Belize Times July 27, 2014

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The Belize Times

Established 1957

27 JULY 2014 | ISSUE NO: 4905

The Truth Shall Make You Free

www.belizetimes.bz | $1.00

SABOTAGE!!!

Courts dismisses case against Penner, COLA will appeal BELMOPAN CITY, Thursday, July 24th, 2014 To no one’s surprise, Elvin Penner, the disgraced former UDP Minister, walked out of the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court from the Immigration criminal charges on Thursday morning 24th July, 2014.

The UDP’s Penner is the first Government Minister to be caught red-handed in a scandal of major proportion over Belize passports. So stink was the stench of the scandal that PM Barrow, knee deep in his Government’s corruption cover-up, had to shovel Penner out of his Cabinet in September of last year.

Barrow at first publicly told Belizeans he would support the dis-

Elvin Penner

Hon. FRANCIS VISITS SOUTHSIDE residents

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KHMH In Crisis!!!

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Mother of 2 accused of common-law husband’s murder Pg. 14

graced Penner to the maximum.

He hastily visited Penner’s constituency and at public meetings was caught on camera telling Cayo voters that he had “millions upon millions of dollars” which he would spend to keep Penner as the elected area representatives.

Subsequently, Barrow has done everything possible to prevent Penner from answering to the nation.

First, a citizen’s effort to recall Penner was sabotaged when personnel from the Elections and Boundaries, overstepped their authority and deprived just a sufficient amount of voters on the recall referendum, which would

CEO urges PM to intervene; blasts Ministry of Health for lack of support Belize City, July 24, 2014 Reports of the financial woes at the nation’s main public referral hospital, Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, have been greatly understated according to a letter written by the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Fran-

Felix Alamilla

cis Gary Longsworth which was sent to the Chairlady of the Board, Chandra Cansino.

In the May 30th 2014 letter, leaked to the BELIZE TIMES, CEO Longsworth explained to

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OPINION OUT

!

25 Jul

delivered, and now the Board of the KHMH has asked the Auditor General to investigate suspected corruption in the purchase of x-ray machines for the health facility. As with Captain Foot money that went missing, no one has been prosecuted for embezzlement or distasteful actions in the health service.

Such wrongdoings amount to the abuse of over a million dollars that could have been used to do a lot for poor people of this nation. As a starter, the huge bucks embezzled from the Ministry of Health in less than five years could be used to address the pressing housing needs of scores of families on the south side of Belize City. Some of the huge bucks mismanaged from our health service could also be used to compensate the mothers of 13 babies, who died within a month at the KHMH, due to unhealthy conditions in the intensive care unit.

It is time that we as a people do something to stop these distasteful and corrupt practices in the Ministry of Health that are denying the country funds for a better health service and other needed community projects.

Sincerely yours, Gilroy Usher, Sr. (629-6560)

American culture, thus many in the Diaspora are more American than they are Belizean.

When one speaks in the manner that I am now doing, the first thing that the Diaspora does is to accuse you of being jealous. They assert that you are envious because they are living the American dream and you are not.

I advance however, that they have given us too much of the USA as it is. They have given us a first world mentality that clashes bitterly with our third world reality.

The Diaspora has given us summer, autumn, winter and spring. They have given us thanksgiving and super bowl parties; gay rights disguised as human rights; gang bangers and crack heads.

The Diaspora has given us many things, but my question to the Diaspora remains. What have you done for me lately?

I do not wish to make light of the fact that there a quite a few Belizeans in the Diaspora who have achieved great personal success in the USA and who possess critical skills that Belize so desperately needs to advance its development. My point is that if one truly wishes to help with national development there are other ways to do so other than by way of political office. You need only look to Dr. Arlie Petters, Dr. Bulwer, Reginald Jex, et al.

It is intriguing to me why it is that the Diaspora has been so silent in the face of

the many challenges that confront us as a nation— the eastward drift by Guatemala, a stalled economy, the KHMH crisis, the rape of our precious Rosewood, the Penner betrayal and so on and so forth. Yet they thirst for political power.

Time for Action Against Corruption in Public Health Service

Dear Editor, “Churchill in 1940 emphatically refused to make plans to dispatch the British fleet to American ports in the event of Britain’s defeat, and he argued against evacuating children to Canada. Both measures he thought were “defeatist”. Any discussion of transferring the fleet he wrote “is bound to weaken confidence here at the moment when all must brace themselves for the supreme struggle.” When asked a few days later if the Royal family and certain valuable art works should be sent to Canada for safety when things looked most bleak, Churchill replied “None must go. We are going to beat them”.” - pg 13, Churchill on Leadership, Steven F. Hayward, Three Rivers Press, 1998 Lately, some members of the Belizean Diaspora in the USA have been clamoring for political power; arguing that dual citizens should be allowed to hold elected political office in Belize. There has been no clear articulation about how such an arrangement would work in practice, particularly about how such dual citizens would avoid the obvious conflict of interests that are bound to arise in the practice of state craft.

Some argue that naturalized Belizeans are allowed to hold such office and therefore it is unfair to disallow “born Belizeans” the opportunity to hold high political office as well. Of course, this is comparing mangoes and oranges. No apples here, sorry!

I do not support the view that dual citizens should hold elected political office in Belize, simply because

!

Dear Editor, I would really like to know how much corruption or distasteful action Belizeans will ignore in the Ministry of Health before they get riled up and demand the removal of those persons who are depriving the country of funds needed to assist people in need of help. it seems wholly self defeating. Why should we grant political power to those who do not have to remain in Belize to live with the consequences of their political decisions?

Many in the Diaspora fled Belize to escape the harsh economic realities.

What makes you think they will not run in the face of an invading Guatemala?

Or some great natural catastrophe? Or a sustained economic depression? Or deep internal political conflict? We need leaders that are as committed to Belize as Churchill was to Britain. Such commitment is diluted by dual citizenship.

The Diaspora as far as I have been able to gather is disorganized. They carry no political weight in the USA and collectively they have done nothing for Belize as a nation state. I do not make reference to the remittances sent to their families; this is a personal undertaking, though it is important to our Gross National Product.

Many in the Diaspora have been absorbed into American culture. I do not fault them. American culture is infectious because it is predicated upon human weaknesses—selfishness and greed predominates. It takes a high level of enlightenment to exist in such a culture and not be overcome by it. The lack of a strong national identity makes Belizeans even more vulnerable to the appeal of

27 Jul

Go figure!

Signed: Major Lloyd Jones (R)

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The Belize Times

Established 1957

14 APR 2013

|

The Truth Shall Make You Free

ISSUE NO: 4840

www.belizetimes.bz

|

$1.00

serving Belize since 1957 as the longest continuous newspaper.

Founder: Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price, People’s United Party Leader Emeritus EDITOR

Alberto Vellos LAYOUT/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Chris Williams

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Roberto Peyrefitte Printed and Published By The Belize Times Press Ltd.

weather 26 Jul

2014

With the present scandal over the huge price paid for x-ray machines, over a million dollars has been wasted at the Ministry of Health in the last four years alone. Yet, the Minister of Health and CEO in that Ministry, under whose watch these scandals keep occurring, have both been allowed to keep their jobs. In a similar way the ring leaders in these major financial scandals in the health service have also all been allowed to keep their jobs. What kind of transparency in government is that?

In the colonial days of Belize, when Captain Foot money was embezzled (stolen) and nobody was prosecuted, this little song hit the streets “Captain Foot money gone and nobody no know we e gone.”

Now, we are in an independent Belize but that little song is still applicable. These facts should remove any doubts about that: over $85,000 spent under questionable terms from the Central Health Region; over $366,000 gone from the Southern Regional Hospital. Before these distasteful or corrupt actions thousands and thousands of dollars went missing from the public health service with bloated contracts and payment for supplies that have never been

OUT

Diaspora, what have you done for me lately?

LOCAL

27 JUL

THE BELIZE TIMES

28 Jul

2629Mar Jul

Tel: 671-8385 #3 Queen Street P.O. BOX 506 Belize City, Belize

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Exchange rate of One Belize Dollar

United States (USD): $ 0.50

Barbados (BBD): $ 1.01

Eastern Caribbean Euro (XCD):$ 1.36 (EUR) : $ 0.37

Sterling Pound Guatemala Quetzal CANADIAN DOLLAR (GBP): $ 0.30 (GTQ): $ 3.94 (CAD): $ 0.56

CHINESE YUAN (CNY): $ 3.04

Trinidadian (TTD) : $ 3.22

INDIAN RUPEE (INR): $ 31.14

27 JUL

2014

THE BELIZE TIMES

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PUP Yaad Meeting in Port Loyola Residents Condemn Barrow’s Abusive Gun Laws

Port Loyola PUP Standard Bearer Gilroy Usher addressing the gathering

Belize City, July 21, 2014 On Saturday July 19th, 2014 Gilroy Usher Sr. and the PUP Port Loyola Committee held a very successful yard meeting in the division with a number of families in attendance. Special invited speakers at the meeting included Party Leader and Freetown Area Representative

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Chairman of the Eastern Caucus and Standard Bearer for the Pickstock Division Dr. Francis Smith, PUP Legal Advisor and Standard Bearer for the Queen Square Division, Senator Hon. Anthony Sylvester.

One of the main topics of the meeting was the draconian gun law imposed on Belizeans by the Barrow Government.

The People’s United Party has drafted recommendations for revisions to the gun law to make it fairer to Belizeans. Currently, the law casts a wide net as it gives the Police the authority to detain anyone found on any premises where illegal guns or ammunition are found.

This has led to the arrest of many innocent persons, including senior citizens and minors. The law also imposes a mandatory remand for persons detained for illegal guns or ammunition, removing the Magistrate’s powers to grant bail.

