Our favorite quotes about Costa Rica from the past year
The best – and the worst – things that were said in 2013:ARCHBISHOP: LESBIANS ARE COOL“[Lesbians are] nobler. They are more respectful and you can easily see that. One of them once told me: ‘Oh, so I cannot go to church with my girlfriend?’ Meaning, for me, homosexuality is incredibly immoral. It’s not that I think lesbianism is ideal … but with lesbians … at least the ones I know are more polite.”-Archbishop Hugo BarrantesContext: The Costa Rican church leader explained in an interview with the daily La Nación why gay men are rude. As for lesbians, Barrantes remarked he’s all right with them. (He also listed one more reason he’s disgusted by gay males. He doesn’t like to think about two men having sex. Of course.)GIMME A JOB, COSTA RICA“¡Contráteme!” (“Hire me!”)-(Now-retired) slogan for Johnny Araya’s presidential campaignContext: Though it wasn’t his most visible blunder, asking Costa Ricans to “Hire Him” made for a clunky and pathetic calling card for the former San José mayor. He decided to retire the slogan in December after watching his enormous lead in the polls dissipate over a couple months.‘HELP IS ON THE WAY’“My name’s Carlos. You’re going to be OK. Help is on the way.” -Boston bombing hero Carlos Arredondo Context: The Costa Rica-born Arredondo had lost both his sons in recent years: One was killed in Iraq in 2004 and the other died by suicide in 2011. That’s why Arredondo was at the marathon on April 15. Members of the National Guard and a suicide prevention group were running in honor of his sons. He was cheering them on. When the first bomb went off, he was in the bleachers. After the second bomb exploded, Arredondo scrambled toward the blasts. The photo snapped of Arredondo rushing bombing victim Jeff Bauman to a medical tent became the iconic image of the Boston Marathon terrorist attack. As he helped move Bauman to safety he reassured the young man, who lost both his legs in the bombing, that he would survive. The two have since become good friends, and visited Costa Rica together in the fall.HOT TAMALES. COLD RESPONSE.“It’s time to come together and share.”-Invite sent to presidential candidates to a tamal hosted by José María VillaltaContext: In a thinly veiled, albeit very amusing, political ploy, the Broad Front Party candidate invited his fellow hopefuls to come eat tamales with him, a Tico Christmas tradition. Not a single candidate accepted the invitation. Johnny Araya, Villalta’s likely opponent in a possible presidential runoff, jabbed back at the invite and said he was too busy preparing for the election to attend.MORE BORDER BATTLE B.S.“Given the fact that this issue [of Guanacaste] has not been debated in the [world] court, we could consider taking the case to the ‘ICJ’ [the Hague-based International Court of Justice] and it could permit Nicaragua to recover that territory.”-Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega, insinuating that his country has deigns on the Costa Rican province of Guanacaste.Context: At a military event in August, Ortega gave a speech where he talked about Nicaragua taking over Costa Rica’s northwestern province of Guanacaste, by presenting a case on the area to the International Court of Justice, in the Netherlands. This, naturally, became the latest touchstone for a feud between the not-so-friendly neighbors. Ortega said he wanted to discuss the return of the “occupied” province with Costa Rica. Chinchilla rejected that idea. Instead, in an overblown display of national pride, she chose to lead a march with Guanacastecans to “defend the province’s sovereignty.”NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT“I have fought and worked every day of my life for a chance to go to the World Cup, and today I have succeeded. It is one of the happiest days of my life.”“The braver the bull, the better the fight. … Costa Rica usually puts up its best game against big teams.”-Costa Rica men’s national team head coach Jorge Luis PintoContext: These quotes come from the once-maligned, currently celebrated head coach who brought Costa Rica back to the World Cup for the first time since 2006. The first Pinto quote was said during the fiesta after Costa Rica qualified for Brazil 2014 in October. The latter quote came after Costa Rica’s World Cup draw put a damper on all the jubilation. Costa Rica learned that it will face three former World Cup champions in its group: Uruguay, Italy and England. OBAMA’S NEW SLOGAN: ‘PURA VIDA’“In the United States we’re thankful for the many Costa Ricans who contribute to our prosperity and our liberty. In my best Tica, ‘Pura vida.’”-U.S. President Barack ObamaContext: The most powerful leader in the world stumped in Costa Rica in May to firm up economic ties between the U.S. and Central America and the Dominican Republic. While in San José, Obama tried out the country’s catchphrase in his best “Tica,” whatever that means.OROZCO SAYS MORE LOONY THINGS“That preference is not a right. It’s a stunted development of sexual identity. It can change like alcoholism, tobacco addiction.”