Relocation Panama

The Pope has a Message for <a href=”Panama“>Panama
Source: http://duford.com/2009/10/31/the-pope-has-a-message-for-<a href=”Panama“>Panama/

The Catholic Church already has a stranglehold on this country, especially on the majority of poor people. The Pope recently talked with <a href=”Panama“>Panama’s ambassador to the Vatican and had this to say (emphasis is mine):

the Pope encouraged the Central American country to continue working toward “greater social, economic, and cultural equality between the distinct sectors of society.  He explained that this could be done by “renouncing selfish interests, strengthening solidarity, and reconciling wills.”

This is rather ironic and hypocritical coming from a man who lives like a king in a palace that is also a city-state and sits on a fortune estimated at between $50B and $150B while most of his followers are poor and destitute. The same man who protects child-abusing priests and preaches against the use of condoms in Africa thereby condemning them to spreading AIDS and making babies they can’t feed.

<a href=”http://duford.com/2009/10/31/the-pope-has-a-message-for-<a href=”Panama“>Panama/” target=”_blank”>Link to article

Labels: Living in Panama

Be Careful When you <a href=”travel“>travel to <a href=”Panama“>Panama – Know the rules of the road
Source: http://<a href=”travel“>travel<a href=”Panama“>Panamablog.com/2009/08/23/be-carful-when-you-<a href=”travel“>travel-to-<a href=”Panama“>Panama-know-the-rules-of-the-road/
Here are important facts about traffic accidents in <a href=”Panama“>Panama. If you drive here as a guest or a resident this is MUST KNOW information.
Driving accidents in <a href=”Panama“>Panama
<a href=”http://<a href=”travel“>travel<a href=”Panama“>Panamablog.com/2009/08/23/be-carful-when-you-<a href=”travel“>travel-to-<a href=”Panama“>Panama-know-the-rules-of-the-road/” target=”_blank”>Link to article

Labels: Living in Panama

Scientology taking a beating
Source: http://duford.com/2009/10/27/scientology-taking-a-beating/

Scientology has been taking a well deserved beating this week.

First one of their celebrity members, Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning writer-director whose credits include “Crash,” “Million Dollar Baby” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” has left the Church. Let’s hope more of those nutty celebrities will regain their senses.

Second, a French Court has found the Church of Scientology guilty of Fraud (is anybody surprised?)

Now, I can’t help but smile to myself when my Christian friends and neighbours react to this and say something like “Goodness, how can anyone believe that religion and its crazy stories of Xenu and Thetans!”

Indeed, how can anyone believe that kind of crap? Too bad Christians don’t apply the same critical thinking and skepticism to their own crazy stories. Noah’s Ark? You’ve got to be kidding…

Link to article

Labels: Living in Panama

6 Signs That the American Empire Is Coming to an Early End
Source: http://duford.com/2009/10/27/6-signs-that-the-american-empire-is-coming-to-an-early-end/

As a followup to my ongoing theme of the Decline of the American Empire, this article by Michael T. Klare 6 Signs That the American Empire Is Coming to an Early End fits very nicely:

No one seems to be saying this out loud – yet — but let’s put it bluntly: less than a year into the 15-year span of Global Trends 2025, the days of America’s unquestioned global dominance have come to an end. It may take a decade or two (or three) before historians will be able to look back and say with assurance, “That was the moment when the United States ceased to be the planet’s preeminent power and was forced to behave like another major player in a world of many competing great powers.” The indications of this great transition, however, are there for those who care to look.

I also agree that the Decline is happening much faster than I ever thought possible, thanks to Wall Street greed and the disastrous Militaristic bent of the majority of Americans. America is going the way that the British and Roman Empires went before.

Why is it that most Americans question the cost of fixing the Health Care system but almost none question the outrageously high costs of the US Military? It eats up about half of the whole Federal budget, and it represents a bigger investment than the entire rest of the planet invests in defence. That is shear insanity, and you would think that in these days of deep economic crisis some of them would come to their senses… And why are Americans so proud of their Military, and yet so hate anything else remotely related to the Government? How can they think the Government cannot run anything successfully and yet give unflinching support to the biggest and most wasteful branch of the Government?