Senator Hon. Anthony Sylvestre said the Government has ignored the PUP’s proposed amendments to the gun laws

PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca said the abusive laws must be revised

Other pressing topics covered at the meeting included the need for affordable housing, the massive unemployment situation, the high cost of living, and the terrible crime situation.

During a question and answer

session on national issues, the Party Leader assured those in attendance that their concerns would be addressed in every possible by the next PUP Government. Party Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca said Continued on page 15

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THE BELIZE TIMES

on the

A new vision for Southside Belize City

By Francis W. Fonseca This past Saturday I spent the day on the Southside of Belize City visiting with residents in the Mesopotamia Division and participating in a Yard Meeting in the Port Loyola Area.

Southside Belize City represents both the “good” and “bad” of Belize.

Residents are vibrant, energetic, passionate and loud. People of every culture and ethnicity live together. Kids are running everywhere shooting basketballs into makeshift rims and kicking footballs on overgrown pitches.

Every street corner has a gathering with dominoes and card playing, food cook-

ing, drinks serving, music blasting, and lots of gossiping.

Hustle and Bustle is the order of the day!

Southside is of course also the Murder capital of our Country. It is where the blood of our young black men flows most vividly and violently. It is where our brothers and sisters live in pockets of extreme poverty and hopelessness.

Jobs are hard to come by and for too many, even high school education remains elusive.

Southside Belize City also features prominently too many broken families, young single mothers, and immature and irresponsi-

ble young fathers.

Gang violence has created an environment of fear, terror and perhaps most disturbing a cold numbness in which a whole new generation is coming of age.

The Southside “Challenge” is one which neither political Party, PUP or UDP, has been able to effectively and successfully tackle.

In 2014 the Southside boasts 6 UDP “BIG MAN” including the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Education and Human Development, yet it remains among the most economically and socially

27 JUL

2014 depressed areas of our country.

The UDP programs aimed at increased dependency have not worked and are clearly not the answer.

Southside needs a Plan and Sustainable Solutions.

Southside needs a targeted Education, Health, Housing and Jobs Agenda but equally important is Leadership and Representation that offers respect, hope, upliftment and unity.

Families there need to know that we care and that we are committed to their futures.

The cycle of poverty, violence and hopelessness will not be easy to break but the PUP understands the issue and we know how to fix it.

The UDP has demonstrated very clearly over the past six years that they simply don’t give a “damn” about the residents of Southside Belize City beyond their vote.

The PUP respects Southside. You are real to us. We want to work with you to improve your lives, your families futures, and your communities.

It is time for the Southside to give the PUP a chance!!

27 JUL

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THE BELIZE TIMES

2014

EDITORIAL

Barrow’s Doing

Most Belizeans would not be surprised that Elvin Penner walked a free man from the private prosecution initiated by the brave Citizens Organized for Liberty thru Action (COLA). This is because even though the private prosecution was suggested by Prime Minister Dean Barrow, he had already declared on national radio and television, many months ago, that he does not see anything criminal in Penner’s actions. Anyone who knows how Barrow rules, will tell you that his declaration was as good as a royal decree. Even the Commissioner of Police trembled at Barrow’s trumpeting. He found a cave to hide.

The news, therefore, is really that COLA will not back down and plans to appeal the travesty that took place at the Magistrate’s Court this Thursday, July 24th morning. The case was just about to get interesting, with COLA seeking the Court’s permission to summon Commissioner Allen Whylie, Immigration Minister Godwin Hulse and even Prime Minister Dean Barrow to Court. Many believe they are keeping information about Penner secret from us all. But the truth will come to light!

While Penner walks after giving away our passport and nationality to an international fugitive, hundreds of normal Belizeans are being carted off to Court like heavy criminals for much, much less wrongs such as not riding a bicycle equipped with bells and lights.

The Barrow Government has given orders to the Po-

lice to crack down on all petty offences. This has brought frustration to Belizeans, especially the poor, who must now find money in these hard times to pay fines or bail out their family members. According to the UDP Government, the purpose of imposing the sudden harsh treatment on Belizeans is to restore law and order. Do you see the double standard in this? What happened to meting out justice for wrongdoings done by UDP politicians such as Penner, Mark King, Edmond Castro or Denny Grijalva? Are they more equal than the rest of us Belizeans?

While the UDP ensured that Penner’s prosecution fails, they have been busy prosecuting innocent grannies and minors under cruel and punishing laws introduced by the Barrow Government that arrest and deny bail to citizens without a proper trial. These violations to human rights are bad for Belize. The UDP seems to be hell-bent on their vicious rampage against Belizeans, since they have overlooked and rejected the Opposition PUP’s recommendations for the law to be revised and made fairer.

These harsh realities in which normal Belizeans are treated as criminals and UDPs like special members of society, is the new Belize under Prime Minister Dean Barrow. To undo this, Belizeans will have to wake up and take a stand. It is National Hero Phillip Goldson who reminded us that the time to save our country is before you lose it.

PUP STATEMENT ON DISMISSAL OF PENNER CASE July 24, 2014 Today is a DARK DAY for the Belizean Nation.

Elvin Penner, the individual who many Belizeans feel is most directly responsible for the illegal sale of our Belizean nationality and passports, walked freely out of the Magistrates Court in Belmopan City today without even answering one single question regarding his involvement in the Won Hong Kim matter.

We share the disappointment, disgust and anger of so many Belizeans in respect of today’s decision but we are not shocked by it.

This UDP Government has obstructed and impeded every effort to have a full, independent inquiry into this matter and has consistently covered-up for Elvin Penner.

This case did not fail because of a lack of evidence. It failed because the UDP placed its political interests ahead of the national interest.

There was a concerted effort by the relevant state authorities to suppress evidence and an absolute refusal to make that evidence available for COLA’s private prosecution of Elvin Penner.

The Commissioner of Police, the Office of the DPP, and the Immigration Department all failed in their responsibilities to the Belizean people.

It must now be abundantly clear to the Belizean people that justice will not be served in this case under a UDP Government.

The UDP chose Penner over Belize and the Belizean people must now choose Belize over the UDP. We stand in support of COLA’s decision to appeal this decision.

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27 JUL

THE BELIZE TIMES

PUP LEADER

Francis Fonseca

2014

visits residents in Mesopotamia BELIZE CITY

Party Leader Hon. Francis (far right), Mesopotamia Chairperson Dorla Vaughan & supporters

Listening to the concerns of senior citizen residents on George Street

Meeting with mother who sells creole bread for a living

Greeting Ms. Lavern on George Street

Hon. Francis & the legend, Father Stone

Greeting residents on Church Street

HAVE HOPE! The PUP will Serve The People

27 JUL

THE BELIZE TIMES

2014

WOMAN IN THE HOUSE

By Dolores Balderamos Garcia

How Not to Govern!

Last month there were a slew of graduations all over the country. In Belize Rural Central we had our share as well. Flagship high school for the constituency, Ladyville Technical High School, held their graduation I believe for the tenth time, and they consistently produce good graduates who are versed in the technical skills that put them at good advantage in the working world.

Many other schools, being the primary schools throughout the area, also held their end of year or graduation ceremonies, and I tried to make it to several of them so as to witness their success and participate with school officials, parents and students in the ceremonies.

Notable this year, were more examples of how this dastardly UDP government continue to politicize just about everything in their path.

I attended the Standard Six and Pre-School graduation for the Gales Point Government School. Although there were only nine standard six and seven preschool graduates, it turned out to be a delightful ceremony. However, the down-side was that Ministry of Education personnel were required to read out a form letter from the Minister of Education which said among other things that “your UDP government continues to work for you in providing the high school subsidy for students.” But not all students are receiving it.

At the Hattieville Government School graduation the guest speaker was a UDP village councillor, whose speech was inordinately lengthy and full of uncalled-for partisan rhetoric which was completely out of place at a commencement exercise.

By attending other graduations I found out that each school was told that they had to read the Minister’s letter, and without exception school officials complied, being apprehensive, no doubt, about the result if they did not duly fall in line.

For instance, at the graduation for the twenty-seven students of Ladyville Seventh Day Adventist School, the letter was read out. But only seventeen of the twenty-seven graduates received the vouchers for the subsidy. These vouchers were distributed during the graduation exercises, and parents of those students who did not receive the subsidy vouchers were visibly dismayed.

They very audibly questioned why their own children did not receive the high school subsidy.

Worst of all was at the Our Lady of the Way RC graduation.

The UDP political officer called up the Principal and did not request, but announced that she had been asked to read the Minister’s form letter and to distribute the subsidy vouchers. Eighty-two students

07 7 graduated from Ladyville RC, as it is called. But only twenty-eight students received the subsidy vouchers.

There were boos from the back of the church, where the ceremony was held, and there was much consternation that less than one-third of the graduates received the subsidy, yet there was a very public distribution thereof. (We also learned afterwards that all the students who graduated from All Saints Primary School received the subsidy.) One parent wondered aloud whether the Education Minister had indeed “set up” the political officer, since it was clear that there was disappointment and vexation among families with how things transpired at the graduation.

Yes, this facey UDP government and their operatives and supporters continue their shenanigans in unevenly, and in a partisan political way, doling out the high school subsidies and politicizing ceremonies that should be devoid of such unacceptable behavior. I must say that my own reaction at these scenarios is that they are once more showing the Belizean people HOW NOT TO GOVERN!!

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27 JUL

THE BELIZE TIMES

2014

PUP TOLEDO WEST

Oscar Requena’s

Football CUP 2014 Over 24 teams – 90 Games

PUP Area Representative, Honorable Oscar Requena addressing the fans for the Oscar Requena’s Cup 2014 finale

Oscar Requena’s Cup 2014 Champions, San Vicente

Silver Creek Team - 2nd Place

Third place went to Columbia FC

Santa Elena won the fourth prize

Toledo District, July 18, 2014 The first of its kind Oscar Requeña Football Cup was a huge success in Toledo West.

