Flipper's blog

Oh Boy! The SXM Political Circus is back in town! So much fun to be had! But before we get started I'd like to make an appeal to all readers of SXM PE, we need your help!.

Three years ago we here at SXM PE put together the St. Maarten 2007 Island Council Election Section. We would like to do this again for the upcoming elections, but time is short. We are going to need your help, this is what we need:

Links to any websites belonging to individual candidates and the parties, photos of candidates or billboards, scanned pamphlets and flyers and anything else related.

Over the coming week we will prepare the 2010 SXM Election Section in the same way we did before, with separate pages for each party and for their candidates. Ideally we would like to do much more, question candidates on their positions on certain issues for example, list their interests, particularly their business interests and be a real watchdog for bulls**t and dumb policies. But until a real sponsor steps forward we will have to live with whatever the current SXM Main Stream Media feeds us.

In the meantime we here will do what we can to give you an information resource that can help you decide who deserves your vote.

Can you help us out? Post links to websites below and email us with photos and other things at sxmpemail at gmail dot com.

Flipper

Yes, SXM PE is finally back! Actually it's been back online for about 2 weeks, but I was away last week and have had no time to write a thing. Now I have a little, so it's time to see if we can breathe some life back into SXM's longest running and sometimes (hee hee) 'controversial' blog site.

Can it be done? I think so. While Facebook has a place and role to play in bringing people together to communicate and discuss issues of our island life, it does have it's limitations that SXM PE does not. For one thing you reach a much larger audience, for some reason, despite the inaction, SXM PE is still getting 500+ visitors a day and often comes up quite high in lists in google searches about the island.

But I will say again as I have said many times before, the success of this forum and blogging site depends a great deal on the support of those who value and read it. There are two ways you can give that support, one is to make a donation via the Pay Pal button, we are in urgent need of funds as we have to change our hosts and have some upgrading and improvements done.

The second, but I think perhaps an even more important and valuable contribution you can make, is your participation in sharing your opinions, ideas and comments. It's you that make this site a daily visit for many many people.

Regards and best wishes to all! - Flipper

Hey, I know this is a small story amongst many other bigger ones going on, but I'd like to say something about it because I feel it's just another reflection of how dysfunctional SXM's government departments are.

In June last year the Census office announced that yet again, the one and only machine they have for making ID cards was out of service. In August they told us that the problem was the software and it was being upgraded. In March this year it was finally working again. And now, again, it is not.

Will be another 10 months before it is working again? Does it need replacing completely or perhaps another purchased as a standby? And are those using it actually trained in it's operation and care? Will those with expired cards be given a break from police or immigration, or will they have to spend nights in a police cell while their renewal status is investigated? Will the census office offer letters to those with expired card or those waiting so they can avoid that horrible possibility?

The detention of Sir Bobby Valasquez in connection with apparent molestation of a teenager is generating a whole ton of comments on our two main local news sites, SMNN and SXM IT that are well worth a browse through. Bobby, and the reported victim, have both been convicted, judged and sentenced and of course there is speculations galore, but between it all there bits and pieces of information that makes me uneasy about it all.

Jose Lake Sr was an island Hero, one whom I believe has yet to be honored with a roundabout, not to worry though, Theo's building a few more and hopefully he will get a spot. He was smart, he was progressive and he championed free speech, which I can confirm doesn't earn you many friends amongst 'Pinheads' or others who don't want their doings talked about or criticized. I sure they don't like us adopting Billo's term, lol.

Anyhoo, this blog post is about SXM PE, about freedom of speech and about using it. This site was created with the intention to provide an outlet and forum for people of the island to vent, share opinions and ideas, discuss and debate issues and to share information. (Whistle blowers, our email is sxmpe at gmail :)) It has most certainly not been about making money, it has survived on volunteered time and donations till now, in fact I still owe the guy who rebuilt it last year a few hundred $'s, I think the donation button still works if you are so inclined :)

SXM PE needs people to use it, blogging is open to anyone and I invite again all those progressive, thinking, caring and intelligent people out there on the island to make use of it. FB is all fine and great for sharing stuff with friends, but it does have it's drawbacks and limitations. SXM PE offers a free place about SXM for you to post your thoughts and opinions and create a broader and perhaps even freer discussion. Hey, you can even do so with an alias.

