Belize Times June 23, 2013 by Belize Times Press

SCAN HERE

The Belize Times

Established 1957

23 JUNE 2013

The Truth Shall Make You Free

| ISSUE NO: 4850

www.belizetimes.bz

$1.00

Visa Scandal! Godwin Hulse’s Ministry Again! Belize City, June 20, 2013 Another major scandal has hit the Barrow Government. There seems to be no end to the incompetence and corruption that goes on in the Government. This time it is the Immigration Department, which falls under the sanctimonious Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse. Once again it has to do with hustling and stealing involving visiting visas. The news has already reported on a Belizean visiting Cuba last week who was caught with additional passports with Belizean visiting

Pg. 8

BARROW

LIED!

Cabinet Minutes of March 15, 2005 support PUP Leader

Pg. 3

$10 Million Disaster!

ComPol says

Mayor says city residents can’t get good streets and drains

Police Officer had “no authority” to withdraw charges against

Mark King

Pg. 31

Pg. 9

2 02

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

OPINION OUT

OUT

2013

OUT

Name change for

Darrel Carter to Amandala: Not Taegar’s Bank!

Football National Team?

FECTAB campaigns against BTB’s treachery

Ms. Michele Paige President Florida Caribbean Cruise Association Miami, Florida

Tue 18 June 2013 Dear Ms. Paige, Greetings from Belize and from FECTAB. It is with deep regret that we must ask the FCCA at this stage in time, to cancel/postpone the FCCA Platinum Conference to be held in Belize in the national interest of tourism and especially tour operators, guides, and allied businesses in Belize. Certain developments in its organization at the Belize end have only just lately come to our attention. We have tried to dialogue most urgently, at the highest level, to no avail. The (BTB) Belize Tourism Board/Ministry of Tourism, Belize, has, we feel, tragically and most unfairly granted ALL land tours to the Jamaican tour operator, CHUKKA, in the face of similar offers by several Belizean operators of complimentary tours for FCCA Platinum members. This, we feel, will cause severe damage to the well established and internationally recognized abilities of tour operators and guides in Belize, as well as allied businesses, and bring substantial loss as a result. Belizeans stand to suffer. FECTAB members and supporting operators/related businesses, feel betrayed by this, and will participate in picketing the FCCA conference forthwith. A national press conference on this sad development has been set for tomorrow morning. It will be televised nationally by evening and carried by the press Thursday and

LOCAL 21 Jun

Not happy with new Memorial Park

Dear Editor: I’m so disappointed in the way they have turned the Memorial Park from a park to a market place. The Memorial Park has been traditionally where we Belizeans could go to relax and enjoy some good sea breeze. Now they’re turning it into some market place taking away the use of the park. I notice they have used the area by the sea for parking and are constructing a booth. Are they going to charge now for parking? During the Sept Celebrations the park used to be the spot for activities, now it’s gone. Where are they going to have activities? Tony Wright used to be an advocate for defending the original park now I wonder if he’s been around there to see the change in the area. We Belizeans need to stand up and take back our recreational areas. It could be the Memorial Park today and somewhere else later. Signed: Hakeem Bush

Friday this week and internationalized forthwith. Our organization will ensure international coverage of this outrageous concept we feel has been cooked up by CHUKKA and friendly faces in official tourism circles in Belize. We certainly feel the BTB is compromised. The FCCA will be perceived to be a part of that. Once again, please cancel/postpone the event, until matters here can be normalized. Sincerely, Tom Greenwood President

weather 22 Jun

23 Jun

24 Jun

2625Mar Jun

Dear Editor, Why did our football team come up with the name for our national team as “Jaguars”. I think the University of Belize had already used “Jaguars” for their sports teams. We should have been innovative and used a name like “Punta Rockers” to help promote our cultural music. For example look at Jamaica and Trinidad. Their national team are named Reggae Boyz for Jamaica and Soca Warriors for Trinidad. Both are promoting music for which their country is famous for. Although jaguars are a native of Belize, it is still associated with other countries. Just an observation. Signed, Hakeem Bush

Open Letter to PM concerning the Noh Mul

Dear Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Like many other organizations, the Belize Tourism Industry Association Orange Walk Chapter, sent out a press release expressing its disappointment and anger in relation to the senseless and atrocious act of ignorance pertaining to the destruction of the tallest mound at the Noh Mul Archaeological Site in the Orange Walk District to early May 2013. The BTIA Orange Walk Chapter is dissatisfied that, one month later, no one has been charged for committing that atrocity. We are discouraged at the prolonged process that the official investigation has been taking. The BTIA Orange Walk Chapter hereby requests that you intercede via your good office to induce the relevant authorities to promptly conclude their investigation and press charges as the law provides. The BTIA Orange Walk Chapter will continue to monitor this situation until the person(s) responsible are charged and penalized to the fullest extent of the law so that such atrocities against our cultural resources are not repeated. Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter. Sincerely, The BTIA Orange Walk Chapter

27 Mar Jun 6 26 Feb

Dear Editor, I write in response to an editorial in the Amandala – “Quo Vadis PUP” – in which the editor is making the assumption that Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s proposed National Bank is Dr. Leroy Taegar’s Bank. Well, I was a student of the late Dr. Taegar, as a matter of fact, I have his photo behind me at work, and as one of his students I can say that what Barrow proposes is a bastardization of the real thing. It ain’t no Dr. Taegar’s Bank, Mr. Editor. How can it be a National Bank when all Barrow plans to inject in its purse is twenty million dollars while the political hustle vehicle, Belize Infrastructure Limited, is getting sixty million? How can it be a National Bank when it is stuffed with political appointees whose priority is the serve the UDP? Dr. Tager’s vision of a national bank was one for all. A bank with no compounded interest. A bank with a fixed minimum interest for all Belizeans, and one that does not encourage the fire-sale of Belizean investors, or much worst, the cronyism and nepotism practiced by Barrow. No Mr. Editor. Barrow’s proposal for a National Bank drops short by miles. It could never be anything close to what Dr. Taegar envisioned. But we understand why you have swallowed the Prime Minister’s lie. Yours respectfully, Darrel Carter

SCAN HERE

The Belize Times

Established 1957

14 APR 2013

ISSUE NO: 4840

The Truth Shall Make You Free

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

Email: belizetimesadvertisement@yahoo.com

editortimes@yahoo.com

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

BARROW

LIED!

Belize City, June 19, 2013 The letter written by Gian Gandhi to the Belize International Services Ltd. (BISL) dated 9 June 2003 invited the company “to enter into negotiations with the Government and the IFSC to address concerns and to work out an acceptable solution consistent with the laws of Belize and international standards”. This is just the opposite of what Prime Minister Barrow was saying at his press conference. Barrow’s description of the extension of the contract to 2020 as a “secret agreement” was exposed as a blatant lie when Barrow was faced with a letter signed by Joseph Waight in the Ministry of Finance which acknowledged the terms of the agreement. The extension was known and discussed with the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney General’s Ministry, Gian Gandhi as well as the Governor of the Central Bank, where the US$1.2 million was paid. The BELIZE TIMES has now received proof that the entire matter of the International Business Companies (IBC) Registry and the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize (Immarbe) was under review by Cabinet. As a matter of fact, in light of the concerns raised by Gandhi in his letter various proposed regulations and Conventions were approved by Cabinet in order to work out an acceptable Continued on page 10

03 3

4 04

THE BELIZE TIMES

LIED!

Arrogant Leadership is that this is vintage Dean Barrow, cold and arrogant. Barrow’s arrogant leadership is destroying Belize. He represents the exact opposite of what George Price stood for: humility, unity, and compassion. Barrow is guided completely by political and financial interests. Nothing else matters. This is why he defends Gapi Vega, Pablo Marin, Boots Martinez, Rene Montero, Mark King, and so many others around him in the face of very serious allegations of corruption and incompetence. This is why he cre-

2013

BARROW

on the

By FRANCIS W. FONSECA The most important thing coming out of Dean Barrow’s “DISTRACTION” Press Conference last week was his response to a question asked about whether the Minister of Health, Pablo Marin, owed an apology to the families of the 13 babies who had tragically died at the KHMH over a 20 day period. Mr. Barrow’s response was effectively that Marin need not apologize to anyone because he was successfully leading the effort to win Village Council elections in Corozal South West and that he, Barrow, had spoken for Marin. This response from Belize’s Prime Minister may have shocked a few but the truth

23 JUN

ates bogus distractions to divert attention away from the scandals eating at his rotting government. This is why he attacks the opposition and ignores the needs of half the country who support the PUP. Leadership is about listening and learning. It is about humility, connecting people and ideas, about forging a sense of unity and purpose. It is about building and creating NOT dividing and tearing down! Mr. Barrow’s arrogance is BAD for Belize!

Continued from page 1 solution consistent with the laws of Belize and international standards, critical to the proper functioning of the Registries under the extended agreement between the Government and BISL. At the 15th March 2005 Cabinet meeting a Memorandum (No. 21 of 2005) was tabled by the Ministry of Finance and approved by Cabinet regarding the acceptance/ratification of certain international conventions, such as promoting compliance with conservation and management measures by fishing vessels on the High Seas Convention of 1993; The International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas; ILO Conventions regarding ship owners’ liability for sick and injured seamen and for Prevention of Accidents (Seafarers) Convention. The series of events that transpired and the minutes of the Cabinet meeting confirm that it was in this context that then Prime Minister Said Musa shortly after, agreed and signed to the extension of the contract, after the matter was ventilated in Cabinet. By unilaterally cancelling this commercial agreement, Prime Minister Barrow has once again shown his total disregard to the legal ramification and unquantifiable damage that he is causing to the nation’s reputation and more importantly, exposing the taxpayers of Belize to millions of dollars in loss and damage. Belize is now perceived in the international community as renegade country, ruled by a reckless dictatorial regime with no regard to the rule of law.

23 JUN

2013

THE BELIZE TIMES

05 5

EDITORIAL

SYSTEM FAILURE

t is the type of story you only hear in regimes run by dictators who control all arms of government, from the judge right down to the police. Today, under the Dean Barrow regime, Belize received its official stamp and seal of a “failed state” as the Minister of Gangs, Mark King, walked free from very serious criminal charges. How coincidental is it that the charges fell apart within the precise period of the Prime Minister’s 3 month suspension of King? And how did Mark King, in Houdini-like fashion, manage to escape the tentacles of our oh-so reliable justice system even after he confessed and apologized for his acts in his press release to the nation? While it did not come as a surprise to anyone, the real story behind this system collapse has very little to do with Mark King. Nelson Ramos is a police officer. He works for the Government of Belize and by extension, for the people of Belize. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl Lyn Vidal, has gone on record to suggest that the number one reason why she has only been able to achieve a dismal 3% conviction rate is because witnesses do not want to come to court to testify. PC Nelson Ramos is not your typical “IC witness”. He is a police officer, sworn to uphold the law and to ensure that justice is served. If the DPP cannot get a police officer to testify in a criminal case, how

are we to expect normal Belizeans to voluntarily testify in such a climate of judicial uncertainty? On the 18th of November, 2013, for some inexplicable reason PC Nelson Ramos withdrew his testimony against Mark King. Was Nelson Ramos intimidated into withdrawing his testimony or was he offered favors for doing such a dastardly deed? The answers to these questions will, of course, never be known as the Mad King saga has come to a close, for now. Media houses, like the UDP’s Channel 7 have even championed King’s victory as they declared: “Mark King cleared of all charges”. Cleared? Really? While we know that Jules is a lover of Barrow’s red kool-aid, the media’s lukewarm response to this system failure is just another signal that UDP have bought and paid for the media’s complicity in crimes against our country. Dean Barrow has had Belize in an induced coma for the last five years and now Mark King has just injected us with embalming fluid. The padding of the bench by Barrow’s handpicked judges has already attracted the attention of the international community. The judiciary, with their six month contracts, is under siege. And so it is now, that we see the executive arm of government, the police, being suited up to play their role in the destruction of our democracy. So the next time you hear a news item where an IC witness refuses to testify in court, just remember this: Da Barrow fi Blame!

