Does it happen to you, dear reader, that you look into a subject and then all of a sudden it seems to be everywhere? Well that's what is happening to us in the Bananama Republic newsroom ever since Robert Baker of AMCHAM explained how great poverty really is and we found proof in pictures of poor children's happy feet.

But these children still go to school. The epitome of poverty and corruption-related happiness is of course: No schools at all! And guess what? Our great leaders have accomplished just that for thousands of students by leaving glass fiber all over the place and by letting buildings decay to such a state that attending classes there would be akin to taking a bus on Via Transistmica. How did they do this? They simply stole all the money or spend it on useless drug war projects. Happiness isn't difficult; if only those negative people would just see that.

The Judiciary made an astounding discovery yesterday: They are slow! Of course that's what everybody has been saying for over a decade. Panama's court system; life in the slow lane. So now they prove their criticizers right being slow in recognizing they're slow. What else is new. But they're not just plain and simple slow. They are selectively slow, and that's what nobody is talking about.

They can be really fast: Figali needs a decision to continue with his marina? Drop by later this afternoon! The University rector needs to be reelected? We'll bend and twist late Saturday night! And then it's back into slow-mode when bribes and political pressure circumstances require: Some mismanagers need to be protected from the law? We'll endlessly delay bankruptcy proceedings! The HSBC robber baron wants to steal $5 million? We'll never rule on it!

The Supreme Court, at your service. No wonder the Colegio de Abogados once described it as a "judicial madhouse". Will they clean up the mess in the judiciary? Are bananas red?

Just in: President Martin Torrijos endorses Juan Carlos Navarro in his bid for the presidency next year. This must be a blow for Balbina Herrera, who has presidential ambitions as well and actually does better in the polls.

But not all is lost. Bala-bina should strike back and she has a secret weapon: knowledge. Remember, Balbina, that breakfast meeting at Martin's house before he was president? Right, Hector Aleman was there too. And a legislator. A very unhappy legislator, who felt that he and his friends were left out of the CEMIS banquet. So he dropped by and you guys made a deal, which of course was broken instantly. The legislator then told El Toro the whole story aboard the "Mr. Bull" and Toro recorded the whole thing! I have a transcript, in case you lost yours. Overlay it with Afu's declarations and you have enough there to SINK the fuckers. Adelante! No pasaran!

Of course we all remember Corrupton, the black hole of Club Activo 20-30 where the public has to throw money in for things that should be paid for with their tax dollars. Millions unaccounted for. Documents hidden.

After about a year of stealing money collecting funds in horrible marathon broadcasts, they now finally announce that in six months we will have a regional alarm number 911. And they bought 24 ambulances. But now they've run out of money and they're asking the government to cough up 3.8 million dollars as a first installment. Last year it was calculated that about 12 million was missing, so keep an eye on requests for more of these installments.

Not enough police in the street? That's because, we were told, some units are protecting family members of government people. Witnesses saw two wives buying cheese in San Carlos with a full police unit "protecting" them.

Isn't it something. Have the government pay for employees at your political headquarters. Illegal? So what? There are also those who officially work for the government and ALSO collect money from the PRD. Elections next year. We need all the help we can get. It's called the "botella"....