On Saturday July 12th, a crowd of over 700 supporters gathered in San Pedro Columbia to witness Hon. Requeña awarding the 1st place winners San Vicente FC, 2nd place winners Silver Creek, 3rd place winners San Pedro Columbia FC and 4th place San Elena FC. The Oscar Requeña Football Cup started on March 15. For the next 16 weeks, up until July 12th, it would provide over 250 football players the opportunity to put their passion for and skill in football on display. After a few games, the supporters identified Belize’s version to Messi and Robben.

90 games were played in total. Referees and game officials were hired, Police officials kept the peace at each game. Each match, played at selected fields in four zones, turned out to be a festive affair as the teams competed for the top prize.

The Cup was truly one a kind. It’s planning was managed by the community, whether it was the Parent Teachers Association of schools, Village Council or the local church. Opportunities were created for small vendors and creative salesmen who benefitted from the events.

“It was beautiful to see the community come out united and to see our young people engaged in a positive initiative,” Hon. Requeña told the BELIZE TIMES, “I want to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all who supported the Oscar Requeña Football Cup to make it a great success.”

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THE BELIZE THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES

2014 2014

9 TOPMODEL 09

ENTERTAINMENT

NEWS “Celebrate Life”

Community activist Joel “Dara” Robinson is giving Reggae music fans a good reason to celebrate life at his special Lucky Dube concert planned for Sunday, August 3rd, 2014 at the Bird’s Isle.

The concert is one of his efforts to raise funds for a feeding programme he runs at his Dunn Street home address.

The concert, now in its 7th year, is a tribute to great South African reggae musician and Rastafarian, Lucky Dube.

During his career, Lucky Dube produced many conscious songs, speaking to black pride and unity in Africa. Dube was murdered in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on the evening of 18 October 2007.

Dara said Dube is one his personal favorites, and this year, he has titled the concert “Celebrate Life” to send a message to the community that life is too precious to waste with nonsense and crime.

The concert will feature well know DJs such as the Mad Rocka, Selecta Kwame Scott and Cloud 9 Sounds.

There will be a big screen that will feature special Lucky Dube concerts. The event starts at 4pm and the entrance fee is $10.00

Location: Old Belize Adventure, Museum and Marina, Belize City, Belize District

at Dara’s LuCky Dube Concert

Emma • • • •

Height: 5’ 9” Career Plan: Study Visual Arts and Graphic Design Sign: Leo Favourite Food: Chicken Cordon Bleu

TOP MODEL Clothing and Accessories provided by CATWALK FASHIONS

• • •

Likes: Singing, Dancing, Playing the Piano and Drawing Lives in: Saint George’s Caye, Belize Fav. Quote: “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” - Coco Chanel

visit us at www.belizetimes.bz or Facebook/ Belize Times

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10 SPORTS

THE BELIZE TIMES TIMES THE BELIZE

City Boys Jrs. wins 2014

27 JUL 20

2014

SMART Mundialito

Belize City, July 19, 2014 The City Boys Jrs. won the 2014 SMART Mundialito championship, blasting the Ladyville Rising Stars 4-1 in a penalty shootout at the Yabra green in Belize City on Saturday.

The Ladyville Rising Stars held the City Boys Jrs. to a nil zip draw through regulation time and overtime, going to a penalty shootout to decide the winner. City Boys’ Shadrick Lord, Denzell Carr, Ken Galvez and MVP Akeem Sutherland converted their penalties, but only Kenroy Allen scored for Ladyville.

Defending champs Brown Bombers won 2-0 over the Collet Strikers for 3rd place. Jovaun Ramos scored the 1st goal against the Strikers goalie Jayron Salazar in the 1st half, and Bombers’ team captain

Dion Cacho scored a 2nd goal in the 2nd half.

To stimulate the future development of Belizean football, Bombers’ Dion Cacho and Jovann Ramos, and Shemar Waight of Hattieville United Youth Football Club will attend the FC Barcelona Football Camp in Miami from July 28 to August 1.

SMART is sponsoring the players travel and chaperone is fully sponsored by Smart.

Smart’s manager Anthony Mahler presented the trophies to the champs, 2nd and 3rd place winners, and the individual awards:

Edgar Rogers wins

1st Annual Spartan Fitness Club Bodybuilding Classic Corozal Town, July 19, 2014 The taller, leaner, more sculpted Placencia fitness buff, Edgar Rogers, took 1st place in the Overall Category to win the 1st annual Spartan Fitness Gym Bodybuilding Classic organized and hosted by Mr. Belize, Rigo Vellos and Spartan Fitness Gym. Rogers had won the Over 70 Kilos Category. 2nd place in that category went to Marvin de la Rosa of Power Gym of neighboring Chetumal, Quintana Roo. 3rd Place was won by Guy Neal

of Neal’s Gym at Roger’s Stadium in Belize City.

In the Up to 70 Kilos Category, Meffi de la Rosa, also of Power Gym, won 1st place. 2nd place went to David Requena while 3rd Place went to veteran bodybuilder Jaime Santa of Bios Gym FCB in Escarcega, Campeche, Mexico In the Bikini Category, Belize City’s Ann Lyn Apolonio won 1st place, while fitness queen Gina Lovell got 2nd place and Corozal Town’s Vianie Blades won 3rd place.

Mr Belize Rigo Vellos & some of the competitors: Ann Lyn Apolonio, Eduar Burns, Guy Neal & Gina Lovell

City Boys’ goalie makes a save

Awardees: Best coach: Leaton StClair – City Boys Best Goalkeeper: Jayron Salazar – Collet Strikers Best Defense: Shemar Bowen – Collet Strikers Best Midfield: Denroy “Bobo” Lopez – City Boys Best Forward: Dion Cacho – Brown Bombers Most Goal: Camryn Lozano – Rising Stars (8 goals) MVP: Akeem Sutherland – City Boys

City Boys team

Team Digicel 4G’s Isaiah Willacey win Weekend Warriors’ road race Belize City, July 20, 2014 Team Digicel’s 4G Isaiah Willacey of the “B” division won the Weekend Warriors Cycling Club’s 50-mile circuit race on the George Price Highway to Burrell Boom and back via the Hattieville bypass on Sunday, with Digicell’s Robert Mariano coming 2nd to win the “A” division and Truckers Posse’s Dennis Mckoy winning the “C” division.

A/B Division 1st Isaiah Willacey - Team Digicel’s 4G - 2:24:16 2nd Robert Mariano - Team Digicel’s 4G 3rd James Frampton - Santino’s “Ride to Glory” 4th Wilbert Jones - Benny’s Megabytes 5th Santino “Chief” Castillo - Team Santino’s 2nd in “B” Division 6th Shelton Graham – invitee 7th Kenneth Butler - Belize Water Services 8th Mark Gentle - FT Williams/Belize Bank 9th Ernest Olivera - FT Williams/Belize Bank - 3rd in B div.

10th Jack Sutherland - Team Digicel’s 4G C Division 1st Dennis Mckoy - Truckers Posse 2:13:33 2nd Wayne Arnold - FT Williams/Belize Bank 3rd Manuel Esquiliano – Truckers Posse - 2:13:48 4th Valentine Sosa – Truckers Posse 2:13:59.

Digicel 4G’s Isaiah Willacey wins 1st in B division

James Frampton wins 2nd in A div.

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2014 2014

THE BELIZE THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES

11 SPORTS 11

Telemedia outs Beacon 12-1 in female softball

Belize City, July 18, 2014 The Belize Telemedia ladies hammered Beacon 12-1 by mercy rule in the 4th inning in the Belize City female softball competition at the Rogers Stadium in on Friday night Beacon collected 4 hits off Telemedia’s pitcher Kenisha Sutherland, who struck out 4 batters and walked 4, but even with 5 errors by the BTL diamond, only Lydia Ferguson scored for Beacon.

Telemedia got 9 hits off Beacon pitcher Kimani Smith, who also struck out 2 batters and walked 4. The Beacon diamond also made 14 errors, allowing Earlene Belisle, Babsy Cadle, Sutherland, Christine Jacobs and Martha Rhys to score 2 runs each while Lydia Cacho and Sherlene Humphreys scored a run apiece.

Customs advances to softball playoffs Belize City, July 19, 2014 Customs/Central Bank bombed Telemedia 24-11 by mercy rule in their first win to qualify as the No. 4 seed entering the Belize City interoffice softball playoffs at the Rogers Stadium over the weekend.

They were led by Gilbert Gordon and Marlon Garnett, who scored 5 runs each, while Sasha Brown scored 3 runs as Customs hitters collected 16 hits off Telemedia’s pitchers Bernard Pitts and Shanti Roches. Keemar King, Kareem Michael and Kendra Dyer scored 2 runs apiece and Basil Matthews, Elbert Neal, Kay Macfadzean and Shannon Gordon scored a run apiece Telemedia actually led 8-5 in the bottom of the 1st inning when Muschae Macdonald scored 2 runs while Bernard Pitts, Nelson Tillett, Misty Williams, Andrew Kelly, Melissa Williams and Shanti Roches scored a run apiece. Only Lupito Acosta and Bernard Pitts scored again in the 5th inning.

On Saturday, Customs also won 7-4 over Belize Water Services/Ministry of Education nightcap.

The BEL Powersockets and the Belize Bank Bulldogs also qualified as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds respectively. Both picked up easy 7-0 wins by default on Saturday. The National Sports Council is the top seed.

