It is a fairy tale to think that the Court’s verdict has no influence on the negotiations with CORC.
In the Dutch-language newspaper Antilliaans Dagblad of Monday June, Marcelino de Lannoy, director of Refineria di Kòrsou (RdK), states that the appeal judgment has no influence on the negotiations with CORC BV, the intended new partner for the refinery. We are quite surprised about that.
Indeed, in the judgment of the Court of First Instance of 26 August, the judge stated: “At the hearing, the State argued that the consultancy firm Haskoning has now been called in to advise on the new standards for air quality in Curaçao. The report to be released will serve as a basis for new nuisance permits, particularly for the new refinery operator and as a frame of reference for the modernisation of the refinery and other industries.”
And: “According to the State, the European air quality standards will be used as standards for Curaçao.” And also: “On the basis of the report from Haskoning, it will be determined, together with the new operator, what will be feasible with regard to improvements and in what period of time.”
In other words: again, apparently the operator determines which standards are feasible. However, it is not the operator or Haskoning who oversees this, but the State. This is a repeat as we have seen before, where PDVSA set the standards. Subsequently, the 2019 judgment states that “the State’s statements are too vague and non-committal to infer that the plaintiffs have sufficient certainty that the unlawful situation regarding air quality will be ended within the foreseeable future.”
It must be clear to everyone that the reduction of sulphur dioxide and fine dust emissions referred to in the National Decision – which runs from 2020 to 2035 – does not fall under the heading of “soon” as referred to in the previous paragraph. After all, soon means soon and not in 15 years. And the judgment is provisionally enforceable, so takes effect immediately.
In other words, if one wants to resume operation of the refinery, the following must first be arranged:
1. There will have to be solid legislation in which the standards are anchored;
2. All large companies such as Aqualectra, BOO/CRU and Isla Refinery will each have to obtain a nuisance permit in which the individual maximum emissions are regulated for each company;
3. The total emissions of those companies must be lower than the standard set by law. This is because the State must also take into account the other causes of emissions, such as shipping, road and air traffic;
4. Before the refinery becomes operational again, the standards must be met from day one, as stated in the refinery’s nuisance permit;
5. It is essential that the State takes immediate action if the limit is exceeded, so there must be proper measurement and enforcement. So, it is a fairy tale to think that this has no influence on the negotiations with CORC.
Clean Air Everywhere has been fighting for six years now for a verdict for what the residents downwind, but in fact all residents of Curaçao, are entitled to: clean air. And we will continue to do so.
Now that the State has also established that the Country has committed a wrongful act, Clean Air Everywhere – with the support of, among others, The Environmental Defender Law Centre – will not hesitate to initiate civil proceedings if the State does not act in accordance with the Court’s ruling.
In addition, Clean Air Everywhere can also request the Public Prosecutor’s Office to conduct a criminal investigation into both companies and individuals on suspicion of violating the verdict.
Curaçao Foundation Clean Air Everywhere was established in June 2015. The aim is to contribute to solving, reducing and preventing environmental problems in Curaçao, including with regard to air quality in the broadest sense, in the interest of current and future generations; and furthermore the compliance of the air quality in Curaçao, in particular the air quality downwind of the industrial area around the Schottegat in Curaçao, with current and recognized (health) standards within the Kingdom; and finally the promotion of the interests of the residents and visitors of Curaçao in the context of the aforementioned objectives. The Trade Register lists the board members.
Board of Clean Air Everywhere,
Curaçao www.cleanaireverywhere.com
Dear Editor,
As long as I can remember or rather over many years I have heard many sermons dedicated to fathers on Fathers’ Day, One of the things that was referred to was that Fathers’ Day is not celebrated with as much fanfare as Mothers’ Day even though that does not take away that fathers play a very vital role in the lives of their children.
As the years went by and mainly for economical reasons, more and more men have immigrated and migrated back and forth from country to country leaving their spouses (whether pregnant or not) behind. Many of these men after settling in their new habitat, have not repatriated and in so doing many women were left behind with children who had never known their father. In the same way those who have repatriated also left pregnant women and children behind where they worked. Some have left one island, gone to another island, got the opportunity to go the USA or England and Canada and left women with children behind in both their native island and the island where they were employed.
Because of this phenomenon the sermons on Father’s Day continued to get another twist. Not because of Fathers’ Day and, yes, because of Fathers’ Day I go to church and for years now spend the rest of the day at home just reminiscing of all that I could remember that my father taught me.
I was not 20 years old yet when I officially went on my first patrol. It was during that time my father called me aside and had me sit because he had something to say to me. After giving me what I accepted to be a lecture on being careful not to impregnate any of the flock of girls that would surround me, because of the type of work that I was doing, he continued, “Because if you are not careful, you will become a father. To be a father is one thing, to be a good and responsible father is another thing. And the only way you can say to yourself ‘I am a good father’ is when your teenage children start boasting about you. You have to be the cause of that. You have to make that happen.”
