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Butchered Turtle Found
by Jake Richter, Bonaire E-News Editor
Towards the end of the day this past Tuesday, February 23rd, I was escorting several visitors on an approved dive at the Kralendijk Town Pier when I came across a few fish nibbling at something
odd on the bottom. Upon closer inspection I discovered that the latest bit of Town Pier fish food was the freshly severed forward flipper of a turtle, mostly likely a small hawksbill turtle - it looked to have not
been in the water for more than a few hours. Further search of the surrounding area uncovered the other three flippers along with part of a turtles breast plate and two large bone joints. I and my diving companions
were horrified. For those not aware of it, Turtles are protected by international treaty, and on Bonaire in particular, harming a turtle is punishable is against the law and punishable by large fines (up to NAFl.
5,000).
The breast plate of the turtle had jagged marks and rectangular cuts, while the flippers were obviously severed from the torso (which we didn't find) with a sharp knife. In other words, this turtle did not die from
natural causes or predators. It was the doing of a fellow human, sadly. From the position of the various turtle parts it is very likely that they were dumped into the water either from the pier or from a boat
situated on the inside part of the pier where it parallels shore or on the pier itself.
In any event, we left the turtle parts where we found them, and upon exiting the water contacted the Bonaire Marine Park, where we were told that it would be best to have the turtle parts for evidence, along with a
detailed report on where and when they were found. So, a couple hours later, now at night, found me wearing skin diving regalia, plunging back into the dark waters of the pier with mesh bag and flashlight in hand. I
swam down to the bottom, and in two skin dives, had collected all the parts I previously found. I brought these to shore, where they were placed in a plastic bin filled with salt water. The parts were then
photographed in their near original condition, a report was written and filed with the Marine Park, the Bonaire Sea Turtle Club, and the Police via FAX and e-mail, and the parts were then delivered to the Marine
Park the following morning. As may be apparent, the head, shell, and meat of the turtle are still missing, and authorities are investigating the matter.
If anyone reading this recalls seeing any suspicious activity on the inland side of the Town Pier during the day (most likely the afternoon) of Tuesday, February 23rd, 1999, which might have
involved a turtle, please report it at once to both the Bonaire Sea Turtle Club at mailto:imreaida@bonairelive.com and to the Bonaire Marine Park at 8444 or mailto:marinepark@bmp.org , and they will communicate this information to the proper authorities.
While the slaughter of turtles for their meat and shell may once have been acceptable, the significant decrease in turtle populations in the last few decades requires that such endangered species be left unharmed if
they are to have a chance to survive. (A copy of this article, along with a picture of the turtle parts (for those with strong stomachs) can be found at http://www.BonaireENews.com/html/turtle9902.html -
the Bonaire Sea Turtle Club's Web pages are located at http://www.bonairenet.com/turtle/indextur.htm )
NEWSFLASH! - As I was wrapping this article up I was informed that this morning, Thursday, February 25th, a squad of police assisted by rangers from the
Marine Park descended upon the Venezuelan boat Aulis, at whose stern the turtle parts were found. They conducted a thorough search above and below water, but did not discover any turtle parts or other infractions.
Warning! - Computer "Worm" Invades Bonaire
Also as we were wrapping up this issue of the Bonaire E-News, we discovered that one of our friends here
had sent us a "worm" via e-mail. A computer worm differs slightly from a computer virus in that its main purpose is to replicate itself and tie up resources, such as memory or disk space, while most
viruses tend to go and modify or destroy data.
This worm is Windows specific and is called HAPPY99, and is delivered most often in the form of a file called HAPPY99.EXE, as an attachment to e-mail or newsgroup messages. If you run HAPPY99.EXE, it opens a window
titled "Happy New Year 1999 !!" and shows some fireworks to mask its more nefarious actions.
HAPPY99 replicates itself by replacing a specific Windows system file (WSOCK32.DLL), which then allows it to monitor e-mail and newsgroup messages being sent out by the infected system. When an outgoing e-mail or
newsgroup message is detected, it either attaches the HAPPY99.EXE file to the outgoing message or uses the address list of the outgoing message to send a blank message with the HAPPY99.EXE file attached, all without
the computer owner's knowledge. It's very sneaky, and can really clog the Internet because it can be spread very quickly.
The way to determine if you already have this worm on your system is to search your C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory (where most people have their Windows system files) for WSOCK32.SKA, SKA.EXE, or SKA.DLL. If these files
exist, you have the worm.
