On 3/28/2020 at 3:43 PM, Brundageba said:

I suspect the "pass" is for Ag workers out in fields that need to plant and harvest

We are being told that a “Salvo Conducto” is not only for ag workers, but also those involved in logistics, e.g., those who deliver goods, etc.

3 hours ago, Jim Bondoux said:

My gardener got a pass a couple of days ago. It's essentially a "Safe Conduct" certificate. SALVO CONDUCTO DE CIRCULACION DE PRODUCTOR.

It was issued by the Ministry of Agricultural Development, and is valid for 60 days.

Here is a redacted version of the "hall pass" discussed above. It appears to be a letter size sheet of paper, i.e., 8 1/2 x 11 inches.

2 hours ago, JohnF13 said:

Just talked to my gardener, told him not to come for a couple of weeks.  He produced a "hall pass" showing that he was allowed to continue working.  Good for him in taking the initiative.  He'll be here as usual.

37 minutes ago, Brundageba said:

Does anybody out there know if there IS in fact this hall pass?  I have not seen that...maybe I missed it

Good question. I have not read anywhere (and I am reading a LOT lately) of a "hall pass" ever being mentioned.

We know from feedback from friends in this area that Facebook (along with Instagram, Twitter, etc.) is among the predominant social media used to keep connected with friends and family around the world. Facebook, as you may know from recent public disclosures, has come under fire based on several "transgressions" on their part. This matter of the 50 million breached accounts is not so much of a transgression on their part, but rather part of the digital world that we live in today. This breach is not exclusive to Facebook, and has caused concerns by many.

Here is a screencast by a Canadian geek named Steve Dotto. He is highly published in the Internet world, and has over 200,000 subscribers. This screencast includes his thoughts about this recent security breach, and some actions that users can take to help protect themselves.

You get to decide how much risk of exposure you wish to assume, and also what actions you take to reduce or mitigate when a breach occurs. There will most assuredly be more security breaches in the future.

Thanks for posting this.

Note that Javier and Magaly have updated their blog information. It now includes a direct link to donate funds to their PayPal account. Couldn't be easier to help some good community members.

Just look in the upper right while visiting there blog here on CL.

For those who wish to donate to DogCamp, please scroll to the top of this thread (which is in their blog here on CL). There you will see in the upper right a hotlink to their GoFundMe account.

1 hour ago, Bonnie said:

Magaly, please give information about your Paypal account. I know many people who want to contribute but don't know how.

The requested information already provided at the top of their blog entry, and to make things easier for all, it is a hotlink:

Jere,

Fantastic photography. Thanks for posting.

Quote

Varela pleased with progress in copper mining megaproject in Panama

Tue, 05/08/2018 - 17:09

Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said today he was pleased with the 73 percent of completion of the Cobre Panama mine in the Caribbean province of Colón during a visit to the mining project, an official source said.

"I am pleased to visit the Cobre Panama Project, which has generated more than 11,000 jobs, with a foreign investment of 6.3 billion dollars, which is 73 percent complete," Varela said during the tour along with executives of the company in charge of the project, said the Secretary of State Communication.

The Cobre Panama Project will operate the ore extraction plant at the end of the year, located in the district of Donoso, in the Caribbean province of Colón.

In full operation the mine will produce more than 320,000 tons of copper per year, and once it starts operations it will represent 4 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Government also stressed that this "historic investment" has 11,000 workers, of whom 7,500 are Panamanians from different parts of the country, with whom Varela shared.

Copper Panama celebrates 10 million man-hours without accidents, highlights a statement from the State Communication Secretariat.

One of the achievements of the project has been the alliance reached with the National Institute for the Training of Human Resources to train Panamanians to launch the T284, one of the largest trucks in the world.

Paola Quijada, a native of Penonomé, in the central province of Coclé, and a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, United States, has two years working in the department of mines, blasting design and planning.

Along with her, other young engineers shared with the Panamanian leader, as Jennifer Girón, metallurgy engineer; Noris Buitrago, engineer in geology; Nicole Jaén, Rubén Pineda and electrical engineers, Saryneth De León and Luis Espino, according to official information.

The company responsible for the project is Panamanian Minera Panama, a subsidiary of Canadian multinational First Quantum Minerals, which holds 80 percent of the project's shares.

The Minera Panama project includes the export of some 320,000 metric tons of copper per year. The contract of Minera Panama with the Panamanian State has been in force since 1997, its duration is 60 years and establishes revisions to its clauses every 20 years.

The works were suspended from February 14 to 18 due to a conflict between two unions and the company Minera Panamá.

A bid between the union of the mine known as STM, affiliated to the Trade Union Convergence, and the National Union of Construction Workers and Similar Industries (Suntracs), the largest in the country, was at the center of the conflict.

Each of these unions claims to have the largest number of affiliates and, therefore, the legal right to negotiate with the company a new collective agreement.

The project resumed operations on February 18 after the signing of an agreement between Suntracs and representatives of Minera Panama, with the commitment to continue negotiations on a new collective agreement from May 17.

http://www.panamatoday.com/economy/varela-pleased-progress-copper-mining-megaproject-panama-6801

Just curious what you do in your spare time? 

Great post, and fantastic support for our four-legged friends. Thank you.

Quote

Work Resumes on Mining Project

After several days of negotiation, Cobre Panama company has reached an agreement with the construction workers' union, and they will be able to resume construction work on the project.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Protests by workers at the Cobre Panama project in Colón held since the beginning of the year have kept work on the power line and the 300 MW thermoelectric plant paralyzed for almost three months.

From a statement issued by the Ministry of Labor: 

March 20, 2018. From early hours of last Sunday, the National Union of Workers of the Construction Industry and Similar (SUNTRACS) and the company FQM Construcción y Desarrollo S.A., held intense negotiations with the mediation of the Ministries of Labor, Trade and Security, managing to reach an agreement on Tuesday, March 20, which ends the labor dispute in the Panama Copper Project.

With the signing of this agreement containing 15 clauses, THE COMPANY and the TRADE UNION, are committed to guaranteeing labor peace in order to finish the work in time. It will also allow the Cobre Panama Company to resume work in a prudent period of time that facilitates the organized entry of the various employee rotation groups and also guarantees the free exercise of the right to freedom of association by the various unions that represent the workers of the company.  

https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Work_Resumes_on_Mining_Project

Just noting that some pictures have been added to the above content.