6 06

THE BELIZE TIMES

23 JUN

2013

PM covers up public fleecing Contract to Gaspar Vega’s nephew for San Antonio Road paving was NOT cancelled Belize City, June 13, 2013 The BELIZE TIMES has received reliable information, supported by documents, which reveal that the contract to Imer Hernandez, the nephew of Gaspar Vega, paid in full a month before the 2012 general elections for incomplete work on San Antonio Road in Orange Walk Town was never cancelled as claimed by Prime Minister Dean Barrow. Barrow said in media interviews given on June 6th that the reason Hernandez’ didn’t pave San Antonio Road was because the contract had been

Finnegan on his way out Mesopotamia up for grabs Belize City, June 18, 2013 Where is Minister of Housing, Michael Finnegan? This is the question that many Belizeans have been asking as no one has seen or heard from the usually garrulous UDP representative. He isn’t at his constituency offices in Mesopotamia, and neither by the UDP HQ Brads. The BELIZE TIMES has confirmed that Finnegan has been in the United States seeking treatment after his health condition deteriorated several weeks ago. Finnegan left, seeking medical attention, with little notice to avoid creating problems for the UDP. The Barrow Administration has a razor-thin majority in the House, and the thought of any seat becoming vacant means trouble for the scandal-ridden UDP. Reliable sources tell the Belizeans that Finnegan is living his last few days as a UDP representative and Minister. His health is bad. He has already decided he won’t be running again, and now his people are scouting around for a replacement. The former Mayor Zenaida Moya has been prepping for it, but she has been rejected by UDP leader Dean Barrow and ostracized by the UDP. Herbert Panton is also interested, we are told, but not a favorite. He has too many skeletons in the closet. UDP insiders tell us their maximum leader Barrow has told Mayor Darrel Bradley that he must give up his intentions for Caribbean Shores and take Mesopotamia instead or UDP House Speaker Michael Peyrefitte, who outdid Mark Espat to finalise the Superbond deal. In the meantime, the Ministry of Housing continues to be an utter disgrace and of total irrelevance to Belizeans. In a time when homes are in dire need of repair, when interest rates at the banks are at an all-time high, and when homes are being lost by the staggering economy, the Ministry of Housing has no plan.

Imer Hernandez

Hon. Gaspar Vega

cancelled and replaced by another. But copies of the payment vouchers show that the work was “cer-

tified” as completed by Ministry of Works’ officials. Barrow admitted that this was an irregularity,

because no work was completed, but he said it was due to the pressure of the election period. The Prime Minister contended that there was nothing to worry about because Hernandez was actually paid for another contract, after the San Antonio road paving had been cancelled. But information to the BELIZE TIMES indicates otherwise. None of the contracts for San Antonio (numbered by series 475 to 484) were cancelled by the Ministry of Works. The records at the Ministry of Works shows that the contracts that were cancelled are number by series 442 to 451, which were not the San Antonio work contracts. We challenge the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Works to prove the cancellation of the San Antonio Road.

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

No closure! Mothers meet with attorneys Anthony Sylvestre Jr. and Kareem Musa

Health authorities tell mothers that infants’ deaths are their fault, propose psychiatric care Belize City, June 19, 2013 Instead of finding proper closure with the mothers of 13 babies who died from an unknown infection at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) in May, the Minister of Health Pablo Marin and KHMH authorities have aggravated matters. The BELIZE TIMES spoke to two of the mothers today, who said that they were lured into a terrifying meeting with health authorities at the hospital this week. One of the mothers, Marissa Cruz, told us that on Friday June

14th she received a phone call with someone requesting that she attend a meeting on Monday June 17th. This was the second contact the hospital was making since the report of the babies’ deaths went public. On Monday afternoon, to Mrs. Cruz surprise, she walked into a meeting with strange faces including that of Minister of Health Pablo Marin. She told us that Marin was the first to talk and he led the conversation by blaming the media for distorting events and making him look

bad. Marin, who has been criticized for being silent during the whole ordeal, claimed that he had spoken at the press conference held on May 30th but the media chose not to broadcast anything he said. Others attending the meeting included the KHMH CEO Dr. Gary Longsworth, pediatrician Dr. Ochoa, and an unidentified female who said she was a psychiatrist. None of the other mothers had been invited. Mrs. Cruz was interrogated about her activities since leaving the hos-

07 7 pital, whether she speaks to the media and about her mental condition. Mrs. Cruz was startled when health authorities accused her of causing her child’s death. They told her that because she had a condition known as pre-eclampsia, her baby didn’t survive. They also suggested, shockingly, that if the mother knew she had pre-eclampsia prior to the whole gestation period, she “could have solved her issue” and avoided the entire thing. She told us she was shocked to hear them suggest that she could have committed abortion. She was also disturbed when they proposed that she gets psychiatric care. A second mother, who attended a separate meeting, was also accused of causing her child’s death. She was told that she had an infection which passed unto the baby. She said that those representing the Ministry showed artificial concern, but what got her so upset that she chose to walk out of the meeting was their offer that to make it right they would grant her a scholarship. We spoke to one other mother who was called by the hospital but rejected their meeting invitation. On Wednesday afternoon, the parents met with attorneys Kareem Musa and Anthony Sylvestre Jr. to discuss their legal options. The hospital is yet to accept full responsibility and take the appropriate action against the negligence that led to the deadly spread of an infection in the neo-natal unit at the hospital.

0 88

THE BELIZE TIMES

Visa Scandal!

Godwin Hulseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministry Again! Continued from page 1 visas for Chinese nationals. Like with the death of 13 babies at the KHMH, the destruction of the Maya monument at Noh Mul to use the material to bribe villagers in the village council elections, the Government remains deafeningly silent. The Minister of Immigration who supported the huge scandal involving rosewood in the Toledo has so far made no report to the nation. He has good reasons to keep quiet. Minister Godwin Hulse has been covering up a large scale scandal in which hundreds of visa foils have been stolen inside his Ministry. The BELIZE TIMES will expose him. Not only have the visas gone missing. They have been turning up in Chinese passports in January and February this year. The Minister has been given the names of at least four persons who are involved in the scam. One is alleged to be a Belize City Coun-

cillor and another a huge UDP official, handpicked for a special job by the Prime Minister. Minister Hulse also knows that some of the visas are being sold to Chinese agents in Belize for $8,000 each. Some in the Ministry also know the names of the agents who are selling these stolen visas and issuing false yellow receipts. The Immigration stamp from one of the border immigration offices is used to stamp the passports to authenticate the stolen visas. An immigration cashier stamp is also used in some of the passports. Minister Hulse has refused to follow public service law which requires him to report such irregularities, to the Police. The BELIZE TIMES has also confirmed that many UDP Ministers are profiting from the hustling at immigration in respect to

23 JUN

2013

visas for Chinese nationals. Immigration officials have been instructed to process Chinese visas for a select group of Ministers based on little notes passed on to them by UDP cronies directing them to kindly facilitate and issue ten visas for so and so. There are monthly notes and for each visa the Chinese agents pay thousands of dollars to the Ministers and their cronies. And everyone goes laughing to the bank.

Sample of UDP Ministerial note passed to immigration officials to process visas to Chinese nationals

23 JUN

2013

09 9

THE BELIZE TIMES

$10 Million Disaster! Mayor says city residents can’t get good streets and drains

city lacks proper drainage. When he explained why the city has no drainage, even after $10 million has been spent on streets, he said he doesn’t believe Belizeans want both – good streets and good drains. Continued on page 11

Flooding on recently paved Queen Street affected businesses Cinderella Plaza under water

Belize City, June 18, 2013 80 FLOODED streets – that’s what the UDP Belize City Council had us wading through this week no matter which part of Belize City you live in. While dozens of streets have been paved, and the Council has spent over

$10 Million in doing so, glaringly absent has been good drainage and this is a recipe for disaster. Even the street directly in front of City Hall – Angel Lane – was under almost 6 inches of water, a clear sign

that there was poor planning wherever the Council carried out their street construction. The Mayor has disgracefully admitted that indeed the

Angel Lane, right in front of City Hall, had knee-deep water

NEWS

WOMAN IN THE HOUSE By Dolores Balderamos Garcia

Raw Politics and the Prime Minister!!! Channel Five euphemistically pronounced that it was “amazed.” Leader of the Opposition Francis Fonseca has said it is shocking and disgraceful, absolute arrogance and stupidity, and absolute madness. Belizeans are once more feeling shock and disbelief at the latest utterances of the Prime Minister. As Mr. Middleton from Port Loyola used to say: “This one beat all cock fight!!” Yes, I think the Prime Minister has once more managed to outdo himself for sheer arrogance and utterly incredible hubris. At last week’s press conference he was asked why Minister of Health Pablo Marin has said nothing at all regarding the many deaths of newborns at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, thirteen in twenty days, and apparently many more before that. In answering, the Prime Minister launched into a vexed and hectoring response, saying to the media that there is no lack of confidence in Pablo Marin, “NOT WHERE IT MATTERS”, because the Minister of Health has gone into many villages in Corozal and has won every single one of them. He therefore, according to the Prime Minister, does not have to make any apologies for not speaking (!!!!!). By their words ye shall know them, and this time the leader of Government has exposed himself fully for what he is - a man so drunk with power that he believes he can get away with saying and doing anything. What was the Prime Minister saying? He was saying, Belizeans, that raw politics is all that matters. The health of our people and the lives of newborn babies, the well-being of children, men and women as it pertains to the health of our nation can all go to hell!! What matters is winning in politics, and if his Minister of Health can win village council elections, then that is all that matters. I appeared on Channel Five’s program Open Your Eyes last Monday to speak about the Revised National Gender Policy. While on the show I said quite clearly and forcefully that if the Prime Minister were not so arrogant we could perhaps get much

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

further in carrying the Policy forward with the input and necessary “buy in” of all stakeholders. It is completely unnecessary for the Prime Minister to be digging in his heels and swearing to never withdraw the Policy. A good read of the document shows that it acknowledges in no uncertain terms that the cooperation and collaboration of civil society is crucial to successful implementation of the policy. Why, then, disrespect church organizations, the teachers union and other important stakeholders? It all comes down to the ARROGANCE of this leader. But back to the issue of all the neonatal deaths at the KHMH. To me the issue goes far beyond the Minister of Health not talking. What will he say now anyway that can help to reduce the pain of the families who have lost their infants or restore the confidence that Belizeans have lost in the delivery of health care in our country? The Prime Minister well knows this. He knows that Belizeans have lost faith in his Minister of Health. If he wants someone whose acumen is in winning elections, then why doesn’t he remove Pablo Marin as Health Minister and appoint him to be his Corozal campaign manager? This issue of the neonatal deaths is not going to go away. And as I have said before, it points to the fact that the Minister of Health and indeed the entire Government are bankrupt of ideas and of the will to fix what is wrong, in this instance, with the health system. And the rot that has set in as the Government jerks and jolts from one scandal and crisis to the next, will not diminish. Not with megalomaniacal conduct at the helm!! We continue to shake our heads in disbelief. But, yes, he said it. Only RAW POLITICS matters to the Prime Minister. Health, Education, Jobs, the Legal System, etc. etc. All these can go to hell. The people of Belize – we can all go to hell. Where it matters the UDP can win. And the Prime Minister has shown himself to be behaving like a madman. It is RAW POLITICS and the PRIME MINISTER!!