According to Symantec, makers of Norton's Virus Scan, removing the worm is pretty simple:
1.delete WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SKA.EXE
2.delete WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SKA.DLL
3.replace WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WSOCK32.DLL with
WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WSOCK32.SKA
4.delete the downloaded file, usually named HAPPY99.EXE
You may need to boot your system into DOS mode (press F8 when you see the text "Starting Windows 95..." and select the "Command Prompt Only" option) and type the following commands:
CD \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
DEL SKA.EXE
DEL SKA.DLL
COPY WSOCK32.SKA WSOCK32.DLL
Additionally, you will need to follow step 4 above, and find out where the HAPPY99.EXE file is and delete it as well.
More detailed information on how the worm works and how to remove it can be found at:
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/happy99.worm.html
In order to prevent your system from being invaded by worms or viruses, you should never run programs sent to you via e-mail.
Tax Or No Tax?
The introduction of a new sales tax now known as the NAOB (Nederlandse Antillen Omzet Belasting) on March 1st is unsure, reports the Antillean
News Network ( http://www.antilleannews.net ). The parliamentary preparation committee has finalized talks on the government proposal to introduce the new NAOB sales tax, but it is still not sure that this date, only a few days away, can be realized. Since the cancellation of the old ABB sales tax on January 1st, the government is losing 9 million guilders a month in revenue. According to the business sector of the islands, the introduction should not be March 1st, but on a much later date, since there will no be enough time to inform everyone of the changes and every business on the islands should be given enough time to adapt its bookkeeping, as the new tax is supposedly based on invoiced amounts, and not income. The Tax authorities also should be given time to adapt to the new situation.
The parliament of the Central Government will be debating the introduction date, as well as its applicability to the tourism sector, on Thursday, February 25th. On Bonaire, AKIB is sponsoring
meetings to discuss the new tax (see item in Quick Takes below).
In a related news item, Bonaire's Port Call reports that Minister of Finance Frank Mingo told reporters in Curaçao last Wednesday that the Island Governments must cut costs instead of demanding compensation for a
drop in revenues as a result of new lower Central Government taxes. He said that the Island Governments must deal with a temporary loss of income by cutting cost and downsizing their bureaucracy. He also rejected
demands by the Executive Councils of Curaçao and St. Maarten to compensate them for the drop in tax revenue as a result of federal fiscal policies. "Where would the Central Government get the money to
compensate all the islands?" asked Senator Faroe Metry. "Tax sharing between the Central and Island Governments is defined by law in the Island Regulations," he added.
Youth Center Volunteers Needed
On Thursday, February 25th, at 7pm at the Youth Center, people interested in the volunteer options available to
help Bonairean youths fill their currently empty and unproductive afternoons can get more information on how the volunteer program at the Youth Center works. Other information nights have already been held in Rincon
as well as at the center earlier this week.
If you missed the volunteer information meetings for the Youth Center this past week you can still offer your help. Join the Youth Center staff on March 3 & 4 at the Center from 6:30 to 9:00PM for a
workshop for volunteers (in English).
Workshops will be conducted in Dutch at the same time/place on March 1 & 2.
Call or FAX 4303, send e-mail to mailto:sunspots@bonairelive.net or pass by the
Center at Kaya Lib. Simon Bolivar 16 (Just east of Telbo and the TCB offices) during working hours if you need more details.
The Youth Center is operated by the Princess Beatrix Youth Foundation which was founded in 1959. In 1995 an Organizing Committee set out to rebuild the Center and revitalize its programs. The present project is the
realization of that activity. The aim of the after school Center is to allow teenagers to develop skills and abilities that will enrich their lives and provide positive distractions from anti-social activities.
(Courtesy of Port Call)
Vehicles at Dive Sites
We have seen numerous reports in Internet newsgroups about how people at shore dive sites on Bonaire come back out of the water to
see their vehicles "disturbed" in some way while they were diving. Well, we have to report this happened to us too earlier this week at the dive site known as Tori's Reef. We went in the water for a dive,
and upon our return, discovered, much to our surprise that the rental pick-up truck we drove to the dive site had been "disturbed"!
It appears that with imminent rain coming from the east, local fishermen who had been on shore near the vehicle had been kind enough to close our windows so that the interior of the pick-up truck and the towels and
t-shirts we left there wouldn't get wet (and no - for the doom and gloomers out there, none of our possessions were missing - in fact we didn't even think to check until we got home). Many thanks to the friendly and
conscientious fisherman for exhibiting such great neighborliness, and further demonstrating how wonderfully friendly and considerate Bonaireans normally are!