Please watch this video about preaching to the converted, because what you say and think can have an impact and power, a power the intelligent, progressive and caring people of this island need to use. The madness of pond filling, pollution, corruption, crime and destruction of the island and it's community will go on day after day until you do. Who else is there except you? Leopold James and Wild Willy Haize?

A guide on how to post a blog on SXM PE.

When I started SXM PE back in April 2005 it wasn't just about having a place to vent and blog my opinions, there were other reasons, one of which was to spur and encourage discussion, debate and the sharing of ideas within the SXM Community and hopefully bringing together people who shared cares and concerns. Another was to create a library of sorts, a library that has been used by students, lawyers, journalists, 'pinheads' and the general public at large. Over 2.2 million pages have been viewed since I started this site.

When I started, there was very little SXM news online, the DH had a site, but it was dated and quite often stories had to be scanned to be posted on here. The Today, even today, has no website presence to speak of.

The DH recently rebuilt it's website, perhaps because they got a little tired of it being criticized, especially here on PE, and all in all they did a good job. However one small problem. The thousands of links listed here in the pages of PE and elsewhere on the internet to news on their old site no longer work. I don't know if they are still available online, perhaps they are, but really, the loss is heartbreaking.

It's not the loss to SXM PE that hurts most, the DH did demand once that we stop posting links to their website and I refused, telling them that posting limited partial content and links was not only legal but also normal for the internet, in fact it was good for them because it helped drive up their visitor and page view numbers. The real loss is to the community and general public of the island. The news we scanned is still there, but links to DH stories over the past years are now useless.

Sorry folks, I guess the DH just doesn't think archives and history are as important as we do.

Flipper

CLICK HERE!

Shown on Dutch TV this past week. Mostly in Dutch, but not so difficult to understand.

Is King TO constipated? It's a possibility considering his latest comment about the roads and potholes. As Commissioner for public works and many 'friends' in the road construction business you would think he would know a little bit about them.
Heyliger questions why PJIA can’t give back to community.

Let me explain for you TO. When a pothole begins it lets loose a whole bunch of stones and gravel that create more potholes. In addition the edges weaken and the pothole gets bigger, collecting rainwater which causes more weakness and expansion. When you leave potholes for month and months as has been done at this particular section of road then the results are what we all see today.

Instead of blaming PJIA's extension, which by the way has nothing to do with the state of the road, a road that has ALWAYS had pothole problems, try doing your job and making sure Public Works does theirs. By TO's logic, maybe we should be asking the car importers and rental companies to fix the roads too.

Oh, and when oh when is the media of this island going to put this man on the spot and press him for answers on what he's doing about the SOAB report and VROM?? It is his portfolio afterall isn't it?

Oh lawdy, here I am getting controversial again, SXM PE is never going to get any advertisers at this rate, lol.

On the French side you see Gendarmes all the time, they patrol Grand Case and Marigot at night on foot. On the Dutch side you rarely see a police car, I think I see them more often when they are escorting some official through our traffic jams.

Compare these two reports.
Bandits Convicted to Jail. - Arrested and convicted within 5 days.

Young men jailed for supermarket robbery. - Time between arrest and conviction, almost 3 months. They got a discount because of police detention.

Food for thought, no?

Attorney General Wants Appeal Court to Uphold Verdict---- Laviest Broke Down in Court ---- Says his Mistakes was Not of Mal-Intent---To know Fate on February 11th.

And he burst into tears as he accepted the award.....

The SOAB Report, in Dutch. Click open this post to find the PDF.

Court rules against EWE Developer

EWE - Today O & C

Emilio Wilson Estate & Park Thread and Archives

And so the story goes....Di da di di da di di da di

After years of warnings about the consequences of dumping raw sewage and waste into the ditches and bush lands of Bonaire and the recent exposure by Sean Paton that these warnings have proved to have been on target, the government of Bonaire has decided to let Scientology's ship Freewinds continue the practice.

Yes, that is correct, Freewinds have the permission of the Bonaire Island Government to dump waste and contaminate the water table of Bonaire with bacteria and toxins, damage that will affect the environment and future generations of the island for decades to come. How did they get this permission?

Is it just that the Bonaire Island Government are ignorant incompetent morons, or is it because Scientology, known for circumventing and breaking the law, sometimes in extreme ways, have paid them off in some manner? I know what I think is most likely, because it's hard to believe anyone could be so stupid and blind to the consequences of what is being done.

