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Volume 15,
Number 5 |
Also in this
section: History, ethics, economics Que desgracia! I watched the interview from the “TVN Noticias” Panamanian reporter with David Murcia, an alleged financial scammer, which I reached via The Panama News. As a born Panamanian, I feel ashamed at the lack of ethics that seems rampant in politics in Panama today. What a shame --- que desgracia --- that those who gave their lives in the sixties and seventies opposing the military dictatorship gave their lives for nothing. Are the candidates willing to improve our country? I hope all candidates are held to their promises. Al Bonilla  Iva Toguri, in her later years Comparing apples and oranges in something the editor wrote for the Panama Star? With regard to your article appearing 03-10-2009 Google News (La Estrella's Panama Star section) --- "If WWII had ended differently" please note: On the one hand, you have done your homework and accurately summarized Iva's (Iva Toguri) story, even noting that "Tokyo Rose" was a myth and that Iva's arrest, trial and conviction were all tainted by what you call "prosecutorial misconduct" and that she never sought fame or fortune from her resulting celebrity. On the other hand, you characterized her as "propagandist" simply by comparing her to Bosco Vallarino, whom you characterize as a traitor who only escaped prosecution because he worked for the "winning side" in that war. Here you made the case that Vallarino was a Panamanian "Lord Haw-Haw" and was deserving of the same treatment, we would not complain. As it is, you have libeled Iva to make a point is, to those who know the full story, an "apples and oranges" comparison at best. You are clearly judging Iva as if she had indeed been convicted of being "Tokyo Rose" and in fact guilty of the crimes associated with that name, overlooking the fact that your own reportage acknowledges that her trial was a sham. You cannot have it both ways. If you want to paint Vallarino as a villain, then you should compare Vallarino to a true and proven villain. You owe an apology to Iva and her posterity for perpetuating the myth, never mind the perhaps-unintentional libel. Please see the attached Obituary of Iva Toguri --- who passed away September 2006 --- and issues of the WWII Chronicles published by the WWII Veterans Committee aka American Veterans Center --- in the sincere hope that you will benefit from knowing the 'true' story of Iva Toguri as opposed to perpetuating the myth. Please see the PDF document of the Iva Toguri obit and the photo of Iva Toguri wearing her WWII Veterans medal --- when she received from the WWII Veterans Committee's Edward O'Herlihy Citizenship Award. (See page 28.) See also two issues of The WWII Chronicles, published by the WWII Veterans Committee: http://www.americanveteranscenter.org/Publications/Issue_XXVII-Winter2004.pdf
http://www.americanveteranscenter.org/Publications/Issue_XXXIII.pdf Barbara
Jean Trembley
email: dbltreat@mac.com Editor's note: If I got the
facts right, it's not libel. However, ethical comparisons and
distinctions are a much more complicated problem.
Iva Toguri was one of the victims of a time when it was popular --- even mandatory --- for Americans to hate Japanese and for Japanese to hate Americans. Let this be a lesson to all dual citizens. Moreover, let all Americans in particular reflect upon the reality that many of the abuses of the "War on Terror" and its accompanying mass hysteria about Muslims have some ugly precedents in US history. The biggest distinction between Toguri on the one hand and Lord Haw Haw and Bosco Vallarino on the other was the matter of choice. Toguri was coerced into doing what she did. On top of that, what she actually did was falsified by unethical prosecutors at her treason trial, and although the jury seemed to have seen through this by rejecting most counts, they convicted her on one count most probably because it would have seemed unpatriotic to return a "pro-Japanese" verdict of acquittal on all counts. So does that mean that Bosco Vallarino equals Lord Haw Haw? That's also not a very exact comparison. Lots of Panamanians supported the 1989 US invasion while very few British subjects supported the Nazis, for one thing. The dictatorship and the 1989 invasion are historical and ethical minefields, where gray areas that are neither entirely black nor entirely white abound. The invasion, with the massive looting that accompanied it and the frequent fingering of business rivals and so on for unjustified arrests in the US military round-ups, is a particularly painful and ugly chapter in our national history that many Panamanians would just as soon forget. But now we have a mayoral race in which three candidates had starkly different histories during that epoch. Do we want a second-generation Norieguista? Do we want a hired hand who served an army that attacked Panama? Do we want a dissident who was beaten and driven into exile? There are ethical issues to address that are infinitely more complicated than the issues in Iva Toguri's case. We're
really not a daily, but we have this email list...
