I think you guys are going to love this! So funny!

I guess it's a bit silly to think this hasn't been seen already, but here it is anyway.

Caribdude

Pinheads indeed! And he hardly knows them I'm sure.

For some time now we in St. Maarten have been following the efforts of Sean Paton, former BBC reporter and environmental friend, in Bonaire to stop the Scientology 'training ship' Freewinds from dumping its raw waste water into the ditches and bush lands of Bonaire. For several years now he has been campaigning and posting videos on Youtube on the issue, one of the most recent reports confirmed his predictions and warnings that the practice would contaminate the island's ground water. The fear now is that in the long term, these contaminants will leach through the largely limestone and porous rocks of the island into the sea, last year studies were launched into the possible connections with a die off of spotted moray eels in the coastal waters.

What is truly amazing and astounding is that after Sean reported that wells are now contaminated, the island government of Bonaire have decided to let Freewinds continue the practice for at least another 6 months until a treatment facility can be built. Knowing how slow things move in these Caribbean islands, we have our doubts that this will happen in this time frame. Knowing too how corrupt and self interested most of these island politicians are, I, and many others down this way have some very strong suspicions that Scientology has most likely used its influence and money to obtain this permission, in fact we believe it has been going on for years. Freewinds, for those who are unfamiliar with the ship, is based in the Caribbean because if it entered US waters it would most likely be seized and condemned because of asbestos.

Scientology as we all know, does not like bad press, so it is our hope that by exposing this story here to all you Agonists, that maybe you can help us give them some. I will be sending this story to Huff, C&L and OGM, but we would really appreciate any help from you all to give it more exposure wherever you can.

Note:   It seems that Sean (Paton) removed the two videos, he did inform us that he has been under a great deal of pressure from authorities and that vague threats have been made against him and others. I have reposted them both myself with the expectation they will come after me next to remove them, or request Youtube to, so watch them while you can.

Bonaire-State of emergency Part 1
Bonaire-State of emergency Part 2

Registe is now back in the US after a long fight against extradition, a fight that was largely based on the question of the death penalty. The US justice system assured the authorities of the Kingdom that they would NOT seek it and this assurance was contested by Registe's lawyer Stomp.

This news report above mentions that the US Prosecutor is 'pretty sure' the death penalty is off the table, and this news report has the Police Chief Ricky Boran saying he is 'not sure if they would keep the death penalty off the table'.

Let's be clear here. If they do pursue the death penalty then they put at risk every future extradition request, it will be cited as evidence their assurances cannot be trusted.

Related.... LINK

I would really like to ask all bloggers to take a look at this letter from a local 'indigenous' activist here on SXM giving a warning to bloggers. This Leopold James has been taken to task or criticized in blogs on our local site SXM Private Eye in the past. He doesn't like it.

Anyway, it's been blogged about by my friend LH and we would really like to hear some support and thoughts from the blogging world on this matter.

Caribdude

Fear, Threats and Intimidation - SXM PE

1 minute ago. approximately 9.02 what felt like a rather large earthquake was felt in St. Maarten. Anyone know where up to date information can be found about it? It lasted about 5/8 seconds.

Caribdude

Is it just me, or is this odd and creepy to you too?

Growing abuse of Press Freedom.

Caribdude

A good friend of mine asked me tonight what I thought would happen in the coming months re: the dollar and euro. So, considering this is probably the main site that helps inform and form my opinions I suggested I ask here. I'll be sending him this link by the way, so Agonistas, give it your best shot. Living on an island that is 37sq miles and divided between two nations, one which uses the euro, the other primarily the dollar, it has a big effect on many things here.

We would love to hear what you think. Or is it all just such a mess and unpredictable right now?

Caribdude

I saw Bush for what he was before he got elected, I begged my US friends to vote for Gore, but they wanted the tax cuts Bush promised. Boy, how different would it have been if we had the Lock box Gore wanted for a rainy day and done a better job in Afganistan and not gone to war in Iraq. I wonder if there is some parallel universe branching off somewhere where Gore did get elected and life is 'dull and boring'.

Anyway, I didn't start this blog to talk about the global economic meltdown, I wanted to bring up torture, black prisons, rendition, kidnappings and other related matters, the ones that the US sppears to be shoving in the closet, trying hard to forget, and move on from. Personally, I'm starting to get disappointed in Obama, he's trying too damn hard to be Mr Nice in the middle guy, bringing everyone on board, but it is now starting to work against him. Sort of like a candle in the wind, weak, wavering and unsure. (Seriously Dude, you were given a majority and mandate, now call your party to order and most of all, figure out where you stand.)

Anyway, back to Torture. I want to remind you all that while hiding skeletons in the closet and trying to forget sounds like the simplest way to deal with it all, it's something the rest of the World is not going to let you forget. It's far better to confront it.

So, here's this story about US torture where two top judges state that the Bush Administration threatened the United Kingdom to break off intelligence co-operation over investigations of abuse and torture.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said last night: "Despite best efforts to shine a light on the grubbiest aspects of the 'war on terror', the Foreign Office has claimed that the Obama administration maintained a previous US threat to reconsider intelligence sharing unless our judges kept this shameful skeleton in the closet.

If this is true, then Obama has just lost me. I want to know if the Liberal blogsphere and Americans online are going to raise hell about this and force the MSM to address it, or if it will just get filed away in that closet.

