IMF SEES EARLIER RECOVERY, P. 36
All Set
For
Jackson
Tribute
Concert
Page 43
VOL 19 NO. 098
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
U.S. 50 CENTS / NAf. 1.-- / EC$ 1.25
~ Colombian cartel links suspected ~
BONAIRE--The homes of opposition UPB leader Ramoncito
Booi and UPB member Burney
Elhage were raided by Dutch detectives Tuesday morning in connection with an investigation into
money-laundering, gold-smuggling, real estate fraud and international drug trafficking.
Elhage’s office at Bonaire’s Flamingo Airport also was searched
and equipment was seized as possible evidence in the case.
Authorities in Holland and the
Netherlands Antilles also arrested five suspects on Tuesday,
including two women who are believed to be involved. The raids in
Holland yielded three firearms,
including a Kalashnikov assault
rifle, ammunition, computers,
mobile phones, three cars and a
large number of records that will
be carefully reviewed.
The Prosecutor’s Office of the
Netherlands Antilles is coordinating the investigation and described the motives for the raids
as “presumptions of fraud-related offences committed by people
within the public administration in Bonaire.” These offences
were discovered during a major
year-long money-laundering investigation in the Antilles and in
Europe.
Within the scope of this coordinated international criminal
IN BRIEF
• Philipsburg
ZENITEL EXTENDS
PILOT PROJECT
Zenitel Caribbean’s three cameras
will continue surveillance in Philipsburg for another six to eight weeks,
the company said Tuesday. Page 3.
• Marigot
TITLES FOR
DOMAIN LAND
Residents within the so-called “50
pas géométriques” boundary, or on
domain land are to receive legitimate
title to their land and property. page
8.
• The Hague
DRAFT LAW
NOW READY
The Second Chamber will be handling
the proposed Kingdom Law to regulate the maritime borders between
St. Maarten and Saba, and between
Curaçao and Bonaire. Page 14.
Burney Elhage
Ramoncito Booi
America to regulate another drug
shipment to Holland via West
Africa. He will be extradited to
Holland.
Some 18 searches were conducted in Bonaire: eight homes,
four government agencies and six
company premises. Two arrests
took place in Bonaire. Searches
of two homes and one commercial property took place in Curaçao and one person was arrested
there. One arrest was made and
searches took place at four homes
in Aruba.
The Prosecutor’s Office said the
investigation was far from over
and would not be limited to the
Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and
Europe. More house searches
and arrests were not excluded.
While investigating the moneylaundering practices, a large-scale
gold-smuggling ring via Aruba
and the Netherlands Antilles was
uncovered. This gold-smuggling
is related to a March 27 arrest in
Continued on page 8
Governor Frits Goedgedrag and his wife at the official honouring of the
guard ceremony to mark the opening of the new Parliamentary year.
~ Says 10-10-10 can still be achieved ~
WILLEMSTAD--Governor Frits
Goedgedrag says the target date
of October 10, 2010, for Curaçao
and St. Maarten to attain new
constitutional statuses is still attainable and should not be hindered by Parliamentary elections
in January.
Goedgedrag made his comments
at the opening of the new Parliamentary year Tuesday.
“All legislation requires careful
assessment and treatment. The
dismantling of the country and
the transfer of functions and powers to the new entities should continue unabated. Your support and
Continued on page 10
investigation, confiscations took
place at a number of locations
in Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba,
and in several European countries, including Holland, Belgium
and Austria.
The Prosecutor’s Office in Holland also disclosed that the main
suspect in the investigation, a 39~ Several contractors invited to bid for project ~
year-old Dutchman W.V.W., had
been arrested in Bonaire Tuesday CAY HILL--The major expan- start in January 2010 and the new struction companies who are willmorning. He was suspected of sion of St. Maarten Medical facilities to open in March 2011, ing to bid,” Scot said.
Contractors have until Novemhaving been on his way to South Center (SMMC) is expected to barring any eventualities.
St. Maarten General Director ber 16 to collect the necessary
Dr. George Scot said Tuesday information on the project and
that the extensive drawings for must submit their bids two weeks
the project had been completed after this date.
earlier this year and several con“We wanted to wait to start the
tractors had been invited to bid bidding process after the official
for the project two weeks ago. liquidation of the Property OwnSMMC paid NAf. 1 million for ers Foundation (POF) was finalContinued on page 9
the drawings. “We invited con-
COURTEOUS AND
EFFICIENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Editorial
2
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Literacy and political will
Member of the
Inter American Press Association
Published by
The Caribbean Herald NV
Bush Road 22
St. Maarten N.A.
P.O.Box 828
Bankers:
RBTT Bank St. Maarten
acc. 212938
President
R.F.Snow
Managing Director
Mary Jane Hellmund
Publisher
Paul De Windt
Editorial
Courtney Gibson
(Editor in Chief)
Gordon H. Snow
(Managing Editor)
Rajesh Chintaman
(Night Editor)
Judy Fitzpatrick
Alita Singh
John van Kerkhof
Hazel Durand
Daune Robin
Michael Granger
Thomas A. Burnett Jr. (Sports)
John Halley (photos)
Editorial Assistant
Marie Brown
Correction
Saresa Gray
Sharon van Arneman
Yvonne Johns
Kim Lucas-Felix
Nicholas Marshall
Sharon Lane
Magareth Brooks
David Jermin
Correspondents
Suzanne Koelega (Neth.)
Brenda Carty (Anguilla)
Althea Merkman & Lynn
Kennedy (Statia)
Suzanne Nielsen(Saba)
Bob Morgan(Saba-photo)
Robert Luckock (St. Martin)
Arny Belfor (Suriname)
Lay-Out
Richard James
Rodolphe O. Boirard
Stephen Morris
Operations Manager
Steven De Windt
Office Manager
Mijke Stenz
Rosalie Davis (assis.)
Accounting
Ada van Luling
Mercedes De Windt
Advertising
Moira Marcelle
Sandra Martina
Muriel Berthé
Harmen Rijsdijk
Cecilia Vazquez
Saskia Van Leeuwen
Latoya Philips (assis.)
Graphics
Mark Martelly
Evadney Henriques
Chanaz Calor
Cleon Frederick
Special Editions
Marianela Radaelli
Lisa Burnett
Sanny Ensing
Shakira Sankies
Reception
Ethlyn Joubert
CALLING
THE DAILY HERALD
ST. MAARTEN
Telephone
5425253/5425597/
5420931/5437236
FAX 5425913
E-Mail:
dherald@sintmaarten.net
advertising@thedailyherald.com
editorial@thedailyherald.com
classifieds@thedailyherald.com
ANGUILLA/3138/fax 8707
SABA
4162381/4162881(sales)
4162731(edit)
STATIA
3182401/3182936/fax 3182136
NEVIS
469-0607/fax 0606
ST KITTS
466-8609
WEATHER
Today: Variably cloudy, with widely scattered showers into the morning.
Winds: Southeast, 10-20mph.
Sea conditions: Generally moderate.
Seas: 2-5 feet, with the highest wave action over the open waters.
Forecast high: 30°C 86°F
Forecast low: 26°C 79°F
SYNOPSIS: A tropical wave located over the islands in the Eastern Caribbean arc yesterday evening continues to move West, causing cloudiness
and shower activity to develop or to move over sections of the islands. The
pressure gradient is expected to increase slightly in wake of the wave and
occasional stronger winds could generate higher waves briefly. Nevertheless, generally moderate sea conditions continue to prevail over the surrounding waters.
SPECIAL FEATURES: The names for tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Basin in 2009 will be Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda.
Tropical Depression #7 became Hurricane Fred yesterday. It was located at 11:00pm near 12.6N30.6W, about 445 miles West-Southwest of the
Southernmost Cape Verde Islands, moving West-Northwest near 12mph
with maximum sustained winds near 75mph. A turn toward the Northwest
followed by a turn toward the North-Northwest and additional strengthening followed by slow weakening on Thursday are forecast. Fred does not
pose any threat to the Caribbean region, but the Meteorological Service of
the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba will continue to monitor its progress.
Elsewhere, tropical cyclone development is not expected during this forecast period.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK: None.
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY: None.
Outlook until Thursday evening: Generally partly cloudy with gentle to
moderate Southeast trade winds and greater chance of shower activity
overnight.
Sunrise: 5:59am
Sunset: 6:19pm
The Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says there are still 776
million illiterate adults in the world and 75 million children out of
school.
These figures are staggering. They tell of the state of underdevelopment and marginalisation in today’s world and the Director General
is correct when he states that this situation persists because in many
parts of the world there are neither the political will nor the resources to make youth and adult literacy an area of priority action.
Here in St. Maarten we are happy to see that the political will to do
something especially about youth illiteracy seems to be very much
alive. This is especially noticeable in the area of addressing the issue
of compulsory education, with the government actively pursuing the
reopening of Charles Leopold Bell School in Cole Bay to accommodate 141 undocumented children.
This manifesting of the political will to address the problem, which
if left alone and allowed to fester would herald the undoing of everything good that has been done over the years, is very heart-warming – especially as it coincides with the observance of International
Literacy Day yesterday.
But let us not fool ourselves that literacy is merely about the ability to
read and to master basic numeric skills, for being literate in today’s
world must be about functional literacy, which also embraces issues
such as financial literacy, computer literacy, etcetera, etcetera.
We are not aware of any recent reliable figures about the state of
literacy in St. Maarten, but it is evident that all is not as well as it
should be and that as a country we have a lot of mileage yet to cover
on the road to an overall level of functional literacy.
We look to the government and its social partners to continue pursuing this matter with the sort of laser-beam focus it deserves. If the
political will is there, they will find a way to get the job done.
RADIO-AND TV PROGRAMMING ON PEOPLE PAGES
9491
0647
3980
45362
76344
35104
4752
7055
7850
Agenda St. Maarten / St. Martin
No cruise ships in port today.
ST. MAARTEN
POLICE STATION
Philipsburg tel. 542-2222
Simpson Bay tel. 545-5500
HOT LINE 108
EMERGENCY 911
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tel. 542-6001 or 919
HOSPITAL
Medical Center, Cay Hill
24-hour Emergency Service
tel. 543-1111 or 910
AMBULANCE
Philipsburg tel. 542-2111 or 912
MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
For medical emergencies after clinic
hours, from 6:00 pm - 8:00 am and during
weekends and holidays, all patients of
hereunder mentioned family doctors can go
to the emergency room of the St. Maarten
Medical Center, tel.: 543-1111 (ext. 1): Dr. A.
Arrindell, Dr. F. Bouman, Dr. F. Bus, Dr. H.
Deketh, Dr. A. Herles, Dr. G. ban Osch, Dr.
G. Spencer, Dr. P. Arrindell, Dr. G. Bryson,
Dr. J. Datema, Dr. G. Foeken, Dr. L. Knol, Dr.
A. Raghosing and Dr. U. Tjaden.
SXM Animal Welfare Foundation
Ambulance Team 520-8887
CRIME STOPPERS ANYMOUS TIP LINE:
543-TIPS(8477)
TELEPHONE INFO
Tel-em: 542-2211
E. Caribbean Cellular: 542-4100
Weather Info: 123
ST. MAARTEN TOURIST OFFICE
W.G. Buncamper road, Vineyard
Building, tel. 542-2337, fax. 542-2734
ST MAARTEN ZOO
Madame Estate: tel. 543-2030
Open daily 10 am - 6 pm.
October-March 9 am - 5 pm.
Admission: Adults: $10, kids $5.
COLE BAY COMMUNITY COUNCIL:
meeting 1st. Thursday of month at Sun
Flower Kinder Garten School, Union Rd.
Cole Bay at 7:30pm
SERVICE CLUBS
ROTARY meeting at Divi Little Bay Beach
Resort, every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
Rotary Mid Isle meets every Tuesday 6-8pm,
Le Charolais Restaurant, Royal Islander
Club, Maho Plaza.
Rotary Sunrise meets every tuesday at 6:45
am. at Air Lekkerbek
LIONS meeting at the Upper Princess
Quarter Community Centre Lions Den in
Sucker Garden every 1st and 3rd Tuesday
of the month at 8 p.m.
ST.MAARTEN LEO CLUB meeting at
Jubilee Library 1st, 3rd Friday every month
at 6:30 p.m.
KIWANIS meets at Wifol Building on
Thursday each month at 7.30pm. Kiwanis
Key Club of the St. Maarten Academy
meeting at the St. Maarten Academy every
Friday at 1.30 p.m.
KIWANIS SOUALIGA 1st & 3rd Monday
7:00pm Holland House
JCI St. Maarten (JAYCEES) meeting at
the Philipsburg Jubilee Library every last
Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m.
Business attire required.
PHILIPSBURG TOASTMASTERS CLUB
bi-monthly sessions every first and third
Thursday of every month at the Library
conference room at 8:00 p.m.
ST MARTIN MUSEUM
Frontstreet 7, Philipsburg, tel 542-4917
Opening hours from March 1st:
Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday & Sundays: closed.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
Mon-Sat, 6-7pm, Red Cross Building, Airport
Road. Saturday and Sunday at Mullet Bay
beach next to restaurant 8.30-9:30am. Tel.
552-2120 / 544-3203
AIDS COORDINATOR Suzette Moses
tel 5422078 Health Department, e-mail:
hivpmtsxm@yahoo.com.
NATURE FOUNDATION ST. MAARTEN
Wellsberg Street 1A, units 25-26, Cole Bay •
Tel. 544-4267, Fax. 544-4268.Email: info@
naturefoundationsxm.org
ANIMALS R. FRIENDS
Mailbox La Palapa Center, Simpson Bay •
Email: arf_sxm@yahoo.com, www.arfsxm.org
PHILIPSBURG JUBILEE LIBRARY
Ch.E.W.Vogestr. 12, Tel. 542-2970.
Open: Mo: closed, Tu/We: 9-12.30 / 2-8,
Th: 2-8, Fr: 9-12.30 / 2-5, Sa: 10-1.
WOMEN’S DESK, Frontstreet 141 (opposite
Tel-Cell). Monday - Friday 9am-5pm. Tel:
542-7940, Fax: 542-7941.
E-mail: womensdesk@sintmaarten.net
SAFE HAVEN, providing shelter and support
to victims of family violence. POB 636;
Hotline: 9333; Office 9277; Fax: 9368
CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT, E.C. Richardson
street 11-b; Tel. 542-1000/542-1008; Fax: 5421001
FRENCH HONORARY CONSUL, POBox
803, Philipsburg. Tel: (00590) 879989.
Fax: (00590) 879625. E-mail: Stanislas.
GRAIRE@wanadoo.fr
COAST GUARD NA&A, (24 HRS): 113
LEGAL AID CENTER, Law Clinic, open
every Saturday 9:00am - 12.00 noon.
Free advise on personal legal issues.
Administration Building, tel. 5422337
THE RED CROSS, ST. MAARTEN
CHAPTER (24hrs - Cell: 520-7189), #34
Airport Road Simpson Bay, Tel. 54-52333 /
2304, Fax. 54-55263.
Email: theredcross@caribserve.net.
SALVATION ARMY Union Rd 59 Cole Bay
POBox5184 Tel/fax:5445424 cell:5477353
Sun 9:00am, Tue 7:00pm, Wed 6:30pm, Thu
7:00pm, Sat 4:00pm
ST.MAARTEN CHAPTER OF BUSINESS
AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN holds
their general monthly meetings every third
Monday at the Delta Hotel at 7:00 pm.
DIABETES FOUNDATION OF ST. MAARTEN,
Free blood-glucose testing every Thursday
from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. at the Philipsburg
Pharmacy Voges street, Philipsburg
(opposite library). Tel.: 542-3001
USO St. Maarten/St. Martin (USA military),
contact Janet Lambert 5577616 or 00590
590 294406.
SKALCLUB ST. MAARTEN/ST. MARTIN
meets 1st Tuesday of the month. For
location call: 5424432 (Jennifer).
ST. MARTIN
POLICE MUNICIPALE
tel. (00590) 590 87.50.04
GENDARMERIE
tel. (00590) 590 87.50.10
FIRE DEPARTMENT
tel. (00590) 590 87.50.08
AMBULANCE
Tel. (00590) 590 52-00-52
Cell. (00590) 690 57-13-28
Fax. (00590) 590 29-08-11
HOSPITAL tel. (00590) 590 52 25 25
DISPENSAIRE Marigot
8 a.m. - 3p.m. tel. (00590) 590 87.50.93
DISPENSAIRE Orléans
8 a.m. - 3 p.m. tel. (00590) 590 87.37.21
C.R.O.S.S. (Center, Research, Organization,
Rescue, Security) is on stand by 24 hours at
0596 709292.
SERVICE CLUBS
ROTARY Club St. Martin-Nord meeting
at Flamboyant Hotel, Baie Nettle every
Thursday at 8:00 - 10:00 p.m.
LIONS First and third Tuesday at Nadaillac,
Marigot at 7.30 p.m.
KIWANIS: See St. Maarten.
MUSEUM ST. MARTIN
Facing the grand parking at Marina Royale
- Marigot. Open from 10am to 4pm, closed
Saturdays & Sundays. tel. (00590)590 29.22.84.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A septic truck(at left) rolled
downhill from an A.Th. Illidge Road residence Tuesday, crossed the street and
crashed into a wall on the
opposite side. Workers said
they had been draining a
homeowner’s septic tank
when the truck slipped down
the dirt road. No one was injured, but the truck knocked
down this wall. (John Halley
photo)
PHILIPSBURG--Philipsburg is still under watch.
Zenitel Caribbean’s three
cameras will continue surveillance in the Dutch-side
capital for another six to
eight weeks, the company
said. The networking and
communications firm is trying to sell government on
video surveillance to deter
crime.
“Initially, it was planned
to be a demonstration for
three months,” Zenitel
Country Manager Patrick Geysen said Tuesday.
“We’ve given it a few more
weeks before we evaluate.”
The pilot phase should
have expired last Saturday.
Launched on June 5, Zenitel’s wireless security cameras watch movement on
Cannegieter Street, Front
Street and the Great Bay
beach promenade. Police
are monitoring these cameras hoping to catch wanted
and suspicious persons and
interrupt crimes.
The cameras are hard to
detect: one is above Clem
Labega Square, another is
near Holland House Beach
Hotel and the third is on
Captain Hodge Wharf.
“Three
cameras
were
enough to cover the areas,”
Geysen said.
Geysen told The Daily
Herald Zenitel’s decision
to extend the pilot phase
had been prompted by the
fact that there had been a
change of government in
St. Maarten recently and
that a new Justice Minister
had taken office in August.
He said he was not in
possession of any reports
that the system was failing,
“whatever the cause,” and
he declined to comment on
the role of the former project head, who had been in
charge until late July.
Antillean Justice Minister Magali Jacoba said she
planned to await the report
on the pilot project before
commenting on its usefulness. “I can’t say much
about it, because I need the
results,” Jacoba told this
newspaper. “I haven’t seen
anything yet.”
Jacoba’s predecessor David Dick was among the
project’s principal advocates. The agreement was
simple: Zenitel would acquire the equipment, install
it, teach police how to use
it and, after three months,
would pitch selling the
project.
The new Justice Minister
said she would endorse the
project if it was successful.
“I think if it’s giving a good
result we will look after it,”
Jacoba said.
Zenitel launched the project with Motorola Inc., the
equipment provider. They
pitched it to Justice officials
and businessmen in June as
a durable, reliable and costeffective way to curb crime,
assuring that camera security worked.
WE PLAN
EVENTS
Tel/fax: 599 542-3806
Cell: 599 588-1200
e-mail: rflorijn@gmail.com
www.sxmpartyrentals.com
PHILIPSBURG--Managing Director of utility
company GEBE William
Brooks has reportedly informed the Supervisory
Board that he has no intention of formally responding
to the offer of the board
concerning his position
within the company.
The Daily Herald reported
last week that the board remains steadfast in reaching
a decision on termination
in mutual agreement with
Brooks or acceptance of a
position transfer within the
company.
The deadline for Brooks
to accept either offer was
Tuesday, September 1.
Brooks reportedly contacted the supervisory board a
day after the deadline had
elapsed to inform them of
his position.
The supervisory board
has now placed the matter
squarely in the hands of
the shareholder foundation
of GEBE whose members
now have to decide how to
move forward in the drawnout affair with its Managing
Director.
Sources close to this
newspaper said last week
if Brooks remains defiant
or refuses to consider any
of the aforementioned, a
general shareholder meeting will be called to remove
him as Managing Director. According to the same
sources, the board under no
foreseeable circumstance
3
will entertain any counteroffer to retain Brooks as
Managing Director.
Brooks has reportedly
been accused by the supervisory board of gross negligence and mismanagement
of GEBE. The board contends that despite warning
letters for his unauthorised
increases in rates and other actions contrary to the
articles of incorporation
of the company, Brooks
continued to act in an irresponsible manner as the
legal representative of the
company.
Brooks has also been indirectly accused of causing
the technical and mechanical problems GEBE has
suffered with its engines
through his mismanagement of the maintenance
schedule for the engines.
Efforts to reach Brooks
for comment proved futile.
AIRPORT--An American
Airlines flight had to be
cancelled and its aircraft
grounded after it experienced a bird strike last
week Friday.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737,
was about 100 metres into
its takeoff from Miami International Airport when
the pilot reported that a
bird had flown into one of
the engines. The flight continued on schedule to St.
Maarten and landed safely
at Princess Juliana International Airport without
declaring any sort of emergency.
However, Country Manager for American Airlines
Bennet Bell said the company had preferred to put
safety first and had decided
to ground the plane in St.
Maarten for 24 hours until
local maintenance crews
had checked the engine.
The aircraft was rated as
operational and ready, and
departed the following day
without a hitch. Bell said
passengers scheduled to
travel on the cancelled flight
had not expressed any anger or filed any complaints,
since they too understood
that safety came first.
Correction
An article in The Daily
Herald’s Tuesday edition
said some of the products
donated by Divico to the
prison had been three days
past expiration. In fact, one
product had expired on
September 3, another expired yesterday, September
8, a third was scheduled to
expire today, September 9,
and the last expires on September 13.
Breaded Porkchops,
Seasoned Rice &
Egg Salad
Made with
$5.95
Islands
4
PHILIPSBURG--Former
director of St. Maarten Student Support Services S4
Linda Richardson met with
the Executive Council on
Tuesday to provide an overview of her housing situation
in the Netherlands leading
up to the present moment.
In a press release last night
Richardson said she had requested a meeting with the
council in a letter in July, to
broach this issue.
She also pointed out that
while S4 Treasurer Ed
Gumbs had indicated earlier
that she would be sued for
45,000 euros for an administrative error relating to her
housing allowance, she provided The Daily Herald with
correspondence Gumbs had
sent to the Finance Department on July 7 in which he
said the S4 Board had paid
25,504.56 euros more than
the maximum 68,734.64 euros it was required to pay for
her rent between January 1,
2006, and August 1, 2009.
Richardson said her goal
at the meeting with the Executive Council had been to
clarify a number of matters
related to what she referred
to as “slanderous allegations
in the media regarding the
housing allowance, including
erroneous figures recently
provided by S4 treasurer to
the media which far exceeded the figures he gave to the
Government of St. Maarten
on July 7.”
Richardson said she also
had elaborated on the fact
that an administrative error
had been made of which she
had been totally unaware,
but said that once this error
had been brought to her at-
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
tention, she immediately had
informed the Government of
St. Maarten verbally and by
e-mail.
She said she had presented
several supporting documents to members of the Executive Council.
“In the meeting it was also
agreed that a number of matters related to the expatriation decree (detacheringsbesluit) and to the extension
of her contract will be reviewed and clarified as soon
as possible in order to finalise
the discussions regarding the
balancing-off of the monies
received in excess and the
monies she is yet to receive,”
the release stated.
Richardson said she also
had asked the Executive
Council for a statement indicating that there had been an
administrative error, that she
had pointed out this error
to St. Maarten verbally and
in an e-mail message dated
December 5, 2007, when she
became aware of it, and that
she had proposed to have the
funds received in excess balanced off with those yet to be
received.
The statement, she said,
should also include the fact
that Richardson had been in
discussion with the Finance
Department on the subject
since her arrival on-island in
mid-July.
PHILIPSBURG--Appeals
filed by owners against their
property being registered
on the Monument List are
in limbo because the Monument Council does not have
the requested number of
members, opposition Democratic Party (DP) contended
Tuesday.
Party members have asked
for the appointment of Monument Council members
to be added to the agenda
of the Central Committee
meeting requested earlier in
the day on Codes of Conduct
for civil servants and political
functionaries and the electoral law among others.
Appointment of members
was raised in committee
meetings several months ago
with the Committee of the
Island Council, with the intention that it would be forwarded to the Island Council
for ratification, according to
DP’s letter to Central Committee Chairman Island
Councilman George Pantophlet.
National Alliance (NA)
Island Council members,
then in the opposition, had
requested a review of the
potential members in order
to make recommendations
of their own. This topic still
needs to be completed.
Aside from the pending
appeals, getting the Monument Council functioning is
also important because of
the revolving fund for monument preservation that has
been established between
St. Maarten and the Dutch
Ministry for Education and
Culture. These two points
make it “more urgent” to
have a functioning Monument Council to advise the
Executive Council and the
Island Council on monument
preservation.
FOR SALE
Simpson Bay Yacht Club
2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, and an Office
fully furnished
completely renovated,
brand new US$780,000
Please call 522 6824
Residents who do not live along the main road of St. Peters
are wondering if government has any plans to address the
state of the “side roads” in the district. The Island Government recently beautified the district’s main road, but left
the side roads untouched. In some cases, residents have
been forced to fill pot holes themselves to make the road
somewhat passable. In other areas, septic and rain water
lays stagnant in holes in the road (pictured above, in front
of Prins Willem Alexander School), harbouring mosquitoes. They told The Daily Herald that some attention from
government to their plight would be appreciated. (John
Halley Photo)
MARIGOT--Gendarmes
moved in swiftly to break up
a fight that erupted outside
Collège Mont des Accords
between two groups of
students on Monday, soon
after classes had ended for
the midday break.
A 17-year-old student
found to be in possession
of a machete was taken into
custody and will be summoned to the juvenile court
in due course.
The Gendarmerie has reinforced its security measures around the Collège
perimeter to quickly diffuse
any trouble that might occur.
PHILIPSBURG--Opposition
Democratic Party (DP) has
requested a Central Committee meeting to deal with Codes
of Conduct for civil servants
and political functionaries, the
Office of Ombudsman, new
Electoral Law and the registration and financing of political
parties.
The request is based on DP
leader Island Councilwoman
Sarah Wescot-Williams’ repeated declarations, since June
8, that if these matters were not
brought to the Island Council
for discussion and approval by
the National Alliance (NA)/
Heyliger Government, she
and her party would pave the
way by requesting meetings on
these topics.
In the request letter to Committee Chairman George Pantophlet, DP Island Council
members
Wescot-Williams,
Roy Marlin and Maria Buncamper-Molanus stated that,
prior to the change of government on June 8 an advice had
been prepared for the Executive Council to approve the
Codes of Conduct for civil
servants and political functionaries.
The draft code for political
functionaries is “in essence a
carbon copy” of the draft code
of conduct proposed by Lt.
Governor Franklyn Richards
in 2002, reads the letter.
The Island Council in its entirety has supported and ratified agreements that form part
of the constitutional agreements arrived at with the Kingdom partners, party members
said. “Good governance in all
its facets has been an integral
part of these agreements …
codes of conduct form part
of the integrity trajectory on
which the island government
has embarked since 2006.”
In light of this and the island
government’s commitment to
attend “rapidly” to matters of
good corporate governance,
the party members have requested the meeting.
The Central Committee is
scheduled to meet every third
week of the month. No meetings have been held since May.
Pantophlet was elected Committee Chairman in August.
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Father Terrence Rawlins poses for a photo with members of the Anglican vestry standing behind him, following his welcoming service held at the Philipsburg Simon and Jude Anglican
Church last Sunday.
PHILIPSBURG--Father
Terrence Rawlins, who recently bid farewell to the
Anglican congregation in
Saba, became the ninth
parish priest of the Anglican churches on both sides
of the island on September
1.
Welcoming Father Rawlins to the island, the congregations of the Dutch
side Saint Simon and Jude
Anglican Church and the
French Side Saint Philip
and James Anglican Church
held a joint service in Philipsburg last Sunday.
Father Rawlins hails originally from St. Kitts. He
graduated from the University of the West Indies
in 2001 after completing his
undergraduate studies with
a Bachelor of Arts Degree,
Upper Second Class Honours in Theology.
He was ordained deacon
on August 24, 2001 and
served in his home parish of
St. George for one year under Archdeacon Rudolph
Smithen and was also appointed Youth Chaplain of
the island.
Father Rawlins was ordained priest on September
29, 2002 and the very next
day he was sent to St. John’s
Cathedral in Antigua, the
largest parish in the diocese, where he served for
three years. After completing his curacy in Antigua,
Father Rawlins was appointed Priest in charge of
Saba and St. Eustatius on
October 1, 2005.
Father Rawlins has been
a member of the Diocesan
Youth Commission since
2001 and enjoys working
with young people. He continues to advocate for a diocesan centre for the youth
and functions as a retreat
coordinator.
Outside of the church he
is a certified track and field
official, enjoys hiking and
is on the board of the St.
Kitts Boy Scouts Association. Father Rawlins is not
a stranger to the Anglican
congregation, having assisted Father Canon Jacobs
on numerous occasions.
PHILIPSBURG--The Island Council meeting on
the financial and economic
situation of St. Maarten
requested by opposition
Democratic Party (DP) has
been convened for Monday,
September 14 at 10:00am.
The meeting, called by
council chairman Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards,
was requested by DP Island
Council members Sarah
Wescot-Williams, Roy Marlin and Maria BuncamperMolanus on Monday.
The party members had
stated their concerns about
the need for a stimulus
package to aid businesses
and the community in general as the global economic
crunch continues.
Also worrying for the party
are statements by Finance
Commissioner
Xavier
Blackman about the 2010
Island Budget not being
balanced and that it would
have a deficit.
The Executive Council had
two options in relation to
the 2010 budget, the commissioner had explained:
Implement severe cuts and
present a balanced budget,
which under the current realistic circumstances would
result in “serious problems”
by January or February
2010; or present the figures
as is and continue to look
for ways to bring down the
NAf. 50-million deficit.
Commenting on this, former Finance Commissioner
Marlin said in a party press
conference last week that as
far as he knows, and based
on the laws on financial su-
pervision and management,
a balanced budget must be
submitted.
Complying with these financial laws is important
because they are somewhat
tied to the island’s quest to
attain the status of country within the Dutch Kingdom. The island has several
agreements with the Dutch
government pertaining to
its expenditures and financial management and these
have to be lived up to fully,
he pointed out.
Marlin had said, “Can we
as an Island Territory submit a budget with a deficit?
From my experience the
answer is no. I don’t know
how the commissioner is
going to be able to realize
this.”
Islands
5
6
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
the event commenting that
it was “great…this morning
my children woke up reliving that moment, they were
speaking about every story.”
The ambiance under the
Silk Cotton Tree decorated
with torches and colourful
lights from the Sound Masters gave a mystical feel to
the tree, taking the audience
to story land.