Belize fails at U-20 UNCAF qualifiers El Salvador, July 20, 2014 Belize did not qualify to the 2nd round of the Under-20 World Cup Qualifiers, which is at the UNCAF stage, after losing to El Salvador 6-0 and then to Nicaragua 4-0.

Against El Salvador, the first goal against Belize came from a penalty which was called when a hand ball was played in the 18s box. By the end of the first half, El Salvador scored another goal. The four other goals were scored by El Salvador in the 2nd half.

Belize’s second game was played against Nicaragua on July 21st. Following the 4-0 defeat, they were eliminated while Nicaragua advanced.

The next stage of the qualifiers will be Concacaf to be held next year in Jamaica.

Alejandro Baptist scored 14pts

Customs’ Efrain Phillips pitches

Dragons’ Alex Evans hits

Belize Bank & BDF win in Firms volleyball

BWS, Atlantic Bank, Belize Bank Bulldogs & Digicel 4G post wins in Interoffice Basketball

12

THE BELIZE TIMES

27 JUL

2014

27 JUL

THE BELIZE TIMES

2014

Ariel Rosado’s parents, Dr. Dorla & Alvaro Rosado (far left & far right) with scholarship recipients

Ariel Rosado Memorial Foundation Awards 30 scholarships

Belize City, July 15, 2014 The life of avid cyclist and attorney-in-the-making Ariel Rosado, whose sudden and untimely passing saddened the country in May 2011, has been immortalized in acts of kindness and a commitment to uplift human kind.

Parents Dr. Alvaro and Dr. Dorla Rosado say that Ariel believed in the value of education and was actually pursuing higher education at the time of his death. Following his passing, Mr. and Mrs. Rosado called on Ariel’s close friends and supporters to give life to the Ariel Rosado Memorial Foundation, an initiative whose objective was to provide opportunities for access education for needy Belizean children and youth.

Today, just two and a half years since its initiation, the Foundation distributed 30 scholarships and acknowledged that his was a huge milestone.

Foundation officials handed out scholarships for 10 primary school, 17 high school and three tertiary level students. 15 of them are new scholarships, whose recipients were Vidal Adolphus (Ray Auxillou Memorial) attending St. Ignatius High School, Justin Williams (Belize Bank International Scholarship) attending Corozal Community

College, Juanita Logan (Clive Alexander Tucker Memorial) attending Nazarene High School, Dairon Peralta (Cynthia and Gary Magnus Scholarship) attending Belmopan Comprehensive, Ashanti Wade (FULTEC Systems Ltd. Scholarship) attending E.P. Yorke High School, Heidy Canales (INFOTEL Scholarship) attending Pallotti High School, Kenton Arzu (Joan and Said Musa Scholarship) attending Wesley College, Fran Malic (Joyce & Arthur Barrow Memorial) also attending Wesley College, Sabrina Jackson (Louis and Doreen Humphreys Scholarship) attending St. Catherine’s Academy, Tayesha Neal (Ralph Fonseca Jr. Memorial) attending Wesley College, Diana Chavarria (Rosaura and

Erdulfo Nunez Scholarship) attending E.P. Yorke High School, Latrell Gabourel (Sharon and Chester Walker Scholarship) attend-

13 ing Nazarene High School, Keldra Woodeye (SMART Scholarship) also attending Nazarene High School, Riana Stein (UNICOMER/COURTS Scholarship) attending Wesley College and Sabrina Ulloa (Wet Lizard Scholarship) attending Nazarene High School.

The Foundation is supported by a Board of Directors headed by Dr. Alvaro Rosado. As part of their future plans, Dr. Dorla Rosado explained that they plan to establish a resource center that will provide computers and other tools to their students to conduct research to aid their studies.

The Foundation reported news very worthy of reporting. All their scholarship recipients have been excelling in their studies. In many cases, their students have ranked among the top five in their classes.

Also, four scholarship recipients have completed their studies. They are Kimberly Searle who graduated with Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Galen University, Kennisha Nicholas graduating from Wesley College, Symeon Kelly graduating from St. John’s College, and Kenesha Gabourel from Gwen Lizarraga High School.

14 SABOTAGE!!!

Continued from page 1 have removed Penner from office as the Area Representatives for Cayo North East.

This did not break the resolve of citizens’ efforts to see Penner brought to justice and so in February, of this year, following the sabotaged recall referendum, the citizen group, Citizen Organized for Liberty through Action (COLA), felt compelled to take to the Courts, when it was clear the Barrow government would do nothing.

COLA public called for assistance of attorneys to help it file its suit. Attorneys Edwin Flowers, Kareem Musa and Anthony Sylvestre on the instructions of the Leader of Opposition, the Hon. Francis Fonseca answered the call and their efforts were rewarded when the Chief Justice of Belize ordered the Barrow Government to make sure a criminal investigation be undertaken in relation to Penner’s role in the Kim Won Hong Belizean passport scandal.

Responding to further public outcry and as the six month limitation period for the arrest and laying of charges for criminal wrongdoing approached, COLA and its attorney Kareem Musa made history by launching a private prosecution in which two criminal charges were filed against Penner.

Despite every effort to dodge the court process and justice, this historic and unprecedented move, resulted in Penner having to appear in the Belmopan Magistrate Court to answer to two criminal charges of “vouching the fitness of an applicant” and “making a statement in a material particular”, both specifically in relation to a passport and nationality documents procured on behalf of South Korean criminal WonHong Kim. And this is in spite of all efforts of the Barrow Government, including the police, to railroad the court process and seeing Penner face justice.

Without any help from the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Commissioner of Police, the court was unable to have statements by witnesses available to them. As a result, Penner got away, this time.

While the Attorney General may characterise this case as “an exercise in futility”, what this case has done is to show that a line has been drawn.

On the one side, there is the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Police, Auditor General, Ombudsman, Director of Public Prosecution and last but not least, the Prime Minister. And on the other side, stands the people of Belize.

Let it be known, the disgraced Penner is certainly not off the hook as he will face indictable charges in the Supreme Court.

If there is one truth the Prime Minister has uttered during his tenure it is that he “is no George Price”. Barrow’s insatiable greed and lust for power are more important than our patrimony.

And because of this, Thursday the 24th July, 2014 was yet another dark day for Belize under Barrow and the UDP. And like Penner, Barrow and the UDP must face the justice of the people. Dean Barrow is truly the anti-Price.

THE BELIZE TIMES

Mother of 2 accused of common-law husband’s murder San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, July 23, 2014 37 year old Anabel Bacelis Kumul, a mother of two children, has been detained by the Police in San Pedro as the main suspect in the vicious stabbing murder of her common-law husband, 28 year old Felix Alamilla.

Kumul, who is of a Mexican nationality, was arrested around 7:00am on Wednesday morning outside the Tropic Air office on

the island. Her common-law husband died about half an hour earlier at the San Carlos Medical Center from multiple stab wounds he had sustained.

Unconfirmed reports are that on Wednesday Alamilla was sleeping at a house he takes care of in the Boca Ciaga Area, when around 5:30 that morning Kumul arrived and attacked him with a knife.

Alamilla sustained stab

27 JUL

2014 wounds to his thigh, shoulder and one of his eyes. He was rushed to the medical center on a golf cart by his step father but he did not survive.

A knife with suspected blood stains on the blade has been retrieved by the Police.

Reports are that the attack was caused by rage, after Kumul learnt that Alamilla was seeing another woman.

He had not been home for two days.

Kumul and two others, including her sister who was with her at the airstrip, are detained pending charges.

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2014

15

THE BELIZE TIMES

Cervantes family unsatisfied with Police investigation

PUTTING VALUE BACK INTO “YOUR WORD”

“My dad wasn’t kidnapped to extort money out of our family, he was killed.

It was a contract or a hit to kill him,” – Ramon Cervantes Jr.

VISIT OUR OFFICE TO CHECK IF ANY BUSINESS HAS COMPLAINED ON YOU

Belize City, July 20, 2014 The family of murder victim Ramon Cervantes Sr. has accused the Orange Walk Police Department of not doing enough in the homicide investigation.

Cervantes Sr., a well-known businessman, former politician, and cane farmer, was kidnapped on Tuesday, July 1st during his regular work visits of his cane field in the outskirts of San Roman Village. Four days later, he was found dead, buried in a shallow grave which had been dug in an abandoned farm along the Honey Camp area of Orange Walk District. The Police were led to the site by three men who allegedly took part in the brazen scheme.

The Cervantes family believes the abduction and vicious murder are part of a greater criminal ring operating in Orange Walk. This ring could involve Police Officers and it has triggered serious concern.

Cervantes Sr. had been beaten to death. His eyes were covered with duct tape and his hands were handcuffed. Reports are the handcuffs used in the crime were traced to the Police Department. They were reportedly sold to the men who were involved in the kidnapping and homicide by two Police officers.

Those two Police Officers were identified and allegedly detained and questioned but released. Now, it appears that the officers have disappeared from town and possibly left the country, according to Ramon Cervantes Jr.

Visit our website: www.cmssearch.bz

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the company have been dissolved and struck off the International Business Companies Registry with effect from the dates indicated: Ramon Cervantes Sr. “We have noted slight little changes during the last few days and we are very disappointed in the fact that the policeman whose handcuffs were used to handcuff my dad was identified. I don’t know if he was arrested but if he was arrested he was released. In other words nothing was done to that policeman and we understand from rumours that in fact he has left the country and that disturbs us greatly,” said Cervantes Jr. The main suspect believed to have been the mastermind of the murder has been identified as 37 year old Manuel “El Pelon” Castillo. Castillo has had a colourful history with law enforcement officials. He was first deported from North Carolina, USA in 2004 for drug trafficking and possession of Continued on page 18

PUP Yaad Meeting in Port Loyola Continued from page 3

that he will lead a Government that is focused on working for the people and country and not to fill the pockets of Ministers and political cronies as is taking place under the UDP Government.

