A renovated(and more secure?) canal

Some news from Panama-

The $5.25 billion face-lift allowing the inter-oceanic canal to handle mammoth modern cargo ships won four-to-one voter support in a referendum, the Central American nation's Electoral Tribunal said.

The project for the canal, which was U.S. territory until it was returned to Panama in 1999, will double its capacity to enable more and bigger ships to cross between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, boosting government revenue.

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Expansion of the canal, an engineering wonder first opened in 1914, will create a jobs bonanza for Panama's 3 million people and boost economic growth, supporters say.

Dr. Taylor notes that a canal almost 100 years old would need updating and that would be a economic boon to Panama. I totally agree.

Will the renovated canal get a security upgrade too? The Panama canal is one of the most critical waterways in the world. If terrorists were to shut it down, the economic effect would be felt world-wide. The canal needs to be upgraded for all the realities of the 21st century.

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