Goodbye and welcome “Star”

Starting next week, this column will be shorter, and maybe snappier, as the Panama Star introduces its new format. Monday’s edition will also feature Dr Eric Ulloa , a well known medical specialist, who is also an advisor to the Ministry of Health and the reintroduction of the daily “Off the Cuff” commentary on people and events.

Later in the week Robert Brown will present the first of his columns on weekend and vacationing spots in Panama.

Caroline’s social guide will run Monday through Friday, renamed “Wining, Dining and More.” Where to eat, be entertained, and a window into the social goings on in the capital and beyond.

Your opinions counts. Results are pouring in from the readership survey which was sent out earlier this week, and we will be endeavoring to incorporate some of the reader suggestions into future editions. If you missed out on the survey, and still want to have your say, look at the message at the bottom of the column.

Meanwhile we welcome readers contributions in the form of short opinion pieces or letters to the editor. We will also accept submissions of photographs (high resolution) for inclusion in our new social events columns.

Environmental howler. A report on the United Nations web site, in the wake of the failure of the world “leaders” at the Group of 8 Summit to agree on climate change has this to say:

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a group of scientists from scores of countries that study the effects of climate change. Their findings have provided scientific backbone to policy debates about how much carbon emissions should be reduced over how long a period of time to stem the most dramatic effects of climate change. In other words, they are an invaluable resource to humanity. This is something that the Nobel Committee recognized when it awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize to the IPCC.

“Someone who apparently does not share this view is one Blaine Luetkemeymer , the representative of the 9th district of Missouri in the United States Congress. He thinks the IPCC is "international junk science.” Accordingly, he just introduced a bill that would block the United States from funding the IPCC.

“For kicks, his press release says: ‘Luetkemeyer’s legislation would prohibit U.S. contributions to the IPCC, which is nothing more than a group of U.N. bureaucrats that supports man-made claims on global warming that many scientists disagree with.’ It would seem that Mr. Luetkemeyer's know-nothingism extends to English grammar.”

A Global Vision. Last year Panama was enlivened by the visit of a team of young Canadian entrepreneurial, visionaries led by former MP (Member of Parliament) Terry Clifford. They met with government and business leaders, and returned home to provide their sponsors with detailed marketing reports. The good news is that a fresh team will be arriving in August to continue the developing of ties between the two countries and to make a presentation outlining investment opportunities in Canada. More later.