Dr. Francis Smith addressing those in attendance

CREDIT MASTER SYSTEMS #11 DOUGLAS JONES STREET BELIZE CITY TEL: 223-5845/223-2283 Email: cmsbz@btl.net

This was the first in a series of yard meetings that will be held across Belize City to educate the Belizean people about the cause of their suffering and the plans of the People’s United Party to make life better for all Belizeans.

Party Leader Francis Fonseca listening to residents’ concerns

20th day of June, 2014 -- BEST ACTIVE CO., LTD. 20th day of June, 2014 -- FOREVER BEST LIMITED 16th day of July, 2014 -- Chromatic Technology International Co., Ltd. 16th day of July, 2014 -- Watery Peace Pte. Ltd.

Power Point Trust (Belize) Limited Registered Agent

For Sale

By Order of the Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Mortgage made the 14th day of March, 2008 between EMOGENE YOUNG RAMCLAM of Lord’s Bank Village, Ladyville, Belize District, Belize of the one part, and Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., of the other part, and recorded in Deeds Book Vol. 9 of 2008 at Folios 1359 – 1388, the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the schedule hereto.

All offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. SCHEDULE ALL THAT LEASEHOLD INTEREST IN ALL THAT piece or parcel of land being Lot No. 37 situate in the vicinity of Lord’s Bank Village, Belize District and bounded as follows: On the North for 27.423 Metres by 40 feet street; On the Northeast for 4.310 Metres by a Truncation; On the South for 30.475 Metres by Lot No. 38; On the East for 21.333 Metres by a 50 feet street; On the West for 24.380 Metres by Lot No. 36, containing 883.33 Square Yards of land as shown on Entry No. 6040, Register No. 23 at the office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon.

DATED this 24th day of July, 2014.

MUSA & BALDERAMOS LLP 91 North Front Street Belize City Attorneys-at-Law for Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

16

THE BELIZE TIMES

Home Economics The Enemies of Industrial Growth Part I

By Richard Harrison Belize’s colonial history left the country inheriting laws, policies and practices....and culture...of harvesting raw materials and sending them abroad... with preference for importing and consuming finished products. Production and value-adding is not a part of our genetic make-up or conditioning. Amendments to our laws, policies and practices since Independence has only been done in response to narrow special interest lobby, on a political discretionary leash not based on a NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN, which has exacerbated imbalances in development and wealth creation and distribution...therefore, while the economy has grown, wealth continues to pile up only in the hands of those favored special interests. The grass is growing, but the horse is starving....for most. A cursory view suggests 20% increasing in wealth....40% stagnant and looking on....40% in rapid decline.

Belize is a relatively infant nation and many of the choices that it makes reflect this infancy (as opposed to maturity) and these choices have determined the scale and scope of its development thus far. Allow me to point out a few of these choices, especially those that are the principal enemies of industrial growth.

1. IDEALISM vs PRAGMATISM Very few Belizeans have extensive exposure in the world… much less in the developed world. Their world-view is thus formed mostly from what they read in local newspapers opinionated editorials and other limited published material available in Belize, seen on pirated television feeds or hearf from those who share their travel experiences.

A small percentage now have some travel exposure in our under-developed region and access to internet but mostly use it to gain exposure to music, entertainment and social media…and as feed for a growing skeptical and cynical ghetto gangsta culture.

The elder “intelligencia” of Belice has been mostly influenced by the period of ideological “debates” that took place during the pre- and post-Independence period, during which two or three articulate leaders actively engaged the people on a grass-roots level, convincing them that the ideal of socialism was better than capitalism and

pushed “rights” without corresponding “responsibility”. The new “intelligencia” are the very children and/or proteges of the elder ones…since they were the ones that got the scholarships and grew up listening to and adopting their arguments and points of view. Belizeans, in general, are still stuck in this idealist ideological frame… even though socialism fell with the walls of Berlin.

To give an example….the entire foreign affairs of Belize has been controlled through all these years by seeds of the same tree. It shows in the company we keep close, the relationships that we cherish and seek to develop and those that we choose to stay far from, and only use if and when we can. It has been able to use the Guatemalan claim as the unifying factor to forge and justify the ONLY “bi-partisan” institution in Belice…with the same “bipartisan” people controlling it (whether directly or remotely) since Independence.

Most public institutions of Belize that drive policy are dominated by seeds of this era....but they talk like Che, rule like Pinochet and live like Batista.

Belize needs to grow up…. and realize that the truth is somewhere in between…and take on a more pragmatic ideology of the mixed economy….believe in it…. and act accordingly. It needs to hate entrepreneurship, investments and honest profit-making-initiative less….reward gainful employment, competitiveness and productivity more…and create a better enabling environment for advancement more through merit, ability and integrity…. than on favors and “accommodation agreements”. It needs to advance its culture from a “colonial” one that views foreign and imported as superior…that divides us by envy, jealousy and hate....to an “independent” one that values and supports more that which is Belizean, so that we can rapidly grow our production in quality and quantity....that unites us through greater cooperation, collaboration, cohesion and coordination.

2. CONSERVATION VS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The tree which bore the seeds of socialism mentioned above, also harbored its friends and allies…. extremist tree-huggers from developed countries who were gong-ho about saving the planet from capitalist pigs. They came with their extremist conservationist ideas…infiltrated our institutions and formed new ones where they were facilitated...which led to the current situation where half of the country, and most of our natural resources are under “protected areas” and “co-man-

aged” and controlled mostly by foreign interests through their local “representatives”.

BUT…the road to hell is paved with good intentions….and the abundance of natural resources of Belize have been kept sheltered from the “people of Belize”…not only from its development, but also from its knowledge. Hence, as the population has grown, so also has unemployment and poverty rates…even while “illegal immigrants” risk pirating the natural resources of the pirates of Belize…and mostly get away with it.

This holding of our natural resources under “lock and key” for some imagined “future generation” has not allowed for development that creates opportunities for gainful employment and wealth creation, therefore, our people continue to flee at earliest opportunity. They are replaced by newcomers seeking to improve their lot. Hence, “the people of Belize” is a continuously changing demographic….far different from the time of Independence and will be completely different 10-20 years from now. It is a transient population….only here for a time to enjoy the socialist bounty of relatively free education, health, land and conservation grant-money that we have created since Inde-

27 JUL

2014 pendence, mostly living outside the sphere of taxation and then moving on to greener pastures as quickly as possible.

Belize needs to swing its pendulum away from extremist conservatism, towards a more sustainable-development focus…. so that the natural resources be developed in sustainable ways to improve the lot of ALL the “people of Belize”…and so that more people choose to stay here voluntarily to develop and enjoy the otherwise beautiful and bountiful country. While industries can and should be developed by importing raw materials and value adding them, the most of our wealth can come from sustainably developing our natural resources. The laws, policies and practices of the country need to be modified in order to swing this pendulum. It will not happen on its own.

Richard Harrison is a local businessman and investor in the manufacturing and service industries. Mr. Harrison holds a Masters in Business Administration degree from Lancaster University, United Kingdom.

Send comments to harrisonbz@yahoo.com

27 JUL

2014

THE BELIZE TIMES

Reid It not now… when?

By G. Michael Reid Now I think I know what you tried to say to me And how you suffered for your sanity And how you tried to set them free They would not listen, they’re not listening still Perhaps they never will ~ from the song Vincent by Don Mclean It is becoming painfully and increasingly obvious that besides throwing concrete over every grassy knoll, this current UDP administration has absolutely no clue as to how to govern this nation. Things are out of control in every aspect; be it judicial, economical, educational or moral.

New laws are being written, old ones are being amended but yet, the guilty walk and only the innocent are going to jail. We are closing down schools and firing teachers but more children are out of school than ever before.

Politicians are growing rich and traveling the world in style while the number of people below the poverty line grows exponentially.

Oil companies and big business get lavish accommodation agreements but the unemployment figures continue to rise. It seems we have busted loose from our every social and philosophical mooring.

Captain, this ship is adrift and the seas are getting rough!

Unfortunately, this administration has succeeded in creating an atmosphere of intimidation and fear that has silenced many of the powerful voices in our society. Those not docile and submissive have been bought with prestige, profit or even cake; ‘tis a sad state of affairs indeed.

It seems that no one is bold

17

itself. This might get them a few votes but it leads to some major problems in the long run.

This unwise practice results in widespread illegal squatting and an unsustainable burden on our social services. Our unemployment figures are already sky high and these immigrants come in willing to grab enough to criticize this government up the few existing jobs and without also criticizing the previwork for menial wages. Serious ous government. We lump them problems are created for the together and try to chew but it is economy, our healthcare sysa bite too big! Back in 2004/2005 tem and even national security. when the people’s emotions were This wholesale nationalizing of aroused by incessant propaganda, immigrants without the propno one pulled the UDP into the fray. er vetting exposes us to some This despite the fact that the years very dangerous conditions.

