The dollar still reigns in Caracas
CARACAS (MarketWatch) — While the dollar’s reputation has taken a beating in many of the world’s financial capitals, here in Venezuela the fallen-from-fashion greenback reigns supreme.
Middle-class Venezuelans routinely hop the borders to neighboring countries to get their hands on illicit dollars, spawning a thriving and lucrative black market in local currency exchange. Some gamble on nearby islands, while others make fake shopping excursions to Panama or Colombia.
Middlemen, taking a hefty cut, deliver the dollars and manufacture an elaborate trail of fake receipts in case the Venezuelans are later audited by the currency control board at home.
Locals do all of this in a bid to protect themselves from the region’s highest rate of inflation and to circumvent stiff exchange controls President Hugo Chavez imposed in 2003 to halt the flow of capital out of the country.
“People outside Venezuela don’t understand how uncomfortable this situation is … and the things we have to do to avoid the law,” said one young woman who works as an administrative assistant for an international company. She declined to be identified.
Playing the black market
The government sets the official exchange rate at 2.15 bolivars to the dollar, but on the black market $1 is currently trading for around 3.40 bolivars, or 58% higher than the official peg.
The spread between the two rates opens a world of opportunity for profit-loving capitalists happy to exploit the quirks of Chavez’s experiment in “21st century socialism.”
Here’s how the simplest and most common scheme works: In an effort to control access to dollars, Venezuela limits its citizens to $5,000 in credit-card purchases abroad. A government currency-control authority, known locally by the acronym Cadivi, makes that sum available at the official exchange rate, or 10,750 bolivars.
With those cheaply bought dollars loaded onto a credit card issued by a Venezuelan bank, a traveler can head to Panama, Aruba or Curacao; get a cash advance in dollars; and, finally, convert the hard cash back into bolivars, which at the current black-market rate would net 16,000 bolivars.
For those unable to make a trip abroad, smaller amounts can be exchanged by using credit-card quotas for Internet purchases to play online casino games. People play the required hand or two and then cash their chips, which are payable in dollars.
It isn’t avarice alone that drives people to play the credit-card game or devise similar ruses to secure dollars. For many Venezuelans, holding on to dollars is their only hedge against soaring inflation.
In a recent report, Morgan Stanley said it expects inflation in the country to reach 30% this year, up from 22.5% in 2007. The investment bank’s expectations are in line with many other forecasters.
“It doesn’t make sense to save bolivars,” said the unidentified young woman.
Fly-way robbery
In the uncertain days leading up to the referendum last December on President Chavez’s constitutional reform, the parallel — or black — market sank to nearly 7 bolivars to the dollar. Virtually all airline seats to Panama and Curacao were booked weeks in advance, and international charter flights popped up around the country as Venezuelans made a run at booking their profits.
As the rate hovered near 6 bolivars to the dollar, I called all my friends and family in the States to see if anyone wanted to come to Venezuela. In those days, Continental, which flies direct from Houston to Caracas, allowed customers to choose whether they wanted to buy a ticket in bolivars or dollars — even for flights originating in the U.S.
The airline converted a ticket’s cost using the official exchange rate. Therefore, if one had purchased bolivars on the black market, a $1,000 ticket on the airline’s Web site actually cost less than $400 when purchased locally — literally, a steal.
Source: MarketWatch
Scientology luxury cruise ship remains locked down; Cult put thousands at high cancer risk
Filed under: Business and Economy, Caribbean Cruises, Health and Medicine, Law Enforcement and Crime, Science
More than five weeks after public health authorities on the Caribbean island of Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles) impounded the Scientology cult’s 440-foot luxury liner “Freewinds,” the ship remains locked down. Experts advise that decontaminating the ship would cost millions of dollars and may not even be possible. Meanwhile, the cult continues to solicit funds for cruises that will not happen.
After the ship was quarantined on April 26, the Curaçao Drydock Company was contracted to carry out refurbishment and repairs. The contamination was so extensive that the company decided that the risk to its workers was too great, and ceased operations. At that point Scientology sent a team of its “Sea Org” paramilitary force to clean the ship themselves. They are bringing the blue asbestos by the truckload to dump at the island’s landfill site at Malpais. The Sea Org is Scientology’s internal paramilitary force.