At the end of the evening,
Bute and Jno-Finn were
convinced that storytelling
under the Silk Cotton Tree
should and would continue
during the August holidays.
The organizers extended
gratitude to all who attended the event and made
mention of sponsors whose
contributions were greatly
appreciated.
Marian Jno-Finn, one of the organizers of “Tales from the
Silk Cotton Tree” making a presentation under the historic
tree. (Claudette Alexander photo)
PHILIPSBURG--Themed
“Tales from the Silk Cotton
Tree,” a night of storytelling
and reminiscing, organized
by Ruby Bute and Marian Jno-Finn was deemed a
“wonderful” event.
Parents braved the uncertain weather and brought
their children for an
evening of “captive imagination.” Old time stories
were brought to life. Laurel
“Yaya” Richards told true
Jumbie stories from the Friar’s Bay, St.Louis and Rambaud areas.
Prosecutor Rienk Mud took
those in attendance across
the pond to Holland into a
mystical old church, while
Loekie Morales told about a
little girl’s encounter with an
“obeah woman.”
Lydia Smith took them to
Jamaica where “Brother
Puss” and “Brother Dog”
became enemies forever.
Relique Beauperthuy of
French Quarter gave true
stories about his father and
his worker “Joe” whom he
sent on errands to St. Kitts
and Anguilla.
Blanca de Vries spoke
about the Virgin Mary in
Mexico, while Dania Amacin of Guadeloupe gave an
account of three children
who disobeyed their mother’s instructions.
As a tribute to Hurricane
Luis, which struck the island
on September 5, 1995, “Lady
Ruby” gave her experience of
that time. She reminded everyone how the Great Mr. Luis
hated toilets and despite the
difficulty there was quite some
humour.
“Papa Umpo” captivated
the minds of everyone with
his wonderful story about a
farmer who accepted help
from the Devil. “An La Ri
La” topped it off with great
drumming- a reminder that
the drums were and are still
an important part of storytelling. When the drumming began, Jno-Finn could
not contain herself and to
the sound of the drum performed an impromptu dance
to the delight of all.
Marvin Bell a father who
brought his wife and children
said that he was pleased with
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PHILIPSBURG--The draft
law on Decentralization is
“almost ready” and should
be passed by parliament by
year-end, in time for the
January deadline for transfer of Central Government
tasks to St. Maarten and
Curaçao,
Constitutional
Affairs Minister Roland
Duncan (NA) told The Daily Herald Tuesday.
The draft legislation has
been vetted by St. Maarten
and Curaçao. Recommendations and adjustments
made by the islands are being reviewed by the legal
7
St. Joseph Primary School Principal Carmen Bowers-Lake recently celebrated her 50th
birthday. To mark this milestone in her life, she was treated to cake and well wishes from her
pupils, staff and Parent-Teacher Association board. Bowers-Lake has been principal of the
school on Front Street for the past 21 years. She was described by those who know her as a
“sincere, honest, loving, kind and patient, a woman of virtue, and of true Christian faith.”
affairs department of the
Central Government.
When the department
completes its works, the
draft law will be sent to the
Netherlands Antilles Council of Advice for perusal.
Once the draft is given the
council’s stamp of approval,
it will be forwarded to parliament for ratification.
The law will make it possible for all Central Government tasks to be formally
transferred to the two islands as they prepare their
organization and infrastructure to become countries
within the Dutch Kingdom.
Duncan said a lot can be
done between now and
January to get many of the
draft legislations related
to the establishment of the
new countries completed.
This way, he added, the
Antillean
Parliamentary
Elections set for January 22
should not hamper the process too much.
The minister is also con-
tinuing his work on the setting up of “dependencies”
of Central Government departments on St. Maarten
to get the infrastructure
moving. He will establish a
dependence of the National
Archives here by empowering the island government
archivists to also take care
of the Central Government
documents.
Islands
8
MARIGOT--The Collectivité, in conjunction with Service Urbanisme, has been
engaged in the laborious
task of giving residents living within the so-called “50
pas géométriques” boundary, or on domain land, legitimate title to their land
and property.
The ancient French law of
“50 pas géométriques,” the
last re-working of which occurred in 1996, stipulates a
no-building zone of 81.20
metres in coastal areas of
overseas departments, a distance from the water’s edge
to a point inland. However,
for practical purposes, the
law in many cases has not
been adhered to or applied,
hence the situation of many
illegal dwellings on domain
land.
First attempts to regulate
the situation in St. Martin occurred between 1950
and 1957. Thereafter the
State sold parcels of land
to those who were occupying the land, until a revised
law came into effect in 1996.
This version, however, did
not regulate the situation
entirely in St. Martin, which
has lagged behind Guadeloupe where domain land
issues have reportedly all
been resolved.
Since the change of status
to a Collectivité, the State
has transferred jurisdiction
over domain land to the
Collectivité, and Senator
Louis-Constant Fleming is
in charge of this particular
dossier.
Many residents now have
the possibility to have their
situation “regulated,” and
the goal is to have all those
occupying domain land, i.e.
in building zones, to have
title to their property within
18 months. Réserve Naturelle also occupies parcels
of land in the “50 pas géométriques” but these are
classified as natural zones
and not subject to regulation.
Having title to land and
property will still come at a
price for proprietors, as will
paying taxes; these and other hurdles, such as identifying owners of empty proper-
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THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
ties and finding solutions for
those who can’t afford the
cost of title, will have to be
overcome.
Fleming has held meetings
already with the community
council in Sandy Ground
where some 1,000 residents
are affected, and just recently in Grand Case where
the situation is less complex,
to discuss the Collectivité’s
objectives on this issue.
“In Sandy Ground we are
faced with 40 years of illegal
construction, during which
time the law was never applied,” remarked Fleming.
“For these people we have
to find a valid and acceptable solution.”
In Grand Case, 130 parcels of transferred land have
identified owners, 14 are in
the process of being sold,
and 53 are in the process of
being regularised. A further
15 parcels of land still have
to have their owners identified. These parcels are located between the cemetery
of Grand Case and Grand
Case Beach Club.
Meetings with the community councils in other
districts
will
continue.
French Quarter’s meeting
is scheduled for September
16 at 4:00pm in the Cultural
Centre.
N.V. G.E.B.E. responsible for the production and distribution of electricity in the Dutch
Windward Islands and the management of water operations in St. Maarten and St.
Eustatius, on behalf of the Island Governments, has a vacancy for a:
Maintenance Coordinator
The Maintenance Coordinator will report to the Chief of Operations and is responsible
for the:
Position overview
• systematic development, setup, synchronization and planning of the normal maintenance work.
• availability of materials within the Distribution Department for maintenance work.
• drawing up, in consultation with the Operations Department, a multi-year plan and
budget for constructions and preventive maintenance and to submit such plan and
budget to the Chief Operations for approval.
• handling rapidly and adequately any reported breakdowns/failures so as to organize and monitor the activities to attend to said breakdowns.
• updating and generating reports and work orders and maintaining the SAP maintenance module for the distribution system.
Specific job requirements:
• Performs work outside of regular office hours.
• Is at all times available for emergency occurrences.
• Flexible and team oriented.
Requirements:
• HTS (Higher Technical College) Electrical.
• Relevant supplementary training.
• 3 – 5 years of experience
• Commands, orally as well as written of English and Dutch language.
• has insight in the organization of GEBE.
• has a customer oriented attitude.
• has knowledge and experience relating to modern techniques for planning and
executing of construction and (preventive) technical maintenance.
Interested persons can forward their application letter and curriculum vitae before September 16th, 2009 to the Manager Human Resource Drs. R.J. Hodge humanresource@nvgebe.com or fax number
54-24810.
Avid readers of all ages combed through boxes of books put on sale by Philipsburg Jubilee
Library Saturday. The library offered 20 out of circulation and fairly new used books for
US $5. The regular book sale helps to clear the library’s shelves for new releases and the
funds are used to purchase new books that library card holders have enquired about or
bestsellers. (Alita Singh photo)
MONEY LAUNDERING PROBE
the US. The detained person is suspected of largescale drug trafficking of
cocaine out of Colombia.
More than eight billion dollars had gone through the
US accounts this person
was managing.
A separate but related investigation and subsequent
raid in April discovered almost 4.5 million dollars in a
safe house in Holland. Authorities suspect this money
was for a narcotic shipment
coming from West Africa
via Colombia, using Colombian cartel connections
for shipments of more than
2,000 pounds.
Ramonsito Booi is in the
United States with his son.
When reached via phone
by Amigoe newspaper, he
said he had heard of the
raid, but was not aware of
the reason. “I cannot reach
my wife,” Amigoe reported
Booi as saying. “Maybe
she’s been told not to answer the phone.”
No indication was given
whether he would return to
Bonaire.
Burney Elhage could not
be reached by phone.
Local media in Bonaire
also reported that a Cessna
airplane at Flamingo Airport had been confiscated.
The criminal investigation
is being conducted by the
Kingdom Detective Cooperation Team RST, a team
of cooperating Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles
and Aruba detectives, in cooperation with the Curaçao
Police Force KPC, Bonaire
Police Force KPB, Aruba
Continued from page 1.
Police Force KPA, Customs
Services of the Netherlands
Antilles and of Aruba,
Coast Guard of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba,
and a number of foreign investigation services.
The international coalition parties to this investigation are American Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), federal judicial
police of Belgium, German
Bundes Kriminal Ambt and
Austrian Bundes Kriminal
Polizei.
The alleged actions of a
number of the individuals
mentioned were described
vividly in the famous Black
Book Bonaire prepared by
Fundashon Bon Gobernashon Boneiru.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Firgos Paper donated 500 trash bags to the St. Maarten
Pride Foundation on Friday, for the upcoming International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). The International Coastal
Cleanup will be held at the Mullet Bay Beach on Saturday,
September 19, from 7:00 to 10:00am. Pride Foundation is
still in need of gloves and other materials to carry out the
ICC to the fullest and make it the best one-day volunteer
event of its kind for the environment.
HOSPITAL EXPANSION
ised,” Scot said. This process was completed a month
ago.
To be constructed are a new
Emergency Room (ER) with
an entrance at the roundabout near the hospital, a new
operating theatre with four
operating rooms, a medium
care unit with 22 beds and
a new Intensive Care Unit
(ICU) with six beds. This
will be the largest expansion
at SMMC since it opened in
1991.
The Island Government has
committed NAf. 5.7 million
to the project in the form of
subsidy to be dispersed in
annual increments of NAf.
PHILIPSBURG--Information on preventing the spread
of the A/H1N1 influenza
virus has been presented to
all primary and secondary
school principals, and to day
care centre managers.
The information package
includes brochures, posters
and a booklet from the Preventive Health Department
(PHD).
The department says students who have travelled
within a seven-day period
and who display flu-like
symptoms at school should
be sent home. Also included
in the package is a letter for
parents, providing information on what actions they
can take. Schools have been
asked to make copies of the
letters to give to parents via
the students.
Parents are also advised to
keep their kids at home if
they have flu-like symptoms
or have been in contact with
a person with a confirmed
case of A/H1N1.
Students and parents were
informed at the beginning of
the new school year to practise proper cough etiquette
and hygiene.
“Teachers, parents and
guardians are role models,
and should demonstrate
these behaviours which are
a tool to prevent the spread
of the Pandemic Influenza A
(A/H1N1) virus,” PHD said
in a release.
“Schools have a central mission of educating children
and adolescents. It is crucial
not to interrupt the learning
process without due cause.
Illness may be a cause, and
schools and communities
have a responsibility to balance the risk of illness among
students and staff with the
benefit of keeping students
in school.
Continued from page 1.
1,122,060. SMMC is expected to take out a loan to
finance the project.
The expansion of the hospital is expected to significantly enhance the delivery of
health care in St. Maarten.
Scot, who started at SMMC
in 2003, has been working
on the expansion of the hospital since 2004. He said the
construction was expected to
take about a year and installing the necessary equipment
an estimated three months.
Scot said the hospital was
a very healthy organisation
that owed just one debt – an
AOV tab that is currently
being settled.
9
“Children should know to
wash their hands frequently
with soap and water; cough
and sneeze into a tissue or
into the inside of your elbow/
sleeve; dispose of used tissue
paper in the trash properly;
stay at least six feet away
from people who are sick.”
The symptoms of the A/
H1N1 virus in children are
similar to those in adults.
They include high fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat
and body aches. At times
these can be accompanied
by diarrhoea, breathlessness
and dizziness.
Additional information can
be obtained from PHD at tel.
542-3003 or 542-3553 or at
www.cdc.gov/swineflu
or www.who.int
PHILIPSBURG--Reverend
Herman Sharplis, a priest from
the Commonwealth of Dominica, will preside over nine evenings of prayer in preparation
for the September 19 celebration of Our Lady of La Salette,
Reconciler of Sinners.
The evening celebrations,
scheduled for September 10
through 18, will be held at
the Philipsburg St. Martin of
Tours Catholic Church starting at 7:00. This year marks the
27th year that the nine days of
prayerful preparation for the
Marian Feast will be celebrated
in St. Maarten.
Each evening programme
will include music by a different group, select readings from
Sacred Scripture, sermon and
community prayer. The celebration is open to the public
of St. Maarten/St. Martin.
The celebration of the feast of
Our Lady of La Salette will be
held at the Philipsburg St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church
on Saturday, September 19
from 7:30pm.
It was on September 19, 1846
that the Blessed Virgin Mary
appeared to two children in a
small town in the French Alps
as they tended their flock of
sheep. Her message was simple: prayer, repentance and
conversion of heart.
In the courtyard of the church
of St. Martin of Tours there is
a memorial to the 1846 apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The artist designed the statues
according to the description
given by the two children of the
“Weeping Madonna,” who had
appeared to them high up in
the French Alps.
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10
PHILIPSBURG--The National Alliance (NA)/Heyliger government is still to
present its governing programme, 93 days after taking office on June 8. News
from the Heyliger and National Alliance camps has
indicated that a governing
programme is being “diligently worked on.”
The governing programme usually outlines
government’s plan, policies
and goals for its governing
period.
In response to enquiries, people working on
programme development
pointed out that “government is about continuity.”
Further, the new coalition
had jumped directly into
the work of governing the
island and taking care of
GOEDGEDRAG
confidence for the success
of the necessary reforms is
essential,” he said.
He told parliamentarians
they each had an important
role to play and fulfil “in
the last years of existence of
the Netherlands Antilles”
in terms of shaping the legislation to ensure a smooth
transfer from the Antillean
constellation to individual
island nations.
The governor also said no
new policies and/or laws
should be tabled unless
it was unavoidable, and
that government’s primary
role of care for its citizens
should always take priority.
Goedgedrag also had a
message to the people.
“The campaign preceding
the referendum and even
beyond has seen noticeable
tension in Curaçao. The
main thing is to realise that
many projects that had to
be completed, such as the
constitutional process and
infrastructural works.
The now three-month-old
NA/Heyliger government
had initially promised to
present a governing programme within 21 days
of taking office, when the
Emilio Wilson Estate Declaration was signed by NA
leader – now Commissioner – William Marlin
and independent Island
Councilman Commissioner
Theo Heyliger. Based on
the declaration, the coalition should have presented
a programme for approval
in the Island Council on
June 29.
Leader of Government
Commissioner
William
Marlin had stated, shortly
Continued from page 1.
political discussion in society is a healthy thing and
can lead to greater involvement of citizens in political
decisions,” he said.
“But that debate should
be respectful of everyone’s
opinion being conducted.
Divisions cannot last and
must end. Continuing strife
will weaken us. We can
achieve much, but discord
could be our greatest weakness. Let us ensure that we
are not our greatest enemy.”
The Governor also devoted parts of his speech
to youth crime and government initiatives to combat
it, health-related issues, the
aviation and Met services
and the importance of detailed discussions to facilitate the transfer of both to
the island entities.
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THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
after the 21-day deadline
had expired, that he and
Deputy Leader of Government Commissioner Theo
Heyliger had been busy
with matters of governing
as soon as they had taken
office. Marlin had almost
immediately headed to constitutional affairs meetings
in Curaçao while Heyliger
had had meetings pertaining to the cruise industry.
The two commissioners’
schedules have continued
mostly in the same vein
since then, their people
pointed out.
Opposition Democratic
Party (DP), ousted midterm by the new coalition
after almost nine years at
the helm, has been pressing for the presentation of
a governing programme.
DP Leader Island Councilwoman Sarah WescotWilliams and Island Councilman Roy Marlin had
both pointed out last week
that in the absence of a programme, the NA/Heyliger
government was essentially
continuing and completing
the work outlined in the
DP’s programme.
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sang the Venezuelan national anthem. The event was organised via the social networking
site Facebook. The concerted action was held on the same day in many countries. Organisers say the movement was against the “insolence, hypocrisy and abuse” of Hugo Chávez.
~ Work is going on, Jacoba responds to report ~
PHILIPSBURG--Antillean Justice Minister
Magali Jacoba denounced
on Tuesday a May report
THE HAGUE--Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius will most
probably be able to profit from the budget of the Dutch
Bureau for Tourism and Congresses NBTC.
Dutch State Secretary of Economic Affairs Frank Heemskerk stated this in a recent letter to the Second Chamber.
Heemskerk said he would look into the possibilities of the
three BES islands making use of the millions of euros that
he is making available for Holland Promotion abroad.
For the period 2008-2010, Heemskerk has reserved 50
million euros for NBTC. The bureau uses this money to
attract foreign tourists to the Netherlands. NBTC also
promotes vacations for Dutch citizens in their own country.
“Holland Promotion is the basis for the regional promotion by provinces and municipalities. I will take along
the changing status of Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius,”
stated Heemskerk in his letter to the Dutch Parliament.
on the Philipsburg police
cells, calling it outdated
and saying much has
changed since Dutch experts visited earlier this
year.
“That’s an old report,”
said Jacoba, assuring that
much had changed with
the police cells, which
have been attacked before.
Experts Juan de Lange
and Professor Paul Vegter said conditions in the
detention cells were “still
intolerable.” Their April
assessment was follow-up
to their inspection about
seven months before.
They condemned the
cells for being cramped
and unventilated, and
said police management
should ensure detainees
received medical care
and time out from the
cells. They also said un-
documented
residents
stayed in cells too long.
The minister countered
that renovations had
started to give detainees
more space and police
were discussing how to
arrange for doctors to
care for persons in custody. “I don’t think it’s fair
to say that there’s nothing going on,” Minister
Jacoba insisted. “They
can’t say there’s nothing
going on.”
Former justice minister David Dick received
three million guilders
from Dutch funding agency USONA in August to
complete construction of
cells behind the police
station. He signed the
agreement on his last day
in office. Work started
about one week later.
The experts’ report
said the Pointe Blanche
House of Detention was
in good shape despite being short on money.
Jacoba said her ministry was working on a
complete renovation of
the prison while management drafted a “new day
programme.”
“It’s going well,” she
said of the project.
She said Dutch experts
should be careful when
assessing detention centres in the Netherlands
Antilles as the scale was
very different. “It’s not
the same as the 16 million people in the Netherlands,” she said.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
PHILIPSBURG--The
Cabinet of Lt. Governor
Franklyn Richards gave
explanations on various
issues pertaining to the
Corporate Governance
Council as stipulated in
a law that was passed
in May. The Cabinet
said an explanation had
been needed after several misinterpretations
as to its composition and
function.
The function of the
Corporate Governance
Council is to advise the
island government about
issues concerning government-owned enterprises in general, and
corporate governance in
particular.
Based on the law, Council members are not appointed for life – one of
the major misconceptions. The Council will
be composed in such a
way that expertise, objectivity, independence
and integrity are guaranteed.
The Council is a permanent advisory body
and will consist of a
minimum of three and a
maximum of five members. Members will be
appointed for four years,
based on profiles determined by the Executive
Council.
The functioning of the
Council and its members will be evaluated by
external experts, three
years after it has been
established. The Council will come into effect when the first three
members are appointed.
The Cabinet noted, in
a statement issued Monday, that it is important
to emphasise that the
Corporate Governance
Code, the Island Ordinance Corporate Governance and the Corporate Governance Council were agreed on by a
unanimous Island Council decision on May 11.
“It is nowadays widely
supported that enterprises should conduct
business with integrity and transparency.
Checks and balances
within the corporation
and adequate supervi-
sion thereon are essential conditions for creating trust.
“When applying integrity and transparency
in government-owned
enterprises, it is of importance to observe a
healthy distance between the enterprises
themselves and government.”
Government intends
to “professionalise” its
enterprises, to make
them “more beneficial
for the community …
and in keeping with international standards of
business operation and
practice.”
To achieve these goals,
government has developed a Corporate Governance Code and an Island
Ordinance on Corporate
Governance. The Corporate Governance Council has been established
by government, with the
passing of the law, to
supervise the implementation of the code and
ordinance as they relate
to
government-owned
enterprises.
Three day track for Hurricane Fred.
M I A M I - - Fo r e c a s t e r s
say Hurricane Fred has
formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean with winds
at 75 mph (120 kph) and
is expected to strengthen.
The National Hurricane
Center said Tuesday night
that the Category 1 hurricane was about 445 miles
(715 km) west-southwest
of the southernmost Cape
Verde Islands and moving
west near 12 mph (19 kph).
It is the second named hurricane of the season.
Forecasters say after it
increases in intensity, it
should weaken beginning
Thursday.
11
12
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
13
AGENDA
ST. EUSTATIUS
Police Station 182333
Emergency 111
Hot Line 108
Fire Department 120
Hospital 182211/182371
Landsradio 182210
Post Office 182207
St. Eustatius Historical
Foundation Museum 182288
Winair Office 182362
Lions Club meets every 1st and
3rd Wednesday at the “Den”
next to the Airport
Drug Prevention Foundation
meets every Tuesday 5:30pm at
the Golden Era Hotel.
Coastguard NA&A 113
St. Eustatius National parks:
Gallows Bay: 318 2884
SABA
Police Station
The Bottom, tel. 4163237
Emergency 111/112
Hospital
The Bottom, tel. 4163288/4163289
Fire Department Airport
Flat Point tel. 4162210
SATEL
The Bottom, tel. 4163211
WINAIR, Airport
Flat Point, tel. 4162255/2713
Taxi Service Airport
Flat Point, tel. 160
Administration Building
The Bottom, tel.
4163311/4163312/4163313
Tourist Office
Windwardside, tel. 4162231
Harbour Office
Fort Bay, tel. 4163294
Saba Marine Park
Fort Bay, tel. 4163295
Nature & Hike Guide
James Johnson
The Bottom, tel. 4163307
Service Club
Saba Lions Club general
meeting every 1st and 3rd
Tuesday 8:00 p.m. at Eugenius
A. Johnson Center.
Coastguard NA&A 113
Red Cross
General meeting every last
Monday, 6 p.m, Eugenius A.
Johnson Center.
ANGUILLA
EMERGENCY
Police 911
Fire 911
Ambulance 911
Police Station 497 2333
Hospital 497 2551
Dental clinic 497 2343
Radio Anguilla 497 2218
Tourism Department 497 2759
Crimestoppers 0800 7777777
AIRLINES
American Eagle 497 3501
Winair 497 2748
Liat 497 5000
Tyden Air 497 2719
Air Anguilla 497 2643
Trans Anguilla 497 8690
COURIER SERVICE
DHL 497 3400
Federal Express 497 2719
UPS 497 2239
SERVICE CLUBS
Rotary Club of Anguilla
Roy’s Restaurant 6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Every Thursday.
Soroptimist International
Day Care Centre
4.30 p.m. 2nd Tuesday
in each month Tel: 497 3509
Lions Club
The Valley Primary School
1st and 3rd Tuesday at 8.00 p.m.
Tel: 497 6259
National Council of Women
Arts and Craft Centre
4.30 p.m. 1st Monday in month.
Interact Club of Anguilla
Meets every Friday at 3.15 p.m.
at theAlbena Lake Hodge
Comprehensive School
Alcoholic Anonymous meetings
every Sunday at 8:30 am and
Monday at 5:00 pm on Shoal
Bay picnic area.
Subscribe to
PHONE 5425253
Xerox technicians from St. Maarten Jonah Doram and Orlando Lamp in the upgraded
copy room.
~High school gets donation~
SABA--The Island Government of Saba received a
large printer upgrade from
Xerox that was purchased
under the Dutch Development Fund through USONA last week.
The shipment contained
approximately two large
multifunction copiers, one
large colour, five medium
office printers, and several
other small models. The
upgrade will replace all the
old mixed-technology units
that existed beforehand
and should save the Government on toner/printing
costs.
After delivery of the shipment, Xerox technicians
from St. Maarten Orlando
Lamp and Jonah Doram
paid a working visit to the
island to properly set up the
units. Offices were set up to
efficiently use one large or
medium-sized printer within
their vicinity, as opposed to
having several small, expensive inkjet colour printers.
The upgrade also brought
centralized fax capabilities
as well as network scanning.
ICT Manager James Wright
stated, “This was a muchneeded and anticipated upgrade for the Government.
“By having centralized
printing, scanning, and faxing we should see a reduction in the costs of paper,
maintenance, and toner.
Furthermore, the units
seem fast and user-friendly
which undoubtedly increases our efficiency.”
The Government previously leased a large copier
from Xerox; however, with
this upgrade they no longer
N.V. G.E.B.E. regrets to inform
the general public that the
ELECTRICITY SUPPLY to
ST. JOHN’S AREA
(Area of Reward and Pumpkin Road Upper Hill Side)
will be interrupted on
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 from
9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
This outage will allow us to carry out necessary
maintenance to our distribution system.
N.V. G.E.B.E apologizes for any inconvenience
this may cause.
Management
N.V. G.E.B.E
require the lease to continue. Obersi Xerox graciously
donated the large copier to
the Saba Comprehensive
School to be used by the
teachers and faculty there.
Considering the amount of
copies and work that schools
produce, this was indeed
another upgrade for the
school’s facilities as well.
PHILIPSBURG--Two of the Ambulance Department’s nurses are in Curaçao learning new ways to
care for trauma patients, the Government Information Service (GIS) said Tuesday.
Khalilah Blijden and Tynisha Arrendell will participate in the Intensive Step-Up Course 2009 until
Saturday, September 12. The course, which started
Monday, was organised by the Netherlands Antilles
Foundation for Clinical Higher Education NASKHO.
“The course focuses on a variety of topics in emergency medicine and participants will receive handson skill and simulation during the entire course,”
Ambulance Department head Cylred Richardson
told GIS. “The skills gained offer participants in the
course an opportunity to practice and to enhance
their knowledge in the different critical areas.”
The nurses will learn ways to handle trauma, insert
and maintain tubes and catheters, along with basic
surgery. The Ambulance Department expects them
to share what they’ve learned. “On their return, the
two nurses will be requested to make various presentations to the remaining operational staff members of
the department,” Richardson was quoted as saying.
14
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
THE HAGUE--The Second Chamber will shortly
be handling the proposed
Kingdom Law to regulate the maritime border
between St. Maarten and
Saba, and between Curaçao
and Bonaire.
Establishing the maritime
borders of the territorial
waters surrounding the future countries is necessary
as a result of the constitutional reform in the Dutch
Kingdom, explained Dutch
State Secretary of Kingdom
Relations Ank BijleveldSchouten and Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Verhagen in the Explanatory
Note that accompanied the
law proposal.
Parties reached an agreement on the contents of the
law proposal during the
Political Steering Group
meeting on November 26,
2008. The maritime borders
between St. Maarten and
St. Eustatius and between
Curaçao and Bonaire will
be arranged through a
Kingdom law, similarly to
when the maritime borders
between the Netherlands
Antilles and Aruba were
established when the latter
island attained country status in 1986.
The new maritime borders
signify a delineation of the
territorial sea, the connecting zone and the exclusive
economic zone. St. Eustatius is not part of the law.
According to the Explanatory Note, delineation of
the maritime border between St. Maarten and St.
Eustatius is not necessary
because the territorial sea,
the connecting zone and
exclusive economic zone of
both island territories don’t
border on each other. This
is because of the presence
of the French island St.
Barths.
Definite end points of
maritime areas of the country St. Maarten and the
‘public entity’ Saba have
not been set yet, since there
is no agreement yet with
France on the border where
the end points should meet.
Negotiations with France
are ongoing to solve this.
The maritime borders are
relevant to third states and
other countries. They have
to take into account the
borders and the regimes
concerning the maintaining, management, exploration or exploitation of
natural resources of the
sea bottom or the waters
above. Under international
law, the Dutch Kingdom
remains responsible for the
entire exclusive economic
zone where it comes to conformity of legislation.
The Kingdom law will
not involve Aruba, since it
doesn’t affect that island directly. But because of maritime traffic between Aruba
and Curaçao and Bonaire,
it is desirable that the Kingdom law is proclaimed in
Aruba as well.
WILLEMSTAD--The pilot whale at Jan Thiel Bay
is ready to go out into the
world and join a group of
his own sort. Daniel Webster, an expert from the
United States, was to arrive on the island yesterday
to tag the pilot whale with
an emitter, so that it can be
followed via the satellite.
It is now only a matter of
waiting for a group that will
pass by, says Iñez Hallewas,
secretary of the Southern
Caribbean Cetacean Network (SCCN). She therefore calls on everyone “on
land and especially on the
water” to contact her via
the mobile number 6660827 when pilot whales are
spotted.
There is now some urgency to the pilot whale for
joining a group. He is now
physically in good condition and has already en-
dangered himself several
times while rubbing. Wild
animals rub against each
other in order to get rid of
excess skin cells. The pilot
whale runs the risk of being
entangled in the nets at Jan
Thiel Bay.
It was a near miss again
past Tuesday. “It’s a question of choosing the lesser
of two evils; either he dies a
certain death, or we set him
free,” Hallewas said.
VACANCY
Position Description: MARKETING
& SALES MANAGER
East Caribbean Cellular and St. Maarten Cable TV, a subsidiary of Innovative Communications Corporation (ICC), is a leading Caribbean telecommunications and cable TV provider headquartered in St. Thomas. US Virgin Islands, with operations in the US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands
and St. Maarten. The Company is preparing to build and launch new
generation wireless systems in the US Virgin Islands and St. Maarten.
We at East Caribbean Cellular/St. Maarten Cable TV are looking for a
Marketing & Sales Manager to support the St. Maarten market. This
position will report to the General Manager.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Develop and manage all wireless marketing activities for St. Maarten
including: advertising and media plans, direct marketing, promotions,
sponsor ships and events, marketing collateral and branding.
• Effectively use both traditional and non-traditional media channels: print,
radio, TV, bill inserts, website, SMS, email and co-marketing partnerships.
• Design wireless pricing and bundling strategies, including all customer
plans and packages.
• Monitor competitive actions to understand current and planned competitive positioning: make recommendations as appropriate.
• Develop and manage wireless sales channels to achieve sales commitments. Channels will include ICC in-house sales reps, retail sales
partners, kiosks and self-serve terminals/ vending machines. Develop
effective channel incentives and support structure to optimize sales
results.