On a related note, a number of divers have reported a white Toyota pick-up truck acting suspiciously along various shore dive site. If the license plate is V-16, then the truck contains a member of the beach patrol,
and he's more than likely writing down the license plate numbers of all the vehicles he finds parked along the way and the time he saw them. This information is then passed on to the police and the Tourism
Corporation of Bonaire (TCB's) so that if there actually is a problem, perhaps there might be some indication of who else was around at the time. If you see this truck, feel free to wave it down, and ask the
security guard for a copy of TCB's recommended guidelines for getting the most out of being on Bonaire.
More Antilleans Are Emigrating To Holland
According to the Registry Office more than 7700 Antilleans emigrated to the Netherlands in 1998. This is
considerable more than the 5800 people who left a year before. Since 1994 the amount of people leaving the Netherlands Antilles has been growing. In that year nearly 3800 people left, in 1995 the amount grew to 4000
emigrants and in 1996 more than 4700 decided to go live in Holland. Among the different reasons given, the economic situation and lack in confidence in the future are the main causes people are leaving and trying
their luck in Holland or elsewhere. (Courtesy of the Antillean News Network)
Visitor Trying to Locate Friend
We recently received a note from Marc & Ulli from Germany who visited Bonaire February in 1998 and are now trying to
locate a person they met here - either by getting an address (e-mail or mail) or phone number. All they have on this mystery person is a first name, "Charly", and a photograph. They met him on the way back
from Jibe City, where they picked him up next to a burning van. "Charly" is now apparently selling imported products on Bonaire, as far as Marc & Ulli know.
We have posted the photograph they sent us at http://www.BonaireENews.com/photos/charly.jpg - Charly is the one at right, while Marc (from Germany) is
the one at left.
Anyone who recognizes "Charly" and knows how to reach him should send an e-mail to Marc & Ulli at mailto:Fujkzh@AOL.com (and while you're at it, send us a copy
of the message - we're curious where this will lead to :-) ).
Bonaire Twin Cinema News & Features - February 25 - March 3, 1999
Bonaire Twin Cinema is located in the heart of Kralendijk next to the Exito Bakery
and behind the Cultimara Supermarket. Starting Thursday, February 25, Bonaire Twin Cinema will be offering the following film features (NaFl. 10.- for all normal features):
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The Waterboy - New!
- Matinees Sat. & Sun. at 4:15pm
- Nightly at 8:30pm
- Late Shows Fri. & Sat. at 12:30am
Comedian Adam Sandler stars as Bobby Boucher, a socially inept and bumbling water boy for the university football team, who loves his job. When a change in his employment lands him on a looser football team he
somehow transforms himself into a football star. (Rated PG-13, Comedy, 90 min) See http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/guide/the_waterboy.html
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The Negotiator
- Matinees Sat. & Sun. at 2:00pm and 5:00pm
- Nightly at 8:00pm
- Late Shows Fri. & Sat. at 11:00pm
Samuel Jackson and Kevin Spacey go head to head as two skilled police hostage negotiators as one of them takes hostages when he discovers he is being framed. (Rated R, Action Suspense, 139 minutes.) See http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/guide/the_negotiator.html for details.
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A Bug's Life - Last Week
- Matinees Sat. & Sun. at 2:15pm
- Nightly at 6:30pm
- Late Shows Fri. & Sat. at 10:30pm
A misfit ant named Flick must save his colony from a greedy gang of grasshoppers and their evil leader Hopper. Flick enlists a troop of circus bugs to aid in the defense. (Rated PG, Animation, 94 minutes) See http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Movies/A_Bug_s_Life/ for details. [Bonaire E-News rates A Bug's Life as 4 stars out of 4 - a
definite "must see" - features a fun Disney-esque plot sure to entertain children and adults alike, along with great 3D graphics (only one minor flaw we'll attribute to artistic license - count the number
of appendages the ants have). And you absolutely must stay seated when the end credits roll because you'll see some great "bloopers". All in all a great film for the entire family.]
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Kid's Club Movie
The January Kid's Club starts Sunday, February 28th with "Babe: Pig in the City". Contact the cinema for details.
Dinner & A Movie
The Bonaire Twin Cinema also offers a Dinner and a Movie special in conjunction with and DeTuin Eetcafe. Nafl. 35.- gets you dinner, beer or soda, popcorn, and a ticket to a movie.
