O’Reilly: “They ought to hang this Soros guy”
Summary: A “Best of The Radio Factor” special featured an October clip of host Bill O’Reilly calling George Soros “the big left-wing loon who’s financing all these smear [web]sites,” adding, “They ought to hang this Soros guy.”
The January 2 edition of Westwood One’s The Radio Factor with Bill O’Reilly — billed as a “Best of The Radio Factor” special — featured a clip of host Bill O’Reilly claiming that financier George Soros, “the big left-wing loon who’s financing all these smear [web]sites,” shelters his money on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. O’Reilly added: “They ought to hang this Soros guy.” The clip was from the October 24, 2005, broadcast of The Radio Factor with Bill O’Reilly.
O’Reilly has previously accused Soros of being one of the “money men” behind a so-called “secret plan” to “diminish Christian philosophy in the U.S.A.”
From the October 24, 2005, broadcast of Westwood One’s The Radio Factor with Bill O’Reilly:
O’REILLY: Where does George Soros have all his money? Do you know? Do you know where George Soros, the big left-wing loon who’s financing all these smear [web]sites, do you know where his money is? Curaçao. Curaçao. They ought to hang this Soros guy. His money is in Curaçao. Mr. Socialism. But not for him. Not for him. Oh no, he’s got his money in Curaçao. It drives me nuts.
Source: Media Matters
AVIVA: Aviva’s Dutch subsidiary sells its stake in Ennia Caribe holding
Aviva plc (“Aviva”) announces that its Dutch subsidiary, Delta Lloyd Group (“Delta Lloyd”) has sold for a cash consideration its 79.65 per cent holding in ENNIA Caribe Holding N.V. (“ENNIA”), a Dutch Antilles and Aruba based insurer, to Banco di Caribe N.V. in Curaçao. The current total net asset value of ENNIA is €19 million with gross assets of €359 million. The sale of its stake in ENNIA will have no material impact on the financial position of Delta Lloyd.
The sale is in line with Delta Lloyd’s strategy of focusing on the Dutch, Belgium and German markets.
Carnival’s joyful chaos
Willemstad, Curaçao—It was hard to tell at first glance if the porta-potty mounted on the back of a pickup truck was a bare-bones Carnival float or a last-minute addition to the outdoor facilities that had ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time somewhere along the massive parade route.
It wasn’t until I spotted costumed celebrants jumping on the truck’s tailgate and shutting the door of the porta-potty behind them that it hit me: This is an island where no detail is overlooked in the chaos of Carnival.
After all, when parade participants have to dance non-stop for miles in stifling costumes, waving with one hand and keeping elaborate hats in check with the other, it’s no wonder they need a little time to themselves — even if it is in the questionable privacy of a travelling toilet.
The circus-like Carnival — an eight-week frenzy of music, dance and merriment that overtakes Curaçao starting tomorrow until Feb. 28 — seems like an odd fit on this Dutch island about 55 kilometres off the coast of Venezuela. But the roots of the festival , and its distinctive tumba music, go back to the mid-1600s, when millions of Africans were shipped through this former slave port. Strangely, it wasn’t until about four decades ago that the real Carnival festivities began with grand parades and parties. And there’s been no let-up since.
“The minute this year’s Carnival is over, people will start working on next year’s,” says life-long Curaçao resident Chernov Rozier. “People spend hundreds of dollars to have their costumes made from imported fabric — the bands can spend $5,000 or more just to participate in Carnival. It is the event of the year in Curaçao.”
In fact, a number of islands in the Caribbean feature colourful Carnival festivities that are a big draw for islanders and visiting tourists. Aruba’s 51st Carnival celebrations started this week. And over the next seven weeks, similar festivities will be held on Turks & Caicos, Trinidad, Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe, to name just some.
Carnival is traditionally held in the days leading up to Lent and the explanations of its origins are as varied as its striking costumes: Some believe the partying started as a Catholic rite and a way of using up food such as meat and eggs before the Lenten fasting. Others believe the processions are meant to scare away evil spirits.
Regardless of its history, a few things are critical — colourful costumes, as well as a sense of both rhythm and fun. But nothing is as key to Carnival’s success, on the island of Curaçao at least, as the music that fills its busy streets.