• Develop and implement customer acquisition, retention and upgrade
marketing programs.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS:
• Minimum 5 years of wireless marketing and sales experience
• Demonstrated success in matrix management organization
• Experience in designing marketing strategies across multiple channels
and media
• Self motivated, results driven and effective team player
• Bachelors degree in an approved field; MBA preferred
• Knowledge of effective marketing strategies and tactics in the Caribbean
a plus
• Strong project and vendor management skills, and ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
Please submit your application with resume no later than September 9th,
2009 via e-mail to: jobopportunities@ecc-smm.com or fax #(599)5425678 attn: Human Resources.
Customer
Care for the
Telephone
Who answers
the phone
in your
organization?
Do they project an image
that is professional
and courteous?
Are they equipped to deal
with conflict and angry
customers?
Will your callers want to return as customers ?
The first impressions are lasting impressions : make
them GOOD !
The TDC “ Customer Care Skills for the Telephone”
workshop is being repeated by popular demand on
September 11th From 8.30am – 5pm
Workshop fee: NAf. 350.00 includes a workbook
is the educational subsidiary of
Tel: 542-0794 | Fax: 542-3075 | email: tdcsxm@uts.an
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
WILLEMSTAD--Representatives of the “No”
camp gave UN observer
Pamela Reeves a guarantee just after the May
15, 2009, referendum
that they would accept
and honour the referendum outcome.
This is mentioned in the
report Reeves drew up
for the United Nations
Electoral Assistance Division.
In her report, Reeves
said she had spoken with
a few prominent “outspoken” members of the
“No” camp the day after
the referendum. During
this meeting, she was assured that they “would
honour the outcome of
the referendum, but also
what this would entail
for the intended political
future of Curaçao.”
Therefore, the UN observer was not concerned
with the possibility that
the difference between
the tallies for the Yes
and No options, which
was only a little more
than 3,000 votes, would
lead to problems.
In practice, this guarantee to Reeves was not
always that obvious. A
mediation attempt between the “Yes” and
“No” camps failed, as
the “No” camp demanded a gesture of “fundamental change” to which
the Yes camp could not
agree.
All parties indicated
during the public Island
Council meeting of June
1, at which the referendum outcome was to be
ratified, that they honoured the outcome – a
victory of 52 per cent for
“Yes” – but the entire
opposition still voted
against ratification of the
referendum outcome.
The arguments, which
were quoted at the time,
departed from the fact
that the council’s decision explicitly mentioned the 48 per cent
vote for “No,” while
the opposition parties
also indicated that they
did not agree with the
government’s political
course.
In the report, which was
forwarded to the Island
Council by the Board of
Governors on August 19,
Reeves paid attention to
the high political tensions that played a role
before the referendum
was held on the island.
In her interim report
on a previous visit from
March 29 to April 4,
Reeves had concluded
that there was a politically-loaded atmosphere
and that the referendum
process was dominated
by the sensitive political
feelings. In this report,
Reeves advised the government to bring about
a process of national
reconciliation.
Overall, however, the
UN observer was very
pleased with the referendum process in Curaçao.
Reeves reported that the
voting process had taken
place without system
problems and that it had
been well organised. Furthermore, she was also
positive about the workers at the various polling
stations and about the
on-site security.
She concluded her report with compliments
for the Central Polling
Station, the Registry Office, and the Referendum Committee.
THE
HAGUE--Member
of Dutch Parliament (MP)
Hero Brinkman of the Party
for Freedom PVV failed
to secure sufficient votes to
carry his motion to have the
National Ombudsman of the
Netherlands investigate the
integrity of government in
Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius (BES islands).
Brinkman had submitted
a motion during a Second
Chamber debate on the 2008
annual National Ombudsman
account last Thursday. He had
wanted the Dutch Ombudsman to look into the current
and desirable level of integrity
of the local administrations
before the three islands were
incorporated as “public entities” of the Netherlands. In
his motion, Brinkman had
used the term “annexed” to
describe the integration.
Brinkman’s argument to
present a motion had been
that, according to him, good
governments with integrity
had been scarce on a number of islands of the Nether-
lands Antilles. The MP had
also suggested introducing a
specific Ombudsman for the
BES islands when they became part of the Dutch Constellation in late 2010.
State Secretary of Kingdom
Relations Ank BijleveldSchouten deemed the motion unnecessary. “I assume
that Mr. Brinkman has read
the proposed legislation for
the BES islands and has noticed that I, too value integrity and combating corruption on all Antillean islands,
but as I always say, also in the
Netherlands and in China,”
she stated.
Bijleveld-Schouten advised
against the motion, also because the Dutch Ombudsman
doesn’t have authority on the
islands. She pointed out that efforts to realise good governance
and integrity were already part
of the process of constitutional
reform. Members of the Second Chamber cast their vote on
Brinkman’s motion on Tuesday.
The motion was rejected with
only PVV and the one-person
faction of Rita Verdonk voting
in favour.
www.islandrealestateteam.com
15
Cu16A
Mark Romney, country manager of LIME (standing centre) presented a BlackBerry Storm
cell phone to each of the four Miss Anguilla contestants Tuesday and said LIME continues to meet its corporate responsibility in partnering with the Carnival Committee to
support talent. The reigning Miss Anguilla Sangrena Harris (seated) thanked LIME on
behalf of the other contestants for the gifts. She also thanked the public for its support
at the recent show. She said she was very proud to be Miss Anguilla and will endeavour
to represent the island to the best of her ability. The other contestants were Devlicia McDonna (who was unable to attend the presentation), Samantha Connor-Moore (left) and
Kishma King (right).
WILLEMSTAD--The Dolphin Therapy and Research
Centre (CDTC) celebrated
its anniversary on Sunday
with an open day. Hundreds
of children with a physical disability have enjoyed
a two-week stay at CDTC
during the past years.
The four dolphins swimming in the large basin have
especially been trained for
this work. Generally, during the vacation, the children will receive two hours
of intensive therapy per day
and spend one hour in the
basin with a dolphin under
the guidance of a dolphin
trainer, therapist and trainee. “The initiative often
also lies with the dolphin
itself,” one of the trainers
explains to the audience.
Children with all kinds
of disorders could benefit
from dolphin therapy and
those with Down syndrome,
autism, all kinds of physical and mental aberrations
could benefit from having
contact with the dolphins.
CDTC is directed towards
families. Dolphin Suites
was therefore opened
earlier this year, being
the first hotel in the region that combines luxury
with facilities and service
for persons with specific
needs, such as being entirely accessible for wheelchair users, additional
care such as Brucker Bio
Feedback therapy, a day
care centre and 24-hour
care or nursing.
16
ANGUILLA--Opposition
member Hubert Hughes
has confirmed that he has
not paid property tax for
many years and that he
owes a lot of money for
property tax as reported by
Chief Minister Osbourne
Fleming.
He told a press conference
Tuesday he has not paid the
property tax for many years
because he does not see why
Anguillians should pay tax
when developers are getting
duty-free concessions.
Islands
“I will take them to court if
they take the money out of
my rent,” he stressed, adding that he will be glad to go
to court to explain why he is
not paying.
He reported that he had
written a letter to the Ministry of Finance some six
years ago concerning certain things that the government was doing wrong financially and had said that
if he did not get a proper
response he would not be
paying property tax.
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
“If the Government is not
collecting its revenue from
the major developers why
would you want the Anguillian to meet his obligations?” he asked.
“I was not paying from the
time I saw what was happening from the leakage
of Anguilla’s revenue. We
continue to give away large
sums of money to these foreign developers and others
and yet the little Anguillian has to pay property tax.
We should not be carrying
Recognizing success
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fund focusing on social issues. Every year,
the organization’s patron, Princess Maxima,
awards a total of three Oranje Apple Awards.
Each award comprises a cash sum of € 15,000
and a bronze statuette.
For more information on how to register, visit www.oranjefonds.nl/appeltjes10. Or call the
advisory committee of the Cooperating Funds on your island: Mr. M. Voges, (00 599) 542 3858.
Hubert Hughes talking to members of the press Tuesday.
the burden of the billionHughes said that he does
aires who come here,” he not know how much money
stressed.
he owes.
He said that in 2002 the
ANGUILLA
Anguilla
Government
REAL ESTATE signed a document with
Robert Sillerman which
A few minutes
was illegal because no Govaway...a world
ernment can give away tax
apart.
payers’ money without the
agreement of the parliaAffordable
ment.
coastal villas and
The document, he added,
land sales.
“has never seen the light of
day in the House of Assemprorealty @
bly.”
profgroup.com
And, commenting on the
264-498-0123
country’s financial situa-
tion, Hughes said that he
would be able to get money
without borrowing but was
not willing to divulge how.
He said the trouble with
a lot of Caribbean leaders is that they want to get
rich and the countries do
not save. He said that the
Anguilla Government has
failed and is bankrupt but
the leaders are still enjoying their privileges.
Hughes told members of
the media that he is highly
respected in the region as
a politician and the British
have always respected him.
Islands/Dutch Kingdom
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
ANGUILLA--After
many
hours of debate, the motion
to borrow EC$49 million was
passed in the House of Assembly late Monday. It was
the second of three motions
to be passed by the House,
the first having been approved
last week.
Opposition elected member
Hubert Hughes who spoke for
some five hours on the second
motion, voted against it.
Minister of Finance and
Tourism Victor Banks said the
motion was a necessary response to the country’s financial situation and was intended
to facilitate the re-financing
and reorganizing of financing
to make sure that the Government can pay off its overdraft
and consolidate some of its
other loans. He said he hopes
it will assist the Government
in meeting the immediate requirements for the Wallblake
Airport safety area extension
that will cost approximately
EC$15 million.
A third motion – one for a
loan of US$895,000 in longterm loan resources to finance capital programmes
- was passed unanimously.
These funds are designated
for three projects - the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Fund, the Anguilla
Hospitality Centre and the
Hurricane Omar Immediate
Response.
Speaking at his weekly press
conference Tuesday, Chief
Minister Osbourne Fleming
stressed the country’s serious financial situation, noting
that everyone is affected and
needs to understand the situation.
He said the Bill, passed in the
House, and the explanation of
funding for the loans will be
sent to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Thursday for approval. He referred
to the British refusal to allow
borrowing by the Cayman Islands government saying that
if they were hard on them
they could treat Anguilla the
same way. However, Minister
of Finance and Tourism Victor Banks was more optimistic, saying that he believes the
British Government will look
at the island’s strategy and see
that the challenges to meet
the government’s immediate
requirements can be met.
The scene of the Turkish Airlines crash at Amsterdam’s
Schiphol airport in February.
SCHIPHOL--Survivors of
a Turkish Airlines crash at
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport in February plan to sue
Boeing in the United States
for up to 20 million US dollars each, a Dutch law firm
said on Monday.
Nine people were killed
when flight TK 1951 from Istanbul crashed on approach
to Schiphol, in the morning
of February 25. Dutch investigators said a faulty lefthand altimeter had made the
autopilot slow the Boeing
737-800 down before it had
reached the landing strip.
Boeing responded by issuing a reminder to all 737 operators to “carefully monitor
primary flight instruments
during critical phases of
flight.”
Dutch law office AKD said,
on Monday, 10 survivors of
the crash had agreed to its
advice to ask Clifford Law
Offices to start proceedings
in the United States against
Boeing. The case could be
filed in a Chicago court in
two to six weeks.
According to AKD’s Frank
Vreede, an American aviation expert who investigated
the crash came to the conclusion “that the accident could
have been prevented, had
Boeing equipped the Turkish
Airlines 737-800 with automatic warning and corrective
systems, which are applied in
other planes.”
Vreede said other lawyers
in the United States were
also preparing cases against
Boeing, adding the aerospace company was currently
unwilling to consider offering a settlement.
Severely injured passengers
could claim up to 20 million
dollars in damages each,
Vreede said. Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx said, “Boeing does not comment on
open litigation.”
Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming and Minister of Finance
and Tourism, Victor Banks at Tuesday’s press conference.
The Chief Minister noted
that a number of Anguillians
have not paid their property
tax and the Government is
aiming to collect this money
amounting to some EC$2
million. He said that Hubert Hughes owes thousands
of dollars and a number of
other leading citizens also
owe property tax. He went
on to say that a large number
of persons owe the Government money for property tax
or other bills and he is asking them to kindly pay them
as soon as possible. Banks
said that there are plans to
improve tax collection and he
is of the opinion that the current tax regime can maintain
the Government.
Commenting on the House
of Assembly yesterday, Banks
said that Hughes’ arguments
were nothing to do with the
motion. Hughes had criticized
the Government for giving
duty free concessions to developers but Banks said that
Anguilla’s approach to foreign investment has been put
forward as the best approach
in the region and copied by
other countries. Replying to
the comment about Anguilla
getting into real estate instead of hotels Banks said that
lenders nowadays are looking
for a mixed product as it is
not viable to finance just for
a hotel Therefore, residences
are also built for sale to allow
the investor a return on their
investments in a short time.
Fleming pointed out that
independent countries such
as St Kitts, Trinidad and Bar-
17
bados are all borrowing but
they do not need any permission to do so. However, all the
Overseas Territories are having problems and need the
Foreign and Commonwealth
Office approval in order to
extend the borrowing. He
said that the Cayman Islands
is a very progressive country
and yet their reserves are also
depleted. He stressed that
the island will have to borrow
money as by next month the
Government will not be able
to pay civil servants or keep
services running.
Replying to suggestions of
calling an early election Fleming said, “I cannot resign now.
I care about my country,” and
went on to say that changing the Government will not
change the economic situation.
18
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Princess Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, her husband Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meet aboard the Intrepid.
NEW YORK--Dutch Prince
Willem-Alexander and his
wife Princess Máxima visited the US Military Academy at West Point on the
Hudson River Tuesday, as
part of celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of
the river’s discovery by their
compatriot.
The royal couple were welcomed in New York City by
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
before heading to West
Point. The Prince and Princess were greeted by a 21gun-salute and music from
a 75-member Marine band
as they took to a podium
aboard the USS Intrepid, at
Pier 86 on the Hudson.
To mark the historic occasion and the start of monthlong celebrations, a fleet
of 18 Dutch flat-bottomed
boats sailed into the New
York harbour, up what had
been called North River before it was renamed Hudson,
after Dutch Captain Henry
Hudson, who discovered
New York 400 years ago.
The small boats began
their historic journey from
the Dutch port of Harlingen
aboard a Dutch freighter in
August. The craft are the
same design as the Dutch
vessels that plied European
coastlines in the 17th century.
Hudson began his own trip
up the river that now bears
his name aboard the Halve
Maen, on September 11,
1609. The fleet will remain
in the New York harbour
through mid-October, to
take part in a series of activities in commemoration
of Hudson’s journey that
bound the Netherlands to
the New World.
The flat bottomed boats are
to sail up the Hudson River
and make stops at historic
ports, before reaching New
York State capital Albany
on September 20. They will
return to the Netherlands
after Albany.
The festivities throughout
this week will involve Mayor
Michael Bloomberg and
New York state officials.
The events will be broadcast
live to the Netherlands.
It is the intention, in light
of the 400th anniversary, to
attract visitors to landmarks
in the city of eight million
people, including a brewery in the city’s borough of
Brooklyn, formerly named
after Dutch town Breukelen, and Harlem, also named
after a Dutch town.
Islands/Dutch Kingdom
19
BONAIRE--Delegations
from Holland seem too busy
with their own agenda and
take absolutely no account
of local conditions and the
opinions of the population.
So says Commissioner Jopie
Abraham, political leader of
Aliansa Demokratiko Boneriano (ADB) in Bonaire.
He believes the Dutch
rapidly try to “push things
through,” despite objections
from Bonaire. He is unhappy
about the Dutch delegations
that “appear whenever convenient” to implement what
“they” want without taking
into account the agendas of
Bonaire, St. Eustatius and
Saba (BES islands).
Moreover, according to
Abraham, the Dutch frequently make arrogant judgments. “And sometimes it’s
even comments of contempt,
and making disparaging
remarks about the people.
They talk about the ‘islanders’ and consider them a
bunch of bums and illiterates,” he said.
“It cannot continue. To continue in this way, the Netherlands will be on a collision
course with Bonaire, and
eventually will completely
disrupt the Bonaire community,” Abraham added.
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no questions asked! Please contact William/
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20
Regional
PORT-OF-SPAIN,
Trinidad--Future public hearings
of the existing Commission
of Enquiry into the Urban
Development Corporation
of Trinidad and Tobago
(UDeCOTT) and the construction sector will not
occur even if a Validation
Act is passed by the Parliament.
“This is the end of the
Commission’s proceedings
one way or the other,” said
the Enquiry’s chairman Prof
John Uff QC, Monday.
He was speaking at a news
conference at the Winsure
Building in downtown Port
of Spain where the Enquiry’s three previous public
hearings took place and the
fourth was supposed to have
begun Monday.
Uff said a new Commission
can be issued to examine in
closer detail the issues that
the existing one was supposed
to deal with this week including a further examination
of the controversial Cleaver
Heights housing project and
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THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
the evidence submitted by
Carl Khan, in support of his
claim that Hart’s brotherin-law is a director of CH
Development and Construction Ltd, which received a
TT$368 million contract for
the Ministry of Legal Affairs
Tower project.
“That (a new Commission)
has not happened and as a
result we do not intend to
take any action with regard
to those issues - unless invited to accept a fresh Commission,” Uff said.
He said that even though
the Commission was not
published in the Trinidad and
Tobago Gazette as required
by Section 15 of the Commission of Enquiry Act, it is not
illegal even as he noted that
it seems to be the opinion of
most of the lawyers involved
in the Enquiry-that the powers under the Act are “not
available” to it until the issue
is resolved.
“The Enquiry which has
taken place remains perfectly
valid under the common law
as an ad-hoc enquiry into the
issues set out in the Commission issued by His Excellency,
the President. In addition, we
have received evidence in the
form of statutory declaration
which will remain valid independent of the Enquiries
Act,” Uff said.
He said that, as such, “there
is no reason why the (Commission’s) report should not
now be prepared as it would
have been had there been no
defect in our appointment
and that is what we intend to
do” as he declared the nongazetting of the Commission
is a “formality which can be
cured at any time”.
He said “if and when action is taken to regularise the
Enquiry, it is suggested that
publication in the Gazette at
that stage will not have retrospective effect and that a validating statute (Act) would be
necessary” even though he
received a contrary opinion
on the matter which is still
under review.
He said he was only made
aware of the non-gazetting
of the Commission which he
described as “the defect” at
the weekend but “it appears
that the defect came to the
notice of others one or two
days earlier. He added, “The
events which led to its discovery are unknown to me.”
“Likewise I can throw no
light at all on how the omission to Gazette the appointments came about,” Uff
said.
As for the timing of the disclosure of the non-gazetting
of the Commission, Uff said,
“I don’t have any observations about the timing of the
revelation.” (Trinidad Express)
Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning executives Dr Allison Cross (left) and Sandra
Prince addressing Observer reporters and editors at the newspaper’s weekly Monday Exchange yesterday. (Photos: Bryan Cummings)
KINGSTON, Jamaica--Approximately 70 per cent of the
country’s working population
does not have high school certification, a worrisome reality
that the Jamaican Foundation
for Lifelong Learning (JFLL)
says has implications for functional literacy and overall productivity.
But the JFLL, formerly the
JAMAL Foundation - the
Government agency established more than 30 years ago
to improve adult literacy - is
set on tackling this problem
head-on, and says it is willing
to work with firms to address
the issue.
“We need to have higher
levels of literacy, and firms
will have to look within to
see if persons have the skills
to function,” said Dr Allison
Cross, co-chair of the technical services sub-committee of
the JFLL’s board.
According to Dr Cross,
while the focus of the JFLL
- despite its name change and
wider programme offerings
- remained adult literacy for
empowerment, there was now
an emphasis on collaborating
with workplaces to help improve the functional skills of
their labour force.
“We are not moving away
from the core function of literacy. We’re in a very hightech environment... but we
find our workers are not as
GEORGETOWN, Guyana-A labourer has reportedly
confessed to being hired to
murder a US-based Guyanese, whose body was found
early yesterday morning near
his Windsor Forest, West
Coast Demerara home.
The victim, 44 year-old
United States-based, Motilall
Singh, called “Motie”, was
found dead on a roadway at
around 02:00 hrs with stab
wounds about his body.
Detectives believe that they
have unravelled a plot to
murder the US-based Guyanese by persons who coveted
his properties.
They have since detained
a West Coast Demerara labourer who has reportedly
confessed to killing Singh and
has also linked some of the
slain man’s relatives to the
plot.
Two of the relatives have
been detained and police are
said to be hunting for a third
relative, who allegedly sustained injuries while helping
to kill the victim.
The man on the run is said
to be the husband of one of
the persons in police custody.
He was still at large at press
time.
When Kaieteur News visited Singh’s home Monday,
a woman who identified her-
self as his step-daughter, Bibi
Fazeela Khan, said she last
saw her stepfather around
17:00 hours on Sunday when
he left the home in the company of his stepson.
“He and meh brother left
and dem say dem going to Ice
Castle bar in Meten-MeerZorg but only me brother
come home”, Khan said.
The woman said when she
inquired from the brother as
to why her step-father did not
come home she was told that
he left on his own business.
According to Khan, some
time around 02:00 hours yesterday she heard screams and
when she ventured outside
she was told that a man’s body
was lying on the road.
She said she ventured out to
have a look at the body, and
to her surprise it was her stepfather.
Pointing to a property dispute as the motive for the
killing, sources close to the
investigation stated Singh
was planning to sell one of his
properties, and this may have
prompted the plot.
In addition, Kaieteur News
was told that Motie only came
back to Guyana some three
weeks ago for the funeral of
one of his siblings and was
scheduled to return to the
United States on Friday.
functional as they could be,”
she noted.
Dr Cross was among a group
of JFLL officials who, along
with representatives from several of their partnering agencies, were guests at Monday’s
weekly Observer Monday
Exchange meeting of reporters and editors in advance of
Tuesday’s observance of International Literacy Day.
According to the JFLL’s marketing and public relations
manager, Gerrard McDaniel,
the majority of the workforce
referred to are employed in
the agriculture, tourism and
construction sectors.
“In terms of underemployment, studies have shown that
approximately 70 per cent of
the Jamaican working population do not have high school
certification,” said JFLL’s director of technical services
Sandra Prince.
While the JFLL is not at present able to adequately measure
productivity and is uncertain
as to when it will begin to do
so, it is being guided by a 1997
KPMG Peat Marwick study
which put the direct cost of illiteracy at J$3.9 billion or 2.4
per cent of GDP at the time.
However, according to senior
productivity specialist at the
National Productivity Centre, Tamar Nelson, “Jamaica’s
overall labour productivity has
been trending in the wrong direction”.
Said Nelson: “Jamaica is not
in a position to measure the
impact this has. We are not
measuring at this point the impact illiteracy has on productivity but satisfactory literacy
and numeracy skills will improve business productivity.”
She said firms would have to
internally assess how the functionality of their employees
can be maximised.
The JFLL, which has more
than 7,000 individuals enrolled
in 28 branches island wide, said
it is ramping up its interaction
with religious denominations
island wide in order to have
more churches involved in offering the programmes which
are heavily subsidised to persons. (Jamaica Observer)
Regional
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad--The lawless and the
reckless, the drinker and
the smoker, the homeowner and driver have
been targeted in this year’s
Budget to contribute to
Government’s TT$7.7 billion revenue deficit.
But Finance Minister
Karen
Nunez-Tesheira’s
second budget also shared
the
energy
dividends
across the income spectrum and makes significant
overtures, even in a time of
declining revenues, to the
low and middle-income
prospective homeowners,
to small local contractors,
to small business people
as well as to manufacturers
and property developers.
In her presentation of
the TT$44.3 billion budget
which lasted three hours
and ten minutes, NunezTesheira announced heavy
penalties for lawbreakers.
Those who overtake on the
left side of the road and
those who speed on the
road would face increased
fines from $200 to $1,000
and those who use the
Priority Bus Route with
impunity, without a pass,
as well as those who have
illegal tints would have to
pay $2,000, up from $200.
All these measures will be
implemented from January 1, 2010.
And in a measure which
is certain to raise land and
building taxes, Nunez-Tesheira announced that the
“antiquated,
inefficient
and inequitable” property
tax regime (in which the
last assessments of property dated back to 1945)
would be replaced by a
new “efficient, equitable
and user-friendly property tax system”, in which
the revised rates would be
based on the annual rental
value of a property.
In the case of residential,
commercial and agricultural properties, the tax will
be three per cent, five per
cent and one per cent respectively, while industrial
properties would attract a
six per cent tax of the annual taxable value (which
is based on six per cent of
the installed cost of plant,
machinery and associated
buildings). For greater
convenience these taxes
Confident: Minister of Finance Karen Nunez-Tesheira delivers the 2009/2010 budget in Parliament Monday. (Photo
by Jermaine Cruickshank)
however would be payable purchase of any unit. And
at banks, TTPost, T&TEC those prospective homeand WASA offices.
owners who have land and
Government however an annual household incontinued to extend its come between $24,000 and
generous benefits to HDC $50,000, would receive a
homeowners who would Government subsidy of up
no longer have to pay le- to $50,000 to enable them
gal fees attached to the to construct their first
GEORGETOWN, Guyana--The
government
has accused Chairman
of the Guyana Elections
Commission (GECOM)
Dr Steve Surujbally of
squandering money, opportunity and goodwill
in his “failure to deliver”
local government elections on time.
According to a statement
issued through the Government
Information
News Agency (GINA)
last night, in response to
comments attributed to
Surujbally, government
was concerned that “he
sought to defend himself
against the pointed criticisms by the Office of
the President about the
delay in holding local
government elections in
2009.”
Government alleged
that Surujbally sought to
distance himself and the
commission from the responsibility for the delay
by pointing his fingers at
the President. However,
the available records
would bear the President
out.
The statement said GECOM was presented with
a golden opportunity,
the violence free general
and regional elections in
2006, with which to put
the past history of elections in Guyana in the
rubbish heap.
“The ground was further
prepared by the decision
of the administration and
stakeholders to recreate
an absolutely new national register of registrants
by doing a national house
to house registration exercise,” the statement
said, adding that the proposed 2009 local government elections presented
the first opportunity for
Surujbally to show his
mettle with the new dispensation.
It said the chairman
committed to those high
expectations but the results have been disappointing.
The government said
that while neighbouring
states hold elections with
economy of time, effort
and cost, the GECOM
chairman said that the
delay in providing funding had prevented the
commission from meeting its targets.
GECOM, the government said, insisted on
planning activities consecutively instead of simultaneously and the
time lost was never regained.
It accused Surujbally of
imposing “his will with
regard to the rejection
of the use of valid documents for registration,
an unfortunate decision that discredited and
worse, delayed the registration exercise.” It also
claimed that he “publicly
preferred his choice of
a design of the voter ID
card.”
It was suggestions of
threats to the independence of the commission,
the statement said, that
prevailed on the authorities leading to the acceptance of repetitive
waivers of tender board
procedures to facilitate
sole sourcing of electoral goods and services.
It added that the admin-
~ Minister advocates big fines for drivers ~
istration was forced to
be critical in getting the
chairman to focus on the
timeframe and to lead
constructively.
Surujbally “led the forces that insisted on the
distribution of ID cards
before the claims and
objection period despite
the waste of time and
money that would occur
when sustained claims
and objections led to the
necessary reproduction
of cards,” the statement
said. It added that he
even rejected the electoral history of Guyana in
which general elections
were held at which cards
were distributed even on
the day of voting.
Despite this the government said the chairman
claimed that he was not to
blame and it was the administration.
Nevertheless, it stated,
he must accept that he
was provided with abundant resources and had
cultivated heightened expectations about the productivity of his chairmanship. (Stabroek News)
home where the construction cost does not exceed
$195,000. For those with
a household income of up
to $75,000, a subsidy of
up of $35,000 will be provided where the construction costs do not exceed
$195,000.
Small contractors will enjoy a stimulus package in
which Government would
subcontract infrastructure
works to them for building and refurbishing community centres, schools,
police stations, health centres etc, providing a 30 per
cent mobilisation fee (up
from 10 per cent) to assist
contractors in the initial
purchase of materials and
services.
Small business persons via
NEDCO (National Entrepreneurship Development
Company), will receive increased loan support. From
October 1, first time applicants will receive up to
$250,000 (from $100,000),
second time applicants and
third time applicants up
to $350,000 and $500,000
(from $250,000).
The Minister announced
tax concessions for “retooling” the manufacturing sector. She also said
Government proposed to
amend the Corporation Tax
to allow approved property
development companies to
claim as a deduction 15 per
cent of the capital expenditure incurred in the construction of commercial or
industrial buildings which
commenced on or after
October 1, 2009 but are
completed on or before
December 31, 2014.
The Finance Minister
continued the People’s National Movement tradition
on sin taxes, imposing a 15
per cent increase in excise
duty on locally manufactured and Common Mar-
21
ket origin beer, rum and
other alcoholic products
and a 30 per cent increase
in import duties on alcoholic products from extra regional sources. This
measure takes effect from
yesterday.
The Budget is crafted in
the context of projected
real GDP growth of two
per cent and a projected
average inflation rate of
seven per cent in 2009.
The Budget is predicated
on the “very conservative”
oil price of US$55 and gas
price of US$2.75 per million cubic feet. She said
based on these assumptions
total revenue was forecast
at $36.6 billion. She added
that on the expenditure
side, Government intended to appropriate $36.9 billion from the Consolidated
Fund while it estimates $9
billion in direct charges
on the Consolidated Fund
and expenditure under the
Unemployment Levy Fund
and Green Fund of $476
million. “After adjusting
for repayment of capital
and contributions to the
Sinking Fund the total
budgeted expenditure for
2010 is $44.3 billion. For
fiscal 2010 the projected
deficit is $7.7 billion or 5.3
per cent of GDP,” the Minister stated.
It was a more relaxed
Nunez-Tesheira who presented the budget this
time around. Apparently
underlying much of her
confidence and her budget statement was that the
world recession would not
last and also that the impact of the recession in this
country was rather muted
when compared to the region and the world. This
was an outcome she attributed the Government’s
prudent management and
she patted Government
heavily on the back for
this. (Trinidad Express)
PRESCRIPTIVE RIGHTS
By deed of prescriptive rights the heirs of Solomon
Sagers and Dolorosa Hassell intend to claim by deed of
prescriptive rights the ownership of two parcels of land
on Saba, in Lower Hell’s Gate, at The Alley, presently
described in C/A 23/2007 and 24/2007,separated
by a common road, both parcels together bounded
as follows: to the N by stairs leading to C/A 17/1997
(Wayne Johnson) and land in the name of James
Oliver Sagers, to the E by a common path, to the S
by C/A 1/1990 (Leo Hassell), to the W by C/A 21/1999
(Mervin Sagers), land in the name of Richard Dudley
Johnson and C/A 17/1997 (Wayne Johnson).
Whoever has any objections against the above
indicated intention or the obtaining of ownership,
is requested to file these objections in person or in
writing at/to the office of Paul J.E.M. Steeman, Civil
law notary of Saba & St. Eustatius, Professional Office
Park, Osprey Dr. # 1, Unit 2B, St. Maarten, before
October 8th, 2009.
22
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
ABOARD USS HIGGINS,
Mediterranean Sea--He is
trained to hunt submarines
or pirates, launch Tomahawk
cruise missiles at coastal
targets and shoot down attacking planes. He can also
enforce naval blockades and
rescue vessels in distress.