The Bonaire Twin Cinema Box Office opens nightly at 6:00pm, and no reservations are required. Tickets are only available at the box office. Questions about the movies? Call Bonaire Twin Cinema at 2400 (Noon to
closing everyday), FAX: 8010, or send an e-mail to mailto:TwinCinema@InfoBonaire.com (please include your phone or FAX number).
Quick Takes
- BONHATA General Assembly. On Friday, February 26th, at 6pm in the conference room at Captain Don's Habitat, the Bonaire Hotel and
Tourism Association (BONHATA) will hold it's regular annual General Assembly. All BONHATA members are encouraged to attend, as are those organizations and individuals who derive income from tourism. BONHATA will
briefly review its progress in the last year as it pertains to airlift, crime, and government interaction, and then will hold an open forum so that BONHATA members can help set the agenda for the coming year. A new
vice president will also be slated for nomination and election at the meeting. Free drinks and snacks will be provided. After this meeting you can progress to the AKIB presentation (see next item).
- AKIB Meetings. On Friday, February 26th, at 7pm, at the Plaza Resort, AKIB (the Bonaire Business and Industry Association) is sponsoring a presentation by the former Prime Minister of
the Netherlands Antilles, Mr. M. Pourier. The topic of the presentation is "The History of Market Protection". On Monday, March 1st, at 7:30pm there is a tentative meeting scheduled for all AKIB
members to provide information on the implementation and details of the new 2% NAOB (Nederlandse Antillen Omzet Belasting) sales tax which might be going into effect on March 1st. If for some reason the
parliament of the Central Government fails to ratify the NAOB in time for a March 1st implementation, this meeting may be postponed. AKIB members will be notified if this happens.
- Underwater Clean-Up. Saturday, March 6th is the date for the next monthly underwater clean-up, co-sponsored by Green Submarine and NetTech N.V., with assistance from Selibon and Buddy Dive. Divers - locals and tourists alike - interested in cleaning garbage off Bonaire's reefs are invited to join in the clean-up - free air provided - and enjoy a potluck BBQ after the dive. Participating diver should meet at the Green Submarine dive shop located at Kaya Playa Lechi 24 (on the waterfront, about a kilometer north of downtown) at 10am. Please RSVP to Eric of Green Submarine at 2929 or mailto:dive@greensubmarine.com .
- Great Rotisserie Chicken. We're big fans of scrumptious rotisserie chicken, and are already familiar with two good places to get it on the island, namely Chicken Bonito and the Sahara Grill. And now we've
been introduced to yet another place which offers this delectable treat - the Carniceria Latino, located at Kaya Corantijn 10 (the second right heading south before La Portuguesa in Tera Cora) - phone 8412, and we
think it might be the best one yet. There's a catch however. Carniceria Latino only offers rotisserie chicken on Saturdays starting at around Noon. A whole chicken is only NAfl. 12,-, and they are hand turned in a
hand-made huge rotisserie "oven".
- Crime Meeting. BONHATA (Bonaire Hotel & Tourism Association), AKIB (Bonaire Business & Industry Association), CURO (Council of Underwater Resort Operators), and the Bonaire Restaurant Association -
invite all concerned residents and those who care about Bonaire as much as they do, to participate in a Crime Forum to be held on Friday, March 5th, at 7pm at Harbour Village (probably in Sala Grande) to discuss the
petition effort as well as the concept of community policing. No RSVP is necessary, but a desire to work together to help Bonaire get rid of crime is required.
- Special Olympics. The Special Olympics Team has been hard at work, training in preparation for the 1999 World Games which are being held in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina this summer. This will be the second
time Bonaire has fielded a team of athletes to "Go for the Gold". You may have noticed the collection cans that have been strategically placed around Bonaire, which is just one of the ways Special Olympics
is raising funds to send Team Bonaire to the Games. Your contribution will be greatly appreciated. If you wish to find out more about Bonaire's Team or have any questions on how you can help, please call Ria at 6144
or Michael at 4781.
- U.S. Consul. The U.S. Consul will be on island Friday, February 26th, at Trans World Radio from 10:15am-12:30pm and 1:30pm-4:00pm on a first come, first serve basis to all those
interested in speaking with him, and will offer the following services: U.S. passport renewals or first time issuance, report of a birth abroad to a U.S. citizen, immigrant visa application for the spouse, parent or
child of a U.S. citizen, and notarial and authentication services.