Incredibly, top leaders of the Scientology cult were informed of the pervasive contamination back in 1987, but chose to do nothing. Until the 1960s, when the Freewinds was built, blue asbestos was often used in shipbuilding (it was not known at the time to be so carcinogenic). Former Scientologist Lawrence Woodcraft, a licensed architect by profession, supervised interior remodeling work on the ship in 1987 when the cult first purchased it. According to a legal affidavit made after Woodcraft left the cult in 2001, Woodcraft had notified Scientology officials immediately about the widespread blue asbestos and the dangers it posed. The response he received was that he should carry on with the work, and leave the asbestos where it was. Since Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard had never mentioned that asbestos was dangerous, they were not going to worry about it. Scientologists believe that disease is caused not by microbes or toxic substances, but by the presence of “suppressive persons” (SPs), or people who disagree with Scientology and its goals. Moreover, Scientologists believe that high-level Sea Org members cannot get cancer or any other disease.
Meanwhile, Scientology continues to promote cruises on the Freewinds, receiving large cash advances from Scientologist prospective passengers, who have been informed only that the ship is going through an ordinary refurbishment. Already, the cult has missed several planned sailing dates, but it continues to seek funds for voyages in the near future. According to Radar Online, the cult has scheduled conventions starting in July and running through November.
On May 1, the cult’s spokesperson lied to Radar Online with the following “spin”:
“The next cruise is scheduled for Thursday, May 8. Inspections done on April 15, 2008 and April 28, 2008 again confirmed that the air quality is safe, in accordance with the standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Clean Air Act.” None of this, of course, was true.
The cult’s promotional materials give further information about Scientology’s advance-booking scheme:
“The new conventions calendar aboard the brand new Freewinds is out and we are looking forward to seeing you aboard! Look over the different conventions and let me know which convention(s) you plan to attend.”
Yet all the extremely hazardous “cleaning” of the blue asbestos may be in vain. According to officials in the Netherlands’ Ministry of Environment, which dealt with an asbestos-laden ship in 2006 that was eventually demolished, the cost to make Freewinds safe for passengers, if it is even possible, may run into many millions of Euros/dollars, probably more than the ship itself is worth.
The ship is used by Scientology for advanced training in “Operating Thetan” levels, for members who have paid fees of between USD$100,000 and $400,000, as well as for tax-deductible Caribbean cruises for its members and their families. Curaçao has been the ship’s homeport since it was purchased by Scientology, as it is not permitted to dock in any US port.
Many Scientologist celebrities have spent time aboard the Freewinds, including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Suri Cruise, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Chick Corea, Lisa Marie Presley, Catherine Bell, Kate Ceberano, and Juliette Lewis. “Now” magazine reported that Tom Cruise has been urged to seek medical attention regarding potential asbestos exposure, however a representative for Cruise stated he has “absolutely no knowledge” of the recent asbestos controversy. Cruise, Holmes, Travolta and Preston have celebrated birthdays and other events on the Freewinds. Scientology has official “religion” status in the USA, which means that it is exempt from paying taxes, and that its members can declare any Scientology-related expense as tax-deductible.
Raw blue asbestos is the most hazardous form of asbestos, and has been banned in the United Kingdom since 1970. Blue asbestos fibers are very narrow and thus easily inhaled, and are a major cause of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer which can develop in the lining of the lungs and chest cavity, the lining of the abdominal cavity, or the pericardium sac surrounding the heart. The cancer is incurable, and can manifest over 40 years after the initial exposure to asbestos.
“This is the most dangerous type of asbestos because the fibres are smaller than the white asbestos and can penetrate the lung more easily,” said toxicologist Dr. Chris Coggins in a statement published in “OK! Magazine.” Dr. Coggins went on to note that “Once diagnosed with mesothelioma, the victim has six months to a year to live. It gradually reduces lung function until the victim is no longer able to breathe and dies.”