Very interesting interview covering a variety of issues and subjects about SXM and it's past. Don't forget to rate the You Tube videos 5 stars :)

Part 2 and Part 3

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Bonaire-State of emergency Part 2

For some years now down in Bonaire, Sean Paton has been fighting to stop the Scientology ship Freewinds from dumping it's raw untreated sewage and waste into the bush lands and ditches of the island. We have covered it here several times and tried to bring some exposure to the issue.

The latest videos from Sean show us that the water table of Bonaire now appears to be contaminated and that several wells should, in any self respecting country, be closed to public use. It would seem though that the Government of Bonaire is not self respecting, it has seemingly done NOTHING to stop this dumping by Freewinds. It's is interesting though that now they have taken to doing the dumping at night.

Please watch the two videos above and please leave a message on You Tube in support of Sean.

It was just over 4 years ago that the Central Government imposed stricter guidelines and conditions on Dolphinariums in the Netherlands Antilles, in effect making Theo's dumb plan to build one in Great Bay doomed. Of course, once the island gets new status this may change, I suspect the plans are not gone for good and we may one day have to fight the fight all over again.

For now though, let's give thanks to those who helped stop those plans, especially Mercedes de Windt. And read the recent article below about Dolphins, they are so much smarter than most people think and should not in any way be exploited and imprisoned for entertainment and greed.

Deep thinkers - The more we study dolphins, the brighter they turn out to be.

Just came across this while browsing for something else and though it might be a good time to bring it back into the light.

Court Rules In Favor of SMN News ---Erivan Condemned to pay Euros 1,500 and expenses.

For mor Fails, visit Failblog.com.

Julian Rollocks came out swinging yesterday about a certain JR mentioned in a story not so long ago by both SMNN and the Daily Herald. This JR, apparently a 'political figure' was reportedly caught by his wife while fooling around with another woman and, according to the reports, ended up being chased in the street while in his underwear.

Rollocks is now making threats of legal action and damages against SMNN for comments made that mentioned his name and as a result they have removed the story. He is also making threats to expose Fernando Clark's legal and personal problems with regards to a domestic dispute. Fernando of course had a field day with the JR story at his recent show, which I guess Rollocks didn't appreciate.

Rollocks admits that he was involved in a 'domestic altercation', but that it did not take place in Belvedere and that he was not running down the road in his underwear. Remarkably, just about every comment made on the story on Island Times still seem to be convinced it was him.

So, whats the story here? Did the police issue a report about a JR running in the road in his underwear, or not? Did SMNN and the DH make this story up? Clarity is required and it would seem that the SXM Police need to provide it.

Mr.Hendrik-Jan who is the Head Associate of Spatial Planning VROM, joins Jadira Veen on Nature Watch to talk about Zoning on St.Maarten.

Take a listen - Pearl FM Nature Watch - Zoning and Permits

Mullet Bay has been in the news recently with a petition being organized to demand Government do something about the state of the place. I want to share my thoughts on the matter.

First of all, I quite like the place as it is, reclaimed by nature and peaceful. The argument that the area is crime infested is really quite false, the muggings and robberies that occur there occur EVERYWHERE on the island, and like everywhere it could be resolved with more police patrols and security personnel.

Secondly, we need to be careful what we wish for. Rumors have been around for a while that redevelopment might well include a megayacht marina, (thus destroying the last really healthy and pristine part of the lagoon), a block style hotel right on the beach and a new road bypassing the whole area around from the Airport to Cupecoy. If we have learned anything over the years and are recently reminded by Divi Hotel, these hotels do not want locals on 'their' beaches. When development does happen at Mullet Bay, you can be sure that the public access we now enjoy will be severely curtailed.

Last of all, I don't often agree with Michael Ferrier, but on Mullet Bay the man is spot on target. The only thing I might add to his letter today to Sun Resorts would be to tell Ansary to go screw himself.

Mullet Bay Archives.

Jadira Veen of SXM Pride hosts a one hour radio show every Friday from 10 - 11 am on Pearl FM, 98.1 called Nature Watch. This week she had 3 very impressive and intelligent guests to talk about Theo's planned industrial area, port and filling in of Cay Bay.

