Letters to the editor

I just read Tomás García's article on birds at Tocumen airport. He might be interested in knowing that Tocumen's strategies are not the only ones available. Falcon Environmental Services is a unique Montreal-based company that uses falcons flying overhead to scare away other birds from the runway. Sometimes the falcons strike and eat their prey but otherwise birds are not killed in this type of operation. It is a very interesting method and I would strongly suggest he and anybody else who is curious check out this website:

Falcon Environmental Services operates at Dorval International airport in Montreal, Pearson International in Toronto, JFK International in New York, and many others.

Thanks for setting up your valuable news resource in Panama. Just thinking, though, that a Internet forum (such as the one at "Upsize This") may be a better format for the Unclassifieds.

The Yahoo groups don't make it immediately obvious that you can reply to a posting, don't really display topic threads very well and the most value in a posting could be from multiple replies.

Also, it would give folks the opportunity to comment on whether they thought an advertised service was worthwhile or not.

Editor’s note: Understand that time and resources are important factors in my choices about the Panama Unclassifieds. Moreover, that’s not particularly a forum for back and forth discussion, but a place for people to advertise. The extent to which I could get into a discussion bulletin board service in a format like Upsize This is above all a question of time and money, and despite the limitations of the Yahoo format, it does seem to me that there are a number of English-language Yahoo groups about Panama that do a reasonable job of creating opportunities for discussion and exchanges of information.

In the interests of peace and development why aren’t there very large taxes on the global armaments and war industries trade, and the global short-term money markets?

These could provide very useful funding for humanitarian, development and biodiversity conservation programs? Also why aren't there taxes on pet food, expensive restaurant bills and big-spend advertising with proceeds directed to emergency assistance programs. Decent minimum living, working and environmental standards worldwide could be quite easily achieved with initiatives like these.

Also in the interests of peace and development the worldwide routine and very serious human rights abuses in prisons, police stations, institutions and workplaces, and state-sanctioned judicial and extra-judicial murder need urgent, serious and sustained attention and action. As do the very serious human rights abuses and murders of other criminal organizations.

Any governments, people and organizations with interests in accountability and the consistent and impartial rule of international law and the achievement of decent minimum living, working and environmental standards worldwide should support and develop the United Nations and other international organizations.

Why are most governments, legal systems and media worldwide characterized by double standards and selective morality, representation and access?

You did that with Tom in Bocas and look what happened --- we can make a difference and you certainly do.

Editor’s note: It seems that Tom McMurrain has had his fraud sentencing by a US federal district court postponed because it is said that he is suffering from a mental illness. Let this journalist, one of a long line of manic depressives, not belittle the seriousness of a psychological condition. But from my personal observations, McMurrain’s main problem is a severe moral disorder. But seeing as how his family ties have resulted in a nearly complete news blackout of his case in Atlanta, I would not be shocked to see an American court take pity on the poor sick man whose misfortune was to strip dozens of other people of their lives’ savings.

And Father Kelly? The record would indicate a continuing and ever more serious crime wave by a guy who has been the beneficiary of misguided pity all of his adult life. If he is an alcoholic as claimed, that’s an unfortunate malady but no excuse for being a pedophile, pension fund skimmer or money launderer. Whether on health or moral grounds, the Torrijos administration really does need to throw the sticky fingered chickenhawk out of Panama.

I've just returned from Panama City and just want to thank you for providing so much valuable information online about Panama. Your articles are informative, fairly balanced and of great assistance to me in writing about current events there.

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