- Wine & Cheese Fundraiser. It's Bonaire's most anticipated annual social event. Mark Saturday, March 20 on your calendar because that's when the third annual "Wine and Cheese Fundraiser" for the
Bonaire Culinary team will be held. It's 6 to 9PM at Harbour Village Beach Resort's, "Plaza Mayor", which is the charming outdoor patio with fountain just behind Captain Wook's Bar and Restaurant. Bonaire
wine merchants will be offering samples and restaurants from the Bonaire Restaurant Association will have tables of tasty, interesting cheeses and other appetizers to go with the wines. There will be live background
music and door prizes. This very popular event is always a sellout, so get your tickets early. They'll be on sale for NAfl. 35 at the Green Parrot, Rendez-Vous, and Harbour Village restaurants. The Bonaire Culinary
Team will be competing with teams from all around the Caribbean at the "Taste of the Caribbean 1999" in July in Miami, Florida. (Courtesy of Port Call)
- New Car Rental. Bonaire now has another car rental company - Coral Reef Car Rentals, location on Kaya International (no number), Phone: 5255 or 7800, FAX: 5254, E-mail: mailto:tasbon@bonairelive.com . The company offers a flat daily rate of NAFl. 95.- per day or a weekly rate of six times the daily rate for any vehicle, with 24 hour pick-up and delivery at homes, resorts, and the airport.
Classifieds
Lots of things for sale, and some things being sought (please note that we do not warrant the accuracy or validity of the
products/services/etc. being presented here):
Seeking Something:
COMPUTER
Villa Candidus (Maria Hoppner Foundation) is looking for someone to donate a computer for administration and for the older children's school work. If you can help, contact L. Michael Gayner at phone/FAX
4781 or mailto:gmichael@bonairelive.net .
ROOMMATE Looking for female roommate to share oceanfront condo. Fully furnished with all amenities. Private bedroom and bath. naf 800, includes utilities. Call/fax: 7071 or mailto:islandfashions@bonairenet.com
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For Sale:
MOTORCYCLE
Colombian police motorcycle Honda 650RS Dominator, mileage 10,838
1989 model year. Asking Nafl 4,600. Call 5061
FURNITURE
One (baby) bed (white) NAfl. 150,-
One (baby) dressing table with storage room for clothes NAfl. 200,-
One small refrigerator with missing freezer door. NAfl. 150,-
For more info: call: 6949 (Rita) during business hours or mailto:ritapcf@hotmail.com
COMPUTER
Compaq laptop, 133 Mhz, Pentium, 1 Gigabyte Harddisk, 1 year old, VGA screen, External CD-ROM (24x). In good condition, includes all original documentation. Includes a lot of software. Without CD-ROM:
NAfl. 1500,- or with CD-ROM drive NAfl. 1750,-
Call Carla at 8130 or mailto:cargeer@hotmail.com
COMPUTER
Laptop for Sale, SHARP, 486 - DX2/50Mhz, 32MB RAM, 28.8 Fax Modem, 250MB hard drive, Software includes Windows 95, Office 97, Netscape Communicator. External CD-ROM: Backpack (Parallel Port), External
Mouse: Logitech. Package Price: NAfl. 2000 or Computer Only: NAfl. 1500.
Call Juan Gomez or Luisa Fuertes phone 7500 ext.88 or ext.310.
AUTOMOBILES
1987 Toyota Starlet for NAfl. 3000
1993 Toyota starlet for NAfl. 7000
both in good condition Call Marlon at 7292
BOOKS
Sea Change, personally autographed by author Dr. Sylvia Earle, NAFl. 25,- or US$14. Profits go to benefit the Bonaire Marine Park. Call Jake at 6773, mailto:jake@nettech.an .
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Used 2GB External SCSI Hard Disk - 3 years old - Nafl. 500 or best offer
Used (5 months) 32MB DIMM - Nafl. 75
Call 6773 or mailto:jake@nettech.an
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Want to Buy:
COMPUTER
Looking for a used Pentium-based computer with CD-ROM and Modem in good shape. If I find a good one, will donate my 486-based PC to Maria Hoppner Foundation. Also looking for a used printer in good
condition.
Contact Enit at mailto:escholtens@bonairenet.com
TABLE
Looking for a small to medium size table for my porch. Preferably wooden.
Call Lieske - Tel/Fax +599-7-5584
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