by James “JB” Bryson

Gotta tell ya, as much as I love some of the interaction with many of the people that e-mail me, I feel some of you wake up with a cattle prod up your ass. I mean like a massive jolt of energy to continue a topic. Love the enthusiasm, but I need to make a few points.

On Monday, I set aside all my posts to allow people that wanted to chime in on the dispute that exists in Bocas between Red Frog Beach and Tres Cruces to please compose something and we (PNO) would place it up. THAT DID NOT OCCUR. I’m not gonna trounce on Tres Cruces or Red Frog for that matter on merely an e-mail request.

The rest of my week has consisted of a wife that was complaining of back pain, and getting my ass kicked in chess online by my nephew.

See, something occurred that may have promoted the wrong stance of me and PNO and I will NOT be confused with blogs and/or bloggers of the past.

In the case of this land dispute in Bocas de Toro, I am a newbie coming way, way late to the party. This shit has been going on when I was still in Chicago. If PNO and myself personally came across as being PRO- Tres Cruces, than you have NOT been paying attention. So the emails received asking me why I have not posted anything further are easy to answer.

I HAVE NOTHING TO POST. PNO has nothing to POST.

Read the PNO HOMEPAGE. “Through sharing relevant articles as reported in the local press as well as through contributing writers and affiliates this site was designed to share not just news and information but to provide a platform for our readership to tune in daily whether living, visiting or planning to relocate to Panama. Thank you for visiting our site, hasta la proxima vez!

PNO finds articles of interest that are run in the news and then “attempts” (not always succeeding) to create a continued dialogue with like minded ex-pats and or people living in Panama all along. That’s it. Not the Washington Post over here. Papers like La Prensa, La Estrella, El Siglo, PanamaAmerica, etc and so on, are RECOGNIZED MEDIA. They have STAFF. This staff is filled with Editors, Copywriters, and above all carry a JOURNALISTIC RESPONSIBILITY to report news accordingly. PNO has “JB”, a wife (reluctant and always under protest) and my son in law who runs the site and fact checks for me. THAT’S IT. PNO does not currently accept ANY INCOME for advertising. I have made it clear this is something that is a hobby, that I am fortunate to say has caught a bit of traction. So THANK YOU to all the readers and contributors. (50,000 monthly visitors and growing). Special thanks to all the other EX-PAT CHAT ROOMS I engage in.

But I am not going to continually post on this land dispute just for the reason to post something.

WHY THEN WAS I RESPONDING SO HARSHLY TO RED FROG YOU ASK? Simple. EVERY SINGLE RED FROG DEFENDER CAME AT ME and PNO AGGRESSIVELY!! Nobody was flooding the newspapers where I got the topics from, “they” were just attacking me. THAT pissed me off. I am not exaggerating, EVERY “defender” was taking shots at me.

I was asked “why did I not post the Red Frog reply that appeared in the news”? Simple yet again. BECAUSE I WAS SENT A CEASE AND DESIST, IT HAD A PETITION ATTACHED TO IT AND I AM NOT TAKING SIDES, and I WAS REQUESTED TO TAKE DOWN SOMETHING FROM MY SITE. Period.

And I now know why….it is because of the length of this issue and the people involved that have fuck all to do with me. It also lends itself to a previous site and blog that was heavily entrenched in this issue in the past. PNO is NOT that blog. I’m a politics junkie and environmentalist. Real Estate titling is not my forte’.

It bears mentioning, I have since, been contacted respectfully and with some assurance that the people I am speaking with are legit. My radar is still up, but I am growing weary of saber rattling simply for the sake of doing so. I’m too old for a week long game of Whack-a-Mole.

So, I like you, am interested in this story and want to hear sides that will eventually lead to a conclusion. I can’t see how ANY decade long battle is good for either side involved. I mean shit, meet in the middle and get busy living. I want whoever owns that land to own it and treat it responsibly. I want fucking sloths in the trees, parrots in the air, and dolphins in the water. That’s me.

So please stop filling the inbox with more stuff that I need to verify, cause I just don’t have the time and I won’t post without some due diligence. I also won’t post simply “negative” shots. If you want to call someone a son of a bitch, you can start your own blog. But if you give me links, documents, data, and facts, I have and WILL always follow up.

Saludos, and tranquilo.

“JB”