“We could mobilize half a million people anywhere we want. … This is a demonstration of what Costa Rica wants.”-Conservative lawmaker Justo OrozcoContext: The oh-boy-is-he-ever controversial leader of the evangelical National Renovation Party keeps making grand statements that garner nationwide attention, for better or worse. The above quotes refer to homosexuality and a march against in vitro fertilization, respectively. Costa Rica remains the only country in the Western Hemisphere to maintain a ban on IVF.‘OVIEDO BABY’“Can’t wait for Bryan Oviedo to score the winner against England. OVIEDO BABY OVIEDOOOOO WOAH”“Tough draw for England, he’s unplayable at the moment. Can we possibly cope with @Bryan_Oviedo?”“What you on about mate? Bryan Oviedo is going to knock us both out““England got no chance in that group, especially against premierships most lethal finisher: @Bryan Oviedo.”“Go easy on ‘Inglaterra’ Bry”“It’s not Italy and Uruguay [that] England have to be worried about it’s Bryan Oviedo!”“Sh**. It’s only just clicked that Bryan Oviedo is part of the Costa Rican national team. We’re royally f**ked.“-Comments on Twitter about Costa Rican soccer star Bryan OviedoContext: Premier League defender Bryan Oviedo scored a late goal for Everton to give the club its first victory over powerhouse Manchester United in 21 years. The Tico was only in the game as a sub for an injured starter. But once Oviedo knocked off the vaunted rival, Everton fans fell in love (He even gets his own chant: “Oviedo Baby,” sung to the chorus of The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me”). The upset victory led to some teasing over Twitter once England was drawn into Costa Rica’s World Cup group. Hence, the above tweets.READ THIS, MRS. PRESIDENT#LauraLeaEsto (#LauraReadThis)–Tico Internet denizens on TwitterContext: After President Laura Chinchilla announced a lawsuit against an alleged defamatory Facebook comment, social media users in Costa Rica pushed back by trying to post as many inflammatory remarks as possible and appending them with a hashtag that translated to #LauraReadThis.SPY-GATE“NSA spying has been a ‘strong blow to the United States’ credibility and its democratic standards.”-President Laura Chinchilla, commenting at her weekly press conference.Context: Costa Rica became the latest nation to condemn the U.S. government surveillance program that came to light last year.THAT’S SNOW FAIR“Que horror!! Están degradando el deporte!!” (“What horror!! They’re degrading the sport!!”)-President Laura Chinchilla, on Twitter“U-S-A. No fair play.”-Angry Costa Rican soccer fansContext: Chinchilla tweeted the thoughts of many Costa Ricans after the U.S. toppled the Costa Rica national team in a World Cup qualifying match in March that took place in Denver during a blizzard. Six months later, Ticos stayed miffed about the snow game during a rematch at home. Supporters of “La Sele” (the national men’s team) greeted the visiting U.S. team with heckling and the chant “U-S-A. No Fair Play.” A few fans welcomed U.S. team members by tossing eggs at the team bus and trying to organize a traffic jam. It was petty stuff, but in the end Costa Rica got revenge where it mattered most – at the National Stadium Costa Rica defeated the U.S. 3-1, though Costa Rica would later be fined for its own fair play issues during the match.VANDER-WHO???“It was an ‘irresponsible, isolated’ study from ‘some university in Tennessee.’”-Communications Minister Carlos Roverssi Context: Roverssi dismissed a public opinion survey that Ticos have the lowest support for their political system since 1978. What was that “some university in Tennessee?” Vanderbilt University – one of the most prestigious universities in the United States, which has conducted the Latin American Public Opinion Project since 1978, when Roverssi was 20 years old. The first LAPOP country of study? You guessed it – Costa Rica.VICTIM BLAMING?“The responsibility for the incident, from a legal point of view, was with the student, now deceased, for his imprudent actions in running from an adjacent field to the hotel, in the early morning hours, leading to the error.”-Judge Luis CalderónContext: A security guard named Jorge Guevara shot and killed 16-year-old U.S. student Justin Johnston while Johnston was on a school trip in La Fortuna in northern Costa Rica in June 2011. Guevara received a 15-year prison sentence for manslaughter. But two years later, a panel of three judges overturned the decision. In a staggering ruling, the trio of judges stated that the teenager’s decision to return to the hotel late at night (after curfew) led to his accidental death. Facebook Comments No related posts.