Tumba — with its Afro-Caribbean rhythms — is thought to have evolved from tambu, the music used by slaves to express their sorrow and hardship until it was prohibited by colonial authorities. Tambu eventually evolved into tumba, which has been the soundtrack for Carnival here since 1969.
“I always make sure I have earplugs for the kids,” says one local resident, dancing with her 9- and 11-year-old daughters on the makeshift grandstands that line the main parade route through Otrobanda, literally known as the “other side” of Willemstad because it’s across St. Anna Bay from the capital city’s colourful downtown shopping district.
“Some of the bands play so loud, you get a pain in your chest.”
While the music is so deafening, it’s almost impossible to carry on a conversation, something about Carnival is infectious. When brightly costumed participants aren’t dancing down the streets to the tumba beat, or posing for pictures with friends and tourists, they’re grabbing the hands of passersby and pulling them into the action. Rozier has spent most of Carnival soaking up the music, and cooling down with ice cubes, from the protection of a refreshment booth where there’s a constant line of revellers and tourists looking to get a break from the scorching sun with water, pop and beer.
“We get some kids back here whose parents send them with a list and the kids ask me, `Please, can you hurry? I don’t want to miss my Carnival.’
“I say to them, `You go tell your father to get his own drinks!’” says Rozier with a laugh.
The eight weeks of Carnival start in early January when revellers pull last year’s ornate costumes out of storage and hit the streets for weekend street dances, festivals and parties — called “jump-ups.” But as the weeks progress, and Carnival kings and queens are chosen for the adult and child parades, the island’s capital of Willemstad becomes party central.
As the countdown begins to the Grand March — the final festivities over the last weekend in February — residents and businesses stake out their turf, literally. For about $12 a square metre, people can rope off their own viewing area and many spend the days before the parade chaining down rows of lawn furniture, erecting makeshift grandstands or slapping up canvas or plastic sunshields.
Come Jan. 1, the words “Felis Karnaval” are uttered as frequently as “How are you?”
“We can’t even answer our phone when a Carnival parade is going by,” says Farley Hollander, manager of Willemstad’s Avila Beach Hotel.
source: Toronto Star
Sports Betting: How To Make Online Betting Work For You
Filed under: Entertainment and Sport, Internet and Technology, Press Releases
Football betting on your favorite NFL picks made fun, easy, and low-risk. NBA Basketball and other sports are also available.
(PRWEB) January 5, 2006 — Today’s sports betting enthusiast, and there are millions of them around the world, trying to enjoy a friendly wager on a favorite team or teams can be challenged by online betting options. Football betting and basketball betting, to name two popular sports, can be daunting plus require a significant investment in time and money. Football picks , NFL picks, NFL odds…how does the average person keep track of it all?
CoolSportsPools.com has developed an easy answer at its new site at www.CoolSportsPools.com. Rather than being seen as a sports bookmaker, the web site is more of a sports pool promoter.
“We wanted to create a fun environment where the average person can fulfill his sports betting desires without the hassle and pressure of dealing with Las Vegas type, high-pressure bookmakers,†said David Rippe, president of Celestia International, a marketing firm. “Plus, our research showed us that many people, including college students, like the idea of competing in sports pools with their friends and co-workers. We’ve developed a solution that doesn’t require a big investment but can return relatively large winnings.â€
Starting with NFL football, NBA basketball, and NHL hockey, CoolSportsPools.com offers several different types of pools, with each pool limited to a fixed number of players. New sports pools will be offered as their respective seasons go live.
“The idea of wagering a small amount, say $5, against your friends and others, makes the sports betting experience more fun and exciting,†David Rippe continued. “Our idea is to offer online sports betting pools in all of the active sports when they’re being played. We’re really looking forward to the NCAA tournament during March Madness.â€
Football betting , with the NFL playoffs beginning, is currently drawing a lot of interest. Individuals that have their favorite NFL picks and have some knowledge of the NFL odds can immediately register and play in the pool of their choice.
CoolSportsPools.com N.V. is located in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. It operates under an international online gaming license issued under the authority of Curacao Netherlands Antilles.