Caribdude

I wonder how many people along the US Gulf coast are paying attention to the weather? Are they aware for example that a record has already been broken, that we started the season with an odd occurance and that sea temperatures are already 2/3 degrees above normal? Do they know about the various 'blobs' out there in the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea creeping their way?

I may not blog or comment very much these days here on Agonist, to be honest the quality of the discussions, comments and crowd here leaves me a little intimidated sometimes and I spend so much time reading the threads I'm interested in and the comments that I run out of time to do much else. I may not have been a big contributor, but I remember well the days of flame fests, bulletin boards and Arta, Maddog and others.

Three years ago friend of mine started a local blog site after being inspired by the Agonist (and my nudging), called St. Maarten Private Eye, and I am now about to get more involved with it. We need some help. But before I explain what kind of help, let me tell you about St. Maarten.

By Flipper - SXM Private Eye.

I while back I posted about the work of a small group of enviromental activists down in Bonaire who were trying to raise awareness about the landfill and sewage dumping.

A little bird tells me that the feathers of Dortalina, Director of the govt garbage and waste dept/company Selibon, have been ruffled, at least one member of this group has been threatened with legal action for trespassing.

Don Mitchell CBE QC, former Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the man behind the excellent Corruption Free Anguilla Blog is being Sued by 4 ministers who feel libeled in a post he wrote a couple weeks ago.

Also Do you think Anguillan politicians are corrupt?

Comments and support would be welcome at Don's site.

Caribdude

Watch, Listen and be part of it here.

Jack Johnson's playing soon in Australia, Sweet!

Caribdude

Mika Brzezinski of MNSBC rips Paris report.

Trouble down t'station. Joe makes a few pointed comments, but it's pretty clear by the way he led into the Paris video who has the bigger balls.

And a few other things and people.

via OGM

The post below was posted on SXM Private Eye

Ignorance comes in several forms, the most literal and common form is generally a result of a lack of knowledge or information, which can be cured. But there are other forms of ignorance which are delusional and denial based, where people try to avoid learning more, or push it out of their mind, because, let's face it, Reality sometimes sucks.

Global Warming, Over Population, Depleted Resources and all the problems that ARE coming, yes, even to St. Maarten, can be ignored, for now. You can pretend it's not your problem, you can ignore or avoid having to face and think about it by getting on with your daily life. But I want to make you a promise for the future. In the coming years you are going to discover, sooner rather than later that you have to face Reality, it doesn't just sometimes suck, it also bites.

Six Months ago I wrote a Blog post titled 'Don't Worry, Be Happy!', in it I recounted a story about an evening I had had with some friends, at which I had bought up the subject of Global Warming. Up until that moment the conversation was warm and happy, but the mention of GW cast a shadow and awkwardness over the table, my educated and middle class friends not only know very little of the subject, but more importantly they didn't show any interest to learn more about it.

Yesterday a new report was released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning that we, the human race, you and I, our governments, have 8 Years left to take action and hopefully avoid some of the worst predictions.

By Gene Weingarten
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 8, 2007; Page W10

HE EMERGED FROM THE METRO AT THE L'ENFANT PLAZA STATION AND POSITIONED HIMSELF AGAINST A WALL BESIDE A TRASH BASKET. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play.

Pearls Before Breakfast

AVS News Video

I'm not sure how long the link to this news video will work, the AVS News site does not seem to have an archive. Our local elections just kicked off with the parties (6) postulating their lists to the Lt. Governor of the island. The video linked to shows the parties turning up at the govt building. Anyone care to share their observations on the carnival atmosphere?
The Red Party is the current govt, at the end they get surrounded by the white, the expected main winner in the coming elections.

Also posted at SXM Private Eye

Ok, so what do you want, the good news or the bad news first?

Eitherway, before clicking to this post make sure you have time to spare, because the post below has many links to articles and videos that you should make time for. Change is needed, not just in our local political thinking, but also in all of us as members of the human race. Invidivuals can make a difference, you can make a difference.

Lazy people will be tagged!

By the way, I'm going to start with the bad news and try to finish up with the more positive items and a few funny video clips this time. I'm going to have to depress you but I promise to try to cheer you up afterward, ok?

"Most people, I believe, think that you need a God to explain the existence of the world, and especially the existence of life. They are wrong, but our education system is such that many people don't know it." - Richard Dawkins

The following is a post I wrote for our local blog SXM Private Eye

Before you click to read more, I want to warn you that the subject I plan to address is ultra depressing, highly complex and so overwhelming that most people try not to think about it. Ignore this post if you are unable to face the reality of the world we live in and the future ahead.

Click here to Read More
____________________________________________________________

I guess it was kind of to be expected, however Comedy Central seem to be missing the whole foundation of the popularity of many of their shows like the Daily Show and Colbert Report. The blogsphere.

Numerous sites link to YouTube clips of these shows and others, and unless someone is planning to market a dvd of the best of your tube clips, the threat to dvd sales is rather minimal. Now, I have no problem with watching them on CC website with ads too, however the problem remains that their site does not seem to permit linking to individual clips. This is one aspect of their rise that seems to be passing over their head. Add to this that the player they use has constant buffering problems.

Watching this clip over on onegoodmove, the last part of it quite pissed me off. It's the readers of the 'crappy blogs' that watch your shows, morons.