While I am not happy to see the American economic decline and all it entails for my American friends and for my home country Canada, I am certainly happy to see the decline of American influence abroad. After 65 years of disastrous foreign policies that blew back in the USA’s face with uncanny regularity. After millions of people killed, maimed, oppressed or made desperately poor directly or indirectly by inept , selfish and unjust American foreign policies and its support of dozens of tyrants, especially in Latin America and Asia. After all this, perhaps the world will be a better place without a big bully who thinks it has the market cornered on democracy, human rights and morals, thinks it knows what’s best for everybody else, and thinks it is favoured by god and thereby can do no wrong. Under the Bush administration America came dangerously close to becoming what it fears the most: a violent theocracy that has nuclear weapons. While Obama has reduced the bullying tactics in favour of diplomacy, he doesn’t go nearly far enough, and couldn’t even if he wanted to.

I look forward to a world where the balance of power and influence is more equitable and where no single country dominates and imposes its will on everyone else.

Link to article

Labels: Living in Panama

Homeopathic Lunacy
Source: http://duford.com/2009/10/27/homeopathic-lunacy/

I’m always amazed by how many people believe in the lunacy that is homeopathy. In typical fashion, most people don’t have any background in science and they have never learned to use critical thinking and reason. This is why most people believe almost anything that is thrown at them, as long as it strikes a chord with them and what they WANT to believe. Anybody who has a little bit of science education, is able to use reason, looks into who invented homeopathy and how, looks at the supposed mechanism behind homeopathy, and looks how it is actually produced, cannot possibly believe in that fairy tale. The only thing that works in homeopathy is the placebo effect and confirmation bias.

Here is an incredible video by a “Doctor” (Doctor in mythology perhaps?). My brain just about exploded watching it, I have never seen so much crap and lunacy packed in 8 minutes.

<img src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/225f9_default.jpg” width=”130″ height=”97″ border=”0″ />

And here’s even more homeopathic non-sense: Trituration Proving of the Light of Saturn.

Now if these two things don’t convince you that homeopathy is complete lunacy, I’m afraid you are beyond help and you probably believe in all sorts of such craziness.

Here is a good article on homeopathy by a real scientist.

They are generally inoffensive, that is until they start prescribing malaria or anti-cancer “remedies” and people stop taking their real medicine. Then homeopathy becomes deadly. So please stop wasting your money on sugar pills and stop encouraging such dangerous scams.

Link to article

Labels: Living in Panama

Why Conservatives Are Really Afraid of a Black President
Source: http://duford.com/2009/10/19/why-conservatives-are-really-afraid-of-a-black-president/

I’m amazed by all the insanity coming out of the extreme right wing in the US as exemplified by the likes of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. They are so upset at having an intelligent, educated and eloquent BLACK man as a President that they will do anything to demonize him and make him fail, even if that will hurt their own country in the process. They blame him for everything whether he did it or not, including Bush’s failed wars and economic policies, the huge deficits that were created by Bush (see my 2007 post on this subject, before the crisis hit and before Obama was on the radar), the bailout plan that was mostly designed by the Bush administration but implemented under Obama’s watch, etc, etc.

Now, don’t mistake me for an Obama lover. While I think the guy is light years ahead of Bush, I’m very disappointed with his performance so far, but not surprised as I predicted that I would be disappointed right here on this blog the day after his election:

Will Obama live up to those huge expectations? I doubt it. He couldn’t do it even if he really wanted to. He is still strapped with the huge mess left behind by Bush: the foreign policy fiascoes, the crushing debt, the financial crisis, the environmental crisis, as well as the self-serving members of the Establishment, the powerful lobbyists, the rising fundamentalist Christian movement, the deeply divided American people and the institutionalized corruption of the American political system. I think his heart is in the right place, but the financial, social and political reality of America will greatly limit what he will be able to accomplish.

I’m disappointed by many of his political appointments, by his handling of the wars, by his protecting the Bush/Cheney administration from prosecution for torture, by his failure to make significant headway on the healthcare and global warming fronts, and for handing over trillions of dollars to the very crooks who caused the global economic collapse. On the other hand I’m glad that he made diplomacy a priority again, after 8 years of American bullying. But all this non-sense about him being a Muslim, or a Communist (by world standard he’s more like just right of centre), or a Nigerian is just pure heresy and clearly no amount of evidence will convince those who believe these fantasies to change their mind. I’ve been a bit puzzled by all this, but this article by Jonathan L. Walton makes some sense out of this craziness. The likes of Beck and Limbaugh have long made it clear that they are racists bigots, and this is the only logical way to explain their insane rage and hatred towards Obama.