2013

More Public Fleecing? GOB offers bid for “construction” at Youth Cadet, but identical contract awarded last year Belize City, June 20, 2013 There is an increasing need for Belizeans to keep a close watch on the spending of this sticky-fingered and greedy UDP Government. Between December 15th 2011 and February 10th 2012, the Ministry of Education and Youth paid $164,651.20 to a company named “Gorcian” for the construction of the National Youth Cadet Service Corp located on the George Price Highway. This is why it raised eyebrows when an advertisement published in the June 9th 2013 edition of the Amandala called for bids for the “construction and rehabilitation works at the Youth Hostel Compound and the Rehabilitation Works at the Youth Cadet Compound”. This time the contract is being offered by the Ministry of Human Development and Social Transformation. The contract value is reported to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The question is why is there a call for bids for a contract that is

Hostel and Youth Cadet compound, we saw no evidence of any construction plans. We asked some of the youth residents about recent activities, but they said their facility has been neglected for several years. The BELIZE TIMES did more research and found out that the company “Gorcian” was started by UDP crony Rayford Gordon, who is interestingly now a contract employee of the Ministry of Education. In November 2011, Gordon transferred ownership of the company to another crony, Harrison Alexander Smith. While Gordon had ownership of Gorcian, the Ministry of Education had given him numerous bloated contracts to carry out works at various schools. For one of those contracts which included the basic replacement of windows at the Muslim Community school, repairing a pump house at Wesley College and repairing partitions at Queen Square Anglican school, Gordon was paid a whopping $16,589.50.

identical to one awarded to “Gorcian” in late 2011. If Gorcian had completed their contract in 2012, which is confirmed by copies of the payment vouchers obtained by the BELIZE TIMES, why is there a need for more construction or rehabilitation so quickly? Why haven’t the Ministries of Education and Youth and Human Development and Social Transformation publicized their “grand plan” for the facility, or is it really an agenda to promote public fleecing? When the BELIZE TIMES visited the Youth Bid for contract to carry out “construction and rehabilitation” at Youth Cadet published two weeks ago

Copy of payment voucher showing “Gorcian company” collected $164,651 for similar contract last year

23 JUN

2013

PUP says Mark King discharge brings “shame” on justice system June 20, 2013 Some months ago, following a “not guilty” verdict in a murder trial in Belize City, the sister of the deceased described the justice system as “slack”. Tuesday’s turn of events in the Mark King case in the Corozal Magistrate’s Court, in which a police officer sworn to uphold the law refused to testify, gives cause for the ordinary Belizean to view our criminal justice system in this light. A criminal justice system is one of the most important arms of a democratic system. It is directed at upholding social order, deterring and mitigating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws. The circumstances surrounding the dismissal of the charges against Hon. Mark King gives ordinary Belizeans a con-

THE BELIZE TIMES

Mark King

trary view of the justice system. It gives the impression of Government interference with the judiciary and the police to save one of its own. This must stop! At a time when our country is submerged by repeated scan-

dals by members of this UDP government and an abject break down in law and order, this belief is only strengthened. This cannot be good for Belize and the young children of Belize. The People’s United Party therefore calls on the relevant bodies, including the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, to take all required actions to correct the “shame” that circumstances surrounding the dismissal of the charges against Hon. Mark King has caused to the justice system. GOB interference with judiciary and police must stop!

$10 Million Disaster! Continued from page 9

“The major sentiment that I got is that people prefer to have a concrete carriageway as opposed to having carriageway and drains. Of course, if they had their way they would pick both…but that’s not the world we live in,” said the Mayor. Danger lies ahead. With many of the downtown streets already paved with concrete, it will be difficult and more expensive to carry out good drainage work, which means Mayor Bradley has sentenced Belize City to endless flooding. Also, the business community who has supported the Mayor’s city infrastructure development bond with an initial $10 million MUST put a stop to this wastefulness and madness, and withhold any further support to the Council until they do the work properly. Developing Belize City cannot be about what the Mayor BELIEVES city residents want, but about what is sound, logical and right for the city. $10 million is a lot of money to waste, and Mayor Bradley has demonstrated how to do it.

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

Makoabi R

Relationships, Love Tips & Advice…

In-law DRAMA – Part II

2013

OCEANA honors Awardees at World Oceans Day reception

As we emphasized last week, having a respectful relationship with your in-laws is a crucial part of a relationship. If you think you can get away with ostracizing your partner’s parents, think again. You’d be acting selfish and stealing an important aspect of your lives. It’s best to try working it out. Here’s our final tips:

Know yourself. Shakespeare said it a zillion years ago, and the advice still holds today: Don’t try to remake yourself into the person your in-laws want. You are who you are! For example, what if they’re looking for a high-powered attorney and you are a high school teacher? Don’t expect to talk about constitutional matters around the table. Instead find out topics that you know will be interesting to them, and if they are anywhere near school and learning, you’ll master that and score big points. Get with the program. Put away the stereotypes and adjust your thinking to the reality of the situation. The worst thing is to not try something because you fear or are unsure about the results. Don’t let this be an excuse.

Learn to cool off. At times things could get nasty. Whether it is snide remarks, or just outright clowning by the joker uncle, keep your cool. Most importantly, don’t fire back. Spare your in-laws the insults and character attacks. Even if you have to grit your teeth, try to say something nice. And if you really can’t say anything nice, shut up and smile. Be mature. Your parents have to love you; it’s in the contract. But your in-laws don’t. Accept the fact that your in-laws aren’t your parents and won’t follow the same rules. Try to think “different” -- not “better” or “worse.” To make this work, give in on small points and negotiate the key issues.

Learn to see the situation from your in-law’s point of view. And even if you don’t agree, act like a big person.

Dr. Melanie Mcfield (right) receiving her Ocean Hero award from Oceana VP Audrey Matura Shepherd

June 10, 2013 “We are extremely proud and gratified to honor Dr. Melanie McField with the Oceana in Belize Ocean Hero Award for 2013! And our Wavemaker Award 2013 goes to the Ottley Family,” announced VP Oceana Audrey Matura-Shepherd during a celebratory cocktail party at the Caracol Room on Saturday, June 8th, 2013. “Truly, Dr. McField, who is not present tonight to accept this award, is a Belizean who has consistently and unselfishly worked toward the protection of Belize’s marine resources. And the Ottleys, whenever we have issued a call for assistance, they have consistently volunteered and assisted Oceana with accomplishing its mission,” Audrey stated.

Saturday’s festivities also included the opening of a photographic exhibition in conjunction with the Radisson Fort George Hotel. SEA PEOPLE, the photo exhibit, is mounted in both the Villa Lobby and the Colonial Lobby. The images capture the people, places and fish from the coastal communities of Belize, from Sarteneja Village up north to Barranco down south, and aim to address issues of juvenile fish overfishing to the destruction caused by gillnets. The photos will remain on display until June 14th, 2013. Members of the public are invited to stop in to view the exhibit between 9:00am and 7:00pm. This year’s World Oceans Day was observed under the theme: “Together we have the power to protect the oceans”.

PUP NOTICE Mesopotamia Constituency Committee The People’s United Party is accepting applications for members of the Mesopotamia Constituency Committee. Application forms at the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City. Application must be filled and returned to the Secretariat, addressed to the Secretary General by Friday June 28, 2013.

23 JUN JUN 23

THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES THE BELIZE

2013

TOPMODEL 13

ENTERTAINMENT

NEWS

Danny Michel 10th album, Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me, grew out of his frequent visits to the Central American country of Belize and his friendship with many of its musicians. “The music of Belize has been seeping into me ever since I went there on vacation 10 or 12 years ago,” he said. “It’s a country and people I know very well.” Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me is a collaboration with Benque Players and the indigenous music of Belize’s Garifuna Collective. It was recorded and produced at the Stonetree Records studio of Benque Players’ Ivan Duran. “I thought it might be interesting to make some music with them, so I approached them with the idea and they went for it,” he said. So he packed a suitcase and little else and headed for Belize last year. “I went down there with no songs, no guitar, nothing. It’s crazy now that I think of it.” The result is a wonderful blend of Michel’s folk style and Latin rhythms. He plans to bring Benque Players north in the summer to do folk festivals in Canada.

Location: Hour Bar and Grill

Singer influenced by music of Belize

Jeanna

• • • •

Height: 5’ 4” Career Plan: Economist Sign: Scorpio Favourite Foods: Belizean and Italian foods

•

• •

TOP MODEL Clothing and Accessories provided by CATWALK FASHIONS

Likes: Reading, socializing, eating, watching TV, anime Lives in Belize City Fav. Quote: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

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

Cor. North Front Steet & Queen Street Belize City

14 SPORTS

23 JUN

THE BELIZE THE BELIZE TIMES TIMES

2013

National Team defeats Cayo All Stars 7-0

Oceana wins City of Belmopan, June 19, 2013 The Belize National football team won 7-0 over Cayo All Stars Selection in a game played on Friday night at the FFB Goal Project stadium in Belmopan City. There were two games played, with all national team players given an

opportunity to play. The first game saw the National Team win 2-0. In this game, the starting players entered late in the second half to score the second goal. The second game was a short 30 minute game which saw impressive defense and set plays by the national A

team players. These games are in preparation for the Gold Cup that comes up in July in the U.S.A. Belize is in Group A and will play against the United States, Costa Rica and Cuba. The first game against the US team is on July 9th.

Brilliant dazzles Sunrise spanks Ladyville Jaguars 3-1 Ladyville Village, June 16, 2013 The Gentle Touch football women from Esperanza Village Cayo District, spanked the Ladyville Jaguars 3-1 when the Atlantic Bank women’s football competition continued in Ladyville on Sunday, June 16. Ethlene Gentle soon got the better of the Jaguars’ defense to drill the visitors’ 1st goal past Ladyville keeper Imelda Alarcon. Kara Kisling responded with the equalizer for the Jaguars with her execution of a free kick that beat the Esperanza keeper Myreinne Drysdale, but that was all she wrote for the Jaguars. In the 2nd half, the Esperanza defense shut down the Jaguars’ attacks, while Vashne Gentle and Cindy Fuentes came off the visitors’ bench to join the party. Ladyville brought in Mertell Bailey for Gloria Garcia, but they could not stop Cynthia Salazar from lobbing a long-range shot that bounced over Imelda Alarcon’s gloves and into the net to lead 2-1. The Ladyville defense then blundered into giving up a penalty by bringing down Kim Perez inside the 18, Abby Halliday converted for the 3-1 win. For their next fixture, the Ladyville Jaguars travel to Sugar City where they will take on the Sugar City Girls at the Peoples’ Stadium on Sunday, June 23.