The Scientology cult was founded in 1950 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Its primary goal is to “clear the planet” by “obliterating psychiatry.” Scientology’s many front groups include the Citizens’ Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), Criminon, Narconon, and Applied Scholastics. Scientology claims to be the “world’s fastest growing religion,” with some 8 million members, but mainstream demographic surveys have shown that the number of members is closer to 55,000 worldwide, and declining. Scientology is currently under investigation in several countries for a variety of human rights abuses, including child abuse, violation of child labor laws, kidnapping and running secret internal prison camps, as well as for a number of financial crimes.
Source www.indybay.org
by Dr. Lilly von Marcab
Dutch willing to assist in setting up yacht registry
Filed under: Government & Politics, St. Maarten News, Travel and Tourism
PHILIPSBURG–The Netherlands is willing to assist St. Maarten in setting up a registry for big yachts. “If St. Maarten wants to, the Netherlands will assist in building up the capability for the island to register big yachts. That would be an economically interesting activity. It’s in line with the tourism activities on the island,” said Dutch Minister of Transport and Waterways Camiel Eurlings.
He met with the Executive Council when he visited St. Maarten during his five-day tour of the Netherlands Antilles. He also visited the harbour facilities and received a tour of Princess Juliana International Airport before leaving for Saba.
Eurlings is promoting in his talks on all islands the establishment of a maritime consultative body with the participation of all partners in the Kingdom. This body will give Eurlings a tool to keep the cooperation with the islands “practical” after the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles.
He said the body was necessary because there were complex matters to be solved. However, he saw the constitutional changes ahead also as an opportunity to “make each other stronger.”
Eurlings described his talks with the Executive Council yesterday as “constructive” and said they had served the purpose of his visit to the six islands of the Dutch Caribbean as the Minister of Transport.
“What we tried to do is to prepare ourselves for the new situation of two new countries St. Maarten and Curaçao, the BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba for which I will be directly responsible, and Aruba.”
He also discussed with the Executive Council the possibility that the Air Traffic Control of St. Maarten could continue serving Saba and St. Eustatius in the future.
“We are satisfied with the service of the Air Traffic Control in St. Maarten. It would be inefficient if the Netherlands would have to build an Air Traffic Control for Saba and St. Eustatius. Of course, financial agreements will have to be made with St. Maarten, determined by the cost of service rendered.”
However, there are still many more questions on aviation matters that need to be answered, such as how legal aspects will be arranged in the future and how the air space can be divided. “That’s why we agreed to organise an aviation conference in Curaçao early November.” All Kingdom partners will participate in this conference.
Another topic discussed was the Meteorological Service of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Again Eurlings said he would like a practical approach for when the Netherlands starts assuming responsibility for meteorological services for the BES islands.
“The Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute KNMI will be responsible for the three islands. Also here we try to be practical. If we can avoid building a Dutch organisation, we will do so.”
He said the level of expertise of the Meteorological Service of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba was high and the Netherlands would seek to have it continue rendering service to the other islands.
However, St. Maarten criticised the quality of service it had been receiving and in this light, the Minister said he had agreed with the Executive Council that he would look into whether it would be possible to continue using the service of the meteorological office, but also guaranteeing that the organisation could really become an institution of all the islands.
Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten
Venezuela: US Fleet Threatens Caribbean
La Orchila, Venezuela, Jun 6 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela denounced the US decision to reactivate the 4th Fleet as a threat for the Caribbean and regional peace and reaffirmed its right to strengthen defense.
At a military exercise held in La Orchila Island Defense Minister, General Gustavo Rangel, said his country has a right to defense.
La Orchila was recently over flown by a US aircraft that came from the US military base in Curacao, just 30 minutes from Caracas, that moved Venezuela to protest and the US apologized.
Rangel voiced respect for sovereign decision by the US and Curacao but reminds that Venezuela is sovereign and can adopt any measure suiting its location.
He also termed the base a threat to Caribbean peace and confirmed Venezuelan readiness for defense. Let’s not ask why we ready for an attack but why do they ready to attack. It is important to respect each other.
The general said they continue to receive weaponry purchased to Russia: a lot of Ak-103 automatic rifles and this week they expect the last four of a lot of 24 Sukhoi aircraft.
He also mentioned a copter maintenance center in construction when they are a few copters short to complete the contract with Russia.
Source: Prensa Latina
Calle 23 esq. N Vedado, La Habana – Cuba