1993-1998 were in fact, dubbed Most come from neighboring the worse five years ever! The ecoGuatemala, a country that renomic train had derailed and things mains a perpetual threat to our were so bad that the people took sovereignty. They are required to the streets in droves to protest to submit a police record, not against that administration’s unfrom their country but from fair policies. (Who can forget that ours. Of course they don’t have a local record; many only arrive the day that they Many believe that the Prime Minister will call elecare naturalized. Even the required health certifitions early but I am not so convinced. He loves cation is circumvented power too much and knows that no way in hell, he and leads to the introwill win any election now. He barely scrapeduction of potentially dog the last one and were it not for the serious health problems thousands and thousands of improperly prothat creates an additional burden on our already cessed immigrants, he would not have won overwhelmed hospitals by 60 votes but would have lost by 6,000. and health centers. We must demand a morasea of blue that marched to Yabra been a long time coming! torium of at least a month or green?). There was no wanton detwo before any election. This Many believe that the Prime struction like occurred in Belmo- Minister will call elections early but requires no new legislation; it is pan in 2005 but people made their I am not so convinced. He loves already in the Constitution. feelings known. Today, things are power too much and knows that Phillip Goldson once said even worse! Yet, none is willing it no way in hell, he will win any electhat, “The time to save your seems, or even able to say that you tion now. He barely scrape-dog the country is before you lose it.” know what, the UDP is corrupt and last one and were it not for the How ironic that the very parincompetent “all on their own”. It al- thousands and thousands of imty he supported and helped ways has to be, “the two of them properly processed immigrants, he to start would be the one that are the same and two of them are would not have won by 60 votes puts our country at the worst to blame”. Let us be fair and let us but would have lost by 6,000. I sinrisk. I don’t know Phillip, seems be fearless. they didn’t listen then and are cerely hope that Belizeans will not In the past few years, the just sit idly by and allow that same not listening still; perhaps they neo-acronym PUDP has been unscrupulous exercise to repeat never will! coined and used to suggest that both parties are the same; nothing could be further from the truth. I believe that the UDP themselves have coined this phrase and put it out there in an attempt to murky the waters.

The People’s United Party has never been as hungry for power as this United Democratic Party has proven to be. Dean Barrow was willing to spend “millions and millions” in Cayo to protect Penner’s seat in the House and made no secret as to his reason why. Although Castro was caught red-handedly dipping into the Airport Authority’s funds, Mr. Barrow rose in the House to defend his actions. Corruption after corruption has plagued this administration and each time, instead of pulling out his “double-edged machete”, the Prime Minister has pulled out his lawyer’s cloak. The UDP has proven over and over again that they will go to any lengths to hang onto power.

The question is asked, why then, why with all that is going on, the PUP’s have not taken to the streets and are not encouraging public unrest. The answer is simple. The PUP does not feel the need to break up and destroy our country, even if it means landing them in power. The PUP has been busy instead, consulting and formulating plans for the revival of their social agenda programs and in figuring ways to grow the economy. The next PUP government will not go in green and stumbling in the dark like the UDP did, they will be prepared to govern and govern well. Mistakes of the past will serve as lessons for the future and the focus will be on service not on tyrannical rule.

Belizeans deserve this and it has

18 KHMH In Crisis!!!

Continued from page 1 Cansino that the financial situation is so terrible that the hospital has been denied supplies by certain vendors who have been demanding payments owed to them.

Longsworth warned, “…this matter is now at the point of crisis” and added that there is a possibility that the hospital “will not be able to meet next month’s payroll”. Earlier this month, when Cansino gave media interviews regarding the almost 600 members of staff and the likelihood that they won’t benefit from the Government’s salary increase, she seemed to overlook the fact that the hospital’s financial crisis may deny the staff’s regular pay.

So, how did it come to this point where the hospital can’t meet its bills and puts at risk its entire operational capacity? In the letter, Longsworth laid the blame on the misguided Minister of Health Pablo Marin and unpopular CEO Peter Allen.

Longsworth pointed out that the Ministry of Health’s present financial support via its annual subvention to the KHMH is inadequate. He said that he had requested an additional $2.4 million in order for the hospital to meet its expenses that include a larger wage bill due to salary increases for its medical staff and also an increase in the amount paid as overtime payments in the nursing services.

His requests have been ignored and disregarded, and at times even mocked.

“It is my opinion that we have not acquired the financial support from Ministry from subvention, nor have we gotten support for our budget submissions over the last several years, as reflected in a zero percent increase in the budgetary allocation to the hospital for this fiscal year,” revealed Longsworth in his letter.

Why would the Ministry of Health discount the hospital’s urgent need for financial assistance? According to Longsworth, in one instance his request was viewed as “not being worth anything” by the Ministry’s CEO, Peter Allen.

Lately, Allen has become a very unpopular figure. Wherever there has been smoke and fire in the Ministry of Health, you will find Peter Allen and his minion electrician Minister hiding behind him. These two have proven to be a disaster to the country’s health system.

According to KHMH CEO Longsworth, Allen stood in the way of the hospital’s appeal for support.

Longsworth’s letter may have not been well received by the Ministry’s CEO, who may have more to do with the KHMH Board’s decision not to renew Longsworth’s contract for a 3rd tenure than the public has been told.

Board Chairlady, Cansino, did not allude to any friction between Longsworth and members of the Board, but from the tone of the leaked letter it is clear that there were serious problems.

The reasoning for the hospital’s decision to part ways with Longsworth, according to Cansino, was that “I think it’s time for us now as a Board to look at the available options that we have out there in the general population and that’s the reason for opening it up for applications”.

There is also evidence that the Board was disintegrating for some time. Two Board Directors Milagro Garel and Maude Sylvester resigned suddenly in May of this year. Then in July, the embattled Director of Finance Carlos Perrera left under a cloud of scandal for questionable purchases done by his office.

27 JUL

THE BELIZE TIMES

Cervantes family unsatisfied with Police investigation Continued from page 15 weapon with intend to kill. In 2007 he made his way back to the United States where he was detained for illegal entry and spent thirty six months in prison after which he was deported to Belize.

Last week, Interpol released a wanted notice for Castillo. The BELIZE TIMES has learnt from sources that Castillo was also reportedly detained for questioning by the Police but set free. He is also believed to have fled the country.

In fear that the murder

case will simply go unsolved the family has appealed to the Police Department to treat the investigations with some level of importance.

“We don’t have a motive yet and that is why I think the police should carry on this investigation. That is why we are disturbed that everybody else that had been detained was released.

Some of them must know and must be able to lead them to who is the owner of the vehicle and who drove the vehicles and to much more information.

Like I said, this doesn’t stop here, we want to know the motive, we want to know the main conspirator; who finance this operation; who is at the head of this operation. That’s what we

2014

want to know because it’s a fact that my dad wasn’t kidnapped to extort money out of our family, he was killed. It was a contract or a hit to kill him. It’s not just what we feel, but the facts establish that,” he said.

The three persons detained and charged for the murder are Guatemalan National 22 year old Mateo Daniel Gonzalez, 28 year old Belizean Mateo Pott Jr., and 19 year old Belizean Angel Cardenas, all residents of Trial Farm Village. The men were remanded to prison until August 13th.

They were also charged for the murder of Sonia Abac, whose decomposed body was found in a well near the grave where Cervantes Sr.’s lifeless body was discovered. Abac had gone missing in April of this year. Her disappearance and murder remains a mystery.

27 JUL

2014

19

THE BELIZE TIMES Handelson Ltd. # 66,008 (“the Company”)

Would You Accept A Beer From Jesus?

Like the aged veterans who always came together to play dominos outside the village Chinese store, believers enjoy coming together to share stories, sing songs, and blast out resounding ‘amens’ and ‘hallelujahs’ that shake the rafters of the ceiling. They call this meeting ‘church’. Every Sunday (and Monday prayer meetings and Tuesday Bible studies), Christians fill chairs or pews and sit for a few minutes or hours in a building. They get ‘recharged’ for the coming week and are satisfied with the way things are. So satisfied, that I think that if Jesus Himself visited some of our churches and shook things up, ‘Christians’ would crucify Him. I attended a funeral a few weeks ago. Afterwards, the family had light refreshments set up on the lawn of the church for the attendants of the ceremony. A few of the mourners took out their beers and cigarettes and proceeded to light up, right outside of the church doors. A concerned church brother grew significantly offended at the actions of those people and was not quiet about what he viewed as a disgrace to the sacred ground of the church. Soon a group of concerned church sisters and brethren huddled together inside the sanctuary, lambasting the wickedness and ungodliness of those outside. In their eyes, they were right to feel affronted.

Thank God the only eyes we need to worry about are His. See, the ‘Christians’ remained inside the church, judging those outside and making smart comments about their behavior. Now, I’m not saying God’s house shouldn’t be kept holy, but this is the problem with most churches in the world.

The Body of Christ is ineffective because the people of God hide inside four walls and peer out at the lost souls on the lawn. Instead of stepping out and offering an alternative that will lead to a path of life, they are quite satisfied to feel strong, powerful and vindicated inside four useless, lifeless blocks of concrete.

Do you know where Jesus would have been? He would have been right out there amidst the smoking, drinking, cussing persons. He would have been reaching out to them.

Not acting high and holy and mighty, but being relatable and relevant and friendly. And you know what? If the beer had run out, I believe Jesus would even have gotten them some more. The people would have stood in amazement as Jesus commanded the ushers to fill the kegs with pipe water, and watched as the best brewed beer poured out. If you don’t believe me, check out John 2. I dare you.

Christ was unconventional only because He was so real.

Ironically, the only Perfect Man was more humble than some modern church members who act as though they have never sinned in their entire lifetime! If believers want to continue behaving as though Christ’s Body is a cult and only the select are ‘worthy’ enough to become a part, then those who are thirsty for hope will never receive it and countless lives will be lost because of pride and arrogance. The good news is that Jesus isn’t hiding inside the church building and it is our job to follow His example.

Until next week, God bless.

Pursuant to Section 102(8) of the International Business Companies Act, Chapter 270 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2000, notice is hereby given that Handelson Ltd. has been dissolved as at 23rd July, 2014 and has been struck off the Register of International Business Companies.

Cititrust International Limited Registered Agent

Standberg Ltd. # 69,753 (“the Company”) Pursuant to Section 102(8) of the International Business Companies Act, Chapter 270 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2000, notice is hereby given that Standberg Ltd. has been dissolved as at 23rd July, 2014 and has been struck off the Register of International Business Companies.

