala, one designed to protect that country's baby export industry. I also get emails from time to time from Americans who want to know about adopting Panamanian babies. I rarely respond to such inquiries --- I might get very rude if I do. In Panama there are some serious issues about the ways that children are cared for and educated, but our extended families, religious congregations and indigenous communities take in the kids whose parents can't or won't raise them and it's very difficult for foreigners to adopt Panamanian kids. Our kids aren't for sale to the American middle class, and I like it like that.
In the Spanish-language Opinion section, and in the News Briefs, the unfortunate matter of a journalist and University of Panama journalism professor who has apparently been caught at plagiarism is aired. That she was at the forefront of a movement to "professionalize" Panamanian journalism by banning me and a lot of other colleagues from it says many ugly things. That plagiarism allegations against a faculty member that look pretty solid on their face are not taken as a serious issue by the University of Panama also says some disturbing things about that institution.
But there are also positive things to report about the University of Panama these days, in this issue with respect to the history department. We also have a few positive developments mixed in with all the tragedies in the Business and Economy Briefs.
Eric Jackson
the editor