Many thanks for the daily update of Panama's events. Clark Wilson One
more advantage to living in Panama
Just to let you know that mangos of the size in the photo of the market, I have seen for 25 to 30 USD each here in Japan! B. Chrisse Harwanko Artist, Educator, Adventure Designer & Tour Leader Okinawa, Japan Obama doesn't get the moral of the Frankenstein story I am disappointed with President Obama’s decision to rescind the Bush administration’s strict limits on human embryonic stem-cell research. Obama confuses scientific integrity with Frankenstein science. Human welfare does not demand that scientists pursue every avenue available. On the contrary, it depends upon a shared responsibility that involves moral limits. Science has confirmed with objective certainty that full human life begins at conception with the formation of a genetically complete, self-directing human entity, the embryo. Life does not result from an organism when it has been built up, but rather it is the vital principle of life that builds up the organism of its own body. This was established 120 years ago by Wilhelm His, the father of human embryology. Embryonic stern-cell research involves the destruction of living human embryos. This amount to the direct and intentional killing of human beings. Amazingly, though embryonic stem cell experiments have failed to produce a single, unqualified, therapeutic success, even in animal models, supporters of the embryonic model continue to laud their unproven and currently unethical methods and ignore the fact that adult stem cell therapies are being used extensively today in treating over seventy diseases. A major breakthrough in November of 2007 showed that pluripotent stem cells (embryo-like stem cells) can ethically be derived from human skin cells, by "reprogramming" them with special genes. The smart plan for the the future would be to encourage the myriad of available alternatives, rather than funding the most unethical type of research that relies on a form of discrimination against an entire class of humans --- embryonic humans --- being singled out for targeted destruction at the hands of researchers. Human beings are not raw materials that can be exploited or commodities that can be bought and sold. We must help those who are suffering, but we may not use a good end to justify an evil means. Paul
Kokoski
Hamilton, Ontario Canada Hidden
threats and greenwashing abound
for investors in foreign real estate Purchasing property in Latin America is nothing new to American investors, but with the recent economic downturn and uncertain US market, US homebuyers and retirees may be more tempted than ever to invest in ostensibly attractive real estate deals in Latin America. Unfortunately, even the most savvy investors may face multiple challenges, including unfamiliar legal systems, unreported or underreported environmental impacts, substandard construction, and unprincipled developers who evade accountability in US courts. The recent allegations of fraud and misrepresentation against real estate tycoon Donald Trump and a Baja California, Mexico resort is just one example of how seemingly good investments can go wrong. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the Center for Biological Diversity’s conservation director, Peter Galvin, is issuing an open letter to American investors and a formal plea to attorneys general and secretaries of state to issue specific consumer-safety guidelines warning investors of the dangers of investing abroad. Galvin stated, “Americans need to be very wary when looking at investing in real estate abroad. While prices may seem low and promises of environmental sustainability sound very attractive, the on-the-ground reality is often very different from developers’ flowery promises and slick sales brochures. Some investors have lost their life savings due to faulty or disputed land titles; many others have purchased homes or property they were led to believe was part of an environmentally sensitive development plan, only to find out later about the severe environmental destruction caused to create and maintain these false or ‘greenwashed’ development projects.” The Center recently published a policy analysis on the risks faced by American baby-boomers --- a generation with an estimated value of $15.5 trillion over the next 20 years --- when purchasing “green” real estate in Latin America. The analysis highlights two developments in Latin America that have, by many peoples’ standards, failed to live up to their promise to be green. It looks at how federal law, and the laws of California, Texas, Arizona, and New York --- states with high numbers of retirees --- can protect investors. The findings of the policy analysis are disturbing: While investors have some recourse in US courts or abroad when developers’ promises turn out to be false, investors who’ve specifically bought into “green” developments that turn out not to live up to their environmental promises currently have very little legal recourse when things go bad. The Center is sending its policy analysis and open letter to the attorneys general and secretaries of state of all 50 states with the hope that the appropriate regulatory agencies will alert their constituents about the perils of investing in real estate abroad, in particular projects marketed as “green.” Peter
Galvin
Center for Biological Diversity The
Center
for Biological Diversity is a
US nonprofit conservation organization with nearly 200,000 members
and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered
species and wild places.
Protect the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado, Colombia The Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado reported on March 3, 2009 that they have received new threats. Previously, the community sent messages condemning the actions of Colonel Germán Rojas Díaz of the Seventeenth Brigade, who repeatedly threatened Reinaldo Areiza, a former member of the Peace Community’s Internal Council. Colonel Rojas insisted that if Areiza did not collaborate with the military in its effort to destroy the community, he would be arrested and charged as a member of the FARC and as a drug-trafficker. The Colonel even claimed to have found “witnesses” willing to testify to the veracity of these charges. Since Areiza and the community made these threats public to the international community, members of the military and paramilitary groups have been sweeping the area in search of Areiza, and have expressed their outrage at the fact that the community dared speak out. Although threats such as those made again Areiza are nothing new, the authorities have yet to punish those responsible, and Colonel Rojas continues as commander of his battalion. Additionally, we are aware of plans to escalate the current assault against the Peace Community. On February 17, 2009, four paramilitaries claiming to belong to the “Aguilas Negras” harassed two families in Naín, demanding information on the whereabouts of the leaders of the Peace Community, and insisting that the community would soon be wiped out. On February 22 and 23, 2009, armed men appeared in Mulatos, demanding information about a person accompanying the community. Coincidently, Army patrols were spotted nearby. On February 23, 2009, a member of the community and Internal Council was held by the military for one hour in his own home. Threats were made against him and the whole community, and his property was damaged. On February 24, 2009, another member of the community was illegally stopped and questioned. He was instructed to reveal the whereabouts of Reinaldo Areiza, and told him that Areiza was as good as dead. The Peace Community pleads that we continue to support them in their struggle to defend themselves by demanding that the Colombian government ensure that this persecution ends. Please write to: If you are a US citizen:
In Colombia:
The
Colombia Support Network
Madison, Wisconsin USA Also in this
section:
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2009 by Eric Jackson email: editor@thepanamanews.com or phone: (507) 6-632-6343 Mailing
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