Kara Kisling scored Ladyville’s 1st goal

Oceana

Wavemakers Burrell Boom, June 16, 2013 Oceana Wavemakers canoe paddled by Chris Guydis, Brandon Lind and Jermaine Sanchez finished 1st when the Belize Canoe Association held a Father’s Day race from Flowers Bank to the Black Orchid Resort in Burrell Boom on Sunday. The Oceana team clocked 2:56:37 to win the $150 1st prize, plus a dinner for 2 for each paddler at Black Orchid Resort. 2nd place overall/1st Juniors “Sprouts” Paddled by Wilbert, Michael and Kenrick Daniels. 3rd place overall/2nd Juniors - Black Orchid Runners Paddled by Matthew Mask, Jeffery Seguro and Martin Gideon. 4th place – Turdz Paddled by Elvis Sutherland, Derocy Haylock and Glenford Sutherland 5th place overall/ 1st Masters – “Grumpy ol’ Men” Paddled by Joe Seguro, Stanley Bailey and Jerry Wilkens 6th place overall/ 1st Pleasure - Print Belize Paddled by Rudolph Gentle, Timoteo Vanegas and Javier Guardado

Triple B’s vs. Toledo Scorpions ends 1-1 Belmopan, June 15, 2013 The Triple B’s of Belmopan drew 1-1 with the Toledo Scorpions when the Atlantic Bank women’s football competition kicked off at the Football Federation of Belize Stadium in Belmopan on Sunday, June 16. The Toledo keeper Ravina Aleman handled most challenges until Janisha Scott got past the defenders to drill home the 1st goal. The Belmopan fans didn’t rejoice long as Sherise Paulino soon delivered the equalizer for the Scorpions for a 1-1 draw ball game at the half time break. In the 2nd half, no goals were scored even though attempts were made by both Toledo strikers and Triple B’s strikers. The Scorpions’ next fixture will be against the Dangriga Pumas who will visit the Toledo Union Field on Sunday, June 23.

23 JUN JUN 23

THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES THE BELIZE

2013

Belize City, June 15, 2013 The Lady Jaguars, Telemedia, Belize Bank and the Home Protector Rebels posted big wins in Belize District Volleyball Association’s 2013 competition at the Belize Elementary School auditorium on Saturday, June 15. The Lady Jaguars crushed the Belize national under-16 female selection: 25-9, 25-17 and 25-10 with Tishelle Solis, Shantel Arnold, Zair Garbutt and Marissa Williams hitting on plays set by Tanesha Encalada and Sherylee Thurton. The U-16 girls tied for a comeback as Shameika Franklin, Nayala Tun, Gianna Brown and Kori Diego scored hits on plays set by Karen Quan and Mya Musa. Kandyce Burns, Karina Bernard and Juel Lewis came off the bench in the 2nd set, and Alexis Burns joined the party in the 3rd set, but the Jaguars took it away. Belize Telemedia lost the 1st set to First Caribbean Investment Bank: 25-22 as FCIB’s Cojac Smith, Caryl Meighan, Anthony Mcfield and Glen Smith hammered home kills on plays set by Gina Requeña and Irene Hernandez, but Telemedia’s Eros Dawson, Otis Clother, Victor Hernandez and Rasheed Pollard recovered to win the next 2 sets: 25-14, and 3rd set 15-10. In the 2nd interoffice game, Belize Bank outlasted Caribbean Tires: 24-26, 26-24, and 15-10. In the male competition, Home Protector Rebels also dominated the Scorpions: 25-22, 25-19, 24-26 and 25-16.

Lady Jaguars, Telemedia, Belize Bank & Rebels Belize Bank’s Chris McGann spikes

win in Belize City volleyball

Burrell Boom, June 16, 2013 The Belize Cycling Association’s national road championships individual time trials was held on the Burrell Boom bypass road on Sunday, June 16. The route was 20 miles from the CDS Gas station on the bypass road to the Hattieville roundabout and back to the finish line at CDS Gas.

Farron Louriano scored 14 pts

Tuff e’Nuff faces Oceana in interoffice basketball finals Belize City, June 15, 2013 Undefeated Tuff e’Nuff is No. 1 in the 2013 interoffice basketball finals and will take on Oceana No limits in Game 1 of the championship finals ta Bird’s isle on Friday, June 21. Tuff e’Nuff eliminated Sir Belikin 84-82 in the second semifinal at Bird’s Isle while Oceana No Limits drowned the Conscious Youth Development Program: 97-85 in the other semifinal in Friday’s nightcap to challenge Tuff e’Nuff in the championship finals which being Friday night, June 21. Tuff e’Nuff was Oceana’s only loss in the regular season. Ashton Edwards led Tuff e’Nuff with 17 points, followed by Jamal Kelly with 15 points and Tyrone Edwards with 14 points. Oceana No Limits drowned the Conscious Youth Development Program 97-85 as Greg Rudon and Vince Garbutt led the scoring with 19 points each.

SPORTS 15

Nissan Arana wins National Road Championship Elite race

Crucial Game 3 in SMART Harrison Parks Cricket semifinals Hummingbird girls

Hummingbird Elementary girls & Holy Redeemer boys win regional volleyball champs

Gareth Banner scored 17 runs

Holy Redeemer boys

THE BELIZE TIMES

23 JUN

2013

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

Valedictory Address

Tajohn Raheem Gillett Nazarene High School It is a privilege to welcome you tonight as we collectively celebrate the efforts and hard work of young people; the young people that you have invested in, in some way or the other. Whether such investment was financial or primarily moral, it has obviously affected our lives and for that we are eternally grateful. We are products of your investment and you have a right to be proud. Before I continue my speech I ask that we bow our heads for a moment of silence as we pay respect to the memories of one Wilmer Giron, who would have been a part of our graduating class here tonight, and to those who held our hands on this journey and are no longer with us in the flesh. As a people we must begin the journey toward self-development and national progress. Tonight is compelling evidence that we have begun that journey. We have made the first step to self-development and nation building. Education, hard work and commitment to study and succeed in our goals are the seeds of that foundation. Within the last four years, we have been groomed into the type of young people that any country needs if it is to survive. Of the twenty thousand, or so, young people who do not have the opportunity to attend secondary school, we have been fortunate enough to reach this

far. We must thank God, our parents, teachers, government and others who encourage and support us. We must also pat ourselves on the back, stay on the course and reach out to others. We must desist from painting ourselves in colors that are inconsequential when held against our purpose. As a matter of fact, the only color that we must paint ourselves is a color called Belizean Success. This is part of what we are – nation builders. Tonight I pledge my life to my country. I urge our class of 2013 to no longer sit on the sidelines and wait for others to pull us up. But instead, keep focused on our goals to build and achieve. We must dialogue with our leaders and we must hold them accountable. We must align ourselves with young people who share positive ideas and want a future for Belize, our families and the world. We all have a role to play if our nation is to prevail. We must do our part that we may be able to live in this land a little longer. We must ensure that pretty little Belize does not sit in the Caribbean Sea with the sorrows of a damsel in distress. I challenge you my fellow graduates and all present here this evening, in the words of John F. Kennedy, a past US President, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”. It is said that we must sometimes

sacrifice who we are for who we want to become. I repeat, it is said that we must sometimes sacrifice who we are for who we want to become. As our lives progress, we must constantly remake ourselves so that we are better equipped and able to face the trials and triumphs that come along with living. The greatest fight of our lives is our fight with life. And we will never find anyone who hits as hard as life does. We have suffered too many pains and distresses and so we might as well get a reward for it and tonight this is our reward – the graduating class of 2013! It was Lance Armstrong who once said, “Pain is temporary; it may last a minute, an hour or a day but it will eventually subside and something else will take its place.” Guess what? Lance was right – the pain has subsided and the joy of success has taken its place! In conclusion, I must thank my teachers for all that they have taught me. I want them to know that they have taught me well and the most important thing that I have learnt from them is to never stop trying no matter how many errors are made. Like Thomas Edison who failed a thousand times before producing a light bulb, I am reminded that each trial and error brings me closer to success. I must also thank my parents who have been an integral part of my life; my dad who has encouraged me to keep focused and my mother, a strong woman; she is the foundation of my life.

We must align ourselves with young people who share positive ideas and want a future for Belize, our families and the world.

She has taught me the value of hard work; she has taught me patience; she is rearing five sons and a daughter. She has taught me to appreciate all that I have and lastly, she has taught me to believe in myself even when everyone else counted me out. She believed in me and she reminded me of my potential when I had grown exhausted and hopeless. I dedicate this night to her. I love you Mom and I will continue to make you proud of me. Tonight I look to my siblings who are in the audience and I want them to know that they too can stand in the presence of such a lovely audience if they sacrifice sleep and hard work. To the class of 2013, the journey has been long; the journey has been rocky at times, but we have reached our destination. The bonds that we have made and the memories that we share will forever remain in our hearts and in our minds. Always keep our graduation theme in mind my friends: “All our positive dreams will happen if we have the courage to pursue them!” Thank you to the faculty and staff of this prestigious institution; you have prepared us well. Editor’s Note: Tajohn Raheem Gillett is the son of proud parents Dorla Gillett and Roy Cadle.

BY ORDER OF MORTGAGEE NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SELL

VACANCY Belize City, Belize June 17th 2013 VICE PRESIDENT FOR BELIZE The largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation, protecting marine ecosystems and endangered species is currently recruiting Belizean applicants to apply for the post of Vice President for Belize. Since establishing a national presence in 2009, OCEANA has achieved important victories, including helping to make Belize the first country in the world to completely ban bottom trawling as well as landmark legal decisions in the effort to protect Belize’s reef and marine resources from offshore oil drilling. But we’ve only just begun. OCEANA is fully committed to helping Belizeans protect our reef and marine heritage for future generations. To join our dedicated, brave and passionate Belizean team, candidates are invited to emailing a cover letter and resume to resumes@oceana.org Continue the legacy. Lead the movement. Apply Today.

HOLY REDEEMER CREDIT UNION LIMITED a statutory body formed and registered under the Credit Union Act, Chapter 314 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2000, and whose registered office is situated at No. 1 Hyde’s Lane, Belize City, Belize District hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under and by virtue of a Deed of Mortgage registered at the Land Titles Unit between MINERVA CANUL FLORES of the one part and HRCU of the other part. HRCU will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the Schedule below. ALL offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing to Holy Redeemer Credit Union Limited from whom full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained.

SCHEDULE ALL THAT piece or parcel or lot of land situate at Guadalupe street in the Village of Sarteneja, Corozal District, Belize, being Lot No. 151B comprising 490.373 square metres as shown and described on a Plan drawn by Licensed Surveyor L.S. Tingling dated the 12th day of June 2000 and being lodged and recorded at the Lands & Surveys Department in Belmopan in Register No. 15 Entry No. 5129 TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon, the freehold property of MINERVA CANUL FLORES DATED this 10th day of June 2013 HOLY REDEEMER CREDIT UNION LIMITED 1 HYDE’S LANE, BELIZE CITY, BELIZE Phone: (501) 224-5644 Fax: (501) 223-0738

