The Tico Times Online Daily Page

G.I. JETT: The U.S.' extradition case against Frankie "Polar Bear" Jett has hit a major snag. Find out why this Jett is grounded in Friday's TT print edition.

Movie Projection
Don’t miss Amenabar, a Woody Allen production, tonight at 7 p.m. at the Videoteca of the Contemporary Art and Design Museum, Av. 3, Ca. 15. Info: 257-7202.

Christmas Floweral Arrengement Class
Damas Salesianas of the María Auxiliadora Center invite everyone to this course, benefits go for the children of the Center. At 2 p.m., Pavas. Info: 232-3591.

Antígona
Classic Greek Tragedy, opens today at 8 p.m., at Teatro de Bellas Artes, University of Costa Rica. Info: 207-5250.

Arias Brings Peace Message to U.S.
By Lauren Wolkoff
Special to The Tico Times
CHERRY HILL, New Jersey -- Former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace laureate Oscar Arias does not claim to have all the answers when it comes to terrorism and nuclear threats, but he is sure of one thing: "The world resents unilateralism."

This was Arias's message during a recent "peace panel" discussion in New Jersey with fellow Nobel Peace laureates, Elie Wiesel and Betty Williams.

"Every time the President of the United States tells the world: 'You are either with us or against us,' the world resents that," Arias stressed.

The strong words of Arias and his peacemaking counterparts were absorbed by a rapt audience packed into a high school auditorium for last week's Peacemakers Panel.

Earlier in the day, the speakers had the full attention of township high-school students, many of whom aired concerns about the prospect of peace in a world plagued by struggle and violence.

As President of Costa Rica from 1986-90, Arias won the Nobel prize in 1987 for what has widely become known as the Arias Peace Plan, which called for internal dialogue, cease-fire, freedom of speech and free elections throughout the then war-torn Central America.

After the forum, Arias told The Tico Times that he is opposed to the U.S. taking any preemptive military action against Iraq, without a resolution of support from the UN Security Council.

"[Bush] has not received the UN's blessing. It would be a grave mistake to move forward without the support of the world community," he said.

The speakers differed somewhat on their approach to what they all called "the hard work" of creating peace.

Williams, a 1976 Nobel laureate for her peace work in Northern Ireland, emphasized education as the key to peacemaking, and blasted the U.S. for its history of intervention in other countries' problems.

Her eminent counterpart, 1986 Nobel Laureate Wiesel, emphasized that the world is too small to ignore human suffering in other countries. She said it is every person's "moral obligation" to attempt to stomp out evil and hatred. Intervention is a moral imperative on the part of countries trying to stop the spread of "hatred from cell to cell," argued the scholar and Holocaust survivor.

Arias, however, has a different version of the U.S.' moral role in the war against senseless violence and terrorism.

The U.S., he said, stands on shaky moral ground in the eyes of the international community for its failure to live up to and support other international agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol, the Landmine Ban Treaty and the establishment of an international criminal court, among others.

The world wants to see some deference and humility from the Bush administration to international interests when it comes to waging war on Iraq, Arias asserted.

"It is not enough to be a military superpower - the world expects Washington to be a moral superpower as well," Arias stressed. "Military intervention must be the absolute last resort."

Universidad Nacional Graduates 67 Teen Mothers 'At Risk'
By Fabian Borges
Tico Times Staff
The Universidad Nacional (UNA) in Heredia last weekend awarded graduation certificates in basic computer operation, office management, driving, and lab techniques to 67 low-income young mothers between the ages of 14 and 18.

A total of 374 teen mothers from neighborhoods "at-risk" have graduated from these educational programs, which are aimed at helping the young women develop skills to enter the workplace, earn a good living and build better lives from themselves and their children.

The classes are organized by the UNA's Women's Studies Institute as part of the "Creating Opportunities" program. The program is a joint venture by the UNA, the National Women's Institute and the Child Welfare Office (PANI).

Currently, classes are offered at the UNA's main campus in Heredia, as well as at its other campuses in Guanacaste and the Northern Zone.

"The PANI will now begin the process of monitoring the students progress as they try to apply the skills they've gained from the courses to the workplace," said Carmen Ulate of the Women's Studies Institute.

Feedback from the first group of graduates will be used to update the program's curriculum, and mold it to better meet the needs of other young mothers.

"Our plan is to continue with the program next year," Ulate explained. "The University is willing to continue because there are plenty of potential students. But it's up to the PANI to decide whether to continue the program."

Humane Society Launches First Strike Campaign

The Costa Rican Humane Society (AHPPA) Friday organized an all-day conference in the Caribbean community of Guapiles to present the results of a study showing how most violent people often get their start by abusing and torturing animals.

The study, entitled the First Strike Campaign, was presented to several Supreme Court Justices, judges, various family-case lawyers, psychologists, and social workers with the goal of raising awareness on the topic.

First Strike shows that many well-known criminals from the U.S., including the infamous Ted Bundy and many of today's school shooters, had a history of cruelty against animals.

The study also shows that in households where pets are neglected or abused, there is a good chance that children and women in the home are also being mistreated.

AHPPA Secretary and Guápiles Public Defender Diana Fernández organized the event with a panel of experts to discuss the study's findings. She spoke of the importance of identifying, catching and preventing animal abuse as a strategy to reduce future violent crimes.

Fernández also stressed the need for new anti-cruelty laws to protect Costa Rica's animal population.