Time Out

Lucy

It's raining today, so I'm going to take the time to catch up on reading I've let slide.  Much of the latest edition of The Panama News is available, and from hurried peeks at the briefs, it looks extremely  interesting.  Also, I'm behind on my reading of the Panamanian press, which has articles on the electrical generation situation, malnutrition among children, and other articles.  I haven't read much in Crítica, La Estrella and others, so I really can't make any sort of informed opinion about them, but I hope to correct some of that lack today.  However, I have updated the Links section to include the URLs for those as well as other online newspapers.  So, in case you're interested in browsing these publications (which are in Spanish), the links are available.

Nice thing about the rainy season--I get to read more!

Some Good Links

I've had very kind reactions to my last post. As a result, I want to add a few more links to this site and would urge you to use them.

Eric Jackson publishes The Panama News out of Panama City. It is the best English-language publication with which I'm familiar (and I'm certain there are others) to get a feel for what is going on politically in Panamá. Yes, his slant is from the capital, but he does make an effort to visit and talk about other places in the country. In this edition's home page, among other things, he talks about the confirmation hearings of the proposed new US ambassador to Panamá, the "Pink Revolution" in politics that has swept most of Latin America, and other topics both great and small. I don't read every edition, but when I do, I think it gives one of the best English-language views on what is happening in Panamá overall that I know of.

I read La Prensa nearly daily, and I recommend doing that but for the most part, the newspaper is dull and since it tends towards the party in power currently, more or less sweeps ugly political realities under the rug. Still, it's useful.

The other link I would recommend highly is Boquete.org. It's constantly updated and contains a good deal of useful information. It is one of the first places I turn to for possible info on the latest laws that affect the ex-pat community (such as driver's license renewals, for example). It by no means is comprehensive but it is a good place to start.

If there are other links anyone would like to recommend, please let me know, I'll check them out, and if I think they're worthwhile, I'll publish them. Send me spam and advertising of whatever stripe and I promise I will blister your rodent's behind in public. I'm too old to care about what you think of my insolence.

Frankly, most of the time, I would rather post about my bougainvillea, our dogs and cats, the spectacular gardens around here, more on the coffee growing process, and other such topics, and I will. I'm planning a series of posts on the gardens of our Panamanian friends, the Espinosas, and the one of another Panamanian friend, Gladys Haynes. Much closer to my heart.

But I will continue to post, as I am moved (somewhat fitfully) on what I see around me. I repeat: I like Panamanains, I enjoy their culture with all its warts, and I love living here. But I am if nothing else a hard-headed realist. I should put in my profile that on my best days I am a cynical misanthrope (in my book, the adjective is not a redundancy); you don't want to know about the worst.

Thanks for all the kind comments, those of you have have written. I appreciate them.