THE BELIZE TIMES Address by Valedictorian

Ermis Piñeda Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico

It is with pride that I stand before you all. While I speak as the valedictorian, I am sure that some of the views expressed will be echoed as shared sentiments by my fellow graduates. Many persons have contributed to our success; firstly god who made it all possible, our parents, our teachers and you all fellow graduates. Allow me to expound on our graduation theme: “Yesterday’s knowledge, today’s wisdom, tomorrow’s success”. It seems as if it was yesterday when we first stepped into this prestigious high school, E.S.T.M. As our school song says, “at this place we come to learn Math, English and the Physical Sciences”. We have gained some of yesterday’s knowledge through different

unforgettable moments. I can clearly remember earning that privilege of visiting Mexico City in the summer of 2010, being the student in 1st form with the highest G.P.A. The memories I gained during that experience will be cherished. As graduates I am sure we will take with us the academic knowledge imparted to us. During our four years at our beloved E.S.T.M. there were other things we learned that have contributed to our knowledge which were not taught to us BUT naturally picked up by us. These were through the fun times during open days, school anniversaries and especially our class trips. Yes graduates! We also gain knowledge through those dreaded weekly quizzes, assignments, tests, projects and even presentations although they were tedious. Of course, we have gained a little more to say the least of today’s wisdom. We have matured and are leaving E.S.T.M as proud graduates, and wiser too. Wiser, to make some better choices pertaining to life on a whole. So that we can be productive individuals wherever we go. Hopefully, this will enable us to achieve tomorrow’s success. Many times one is prone to

rate success using an academic scale; however, that is not the only medium of success. Unfortunately not all of us will be pursuing further levels of education and this doesn’t mean that we can’t be successful. Remember fellow graduates as individuals we have the power to determine to be successful. If you do not go on to study still remember to be successful at what you do, whether it is at home or in the work field. Those of us who have been blessed with the opportunity to continue our studies, let us be successful so in the end we could say it was achievable. Let us take one chapter at a time in our lives as we each write the book of our life. My fellow graduates, tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone so let us prepare ourselves as we strive for our dreams and accomplish it with excellence. For a fact after today’s ceremony some of us will form a family while others will stay single but nevertheless keep on striving. Allow me now to express gratitude to my parents who have been my strength; they have been there through the good and not so good times with encouraging words apart from the financial support. Thanks to my TEACHERS who

23 JUN

2013

have been my guide. Our home room teacher, Mr. Martin Rivera, you were always there to assist us when you saw it necessary. We remember 4-2 saying “the best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up”. Also thanks to my friends who were always there with me, my classmates and you all fellow graduates. We are the reflection of our teachers and we are the hope of our parents. Graduation is the time of reflection on the past and looking onwards to a brighter future. It is a time that we, as graduates, get together for one last hurrah before moving on to a bigger, brighter and better adventure. It is a wonderful journey in the preparation of a successful tomorrow. So graduates as you set out to meet the world with your mind prepared and your skills fine-tuned, I urge you to set your directions with a positive attitude and strong spirit. I will close with this short lesson by an unknown author: A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with stones. He then asked the student if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. SO the professor then picked up some seeds and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The seeds, of course rolled into the open areas between the stones. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand fills up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes”. Now, said the professor, I want to recognize that this jar represents your life. The stones are the important things – your life, your family, your partner, your education, your children and your health. Things that if everything was lost and only they remained your life would still be full. The seeds are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first he continued “there is no room for the seeds and stones. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are critical to your happiness. Enjoy the time with your family, use what you have learnt here at ESTM, take care of the stones first – the things that really matter; set your priorities. The rest is just sand. Enjoy your life at every moment. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2013!

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

Hon. Mike Espat Inspires Graduates at Tumul K’in High School Punta Gorda, Toledo District, June 17, 2013 Graduations are winding up all over the country and the BELIZE TIMES has taken special attention and focus on this very important milestone for our country’s future. We at BELIZE TIMES are particularly inspired and proud of the graduates this year nationwide. In the Toledo District are some of the most promising Belizean leaders. On Saturday June 15, 2013 there were five successful graduates of Tumul K’in High School. This institution is the only one of its kind as it serves as an agricultural and boarding school located in the breathtaking scenery of the Blue Creek village, Toledo District. For those of us geographically challenged, the school is approximately twenty five

Hon. Mike Espat and some of the proud graduates

miles outside of Punta Gorda Town. At the Tumul k`in Graduation services the parents, families, communities and school asked Hon. Mike Espat to deliver the Graduation

address as the guest speaker. Hon. Espat, who is renowned for his charismatic and soul inspired speeches, addressed the graduates with an empowering talk and

a visionary connection. We at BELIZE TIMES join with the Hon. Mike Espat, the PUP and the people of this beautiful nation is saying: “Congratulations. We are proud of you.”

THE BELIZE TIMES

23 JUN

2013

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

By Gilroy Usher, Sr. Reggae Street has been one of the worst streets in Belize City for many months. The recent rains have now made it one of the most terrible streets in the entire city. This street has always been in its “salt” (very bad condition) with very large waterholes, because it is very low and has no drainage. When the present rains are finished, the residents of the area would like the Belize City Council to fill it with suitable material and build at least one side with drainage. This would make Reggae Street one of the better streets in the municipality and end the continuous hardship of the children and adults of the area who have to use it daily. Port Loyola Area Representative Anthony “Boots” Martinez has squandered many opportunities to improve Reggae Street and other bad streets in the division. As Minister

Fix Reggae Street! of Works for four consecutive years, Martinez did absolutely nothing to improve Reggae St. As bad as this street has always been, Martinez has never put even a truck load of filling on it, and he has done absolutely nothing to address its need for proper drains. Since the 2012 election, Martinez has also missed every opportunity to use good filling from the grading of streets that are being fixed with concrete to alleviate the terrible condition of Reggae St. In typical UDP style the only time Reggae St. and other terrible streets in Belize City will get attention is a few weeks before the next Belize City Council election or the next general election. To avoid that long wait for needed assistance to their street, the hardworking residents of Reggae St and other terrible streets in Port Loyola should write letters

Reggae Street is in deplorable conditions

to the newspapers and call the radio-call-in shows in the morning to expose this neglect by their Area Representative and the Belize City Council. When the street of Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega and his brother German Vega had some small holes, the government spent close to $200,000 to pave it for them quickly with their first complaint. The many residents of Reggae Street and other forgotten streets in this municipality deserve the same urgent attention to their needs. Government is suffering from a severe lack of

urgency in addressing the need of poor people for better streets. At the same time, Ministers and their cronies are given special treatment in getting the best of anything in the country. These things are just some of the proof that in our country today to paraphrase George Orwell in his classic book “Animal Farm” all Belizeans are equal but some Belizeans are more equal than others even when it comes to the fixing of streets.

Look like only Barrow fu eat! NEPOTISM = CORRUPTION

Lois Young Barrow (Ex-Wife)

Anwar Barrow (Son)

Shyne Barrow (Son)

Kimano Barrow (Nephew) PUC Board Member/Granted Oil Exploration Licence

Naima Barrow (Niece) Appointed to Election and Boundaries Commission

Liesje Barrow (Niece) Appointed to Belize Advisory Council

United Nations Ambassador

Appointed to BTL Board

Cultural Ambassador

Denys Barrow (Brother)

Appointed to Court of Appeal/Private Attorney for GOB

Cheryl Krusen (formerly Barrow) Appointed to Solicitor General

DEAN BARROW IS BELIZE’S BIGGEST PROBLEM!!!

THE BELIZE TIMES

23 JUN

2013

SNAKE AND LADDRER RULES OF THE GAME

Players Snakes and Ladders is played by two to four players, each with his/ her own token to move around the board. Moving Players roll a dice,then move the designated number of spaces, between one and six. Once they land on a space, they have to perform any action designated by the space.

Ladders If the space a player lands on is at the bottom of a ladder, he should climb the ladder, which brings him to a space higher on the board. Snakes If the space a player lands on is at the top of a snake, he/she must slide down to the bottom of it, landing on a space closer to the beginning. Winning The winner is the player who gets to the last space on the board first, whether by landing on it from a roll, or by reaching it with a ladder.

23 JUN

2013

THE BELIZE TIMES

Reading and Writing Are Passions to Nurture the Soul

By Dr. Angela Banner Joseph “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” - Maya Angelou I have earned many degrees and accolades in my short lifetime, but one of my greatest accomplishments to date is conquering my fear of writing. Today, I am honored to share my gift with you. When I was nine years old, my parents relocated our family to America. I was not excited about it, but I understood the reasoning behind the move. When I lived in Belize, I attended St. Joseph Elementary School. During my formative years, I had many significant opportunities to express myself, which have now led me to excellent employment opportunities and academic success. When I arrived in New York City, I was placed in fifth grade at a parochial school; I was ten years old, for I had celebrated a birthday during the summer. I was always bored in school; the work was too easy and I needed a challenge. My principal, Brother Paul, felt that advancing me a grade would be detrimental to my emotional growth because he felt that I would struggle to adapt being around older students. The next grade level of students was 11-year-olds. Whoopie! Promoting me would have made a huge difference in my emotional growth and personal development. In fact, it might have challenged me intellectually. I learned very quickly how to entertain and challenge myself in school by reading all of the books in the small school library. I learned from the words of William Faulkner to “Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.” I was honored to apply for and receive my first library card

at the local public library: Langston Hughes Library, home of the Black Heritage Reference Center, Langston Hughes Art Collection, Diaspora Theses, Cultural Arts Programs, and Africana History Lecture Series. Among the special features were a Black newspaper microfilm collection and Black magazine microfilm collection. I was in heaven! I took out the maximum number of books allowed (20), and every week, I borrowed and read every category of books. No one book was better than another. I cherished my time alone, reading. Reading allowed me to escape to unknown lands and aided in the development of my critical thinking and critical writing skills. Daily, I read until I went to sleep at night. I preferred to read instead of watching television. In fact, my books prepared me for bed and woke me up early in the morning; especially when I twisted and turned in the bed as a book poked me in my rib cage. I could never give up my love of reading. Author Stephen King shared, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” My other love, writing, is just as important to my psyche. I cherished sharing my thoughts on paper. In my youth, I loved writing in art books, with grainy textured paper and a sharp pencil to write with. I loved the sound of the pencil as it moved on the coarse paper. American novelist and poet, Ray Bradbury, asserted, “If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head: vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads. I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories—science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.” Today, I still write in grainy textured art books, but I have matured to using a medium point smooth gel pen instead of a pencil. I preferred the art books over the use of my IPad. I love that I can scratch out words, and rip a page out of my notebook. I love the texture and feel of recycled, coarse-textured paper. Likewise, I love to see how 26 letters of the alphabet can formulate so many words. It is extraordinary. I am amazed at the beauty and complexity of our thought

processes. It is elegant, yet challenging. Cassandra Clare wrote, in “Clockwork Prince,” how passionately I feel about the use of words: “We live and breathe words. ... It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. They could be honest with me, and I with them. Reading your words, what you wrote, how you were lonely sometimes and afraid, but always brave; the way you saw the world, its colors and textures and sounds, I felt—I felt the way you thought, hoped, felt, dream’t. I felt I was dreaming and thinking and feeling with you. I dreamed what you dreamed, wanted what you wanted—and then I realized that truly, I just wanted you.” So, back to how I journeyed to conquering my fear of writing. In the past, I wrote for myself, but I was afraid to share my thoughts with anyone else, especially the public. Graduate school helped with my struggle to write. My dissertation chair, Professor Lee Mahon, would say “Angela, will you press the send button on your computer? Let me tell you if your written work needs a revision.” I shared this story because I want every young person to learn about perseverance, hard work, and te-

nacity in conquering your fear of writing. Do not give up on your weaknesses. Strive to perfect your craft. Today, I still struggle with my writing, but I am a work in progress and I am still searching for ways to perfect the art of writing. Perseverance has taught me not to give up. Perseverance is the key to success. If your mind can perceive it, and your heart can believe it, then you will absolutely achieve it. Sylvia Plath, an American novelist and short story writer, contended, “And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” I guess that I have no more doubts about my writing, because now my imagination is constantly ebbing and flowing with story ideas. I just wrote a quick piece on something that I loved, and imagine: It began with 26 letters of the alphabet, to design these wonderful words, to create this beautiful story. The end. Dr. Angela Banner Joseph holds a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Change from the Fielding Graduate University.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BELIZE, A.D. 2009 CLAIM NO. 258 of 2009 BARRY PAPWORTH CLAIMANT

BETWEEEN AND

RUSHIEL BEVANS DEFENDANTS (a.k.a. Rashad Bevans) R & F BRICKMAKERS & CONSTRUCTION LIMITED TO:

NOTICE Mr. Rushiel Bevans a.k.a. Rashad Bevans No. 620 Keating Crescent Buttonwood Bay Belize City, Belize And R & F Brickmakers & Construction Limited Cor. Faber’s Road & Central American Blvd. Belize City, Belize

TAKE NOTICE that the assessment of the damages due to the Claimant will take place on the 9th day of July, 2013 at 10:00am before the Honorable Madame Justice Arana. If you do not attend this hearing, an Order may be made in your absence. Dated 11th day of June, 2013 MUSA & BALDERAMOS Attorneys for the Claimant BARRY PAPWORTH

THE BELIZE TIMES

23 JUN

2013

Recipe of the week Orange-and-Thyme Grilled Shrimp Ingredients 1 pound large shrimp (about 24), peeled and deveined, tails on 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest, plus 1/2 cup fresh orange juice 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grates 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme Coarse salt and ground pepper 1/3 cup light mayonnaise Directions . In a shallow dish, combine shrimp, 1 teaspoon zest, 1/4 cup juice, garlic, oil, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and tea-

spoon pepper; toss to coat. . Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or up to 8 hours). . Soak eight 8-inch wooden skewers in water 30 minutes before cooking. . In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, remaining 1/2 teaspoon zest, remaining 1/4 cup juice, and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme; season dipping sauce with salt and pepper. . Heat grill to medium; lightly oil grates. . Thread shrimp onto skewers, and grill, turning once, until shrimp are opaque throughout, 3 to 4 minutes. . Serve shrimp with dipping sauce.