I would like for whoever reads this to give it some thought, not because I wrote it, but because it is a fact. I had a good father. May all fathers have a great fatherhood. All the teachings on how to be a great person are in the bible. And if anyone is reluctant, please know that in my opinion, the bible’s title can also be “The greatest philosophy of life.”
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
On the Eve of July 4, 1976, a task force of brave steely-eyed Israeli commandos departed from Sharm El Shiekh under the cover of darkness aboard a squadron of C-130 Hercules aircraft, for Uganda’s Entebbe airport. The commandos’ mission: to rescue 106 hostages held captive in a terminal at Entebbe’s airport.
Just one week earlier, on June 27, an Air France airbus was hijacked after departing from Paris by members of the popular front for the liberation of Palestine(PLO) and the German revolutionary cells. The crew of the Air France Airbus was ordered by the terrorists to reroute the flight to Uganda's Entebbe airport where upon arrival the passengers, mostly Israelis, disembarked and, were huddled into an old terminal and held hostage.
While at Entebbe the Israeli hostages, all of whom were kept in separate rooms from non-Israelis, recounted having memories of the selection process during the holocaust and the singling out of Jews for persecution. With memories of the holocaust fresh in their minds, the Israelis feared that it was just a matter of time before the terrorists would start executing them.
But little did the hostages know that the Israeli defense force had already conceived of and put in motion a bold rescue plan. A special team of courageous warriors from the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit was hurtling towards the hostages on a daring mission to rescue and take them back to their homeland.
Aboard one of the C-130 Hercules was Lieutenant Colonel Yonathan Netanyahu, once a Harvard philosophy major and brother of Israel’s former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Yoni, as he was affectionately called, fought his way back into active military duty after he suffered severe nerve damage during the Yom Kippur war. A charismatic, brilliant, and highly respected military officer, Yoni was regarded by his peers, subordinates, and superiors alike. The higher echelons of the Israeli defense force and the then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin reposed special trust in the leadership and ability of Lt. Col. Jonathan Netanyahu to lead the assault team on the raid at Entebbe.
After the squadron of C-130s landed at Entebbe’s airport the assault team deplaned and began tactically making their way towards the hostages’ terminal in Mercedes Benz and Land Rovers. A firefight ensued between the assault team and Ugandan soldiers guarding the airport’s terminal after the commandos lost the element of surprise. As the commandos continued advancing amidst heavy gunfire towards the terminal one of their colleagues could be heard frantically repeating on the radio “Betser! Betser! Yoni is hit, Yoni is hit.” Lt. Col. Yonathan Netanyahu took a fatal bullet from a Ugandan sniper and collapsed, the only Israeli combatant killed.
When the firefight was over all the Ugandan soldiers and terrorists lay dead. All but four of the 106 hostages survived and were quickly taken on board the waiting aircraft for the flight back to Israel.
There was jubilation and celebration in Israel and when the freed hostages and their liberators arrived at Ben Gurion airport the commandos received a hero’s welcome. But for the men who were under the command of Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, it was one of the darkest and saddest moments in their lives, they had lost a well-loved, respected, and great leader.
In the ensuing years, Operation Entebbe would come to be regarded as one of the best counter-terrorism hostage rescue missions ever executed in military history. Studied in military academies and celebrated for its surgical precision, planning, and execution, Operation Entebbe has been retroactively renamed Operation Jonathan in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Yonathan Netanyahu. A valiant military commander and fearless combatant, Yoni’s men followed him unquestioningly into the deepest valley and darkest night confidently assured of victory.
Orlando Patterson
Dear Friends,
As we look forward to returning to your beautiful island and resuming our deep personal relationships with all of you, we want to truly encourage all to get fully vaccinated, unless your own medical doctor says that you should not.
It is safe and it works to prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19 and reduces the spread of infection.
Vaccination is the path for a safe family gathering, protecting your grandparents, a safe workplace where no one has to be challenged to prove their vaccination status, and a safe dining or entertainment experience for vaccinated vacationers to enjoy.
Let us return to SXM knowing that each of you wants to do all that you can, to protect yourselves, protect each other, and protect us.
Get vaccinated. We want to see your smiles.
David and Joanie Slavkin
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Timeshare owners since 1984
Dear Editor,
So the picture is front page the other day. A guy on a 450 motocross bike doing a wheelie in traffic and suddenly it’s a national scandal. “Do you know this man! Turn him in to the police immediately,” the story screams. It’s an outrage.