Waiting list
Filed under: Government & Politics, Law Enforcement and Crime
Justice Minister David Dick, in reacting to criticism from the Dutch Chief of Police that a shortage of detention space is frustrating the fight against crime in the Netherlands Antilles, denied there is currently a lack of cells. He said 73 more cells had become available in Curaçao since he became minister in March last year, while 70 new cells at Bon Futuro Prison will be put into use next month and construction for another 120 is scheduled to start in March.
Commenting on the situation in St. Maarten, State Secretary Erno Labega said work to add 15 cells to the holding facility of the Philipsburg police station, from which four detainees escaped last weekend, should start at the end of March. Twenty cells are already under construction at the Pointe Blanche prison.
All this sounds good, but a check with the Prosecutor’s Office in Curaçao revealed that there is waiting list of 75 convicts who have yet to serve their prison sentences, dating back as far as the year 2000 and ranging from five weeks’ to three years’ imprisonment.
Among them is FOL leader Anthony Godett, who has exhausted all possibilities to appeal his corruption sentence, yet continues to be a member of both the Antillean Parliament and Curaçao’s Island Council and is again heading his party’s list for the January 27 elections. Chances are he won’t be forced to pay his dues to society before that, because authorities are applying the “first come, first serve†principle and his name is at the bottom of the list.
The only exception is in the case of drug crimes, for which there is a special arrangement. The argument is that if Godett’s sentence were to be executed before those of the others on the list, he could go to court for being singled out, with a good chance of success.
Prosecution spokeswoman Giselle Veen-Jonkhout would not comment on the minister’s statements that there is no lack of cell space. “We’ve said it and will say it again, everyone’s turn will come.â€
But the conclusion must be that, contrary to what the minister is suggesting, the cell shortage problem in the Antilles has not been solved, at least not yet. More important, however, is that prison sentences have been apparently been awaiting execution for more than over five years.
It’s not a healthy situation and this newspaper said so also when the issue surfaced in St. Maarten a few years back. The head of the Windward Islands Prosecution at the time indicated he was “cleaning up†the waiting list; among other things, by allowing those involved to either pay fines or perform community service instead.
That can never be the intention. If the courts find people have committed offences that are serious enough to send them to prison and they have exhausted all appeal possibilities, they should do their time and do so promptly.
Anything else, including a five-year waiting list, undermines the functioning of the judicial power and as a result law enforcement on the islands. In that sense, the Dutch police chief has a point.
Source: The Daily Herald
Search Suspended for Missing Floridian
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The U.S. Coast Guard suspended search efforts for a boater, who fell overboard from the sailing vessel Querida Maria Saturday, 170 nautical miles south of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Scott Deady, 46, a native of Madeira Beach, Fla., was initially reported as falling overboard by Pascale Coener, a 44-year female and French native, who was the only other crew member on board the Querida Maria.
Rescue crews from U.S. Coast Guard and Rescue Coordination Center Curacao, the search and rescue mission coordinator for this case, both searched extensively to find Deady.
During the search for Deady, the U.S. Coast Guard supported Rescue Coordination Center Curacao by flying an HU-25 Falcon jet over the search area and coordinating with the Dutch search and rescue data, communications and other viable information gathered by U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan Joint Rescue Sub Center personnel.
Rescue Coordination Center Curacao supported the three-day-search by flying a fixed-wing Fokker 60 aircraft over the search area while merchant vessels Temyruk, Royal Klipper and Cozumel Cement searched the seas for Deady.
Cozumel Cement began towing the Querida MarÃa to Tampa Fla. Saturday, however, they reported to the Sector San Juan Joint Rescue Sub Center at 8p.m. yesterday, that the towing line to the Querida MarÃa had parted while approximately 13 nautical miles off the northern coast of Cuba. The motor vessel was not able to recover the 32-foot sailing vessel, and the U.S. Coast Guard issued a broadcast notice to mariners notifying that the vessel was adrift and considered a hazard to navigation.
The U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan Commander, Capt. James E. Tunstall, suspended the search yesterday at 6:15 p.m., pending further developments. “This is a difficult time for everyone involved in the search for Scott Deady. Out thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends,†said Tunstall.