The saddest and most surprising part of all this is that those lying, fear-mongering, violence-inciting, hatred-spewing nutjobs have a place on national TV, have a large following, and are considered legitimate news pundits. Fair and Balanced huh? But then all of the American Mass Media is poor at reporting news and abysmal at investigative reporting. No wonder the American public is so poorly informed about their own country and believes so many falsehoods about the rest of the world. This has led them to an incredibly unhealthy ideological polarization where no reasonable discourse seems to be possible anymore. As Bill Maher said not too long ago: “The Left has moved to the centre and the Right has moved to the asylum”.

Link to article

Labels: Living in Panama

Another day at the office
Source: http://duford.com/2009/10/17/another-day-at-the-office/

This past week I spent the week with my crew installing our Palmex product at an amazing beach house in Buenaventura near Playa Blanca. Here’s some pictures of the house and the beach in front of it.

A modest weekend beach home:

<img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-921″ title=”Arias-2″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/1675d_Arias-2-400×229.jpg” alt=”Arias-2″ width=”400″ height=”229″ />

The structure that we roofed:

<img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-913″ title=”Arias-10″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/1675d_Arias-10-400×266.jpg” alt=”Arias-10″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

The Beach:

<img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-922″ title=”Arias-1″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/1675d_Arias-1-400×266.jpg” alt=”Arias-1″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

<img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-920″ title=”Arias-3″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/1675d_Arias-3-400×266.jpg” alt=”Arias-3″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

<img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-918″ title=”Arias-5″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/1675d_Arias-5-400×266.jpg” alt=”Arias-5″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

<img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-916″ title=”Arias-7″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/d2d06_Arias-7-400×266.jpg” alt=”Arias-7″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

<img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-914″ title=”Arias-9″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/d2d06_Arias-9-400×266.jpg” alt=”Arias-9″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

Link to article

Labels: Living in Panama

New photos
Source: http://duford.com/2009/10/07/new-photos/

Many people have been writing asking for some new photos. I’ve been very busy with the company and I also keep telling myself that if I wait just a little longer, what I want to photograph will finally be done! Things are progressing, but very slowly and it’s getting so frustrating! Anyway, here’s a few new pictures.

Here’s a view of the patio with pergola along with the pool, the bohio (palapa) and the live security system:

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-9.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-899″ title=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-9″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/65e81_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-9-400×266.jpg” alt=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-9″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

Same area viewed from the other side of the pool:

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-11.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-897″ title=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-11″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/0f8c3_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-11-400×266.jpg” alt=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-11″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

Here’s the BBQ area in the bohio:

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-7.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-901″ title=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-7″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/0f8c3_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-7-400×266.jpg” alt=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-7″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

Here’s the ceiling in the bohio, showcasing my product (Palmex):

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-8.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-900″ title=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-8″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/0f8c3_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-8-400×266.jpg” alt=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-8″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

Our first palm tree! (For 25 years I’ve been half-joking that someday I would have a palm tree in my backyard, now I have several)

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-10.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-898″ title=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-10″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/0f8c3_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-10-400×601.jpg” alt=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-10″ width=”400″ height=”601″ />

Our first papaya tree. This thing was only a foot high 4 months ago, now it is 5 feet high. Should be producing delicious papayas next year:

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-14.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-894″ title=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-14″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/83762_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-14-400×601.jpg” alt=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-14″ width=”400″ height=”601″ />

Every stick in this picture protects a coffee plant, we have 100 of them!

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-12.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-896″ title=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-12″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/83762_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-12-400×266.jpg” alt=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-12″ width=”400″ height=”266″ />

A Palma Rojo (red palm):

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-15.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-893″ title=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-15″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/83762_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-15-400×601.jpg” alt=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-15″ width=”400″ height=”601″ />

A heliconia. These are wild and grow like weeds along the creek:

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-2.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-906″ title=”Heliconia” src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/83762_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-2-400×601.jpg” alt=”Heliconia” width=”400″ height=”601″ />

We have ten banana trees, 4 different varieties. These also grow about 1 foot per month, and should be producing bananas in a few months:

<a href=”http://duford.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/<a href=”Panama“>Panama-13.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-895″ title=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-13″ src=”http://www.relocation<a href=”Panama“>Panama.com/info/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/e7b85_<a href=”Panama“>Panama-13-400×601.jpg” alt=”<a href=”Panama“>Panama-13″ width=”400″ height=”601″ />

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Labels: Living in Panama