I have news for you. Everybody on the island knows this guy. We see him every single day, 100 times a day. He is part of the scooter gangs that terrorize Simpson Bay on weekend nights. He is the guy pretending he is Marc Marquez at a 45-degree lean angle at 60mph on his 900cc Katana coming straight at you in the wrong lane on a blind corner. He is one of the mob of wannabe Tour de France riders all spiffed up in their xxxl spandex that take over Airport Road every night during rush hour blocking traffic riding 3 abreast making sure there is a line of traffic behind them that stretches for a quarter of a mile. He is the leader of the quad parades that feel they can block roundabouts so their tourist parade of toy vehicles that are illegal for the roads in every civilized jurisdiction on earth can make sure that everyone that follows them never ever gets where they are actually going in any reasonable manner.
He is, again, the quad guy riding up the center line of the road on his toy that is as wide as an I10 as if he is on some 25cc Vespa so you either hit him head on or drive on the sidewalk to miss him. He is the guy on the unmuffled 450 Yamaha that spends his afternoons and evening running up and down doing tricks on Little Bay Road making everyone that lives there insane.
Unfortunately I am limited to only 1,500 words here so I can’t name all the various instances where “wheelie guy” makes himself known but there is no doubt in my mind that if you are reading this you know exactly “who” I am talking about. You have daily routine anarchy on the roads here and it is for one reason and one reason only. It is because you allow it.
Actually it goes beyond that. You condone it and encourage it. It is so completely natural for anyone that uses the roads here to assume that they can simply do whatever they want on whatever they want that it is the de-facto law. It’s not illegal to do this stuff, it’s actually the exception if you don’t do this stuff.
I don’t actually hate this. For me it just becomes the natural state of affairs to drive as aggressively as possible at all times because that seems to be the only way to avoid becoming part of some other idiot’s accident. Let it all happen behind me, so to speak. And philosophically I get it completely. The rush you get at speed on a good sport bike or the thrill of a near-death ride through traffic is hugely exhilarating especially for some 15-year-old on a scooter that he kluged together from stolen parts in his back yard. I get it completely. Except for the stolen parts part, that used to be me. Some would say it still is, but the point is that it is the hypocrisy of it all that is, frankly, sickening.
Some guy on a motogp sport bike vaporizes himself on Airport Road going 150mph and suddenly it’s a tragedy. There are wreaths and shrines and chest-beating and weeping. Why? He died being stupid. That was the risk he took. You don’t want to say he deserved it but, frankly, if he didn’t have the skills to stay alive doing it then better he killed himself alone rather than take someone else with him. One of your 15-year-olds on his junk scooter get killed because he wedged himself under the front bumper of a tourist rental car? Too bad. His risk, his loss. A minor tragedy maybe, but no surprise at all. Why? Because you allow it. It is simply the cost of doing business on the roads where there are no rules.
What do I mean by no rules? How about this – some time ago, I was downtown at the roundabout near the police station waiting behind a police car. As we waited, a guy on a 450 Yamaha passed the line of traffic doing a wheelie straight into the roundabout missing a couple cars by an inch or two. The two officers in the police car never even gave him a second look. So what does that tell the guy on the 450? Exactly what he already knows. He can do what he wants where he wants in whatever manner he chooses with no consequences.
Can you stop this? No, I don’t think so. It is all very much an ingrained cultural phenomenon. Guys that bought 175mph motogp sport bikes don’t do that to cruise at 15mph and wait in traffic lines and the scooter guys … well there is no changing their mentality ever. Only the law of natural selection and the availability of stolen parts will slow them down. But what you can do is make it expensive for them.
First there needs to be an ordinance passed today that says “Anything with wheels that uses the roads must have plates and insurance.” And I mean anything. The Tour de France wannabes all have “Share the road” stickers on their cars. What really needs to happen to these rolling roadblocks is for them to pay their share. They want to use the roads then pay your own way. Then maybe they might have some honest entitlement to their rolling road show.
And second there needs to be a “death penalty” for the serial reckless riders and drivers that are trying to kill everybody every day. Scooter gang rampaging through Simpson Bay on a Friday night? Road block, capture them and crush the scooters. Guy seen riding his sport bike or MX like a crazy person? Don’t fine him. That’s just money. Take the bike and crush it. That will be like killing his mother. Forget the soft target seat belt and turn-signal controls. Enforce what really matters.
There was another interesting tidbit in the paper the other day. In Australia they confiscated a guy’s $300,000 Lambo and auctioned it off because he was a serial reckless driver. The car had something like 800 miles on it. I’ll bet he remembers that lesson. They actually have a law there that lets them do it. Good for them. It would work here as well. The problem seems to be enforcement. Apparently, from what I’m told, most of the guys on the motogp bikes are the cops themselves.
Steven Johnson
