Belize Times July 24, 2011

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 24, 2011

PEOPLE’S UNITED PARTY

POSITION PAPER ON PROPOSED LEGISLATION A. INTRODUCTION: On 13th May, 2011 the Prime Minister, Hon. Dean Barrow, introduced in the House by way of first reading, the following Legislation which he described as being “anti-crime initiatives”.: 1. CRIME CONTROL AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011.

2. BELIZE CONSTITUTION (EIGHT AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011 3. INDICTABLE PROCEDURE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011 4. JURIES (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011 5. SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011.

The People’s United Party recognizes and appreciates that our nation, Belize, is faced with a crisis of crime and violence which deserves and demands our collective attention, commitment, and sense of responsibility.

Our position on the proposed crime legislation is grounded in this understanding and in our duty to Belizeans and our Nation to ensure the protection and preservation of their fundamental rights and freedoms.

It is a fundamental responsibility of a Government to ensure the safety and personal security of its citizens but repression cannot and should not be justified on a false promise of security.

It is the intention of the People’s United Party to participate fully and actively in the hearings and public consultations of the Constitution and Foreign Affairs House Committee of the House of Representatives, and to engage our own members in a dialogue and discussion on these Bills.

We intend to take a robust stand in the National Assembly, House and Senate in the debates which will be held on these laws B. REVIEW OF BILLS: 1. Crime Control and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill, 2011 At the first meeting of the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives (PUP Representatives present were. Hon. John Briceno and Hon. Francis Fonseca) held on Monday June 6, 2011 the Chairman (Hon. Patrick Faber) announced that Cabinet had taken a decision to withdraw this Bill from further consideration at this time.

2. Belize Constitution (Eight Amendment) Bill, 2011 This Bill proposes to amend Sections 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the Belize Constitution. Each section of the proposed bill is examined in turn. a. SECTION 5 -PREVENTIVE DETENTION Section 5 of the Constitution safeguards the right of all Belizean Citizens to personal liberty.

Preventive Detention is the locking up of a citizen, resident or any other person in Belize, legally or illegally for the time being, for an indefinite period. Under the proposed amendment it will be for a period of up to 52 days in the first instance; 21 days and a further 30 days on an ex-parte application to Supreme Court.

Under the proposed amendment, nothing prevents any detainees from being detained for more than one consecutive 21 day period.

Such preventive detention may be done without informing the detainee of the reasons for such detention and without laying any formal charges against that person.

During that period of detention, the detainee will be denied all of those personal liberty rights customarily associated with being detained - or even on remand - such as access to a lawyer, access to family members especially in the case of minors, access to a phone call, access to medical treatment and care, access to a Justice of the Peace and access to the Supreme Court (habeas corpus).

The PUP cannot and will not support this proposed amendment to the Constitution of Belize which will allow for the detention of any Belizean citizen or person being within Belize, including minors and children, for a period of up to 52 days (or more since there is no prohibition against repeated detention) on the basis of mere suspicion, not even “reasonable” suspicion., This provision seeks to deny long standing fundamental rights and freedoms to citizens and non-nationals alike. These freedoms and rights are the basis of any vibrant democracy which is committed to the rule of law. Our Constitution’s very preamble states that Belize is a nation which recognizes that men and institutions remain free when such freedom is founded on the rule of law. Article 1 states that Belize “shall be a sovereign democratic State”. b. SECTION 6 -ANONYMOUS AND FEARFUL WITNESSES Section 6 of the Constitution provides for equal protection of the law to all Belizeans. The proposed amendment to clause 3 of s.6 states that it shall not be a contravention of the right of an accused person to know the identity of a witness who has given a statement in evidence against him or her.

This amendment therefore allows for a law to be enacted to provide for anonymity of witnesses in criminal trials, as well as admission of witness statements into evidence in place of oral evidence; and testimony of witnesses by video link and other means in order to secure the safety of the witness.

The PUP is painfully aware that intimidation and, in some tragic cases, the wanton murder of witnesses in criminal trials has become far too commonplace in Belize. Such homicide as intimidation and strikes at the heart of our system of justice and shall not be tolerated.

The fundamental, long-standing common law and natural justice right enshrined in our Constitution, of every accused person to know his or her accuser, to face that accuser, and to challenge the veracity of that accuser thru cross-examination, should not be so readily sacrificed even on the altar of crisis, much less in a spirit of desperation.

The very preamble of our supreme law states that “the People of Belize affirm that the Nation of Belize shall be founded on principles which acknowledge the supremacy of God and faith in human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Any derogation from those human rights and fundamental freedoms is by necessity fraught with peril for the citizen and non-national alike.

What makes this amendment particularly egregious is that the enabling provision which will be written into our Constitution will allow the passage of laws which not only provides for the anonymity of witnesses to protect the safety of the witnesses or another person; but also “to prevent any damage to property”. Threats of Damage to property should never outweigh the right of an accused to know who the accuser is.

Likewise, the provision that will allow for laws to be passed which provides for the admission of witness statements into evidence where a witness is unwilling to give or to continue to give oral evidence through fear of death or bodily injury to him or to a member of his family, “or damage to his property” is equally problematic.

The right of an accused to test the veracity of a witness by cross-examination should not be based on a fear of damage to property, and should only give way in carefully prescribed circumstances with all adequate safeguards to preserve fairness, in the case of fear of death or bodily injury to a witness or his/her family.