Yet, on his first Mediterranean tour, Cmdr Carl Meuser may have another mission
in mind, the kind the U.S.
Navy has long performed
off North Korea and Japan-strategic air defence.
Iran has girded its disputed
nuclear project with longrange missiles. Israel and
Washington’s Arab allies
are nervous. The Obama
administration wants talks
with Tehran, but is quietly
shoring up the diplomacy
with means for military containment.
So Meuser cites no specific
Middle Eastern adversaries when showing a Reuters
crew his destroyer, USS
Higgins, one of 18 American ships deployed globally
with Aegis interceptor systems capable of blowing up
ballistic missiles above the
atmosphere. “Regardless of
the threat, regardless of the
territory that we are trying
to defend, based on our national interest, we can cover
a large area,” he said.
According to a regional
map issued last month by the
U.S. Missile Defence Agency, a Mediterranean-based
Aegis could cover southern
Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, the
Palestinian territories and
WASHINGTON--Senate
negotiators made a last stab
at a bipartisan healthcare
compromise as the U.S.
Congress returned to work
on Tuesday, with House of
Representatives Speaker
Nancy Pelosi calling a government-run insurance option “essential” to the bill.
But one day before President Barack Obama tries to
revive momentum for his
top domestic priority with a
prime-time healthcare address to Congress, a prominent leader of a group of
conservative House Democrats said he could no
longer support the government-run “public” option.
In the Senate, the so-called
“Gang of Six” negotiators
met behind closed doors
to consider a proposal for
sweeping insurance market
changes and a fee on insurers to help pay for coverage of the uninsured. With
the debate hitting a crucial
phase, Obama said in an interview with ABC’s “Good
Morning America” that
will air on Wednesday that
his speech would make his
healthcare proposals clear
and “make sure that Democrats and Republicans understand that I’m open to
new ideas.”
The long-awaited plan
from the Senate Finance
Committee
chairman,
Democrat Max Baucus,
would create nonprofit
cooperatives to compete
with insurance companies
instead of a governmentrun insurance plan sought
by liberal Democrats and
backed by Obama. Shares
of U.S. health insurers fell
on fears the final reform
deal may dramatically cut
profits.
The public option has
come under fire from critics concerned it would hurt
insurance companies and
give government too broad
a role in the sector, but
many liberal Democrats in
the House say it will foster
increased competition and
they will not support a plan
without it.
While Obama backs a government-run option, he has
signaled it is not essential
to help meet his goal of expanding coverage to most
of the 46 million uninsured
Americans. Mike Ross, the
leader of the conservative
“Blue Dog” Democrats in
the House, said in a statement a government-run option “is the wrong direction
for health reform in this
country and I will oppose it
in the U.S. Congress.”
Pelosi reiterated the importance of a government-run
plan after she met Obama
at the White House. Three
House committees have
passed bills that include the
option.
“I believe a public option will be essential to our
passing a bill in the House
of Representatives,” said
Pelosi, who was joined in
the meeting with Obama by
Senate Democratic leader
Harry Reid. She said an
“overwhelming” majority
of House members favor a
public option.
US/World
23
north Egypt in the event of
a missile war. Another ship,
deployed in the Gulf, would
similarly protect local Arab
states.
“Being ship-based, it also
gives us more flexibility and
gives our leadership more
flexibility in that we can go
places a lot more simply and
folks at the embassies don’t
have to spend as much time
getting clearance,” Meuser
said. “We just kind of show
up 12 miles (19 km) off the
coast and we’re in international waters.”
For Israel, where Higgins
docked this week, Aegis is
an especially close asset.
Israel already hosts a U.S.
strategic radar, X-band, and
its Arrow II missile interceptor, which is partly underwritten by Washington, is
inter-operable with Aegis.
Arrow designer Uzi Rubin
said Aegis could be brought
into line with Israel’s air
defences “at the flick of a
switch”.
“I think it is very important
that the United States make
Aegis ships available should
there be an attack by Iran,
with their firepower joining our firepower,” he said,
echoing fears that Iranian
nuclear warheads could
one day be used against the
Jewish state, although Tehran denies having hostile
designs. But some Israelis
have voiced concern at the
degree to which their country may grow beholden to
American military largesse.
Assumed to have the re-
gion’s only atomic arsenal,
Israel has hinted it might
strike Iran preemptively.
Any such unilateral action
could be circumscribed by
the presence of U.S. forces
whose ties to Israel would
mark them out for Iranian
reprisals.
Israel is also reluctant to
rely too heavily on Aegis
ships, which are unlikely to
carry more than two dozen
of the costly SM-3 interceptor missiles and could thus,
in theory, be stumped by a
big salvo from Iran or its ally
Syria. Pointing to Higgins’s
90 pre-loaded launch tubes,
Meuser said: “Even if you
filled them up with the $10
million missiles--that’s a
lot of money--then you’re
still going to have a limited
amount, so you would need
to have more ships come
in.”
Robert Hewson, a combat
systems analyst with Jane’s
Information Group, said
such reinforcement would
be unfeasible for any pro-
tracted face-off between
Israel and its arch-foes.
“I don’t think the United
States can afford to provide
the number of ships and assets required to provide 365day coverage for Israel,” he
said.
Thrift is one selling point
behind the Israeli-U.S. plan
to develop an upgraded Arrow III by the middle of next
decade, with a projected
price of $2.4 million for its
interceptor missiles. Yet the
Pentagon has also shown
interest in a land-based version of SM-3, which could
be offered to Israel either as
a stop-gap or an alternative
to Arrow, with the added
domestic boon of diverting
funds to its American manufacturer, Raytheon.
Despite the protectionist instincts on both sides,
Rubin said professional
considerations would keep
Arrow III on track. “The
question is what’s easier:
to take a foreign-designed
missile across the barriers
of sovereignty and proprietary rights and somehow
integrate it into our system,
or to do it in-house? To do
it in-house is cheaper and
faster,” he said.
Raytheon says the “ashore”
SM-3, due out in 2013, may
also be considered by the
Pentagon for Europe, where
it could play a role with or
without a missile defence
deployment that former
U.S. President George W.
Bush had proposed in Poland and the Czech Republic
and which has been fiercely
opposed by Russia.
“As Navy guys, we are going to have plenty of work
to keep us busy. So if the
Army comes up with a better answer for how to do
this (missile defence), then
that’s fine. I can tell you
that Aegis is not the answer
to everybody’s problems,”
Meuser said. “But right now
we do have a good capability. We are mobile, and we
are on-scene ... so at least
we can influence events.”
CAPE
CANAVERAL,
Florida--A NASA strategy
proposal shifts the U.S. human space program away
from returning to the moon
in favor of a stepping-stone
approach aimed at reaching
Mars, including using commercial space launch services, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The proposal, while not yet
official policy, is a response
by the U.S. space agency
to one of five options contained in review ordered by
President Barack Obama
of NASA’s post-shuttle program that plans to put astronauts on the moon again
by 2020. The review panel’s
executive summary was to
be delivered to the White
House and the NASA administrator on Tuesday, according to a notice on the
panel’s website.
NASA already has spent
$7.7 billion of a planned
$40 billion to develop a new
rocket and capsule for crew
transport to the station and
the moon, said Jeff Hanley, manager of the postshuttle program known
as Constellation. But with
the review panel tasked to
come up with space strategy options, NASA has
drafted a concept proposal
called “Generation Mars”
which envisions a 30-year
blueprint for developing
technologies, staging precursor missions to asteroids
and other destinations, and
building grassroots support
for eventual human expeditions to Mars.
It also suggests using
NASA funds to lure commercial companies into
the business of providing
launch services for travelers
to the International Space
Station.
“You can say that Mars
is a destination, but it’s really more like Mars is a goal
because we’re not setting a
date,” Leroy Chiao, a former astronaut and member
of the 10-person review
board, said in an interview.
“It’s saying these are the
things we need to do to
build up the infrastructure
to get to Mars, this is how
much money we have now,
and we’ll see in the next
several years what we think
we can get done. Then it’ll
be for the next budget cycles after that to figure out
when we might actually get
to Mars,” he added.
The “Generation Mars”
proposal dovetails with one
of the review panel’s options setting out a flexible
approach to exploration
that begins with a five-year
extension to the life of the
International Space Station
to 2020, and development
of a new heavy-lift launch
rocket.
Shuttle Discovery and
seven astronauts are scheduled to return the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida on
Thursday after a nine-day
stay at the space station to
deliver supplies and prepare the outpost for its final U.S. connecting node.
The space shuttles are due
to be retired late next year
or early 2011 after six more
missions to complete construction of the station, a
$100 billion project involving 16 nations.
The USS Higgins is docked in the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Tuesday.
24
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
25
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
VACANCY
Job Title
DBA / Analyst / Developer
Job Scope
Performs database administration, develop and maintain applications,
develop and analyze reports, monitor performance and troubleshoot
problems related to information systems, servers and databases involved
in the billing process.
Responsibilities
• To perform database administration, configuration management,
performance tuning, backup/recovery, installation and upgrading of
Oracle and SQL Server databases.
• To develop and maintain reports to accommodate company specific
information requirements.
• To develop and maintain applications to automate or improve
procedures related to the billing process.
• To evaluate current business processes and emerging technologies.
• To analyze call detail records (trends, changes, new types of traffic)
and configure systems accordingly.
• To define hardware and software requirements.
Required Skills
• Bachelors Degree/HBO in Computer Science
• Knowledge of Information Technology/Computer Science at HBOlevel
• Experience in technical troubleshooting
• Strong analytical and reporting skills
• Advanced knowledge of databases (Oracle & SQL Server) &
information systems (programming and administration)
• Experience with OSS/BSS systems (desired)
Written applications must be submitted in two-fold within ten (10)
working days to:
(1). Ms. Kathren van Putten, Manager Human Resources &
Development
(2). Mr. Sergio Hernandez, Manager Billing & System Support Telem
Group, P.O. Box 1110, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, N.A.
26
International
JOHANNESBURG--Dozens of South African policemen have committed
murders and rapes in the financial year which ended in
March 2009, Police Minister
Nathi Mthethwa has said.
In a written response to a
question posed by an opposition party in parliament,
Mthethwa said more than
600 police had been investigated by the service’s Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), which found
some had also abused drugs
and stolen. It is unclear how
many faced criminal prosecution and if they are still
in the police service, said the
minister.
“To obtain the information
would be time consuming.
The redeployment of police
employees to carry out this
task would be to the detriment of other essential duties or service delivery to the
community,” said Mthethwa.
A copy of his response was
obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.
The ICD found 38 policemen “guilty” of murder, 33
of attempted murder and 30
of rape. The highest number
of offenses was for theft, with
108.
“The total number of members charged (committed
crimes) in the financial year
2008/2009 were 669,” said
Mthethwa.
The findings could raise
questions over the credibility
of South Africa’s police force,
charged with tackling one of
the world’s highest rates of
violent crime and making
the streets safe before the
country hosts the 2010 soccer
World Cup. The government
hopes the tournament will
bring South Africa millions
of tourist dollars and international prestige.
There were 18,487 murders,
36,190 rapes, and 14,201 reported carjackings in 2007-8,
according to police. About
50 people are murdered each
day.
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
ideas. “On the evidence
of his programme, Barroso
has stumbled at the first
hurdle,” Rasmussen said.
“It is business as usual, with
no European vision on how
to tackle the massive challenges we’re facing.”
“We need real commitments and leadership now,
not the same old warm
words. Barroso has his
work cut out tomorrow,”
he warned.
Barroso, a former Portuguese prime minister, has
made ending the crisis his
short-term priority and also
wants to increase the 27-nation bloc’s influence on the
world stage. He has already
been endorsed by leaders
of member states but cannot take office without the
backing of the 736-member European Parliament,
which is not certain because
his centre-right allies do not
have a simple majority.
Although he has no formal rival, Le Monde newspaper said this week French
Prime Minister Francois
Fillon could offer his services if Barroso fails to win
the assembly’s backing.
BRUSSELS--The European
Union has scaled back plans
to give billions of euros to poor
countries to persuade them to
help battle climate change, a
draft document shows.
Funding from rich nations
to the developing world has
emerged as the main stumbling
block to progress in climate
negotiations ahead of international talks in Copenhagen in
December. Ethiopia warned
last week that Africa would
veto any deal at Copenhagen
that was not generous enough.
The 27-country EU is trying to
find unity on its contribution to
break the impasse. The bloc indicated last week that it might
pay 13-24 billion euros ($19-35
billion) annually to the developing world by 2020 to help
with a total bill of around 100
billion euros.
But that contribution was
lowered earlier this week to 215 billion euros, according to
a draft European Commission
report obtained by Reuters on
Tuesday. The numbers are due
to be finalised by Thursday
and could change again before
then.
“We welcome the fact they’ve
put concrete numbers on the
table but the figures are too
low,” said Greenpeace campaigner Joris den Blanken.
“There’s no time for such political games,” he added. “We
only have three weeks left of
active negotiations.”
Much of the reduction in
funding came after the EU
BELFAST--The last remaining pro-British paramilitary
groups in Northern Ireland
have vowed to scrap their
weapons by February, officials said on Tuesday, but a
large bomb aimed at police
showed a continued security threat in the province.
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and a breakaway faction have told the
Independent International
Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) that they
were committed to destroying their arsenal following
similar moves by the Ulster
Volunteer Force and the
Red Hand Commando in
June.
“Confirmation by the IICD
that all five brigades of the
UDA remain committed to
completing decommissioning within the timeframe
of the Commission is very
welcome,” said Northern
Ireland Secretary Shaun
Woodward. The UDA
had said in June it had de-
stroyed part of its weaponry
and signalled it would finish
the job.
Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace since a
1998 peace deal ended the
Irish Republican Army’s
military campaign against
British control of the province. But in a reminder that
hardline splinter groups
remained a threat, police
said army experts had made
safe a device with about 600
lbs (272 kg) of home-made
explosives which it said
targeted its officers and
could also have hit nearby
homes.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso poses before a meeting with European
People Party (EPP) members at the EU Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday.
BRUSSELS--European
Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso’s Socialist
foes dismissed his policy
programme on Tuesday and
said he had his work cut out
to win their backing for a
second five-year term.
Barroso is backed by centre-right parties but is seeking support from his opponents, including the Socialists, in the European parliament to secure re-election
as head of the European
Union’s executive in a vote
expected next week.
Any further delay in confirming Barroso, 53, risks
undermining him and the
Commission, a powerful
regulatory body, at a time
when strong leadership is
called for to steer Europe
out of its worst economic
crisis in decades.
Barroso will meet Socialist,
Green and Liberal deputies
on Wednesday to try to convince his critics to back him.
But European Socialist
Party President Poul Nyrup
Rasmussen said Barroso’s
programme, unveiled last
week, was based on old
changed its view of how emissions reductions from industry and power stations should
be funded in the developing
world. Around 80-90 percent
of those emissions cuts would
be made via improvements in
energy efficiency, which would
pay for themselves and should
therefore be financed by local
businesses, the Commission
report said. But den Blanken
disagreed, pointing to the EU’s
own slow progress in stimulating investment in energy efficiency at home. “The fact is
these measures cost money at
the start and don’t pay back instantly,” he added.
The EU has been keen to
prove to developing nations
that it is sincere in its pledges of
finance and recently suggested
“fast-start financing” from
2010 as early proof it is ready
to help.
Rich nations should mobilise
5-7 billion euros a year from
2010, and the EU could provide up to 2.1 billion euros of
that, the report said. It has also
sought to ease the pressure on
taxpayers in rich countries by
suggesting that shipping and
aviation could be tapped as a
major source of funds for tackling climate change.
Shipping and aviation could
be taxed via a levy on fuel or in
carbon markets, with revenues
from both sectors as high as 25
billion euros a year in 2020, if
their emissions were capped at
30 percent below 2005 levels, it
added.
The bomb was bigger than
the one which killed 29 people in Omagh in 1998 in the
deadliest single incident of
Northern Ireland’s “Troubles” and it had a wire leading to a firing point across
the border with the Republic of Ireland.
“This was a viable device,”
Chief Inspector Sam Cordner told Reuters. “It was
planted by reckless criminals intent on killing police officers. It put the lives
of local residents at peril
also.”
PRESTIGIOUS MOTORS
is looking for an:
AUTOBODY MECHANIC
Requirements:
• Preparing vehicles for paint job
• Resetting of parts
• Excellent finishing
• Fluent in the English language
• Dutch Nationality or valid
working permits
Submit Application to the Labour
Department, copy to Prestigious
Motors by fax: 54-45999.
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
BERLIN--The
German
parliament passed a law on
Tuesday clearing the names
of those branded traitors
by the Nazis in World War
Two--ending a long, tortured debate.
Nazi military courts condemned about 30,000 people to death for desertion
and treason and about twothirds of those condemned
were
executed,
Social
Democrat (SPD) deputy
Carl-Christian Dressel said
in the debate in parliament.
Historians say the Nazis
used the treason charge to
condemn soldiers and civilians to death for political
resistance and for helping
Jews.
More than six decades after the end of the war, the
law granting blanket rehabilitation passed unanimously. State prosectors
reviewed traitor cases individually until now.
Backed by the ruling parties as well as the opposition, it was the final piece
of legislation passed by parliament before the Sept. 27
federal election.
Justice Minister Brigitte
Zypries said the rehabilitation that her SDP party had
long championed restores
the honour of a long-forgotten group of Nazi victims, most of whom are
dead. “Even if not all those
condemned to death as war
traitors were resistance
fighters, they were nevertheless all victims of a criminal judicial system which
murdered to preserve the
Nazi regime,” said Zypries,
who had previously faced
opposition to the measure from the conservative
Christian Democrats.
The conservatives had opposed the measure because
they wanted to keep existing rules requiring individual evaluations in place.
The conservatives were
also concerned that the
actions of some deserters
might have harmed other
soldiers.
The delegation also included
representatives from Hezbollah and its Shi’ite ally Amal.
Political sources said Hariri
might react to the opposition’s
categorical refusal by stepping
down. Should he do so, Suleiman is expected to hold consultations with parliamentarians
this week to designate a new
prime minister.
With the U.S.- and Saudibacked Hariri holding the
majority in parliament after
winning in June 7 polls, he is
expected to be reappointed,
renewing his mandate for the
premiership. Hariri had been
unable to reach a deal with the
opposition on the government
since he was appointed prime
minister in June.
The prolonged impasse over
the government has held up
key decisions on economic and
financial reform. Some fear the
standoff could revive sectarian
tensions which have frequently
sparked street violence in the
past.
Hariri’s act itself does not
change the overall reality, said
Paul Salem, director of the
Carnegie Middle East Centre
in Beirut. “I tend to think it
helps move the ball forward.
It gives it some dynamism,” he
told Reuters.
“It will attract regional and
international attention, puts
Lebanon in the headlines
again, indicates there is a problem, which might trigger some
`help’ to push players here to
get this deal done,” he said, referring to the factions’ competing regional and international
allies. Several rounds of talks
held between Saudi Arabia
and Syria immediately after
the election were credited with
quickly reaching a broad cabinet seat-sharing formula and
forcing Hezbollah to drop its
demand for veto power in government. But the talks stopped
abruptly in July.
STOCKHOLM--Finding a
solution to the “frozen conflict” between Turkey and
Cyprus is crucial to unblocking Ankara’s stalled EU accession talks, the winner of
the Nobel Peace Prize said
on Tuesday.
Former Finnish president
Martti Ahtisaari, who won
the Nobel Peace Prize last
year for his role in settling
regional conflicts, said the
longstanding territorial row
was a major cause of delay in
Turkey’s drive to join the 27member bloc.
Cyprus has been divided
along Greek and Turkish Cypriot ethnic lines since 1974,
when Turkey invaded the
northern third of the island in
response to a Greek Cypriot
coup aiming to unite the island with mainland Greece.
The island’s two sides have
launched reunification talks,
although relations between
the island’s internationallyrecognised Greek Cypriot
government and Turkey have
long been strained.
“The urgency is in the Cyprus issue,” Ahtisaari told
Reuters during an interview.
“That is what is causing delays in the Turkey negotiation process.”
Ahtisaari, in Stockholm to
present a report on Turkey’s
drive to join the EU, called
on member states to “take
responsibility” in the Turkey-Cyprus dispute, saying
it threatened to undermine
Europe’s credibility.
Turkey’s EU ambitions
have spurred political and
financial reform in a country prone to instability, and
investors are sensitive to any
sign its chances of joining the
EU may be receding. In addition to the conflict with Cyprus, Turkey’s membership
drive--which began in the
1960s--has been held up by
concerns over human rights
and complaints about the
lack of progress on reforms.
BEIRUT--Lebanon’s opposition groups formally informed
the president on Tuesday of
their rejection of a proposed
government line-up by prime
minister-designate Saad alHariri, raising the possibility
that Hariri will step aside.
The billionaire magnate handed President Michel Suleiman
his proposal on Monday, a
move quickly rejected by the
“March 8” opposition alliance,
that includes Syria- and Iranbacked Hezbollah, because it
had not been agreed by them.
“We do not consider what
happened to be appropriate,
either with our democratic
values or in how to deal with
us. We were demanding from
(Hariri) to present a draft that
is acceptable to our demands
in order to negotiate over it,”
said Gebran Bassil, a Christian opposition politician, after
meeting Suleiman. “We have
informed (the president) of
our rejection but at the same
time, we have illustrated all the
readiness to continue dialogue
and negotiation.”
International
27
German left-wing party Die Linke’s co-leader Gregor Gysi speaks to supporters during a campaign event denouncing the war in Afghanistan, in Berlin, on Tuesday. Germany votes in a
general election September 27. The words in the background read, “Move out of Afghanistan!”
GOERLITZ, Germany--Forget labour unions, the car lobby, and never mind the farmers’ association.
When it comes to political
clout in Germany, it is the bloc
of senior citizens that elected
leaders worry about pleasing
most, a special interest group
with unrivalled influence that
no candidate in their right
mind would dare to antagonise. Not only are the retirees
the fastest-growing voter group
in a country with a rapidly ageing population, but German
seniors--who survived a world
war, a Cold War and a dictator or two--vote more reliably
in big numbers than any other
age group.
“Pensioners have become a
decisive force in elections,”
said Dietmar Herz, political
scientist at Erfurt University.
“In our ageing society their
influence keeps expanding.
They’re a bloc that always
votes. No party can afford to
annoy them.”
Juergen Falter, a Mainz University political scientist, added: “They get a disproportionate share of attention.”
Just in time for the Sept.
27 election, pensioners were
treated in July to an unexpectedly generous 2.4 percent rise
in retirement benefits even
though the inflation rate is
near zero. That present will
cost 3 billion euros per year.
A further pre-election gift
from Chancellor Angela
Merkel’s grand coalition undermined years of reform efforts in one fell swoop: new
legislation outlawing pension
cuts. Forever. Pensions will
keep rising each year even if
workers’ wages fall.
Both Merkel’s conservatives
and her rival Frank-Walter
Steinmeier’s Social Democrats have been tripping over
each other to try to keep the
senior voters in their column.
More than one third of Germany’s 62 million voters are
60 or older and that percentage is projected to hit 50 percent by 2025. The 20 million
60+ voters will again top the
voter turnout charts as they
did in 2005, when 85 percent
of them voted.
“If other groups don’t use
their right to vote you can’t
blame the seniors for that,”
said Goerlitz Mayor Joachim
Paulick in an interview with
Reuters in this haven for senior citizens on the GermanPolish border 300 km (180
miles) south of Berlin. “The
seniors have gone through so
much in their lives and anyone who’s endured a war and
a post-war division like they
have has an intense interest in
exercising their right to vote.”
Goerlitz, a lovingly restored
gem dating from the Middle
Ages, is the only German city
to survive World War Two unscathed.
Both Merkel and Steinmeier
have devoted much of their
campaign efforts to placating
and pleasing the elderly. The
conservatives often won the
lion’s share of senior votes but
the SPD siphoned off a decisive share in the 2002 election
when Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder campaigned against
the Iraq war--a key issue for
a generation that survived
World War Two.
“The CDU doesn’t have the
lock on the seniors they used
to,” said Herz. “The SPD
has worked hard to make inroads.”
28
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
SALE
NAIL SALON
EQUIPMENT
FURNITURE, CHAIRS,
TABLES, MACHINES,
COUNTERS,
NAIL SUPPLIES &
PEDICURE CHAIRS.
Sale will take place at Cole Bay
Shopping Center (Burger King
Mall) in Cole Bay,
formerly known as PRONAILS
Saturday, September 12th, 2009
from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
EVERYTHING MUST GO.
MAKE AN OFFER.
CASH AND CARRY.
Tel./Fax.: 542-2497
Receptionist and
Office Assistant
Porto Cupecoy is seeking applications for the following:
We have a position opening for a receptionist and office
assistant to join Porto Cupecoy, an extraordinary village
marina in Sint Maarten. You will be joining an elite team
of real estate professionals dedicated to achieving
success and positioning Porto Cupecoy as the place to
own and live. You will be working exclusively for Porto
Cupecoy and reporting to the Sales Director.
Qualifications and Requirements:
• 3 to 5 years work experience in similar role
• Dynamic and energetic team player
• Good interpersonal, verbal and written
communication skills
• Proficient in bookkeeping and document archives
• Proficient in database management, MS Windows
and applications (Word, Excel & PowerPoint)
• Must have Dutch papers or valid work permit
• Fluent in French and/or Dutch an asset
Duties & Responsibilities:
• Assist and support sales initiatives for Porto
Cupecoy
• Work with and assist sales team when necessary
• Answering of phones; staff front desk
• Meet and greet prospects in Sales Centre, as
necessary
• Tell the Porto Cupecoy Story
• Assist Project Marketing and Sales Operations
Coordinator as deemed necessary
• Ensure Sales Centre is professionally maintained
• Attend weekly sales meetings
• Attend 90 day performance reviews with the
Sales Director
• Upkeep of sales and marketing materials
Email Resumes with Cover Letter to:
erichardson@portocupecoy.com
JULIANA AIRPORT
HANDLERS
Providing Sales and Passengers Services for various airlines
has a vacancy for:
4 Trainees Sales and
Passenger Service Agent
Requirements:
•Completed secondary education
•Computer skills in Word and Excel
•Customer Service Oriented
•Good communication skills-oral as well as
written
•Must be able to begin duties at 5:30 AM
•Must be able to work irregular working hours
A valid Certificate of Good Conduct/Police Record must be in the possession of applicants.
Interested candidates can apply in person
at Juliana Airport Handlers ticketing booth
at PJIA, accompanied with a hand written
application.
Sales Position
Porto Cupecoy is seeking applications for the following:
We have a position opening for a dynamic sales person to join
Porto Cupecoy, an extraordinary village marina in Sint Maarten.
You will be joining an elite team of real estate professionals
dedicated to achieving success and positioning Porto Cupecoy
as the place to own and live. You will be working exclusively for
Porto Cupecoy and reporting to the Sales Director.
Qualifications & Requirements:
• 5 years experience in the marketing and sale of
residential resort real estate with a proven track record
in sales
• Demonstrate leadership skills and work in a strong team
environment
• Previous training or education in the marketing and sale
of resort real estate
• A database of customers, connectors and real estate
brokers with interest in residential resort property
• Laptop computer
• Completely proficient in databases, MS Word, Excel and
Power Point
• Familiar with CRM
• Good interpersonal, verbal and written communication
skills
• Experience with legal contracts and all relations with
HOA documents
• Must have Dutch papers or valid work permit
• Fluent in English - Dutch and French an asset
Duties & Responsibilities:
• Maintain clear and concise customer reports
• Ensure sales models and offices are professionally
maintained
• Routinely deliver the Porto Cupecoy Story
• Attend weekly sales meetings
• 90 day performance reviews with Sales Director
• Develop, build and maintain highly effective customer
relationships
• Implement sales strategies and tactics; successfully
achieve sales targets on a consistent basis
This position is 100% commission based and sales will be paid
and earned on “sold and closed” homes.
Email Resumes with Cover Letter to:
erichardson@portocupecoy.com.
29
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
THE GIRL POWER TEAM
ST. MAARTEN IS EXPANDING!!
FACILITATORS NEEDED
Thank You
The Commander of the Voluntary Corps of
St. Maarten would like to express his
gratitude to all the businesses, and others too
numerous to mention who have contributed, in one way
or the other towards making the V.K.S. fifth summer
camp a great success.
Without your contribution this could not have been
achieved. Thank you once again.
Thank you, Thank you.
Working under the umbrella of the St. Maarten Aids Foundation, The Girl Power team has a busy schedule planned
for the coming year, continuing to provide lively and informative workshops for high school girls on St. Maarten.
The team is made up of female volunteers from all sections of the community, including representatives and
professionals from many businesses and organizations,
government and women’s groups who have an interest in
the development of the youth of St. Maarten. Amongst the
skills we will be looking for in our new team members is
the ability to discuss with the students issues of sexual risk
behavior, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and
reproductive health, providing them with accurate and up
to date information.
If you would like to learn more about how you could volunteer to join this dedicated team of women to become a
Girl Power Facilitator please go to http://www.sxmaidsfoundation.org and follow the link at the bottom of the
page where you will find more information. Or email
jbgirlpower@gmail.com or telephone 557 8700 (9am to
5pm) and speak to a Girl Power team member.
30
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
DFS
VACANCY
DIABETES FOUNDATION
OF ST. MAARTEN
“Your Staffing Source”
wishes to thank the
ROTARY CLUB OF ST. MARTIN SUNRISE
not only for its generous financial support, but especially for the persistent dedication
to bring the “STEP-by-STEP” diabetic foot care program to St. Maarten.
It is, of course, the prerogative of the publisher to include or exclude from a provided press
release, whatever they consider important to the public. However, the Diabetes Foundation
of St. Maarten does not want to create the impression that they alone were responsible for
bringing such a multi-thousand dollar program to our island without the involvement of our
local Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise.
Also, there are not just 6 participants in this program, as was reported.
The press release read: 6 general physicians from St. Maarten and St. Eustatius.
Nurses from the St. Martin’s Home, the Medical Center, the White & Yellow Cross, Nurses
from Doctors’ clinics, 1 woundcare nurse from St. Eustatius, 2 physical therapists and 1
medical pedicurist, all of whom, incidentally, we wish to thank for their participation and
input!!
And last, but not least, the persons in the picture published along with the article in the
newspaper are not the participants in the program, but members of the International Faculty, the Local Faculty, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise and the Diabetes Foundation
of St. Maarten, in short The Organizers.
TESTING SCHEDULE FOR THE BALANCE OF SEPTEMBER 2009:
SUNDAY, September 13th at the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00
p.m. as part of the NATIONAL WELLNESS DAY-program, organized by the Federal Government. Besides the free glucose testing and blood pressure measuring, evaluation of the
feet will be available.
From 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon regular glucose testing/blood
pressure measuring:
SATURDAY, September 19th Cake House on the L.B. Scot Road
SATURDAY, September 26th the Community Center, in St. Peters
WITH SPECIAL APPRECIATION FOR THE SUPPORT OF
Geen leven zonder problemen, geen problemen zonder oplossingen
Mr. Sadjo
Clairvoyant Medium
He succeeds where the others failed. Well known for his efficiency
& fast work. He will help you to solve all your problems:
Returns loved ones, luck in business & game. He is a professional
in the occult science and can work on all emergencies.