Cititrust International Limited Registered Agent

TENDER NOTICE TENDER FOR THE GENERAL SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE OF THE SUPREME COURT BUILDING, THE OLD TREASURY BUILDING, THE COURT OF APPEAL AND THE SUPREME COURT LAW LIBRARY BUILDING, THE BELIZE FAMILY COURT, THE VITAL STATISTICS UNIT BUILDING AND THE CHIEF JUSTICE’S RESIDENCE. Tenders are invited for the general security and surveillance of the Supreme Court Building, the Old Treasury Building, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court Law Library Building, the Belize Family Court, the Vital Statistics Unit Building and the Chief Justice’s Residence.

1. The Tender shall be for a period of two (2) years ( Sept 1 2014 to Aug 31 2016) 2. The successful Tender will be expected to provide the following security and surveillance to the following locations: a. Provide 24 hours security to the Supreme Court Building – 3 guards for 7 day per week b. Provide 24 hours security to the Old Treasury Building – 3 guards for 7 day per week c. Provide 24 hours security to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court Law Library Building – 1 guard for 7 day per week d. Provide security to the Belize City Family Court from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday to Thursday and from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays – 2 guards e. Provide 24 hours security service to the Vital Statistics Unit Building – 1 guard for 7 days per week f. Provide 24 hours security service to the Chief Justice’s Residence – 1 guard for 7 days per week The cost incurred to visit the facilities to be guarded and the preparation of the bids is the sole responsibility of the Tenderer.

The lowest or any Tender may not necessarily be accepted.

Tenders are to be submitted in sealed envelopes marked “TENDER FOR THE GENERAL SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE OF THE SUPREME COURT BUILDING, THE OLD TREASURY BUILDING, THE COURT OF APPEAL AND THE SUPREME COURT LAW LIBRARY BUILDING, THE BELIZE FAMILY COURT, THE VITAL STATISTICS UNIT BUILDING AND THE CHIEF JUSTICE’S RESIDENCE” no later than Aug 15, 2014.

Envelopes to be delivered to: Registrar General General Registry Department Treasury Lane Belize City, Belize The General Registry Department The Attorney General’s Ministry

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Freddy Bencomo Debuts at the Factory

By Katie N. Usher “I work, I have a regular job, I’ve had it for 18 years. I paint at night and on the weekends, when I have free time,” he said calmly “And you farm?”

“Yes!” He responded, completely dodging my attempt to make it all sound daunting.

“How do you find time for all that?

Balance…your work, farming, husbandry and still make art?”

I asked genuinely befuddled.

“Well you just find a way,” he stated as coolly as could be.

Freddy Bencomo exudes cool. His approach to his work is a scheduled and patient one.

He recounts that he grew up farming with his parents in Corozal, in Cristo Rey village.

There, he went to school and began making art.

“All my books were covered with drawings, and sketches, and doodles.”

Bencomo would draw all the time and everywhere.

After having his brain molded at school, he would go home and cultivate the land with his parents.

Freddy has since relocated to Belize City, where he works and lives with his wife and family.

On the weekends, he visits the farm to prepare the field, for the cattle that will eventually graze there. They are also developing a greenhouse.

“I paint because I have to.

It is my passion. I just have to.

Sometimes I have so many paintings, I just give them away.

I just keep painting.”

I must say, I marvel at purists like Freddy Bencomo who make art, not in pursuit of fame or mon-

ey, but just to feed that hunger that the need to create builds in a soul and then become hungry again. So really creation and processing, thinking and making never cease.

“I never exhibited because I lack confidence, but luckily, I have a lot of support.

Family and friends give me encouragement.

It is because of them, that I am exhibiting now.”

His style is reflective of what he says “is needed to make a masterpiece, more than a day, it needs time and...”

“Patience,” added his wife.

“Yes, patience,” he smiled and said.

Freddy admits to dedicating hours and even days to a single piece. “Just to get it right, all the details.”

And his pieces do show this, interest with small details and a finish, polished, evidence of careful, intentioned brush-

strokes.

“I think I got the art from my mom, but the interest in details, that’s from my dad.”

Recently, on vacation in Mexico, he saw and loved the ‘pushed-tin’ work. A thin piece of metal, with the image pushed out.

He loved the technique, practiced it until he mastered it and will display one in this exhibit.

He has managed to carve out a quiet place, amid the noise, and distraction-filled City. And there he works with the “patience needed by all artists to create” every day, at all tasks.

I look at the Pegasus he’s painted, blindingly white, on a background which has all the colours of a twilight sky.

Maybe it helps him achieve balance amid chaos.

The show launches at 7 p.m. on Friday July 25 and will be on display for the duration of July.

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Microsoft to cut 18,000 jobs worldwide US firm to lay off thousands of staff, including nearly half of Nokia employees who joined in April after acquisition

US widow awarded $23.6bn tobacco payout Jury says tobacco firm RJ Reynolds did not inform woman’s chain-smoking husband of risks before he died of lung cancer.

A Florida jury has awarded the widow of a chain-smoker who died of lung cancer punitive damages of more than $23bn in her case against the RJ Reynolds Tobacco, the nation’s second-largest cigarette maker.

The judgment, returned on Friday night in a Pensacola court, was the largest in Florida history in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by an individual, according to the woman’s legal team.

Cynthia Robinson, of Pen-

sacola, sued the cigarette maker, whose brands include Camel, in 2008 over the death of her husband, Michael Johnson.

Johnson smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day for more 20 years and died of lung cancer in 1996 aged 36.

“He couldn’t quit. He was smoking the day he died,” lawyer Chris Chestnut told the Reuters news agency on Saturday.

After four weeks of hearings and 15 hours of jury

deliberations, the jury said that the tobacco company was negligent in informing Robinson’s husband that smoking causes lung cancer and that nicotine is highly addictive.

Compensatory damages of $7.3m were awarded to the widow and the couple’s child, and $9.6m to Johnson’s son from a previous relationship.

The jury also awarded Robinson $23.6bn in punitive damages, according to the verdict forms.

‘Runaway verdict’ Jeffery Raborn, the vice-president and assistant general counsel for

RJ Reynolds, said in a statement quoted by the New York Times that the company planned to challenge “this runaway verdict”.

“This verdict goes far beyond the realm of reasonableness and fairness and is completely inconsistent with the evidence presented,” he said.

Such industry appeals are often successful. A $28bn ruling against the tobacco firm Philip Morris in 2002 was reduced on appeal to $28m.

Children killed in rail accident in India Police say 11 children dead after train crashes into school bus at unmanned railway crossing in Telangana state A passenger train has crashed into a school bus in southern India, killing at least 11 children, with fears the death toll could rise further, officials say.

A senior police officer said “11 students and the bus driver were killed”, while a railway official said he feared as many as 25 children were dead after Thursday’s collision in newly formed Telangana state.

Ravi Nallamala, a local police officer, said at least 16 children aged 7 to 14 had been injured and hospitalised in Medak district.

The area is nearly 1,500km south of New Delhi.

K Samba Siva Rao, a spokesman for South Central Railway, said the train hit the bus at an unmanned railway crossing in the village of Masaipet, about 62km from Hyderabad in Telangana, which this year was carved out of Andhra Pradesh state.

The bus was dragged several hundred metres down the tracks, according to local media reports.

The train was travelling from the city of Nanded in Maharashtra state to Hyderabad. No one on the train was killed, officials said.

“So far 11 children and one school bus driver died. Sixteen children are injured and have been

shifted to hospitals,” N Suryanaarayana, local police deputy inspector general, said.

“The cause of the accident and whose mistake it is we are investigating.”

Rao said the school bus was carrying up to 38 children from the Kakatiya Techno School in the town of Toopran.

Accidents are common on India’s railroad network, one of the world’s largest with 20 million people riding daily on about 11,000 passenger trains.

Most accidents are blamed on poor maintenance and human error.

Microsoft has announced the biggest layoffs in its 39year history, outlining plans to cut 18,000 jobs worldwive in a move that marks the chief executive’s sharpest pivot yet away from his predecessor’s drive for the company to make its own devices.

Although some job losses had been expected ever since Microsoft acquired Nokia’s mobile-device unit, the number, which amounts to 14 percent of the Microsoft workforce, is about twice the total analysts had estimated.

The cuts announced on Thursday will include about 12,500 jobs associated with the Nokia unit - nearly half of the 28,000 employees Microsoft brought on board in April through the acquisition, the AP news agency reported.

When the cuts are complete, the company will still have about 10,000 more employees than before the Nokia acquisition, with an overall headcount of 109,000.

In a public email to employees, chief executive Satya Nadella, who was appointed in February, said the changes were needed for the company to “become more agile and move faster”.

The move also pushes Nokia to focus solely on the Windows Phone operating system.

Is the Palestinian Authority still relevant?

Analysis: The PA struggles to stay relevant amid regional and international efforts to secure Gaza ceasefire Stripped of economic, political, territorial and security authority, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas lost favour with Israel after the signing of a national consensus agreement with Hamas last April.

Abbas also has to contend with mounting calls to redraw the Palestinian government’s national liberation strategy along more popular lines. His administration faced unprecedented criticism over the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) full cooperation with Israel during its brutal crackdown in the West Bank last month.

The Palestinian unity pact saw Hamas ceding power to a government viewed as being loyal to its political rival, Fatah. On the ground however, the Ramallah based PA, which has denounced Hamas for firing rockets, has as little leverage as ever over the movement’s internal decision-making process.