MARRIAGES Darwin Edward Belezaire, 28, to Carol Genevie Augustine, 27, both of Libertad, Corozal District Giovanni Jonathan Martinez, 22, to Astra Donaji Magana, 22, both of Armenia, Cayo District Francisco Javier Herrera, 22, to Lindsey Marva Bul, 19, both of Santa Martha, Orange Walk District Kenton Kareem Flores, 22, to Shanice Monique Lewis, 23, both of Dangriga Town, Stann Creek District Anthony Gilbert Diego, Jr., 38, to Nordia Keisha Valentine, 35, both of Roaring Creek, Cayo District Raymundo Chan, 20, of San Narciso, Corozal District, to Aeisha Williams, 19, of Ranchito, Corozal District Amelio Vidal Ke, 45, to Marie Lisanie Sutherland, 24, both of Progresso, Corozal District Alfonso Alberto Aragon, 81, to Jean Elizabeth Castellanos, 35, both of Santa Elena Town, Cayo District Manuel Pineda, 30, to Nayeli Tun, 18, both of San Andres, Corozal District Donald Coleman, 31, to Praciliana Aldana, 29, both of Calcutta, Corozal District Joel Ruiz, 33, to Ady Pena, 33, both of Patchakan, Corozal District Pedro Pott, 71, to Angelica Gonzalez, 45, both of Caledonia, Corozal District

Samuel Emmanuel Cruz, 29, to Rufina Argenia Perez, 30, both of Orange Walk Town, Orange Walk District Nayim Amed Awe, 26, to Melisa Amara Card, 24, both of Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.A. Ariel Nolberto Juarez, 23, to Ceidy Nurry Garcia, 28, both of Cristo Rey, Cayo District Gian Angel Matu, 19, of Patchakan, Corozal District, to Miriam Hiceli Waite, 20, of San Jose (Nuevo) Palmar, Orange Walk District Emilio Santiago, 53, to Teodosa Estrellita Avella, 57, both of Santa Elena Town, Cayo District Angel Jesus Shish, 45, to Anita Aurora Uck, 40, both of Calla Creek, Cayo District Amir Edgar Castillo, 21, to Minerva Carolina Vasquez, 23, both of Trinidad, Orange Walk District Joel Santiago Nicholson, 31, to Azalia Beatriz Uk, 25, both of Douglas, Orange Walk District Alexi Adan Sosa, 25, to Josie Annabel Garcia, 21, both of Yo Creek, Orange Walk District Thomas William August, 33, to Yasohara Yadeli Gongora, 29, both of Orange Walk Town, Orange Walk District Israel Vega, 45, to Adriana Balam, 16, both of August Pine Ridge, Orange Walk District Roman Hernan Canul, 29, to Zeidi Lucely Acosta, 19, both of San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye

BIRTHS Born to Jose Alexander Ortez and Ilda Yaremi Ortez nee Chiac, a girl, Yaremi Abigail Born to Carlos Alberto Crespo and Claudia Mariela Crespo nee Requena, a boy, Gâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Angelo Albertino Born to Carmelo Max and Marita Angelica Max nee Choco, a boy, Alvin Cristian Carmelo Born to Bruce Joseph Diaz and Tiffany Mary Diaz nee Smith, a boy, Ashief Nathaniel

DEATHS Dellon Keron Davis, 19 Paulette Natalie Usher, 48 Edinilson Soriano, 17 Raymond Gardiner, 81 Alice Melinda Jenkins, 73 Jamille Emmett Richardson, 30 Martha Cuc, 36 Arthur Flowers, 74

BAGMO calls on GoB to criminalize smuggling and planting of GMO soybeans June 19, 2013 Belizeans Against GMOs are responding to the disclosure that GMO soybeans are illegally growing in Belize. BAGMO views the planting of illegal, smuggled soy seed to be an act of BIOPIRACY. Belize has banned trawling in Belizean waters, burned illegally cut rosewood, and burned rejected GMO corn in 2011, efforts at regulation and protection that were applauded across the globe. It is with this same sense of urgency that we implore that a strong and swift message be sent to all those farmers who undermine the regulation of food safety and protection by smuggling contraband genetically modified seed, which has never undergone a thorough and scientifically rigorous risk assessment, the established policy of the Belize Government. BAGMO calls on the Government of Belize to provide BAHA with the authority and necessary materials to conduct random and thorough testing throughout Belize for the presence of GMO crops and to immediately eradicate all GMO plant material that is found. BAHA must be allowed to create a precedent of zero tolerance for any illegal agricultural practices that would undermine the safety of Belizean food and the environment. GM seeds can, by their very nature, contaminate the surrounding environment (including water systems, numerous non-targeted animals, insects and organisms, and the soil) with a man-made protein whose characteristics and actions are barely understood. Vertical transfer and resistance are already being noted in scientific studies indicating that these proteins are indeed having impacts well beyond those desired by the biotech industry. The world is rapidly awakening to the existence of adverse and understudied GMOs - to their many and serious dangers and negative effects. As Belizeans become more aware of the serious implications to their own health and how the health of the environment affects their own health, they are becoming more vocal in their rejection of GMOs in their food supply and environment. Outside of Belize, worldwide, people are waking up and saying no to foods that contain GMOs. The demand and salability of GMO food products is going down as the demand for nonGMO food is now going up. Meanwhile, the organics industry shows an ongoing upward growth. Belize would be far better served to direct future agricultural efforts into non-GMO crops and less commercial pesticide use. A country as rare in natural beauty as Belize, whose very appeal to the rest of the world is her healthy and lush natural biodiversity, can demand no less than to keep GMOs available only as items on the grocery store shelves where we can choose not to buy themâ&#x20AC;Ś never in her fields where they will contaminate and cause havoc within this environment as well as with the natural seed handed down through centuries of farming. (Press Release)

23 JUN

2013

THE BELIZE TIMES

We are celebrating World Music Day (June 21st).

Come and join us in the fun!

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

PUBLIC service

announcements

2013

BRAIN

TEASER

SUDOKU PUZZLE #22/2013

Logging Season Closed The logging season is now closed. Loggers are advised that the harvesting of trees between June 15 and October 14 is illegal. The closure of logging activities coincides with the arrival of the rainy season which is not conducive to logging operations. Apart from an increased risk of loss of human life, logging during the rainy season often results in damage to forest soils and to public access roads. All Forest Department

District Offices have engaged in assessing all forest produce harvested before the 15th of June on a mutually agreed schedule with the loggers. There will be no consideration for extension of forest permits and licenses after the closure of the season. All forest produce not removed from the license areas prior to this date, automatically becomes the property of the Government of Belize. The logging season will reopen on the October 15th.

Water hazard following floods After the passage of Tropical Depression Two, the Dangriga water system was affected causing contamination to the well and breaks in its distribution lines. Similarly the flood waters affected the systems of Sarawee and Hope Creek and other low lying areas. Since then, the Belize Water Services Limited (BWSL) in Dangriga has managed to treat the water being distributed, put the system back on line, and repair major breakages in pipe lines. However, there are still some areas in Dangriga that remain with flood waters and recontamination of the water system is possible where minor leaks exist and goes undetected. In order to control the health risk, the Public Health Department is continuously

Answers for last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s puzzle SUDOKU PUZZLE SOLUTION #21/2013

See answers NEXT WEEK

monitoring the situation and collecting water samples from Dangriga, Sarawee and Hope Creek water systems for testing. Until results are obtained, the public is reminded to continue to treat their drinking water to make it safe by: 1. Adding 1 tablespoon of Clorox to five gallons of water, mix completely and leave to stand for 30 minutes before using. DO NOT use bleach that has perfumes. 2. Boil at a rolling boil for one minute. 3. Add water purification tablets according to directions on the package. 4. Report any leaks in pipe lines to BWS. It is also recommended that for persons in rural areas that experienced flooding and use well water to also treat their drinking water as it may not be safe to drink. Water that is dark, has an odour, or has floating pieces SHOULD NOT be used and should be disinfected.

Answers for last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s puzzle

See answers NEXT WEEK

23 JUN

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

BELIZE TIMES WEEKLY

SCIENCE & TECH R

Selected By Chris Williams

Farmed fish overtakes farmed beef for first time 19 June 2013 by Michael Marshall Cows have been overtaken by fish. For the first time in modern history, the world has been producing more farmed fish than farmed beef. But instead of being a boon for the environment, many fish farms are damaging it because of the types of fish they breed. A report by the Earth Policy Institute in Washington DC has found that farmed fish production is rising rapidly, reaching a record 66 million tonnes in 2012. Cattle farm output, by contrast, has levelled off, with just 63 million tonnes of beef produced in the same year. If current trends continue, hu-

mans are set to consume more farmed fish than wild-caught fish by 2015, says the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Some farmed fish are good for the environment. Chinese aquaculture, which accounts for 62 per cent of the world’s farmed fish, relies heavily on species such as silver

carp. These can be grown on rice paddies and feed on grass, plankton and detritus. This relatively sustainable way of farming fish boosts rice yields and produces little pollution. However, other popular farmed species such as salmon are carnivorous. They must be fed on smaller fish like anchovies, caught from the wild. As a result, salmon can only be farmed by further depleting wild fish stocks. “It would be preferable to shift the balance back in favour of farmed fish raised without feeds based on protein from other animals,” the report concludes.

Google’s Project Loon to float the internet on balloons 18 June 2013 by Hal Hodson Twenty kilometres up, slung under balloons from the same company that helped Felix Baumgartner jump from the edge of space last year, a payload of solar panels and wireless antennas is helping Google’s Project Loon bring wireless internet access to the most remote parts of the world. The ultimate goal is to connect the two-thirds of the world’s population that currently has no internet access. Currently being trialled in New Zealand, each balloon delivers a coverage area of 1250 square kilometres as it floats overhead. New Zealanders who want to access the service must have a special antenna fitted to their house that connects to the closest balloon. The signal is then bounced from balloon to balloon, until it joins the internet back on the ground. Solar panels power the balloons’ antennas and communications equipment, storing energy in batteries to keep them working through the night. Mariya Zheleva, who works on wireless networks for remote developing regions, says the project is inspiring: “I get very excited about solutions like this one that try to escape the conventional understanding for communication infrastructure.”