For more information call 5863054 or (00590)690 77 1674
Can come at your doorstep, speaks Dutch, English and French.
EBS is a leading recruiting and employee placement
company, and is currently interviewing to fill the following
job vacancies:
•
ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT / BOOKKEEPER
Education and accounting experience a must
•
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Experience a must, Dutch and English written and spoken.
•
OFFICE AND DATA ENTRY CLERK
MBO required.
•
ADMINISTRATOR
Dutch written & spoken. Mavo, Havo education.
If you possess the necessary skills, education, experience
and motivation, please feel free to stop by our office for an
interview.
EBS (EXECUTIVE BUSINESS SERVICES N.V.)
38 Bush Road • Philipsburg, St. Maarten • Neth. Antilles
Phone: (599) 542-3635 • Fax: (599) 542-4730
• Cell: (599) 557-0394 • E-mail: executive@sintmaarten.net
EILANDGEBIED ST. MAARTEN
NEDERLANDSE ANTILLEN
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Department of Public Housing, Physical Planning and Environment
(VROM), hereby makes known that in accordance with the Hindrance
Ordinance, the following Hindrance Permits have been requested:
1. YAMANI Properties (HP.09.024), to operate a sewage treatment
of produced sewage/waste water located at Well Road #85,
Cole Bay;
2. Under The Sun Car Rental (HP.09.024), to operate a minor vehicle
and repair service located at Gladiola Road#1, Saunders;
3. Witenblauw N.V. (HP.09.031), to make use of an (emergency)
generator and storage of diesel for use in the generator located at
Welfare Road #60, Cole Bay;
4. Ashni’s Heavy Equipment N.V. (HP.09.034), to operate an
establishment cleaning and servicing tools and heavy equipment
located at Soualiga Drive #14D, Philipburg;
5. Thrifty Car Rental (HP.09.035), to operate a car rental enterprise
with activities including car wash minor repairs and servicing of
vehicles located at Airport Road#72, Simpson Bay;
6. Competitive Autobody Repairs (HP.09.036), to operate a garage
including activities vehicle and body repair located at Burlap Drive
#1, Cul-de-Sac, St. Maarten;
7. A.Q.G. (HP.09.037), to operate an establishment with activities
including the retail sales of gasoline and diesel fuel products
located at meetbrief 165/2006, Bethlehem Estate ;
MR. WALLO
GRAND CLAIRVOYANT AND MEDIUM
With my great ability, I am able to help you
where the others have failed. I can bring you
what you need in love, affection, immediate returns of the loved person, luck in game, sexual
power, exorcism & protection...
Call at 553-4259 or (00590) 690 77 00 19
Discreet & efficient. 100% Results Guaranteed
Professor Mamadou
CLAIRVOYANT - MEDIUM FROM BIRTH
* LUCK IN GAMES & EXAMS
* TOTAL FIDELITY AMONG COUPLES
* LOVE * SEXUAL POWER * PROTECTION
* RELEASE OR PUT ON SPELLS
The applications can be reviewed from August 28th, 2009 to
September 26th, 2009 at the department VROM, located at Tamarinde
Steeg #16 (Yellow building), Philipsburg. During this period anyone
who may be affected by these Subdivision Plans may submit written
objections to the Executive Council.
Sector ROB
Professor Tassy
Well Known Clairvoyant Medium
God gifted from grandfather to son
I will help you to solve all your problems even the
most desperate cases.
Love • return of loved person • health• lose weight
• sexual power • luck in game • business • exams • contests •
support for incurable diseases • realisation of your wishes •
protection against bad influences • exorcism • witchcraft etc...
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RESULTS IN 3 DAYS
CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT - 580-2749 & 690 40 9144
For info : 5808363 or (00590) 690 22 10 75
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
MOSCOW--High drug use
among Russia’s youth is a
threat to national security,
President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.
With Russia the world’s
top consumer of Afghan
heroin, the head of its drug
enforcement agency also
called on U.S.-led forces
in Afghanistan to do more
to stem the flow of drugs.
“The young age of drug
users is a threat to the
country’s national security,
a serious challenge to the
health of the nation and to
the already extremely complicated demographic situation,” Medvedev said.
Russia already faces a
shrinking population because of poor diet, smoking
and heavy drinking. Russian men have an average
life expectancy of 59 years,
far lower than in western
Europe.
A declining population,
coupled with serious health
problems, would undermine
Russia’s economy by reducing the size of its workforce. “Experts believe the
real number of (drug) users
ranges between 2 million
and 2.5 million,” Medvedev
told a meeting of top officials who make up Russia’s
Security Council.
“This is almost two percent
of Russian citizens, and the
most dangerous thing is
that two thirds of this number are youths aged less
than 30,” he said.
Official data show that
some 30,000 drug users,
aged 28 on average, die in
Russia each year. This compares to a total of around
15,000 dead in the far more
populous Soviet Union lost
during the whole of its Afghan war in 1979-89.
Alarmed by the drug trade
and concerned about a
spread of hardline Islamist
militancy into the former
Soviet Central Asian re-
Former guerrilla leader and Uruguay’s leading presidential candidate Jose Mujica gestures
during a Reuters interview in Montevideo on Tuesday.
MONTEVIDEO--A former guerrilla leader who
leads Uruguay’s presidential race is trying to shake
off his radical past and vows
to leave the country’s promarket economic polices
untouched if he wins.
Jose Mujica, a 74-year-old
blunt-talking senator who
was jailed during a 197385 military dictatorship, is
hoping to keep the country’s leftist ruling coalition
in power. Recent polls show
Mujica leading a field of
five candidates in an Oct. 25
election to choose the successor to popular President
Tabare Vazquez, Uruguay’s
first socialist leader.
If he does not get more
than half of the vote, he
would go to a runoff that
is seen as a close race with
conservative former President Luis Alberto Lacalle.
Vazquez won praise for his
moderate leadership after
taking office as left-leaning leaders came to power
in Latin America in recent
years. But Mujica’s guerrilla past has alienated some
middle-class voters and
business leaders worried he
could spark a sharper turn
to the left.
To allay these fears, Mujica is emphasizing continuity and reminding voters he
backs Vazquez’s economic
policies. “I don’t like experiments. I say if something is
working, don’t change it,”
Mujica told Reuters during an interview at his party
headquarters on Monday
evening.
His candidacy caps a political transformation. Mujica was among the leaders
of the Tupamaros, student
and labor militants who
waged an urban guerrilla
war during the 1960s and
70s battling security forces
and kidnapping government officials. Mujica was
imprisoned for his guerrilla activities during the
dictatorship for more than
14 years. He spent half the
time in segregation in a
deep well without even anything to read.
“I had to invent things in
my head so that I wouldn’t
go crazy. All that ended up
changing my character and
helping me to see things in
a different way. That’s why
I’m so much more serene,
much calmer and since I’m
nearing death I’m not in a
hurry and I’m not scared.
I don’t have enemies,” he
said.
Former Tupamaros, along
with socialists and other
leftist parties, make up the
ruling Broad Front coalition
that won the presidency in
2004 after a deep economic
crisis. Under Vazquez, the
coalition followed marketfriendly economic policies
that produced five years of
growth before the economy
cooled this year, slowed by
the global downturn.
International
31
publics, Russia has taken
some steps towards cooperating with the United
States in the U.S.-led war in
Afghanistan. It has allowed
the United States to move
supplies through Russian
territory and is looking at
ways of increasing international cooperation to stem
the heroin trade.
“One just cannot fight this
monster alone,” Viktor Ivanov, head of Russia’s drug
enforcement agency, told
reporters. “This is why we
believe that as long as we
support this (U.S.-led) operation conducted there,
we have the right to expect
that these forces will fight
to destroy these drugs.”
U.N. data show that Afghanistan’s opium harvest
totalled 6,900 tonnes, down
from 7,700 tonnes in 2008.
But this year’s crop still accounts for some 90 per cent
of the world’s supply.
The United Nations believes traders are hoarding
stockpiles, perhaps as much
as 10,000 tonnes, or double
the annual illicit demand
for the drug.
Medvedev said Russia
was still lacking a nationwide anti-drug strategy
and pressed for tougher
punishment against those
involved in drug-related
crimes. Testing students
in all Russian educational
institutions for drug addiction could be introduced,
Medvedev said. Ivanov said
Russia’s anti-drug strategy
would ready in the first half
of next year.
“Greater punishment will
also be applied for corruption crimes linked to the
illegal drug trade as well
as for crimes linked to
laundering cash from drug
sales,” Medvedev said.
MOSCOW--Moscow
on
Tuesday denied reports a
cargo ship that went missing
in the Atlantic for almost a
month had been carrying a
Russian air-defence system
to Iran that was detected by
Israel.
Russia’s foreign minister
said the circumstances of
the ship’s disappearance
would become clear in due
course.
The Maltese-registered
Arctic Sea was officially
carrying timber from Finland to Algeria when it was
boarded on July 24 by eight
men. They were charged
with kidnapping and piracy
after it was intercepted by
Russian warships off Cape
Verde.
Since then there has been
speculation the ship, crewed
by Russians, Estonians and
Latvians, was carrying a secret cargo. British and Russian press reports, citing
military sources in Israel
and Russia, said the Arctic
Sea had been loaded with
S-300 missiles at the naval
port of Kaliningrad without
the Kremlin’s knowledge.
Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, had been
monitoring the shipment
and tipped off Moscow.
Speaking to reporters,
Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov dismissed
the reports as “absolutely
not true”.
The truck-mounted S300PMU1, known in the
West as the SA-20, can
shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft. It can hit
targets up to 150 km (90
miles) away and travel at
more than two km per second, according to Russian
media.
The advanced anti-aircraft
system has been a sore point
in relations between Moscow and the Jewish state,
which has lobbied Russia to
pull away from selling them
to Iran, saying they could
protect Iranian nuclear facilities against air strikes.
An Israeli government official declined to comment
on Tuesday on the reports.
Russia has repeatedly denied claims arms were on
the 97-metre (318 ft), 4,000
dwt ship. Media reports
claimed the Kremlin had
ordered a rescue mission
aboard the ship to avoid an
international embarrassment surrounding a secret
cargo.
“All will become transparent, and I hope that everyone will be convinced that
the rumours you refer to
are absolutely groundless,”
Lavrov said.
Svitzer Group is looking for experienced crew for our tugboats in St. Eustatius. Svitzer is part of AP Moller/Maersk
– the world`s largest maritime operating company.
Scope of work is mainly barge handling, tanker berthing, towing
and SPM mooring with conventional twin-screw tugboats. Work
schedule is 2 months on and 1 month off. We offer competitive wages and training opportunities for crew willing to make a
long-term commitment to the Svitzer team.
Positions required:
• Master:
• Chief Officer:
• Ch. Engineer:
• Tankerman:
• Cook:
• A/B Seaman
License min. 500 GT and GMDSS
License min. 500 GT and GMDSS
License till 3000 kW
Tanker PIC endorsement
A/B Seaman
All vacancies need valid STCW 95 endorsements and a valid
medical certificate.
Also required a drug and alcohol test which is no older than 3
months.
Resumes can be sent to Svitzer Americas Crewing at our Miami
office. Application information should be sent via email only!
E-mail address:
daniel.estebanez@svitzer.com
viktoria.tiapkova@svitzer.com
Company:
Svitzer Caribbean Ltd.
Miami, Florida
+1-305-485-3649
Or via our agent:
St. Eustatius Port Services N.V.
E-mail: info@seps-svitzer.com, Tel: +599-318-2421
Cel: 5800604
32
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
TEHRAN--Iranian
authorities
closed
down
pro-reform cleric Mehdi
Karoubi’s office on Tuesday, Iranian news agency
ILNA reported, and a website said one of his top aides
was detained.
Judiciary officials entered
Karoubi’s office in northern Tehran and told him
and others inside to leave,
ILNA said, adding documents, discs and other material were seized.
“Karoubi’s office has been
sealed off upon the Tehran prosecutor’s order,”
it quoted Esmail GeramiMoghaddam, a spokesman
for Karoubi’s party, as saying. Karoubi came fourth in
June’s disputed presidential election. There was no
immediate comment from
Iranian officials.
Website mowjcamp.ir said
agents raided and searched
the home of Morteza Alviri
and took him away. It also
confirmed the closure of
Karoubi’s office.
On Monday security forces raided an office run by
allies of opposition leader
Mirhossein Mousavi, the
election runner-up, and
confiscated
documents,
his website said. Mousavi’s website said it was the
premises of a committee set
up by him to look into postelection events, including
the number of dead and
the treatment of people
detained during the huge
opposition demonstrations
that followed the vote.
Karoubi, whose newspaper was closed down three
weeks ago, angered hardliners last month by saying
some imprisoned protesters were raped and abused
in jail. The authorities have
rejected the allegation as
baseless but the judiciary
and parliament have agreed
to look into the issue.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered
the closure of Tehran’s Kahrizak detention centre in
July after reports of abuse
there and the semi-official
Mehr News Agency said
a trial of people involved
would start in coming days.
Karoubi said on his party’s
website this week he had
handed over films and other material about abuse of
three detainees to a special
investigative parliamentary
committee. Ahmadinejad
has suggested his opponents were behind any such
incidents, saying they had
“infiltrated” government
forces.
The hardline president
shored up his position last
week when parliament approved most of his new
government ministers, after
almost three months of political turmoil in the world’s
No.5 crude exporter.
KHARTOUM--A
Sudanese woman jailed for wearing trousers deemed indecent was freed on Tuesday
after the country’s journalists’ union said it had paid a
$200 fine on her behalf.
Lubna Hussein was convicted of indecency charges
on Monday in a case that
has attracted a worldwide
outcry. She was ordered to
pay a fine or face a month
in jail, but was spared a possible penalty of 40 lashes.
Hussein said after her verdict that she refused to pay
the fine, preferring to go
to jail instead as a means
of challenging the law’s legitimacy. “They just came
to me in the prison minutes
ago and told me I have to
go. I have no idea why. I
am not happy. I told all
my friends and family not
to pay the fine,” she told
Reuters. “But I have been
freed.”
“I am also not happy because there are more than
700 women still in the prison who have got no one to
pay for them,” she added.
Hussein’s supporters say
thousands of women have
been convicted of similar
offences under Sudan’s Islamic decency regulations
in recent years and sentenced to beatings. They
say she is the first to challenge such treatment.
She was arrested at a Khartoum party in July with 12
other women, 10 of whom
pleaded guilty to similar
charges and were flogged,
she has said. Hussein however decided to fight the
accusations, arguing that
her “indecent” clothing, a
pair of green slacks that she
wore in court, were respectable and did not break the
law.
International
A woman kisses a phial of what local Roman Catholics believe is the blood of Saint Gennaro
at the Duomo in Naples in this December 16, 2006 file photo.
NAPLES, Italy--Fear of
H1N1 flu will stop devout
Neapolitans from performing the time-honoured ritual of kissing the blood of
their patron Saint Gennaro
when the city’s annual festival begins later this month.
The decision to forbid
kissing of the glass phial
containing the saint’s blood
was taken reluctantly by
ecclesiastical and city authorities on Monday, and
has brought protests from
local politicians.
The phial will be put on
display in the city’s cathedral for a week from Sept.
19 and the faithful will be
allowed to touch it only
with their foreheads.
Marco Di Lello, national
co-ordinator of the So-
cialist Party, said the ban
would “fuel the psychosis
(over flu) which risks becoming unstoppable”, and
appealed to the archbishop
of Naples to try to have the
ban revoked.
Last week, a 51-year-old
man became Italy’s first fatal victim of the H1N1 flu
virus, popularly known as
swine flu, when he died in a
Naples hospital.
In one of Italy’s bestknown
festivals,
Saint
Gennaro’s dried blood is
said to liquefy twice a year,
17 centuries after his death.
Some Neapolitans fear disaster may strike the city
if the “miracle” does not
occur. Legend has it that
when Gennaro was beheaded by pagan Romans in 305
A.D., a Neapolitan woman
soaked up his blood with a
sponge and preserved it in
a glass phial. The substance
usually turns to liquid on
Sept. 19, the saint’s feast
day, and on the first Saturday in May. The “miracle”
was first recorded in 1389,
more than 1,000 years after
Gennaro’s martyrdom.
More scientifically minded
sceptics say the phenomenon is due to chemicals
present in the phial whose
viscosity changes when it is
stirred or moved. Italy has
not been among the nations
hardest hit by the H1N1
flu virus, which has spread
to at least 177 countries
and caused at least 2,800
deaths, the World Health
Organisation says.
33
ANTANANARIVO--Madagascar’s Prime Minister
Monja Roindefo named a
new government on Tuesday but Southern African
leaders and the opposition refused to recognise it
on the grounds it flouted a
power-sharing deal.
The Indian Ocean island
rich in oil and minerals has
been rocked by turmoil since
Andry Rajoelina toppled
former leader Marc Ravalomanana from power in a
March coup, scaring tourists
and hurting the economy.
Under the terms of the
deal agreed last month in
Mozambique, the country’s
power-brokers were supposed to share out the top
posts of president, vice president and prime minister to
see the world’s fourth largest
island through to presidential polls. But with the rivals
still deadlocked, Roindefo
pressed ahead and made 31
appointments in all, keeping
himself and Rajoelina in the
posts of prime minister and
president.
Joaquim Chissano, Mozambique’s former president who is mediating in the
island’s crisis, said Southern
African leaders meeting
in Democratic Republic of
Congo on Tuesday had rejected the unilateral decision taken in Madagascar.
“We will continue to negotiate to find a consensual solution. The current (Southern
African Development Community) suspension will remain in place until they find
a consensual and inclusive
solution to the problem,” he
said.
34
Sales for all
your vehicle needs. Preowned or new, we have it all.
Call Mr.Kenny for any vehicle
you need! Tel:00590-590-2917-12/(599)
557-9816.
Email:Kenny@caribserve.net
Website:kennysautosales.vp
web.com.
1998 Toyota Corolla (grey), automatic, engine in good working
condition, new control arms/cv
joints, $2,700. Call:581-2677 or
553-3299.
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
For sale, leaving the island! Washer/dryer Whirlpool Thin Twin (2007),
freezer chest 110w, 1.1 cft (2005),
micro wave Emerson (2007), various (electric) tools. Make your offer!
Call:520-1810.
For sale: 2 satellite dishes, new in
the box 1x4 ft. and 1x6 ft. together
$350. Tel:580-6653/580-0638.
Completely
restored/overhauled. Several thousands
spent on this jeep. Don’t miss
out at this price! Price
$6,999. Call and come see
this baby! Tel:544-4200.
1998 Toyota Corolla, automatic,
white, $2,800. 1993 Toyota Corolla, automatic, white, $2,000.
Call:553-2614/553-8109/0690-3282-66/581-2362.
Sonata 2006 LX(Amer. Spec)
low mileage. In Excellent
condition/fully loaded, V6,
Leather interior. Include DVD
player, 20” rims, drill/slotted
rotors, H.I.D/L.E.D lights.
Great
Deal
w/extras!
Call:553-0301/559-0330.
Leaving the island! 2006 SM3
Samsung Renault, Pioneer DVD
player. In good condition. Price
$7,000. Phone:586-2798.
Escape 2002/03, yellow,
$6,200. Call:522-7196.
2003 Jeep Mitsubishi Outlander,
black color, leather interior, A/C, 6
CD changer, power steering, power
windows, automatic transmission.
Price $6,500 Call:580-9555.
, white,
automatic, 4 door, A/C, CD
player, alarm system, keyless
entry. In good condition.
Price negotiable. Call:5266991 or 524-0562.
Convertible, automatic with
tiptronic. In good condition.
Price $20,000. Call:522-1218
or 581-1275.
Flareside,
black pickup. In good condtion. Price $16,000. Call:5221218 or 581-1275.
Toyota Scion 2008, low mileage,
$14,000. Toyota Corolla S 2003
American Spec, $7,000. Suzuki
Liana 2005, low mileage, $4,500.
Call:554-5086.
furniture and fixtures for sale.
Kay’s Fine Jewelry at The
Harbour locations is selling
their entire Jewelry store furniture, fixtures and counters.
Contact Raj:542-1255/5536323, Sam:554-7120.
For sale: 2003 Toyota Corolla,
white, automatic, A/C, newly
serviced, inspection until 2011.
$6,000 price negotiable. Call:5274261/588-1411.
Ford Ranger,
automatic, 46,600 km. In
very good condition. Price
$5,000. Phone:586-2656.
For sale:2008 Hyundai Elantra
American Spec. Like new! Fully
loaded with 20” black & chrome
rims plus original tires. Price
$14,500 o.b.o. Tel:526-2027.
For sale:Mazda Miata, 25,000 miles,
like new! 10,500 Euro or $15,000.
Phone:00590-690-64-56-96.
New Sony Vaio laptop, Windows
Vista Processor 2000 MHZ, 2 core
Intel duo memory 4.00GB hard drive
260GB, 14.1 screen,bright Eco LCD,
CD/DVD burner, Bluetooth, intergraded webcam, wireless LAN. Contact:554-3211/526-2644.
luxury apartments 140 m² at “ Harbour
View”,
Philipsburg.
Tel:00590-690-61-03-58.
g l o r i a l c @ c a r i b s e r ve . n e t
Website:www.immodere.com
/apartment-saint.martin.php.
Rosetta Stone (27 languages)
$50. H.P. 3-in-1 printer/scanner/fax,
$70. Back massager seat $45.
Phone:586-1280.
Last lot available! 800 m2, slightly
sloped property, wonderful ocean
view in Defiance. Asking $80,000.
Serious inquiries only! Call:5544801.
Swimming pool items, 1 pump,
2 filters, 2 skimmers, 1 ladder, diamond brite and much more. Contact:526-1412.
1999 white Mazda 323, automatic
transmission for sale. Price $2,500.
Please call:523-8498.
A160
A-Class. Automatic with
Tiptronic, 18” chrome Akuza
rims, very loud custom
Pioneer sound system, custom anti-theft ignition plus
more extras! Very good condition. $,9000 o.n.o Call:5206030/522-3104.
Accommodations in Barbados
& Airport pick up. 5 minutes drive
to U.S. Embassy Reasonable
rates. Call Janice Ward, Rossomar
Guest House for more information:
001-(246) 424-0098 E-mail: rossomarrentals@hotmail.com Website:
http://barbados.org/apt/rossomar.
:2
pieces, beautiful half round
jewelry showcases, wall &
window display units with
glass doors, L-shaped
office desk and storage
cabinets, 2pcs. Panasonic
cassette air-condition units
46,000BTU. Call:542-8313.
Main
Road
Simpson
Bay.
$150,000 only(urgent for
familly reasons, make an
offer). Low rent, new lease
10 years renewable, 50+
people
seated,
terrace
operational. Great potential!
Call:520-1201.
Philipsburg, Boardwalk/beachfront:Take advantage! Unbelievable offer! You like gorgeous views
& sunsets, stainless steel appliances, top location? 2 bedroom/2 bath
luxury condo. Before $635,000,
now just $375,000. Please call:
522-5131.
Simpson
Bay on the lagoon there are
3 options. #1-property and
restaurant.
#2-restaurant
with option to
purchase
property. #3 property only,
financing availble by owner.
Phone:545-2980/523-7053.
sararosa9941@yahoo.com.
An apartment for rent on Illidge
Road #75. For more information
please call:542-4654 anytime from
8am to 5pm.
2 bedroom
apartments fully furnished
air conditioned, internet and
cable TV/VCR. $100/night.
Available for long-term or
short
term
rental.
www.klasherapartments.com
or send email to:klasherapartments@gmail.com.
Phone:001-264-295-5157.
Available in Pointe Blanche, a
spacious 1 bedroom apartment
with porch, completely furnished,
including utilities. No pets! Please
call:527-3654.
For rent nicely decorated furnished studio apartment in Retreat
Estate with A/C, cable, hot/cold
water. $500 per month. Please
call:581-8787/548-3727.
For rent on Simpson Bay Beach,
2 bedroom, 2.5 bath apartment,
pool & furnished, $2,700/month.
Call:580-2833 for appointment.
Puerto Del
Sol, Simpson Bay. Call for
appointment:580-2833.
For rent: 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom
apartment in Madame Estate. Contact:581-9599.
For rent: Front Street, studio apartment, fully furnished with utilities included. Please call:557-3064.
.
Ideal equipped retail/office
space 40 m2. Monthly rent,
only $2,200. No key money,
ready for business. For more
information:520-5474/5420615.
For rent:Cole Bay, quiet area 2
studio’s, 1 bedroom, 3 bedroom,
all fully furnished. From $700 & up.
No agents please. For more information:553-5833 or 544-5205.
Beacon Hill, villa 2 bedroom/2
bath, 1 min. from beach, terrace,
garden, private parking, jacuzzi, Furnished studio apartment on
nice decoration from $2,000 p/m. Waterfront Road, Cole Bay for rent.
A/C, hot/cold water, washer/dryer.
Tel:522-2205.
$600 per month. Utilities not includBrand new! A spacious 1 bed- ed, 2 persons maximum. Please
room unfurnished apartment with contact:554-2122.
internet access for rent in Vole Bay.
$750, 1 month deposit, utilities are Guana Bay:2 bedroom/1 bathroom
Rainbow Beach Club at Cupecoy, included. For more information apartment large porch, spectacular
2 bedroom apartment,quiet area off
direct from owner. Great ocean call:586-5321.
sea view overlooking St.Barths. Fully
Guana Bay Road. Minutes from Philviews, brand new, fully furnished. 2
furnished, A/C, cable TV, private parkipsburg. Nice views, gated commubedrooms, 2 bathrooms. $395,000. Cole Bay, 2 bedroom apartment for ing. $1,650 per month, utilities includnity with intercom. Full SS kitchen with
rent. A/C, cable TV and private park- ed, 1 month deposit. Immediately
Call:(599)580-9755.
granite counter top. Call:520-6514.
ing. $750 per month, 1 month deposit available. Call:554-0355.
all the ($750). Please call:553-4937.
Pre-construction. $235,000 delivery
licences up to date, clean,
November 2009.
House with 2 apartments on
free of debts. Tel:544-4200 Cole Bay, nice villa with 2 big bed2 bedroom apartments and build- or cel:581-6418 or email room/2 bath, totally renovated, fully large property in Belair. Can be
rented separately or together. Both
ing for sale. Very reasonable offer! chris@borealrealty.com.
furnished, terrace, garden, com- 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. DownMake 2 payments! Only serious
mon pool, security $1,600 p/m Call: stairs $1,100 p/m, upstairs $1,200
callers, call:556-8839.
581-6418 or email:chris@borealre- p/m. Contact:581-5050.
alty.com.
2 bedroom/2 bath home with 1
Like new apartment, Dawn
bedroom rental apartment, gated
Cole Bay, semi furnished apart- Beach, 1 bedroom/1 bathroom
Dawn Beach Estates. Washer/
ment, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, semi furnished $1,000, excluding
dryer, A/C, parking, pool. Askliving room, kitchenette. Private utilities. A/C, ocean view, common
ing $419,000, financing available,
parking and entrance and porches,
$75,000 down payment/7.5% (2)one bedroom apartment un- quiet neighborhood view. 1 month pool, parking, including internet.
interest.
Email:jryoung917@ furnished, A/C, private parking, hot deposit, 1 month rent. Call:586- Call:527-3491.
aol.com, call:001-917-623-0529, water. Automatic gate, generator, 1428.
New, 2 bedroom/1 bathroom
$825.
(1)one
bedroom
fully
furnished,
local(Terry):(599)581-7507.
apartment, $850 p/m. 2 bedroom/2
$1,100, one security deposit/one
The month in advance. No pets! Guana Cole Bay:(1) 2 bedroom/1 bath bathroom, $900 Large dining room,
apartment, living/dining, kitchen, front & back porch, big yard space. 1
Earth Collection store in
Bay Road. Call:527-4277.
lots of space. Surrounded by a month deposit. Located in Defiance
Philipsburg. Well established
European brand label, natu- 1 bedroom apartment fully fur- 10 feet fence, very well kept! Rent Road. Call:524-1931/524-4184.
ral fiber garments. Check out nished including utilities. Tel:553- $900, 1 month rent, 2 months deOne bedroom apartment for rent
posit. Call:553-1484/554-1415.
the brand www.theearthcol- 1236.
at Poinsetta Road, Betty’s Estate,
lection.com. Great opporCole Bay:1 bedroom, 1 bath fully fur1 bedroom for rent unfurnished nished, washer/dryer, A/C, 24 hours available October 1st,2009. Comtunity! Tel:(00599)553-1868.
with air condition, $600 including security. Conveniently located. Rent mon pool, great view, alarm system. $650 per month, two months
utilities. Must see! Please call:588- $850 per month.Tel:522-6742.
security required. For more inforfor sale. Clean premises, 8891.
mation contact:554-8239.
excellent clientele, good 2 bedroom apartment fully fur- Cole Bay:2 bedroom, 1 bath apart,
tools.
Contact:00590-690- nished at Poinsette Road #29, ment, air conditioned, quiet neighborhood. No pets. Call:520-3696 fully furnished and one bed65-75-23 or 0590-87-05-94.
Betty Estate, $750/month. Call:523- after 10am.
room
apartment
unfurDistrict of Little Bay west side of 4132/548-3708/523-4470.
nished, A/C, satellite TV,
Cay Hill, parcel of land 3930 sq. me- 2 bedroom apartment in Saun- Cupecoy, Nice apartment, 1 bed- shutters. Daily, weekly or
ters or 1,500 or 2430 sq. with spec- ders, $850, beautiful view. (1)One room/1 bath, garden, furnished monthly rental. 5 min. from
town. Very attractive rates.
tacular view. Financing available bedroom apartment for rent with $1,000 p/m. Call:522-2205.
by owner. Phone:523-7053 or A/C, $500 p/m. 2 bedroom in South Dawn Beach area, Tamarind Hill, Call:557-7263/581-8148.
545-2980.
Reward, $800, two months deposit. Unique! Beautiful, very safe loca- One bedroom/1 bath apartment
Call:553-0551.
tion!
Spacious
3
bedroom
apartCole Bay. Quiet, panoramic view
House for sale, Koolbaai Villas:3
airco/laundry/generator! of ocean and Lagoon. Semi furbedrooms/2 bath, laundry room, 2 bedroom apartment on the way ment,
Great ocean view, nice terrace,
kitchen, fully furnished, living room. to Union Farm Estate. $625 per 24hour security, swimming pool. nished, renovated including utili145 sq.m interior, 145 sq.m exterior, month, 1 month deposit. Non $2,000 including water/electricity. ties, kitchen, large porch, hurricane
shutters. Rent $1,100 p/m, one
community pool. Price $300,000. smoker, no pets! Tel:523-9384.
No pets. Tel:580-6653.
month security. Call:580-5921.
Call for appiontment:581-8432.