Source = Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia New time-lapse footage of Australia’s spiritual heart releasedAmazing new time-lapse footage has been created to capture the essence of the living cultural landscapes of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, showing the changing colours of the desert as day turns to night.The inspiring new images take viewers on a short journey as they experience an inspiring snapshot of the timeless landscape.Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park expands across more than 327,414 acres of Australia’s desert outback and is home to two of the world’s most iconic rock formations. The spectacular ancient monoliths of Uluru and Kata Tjuta are more than 300 million years old and the area’s Indigenous culture dates back more than 30,000 years.Uluru is the tip of a huge rock made of arkosic sandstone that continues below the ground for possibly 5-6km. The monolith is 3.6km long and 348m at its tallest point: 43m higher than Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower, 24m higher than the Eiffel Tower and just 33m lower than the Empire State Building. The colour changes of Uluru result from the filtering effect of the earth’s atmosphere on the sun’s rays.Kata Tjuta (meaning many heads) is located 30 km west of Uluru and is made up of 36 domed heads, the tallest of which is around 546m high. This is 198m higher than Uluru.For more information go to: www.ayersrockresort.com.au or call 1300 134 044.About Voyages Indigenous Tourism AustraliaVoyages Indigenous Tourism Australia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) established to undertake tourism business on its behalf. Voyages offers unique experiences and cultural immersion in spectacular locations around Australia including Ayers Rock Resort in the Northern Territory, Home Valley Station in The Kimberley in Western Australia and the Mossman Gorge Centre, in Tropical North Queensland. Voyages works collaboratively with local communities, respecting and supporting the local Indigenous cultures and offering employment and training opportunities to the local and broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Profits from all business activities are re-invested in the Indigenous and resort experiences and through the various training and development programs in place around Australia.
Zanzibar-China’s MCC Overseas Company has signed a contract to build the Zanzibar Amber Resort in Matemwe Village. The resort will be one of the biggest in the East African region, say project owners. The signing ceremony was witnessed by dignitaries including Speaker of the Zanzibar House of Representatives Zubeir Ali Maulid, his deputy, Mgeni Hassan Juma, legislators and ministers.The ceremony saw exchange of documents between Zou Weimin, Chairman, MCC Overseas and the Brian Thomson, Owner & Director, Pennyroyal (Gibraltar) Limited. While giving a brief statement at the signing ceremony, Khamis Mussa, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Finance had expressed that the project is a milestone for Zanzibar’s efforts in building the economy through the tourism industry.The ambitious project is worth $1.6 billion and according to Thomson, it will include construction of 1,900 luxury villas, 3,500 apartments, residential complexes, five-star hotels, marina, luxury islands golf course, 100,000 square metre of retail space, among others.“It is my honour and pleasure to witness the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract on Amber Resort. This is an opportunity for Zanzibar…all you need is tourism infrastructure and facilities to match the escalating demand for high-end destination,” Weimin said.
AccorHotels announced its partnership with Rescue Foundation- an NGO working for over two decades to rescue trafficked women from forced prostitution. Rescue Foundation is a non-profit, government recognised and registered NGO working for rescue, rehabilitation and repatriation of victims for human trafficking from different parts of India, Nepal & Bangladesh.As part of the association, AccorHotels has provided sizeable contribution in developing Rescue Foundation’s Kandivali Shelter for their health and dietary needs, medical assistance and education & Skill development for the year 2017.Ashwin Shirali, Vice President- Talent and Culture, AccorHotels India & South Asia, said, “Our support for Rescue Foundation is a part of AccorHotels Community outreach policy where we are determined to combat all forms of sexual abuse of children especially minor girls. The teams at AccorHotels in Mumbai will work closely with the Rescue Foundation team at site to support and collaborate in taking care of the rescued girls.”Triveni Acharya, President, Rescue Foundation said, “We appreciate AccorHotels’ initiative in supporting Rescue Foundation for the girls health and dietary needs, medical assistance and education and skill development as we both strive to achieve a common goal of betterment of our society. We look forward to the association growing in the coming times.”