One of Google Loon’s high-altitude Wi-Fi internet hubs, on display at the Airforce Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand (Image: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty)

Basic bottlenecks Google claims that its setup allows it to deliver “speeds comparable to 3G”, between balloons and the ground. It is unclear how well applications which rely on short communications times, or pings, like VOIP, will work given that the signal must relay through multiple balloons before even reaching to the wider internet. Stephane Boyera, an information and communication technology (ICT) development consultant formerly with the Web Foundation, says he is convinced that Loon is a technically promising solution, but worries that it ignores a huge number of other problems, which may limit its broader impact. “Connectivity, while being a problem, is not the primary bottleneck in providing ICT services which can improve people’s lives,” says Boyera. The real problem is two-pronged – a lack of content that’s useful to people in developing countries, and the lack of widespread, Wi-Fi compatible devices, he says.

“It is a total myth to imagine a farmer in Mali using Google to find solutions for a disease his tomatoes have. Barriers are just huge: illiteracy, language, ICT training,” Boyera says. The existing web is not that useful to the underprivileged populations of developing countries, and no amount of new connectivity options can fix that, he says. Boyera also warns that strategies which rely on topdown hardware distribution are historically prone to failure. “I believe that the only scalable option is to focus on what is already available,” he says. Kooky stuff Google Loon is not the first project to attempt to deliver internet access over a wide area but, as the project name suggests, it is probably the kookiest. Google will rely on weather prediction to keep its balloons in the right place, moving them up and down to take advantage of different air currents. “Project Loon uses software algorithms to determine where its balloons need to go, then moves each one into a layer of wind blowing in the right direction,” Google announced. “By moving with

the wind, the balloons can be arranged to form one large communications network.” Zheleva warns that a balloon-based system faces some fairly unique technical challenges. “Stabilisation of the balloons is of great importance, since a slight shift of the balloon due to wind can result in major shift of the coverage area on the ground,” she says. Flight time is another issue. The Raven Aerostar balloons Google is using typically have a maximum flight time of 55 days, meaning that the floating internet links will need to be either replaced on a regular basis, or replenished with helium while aloft. Google claims that its tweaked design can stay aloft for more than 100 days. A similar project called Antarctic Broadband is planning to use small, cheap satellites to bring steady, reliable internet to the continent. Currently researchers there must rely on signals from geostationary satellites, which are above the equator, meaning their signals barely reach the edges of the Antarctic. Unlike Project Loon, Antarctic Broadband will not connect users to a nearby internet relay through its satellites, but to dedicated ground stations in western Australia and South America.

THE BELIZE TIMES

Don’t be the 2,000lb elephant! Elephants are fascinating creatures. They are the largest mammals in the world, yet they are herbivores. Recently, a story surfaced about a baby elephant that was brought out of the wild and domesticated. This elephant fought valiantly against his arrest at first, and his captors had to use large thick ropes to subdue him. But as he grew older, the elephant became used to the ropes. He was so accustomed that even at his new weight of 2000lbs, the elephant could be led around with a thin string! See, we all have potential as vast as that elephant’s weight. Some people were born to write books, some to record songs, and others to build foundations and schools. We were all meant to change the world, and no impact is too small. But like that elephant our dreams have been subdued by reason. You think you’re not smart enough. Maybe you never finished your education. Maybe you need more money before you attempt to pursue your purpose. These rationales are all chunky lengths of rope holding you back from depositing what you were placed on this earth to deposit. Like that elephant, we may become so comfortable in our captivity that a light string can tie us to meaningless commitments and we can be trusted to stay put. It is like a woman remaining in an abusive relationship because she has nowhere else to go. Every day, she puts up with blows and bruises until they no longer hurt her physically and they become commonplace. It is like a man who returns to liquor after vowing to avoid it. He struggles with self-control and succeeds in being sober for a few days, but is inexplicably drawn back to the bottle. Now, in no way am I casting stones. I am sure your excuses are sound and valid. I’m sure the obstacles you face in trying to fulfill your God-given dream are good and even noble. I’m pretty sure you can write me a 5000 word essay explaining just how badly you’d like to break free of this slight thread holding you back and why you can’t. None of these things change the fact that you are holding back. So, what are you gonna do about it? According to the Manual (Bible), before anything can change you must target the root of the problem: the mentality. Beyond all reason, that huge elephant is subdued by the slightest of restraints. Why? Because he has been taught as a young elephant not to wander beyond the boundary of those ropes. The Manual instructs us to “be transformed by the renewing of our mind” (Romans 12:2). Start preparing for fulfilling your purpose. Take the classes. Write the business plan for a loan. Just start planning. Breaking free of that thread isn’t as easy as it looks but it’s well worth the freedom. Until Next week, God Bless!!

23 JUN

2013

Curved Spine: Scoliosis Scoliosis is a medical term which defines a person’s spine when it has By Dr. Francis Smith a curved-shape. The spine is normally straight when viewed from behind. With scoliosis, the spine looks like an “S” or a “C”. The cause of most scoliosis in unknown, and classified as idiopathic scoliosis. It can also be congenital (caused by abnormal back bones at birth), or secondary, due to spina bifida, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or Chiari malformation. Signs Scoliosis in children and teenagers is usually not noticed until the curve has worsened. Parents may notice that the child’s clothes do not fit right or may notice asymmetry of the body when the child is without clothes. The following observations are most common: • One shoulder may look higher than the other • One hip may look higher than the other • One waistline may look more pronounced than the other • The ribs may stick out more on one side than the other • One shoulder blade may stick out more or be higher than the other • There may be a pelvic tilt with apparent limb length discrepancy • The head may appear not centered over the body Symptoms: Severe scoliosis may cause back pain and difficulty breathing. Worsening of the spinal curve and pains usually begins during a growth spurt just prior to puberty. Girls tend to have worse scoliosis than boys. Complications: Severe scoliosis may cause a deformed rib cage which compresses the lungs and heart causing difficulty breathing and making it harder for the heart to pump. As people with scoliosis get older, they may develop arthritis of the spine and degenerative disc disease. Treatment: Most mild scoliosis do not require treatment with braces or surgery. Children with mild scoliosis should undergo x-rays every six to twelve months to study the progression of the curve. Treatment depends on the classification of mild, moderate or severe curves and on the curve pattern, such as double curves or S-shaped curves or C-shaped curves and the location of the curve on the spine. The doctor will decide treatment which may include exercises, postural training, braces to prevent further progression of the curve or surgery. In Belize, usually children with scoliosis are referred to a yearly clinic sponsored by the Rotary Club of Belize and the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children. These clinics are held in Belize City at the K.H.M.H., in Belmopan and Orange Walk. Children requiring surgical treatment are usually treated at the Shriner’s Hospital in the U.S.A., free of cost. Scoliosis surgery for adults is also being done by visiting specialists at the K.H.M.H. Chiropractic manipulation and other alternative medicine treatments have been proven to be useless.

29 Mounting unapologetic anarchy, corruption, powermania and greed 23 JUN

2013

By Norris Hall For the purpose of this commentary I will cite too examples as metaphors for everything that is going wrong in Belize. One is about traffic lights in Belize City. The other is about a woman, a political appointee of this government, whose hands were almost caught in the cookie jar, not that she was an exception, sent to pasture and after a brief hiatus, has been re-appointed as the Commissioner of the Belize Port Authority. Her dishonesty, like most at all levels of the Barrow administration, is a part of the rule rather than the exception. But let’s start with the traffic light metaphor. Belize City is the only area of the country, aside from Orange Walk Town, that has traffic lights. One could argue that with an increase in vehicular traffic in the other city and towns of the country, there should be traffic lights everywhere. But in reality they mean nothing. The lights turn red and nobody stops; they turn amber and there is no need to as most drivers and cyclists do not wait for the green signal. The lights, to most people, simply do not matter; the rules do not apply and so it is with the general state of affairs of the country. One of my friends, who is a businessman, recently told me a story-an anecdote: A potential investor who was making his first visit to Belize was astute enough to quickly surmise the state of affairs. My friend met him at the international airport and drove him into Belize City. In that short fifteen minutes’ drive this investor had determined by the disregard for traffic regulations, the absence of road signs, and the way the cops drove around and the way people jay walked, that Belize is a corrupt country. The other more recent metaphor for the corruption in the Barrow administration is the appointment of the former Head of the Belize Social Security Board to the post of Ports Commissioner of the Belize Port Authority. This is a position where many tricks can be turned and have been turned under the current Minister of Transportation, who to his credit has been able to combine nepotism with incompetence. While this woman was heading the SSB, the government of Dean Barrow decided to grant amnesty, for nothing else but political reasons to some debtors. This woman who pretended to be so Christian-like and principled decided to take the unethical step and try

THE BELIZE TIMES

a sleigh of hand, to try to get her debt and that of certain choice employees of SSB forgiven as well. It was caught by the media, she was eased out with all her benefits and sent to pasture. With the recent resignation of the former Ports Commissioner who was not prepared to compromise his professional principles, nor political manipulation without compromise, the post became vacant. The former SSB Head was harnessed, brought from pasture and given this handsome plum as the Ports Commissioner, although she was sent into retirement by the Directors of the SSB and sent off with a ton of retirement money. It was yet another reward for bad behaviour. This is the hallmark of the corruption of Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s administration. The Prime Minister himself, like a mafia boss, has been able to manipulate judges of the Supreme Court, other officials of the Courts and the Police that have been known to punish his enemies, like the former Prime Minister and journalists with trumped-up charges and other forms of intimidation. There was an international outcry and protest by the U.S government and media organizations when he tried to shut down or muzzle Channel 5 television-an independent station owned by Lord Michael Ashcroft. This TV station remains on his chopping block. Some of the media have become corrupt, dependent as they are on government revenue from advertising. One of the country’s main radio stations, which was sanctioned by the almost toothless Belize Broadcasting Authority, for poor standards in broadcasting, among other discrepancies, was saved by the Prime Minister who told the BBA to back-off. Barrow made his mark early in his administration. He cancelled any longevity of tenure for Supreme Court Judges. When he tried to unconstitutionally nationalize the telephone and electricity companies, the Courts ruled his move as illegal and unconstitutional. So what did he do? Because he had a super majority in the Legislature at the time, he amended the Constitution to take over these

utilities. The private investors became toast. Well not quite as these investors are still seeking redress in the Courts. Who were the government’s Attorneys: His high priced ex-wife who has been overheard saying that “my clients don’t choose me, I choose my clients”. She is now Belize’s Ambassador to the United Nations. Since her appointment, the government’s budget allocation for that Mission has been inflated. One of the Prime Minister’s close relative has filled that slot as the government’s chief lawyer and de-facto Solicitor General, forcing the holder of the substantive post to resign in frustration. The government’s decision to share the profits made by loggers who illegally cut and export rosewood is yet another case of corruption and with impunity. No one has yet been brought to account for the destruction of a major Mayan temple for the construction of roads. This caused yet another international outcry along with one a few years ago when UNESCO threatened to delist Belize’s Barrier Reef as a World Heritage Site. The reef remains under threat as the government is considering a million dollars investment by a Norwegian Cruise Line for a cruise ship facility in the proximity of the barrier reef in Southern Belize. This is already an outcry. In May thirteen babies were killed, through negligence, at the state-owned hospital in Belize City. There has been no Commission of Inquiry and no heads have rolled. Clearly the Barrow administration is hoping that these inequities will blow away. There is a long litany of the wrongs this government has committed. Rampant corruption continues with impunity. The biggest one being the corruption of litigations which is designed to enrich the Prime Minister’s law firm, that of his brother and a few other privileged cronies. We have developed a “Jim Jones” syndrome. Jones was an American Christian preacher and the leader of the Peoples Temple. This was a cult of Jones and his

American followers who established a commune in Jonestown, Guyana. In November 1978, on the orders of Jones, 900 Americans, including many children, committed mass suicide by drinking purple Kool-Aid laced with cyanide. The lawlessness, corruption, crime and poverty, the lack of discipline and the general free-for-all at the hands of a would-be Dictator is out of character for Belize thirty two short years after independence. Apparently, it would seem that many of you have been duped and waiting for orders to drink the Koolaid. These include about a handful of my friends (or former) who, no doubt in fear, have created some serious distance between me and them, like a tool that has become blunt or expired.