2 bedroom house, possible 3 bed- Dawn Beach Estate:One bedOyster Pond: Spacious 1 bedroom
Land for sale in Anguilla, ½ acre rooms, unfurnished, outdoor deck, room, fully furnished, private en- apartment fully furnished, Ameriof land, Sandy Hill, East End. Fresh 24 hours security $1,275, 2 months trance, washer/dryer, cable, gated can kitchen, secluded & private,
breeze and walking distance to security, 1st month rent, Dawn community, 24 hours security, ADT on the beach. Call:520-9681/520the beach. For USD$50,000, price Beach Estate. Call:586-1834.
alarm. Available now. Excluding 5205/0590-29-15-01.
negotiable. Tel:(00599)527-3506 2 bedroom/2 bath fully furnished utilities. $975/month, two months
between 6pm to 8pm
Pelican Key:Exclusive, splendid
home with washer/dryer. $1,400 deposit required. Call:520-0102.
per month in gated Dawn Beach Fisherman’s Wharf, 1 bedroom villa. 3 bedroom/2\’bd bath, great
sale. Good clientele, excel- Estates. Parking, T.V., A/C., shared apartment, furnished, cable TV, A/ panoramic sea view, common pool,
lent machines. Nice, clean community pool. Call:(599 581- C, fan, washer/dryer, 24/7 security. fully furnished, quiet/safe area,
premises.
Contact:00590- 7507, or 001-917-623-0529, or 3rd floor, view of the yachts. $1,000 $3,100 p/m & 1 separate bedroom
$1,500 p/m Call:581-6418 or email:
email: jryoung917@aol.com.
690-53-74-89.
p/m, 1 month deposit. No pets al- chris@borealrealty.com.
lowed! Tel:523-8219/520-1505.
Business
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Pelican, for rent one bedroom
apartment, fully furnished, A/C,
washer/dryer. Amazing ocean view.
Rent $1,000. Tel:522-4502.
Pelican, large spacious 1 bedroom/2 bathrooms, newly painted,
furnished, A/C, balcony, footsteps to
the beach, $1,000, Beacon Hill.Brand
new 2 bedrooms/2.5 bathrooms, fully
furnished, kitchen, washer/dryer, A/C,
$2,300. Gaby:526-2268.
Pelican, spacious 1 bedroom,
furnished, A/C, washer, big yard,
nice view. $1,250/month. Call:5268011/522-7893.
Agency
N.V. on St. Eustatius has a
vacancy for one multi skilled
person for the following:
Mason/Boarding,
Agent/
Boatman. Call:318-1539.
cashier, age
18-35.
Send
CV
to
island4salsa@hotmail.com.
with
experience and can cut all
types
of
hair. Please
call:544-2429 or 587-1564.
Pointe
Blanche:Panoramic
oceanfront furnished two 2 bedroom/1 bath with A/C and store
room. One 2 bedroom/2 bathroom,
with A/C, wash machine and sundeck, excluding utilities. For viewing
please call:520-2244.
in need of a
Gardener
and
a
Housekeeper. Must have
residence & working papers.
Send all resumes to Labour
Department
ref#5452150
and send fax to:545-2615.
Pointe Blanche:Two beautiful 1
bedroom/1 bath apartments, amazing view, quiet, safe, furnished, short
or long term. Immediately available!
Pets allowed! Please call:522-5131
or leave a message at 542-2851.
Thank you!
the Dutch side is hiring
experienced sales persons
and labelers. Dutch papers a
must.
Please
contact
Carine:00590-590-51-13-19.
Quality apartment, Dawn Beach, 2
bedroom/2 bathroom semi furnished
$1,500, excluding utilities. A/C, ocean
view, common pool, parking, including internet. Call:527-3491.
Rent fully furnished one bedroom
apartment in a new private villa,
Dawn Beach, Oyster Pond. 36m2,
private deck & garden. $850 monthly, all included. Tel:00590-690-8353-05/00590-690-22-64-84.
Simpson Bay Beach, villa 4
bedroom/3\’bd bath, Tropical garden, private pool, generator, cistern,
semi furnished 50m from the beach
$3,900 p/m. Call:581-6418 or email
chris@borealrealty.com
. Fully
furnished 2 bedroom/2.5
baths with view of beach and
pool. Ground level. Take long
walks,
enjoy
sunsets.
Available now! $2,500 p/m,
long term. Call:553-7434.
Club:One large bedroom, 2
bath apartment. Washer/
dryer, A/C, washer/dryer,
American kitchen, 24 hours
security, safe, pool view, fully
furnished.
Call:522-5140/
557-1135.
South Reward hillside. Two bedroom furnished apartment for rent
in on Pumpkin Road #63 for $ 700.
Quiet neighborhood. Light and water
included. One month’s deposit.Transportation needed. Call:580-5363.
Special, now until December
2009. A recession and economic package. Rent a room
at Sea Breeze Hotel, $700, 1
month/extended stay prices
negotiable. Maximum stay
(2)people, room service
included. Call:542-6055/5426056.seabreezehotel@aol.c
om.
Two one bedroom apartments for
rent in Marigot, St.James. 1 unfurnished 550 euro. 1 semi furnished
with A/C 650 euro. Tel:523-2821 or
690-14-80-87.
is looking
for a serious, experience
person for sales and inventory. Valid working papers
needed. Bring CV to Beach
Bum & Co Maho.
wanted for sales delivery job.
Please call:526-0139.
cash!
Cultural
Food
Festival!
Whether you are a foundation or group of persons,
we invite you to prepare
some of your country’s traditional dishes and raise
cash!!!
Limited
spaces
c a l l : 5 2 3 - 9 9 3 3 /
email:shelsuniquecreations@yahoo.com
New arrivals!!!
Come & get your new companion!! French Bulldogs,
American
Bulldogs,
Pomeranian,
Hairy
Chihuahua’s,
Labradors,
Jack Russell, new accessories!!!
Specialized
in
grooming,special
orders.
Call:522-8900/544-3162.
www.caribbeanpuppies.com.
Dobermann puppies for sale.
Born June 24th, 2009. 3 male,(2
Experience hard working lady gray & 1 black) with Pedigree. Call
is seeking a job as a babysitter, Jessy at 553-8992.
housekeeping or taking care of an
Over stocked! Love birds for sale.
elderly. Please call:581-5994
Used to be $150 a pair. Now $60
God fearing honest young lady with (private home). Going fast! Call:542experience is seeking a job to babysit, 2645 from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm.
kitchen helper, housekeeping for a
small family or to take care of an elderly. Call:580-5560.God bless you.
Honest hard working Christian
lady is looking for a job as housekeeper, babysitter, take care of an
elderly, wash/iron, clean, caretaker
for your home while away, day or
night. Call:588-0970/522-0358.
Lazy person, have no time to
clean my own apartment. Looking
for a part time cleaner to clean one
little studio room. Must be a fast
cleaner. Call:553-1935.
Looking for a male person to
share a two bedroom apartment in
Madame Estate. No smoking and
no pets allowed. Call:555-4322.
Looking for clean, quiet, working
roommate male or female to share
3 bedroom house in St.Peters,
$350 plus utilities. Long term or
short term. Call:580-6858.
at
the TicketShack on Bush
Road #24 (next to The Daily
Herald building). For the
cheapest tickets in town outside
of
town.
Call
today:(599)543-1028 or visit
www.ticketshack.nl.
Before the new season
starts we give your rental
property the final touch. We
clean it up and fix minor
damages. Call: 00590-690191425.
35
Rui Cunha, head of Portuguese state betting company Santa Casa, poses next to a EuroMillions betting screen at the company headquarters in Lisbon September 8, 2009. The 2.5 billion euro ($3.6billion) online betting industry suffered a setback on Tuesday as the European
Union said that member states could be allowed to ban gambling websites if its intention was
to stop crime. The European Court of Justice was ruling on a dispute between the Portuguese
state betting monopoly, Santa Casa, online gambling group bwin and the Portugese soccer
league. Santa Casa had sought to break up a sponsorship deal involving the Portuguese soccer league that allowed bwin to advertise its website to fans.
FRANKFURT/DETROIT-The board of General
Motors Co began meeting
in Detroit on Tuesday as
the German government
stepped up pressure on
the automaker to clarify its
long-term plans for its European Opel operations.
The board meeting coincided with a warning that
the cost of keeping Opel
could run $1.45 billion
higher than an “overly optimistic” projection prepared
by GM in June.
GM, which emerged from
bankruptcy under U.S. government ownership in July,
has been in intensive negotiations with two bidders to
sell control of Opel and its
British affiliate, Vauxhall,
since May. But last month
the newly appointed GM
board declined to endorse
a plan to sell the operations
to a group led by Canadian
auto-parts group Magna
International that has the
backing of Germany’s government.
Instead, the 13-member
board asked GM management led by Chief Executive Fritz Henderson to
return with more information on two alternatives to
the Magna deal. Specifically, the board asked for
renewed consideration of a
sale to Brussels-listed RHJ
International or a third option that would see GM
keep Opel by raising the
billions of dollars needed
for its restructuring, sources familiar with the deliberations have said.
In a report presented to the
GM board, adviser KPMG
said that GM would face
“an additional cash need of
up to $6.1 billion” to keep
Opel. GM had previously
estimated that it would
need $4.65 billion in cash
to keep Opel and repay a
roughly $2 billion bridge
loan from the German government, the report said.
A copy of the report
was obtained by Reuters.
KPMG had no comment.
A GM spokeswoman could
not be reached for comment.
With some 25,000 German
jobs directly at stake and an
election looming at month
end, the slow progress toward a resolution of the
Opel situation has been met
with mounting frustration
by German government
officials. “`We are keeping
Opel’ is not a strategy yet,”
German Deputy Economy
Minister Jochen Homann
said on the sidelines of an
energy conference in Munich on Tuesday.
Stock Market Report
Key Stock Movements September 8 2009
NEW YORK
DAY’S
CLOSE
9,497.34
LONDON
4,947.34
TOKYO
10,393.23
FRANKFURT 5,481.73
CHANGE
HIGH
IN POINTS
+56.07
9,584.63
(Aug 25)
+14.16
4,947.34
(Sep 08)
+72.29
10,639.71
(Aug 26)
+18.22
5,557.09
(Aug 25)
LOW
6,594.44
(Mar 05)
3,512.09
(Mar 03)
7,054.98
(Mar 10)
3,690.72
(Mar 03)
London Currency Fixing Rates September 8 2009
Following are the middle exchange rates
for leading currencies against the dollar:
Euro
Japanese Yen
British Pound
Swiss Franc
Australian Dollar
Brazilian Real
Canadian Dollar
Hong Kong Dollar
Mexican Peso
South African Rand
CURRENT
1.4479
92.31
1.6488
1.047
0.8617
1.8296
1.0794
7.7495
13.3538
7.507
Gold (ounce) $997.80 (995.70)
HIGH
1.4535
93.08
1.6587
1.0602
0.8658
1.8431
1.0822
7.7504
13.37
7.595
LOW
1.4329
92.04
1.6324
1.0433
0.8529
1.8211
1.0675
7.7502
13.25
7.515
Business
36
WASHINGTON--Economic
recovery may come three
months earlier than forecast,
the head of the International
Monetary Fund said, but
policymakers expressed concern that it may not last if
governments reverse stimulus programs too early.
“For the (global) economy,
we have been saying for a
year that the recovery will
come in the first half of 2010.
It might even be a quarter
ahead,” IMF Managing Di-
rector Dominique StraussKahn told Il Sole 24 Ore
newspaper.
“We are seeing the end of
the tunnel, but we are still in
crisis,” he said in the interview published on Tuesday.
A document obtained by
Reuters on Friday showed
that the IMF had increased
its forecasts for economic
activity this year and next. It
is due to publish them later
this week.
On Tuesday, generally up-
FRANKFURT--Top bankers defended their culture
of bonuses on Tuesday
against an onslaught of
regulation that aims to put
them on a tighter leash almost a year after Lehman
Brothers collapsed.
Executives from Credit
Suisse Group AG, Morgan
Stanley and Deutsche Bank
AG said the global financial
system needed reform but
defended a bonus-driven
system that critics say encouraged banks to take big
risks.
“Bonus payments alone
have not caused the financial crisis,” Credit Suisse
Vice Chairman Urs Rohner told the annual Banks
in Transition conference in
Germany’s financial capital, a two-day meeting of
the banking world’s elite.
Morgan Stanley Co-President Walid Chammah said
the bank was “against absolute caps on compensation
levels”, while Deutsche
Bank Chief Executive Josef
Ackermann chimed in that
banks could not let star performers slip through their
fingers by being tight fisted.
“The war for talent is in full
swing,” Ackermann said.
“The question of whether
we have learned something
focuses too much on the
question of bonuses and
leaves out other aspects.”
Their comments mark the
investment banking industry’s defence against those
keen to crimp eye-popping
payouts that critics say led
to excessive risk-taking and
pushed the financial system
to the edge of the abyss.
Banks are feeling the heat
as regulators, central banks
and national governments
take measures to try to ensure freewheeling banks
do not again become loose
cannons in the economy.
Yet other bankers were
less bullish in their defense of bonuses. Andreas
Treichl, CEO of Austria’s
Erste Group Bank AG
, said: “I do believe that
bonus payments were partially responsible for the
crisis,” adding bankers had
to respect public outrage
about the business-as-usual
attitude on outsized pay.
HSBC Holdings Plc Chairman Stephen Green took
a similar line. “The list of
mistakes is long. Wrong
targets were set for incentives, particularly regarding remuneration, without
regard for sustainability,”
he said.
Central bankers on Sunday proposed a new regulatory framework that would
force banks to set aside
more profits as a cushion
against hard times. Some
finance ministers from the
Group of 20 countries also
want to explore ways to
rein in bonuses. Although
regulators and politicians
broadly agree risk-hungry
behaviour by highly paid
bankers was one of the
main causes of the financial
crisis, they have struggled
to agree on how to regulate
or cap bonuses.
“Superstars are going to
get superstar bonuses. That
is not going to change,” one
London-based banker said,
citing the multi-milliondollar guaranteed bonuses
that banks still dangle to
keep top dealmakers or
lure them away from rivals.
PRESTIGIOUS MOTORS
is looking for a:
Spray painter
Duties:
• Preparing and painting of
complete vehicle
Requirements:
• Dutch nationality or valid
working permits
• Fluent in the English language
Submit application to the Labour
Department, copy to Prestigious
Motors by fax: 54-45999.
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
beat data from Germany,
France and Britain lent credence to the recovery scenario, which has sent stocks
soaring since March as fears
raised by the bankruptcy of
Lehman Brothers a year ago
proved to be unfounded. U.S.
stocks closed higher as rising
commodity prices and an uptick in merger and acquisition activity fueled hopes the
economy is strengthening,
while the dollar fell to near a
one-year low amid renewed
appetite for risk.
Global and emerging market stocks hit a 2009 high on
Tuesday, after rises on Monday when U.S. and Canadian
markets were closed for a
holiday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 56.15
points, or 0.59 percent, to
unofficially end at 9,497.42.
The Standard & Poor’s 500
Index was up 8.86 points,
or 0.87 percent, at 1,025.26.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 18.99 points, or
0.94 percent, at 2,037.77.
U.S. Treasuries prices weakened as the higher stock prices eroded their safe-haven
appeal. But governments and
central banks were cautious.
A senior member of the European Central Bank said in
an interview published on
Tuesday that financial markets might be reacting too
optimistically to recent data.
“An overreaction to this data
is not good, because it could
make us forget that governments still face a very significant agenda of reforms. And
without completing those
reforms we won’t return to
sustainable paths of growth,”
ECB Executive Board Member Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo told Spain’s Expansion
newspaper.
In China, one of the main
engines of global growth
over the past 10 years, a senior cabinet official said the
Chinese economy was stronger but recovery was still
not solid. State Councillor
Ma Kai said Beijing would
continue to implement its
Visitors examine a model of MTU GP7000 turbofan engine for Airbus A380 at the Asian Aerospace Expo in Hong Kong on Tuesday. European plane maker Airbus expects a recovery in
total passenger traffic volume by 2010, fuelled by global economic growth, a company executive said on Tuesday.
HONG
KONG/BRUSSELS--Airlines and their
suppliers are reporting tentative signs a severe industry recession is bottoming
out, sending shares higher
on Tuesday.
Airbus, the world’s largest producer of passenger
jets, said airline traffic had
possibly seen “the trough
of the recession” and could
start to rebound from next
year.
“In 2009 we believe total
traffic is down 2 percent. In
2010 we may experience a
4.6 percent growth rate,”
Laurent Rouaud, senior
vice president of market
and product strategy, said
at the Asian Aerospace exhibition in Hong Kong.
In Europe, Air FranceKLM said passenger traffic
fell 2.9 percent in August
but its planes were on aver-
age 84.8 percent full, a rise
of 1.1 percentage points
from the same holiday peak
month a year ago.
Its shares rose 6.6 percent,
helping push the DJ Stoxx
pan-European Travel and
Leisure index up 2.4 percent, with traders also citing catch-up by an underperforming sector. Shares
in Aer Lingus, British
Airways, Ryanair and Lufthansa rose between 2 and
4 percent.
The Air France figures
came as industry data for
July showed airline passenger and freight traffic
dropped much less sharply
year-on-year than in the
first half of 2009. ACI Europe said after a survey of
106 airports passenger traffic at European airports fell
4.3 percent compared with
July 2008, versus an aver-
age 9.6 percent drop during
the preceding six months of
this year.
Freight traffic--a widely
watched indicator of economic health--fell 13.4 percent compared with July
2008, an improvement on
the average 22.4 percent
decrease during the preceding six months.
“That would fit with our
picture,” said economist
Cristoph Weil at Commerzbank. “We believe we will
see a strong recovery in Q3
and Q4 in the euro area.”
Air France-KLM said its
cargo business had in August confirmed signs of
stabilisation seen in recent
months. Ireland’s Aer Lingus said on Monday passenger numbers had risen
7.7 percent year-on-year in
August.
policies to stimulate growth,
which have included a $585z
billion fiscal spending package, tax incentives and what
officials have dubbed an “appropriately loose” monetary
policy.
Finance ministers from
the G20 economies agreed
on the weekend that now
was no time to reverse the
trillions of dollars of stimulus pumped into the world
economy. They say they are
waiting until recovery is established.
NEW YORK--Oil prices
rose 4.5 percent on Tuesday,
their biggest gain in nearly
three weeks, as weakness in
the U.S. dollar fired up inflation fears and triggered a
rush of buying across commodities markets.
The surge back over $70
a barrel cast a spotlight on
the OPEC cartel on the eve
of their production policy
meeting in Vienna, with
representatives signaling
the group would likely keep
output restrictions in place.
NYMEX crude for October delivery rose $3.08
to settle at $71.10 a barrel,
marking the largest percentage increase since Aug.
19. London Brent crude
rose $2.89 to $69.42 a barrel.
The gains came as the
dollar slumped to its lowest level in almost a year
against a basket of currencies and gold rallied
above $1,000 an ounce, its
highest since March 2008.
“With gold prices testing
the $1,000-per-ounce level,
commodity price inflation
is back in the headlines,”
said Tim Evans, analyst at
Citi Futures Perspective in
New York.
“Although the employment picture remains bleak
and will ultimately limit
the upside in our view,” he
added.
The Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries meets on Wednesday,
with most analysts expecting the group, the source
of more than a third of the
world’s oil supply, to maintain official output levels.
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister
Ali al-Naimi said producers
and consumers are happy
with current oil prices,
though he added world
crude inventories appeared
too high.
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
37
38
Opinion
Dear Editor,
I am astonished at the
analysis of Ernst Obermaier and Anna Marie Johnson. In their opinion letter
they publicly blame the Antillean Postal organisation
Nieuwe Post Nederlandse
Antillen (NPNA) for the
delay in delivering letters
to Europe and the United
States of America.
In that same opinion they
admit that the American
students in Saba are breaking international postal
rules and, in particular, the
postal laws of the Netherlands Antilles and […] the
USA.
The fact that students are
using a courier to deliver
mail to the USA means that
the Homeland Security Law
of the USA is being broken.
They are sending letter
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
mail weighing less than 22
grams in bulk packages via
courier to the USA, bypassing all the homeland security measures!
These measures were enforced by the USA after the
“Anthrax attacks” via letter
mail. All letters, small packages, registered and express
[mail] and [larger] packages go through a thorough
screening before entering
or leaving the USA. For a
couple of months, this same
measure has been enforced
by customs in the Netherlands, causing delays in
mail going to Europe, the
Far East, Africa and Australia.
As the postal organisation
of the Netherlands Antilles
is always trying to improve
its services to clients, the
routing has been adjusted
to improve delivery time.
The extra cost has been
absorbed by NPNA and
not charged to the public! If Mr. Obermaier and
Ms. Johnson had taken
the same measures used
to confirm the time a letter
took in 1889, and had also
checked the stamp dates of
a letter going from Saba to
Germany, they would have
seen that the letter left the
post office within 2 days
for St. Maarten, where it
would have left the next
day to Amsterdam (2 flights
weekly), Paris (extra delay
of 1 day) or USA (2 flights
weekly)!
Upon arrival in Amsterdam and Miami, they
would have noticed that
this is where the real delay
starts because of the abovementioned process that is
necessary for security purposes!
As the former director of
Nieuwe Post Nederlandse
Antillen I advise you stop
sending your mail with
those couriers, as you are
breaking the law! It is just
a question of time until the
Bureau Telecommunicatie
en Post (BTP) catches up
with these kinds of illegal
actions by the couriers.
Their business names are
known to BTP, and it is time
that they take drastic action
to stop this illegal competition that puts the jobs of
many at stake.
Another issue that slows
down the mail is the IATA
rule that prioritises luggage
of the many students going
to the islands. When Winair is full with luggage, no
mail is transported. When
NPNA is aware of this occurring, action is taken to
send the mail by boat, when
the weather permits this.
Also in this case the extra
cost is absorbed by NPNA.
So next time it would be
better to try to find out a
bit more about the process
before openly blaming an
organisation that has been
doing everything in its power to serve the general public and government.
The postal network is very
vast and reaches almost every country and major city
in the world, something
the couriers cannot match.
With a better, faster service
from customs worldwide,
we would be able to send
mail within seven days to
every corner of the world.
However the world is not so
perfect and I guess that that
is why e-mail, SMS, Skype
and telephones became
necessary!
The thesis for my essay
on youth violence in St.
Maarten: “We can stop
youth violence on St.
Maarten by educating…….
parents, politicians and
pastors.”
I fully understand that our
youngsters are going astray.
I cannot blame them. With
most kids, there would be
absolutely nothing wrong…
1 If they were wanted when
they were born.
2 If they had parents who
could feed them, love them
and spend quality time with
them.
3 If they had a government
which not only builds resorts, casinos and brothels,
but also youth facilities and
enough good schools, and
creates job opportunities.
4 If pastors were more creative. Their churches are
empty for 80 per cent of the
time. On Sundays, women
go there to show God their
new dress, but God must be
very lonely in St. Maarten
churches for the rest of the
week. He would love to
have kids in his church during the day to play, socialize, study and what not.
Chamba Chada wrote last
week that it would be wise
if people chose to make
fewer children. Not a bad
idea, but it sounds like crying to the moon. You might
as well forbid a tropical
storm from developing into
a hurricane. I have a more
practical idea to see to it
that only caring people are
allowed to have children. I
have always wondered why
for almost anything you
want to do, you need a diploma or certificate, while
for the most difficult and
important thing, parenthood, you do not need any.
Any idiot can become a
parent. Here is my unpaid
advice: Anyone who wants
to have a child has to do a
parenthood evening course
of about three years. Subjects in the course: How to
assist your woman during
pregnancy, how to change
diapers (man and woman),
how to feed the baby, how
to play with, tell stories to
and sing lullabies for the
child, how to support your
child in school, sex education, drug prevention etc.
Without a diploma for this
course, you get no permission to make a child and if
you do, you get a fine of US
$10,000.
I give this information
to our Commissioner of
Education for free. What
William could start with is
changing all stand-alone
casinos into youth centers
and schools, so that our
youngsters do not “stand
alone”.
I wish to draw the attention
of our lawmakers, the prosecutor, Minister of Justice
and the telephone companies to the fact that prepaid
cell phone numbers are
sold on the Dutch side of
our island without registering the buyers.
Neither name nor address
is asked and no identification is needed to get a chip
with a number.
This becomes a great nuisance when a telephone is
lost or stolen and recovered by the police. There
is no way to trace the former owner. A running thief
who lost his phone cannot
be traced. Robbers and
thieves who have their boys
on the look out for danger
use these phones because
they know they are nameless and even when lost or
taken by the police cannot
be traced back to the culprit if he escapes.
This, is in my opinion, is a
big mistake and I see no reason why this impediment to
the hard-working police and
their detectives must be so.
It should be high on the
agenda to adjust the law to
correct this.
Ir. Paul Rivière
Former Director NPNA
WWI
Gerard Bijnsdorp, Unpaid
advisor to young and old, all
season long!
Chamba Chada.
Opinion
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
By Rudy Dovale
Erika at face value did not
have the punch to grow into
a hurricane. However, all
the good stuff to promote
an increase in strength to
reach hurricane level was
there.
A high sea surface temperature caused by the heat
exchange, the upper level
winds, and a high pressure
area that kept her in a high
surface temperature environment and a West-Northwest track; all that did not
strengthen Tropical Storm
Erika.
But then she got company, and the system started
to do what many call “cell
jumping.” This was caused
by thunderstorms in both
Erika and her company.
The track changed several
times and must have frustrated weather watchers
Creating a smoke screen
around alleged wrongdoings
of persons in the community
has become an unfortunate
and dangerous trend. While
it is often said that “where
there is smoke there is fire,”
screaming “fire!” while
there is no fire may constitute a prosecutable act.
We have a civic duty to
keep watch on what’s going
on in our society, but it is
by no means acceptable to
scream “fire!” when we see
smoke, without verifying
the source of the smoke in
order to determine whether there is indeed a fire,
or not. Being accused of
wrongdoing in the “Court
of Public Opinion” often
renders a not-guilty verdict
in the Court of Law rather
insignificant, as the scent
of smoke is hard to erase
when one has been publicly
accused.
Corruption should never
be covered up, however, repeatedly screaming “fire!”
publicly, without having
investigated or established
the source of the alleged
smoke, (eventually) sheds a
negative light on our community. Just as the investigation of the source of a fire
is a matter to be handled by
the Fire Department, investigating corruption is a
matter for the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Screams of unfair treatment, foul play, or undue
interference in our local af-
fairs become hollow, when
third parties pick up on
those screams and classify
us as a corrupt people, when
we have been in the lead in
creating these negative images ourselves. Besides,
apart from this, there is
another saying: “what goes
around comes around.”
We, therefore, have to be
prudent when we speak, in
particular [when we make]
public accusations about
persons. The proper route
to address issues of corruption in a democratic
society is to file an official
complaint with the Public
Prosecutor. Not following
the procedures provided
by our laws will undermine
our society and its institu-
Dr. Nilda Arduin
Name withheld on request
By Charles Krauthammer
gave his most deeply felt
vision of America, delivering the boldest social
democratic manifesto ever
issued by a U.S. president.
In American politics, you
can’t get more left than
that speech and still be on
the playing field.
In a center-right country,
that was problem enough.
Obama then compounded
it by vastly misreading his
mandate. He assumed it
was personal. This, after
winning by a mere seven
points in a year of true
economic
catastrophe,
of an extraordinarily unpopular Republican incumbent, and of a politically weak and unsteady
opponent. Nonetheless,
Obama imagined that, as
Fouad Ajami so brilliantly
observed, he had won the
kind of banana-republic
plebiscite that grants caudillo-like authority to remake everything in one’s
own image.
Accordingly, Obama unveiled his plans for a grand
makeover of the American
system, animating that vision by enacting measure
after measure that greatly enlarged state power,
government spending and
national debt. Not surprisingly, these measures engendered powerful popular skepticism that burst
into tea-party town-hall
resistance.
Obama’s reaction to that
resistance made things
worse. Obama fancies
himself tribune of the
people, spokesman for the
grass roots, harbinger of a
new kind of politics from
below that would upset
the established lobbyist
special-interest order of
Washington. Yet faced with
protests from a real grassroots movement, his party
and his supporters called
it a mob – misinformed,
misled, irrational, angry,
unhinged, bordering on
racist. All this while the
administration was cutting
backroom deals with every
manner of special interest
– from drug companies to
auto unions to doctors – in
which favors worth billions
were quietly and opaquely
exchanged.
“Get out of the way” and
“don’t do a lot of talking,” the great bipartisan
scolded opponents whom
he blamed for creating the
“mess” from which he is
merely trying to save us.
If only they could see. So
with boundless confidence
in his own persuasiveness,
Obama undertook a summer campaign to enlighten
the masses by addressing
substantive objections to
his reforms.
Things got worse still. With
answers so slippery and implausible and, well, fishy, he
began jeopardizing the most
fundamental asset of any
new president – trust. You
can’t say that the system is
totally broken and in need
of radical reconstruction,
but nothing will change
for you; that Medicare is
bankrupting the country,
but $500 billion in cuts will
have no effect on care; that
you will expand coverage
while reducing deficits – and
not inspire incredulity and
mistrust. When ordinary
citizens understand they are
being played for fools, they
bristle.
After a disastrous summer – mistaking his mandate, believing his press,
centralizing power, governing left, disdaining
citizens for (of all things)
organizing – Obama is in
trouble.
Let’s be clear: This is a
fall, not a collapse. He’s
not been repudiated or
even defeated. He will
likely regroup and pass
some version of health insurance reform that will
restore some of his clout
and popularity.
But what has occurred –
irreversibly – is this: He’s
become ordinary. The
spell is broken. The charismatic conjurer of 2008
has shed his magic. He’s
regressed to the mean,
tellingly expressed in poll
numbers hovering at 50
percent.
For a man who only recently bred a cult, ordinariness is a great burden,
and for his acolytes, a
crushing disappointment.
Obama has become a politician like others. And like
other flailing presidents,
he will try to salvage a
cherished reform – and
his own standing – with
yet another prime-time
speech.
But for the first time since
election night in Grant
Park, he will appear in the
most unfamiliar of guises
– mere mortal, a treacherous transformation to
which a man of Obama’s
supreme self-regard may
never adapt.
WASHINGTON -- What
happened to President
Obama? His wax wings
having melted, he is the
man who fell to earth.
What happened to bring
his popularity down further than that of any new
president in polling history save Gerald Ford (postNixon pardon)?
The conventional wisdom is that Obama made
a tactical mistake by farming out his agenda to Congress and allowing himself
to be pulled left by the
doctrinaire liberals of the
Democratic congressional
leadership. But the idea of
Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi pulling Obama left is
quite ridiculous. Where do
you think he came from,
this friend of Chavista exterrorist William Ayers,
of PLO apologist Rashid
Khalidi, of racialist inciter
Jeremiah Wright?
But forget the character witnesses. Just look at
Obama’s behavior as president, beginning with his
first address to Congress.
Unbidden, unforced and
unpushed by the congressional leadership, Obama
particularly in Guadeloupe
and Martinique.
In spite of the thunderstorms
that warmed up the system
creating convections which
in turn might start a circulation, the eye of the storm was
not defined clearly. Erika remained disorganized. There
was no significant moisture
tions, which we have es- in the air. The shape of the
tablished ourselves to keep system indicated by its spiky
checks and balances in the jagged edge that it was suckcommunity.