Mortgage Applications Rise to End January February 4, 2015 571 Views in Daily Dose, Data, Headlines, News Fannie Mae Mortgage Applications Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Rates Purchase Loans Refinances 2015-02-04 Tory Barringer
Share Mortgage application volumes edged up slightly in January’s last week as another drop in interest rates spurred an increase in refinancing.The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Wednesday that mortgage loan applications rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent for the week ending January 30. It was the third increase of the month, following a minor holiday-adjusted drop the previous week.MBA’s Refinance Index rose 3 percent week-over-week, reflecting renewed interest among homeowners for refinancing as the average 30-year fixed rate slipped to 3.79 percent, its lowest in more than a year and a half.Including the latest increase, refinance application volume for the entire month of January saw a 54 percent surge from the end of 2014, according to macroeconomic research firm Capital Economics.”We expect this is the start of a refinancing boom that will last for the first half of 2015 and see refinancing volumes rise by 200 percent,” said Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics, in a note.The late-month implementation of lower Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance premiums also played a role, sending FHA refinance applications up by 76.5 percent week-on-week.”Conventional refinance volume was up only 0.5 percent for the week while VA [Veterans Affairs] refinance volume was down 24.3 percent,” said Lynn Fisher, VP of research and economics for MBA. “FHA purchase applications were also up 12.4 percent over the week prior, despite a decrease in purchase applications in the rest of the market.”Seasonally adjusted, home purchase applications fell 2 percent over the week, according to MBA.The results fit with the Federal Reserve’s recently released Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, which showed demand for home purchase mortgages weakening across most loan categories, even as credit standards continue to ease.Despite that cooldown, mortgage executives surveyed late last year by Fannie Mae said they anticipate purchase volume to recover in the year ahead, though it may take some time for the market to warm back up.”Although lenders have become increasingly concerned with weak consumer demand over the last year, they are still optimistic about the mortgage business for the longer term,” said Steve Deggendorf, director of business strategy for Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group. “[L]enders seem to have adjusted to handling compliance issues and can focus more on their firm’s longer-term strategy and business.”
D-backs president Derrick Hall: Franchise ‘still focused on Arizona’ Top Stories Rex Ryan was not a fan of Kerry Rhodes, at least, not while the safety was in a Jets uniform. Ryan was Rhodes’ coach for one season, in 2009, a year where the two certainly had their disagreements. In fact, Rhodes was benched late in the year, only to reclaim his starting job in time for the playoffs. Now, with Ryan’s book “Play Like You Mean It: Passion, Laughs and Leadership in the World’s Most Beautiful Game,” set to be released, excerpts are starting to come out, including this tidbit about Rhodes. Comments Share Nevada officials reach out to D-backs on potential relocation While Rhodes had that reputation before joining the Cardinals via trade, his work in Arizona would beg to differ with the assertion.Rhodes tallied 90 tackles, four interceptions and one sack, and scored a pair of touchdowns too. One of the defensive leaders, Rhodes seemed to fit in very well alongside known hard workers like Adrian Wilson and Darnell Dockett. 
Sorry, more from Rex Ryan’s book. RR on Kerry Rhodes: “He was a selfish-ass guy. He wouldn’t work & he was a Hollywood type.” #Jetsless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyRich CiminiRichCimini Of course, maybe Ryan is right when he says Rhodes was that kind of player, but things have changed. Or, maybe, this is just another instance of Ryan sticking a his foot in his mouth. What an MLB source said about the D-backs’ trade haul for Greinke Cardinals expect improving Murphy to contribute right away
In late March, it was reported locally that the Croatian company was facing financial hardship and that Italian shipyard Fincantieri was alleged to have shown interest in the business. Since then Kermas has been confirmed as the line’s new strategic partner in an effort to turnaround Uljanik’s business. Yesterday Moroney said, “Despite the best efforts of our Scenic Eclipse Build Supervision Team to make up construction time, we are not prepared to compromise the quality of the vessel and potentially impact guest experiences to meet the original late August 2018 launch date”.“We have apologised to affected guests for the inconvenience caused and confirmed that Scenic will provide a full refund for the cost of their Scenic Eclipse cruise and consideration of any other reasonable associated costs incurred with their travel plans.”Scenic Founder and Chairman, Glen MoroneyScenic Founder & Chairman Glen Moroney at the keel-laying ceremony of Scenic Eclipse “In addition, the Scenic team will work closely with guests to reschedule their trip at a suitable time, for travel within the next two years. Scenic will provide all guests who rebook a Scenic Eclipse voyage during this time a future cruise credit to the value of 25% of the cost of their rebooked cruise,” Moroney added.Scenic said it was contacting all guests and their travel agents affected by the delay as a matter of priority.It remains unclear if Scenic Eclipse II, announced earlier this year and earmarked to launch in 2020, will be affected by the delay.Go back to the enewsletter Go back to the enewsletterAustralian luxury cruise and tour operator, Scenic, has confirmed the delay of its first 6-star Discovery Yacht by five months. Scenic Eclipse was scheduled to commence operation on 31 August 2018, but management have confirmed a new launch date of “late January 2019”.Scenic Founder and Chairman, Glen Moroney, said “construction issues within the shipyard” have caused the delay.The 228-passenger luxury vessel is being built in Croatia by Uljanik at its Pula shipyard, a company which specialises in the construction of tankers and cargo ships. Scenic Eclipse was floated out of Uljanik’s shipyard earlier this year.