Vega gets license to import Pepsi Belize City, June 19, 2013 The Vega family has benefitted from yet another Government contract. This time it’s bound to create controversy among the elephants in the business community. The BELIZE TIMES has been reliably informed that the Vegas have used their inside connections, similar to the rosewood exporting, to obtain a license to distribute Pepsi cola in Belize. For many years, the soft drink industry has been controlled by the Bowen family who bottle and distribute Coca Cola. On August 6th 1994, the then UDP Government shut down Pepsi Cola and hundreds of workers were fired. Now, the greedy Vegas have found a way to resurrect the cola drink but to pursue their personal interests. Grabbing up large first-choice land deals, Rosewood extraction and export are not enough for this gluttonous bunch.

THE BELIZE TIMES

THINK ABOUT IT IN-JUSTICE Belize’s best human right judge, Hon. Denis Hanomansingh, is hearing Belize’s worst case of Police abuse. This drama is unfolding in the Belmopan Supreme Court for the past two weeks with little or no coverage from the media. The media did give full coverage of the event back in May 2011 when some 14 members of the Gang Suppression Unit left Belize City and raided the home of a businessman in Belmopan in the pre-dawn hours around 4am. The GSU claimed at the time that they heard shots from inside the house, directed at them, and of course they responded with what has been the most awesome unleashing of fire power. Two machine guns and a dozen 9mm pistols. Some 62 bullet holes were later discovered, over 43 penetrated the windows and entered various rooms. When the GSU broke down the front door and entered the house a further 23 shots were fired inside the owner’s bedroom as “suppressive” fire. Only because he owner, his pregnant wife, their maid and three children were hiding in a bath tub and in a utility room they miraculously escaped with their lives. The home owner, when he was captured in his bedroom in the presence of his wife and child, was stomped and kicked on repeatedly until he lost consciousness. He was left to lie face down in a pool of blood, hands handcuffed behind his back. The GSU proceeded to carry out their search of the house for hours, not finishing until 6:30pm, leaving the home owner in his beaten and bloodied condition all those hours. When he was finally taken to the Belmopan Police Station, a Police there sent him to the hospital where a doctor listed the obvious injuries to the jaw, burst lips, bruises to the face, and bleeding from the nostrils and mouth. Nothing illegal was found at the house. Neither the Prime Minister nor Police Minister felt the need to say a word of regret at how an otherwise innocent search turned into a nightmare and near death for small children and a family. The incident was never investigated. No one from the Crime Investigation Branch or the Internal Affairs Unit of the Police were allowed near the case. This whole sordid affair could have been avoided if the GSU had taken a bullhorn, megaphone, loud speaker, call it whatever, and simply alerted the residents of the house to open their

door immediately to allow a search. Instead, the heavy hand of abuse arrived and all hell broke loose. GRADUATION This is a season to be jolly, to be proud, to be happy. All across our nation, by the hundreds, our young children are graduating from primary schools, high schools, sixth forms and even our two Universities, Galen and U.B. We are so proud of them. And their parents and family who supported and sacrificed to see them through. It could not happen without their teachers either. We all need to be clear and focused. Every child must attend and complete primary school. Every such child must attend and complete a high school and/or ITVET. This is one important way we build Belize. Congratulations to all the graduates of 2013. ANOTHER GUAT IS SHOT Since our last column two, three weeks ago, Belize Defence Force officers patrolling the border area have shot another Guatemalan. Belize’s version of the shooting is that a lone Guatemalan, well within our side of the border, fired at our patrol; the patrol returned fire and he was hit. They bandaged the intruder and carried him a very long distance to receive medical attention. Tell that story to the Guatemalans. The Guatemalans have warned us to stop using fire-power against heir unarmed citizens. They have asked us to use non-lethal weapons. When our soldiers are being shot at, it is a different ball game. No one is to shoot at our soldiers inside our territory. But Guatemala has ordered their elite military men closer to our borders. They say the Kaibils are deployed to deal with drugs and smuggling. In dense jungles? We do not believe them. We need to be careful we do not provoke an incident. We need to be very careful. DEATH OF A UNION This is the death of a Union foretold. The Public Services Union has been the premier union in Belize for decades. Making allowances for the fact that public officers are employees of the State and there are some restrictions on their freedom of expression, they have acquitted themselves well. The P.S.U. has always succeeded,

sometimes after much wrangling, in getting salaries increases, allowances, travelling benefits and so on, for their members. The P.S.U. played an outstanding role in resisting the Heads of Agreement in 1981. This proposed agreement to try to settle the unfounded Guatemalan claim to Belize was a policy and political matter, not strictly a Union –workers – employees matter. Yet the Union was courageous to be involved in the forefront. The PSU also rose up in 2004 against the then government over alleged abuses of office. Since the arrival of the UDP in Government in 2008, the PSU has been experiencing a slow demise. Gone are their glory days of Unionism in a stifling and disrespectful government atmosphere. The Teachers’ Union has not achieved much success. Unions just aren’t what they used to be. WATER ON MARS Major discovery. Water has been found on the planet Mars. It’s not a lake or pond or even a puddle. But the scientific traces of the components of water. The exploratory vehicle sent to Mars in January 2004 has finally come through. Clay miner-

23 JUN

2013

als in rocks indicate neutral water flowed there in the first billion years of the existence of Mars. Awesome. LISA AND AUDREY There will be a battle, sooner or later, between two lawyers, between two women. It is bound to take place. The battle will play out between the cerebral Lisa and the emotional Audrey. It’s gonna be hot. THE AMAZING TALIBAN Peace talks will take place between the mighty United States of America and the strange people called the Taliban. We know nothing of the Taliban. They are one of several tribes in war torn Afghanistan. These bearded, hardy, mountain-terrain people are obviously extraordinary warriors. The military might of the USA and its NATO allies could not defeat them. Twelve years of bombing, killings and torture and yet they stand. This week the USA dropped all its pre-conditions and agreed to hold urgent peace talks with the world’s number one warriors. Interesting.

23 JUN

31 Misguided Union Leadership

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

CitCo increases driver’s license fee Belize City, June 19, 2013 A notice published by the UDP Belize City Council warns residents that as of July 2013, the fee for driver’s license renewal will be increased to $60. In these hard times, this is the worst kind of news for Belizeans. The council indicates in its notice that it is regularizing the fee with that of other municipalities, but the move could very well be illegal, and against the explicit advice of the Minister of Local Government Godwin Hulse. In January of this year, the Ministry of Local Government put the municipal councils in their place with a press

release that stated: “the legal fee for the issuance of a Driver’s License is ONLY thirty Belize Dollars $30 by Law. Residents are advised that once they meet the criteria for a driver’s license, they are not required to pay any more than the mandated $30.” Despite the declaration, the UDP Town Council in Santa Elena/San Ignacio thumbed their nose at the Minister Hulse and went ahead with increasing their fees. Now the UDP Belize City Council is following suit, in another attempt to bleed out more money out of residents.

Belize City, June 18, 2013 The most recent press release issued by the National Trade Union Congress of Belize – blindly supporting the Barrow administration’s takeover of the International Business Company Registry (IBC) and the International Merchant Marne Registry of Belize (IMMARBE) is yet another example of the misguided leadership at the helm of the important workers’ organization. Not a word has been said by the NTUCB regarding the scandals that have rocked the UDP. Nothing about Rosewood. Nothing about the 13 babies who died at the KHMH. Nothing about Don Gapi Vega and his land deals for families and cronies, or the fleecing of public funds by his nephew. Nothing about the increasing murders. Nothing about Noh Mul. Not even a word about the teachers’ and public officers’ delayed request for

salary increases. But here comes Barrow with a distraction up his sleeve, and along goes the NTUCB, or at least its leaders. This is not so surprising. At the helm of the NTUCB is a man who aside from getting positions on Government-boards can hardly say what has been accomplished on behalf of workers. Dylan Reneau sits on the Social Security Board. He sits on the Belize Electricity Board. And now, on the announcement of the Prime Minister, he will on the so-called newly established National Bank. Can’t anyone else apart from Reneau serve the Union? The NTUCB also chose to attack the Opposition PUP with cheap political propaganda spewed by the Prime Minister. Instead of reaching out to the Opposition for an explanation or clarification, the NTUCB’s statement showed how bias they have become under the Barrow Administration.

ComPol says

Police Officer had “no authority” to withdraw charges against

Mark King

wasted the Court’s time in such fashion. Video footage of the confrontation shows King going ballistic, screaming and shouting as he threatened the officers, even inside the Corozal Police Station, when one of King’s party buddies, Diego Witz Jr. was detained. But the scene at the Corozal Police Station was relatively calm, compared to the violent outburst earlier that morning at the Princess Hotel and Casino. Witnesses told the BELIZE TIMES that King and his entourage had unleashed terror and panic on the patrons of the casino that night. The King entourage got into a fight with the casino’s security guards and even assaulted the Casino manager after being ordered out of the building. Why the Casino never filed charges against the Minister is another question. But ComPol Whylie is not too happy with the Police’s gross mishandling of the case. He said he has asked a team led by PC Noel Leal, who heads the Professional Standards Branch, to investigate PC Ramos. “When a police officer does things that we believe breaches trust and confidence in us and myself as the head, we will do all that is necessary to ensure that that breach is remedied. It’s a matter I view very seriously and as soon as the investigation is concluded we’ll be taking the appropriate action against him,” said ComPol Whylie.

CARTOON

Belize City, June 20, 2013 Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie has lashed out at the Police Officer who withdrew charges against UDP Minister of Gangs Mark King, allowing the serious criminal case to crumble at the Corozal Magistrate Court. “It is my view that that officer was a police officer when this incident occurred. He was not an ordinary citizen and he had no authority to withdraw that case or to refuse to testify,” ComPol Whylie remarked when asked about the case on Wednesday afternoon. PC Nelson Ramos was one of two police officers who were expected to testify against King who faced charges of aggravated assault, threatening words and disorderly conduct. The UDP Lake Independence area representative was involved in all-out brawls inside the Princess Hotel and Casino and at the Corozal customs station in the wee hours of Monday Februay 4th of this year. But when the Court date came up on Tuesday June 18th, Ramos either got cold feet or kept his end of a secret deal, when he withdrew the charge. Another officer, PC Swazo, apparently got amnesia and said he could not identify Mark King from the witness stand. The Magistrate, Clive Lino, then ordered that without evidence there was no case and declared King a free man. There was no chastisement of the officers of the law, as would normally occur if an ordinary citizen

THE BELIZE TIMES

23 JUN

2013