I don't want to get into any argument about what the bay is called, though maps tell me it's actually Cole Bay. If you are unsure of the actual location you can see it very clearly in the SXM West Development Plans, published here on SXM PE in June. It's right in front and to the left of GEBE, destroying the beach Sea side Nature Park that Roddy Halley has created, completely. Maybe we should call it 'Industrial Water' like the planners do?

I strongly and highly recommend listening to this past Friday's Nature Watch show with guests Roderick Halley, his wife Alexandria Halley and Reuben Thompson. You can do so at Pearl FM's website. A lot of sense was spoken.

Some links to news and information, as well as a few of my own comments, below... :)

11 days off line, not good. The explanation is this.

The person in charge of our server took a vacation and left a friend to to watch over it. Unfortunately, that friend was struck with a serious medical illness and has been in hospital the last 10 days, and therefore has been unable to check email and has been unaware that our server needed restarting.

That's it, very simple and nothing much we could do about it, and now I hope they both excuse my emails that were more angry each day and hope that the friend gets well soon. Now to the task of catching up posting news and a few blogs, so much been going on that deserves a mention :)

Flipper

With a double twist and somersault, Flipper returns. Hey, I’m back, kinda, and under pressure from my good friend and caretaker of SXM PE Local Hero I’ve agreed it’s time to dive back in and write a blog. It’s been a while I know, but I needed a break and I had a great opportunity to take one, so I took it and had a great time thank you. Amazingly I suffered no bad with drawl symptoms from being cut off from technology for long periods of time, only good ones, it has been very refreshing.

But hey, the thing is, I am responsible for this monster called SXM PE and it’s time I took some of that responsibility back onto my shoulders and off LH’s, the site is flagging, poor LH is flagging and the few regular writers we did have all have something or other keeping them from doing so, like time, family, work and money, often all 4. Two of them can’t even afford to pay to have internet right now, relying on wifi in bars, times are tough out there, as if you needed me to tell you.

It’s been almost 6 months now since the new look SXM PE was launched, a rebuild that suffered some delays but finally got done. From the very beginning my primary intention has been, and still is, to encourage the thinking, concerned and caring people of the island to engage in communication with other thinking, concerned caring people. To share opinions and ideas, to stir up constructive discussions and debates, to pool information and knowledge to shine some light on the ‘going’s on’ of our island home. Unfortunately, despite myself and others repeatedly begging others to use and write on the site, it just isn’t happening, which is sad really because without user generated content it will die.

Yeah, we dolphins do love our fish! It's how they get us to do tricks at Dolphinariums don't you know, using hunger and food as motivation. I'm so glad we don't have one here.

But it's true, Flipper is now officially Off Island, Gone Fishing and banned from writing unless I really really need to. SXM PE is now 4 years old, it's rebuilt and it is now open to the people and community of SXM to make of it what they will, I have repeatedly begged people I think have writing talents and knowledge and information to share to write, I get promises but never actual blogs. Maybe I was wrong and expected too much? I need to take a break.....

Copyright infringement and stealing is often an accusation thrown at me and SXM PE, sometimes from people who don't like us or the site, but most often I think from people who just don't understand or know what 'blogs' and 'bloggers' are. After all, I see repeated references in the content and comments on other sites calling people who make comments 'bloggers', so naturally we have some confused people out there.

I'll go into more detail on blogs and blogging in another post soon, but for now I will say the accusation has no grounds, what we do is refer to sources and we take a small portion as a 'quote'. People who want to read the whole article can click the 'link to source' and read the whole article. Anyway, more later on that, I don't want to get sidetracked because this blog is about real copyright issues and theft. A story that I wrote about 6 weeks ago and which the artists took to the police this week.

(Agghh... The irony of it all!)

Well, here we are, June 8th and a new crew is taking over the helm of SS SXM. While I myself am a skeptic about just how much things are going to change, I am willing to give the new government a little bit of leeway, a honeymoon if you like. As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, and we still don't have a clear picture of what the ingredients of this new government's policies and programs are going to be.

My skepticism arises from the inclusion of 'King' Theo, who not only keeps the portfolio's he previously held, but is also now the deputy leader of government. Considering that this new government now relies completely upon his (and Laveist's) support, it would seem that he has a great deal of influence over what those policies and programs will be, ergo it seems logical to suspect that his Ring Road and new Harbor plans are going to part of this government's program.

Today's the day!!

Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam
Teresa, Victor, Wanda.