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Old 10-23-2007, 11:33 PM
celiboy celiboy is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,262
Default Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica

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Gilda Patricia Cortes Chinchilla = Scott Tom's wife
Laura Chinchilla = Vice Presidente of Costa Rica

Hmmmm.

Although I'm sure that Chinchilla is a pretty common name in South America.

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Interesting....

Costa Rica seems about as crooked as those Mohawks running the KGC.

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Costa Rica has no law that regulates the sports betting industry, Mrs. Chinchilla said, therefore the government doesn't have legal means to intervene and assist the DoJ. Sports betting is not illegal in Costa Rica. The Tico government imposes an annual tax on the over 750 sports books located in the country, a number of which operat without paying the tax.

The Costa Rican OIJ (Organization of Judicial Investigation) Director Mr. Jorge Rojas said that his department ran several investigations for money laundering allegations related to the sports betting industry in the past years. “Our investigations never found evidence of these alleged crimes”, he said.

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I had heard that Costa Rica is well-respected, often arbitrating disputes of other nations in the region because of their reputation for integrity. Their President Arias received the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end civil wars among central american nations, whereas the President of my country, the USA, would get the Nobel Prize for War were one awarded. A very large number of Americans have retired there, and I have never heard any complaints. Since 1981, when I learned about Costa Rica because I worked near their consolute in Los Angeles, I have thought about eventually retiring in Costa Rica myself, so I think I would have remembered any such problems reported in the press. And as to the gaming commission, I have not seen in these threads any posts regarding misbehavior by them. Have you? I read about some sort of shoot out over a dispute concerning high stakes bingo I think on the reservation there in 1990, or on some nearby reservation, in which 2 ar 3 people were shot dead, I think related to the Indians claiming a right to have gambling if they wanted while the Canadian authorities disagreed with that, but personally I think the Indians are in the right in their claims. The French DID sign an agreement conceding that this place was a sovereign nation 300 years ago. So why CANT they have gambling if they want? So if the Canadians come in to stop them, and they defend their rights - is that unethical?

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The dispute you mention was the Oka Crisis back in the 90's. Basically it was a 3 or 4 month dispute between the Mohawks and the gov't whereby the Mohawks were claiming total independance from Canada. A few people died during the standoff. The Mohawks then started licensing gaming in the late 90's...the Canadian gov't does not really endorse this, but they probably turn a blind eye to it to avoid any future problems with the natives.
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