From: "Rich Gauszka" 


"Dave Ings"  wrote in message
news:43bc3acd{at}w3.nls.net...
> Not universally true. See Costa Rica - where the standing army was
> abolished in the late 40s. I guess they decided the internal threat from
> the army was worse than the external threats. No army, no military coups.
> ;-)
>
> By the way I've been there twice, mostly on the west coast. Fantastic
> place, highly recommended.
> --
> Regards,
> Dave Ings,
> Toronto, Canada
>
> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
> news:43bc3726{at}w3.nls.net...
>
>>
>> It's what an electorate wishes to choose as required services that will
>> vary the degree of socialism. Everyone wished that the government protect
>> them for foreign threats. Hence we accept a standing army.
>>
>

Just don't drive a car with 'TUR' lettering on it 

http://www.kwagunt.net/ftrip/costarica.html

Theft is reputedly a large problem in Costa Rica. In the capital, San Jose,
all tourist vehicles are routinely robbed. Unfortunately, these tourist
vehicles are marked with the letters TUR and the rental agency's logos. The
Tico Times and others are trying to eliminate the tourist branding problem.
The only solutions are to park your car in a guarded parking lot or travel
in a large enough group that thieves can't keep track of when you leave and
when you'll be back.

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Seriously I know someone from UNISYS who had to go down there several years
ago to do work on some IT failover schemes for a bank and he raved about
the great time he had

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