As we are striving to assume more autonomy as a
people, revisiting our ac- This is with regards to the
tions – how we deal with picture in the paper the
each other, handle our af- other day. The lines in SVB
fairs, or create an image of are getting longer and peoourselves, and so on – may ple have to wait and spend
be food for thought in the the whole day just to renew
process of constitutional their SVB [cards].
change. Matters regarding
Is anyone in the Governour collective conscious- ment willing to step in and
ness should also have our come up with a solution?
attention, and need to be Why can’t they come up
addressed. A paper trail will with a better system of reestablish the country, but it newals? It’s time for others
is the people who have to to voice their opinions and
build the nation to be!
demand respect.
39
ing up hot, dry air. The situation repeated often, until it
passed this region and put St.
Croix and Puerto Rico in its
crosshair.
However, it dragged quite
a lot of condensation behind.
In other words, a growing
number of cloud formations
followed the system, sprinkling rain here and there. No
torrential rain, though! Look
at it this way: Most of the islands were not in dire need
of rain. Low-hanging cloud
is just sufficient to keep most
of the islands in the green.
The uncertainty of the track
must have kept emergency
managers busy making a
decision whether to close
schools for a day, or more, or
not to close at all. The crystal ball on this was extremely
hazy, so blame Mother Nature for not spelling out the
true situation in the crystal
ball.
Here is something to think
about: While all this weather
dilemma was going on, two
news items appeared out of
nowhere. Debris in space,
and there is a lot of it, and
congestion of the Internet.
These two mechanisms have
one thing in common: It is
generally believed that room
in space is immensely large,
almost infinite, you might
say. Not so!
Then there is a concept that
the Internet has an unending
ability to exchange packet
information and that there
is room for plenty more.
Weather watching on the Internet increases from time to
time. The use of the Internet
for this purpose increases
also, with the consequence
that the Internet slows down.
Can the Internet exchange
infinite packet information?
Not so!
Think of this: Space debris
can strike and disable one or
two weather satellites. What
then? Destroying useless
gear in space, or intentionally disabling useful equipment in space can create
havoc. Misuse of the Internet likewise.
By now the system that
rolled of the African Coast
stands a 50 per cent chance
of becoming a hurricane by
Wednesday. Will the layer of
temperature at 10,000 feet
and higher keep the air in the
Caribbean below 10,000 dry
and warm? That is what we
have to focus on. Fortunately,
the high pressure area North
of the Caribbean islands has
moved away. We have to
watch this system carefully!
40
Comics
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
By Linda C. Black
Today’s Birthday (September 9) -- Set down
roots this year. You can get past the concerns
that have kept you off balance. Modify your idea
of perfection just a little bit. You can live with
it.
To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10
is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
Aries (March 21-April 19) -- Today is a 5 -There’s a hassle getting the money to do what
you want to do. Rather than tap your savings,
offer to do more work.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) -- Today is a 9 -- You’re
determined to achieve your goals, and you’re
not in this alone. Your family believes you can
do this easily.
Gemini (May 21-June 21) -- Today is a 5 -Something you already have fits perfectly into
your home, preventing you from having to buy
an entirely new item.
Cancer (June 22-July 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Your
group is anxious to get involved. Make sure they
know what they’re doing before you turn them
loose.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is a 5 -- Keep
holding onto your dream. You’re another step
closer to making it come true. Stay committed.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Go
ahead and start a new project. The odds of success are in your favor, even if a small miracle is
required.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is a 5 -- If you’re
stuck at home tonight, don’t pitch a fit. You can’t
go out partying every night. Get some rest.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today is a 7 -- Ask
friends for a referral. They’ll lead you to the perfect person for the job you have in mind.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Today is a 6 -- If
things get messed up today, it won’t be all your
fault. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Today is an 8 -Proceed with what you had planned. The time
is right to follow through on decisions you’ve already made.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Today is a 5 -You’re not stuck in the mud; you haven’t given
up. Continue what you’ve been doing and you’ll
eventually succeed.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today is an 8 -Somebody has a very urgent message for you.
Stick to your studies: You’ll absorb the material
easily.
Community
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
participate on a school day; call Sint Maarten PRIDE foundation, tel. 523-1188, for details or e-mail bernveen@yahoo.
com .
Place: Mullet Bay Beach
Time: 7:00-10:00am
NOTICES
MPC VSBO Parents Meetings
The Milton Peters College VSBO will hold the parents
meetings for school year 2009-2010 at MPC, 7:00-9:00pm, on
Wednesday, September 9, for VSBO/PKL/PBL 2 and 3; and
Thursday, September 10, for VSBO/TKL 1-3;
Dear Queenie,
I just started high school and already my parents have started talking about when I go away to university, where I’ll go
and what I’ll study. They say they are willing to pay my way,
but every time they start talking about what I’ll study they
only want to talk about stuff they approve of, like business,
law, medicine, engineering.
If I try to talk about things I like, like art and photography
and drama and music, they don’t want to hear it. It’s getting
pretty clear that they will only pay my way if I study what they
want me to, not what I want.
I hear them talk all the time about how they hate their jobs
and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life doing work I
hate. I might as well not go to university at all.
Queenie, how can I get them to listen to what I want?—
Bummed out
Dear Bummed out,
If you don’t get at least a tertiary education you will most
certainly spend the rest of your life doing work you hate, so
forget about not going to university.
Even if you make a career in art, photography, drama and/
or music, you will find a business and legal education useful.
If you don’t know how to cope with the world of business,
you will have to depend on others to take care of such matters for you, and you will have no way of knowing whether
they are doing so honestly. So plan to buckle down and learn
this “stuff” – you’ll need it, no matter what your career turns
out to be.
That said, there is no need to confine your education to subjects you hate. Even if you major in law, business, medicine
or engineering, you can still take elective courses in subjects
you find more interesting. And if you have talent that would
let you make a career in one of those fields, you can try to
obtain a scholarship that would make you less dependent on
your parents’ support.
Meanwhile, you still have several years before you will be
going away to university. For now, concentrate on doing well
enough in high school that you can qualify for a good university, because if you don’t, this whole conversation is just
smoke in the wind.
EVENTS
Only notices of fund-raising events for non-profit or educational organisations will be placed in the Events/Notices
column. Notices/Events should be sent to
notices@thedailyherald.com in the format used on this
page. Do not send fliers or press releases to this address.
Friday, September 11
Friday, September 18
Friday, September 25
FISH FRY
Hosted by Zion’s Men with a Vision. Menu: Fried snapper
or yellow tail, barbecued chicken leg, johnnie cake, all served
with fried plantain and salad.
Place: Zion Methodist Church, Sucker Garden
Time: 6:00-11:00pm
Price: Chicken and johnnie cake, US $4; fish and johnnie
cake, $6 and up; seafood special, $6.
Postponed from
Saturday, September 12
BPW EXPRESSIONS
BREAKFAST SESSION
Recognizing and Coping with depression, with Dr. Judith
Arndell of Ujima Foundation has been postponed until November 7. BPW members apologise for any inconvenience.
Saturday September 19
INTERNATIONAL
COASTAL CLEANUP
All groups are welcome to participate. Students can receive
their community service hours. Schools may also register to
Museum Closure
The Sint Maarten National Heritage Foundation hereby informs the public that the Museum will be closed for visitors
September 10-15. The museum will be open during regular
opening hours, 10:00am to 4:00pm, as of September 16.
St. Maarten Day Info Meeting
The Committee for St. Maarten Day 2009 and Commissioner of Culture Hyacinth Richardson request all uniformed
and cultural groups to attend information meetings Dr. A.C.
Wathey Legislative Hall, Government Administration Building, Thursday, September 10: Uniformed groups, 7:00pm;
Cultural groups 8:00pm.
There will be two parades on St. Maarten Day: The official
uniformed parade and the cultural parade. The uniformed parade is open to all uniformed groups, from the Police Force to
the various Scouting groups. The cultural parade is open to all
groups and/or organizations that would like to participate.
41
of at the Belair Fitness Center. Lessons every weekday, as
well as nightly Masters training, competition team training and special swim-training sessions for tri-athletes.
From beginners to top athletes, all ages, all levels, private
or group lessons and training sessions tailored to your
specific needs. Call coach Romain for more information
on 581-2625 or 00590 690 772900
HOPE Meetings
The HIV/AIDS support group H.O.P.E is inviting all HIV
positive persons to attend their monthly meetings. For
more information, please contact Dr. Gerard van Osch at
telephone numbers 544-5374 during office hours.
Riding Lessons
Lucky Stables is registering persons interested in horseback riding lessons.
For more information call 544-5255, e-mail to ssnpactivities@yahoo.com or visit Lucky Stables at Seaside Nature
Park in Cay Bay (behind the GEBE power plant).
Motiance Dance School
Motiance Dance School reminds all students and parents
that although classes have started, the school is still taking
registration for all its 25th anniversary year classes. Visit the office in the John Larmonie Centre, 2:00-6:00pm
Monday-Friday and 9:00am to 5:00pm Saturday. Registration fee for the 2009-2010 dance year is US $25.
Raffle Postponed
St. Martin Pony League informs all persons who have purchased raffle tickets for the Caribbean Cruise Trip as first
prize that the raffle has been postponed. For more inforFormer Gang Leader Speaks
Joseph Jennings will be on-island Monday to Friday, Sep- mation call 542-2121.
tember 14-18,
speaking to 12- to 18-year-olds regarding gang violence, drug Training Programme
abuse, alcohol abuse, sex, profanity and how to respect mom and Dynamics Track Club is offering training sessions in shot
dad. If your school is interested in hosting Jennings and his pow- put, javelin, long jump, high jump, discuss throwing, short
erful motivational words, contact Love of Kids Foundation at tel. distance race, long distance race, relay race, and many
554-7765 immediately. Minimum 60 students per meeting during more events at Raoul Illidge Sports Complex on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays starting 4:30pm. Persons
school hours. Fee: Corporate donated, free to your school.
ages 10-21 are invited to join the Dynamics Track Club.
For more information call 553-0238 or 581-1716
Driving Lessons
Belvedere Community Centre is now registering interested persons for driving lessons, Monday-Friday, 9:00am to Small Beginnings Registration
4:00pm. Deadline for registration is October 2. Lessons be- Small Beginnings Christian Preschool has relocated to
gin on October 12. Belvedere residents with proof of such Madame Estate and is now registering children. Call 523are given preference and discounted prices. For more infor- 8934.
mation, call 524-5499, 547-0239, 547-0157 or 547-0150.
La Romana Reunion
The former employees of La Romana store are planning
Girl Power Volunteers
Girl Power St. Maarten is looking for more female volun- a reunion. For information, please contact Elmar Carter,
teers to be trained as facilitators to help run workshops for 523-5662 or 581-7111; Pauline Gumbs, 522-0186; or Clauteenage girls in our high schools. For more information, go dette Arndell, 553-6838.
to www.sxmaidsfoundation.org and follow the Girl Power
link at the bottom of the page, or email jbgirlpower@gmail. Baseball training
The management of the Windward Roads Coorslight Cay
com , or call tel. 557-8700 9:00am to 5:00pm.
Hill Baseball team informs players that there will be training every Monday 7:00pm at Jose Lake Baseball Park in
After School Assistance
J&D Educational Foundation is accepting registration for af- Cul de Sac.
ter school assistance for pupils of grades 1-6. We offer tutoring
in English, Dutch, math, arithmetic, and computer. We also Old Photos
are accepting registration for English as a second language University of St. Martin (USM) is requesting all students,
and GED tutorials. We are also accepting registration for friends, and alumni of USM to take in old USM-related
children in grades 1-3 starting October 15. Register at Pond- photos of between 1989 and 2009. Yearbooks will also be
accepted. These photos will be used during a historical
fill 55c or call tel. 553-7187.
event later this year. All hard copy photos and yearbooks
will be returned after being scanned. Persons with pictures
Learn to Paddle
Learn to Paddle foundation is starting its beginners’ kayak- can contact the USM Admissions Office at tel: 542-5171.
ing classes for 2009-2010. Registration is at Kim Sha Beach
on Saturday mornings starting 8:30am. For more informa- School Registration
Sophia’s Camp Foundation is registering children for the
tion contact Stuart Knaggs 580-4657.
school year 2009/2010.
Space is available for the afternoon programme for home
Nursery/Playschool Registration
Jubilee Joy Nursery and Playschool, Meadowlands Drive #3, work assistance and guidance. The school is located at
Retreat Estate, is now registering children ages 0-4 years for Marianne’s Estate #16 Cole Bay; Tel 522-5006/522-9294.
the school year 2009-2010 and the after school activity programme for ages 4-12 years, for homework assistance in both School Registering
Dutch and English, swimming on Fridays. Opening hours The Bright Start Early Stimulation, Long Wall Road, PhilMonday-Friday, 7:00am to 5:00pm. Call Loeann Thompson, ipsburg, is registering children 2½-4 for the new school
year. For more information call 557-8202 or 526-9852.
tel. 548-3964 or 553-2046.
The Positively Active After Kids is now registering children 4-12. For more info call 554-4601.
Football Players
St. Martin Soccer Educational Foundation is looking for
youth football players at Raoul Illidge Sports Complex, ages Donating to Red Cross
Red Cross would appreciate donations of clothing, kitch13-18 on Tuesdays, 4:30-5:30pm; ages 4-12, 5:30-6:30pm.
en and household items as well as furniture. For more information contact St. Maarten Chapter at Airport Road
Swim Classes
Swim coach Romain is now offering swimming lessons for 34 St. Maarten, NA, tel. 545-2333 or 545-2304, fax 545children and adults at the CIA School in Cupecoy instead 5263.
People
42
VENICE--A new film by Israeli director Samuel Maoz
draws on his memories as
a young soldier in the 1982
Lebanon war, powerfully
rendering fear and claustrophobia by shooting most
of the action from inside a
tank.
So harrowing was his experience as a 20-year-old
conscript in the conflict that
it took Maoz 25 years to
muster the strength to write
“Lebanon”, which has its
world premiere at the Venice film festival on Tuesday.
The movie follows four inexperienced soldiers inside
a tank dispatched to “mop
up” enemies in a Lebanese
town that has already been
bombarded by the Israeli
Air Force. What seems a
routine mission quickly spirals out of control and turns
into a death trap as the tank
breaks down and loses its
way in hostile territory.
Packed with tension and
graphic scenes that can be
difficult to watch, the film
thrusts the audience onto
the battlefield by shooting
the action almost entirely
from inside the tank and
through the cross hairs of the
gunner’s lens. “This is not a
movie that makes you think
`I’ve just been to a movie’.
This is a movie that makes
you feel like you’ve been to
war,” said Yoav Donat, who
in the film relives the direc-
TV 15 (local)
St. Maarten Cable TV
Wednesday, September 9
8:00am Replay AVS News
8:30am Music Videos
9:00am Caribbean Newsline
9:30pm Caribbean Workout
10:00am G.I.S Press Briefing
5:00pm Gillette World Sports
5:30pm Caribbean Newsline
6:00pm Law in Focus
6:30pm 21st Century
7:00pm GIS Bulletin
7:30pm AVS News
7:58pm Medical Edge
8:00pm Speaking of Everything
8:30pm Prime Time with Beverly Hyman
9:30pm Robbie’s Lottery
9:35pm Aruba Week in Review
10:00pm St. Maarten Lottery
10:05pm Music Videos
11:00pm AVS News
11:30pm Caribbean Newsline
BVN (Dutch/Flemish) TV
Channel 46 St. Maarten Cable TV
Wednesday, September 9
12:00pm
VRT Journaal
12:30pm
De rode loper
12:45pm
Lingo
1:10pm
Teleac: Buiten
1:25pm
Hello goodbye
1:50pm
Sterretje gezocht finale
2:05pm
Max geheugentrainer
2:20pm
Tijd voor Max
3:00pm
NOS Journaal
3:10pm
Sesamstraat
3:35pm
Het klokhuis
3:50pm
Jeugdjournaal
4:00pm
Blokken
4:25pm
Thuis
4:50pm
ONM
5:15pm
Regioned
5:20pm
Eenvandaag
5:50pm
Sportjournaal kort
6:00pm
VRT Journaal
6:40pm
De wereld draait door
7:30pm
NOS Journaal
7:55pm
Weerbericht
8:05pm
Praatjesmakers
8:45pm
New York 400
9:10pm
NOS Journaal
9:20pm
Nova/Den Haag vandaag
9:55pm
Sportjournaal
10:20pm
Pauw & Witteman
11:10pm
Terzake
11:45pm
Man bijt hond
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
tor’s role in the war manning
the tank’s cannon.
“Lebanon” comes one year
after Ari Folman’s animated
documentary “Waltz With
Bashir”, which also explored
the horrors of the 1982 conflict from the point of view
of Israeli soldiers. Maoz,
who calls that war “our
Vietnam”, said that unlike
in previous conflicts fought
by Israel, in Lebanon the
“game rules”--clearly identified armies and targets--did
not apply.
“The war took place inside
neighbourhoods, the enemy
was wearing jeans so you
could not see the difference
between soldier and civilian,
the general direction was
north but that north quickly
turned 360 degrees,” he said
in an interview. “From the
end of the war, from Beirut
I remember craziness in everybody, I remember madness in the air.”
He said he had wanted to
present the crude reality of
war to try to come to terms,
at least in part, with his own
trauma--and the haunting
memory of the first man he
killed. The film’s backers
had to fight hard to persuade
him to cut out some of the
most harrowing scenes.
“I need to forgive myself
as well. It was a no way out
situation and I didn’t have a
choice. But at the end of the
day I was there and that for
me is enough to feel responsible,” he said.
Maoz said the film was not
Film director Samuel Maoz (2nd L) and actors Yoav Donat (L), Michael Moshonov and Zohar
Strauss (R) attend the “Lebanon” photocall during the 66th Venice Film Festival on Tuesday.
a condemnation of Israel’s
policies, but a personal
account of what he went
through--and of the ethical dilemmas soldiers face
across the world. “The mistake I made is to call the
film `Lebanon’ because the
Lebanon war is no different
in its essence from any other
war and for me any attempt
to be political would have
flattened the film,” he said.
“If we talk not politically but
personally about the souls of
the soldiers, this is the best
way to stop war.”
Rather than explaining to
his actors what it was like to
be in a stifling hot tank being fired at from all directions, Maoz locked them in
Programmes Radio Netherlands
Sint-Maarten:
* Pearl FM (98.1 FM),
Monday-Friday:
6.30am-7.25am Linea Recta (live), nieuws & actualiteiten ‘special’ voor
de Nederlandse Antillen & Aruba in DUTCH (7.15 in Papiamentu)
1.00pm-1.30pm Newsline, news & current affairs in English
* Radio Soualiga (99.9 FM)
Dutch and English items from RNW (no fixed time)
Sint-Eustatius:
*Sint-Eustatius Broadcasting Corporation (91.5 FM)
Monday-Friday:
7.45am-8.40am Linea Recta, nieuws & actualiteiten ‘special’ voor de
Nederlandse Antillen & Aruba in DUTCH (from 8.30am in Papiamentu)
6.00pm-7.00pm Newsline, news & current affairs in English + Daily
special
7.00pm-8.00pm Linea Recta (repeat)
* Statia-Cable (Channel 2)
Monday-Sunday (24 hours):
- Dutch programme, including 6.30am-7.25am Linea Recta (MondaySaturday)
Saba:
* Voice of Saba/QFM 93.9
Monday-Friday:
6.30am-10.15am Dutch programme, including 6.30am-07.25am Linea
Recta (live), nieuws & actualiteiten ‘special’ voor de Nederlandse Antillen & Aruba in DUTCH (7.15am in Papiamentu)
Monday-Friday:
2.00pm-2.30pm Newsline, news & current affairs in English
* Saba-Cable (Channel 2)
Monday-Friday:
6.30am-10.15am Dutch programme, including Linea Recta (see Voice
of Saba)
Monday-Friday:
2.00pm-2:30pm Newsline (see Voice of Saba)
See also: www.caribiana.nl
a dark container for hours at
temperatures of 40 degrees.
Aides then struck the container walls with iron bars.
“He wanted us to know
how it feels to be in the heat,
when you sweat and you’re
tired and have no drinks
and your nerves are going
to pop,” said Donat, who
like most of the other actors in the film has served in
the military. “It scares you a
lot.”
Tele 2
St. Martin Cable
Wednesday, September 9
6:00am
Caribbean Workout
6:30am
Speak the Ministry-Word TV
7:00am
AVS News (r)
9:00am
Prime Time with Beverly
11:00am
Music Videos
12:00pm
AVS News
3:00pm
Music Videos
5:00pm
Warren Cassell Show
6:30pm
Regional Programming
7:00pm
Transparence Kompa
8:00pm
Local Events
8:30pm
AVS News
9:00pm
Regional Programming
10:00pm
AVS News (r)
10:30pm
African Movie
TeleCuraçao
Channel 30 St. Maarten Cable TV
Wednesday, September 9
6:30am
Moru Bon Dia
9:30am
Mainta Hubenil
11:30am
Telsell
11:45am
Musika Varia
12:00pm
Al Dia
12:30pm
Telenotisia Merdia
1:00pm
Bo Tra’i Merdia
3:30pm
Telsell
3:45pm
Atardi Hubenil
5:00pm
Pidi Boka
5:30pm
Musika Varia
6:00pm
Programa Internashonal
6:30pm
Na Kaminda pa Pais Korsou
7:00pm
Beisbol Liga Grandi
8:00pm
TeleNotisia Prinsipal
8:30pm
Beisbol ta kontinua
9:00pm
Wega di Number Korsou
9:10pm
Partisipashon di Morto
9:15pm
Beisbol ta kontinua
10:00pm
Muhe (r)
11:00pm
Fasionista na Bista (r)
11:30pm
Telenotisia(r)
12:00pm
Estreno
People
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
LOS ANGELES--The Hollywood studio behind a film
based on “The Hobbit” and
trustees for author J.R.R.
Tolkien’s estate said on
Tuesday they had settled a
lawsuit that clears the way
for what is expected to be
a blockbuster movie based
on the book.
“The Hobbit” is a 1937
book by Tolkien about a diminutive character named
Bilbo Baggins who goes on
a treasure-seeking adventure, and it sets the stage
for Tolkien’s “The Lord of
the Rings” trilogy, with its
epic tale of magic and warfare.
The “Lord of the Rings”
books were made into three
films released by New Line
Cinema between 2001 and
2003 that made about $2.9
billion at worldwide box
offices, and similarly “The
Hobbit” is widely expected
to be a blockbuster hit.
But in February 2008, the
trustees of the Tolkien’s estate filed a lawsuit against
New Line, a division of Time
Warner Inc, seeking more
than $150 million in profits
from the “Rings” movies, it
claimed it was owed. The
lawsuit also sought to block
filming of “The Hobbit”,
which will now be made
into two movies by Guillermo del Toro, the filmmaker
behind “Pan’s Labyrinth”
and “Hellboy”.
Financial terms of the settlement were not released,
but the author’s son, Christopher Tolkien, said in a
statement that as a result
of the agreement, “New
Line may now proceed with
its proposed films of `The
Hobbit’.”
HarperCollins Publishers
Ltd, a publisher of Tolkien’s works, joined trustees
of the Tolkien estate in the
lawsuit. The Tolkien Trust,
a charity tied to the late
author’s estate, has given
away more than $8 million
in the last five years.
Jermaine Jackson reacts during a news conference in Vienna, Austria on Tuesday.
VIENNA--R&B stars Mary
J. Blige, Akon and Chris
Brown and veterans Natalie Cole and Sister Sledge
will honor the late Michael
Jackson at a concert in Vienna later this month, with
more stars due to be announced this week.
Thirteen artists so far have
been confirmed to perform
at the concert, set in front
of Vienna’s Schoenbrunn
castle on Sept. 26, Michael’s
brother Jermaine Jackson
and producer Georg Kindel told reporters at a news
conference in Vienna.
A total of 20 to 25 artists
are expected to confirm
eventually, they said. More
names will be revealed at
separate news conferences
in London on Wednesday
and in Berlin on Thursday,
Kindel said.
In front of an expected audience of 65,000--plus millions on TV screens worldwide--artists will reinterpret
Jackson’s greatest hits in-
cluding Billie Jean, Thriller
and Bad. Jermaine will sing
a virtual duet with his late
brother, who died from a
drug overdose on June 25
and will be brought to life
by video projections on the
concert stage, a 50 metre
wide stage with a golden
crown on top in front of the
17th century palace.
“For one song Michael will
come back to us. It will be a
magic moment for all, who
loved his music,” Jermaine
said. “This is how Michael
would have done it. He always did things over the
top.”
The singers will be supported by the band and
dancers who were to accompany Jackson on his
planned “This Is It” series
of comeback concerts in
London before the king of
pop died in June. Actress
Angela Bassett, who played
the role of Michael Jacksons’s mother Katherine
in the two part film “The
Jacksons: An American
Dream”, will present stations of Michaels life.
In a grand finale, all performers, which will also
include German-based boy
group US5, will sing “We
Are The World” or “Heal
The World” together. Michael Jackson’s mother
Katherine and his and Jermaine’s children will attend
the concert, Jackson said.
Tickets for the concert
are being sold in stages for
63 to 518 euros ($91-$745)
each. More than half have
been sold.
Jermaine said he deliberately chose Austria’s capital as setting for the tribute
because his brother loved
the city, where he last performed in 1997 on his HIStory World tour. “Michael
has toured here, he also
loved history and he loved
the different castles and
just the beauty, the culture,
the music here in Vienna,”
Jermaine said.
43
Actors George Clooney (C), Ewan McGregor (L), and director Grant Heslov pose for photographers during a red carpet for the premiere of the movie “The Men Who Stare At Goats” at the
66th Venice Film Festival on Tuesday.
VENICE--U.S.
actor
George Clooney plays a
New Age hippie soldier
trained for psychic, peaceful combat in a comedy set
during the war in Iraq.
“The Men Who Stare at
Goats” is based on a book
by Jon Ronson about a
secret unit created by the
U.S. army in 1979 which,
the author said, believed
troops could become invisible, walk through walls and
kill goats just by staring at
them.
Ewan McGregor plays
a reporter who stumbles
across a member of the
unit as he prepares to enter
Iraq, and he and Clooney’s
character Lyn Cassady
go on an ill-fated journey
that sees them kidnapped,
shot at and hit by a roadside bomb. Jeff Bridges is
a long-haired, drug-taking
leader of the “New Earth
Army”, and Kevin Spacey
completes the line-up as a
rival to Cassady who ends
up turning the unit into a
lucrative private enterprise
operating in Iraq during the
war.
“What we love about
this film and what’s so fun
about it is that there’s a
tremendous amount of it
that’s true,” Clooney told
reporters in Venice, where
the movie premieres on
Tuesday.
“As funny as it is, it’s some
of the dumbest parts of
the film that are the true
parts, so that’s what made
us laugh the most,” added
the 48-year-old Hollywood
star.
Although set in Iraq in recent times, the war is only
an incidental backdrop to
a comedy which drew loud
laughter at a press screening. “We thought that this
wasn’t an Iraq war film,”
said Clooney. “We thought
of it as a comedy about
some crazy ideas that went
on that started at the end of
the Vietnam war and carried on through not that
long ago and maybe still
carry on.”
Director Grant Heslov
added: “It really is more
about when you take the
idea of trying to do something wonderful, something
beautiful, something different, and along the way it
gets perverted.”
“Times aren’t great, they’re
not easy, there’s a war going on, there’s a financial
crisis,” he added. “And yet
in spite of all this you still
need guys who believe in
something and that’s what
I loved about Ewan’s character.”
Clooney laughed off questions about his personal
life, including one journalist
who asked him if he could
imagine falling in love and
marrying a man. “Grant
and I are actually announcing our wedding while we
are here,” he joked. “I don’t
quite know how to answer
that question, but I can read
your mind again and I know
what you’re thinking.”
Another man in the audience announced that he was
gay and removed his shirt
and trousers as he spoke.
44
Sports
St. Maarten’s M Maria Bass represented the Netherlands Antilles at the attended the Sports for All seminar in Cuba.
PHILIPSBURG-- Maria
Bass, St. Maarten’s representative to the Netherlands Antilles Olympic
Committee, recently attended the Sports for All
seminar in Cuba.
“The concept Sports for
All is very interesting and
definitely has its benefits,”
said Bass
“It caters to all age groups
and fosters the participation of the family in the
community.”
In Cuba, free fitness
programs are set in public
parks. Programs target a
wide range of people including everyone from babies to senior citizens. Programs are also held in the
work place.
“One of the benefits of
such a program in Cuba is
to counteract the various
social problems and reduce
violence,” said Bass.
The implementation of
such a program in the Netherlands Antilles, however
will require the political
will of government, according to Bass, “as in Cuba this
is less of a challenge given
the fact that government
and the Olympic committee are practically one.”
Cuba selected basketball,
athletics, football, swimming and volleyball for
their beginning school program as they believe these
sports are vital for the biological development
of our young.
“In St. Lucia, they have
already implemented this
program in five communities,” said Bass. “It is
combined with the Health
department in order to promote healthy eating.”
The NAOC has appointed
a Sports for All committee
chaired by Richard Leito.
Bass has also been appointed.
“The Sports for All committee will work out a structure on how this program
can be implemented in the
various communities after
which a presentation will
be made to the board of the
NAOC.”
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
MARIGOT--The 6th edition of Course de L’Alliance
presented by Marina Fort
Louis will set sail November 27-29, organisers have
announced.
As usual boats from around
the Caribbean will engage
in head to head racing over
a triangular course incorporating overnight stops
in St. Barths and Anguilla.
Classes include Spinnaker,
Non-Spinnaker, Multihull
and Open Class.
Racing begins on Friday
November 27 with the first
leg to the port of Gustavia,
St. Barths where competitors will overnight. Leg
two takes sailors from St.
Barths to Shoal Bay, Anguilla, where the fleet once
again overnights. Sunday is
the final leg from Anguilla
back to Marina Fort Louis
in Marigot where participants have free dockage.
New for this year is a reduced entry fee which
should boost participation.
The fee has been lowered
from $200 to $100.
Organisers explained it
had become increasingly
difficult to accommodate
all participants for dinners
and breakfasts, but lowering of the fee would help
the event to grow. Participants will be responsible
for their own meals giving
them the freedom of choice
of where to eat on the respective islands.
Registration followed by
the skipper’s briefing will
take place on November 26
from 4:00pm until 6:00pm
at a location to be confirmed at a later date.
Sponsors of the event include Marina Fort Louis,
Windward Islands Bank,
Petrosol, Dauphin Telecom, Siapoc, Madco, Inter-
lux and Kitrad.
The annual event organised by Marina Fort Louis
and sanctioned by the Sint
Maarten Yacht Club offers
competitors from around
the Caribbean competitive
racing and unique ports
of call. Boats will sail under CSA rating and safety
rules.
For more information log
on to the regatta website
www.coursedelalliance.
com or contact Herve Dorvil at Marina Fort Louis
(590) 51.11.11.
CHICAGO-- The New Jersey Nets have signed a deal
to make a manufacturer of
computing and digital imaging products the sponsor
for its practice jerseys, a
first for a team in the National Basketball Association.