Khaled el-Gindy, former adviser to the Palestinian Leadership in Ramallah, says that Hamas and Fatah may be forced to cooperate on implementing some terms of a future truce, but at this moment, the PA has no role in dealing with the ongoing crisis.”It’s completely irrelevant. It cannot influence the United States, it cannot influence Israel, it cannot influence Hamas, it cannot influence Egypt,” he stated.

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Threatwatch: Chikungunya virus hits the US and Europe zie

23 July 2014 by Debora MacKen-

Threatwatch is your early warning system for global dangers, from nuclear peril to deadly viral outbreaks. Debora MacKenzie highlights the threats to civilisation – and suggests solutions Chikungunya is on the move.

Locally acquired cases of the mosquito-borne virus, native to central Africa, have been identified in the US for the first time, and virologists are warning it could spread to Europe. At the same time, the virus is rampaging across the Caribbean, which has seen a 24 per cent increase in cases in the last week alone.

The virus, which causes rash, fever and severe joint pain, has exploded in Central America and the Caribbean since its arrival in the western hemisphere last December. As of 18 July, the number of cases identified across the Caribbean and parts of the surrounding mainland this year is 442,000 – a 24 per cent rise on last week’s figure.

The Dominican Republic is especially hard hit, with more than 250,000 sick. So too are Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique, which have each identified between 50,000 and 63,000 cases.

The virus is also spreading in El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname on the mainland. The virus is rarely lethal, but 26 people have died in the epidemic so far. Many survivors have lasting pain.

Viral souvenirs Visitors to these countries risk spreading the virus to areas where the two species of mosquito that transmit it are found. That includes the US: one of the mosquito species is found in 14 states, while the other is present in 32.

To date, 234 cases of chikungunya are thought to have been “imported” into the US, but that figure might be ten times higher because many cases are missed or misdiagnosed, warned Harold Noel of the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (INVS) in an editorial published last week.

More worryingly, last week health authorities also confirmed the first two locally acquired cases of chikungunya in Florida, where both species of mosquito live.

When a virus first affects a population, no one will have developed immunity. “We’re seeing an epidemic ripping through a naive population, with a

very large number of cases in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere,” says Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. “There is every reason to believe we could see similar epidemics along the US Gulf Coast maybe later this summer or starting next year.”

Set to spread European countries are also at risk. Health authorities in France have confirmed 475 imported cases of chikungunya Spread awarenes, not disease (Image: Erika so far this year, up from 17 Santelices/AFP/Getty Images) in 2012. Of these, 126 were identified in regions that have the mosquitoes. the virus to spread in southern France.

Researchers at the INVS have warned At the same time, Spanish health that as mosquito populations climb this authorities have diagnosed 10 importsummer, and travellers return from French ed cases of the virus since April. Five Caribbean islands, conditions are ripe for of these were in regions known to

Alcohol improves your

sense of smell – in moderation 22 July 2014 by Helen Thomson How do you smell after a drink? Quite well, it turns out. A modest amount of alcohol boosts your sense of smell.

It is well known that we can improve our sense of smell through practice. But a few people have also experienced a boost after drug use or brain damage.

This suggests our sensitivity to smell may be damped by some sort of inhibition in the brain, which can be lifted under some circumstances, says Yaara Endevelt of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.

To explore this notion, Endevelt and her colleagues investigated whether drinking alcohol – known to lower inhibitory signals in the brain – affected the sense of smell.

In one odour-discrimination test, 20 volunteers were asked to smell three different liquids.

Two were a mixture of the same six odours, the third contained a similar mixture with one odour

replaced. Each volunteer was given 2 seconds to smell each of the liquids and say which was the odd one out. The test was repeated six times with each of three trios of liquids. They were then given a drink that consisted of 35 millilitres of vodka and sweetened grape juice, or the juice alone, before repeating the experiment with the same set of liquids.

One too many In a second experiment with a similar drinking structure, the same volunteers were asked which of three liquids had a rose-like odour.

The researchers increased the con-

have mosquitoes that transmit the virus.

No treatment Currently, there is no specific treatment available for chikunyunga.

Drugs and vaccines are in development, but are only in the early stages of testing, write Anthony Fauci and David Morens of the National Institutes for Allergy and Infectious Disease in the US. “Licensure is not imminent for any vaccine,” the pair warn. Even when vaccines are available, it will be hard to devise a vaccination strategy, since flare-ups of the virus in endemic regions are unpredictable. The best bet for tackling the disease, they say, will be mosquito control. In that case, chikungunya’s advance seems likely to continue in the impoverished mainland of South America and poor districts of the US.

centration of the odour until the volunteers got the right answer three times in a row.

Endevelt’s team then tested the senses of people in pubs around the cities of Rehovot and Herzliya. Forty-five volunteers were asked to perform a scratch-and-sniff test, in which they had to identify which one of three odour compounds was different from the other two.

Across all three experiments, the team found a correlation between a person’s blood-alcohol level and score on tests of odour detection and discrimination. But while low levels of alcohol improved performance, too much – about two units within an hour for women and three for men – led to a significant reduction in sense of smell.

Endevelt hopes to use brain scans to identify the mechanisms underlying this effect. “If we knew more about the mechanisms that caused this inhibition, then it might shed light on why some people lose their sense of smell and may be helpful for some kinds of olfactory loss,” she says.

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Delusional

Sedi!

Liquor License NOTICES Notice is hereby given that SHENG WANG CHEN is applying for a Convenience Store Liquor License to be operated at “K.C. Shop”, situate at 78 Barrack Road, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that OMAR SILVA is applying for a Bar Liquor License to be operated at “Jalapeños Taco Bar”, situate at 2820 Raccoon Street, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Godwin Hulse should launch special Passport investigation in Taiwan

Belize City, July 21, 2014 The much-publicised and maligned Kim Won Hong passport, issued by the Passport Department of the Ministry of Immigration, is a crucial piece of evidence in the ongoing prosecution of corrupt UDP Area Representative Elvin Penner. This is why the UDP Government has acted very slowly to recover the document from Taiwan. The passport was delivered by an unknown individual to South Korean national Kim Won Hong who was in jail pending extradition on allegations of embezzlement at the time.

The passport was supposed to have been returned by Belize’s Ambassador to Taiwan, Cherie Nisbet, since May of this year. But we are now approaching August, and it is still missing. The passport has been requested by the Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl Lyn Vidal, and grassroots organisation, COLA, has demanded that it be returned to assist their private prosecution.

A few weeks ago, Immigration Minister Godwin Hulse warned that if and when the passport is recovered, it will take a long time before it reaches the hands of the DPP. This, he said, is because it must first

should find out which correction facility Kim was being held at the time and request and review the prison’s visitors’ list, specifically to identify the persons who visited Kim. He should also look through the security camera to see who all stopped

by Kim’s cell where they likely slipped the passport to him. Was it Eric Chang, as is alleged?

Once Hulse identifies the treacherous courier, Penner won’t be the only one sharing a jail cell. Next in the investigations should be whether the courier received any monies for delivering the passport, since Kim was involved in big money schemes, and also if Penner collected for facilitating documents which provided the Korean criminal fugitive with illegal nationality and passport documents.

If Hulse really wants to straighten the Penner matter out, this is his chance.

be received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then the Immigration department, then the Police department and finally the DPP. It has become extremely clear that the Government is doing everything possible to frustrate the criminal investigation against Penner.

But Mr. Righteous Godwin Hulse, we understand, will make things right! In his last interview before departing the country, former Taiwan Ambassador David Wu explained that Hulse will be travelling to Taiwan. How coincidental! Hulse will therefore have a perfect opportunity to investigate crucial aspects of the passport scandal.

Firstly, Hulse should find out when and how the passport arrived in Taiwan. Who was this brazen, treasonous courier? Hulse would have to look through the airlines’ flight manifests which would show which passengers travelled from Belize to Taiwan around the time of the scandal. We already know UDP Councillor Eric Chang, Belize Rural Central Area RepresentaMayor Darrel Bradtive Hon. Dolores Balderamos making a ley and Minister of contribution to Mrs. Mary Petillo, member State Edmond Casof the Parents Teachers Association of tro were there, so Hattivielle Government School for a fundthey are initial susraiser to rehabilitate the computer lab pects. Next, Hulse

CARTOON

Belize City, July 24, 2014 Attorney General Sedi Elrington was playing Simple Simon on Wednesday night in an interview with UDP station Channel 7 about their Government’s oppressive and overreaching gun laws which is jailing innocent Belizeans.

Dean Barrow’s gun laws have been jailing people left, right and center. Children, minors, and grannies have all been swept to jail by this law which deems people guilty until proven innocent.

Now here comes Simple Simon Sedi. As Attorney General Sedi is the chief legal adviser to the Government.

He is responsible for monitoring the laws of the land and advising as to which laws work and make sense, and which ones don’t. As Attorney General Sedi should have listened to the Opposition when they warned that these gun laws, introduced through constitutional amendments in 2008, were draconian and would oppress Belizeans. Instead, Sedi let Barrow change the law and now, six years later, he is bawling that the law has created a “painful situation”.

Sedi even highlighted the arrest of an entire family in his constituency. He said “these are people who really and truly are hard working poor people who really committed no offence”.

What Sedi didn’t say was that this incident occurred many months ago, and since then, many more others have been jailed. Yet, Sedi has done NOTHING about it!

Sedi appeared totally lost and confused. He cried that the crime situation is out of control. He bawled that there are too many guns on the streets. Yet, he was clueless about how to solve the problem. It seemed that Sedi was back to that phase (psychological or medical) where he feels overburdened by his job.

“The question is, how do you arrive at the correct balance,” he asked. Sedi has had six years to come up with an answer, yet he has none.

To round up his senseless talking, Sedi concluded that to him the law makes much sense because it is better to jail everyone than for his Government to equip the Police with proper resources to carry out proper investigations before conducting searches and making arrests.

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