The two-year deal with
PNY Technologies Inc was
announced by the team on
Tuesday, but details of its
terms, said to be in the midsix-figure range, were not
disclosed.
PNY was already a sponsor with the team last season, with signs in the Nets’
home arena in East Rutherford, N.J. The new deal
extends that relationship
and adds the practice exposure.
Under the agreement, the
Nets’ practice jerseys during the 2009-2010 season
will include the PNY logo,
the team said.
PNY, based in Parsippany,
New Jersey, also will own
the naming rights for the
team’s practice facility in
East Rutherford, the Nets
said.
In addition to practice jersey branding, the PNY logo
will be seen on the media
backdrop used for interviews at all practices, the
Nets said. The PNY logo
also will appear on Nets’
coaching staff apparel worn
at team practices
As part of the deal, PNY
will receive four tickets to
every Nets road game and
exposure on the team’s
website, a team spokesman
said.
PNY makes flash memory
cards, USB flash drives,
graphics cards and other
parts used in digital cameras, cell phones and home
computers.
Photo Gumbs batter, number 7 Kael Richards, reaches first base safely as his team faced
Sagicor at the Stadium on the Pondfill yesterday. Sagicor squeezed past Photo Gumbs 11-10
in eight innings, to advance to the finals of the St. Maarten Little League age 12 and under
finals. The best of tree semi-final went three games with Sagicor winning the first and third
matches. Sagicor will face top seed Fatum. Fatum advanced to the finals yesterday defeating
fourth seed Elle si Belle Tours in two games.
Gilton Zimmermann won his first match and was beaten in
the second round of the 2009 AIBA World Championships
in Milan. The 23-year-old super heavyweight (+91 kilos)
boxer was born in Curaçao but now lives and trains in Breda, Netherlands. Zimmerman was a kick boxer but switched
disciplines just four weeks before the championships. Prior
to the contest, the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee
sent Zimmermann to the “Road to Milan” mini training camp
in Assisi, Italy. During the camp, Zimmerman had three test
bouts. In the championships in Milan, Zimmerman first faced
Ali Khaleel Salman of Iraq and won 11-4. In the second, round
Zimmermann lost to Erislandy Cotilla of Cuba by a score of
11-4.
SWEDEN--St. Maarten’s
Simon Pantophlet is scheduled to be on the mound as
the Netherlands Antilles
face Sweden in the 2009
Baseball World Cup. A total of 22 teams are competing in five countries, Spain,
Czech Republic, Germany,
Croatia and Sweden from
September 9 to 12. Winners
will advance to the round of
16 which will be hosted in
the Netherlands and Italy,
whose national teams au-
tomatically advance to the
second round.
Pantophlet called St.
Maarten yesterday to report
that team had just practiced
on the “brand new field” in
Sweden and that Netherlands Antilles has the honour of being the first team
to play at the park.
Pantophlet also reported
the weather in Sweden was
good, about 17 degrees Celsius and that first pitch was
at 7:00pm, “Sweden Time.”
Sports
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
ROME-- Formula One’s
in-season testing ban has
made life difficult for the
sport’s big teams, McLaren
driver Heikki Kovalainen
said on Tuesday.
“As a driver I’d prefer to
get the testing back,” the
Finn told Reuters in an
interview. “I’m a Formula
One driver and I want to
drive the car. That’s the
best part of the job.”
Kovalainen said the ban
had made it impossible for
McLaren and Ferrari to
catch up in time to mount
a challenge after the effects
of last year’s close race left
them lagging behind Red
Bull and championship
leaders Brawn.
“The fight last year went
on very late so all the top
SEVILLE, Spain-- World
number three Rafael Nadal
has been included in Spain’s
squad for their Davis Cup
World Group semi-final
against Israel next week
despite problems with an
apparent stomach injury at
the U.S. Open.
Nadal, who has just returned from a two-month
layoff with tendinitis in
both knees, was in obvious
discomfort against fellow
Spaniard Nicolas Almagro
on Sunday but rallied after
treatment to pull through 75 6-4 6-4 and clinch a place
in the fourth round.
David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez
make up the defending
champions’ team for the
three-day tie against Israel
in Murcia, starting on Sept.
18, coach Francis Roig said
teams -- us, Ferrari and
BMW -- had to (continue
to) develop the car until
very late into the season,”
he said ahead of Sunday’s
Italian Grand Prix at Monza. “This compromised the
work for this year.
“The testing ban is a big
factor because teams like
us and Ferrari would have
been able to catch up quicker if we’d had more testing.
“Quite a lot of work had
to be done in the factory,
which is not always as accurate as when you go on the
race track.
“We’re doing a lot of testing on Fridays, which is
compromising our set-up
work a little.
“I think it’s the same with
other teams which is why
at a news conference in Seville.
Spain have won all three
of their previous meetings
with Israel and are firm favourites to triumph on the
home clay and set up a final
against either Croatia or
Czech Republic.
Spain have won their last
16 home ties and last 18 ties
on clay and are bidding for
a seventh Davis Cup final
place, while Israel are competing in their first semi-final after upsetting Sweden
and Russia in the previous
rounds.
Nadal could be replaced
by former world number
one Juan Carlos Ferrero,
who plays Juan Martin Del
Potro of Argentina in the
fourth round of the U.S.
Open later on Tuesday, if
he is forced to withdraw.
the season has been a bit
silly, up and down.”
Kovalainen said he appreciated the ban was a costcutting measure imposed
to show the sport was responding to tough economic times but he hoped other
measures could be found
instead.
“You have to find a balance with the difficult circumstances; you have to
do something,” he said.
“For me the ideal situation
would be that we wouldn’t
limit the driving, we would
limit other things.”
Kovalainen would not rule
out another season full of
surprises next year but said
he was confident McLaren
would be a contender after
some good recent showings, with his team mate
Lewis Hamilton winning
the Hungarian Grand Prix
in July.
“I think next year is an unknown,” he said. “Things
are incredibly competitive in Formula One now.
I don’t want to make any
predictions but I’m sure
McLaren will be strong.
We’ve already made big improvements with the car.”
He said his relationship
with world champion Hamilton was a mutually beneficial one.
“I’m in a good position in
the team. I feel strong,” he
said. “At the moment Lewis
and I are getting on really
well. We try to push the
team forward. For sure I’ve
learned from Lewis and
I also think he’s probably
learned from me.”
Kovalainen was speaking
at Rome’s Vallelunga track
at the eSafety Challenge,
an International Automobile Federation (FIA)
sponsored event to promote greater use of safety
technology in road cars.
Players, all 80 years and older, take part in a geriatric hockey tournament in Burnaby, British
Columbia September 8. Players from the United States and Canada have gathered to play in
the three-day tournament involving those 75 years and older and 80s and older.
45
Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain holds his national flag as he celebrates winning the men’s 1,500
metres final during the World Athletics Championships at the Olympic stadium in Berlin in this
file photo. Bahrain basked in the glory of Kenyan-born Yusuf Saad Kamel’s victory over 1,500
metres at the Berlin World Championships last month but back in East Africa the subject of
defecting athletes is worrying many people.
NAIROBI-Bahrain
basked in the glory of Kenyan-born Yusuf Saad
Kamel’s victory over 1,500
metres at the Berlin World
Championships last month
but back in East Africa the
subject of defecting athletes
is worrying many people.
Allegations that young
runners are being smuggled
abroad, diplomatic rows
and complaints from athletes about their treatment
in their new homes have all
fuelled the flames of controversy.
Kamel himself -- born
Gregory Konchellah 26
years ago -- was at the centre of one row, asking Kenya to take him back after
accusing Bahraini officials
of withholding his passport,
failing to pay him bonuses
and recruiting under-age
athletes.
The dispute was settled
in time to allow Kamel to
run for Bahrain in Berlin,
where he added an 800
metres bronze to his 1,500
gold, but concerns continue
about other athletes following in his footsteps.
“The smuggling of athletes,
perpetrated by unscrupulous coaches operating illegal camps away from our
radar, is going on,” Athletics Kenya chairman Isaiah
Kiplagat said recently, after
reports that children were
being lured from schools
in remote parts of the Rift
Valley Province to run for
Gulf States.
“Do we consider these
children as expatriates or
refugees?” asked Kiplagat,
Kenyan member of the
International Association
of Athletics Federations
(IAAF). “Some of them
come to us complaining
about poor conditions out
there. Others are suffering
silently.”
Athletics Kenya raised
concerns about the issue
in February when Kiplagat
accused a local coach of
smuggling under-age athletes to the Gulf States.
At the same time, six athletes, including Kamel,
lodged a complaint with
the Kenyan federation that
they were being denied
their passports by Bahraini
officials when they wanted
their former nationality
back.
Kamel, who had even
joined the Bahrain Armed
Forces after moving to
the state in 2003, wrote to
Athletics Kenya, saying he
wanted to give up his Bahrain passport.
“The reasons for revoking my residency/citizenship are: non-payment of
bonuses earned in various
races, the passport I hold
indicates that I am a resident, not a citizen, and nonrespect of human rights,
treating African athletes
differently from Bahraini
athletes which I cannot
withstand any more.
“I also object to the recruitment of under-age
Kenyan athletes by the
Bahrain Athletic Association,” wrote Kamel, the son
of 1987 and 1991 world
800 metres champion Billy
Konchellah, before changing his mind.
Kamel was followed to
Bahrain by Abel Cheruiyot,
who later died after an ill-
ness, and Leonard Mucheru, who became Mashir
Salim Jawher.
Mucheru regained his Kenyan passport after running
and winning a marathon
race in Israel in 2007, which
sparked a diplomatic furore
and his deportation from
Bahrain.
Early defections were influenced by better incentives on offer abroad, exposure to better training
facilities across the world
and Kenya’s notoriously
tough trials for global competitions.
In 2002 Stephen Cherono,
renamed Saif Saaeed Shaheen, and Albert Chepkurui, who became Ahmad
Hassan Abdullah, switched
their allegiance to Qatar.
Shaheen won world steeplechase titles in 2003 and
2005.
The IAAF last month
released a list of nine Kenyans who had moved to
Qatar and seven who had
gone to Bahrain.
A Ugandan, Burundian
and two Tanzanians have
also become Qataris.
Kenyan officials say the
current number of defectors is difficult to determine, however, because
many leave the country
surreptitiously and surface
only when faced with problems.
Worried observers say the
defections raise the prospect that one day a steeplechase race could feature an
entire line-up of Kenyanborn runners, all representing different nations.
Sports
46
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
in 1980 had not even entered
her head.
“I felt like an elephant just
trying to move. Even two
steps was terrible,” recalled
Clijsters about her first experience with a racket following the birth of her daughter
Jada.
On Monday, it was the usually fleet-footed Murray who
lumbered around court.
Carrying a left wrist injury
which hindered his twohanded backhand, Murray
went into meltdown after
failing to take two set points
on the Cilic serve at 5-4 in
the opening frame.
With Murray emitting a
series of anguished cries of
“aaargh” and “ayeeeeeee”
every time he missed a shot,
those walking on the National Tennis Centre grounds
might have thought Arthur
Ashe Stadium had temporarily been turned into an ER.
Murray could have done
with some medical attention
but instead dropped serve
at 5-5 and from then on the
16th seeded Cilic surrendered only four more games.
“I’m disappointed. I don’t
know how long or how quickly it will take me to get over
it,” said a glum Murray.
BEIJING-- The Washington Wizards are visiting
China from the United
States this week to mark the
30th anniversary of a trailblazing tour which aimed to
help build diplomatic ties
between two recently estranged nations.
The focus has now shifted
towards business but they
remain proud of their role
in bringing the countries
closer together.
Hall of Famer Wes Unseld
and his team mates were
the first NBA team to play
in China when they arrived
in 1979 at the personal invitation of paramount Communist Party leader Deng
Xiaoping just after the U.S.
normalised relations with
Beijing.
“It’s very rewarding to
think that 30 years ago, we
started the process of building the relationship between our two countries,”
Unseld, now 63, told a news
conference on Tuesday.
“It’s very humbling for
someone like me to think
that I shared a very small
part of that.”
The process has gone a
long way since, not least for
the NBA which now has its
own operation in China and
has grown into the most
popular professional sports
league in the world’s most
populous nation.
Such popularity has not
been missed and the marquee names of North
American basketball, including Lebron James and
Kobe Bryant, have flocked
to China for promotional
appearances this close season.
So, as well as marking the
anniversary of their trip and
putting on basketball clinics on this 10-day tour, the
Wizards were also looking
to build business relationships.
LONDON- Paula Radcliffe will race in the world
half-marathon championships on Oct. 11 after being
named in the British team
for the Birmingham event,
UK Athletics said on their
website (www.uka.org.uk)
on Tuesday.
Radcliffe, world-record
holder over the full marathon and third-fastest ever
over the half marathon,
won the New York halfmarathon on Aug. 16 but
withdrew from the marathon at the Berlin world
championships the following week saying she was not
fully fit following a foot operation earlier this year.
Radcliffe, 35, won the
half-marathon world title
in 2000, 2001 and 2003.
Kim Clijsters of Belgium hits a forehand return to Li Na of China during their match at the U.S.
Open tennis tournament in New York, September 8.
NEW YORK-- The beaming smile of Kim Clijsters
once again lit up Flushing
Meadows on Tuesday, while
Andy Murray cut a sorry figure as his U.S. Open run was
abruptly halted.
Murray had been tipped
as one of the favourites to
win his first major title here
but the Briton scarcely resembled a player rated second best in the world as he
shouted his way to a 7-5 6-2
6-2 last 16 defeat by Croatian
Marin Cilic.
While American Davis
Cup captain Patrick McEnroe commentated “we did
not see this one coming,”
Murray said: “Today I could
have been better in pretty
much every part of the game,
whether it was mental or
serve, forehand, backhand
returns. I just struggled today. I played poorly.”
Murray’s abysmal performance left Cilic to face
another rising 20-year-old,
Juan Martin del Potro, in the
quarter-finals. The Argentine sixth seed cantered to a
routine 6-3 6-3 6-3 win over
ex-world number one Juan
Carlos Ferrero.
But it was another former
top-ranked player who has
been providing the feel-good
factor at this year’s championships.
Belgian mother-of-one
Clijsters, who flew into New
York with more toys stashed
in her suitcase than rackets,
showcased her lightening
court speed as she dispatched
China’s Li Na 6-2 6-4 to reach
the semi-finals.
While many tennis fans are
wondering how a 26-year-old
woman who has been out
of action for over two years
can create so much havoc at
a grand slam, men’s world
number one Roger Federer
had an easy explanation.
“It’s like riding a bike; once
you know how to ride a bike,
you never forget that,” said
the new father of twins.
“That’s why I’m not that surprised. I think it’s a beautiful
story. It’s nice that she hasn’t
lost the love for the game.
Going out of the game at 23,
that’s for me just shocking.
It’s nice to see her back in
the game.”
Federer and the fans may
be delighted to see Clijsters
back but her vanquished rivals are unlikely to agree.
After taking down 14th seed
Marion Bartoli and world
number three Venus Williams in previous rounds, Li
was the latest to be on the
receiving end of the Clijsters
masterclass.
Next up for Clijsters, who
needed a wildcard to play
here as she does not even
have a ranking yet, will be
either three-times champion
Serena Williams or Italian
10th seed Flavia Pennetta.
No longer bogged down
by the litany of injuries that
forced her out of the game in
2007, the 2009 incarnation of
Clijsters described her amazing run to the last four as
“wow.”
However, just 15 months
ago the thought of becoming
the first mother to win a major since Evonne Goolagong
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“Basketball has become
very popular in China,”
said the team’s president of
business operations Peter
Biche.
“I think there are reasons
for our organisation to
have relations with China,
whether that be a business
relationship or a diplomatic
relationship, I think there’s
a future for our organisation here.”
“The economic and financial connections between
the U.S. and China have
grown so dramatically in
the last five to 10 years,” he
added.
“That’s part of why we’re
here, to develop relationships in the corporate community as well.”
Unseld joked he had
thought of another way the
organisation might benefit
from the longevity of their
association with China.
“I just discovered that Yao
Ming’s father was on the
team I played against in
Shanghai 30 years ago,” he
said, referring to the Houston Rockets’ All Star Chinese center.
“I have one request to
make, if you have any more
Yao Mings, please send
them to the Washington
Wizards.”
Cleveland Indians’ Michael Brantley watches his bases-loaded double with Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez, left,
during the sixth inning of the first game of a baseball doubleheader Tuesday, Sept. 8, in Cleveland. Brantley drove in two
runs with the hit. Rangers won 11-9.
FAVRE
first round playoff game
against the Philadelphia
Eagles, due largely to their
anaemic passing attack.
All this appears to make
Favre, three-times league
MVP and holder of many
NFL passing records, a
great fit in the Twin Cities.
But a closer look at the 39year-old’s past few seasons
shows a quarterback that
is not only on the decline
but may not even be an improvement on Minnesota’s
starter last season, fourthyear signal caller Tarvaris
Jackson.
Only once over the last four
seasons has Favre thrown
more touchdowns than interceptions. Although he
started well for the Jets last
year, he fell apart over the
last five games, throwing
just two touchdowns against
nine interceptions.
Meanwhile, Jackson, who
was benched after two subpar performances early in
the year, regained the starting role and led the Vikings
for the final three regular
season games and their
Continued from page 48.
playoff loss.
Over that span he threw
seven touchdowns and just
two interceptions.
But results have to be the
main measure of success.
Favre lost four of his final
five starts and Jackson carried two wins against two
losses.
What head coach Brad
Childress and the rest of
the Vikings are counting
on is the Favre of 2007, the
one that was one interception away from leading the
Packers back to the Super
Bowl.
The Favre who curbed his
gunslinger ways, cutting his
interceptions total down
to 15 and tying his lowest
mark in 11 seasons.
The Favre that was cautious but still extremely
productive, throwing for
over 4100 yards, his highest
total since 1998. Most importantly, he led the Packers to a 13-3 record.
Favre is scheduled to throw
his first pass for the Vikings
in Cleveland on Sept. 13.
Sports
THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
MADRID-European
champions Spain have
a chance to book their
place at the World Cup
when they face Estonia on
Wednesday, having learned
the lessons from their disappointing performance at
the Confederations Cup in
June.
Boosted by Saturday’s 50 win over Belgium, Spain
will make sure of their place
in South Africa if they beat
the rank outsiders in Merida and second-placed Bosnia drop points at home to
Turkey the same evening.
Spain have a 100 percent
record in their seven games
in European Group Five
and even if Bosnia win on
Wednesday, it would take
an unlikely combination of
results to deprive Vicente
del Bosque’s team of top
spot.
The winners of the nine
European groups qualify
for South Africa while the
eight best runners-up play
off among themselves for
four more places.
“We have to keep on pushing because we still need
four points to seal our qualification mathematically,
and we can’t take anything
for granted until we have
them,” Del Bosque said.
Estonia are fifth with only
one win from seven qualifiers, and have the leakiest defence with 19 goals
against. They lost 4-2 in
Turkey on Saturday but are
not expected to make major
changes to their side.
Saturday’s win in La Coruna was a welcome tonic
for Spain after they were
knocked out of the Confederations Cup by the United
States in June.
“Being knocked out of the
Confederations Cup forced
us to have a rethink because
we had been a little inconsistent,” said Del Bosque.
“We had to work hard to
beat Belgium. The first half
was tough but we read the
game well. It was good for
us to get a win like this.”
Against Belgium, there
was little evidence of com-
Dutch championship fixtures
Playing on Saturday (times GMT).
PSV Eindhoven
v
Twente Enschede v
Heerenveen
v
ADO Den Haag
v
Playing on Sunday
Willem II Tilburg v
Ajax Amsterdam v
Sparta Rotterdam v
VVV-Venlo
v
Vitesse Arnhem
v
Roda JC Kerkrade
Utrecht
Groningen
AZ Alkmaar
(1645)
(1745)
(1745)
(1845)
Feyenoord
NAC Breda
RKC Waalwijk
Heracles Almelo
NEC Nijmegen
(1030)
(1230)
(1230)
(1230)
(1430)
placency or of the vulnerability to swift breaks that
bedevilled their defeat by
the U.S. and their 3-2 comeback win over Macedonia
in a friendly last month.
Brazilian-born midfielder
Marcos Senna was not
risked, having just returned
from injury, but could be
recalled against Estonia,
although David Silva appears assured of another
start after his two goals on
Saturday.
Probable teams:
Spain: Iker Casillas; Alvaro Arbeloa, Gerard Pique,
Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevila; Xavi, Marcos Senna,
Xabi Alonso, David Silva;
Fernando Torres, David
Villa
Estonia: Sergei Pareiko;
Ragnar Klavan, Raio Piiroja,
Alo
Barengrub,
Anar Jaager; Dmitri Kruglov, Konstantin Vassiljev,
Aleksandr Dmitrijev, Joel
Lindpere; Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Andres Oper.
PARIS-- Stade Rennes
have reported Manchester
City to FIFA for allegedly
poaching teenaged defender Jeremy Helan.
“We reported Manchester
City to FIFA on March 19,”
Rennes general manager
Pierre Dreossi told Reuters
by telephone on Tuesday.
“Jeremy Helan had signed
a two-year contract when
he started at Clairefontaine
and we are asking that his
contract is respected.”
City denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement
on their website (www.
mcfc.co.uk): “We are comfortable that we have acted
within the rules throughout
the process and in no way
induced any breach of contract by Jeremy Helan.”
Rennes reported City after
Helan moved to England
in January despite having
signed a two-year contract
with the Brittany side while
he was at the French football academy in Clairefontaine.
Helan, 16, joined the
academy in 2008 and was
France’s under-16 captain.
“We cannot be robbed like
that,” Dreossi said. “There
will be negotiation...or not.
It is now up to FIFA to decide.
“We have been trying to
contact City but we did
not get any answer. But
the outcome of the Lens v
Chelsea dispute will make
them think,” he added.
Last week, FIFA found
Chelsea guilty of inducing
Gael Kakuta, now 18, to
break his contract with RC
Lens in 2007 and banned
them from registering any
new players for the next
two transfer windows.
World Cup European qualifying fixtures
Playing on Wednesday (times GMT.)
Belgian national soccer team player Igor De Camargo (R)
jumps for a header with Roland Lamah (C) during a training session at Republican Stadium in Yerevan September 8,
2009. Belgium will play against Armenia in a 2010 World Cup
soccer qualifying match on September 9.
Group One
Malta
Albania
Hungary
Group Two
Israel
Moldova
Latvia
Group Three
Czech Republic
Northern Ireland
Slovenia
Group Four
Liechtenstein
Wales
Germany
Group Five
Armenia
Bosnia
Spain
Group Six
Belarus
Andorra
England
Group Seven
Faroe Islands
Romania
Serbia
Group Eight
Italy
Montenegro
Group Nine
Norway
Scotland
v Sweden
v Denmark
v Portugal
(1730)
(1830)
(1845)
v Luxembourg
v Greece
v Switzerland
(1800)
(1830)
(1830)
v San Marino
v Slovakia
v Poland
(1520)
(1845)
(1845)
v Finland
v Russia
v Azerbaijan
(1730)
(1845)
(1845)
v Belgium
v Turkey
v Estonia
(1600)
(1800)
(2000)
v Ukraine
v Kazakhstan
v Croatia
(1700)
(1800)
(1900)
v Lithuania
v Austria
v France
(1615)
(1845)
(1900)
v Bulgaria
v Cyprus
(1850)
(1915)
v Macedonia
v Netherlands
(1830)
(1830)
47
Italy’s national soccer team coach Marcello Lippi leads a
training session at the Olympic Stadium in Turin September
8. Italy will face Bulgaria in a World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer match on Wednesday.
TURIN, Italy-- A header
from goalkeeper Gianluigi
Buffon would be enough for
Italy coach Marcello Lippi if
it meant his stuttering side
beat Bulgaria on Wednesday
and moved to the brink of
World Cup qualification.
The world champions have
been woefully short of form
in recent months and needed
two Kakha Kaladze own goals
to win 2-0 in Georgia on Saturday having not scored in
three previous matches.
“I don’t feel goals are a
problem. Tomorrow one of
their defenders can score
again, or Buffon with a header. The important thing is to
win,” Lippi told a news conference on Tuesday.
The Group Eight leaders
would go four points clear of
second-placed Ireland with
victory in Turin and would
then need just a point against
the Irish in Dublin on Oct.10
to progress to next year’s finals in South Africa.
Creativity has been lacking
in midfield and in a training
match on Tuesday Lippi left
struggling playmaker Andrea
Pirlo out of what looked like
a potential starting lineup.
The World Cup winner re-
fused to name his team but a
switch back to 4-3-3 from 44-2 is possible.
“This time I will have to
think about the team right up
until the last moment. Given
Saturday’s match it is right to
make changes,” he said.
“This team has quality,
not just athletic but technical quality. We have better
weapons than critics say.”
Lippi has had to constantly
defend his decision to overlook Sampdoria’s creative
talisman Antonio Cassano
and, with Roma’s Francesco
Totti retired from internationals, the options to liven
up their play are limited.
Recent Juventus signing
Fabio Grosso is likely to
come in at left back for his
first appearance at his new
home ground while team
mate Claudio Marchisio has
shaken off a thigh knock and
could play on the left of midfield.
Strikers Vincenzo Iaquinta
and Giuseppe Rossi offered
little threat in Tbilisi so Alberto Gilardino and Fabio
Quagliarella are pushing for
starts with Luca Toni out due
to a heel injury.
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THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Cervelo Test Team rider Simon Gerrans of Australia celebrates
after winning the 10th stage of the Tour of Spain “La Vuelta”
cycling race between Alicante and Murcia, September 8.
“But obviously I wanted
things to come down to a
sprint, so I kept on chasing him down. Once we got
within sight of the finish, I
was pretty sure I was the
fastest of the four.”
Gerrans said taking a
stage win in all three major
Tours was “a good thing to
be able to do”.
“This win completes the
set. It’s like taking a hattrick in football,” said Gerrans, who won stage 14 at
this year’s Tour of Italy and
stage 15 at the 2008 Tour de
France.
“I came to the Tour of
Spain with two objectives,
to win a stage and to finetune my form for the (road)
world championships (in
Mendrisio,
Switzerland
from Sept. 23 to 27).
“Now I’ve done one, all I
have to do is complete the
other.”
Spaniard Alejandro Valverde finished in the main
pack three minutes 42 seconds behind and remains in
the overall lead.
Born in Murcia, Valverde
received huge cheers as he
went on to the podium to
collect his leader’s jersey
for the second successive
day.
Overall, the Caisse
D’Epargne rider has an advantage of seven seconds
over Australia’s Cadel Evans with Dutchman Robert
Gesink in third, 36 seconds
back.
The Tour of Spain finishes
on Sept. 20 in Madrid.
TORONTO - The Minnesota Vikings have taken
a huge gamble in signing
veteran quarterback Brett
Favre who has come out
of retirement for the third
time.
Bookmakers have slashed
Minnesota’s odds to reach
the Super Bowl but closer
inspection of the 10-times
Pro Bowl player’s recent
record suggests he may not
Las Vegas bookmakers
agree, cutting Minnesota’s
title odds to 14-1 from 221.
Last season the Vikings,
who fielded the league’s
leading rusher in Adrian
Peterson, boasted the sixthbest defense in the NFL and
captured the NFC North
with a 10-6 record.
However, they lost their
Continued on page 46
MURCIA, Spain-- Australian Simon Gerrans completed his collection of
stage victories in all three of
cycling’s grand Tours with a
win in the Tour of Spain’s
10th stage on Tuesday.
A gifted sprinter, the Cervelo rider easily outpaced
three other breakaways
in the streets of Murcia to
clinch the day’s win ahead
of Canada’s Ryder Hesjedal, Dane Jakob Fuglsang
third and 2006 champion
Alexander Vinokourov of
Kazakhstan.
The four moved into the
lead after a day-long move
of 19 riders shattered on
the Alto de La Cresta Del
Gallo climb close to the finish.
“Vinokourov worried me
the most, he’s very experienced and was constantly
trying to get away in the last
kilometres,” the 29-yearold from Melbourne told
reporters.
bring guaranteed success to
his new team.
“He’s a great player, and
he’s going to help this football team in a lot more
ways,” former NFL head
coach Jon Gruden, a Packers assistant during Favre’s
first three years with Green
Bay, told the Star Tribune
of Minneapolis.
“He’s a winner, and still
has a lot of talent,”
Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews plays a shot in the first match against New Zealand in the Compaq Cup tri-nations one-day cricket international series in Colombo, September 8.
COLOMBO-- Thilan Samaraweera’s maiden oneday international century
led Sri Lanka to an emphatic 97-run victory over
New Zealand in the opening game of a mini tri-series
on Tuesday.
The hosts recovered from
a bad start to post a competitive 216 for seven and
bowled out New Zealand
for 119 in 36.1 overs.
Middle-order batsman Samaraweera was named man
of the match for his careerbest 104 from 124 balls including 10 boundaries.
Pace bowler Lasith Malinga followed Samaraweera’s
good work with two devastating bursts with the ball,
completing figures of four
for 28 from 6.1 overs.
Fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara chipped in with
two for 18 and Sanath Jayasuriya claimed two for 28
in a superb display by the
Sri Lankan bowlers under
floodlights.
Sri Lanka were given an
early fright when they collapsed to 38 for four and a
precarious 69 for five on a
slow pitch.
Samaraweera steadied the
innings with a 127-run stand
for the sixth wicket with allrounder Angelo Mathews,
who scored 51 including
four boundaries.
New Zealand fast bowler
Shane Bond celebrated his
return to one-day international cricket with three for
43 from 10 overs.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers struck
early with Thilan Thushara
trapping Jesse Ryder lbw
for a duck before Kulasekara had Martin Guptill
caught behind for three and
Ross Taylor trapped lbw for
two.
New Zealand were in deep
trouble on seven for three,
a position from which they
were unable to recover
despite a fighting 41 from
Grant Elliot.
This was the first game in
a four-match tri-series also
involving India.
GENEVA-- European clubs
have criticised FIFA and its
president Sepp Blatter over the
Olympic soccer tournament,
saying they have backtracked
on an agreement to restrict it
to under-21 teams.
“We are very surprised about
the change of opinion of
FIFA,” European Clubs’ Association (ECA) chairman KarlHeinz Rummenigge said in a
statement.
“In several meetings, we had
the consensus to change the eligibility for the Olympic Games
to under-21 players with no
over age players.
“We think it’s not acceptable
and encourage FIFA to maintain its first position.”
The Olympic soccer tournament is currently open to players aged under-23 with up to
three over-age players allowed
per team.
“We remember some state-
ments from Mr Blatter supporting this proposal. We
thought it was clearly accepted
by FIFA,” Barcelona president
and ECA vice-chairman Joan
Laporta told reporters.
“We expect Mr Blatter to honour his commitments.”
The Beijing Games were
marked by a number of clubversus-country disputes, the
most publicised involving Laporta’s Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi.
Barcelona eventually allowed
Messi to take part after winning the case at the Court of
Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
and Argentina went on to win
the gold medal.
“We had the right to keep
the player, it was our decision
to release him,” said Laporta.
“They won the gold medal and
Messi had a marvellous season
for Barcelona, winning the
championship.”