Continued on next page

Sunday, July 24, 2011

THE BELIZE TIMES

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c. SECTION 7 - DEATH PENALTY Section 7 of the Constitution provides for protection from inhuman treatment. The proposed amendment seeks to put beyond any challenge the imposition of a mandatory death sentence or the execution of such a sentence as being “inhuman or degrading punishment”.

The proposed amendment is written in an attempt to evade a particular ruling of the Courts and is not being placed in the Constitution in pursuance of any empirical evidence that it is either necessary or desirable. This proposed amendment will only serve to projects a false sense of security and hope in the face of a sobering, dismal and unacceptable 7% conviction rate and the equally unacceptable rate of Nolle Prosequi cases by the Office of the DPP. It is not the system to impose capital punishment that is broken; it is the liability of those who are tasked with the implementation of the system that is in question. d. SECTION 8 - FORCED LABOUR Section 8 of the Constitution protects our citizens from slavery and forced labor. The proposed amendment to clause 5 of s.8 of the Constitution provides that any community service required of a person of or above the age of 16 years shall not be deemed to be “forced labor”.

The PUP does not support a Constitutional Amendment broadening the definition of “forced labor”. In recognition of the serious challenges faced by our security forces and the justice system in dealing with youth offenders, we support a review and strengthening of the Penal System Reform (Alternative Sentences) Act No. 41 of 2001 to provide for more effective and stringent Community Service Orders. e. SECTION 6 (10) (b) -TRIAL WITHOUT A JURY While the Constitution of Belize does not specifically provide for trial by jury, it is well established that the right of a man or woman to be tried by a jury of his or her peers (in cases of serious crimes) is a longstanding, valued and cherished right.

The proposed amendment to s.6 (10) (b) of the Constitution provides for trial without a jury in certain criminal cases to forestall any argument that jury trial is an essential ingredient of a “fair trial” guaranteed by the Constitution.

The PUP firmly believes that the right to a trial by jury is the cornerstone of any fair trial, and a hallmark of our democracy which is founded upon the rule of law. In many jurisdictions where this has been passed, it is not an amendment of the Constitution only applies to cases dealing with terrorist acts and is of limited application to the Citizen. Consequently, we do not support the proposed amendment, which is sufficiently permissive along with the proposed amendments to the Indictable Procedure Act and the Juries Act, to allow for all criminal cases in the Supreme Court to be tried without a jury.

Further, Belizeans and non-nationals in Belize will not be allowed to appeal the decision of a judge to try a case without a jury and where a person is acquitted by a judge, the prosecution has a right of appeal against that acquittal.

3. THE INDICTABLE PROCEDURE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011 As discussed above, provides for trial without a jury in certain criminal cases in the Supreme Court.

The PUP does not support an amendment to the law providing for “mandatory” trial without a jury particularly one, as pointed out above, grounded in a Constitutional Amendment.

In the new proposed 65 B, the prosecution may apply to the judge for the trial to be conducted without a jury on any one or more of those grounds which are set out in subsection (2) which include “(d) that the complexity of the trial or the length of the trial (or both) is likely to make the trial so burdensome to the jury that the interests of justice require that the trial should be conducted without a jury”.

This last is clearly intended as an omnibus provision to catch any and all cases – and offers only vague guidelines as to “complexity” and “length” and offers too much room for subjectivity as to what would be “burdensome” to any given jury; and as what do “the interests of justice” require.

Even worse is the provision to be enacted as Section 65B (6) - “(6) No appeal shall lie against the order of the judge granting or refusing the application for the trial to be conducted without a jury”. This would effectively oust the jurisdiction of any appellate court of Belize to review the exercise of the Trial Judge’s discretion and forestall any inquiry as to whether that discretion was properly exercised.”

We can support reviewing the Indictable Procedure Act with a view to strengthening that Act and providing for particular cases in which there is a discretion given to State via an application to a Judge of the Supreme Court, , but only if that discretion may be appealed, to order a trial without a jury.

4. THE JURIES (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011 This Bill complements the Indictable Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and makes consequential amendments to the Juries Act to provide for trial without a jury in certain criminal cases.

5. THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2011This Bill provides that an appeal against the decision of a magistrate shall NOT operate as an automatic stay of execution of the Magistrate’s decision as presently provided for under s.112 of the Act, subject to certain exceptions.

This section of the Act is being abused and unfortunately, some Magistrates are taking an unduly long time to give reasons for their decisions.

The Bill provides that a stay of execution of a decision is not automatic but has to be applied for and states further that the Magistrate must give the reasons for his or her decision within 7 days.

The Bill does not affect the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail pending appeal.

The PUP does support this amendment.

C THE WAY FORWARD: The PUP is committed to a meaningful and serious collaboration with the Government and all Belizeans on all issues of crime, violence and human security.

In this spirit, we have over the last three years offered meaningful proposals to the relevant authorities which we believe can assist in the fight against crime and violence. Overall strategic action in combating crime and violence requires a properly resourced, properly trained and motivated Police Department that commands respect and respects the fundamental rights and freedoms of our Belizean Citizens.

We have called on the Government to: 1. Develop and share with all stakeholders its National Plan to win the war on crime, drugs, gangs, and violence.

2. Recognize the established link between the conditions of growing poverty and lessening opportunities on the one hand, and surging crime and violence on the other, and as such propose a comprehensive National Plan for generating economic growth, restoring confidence of the business community, securing increased private and public sector investment, meeting job creation targets and implementing measurable social interventions.

3. Seek immediate technical assistance to address the new threat of urban terrorism by way of grenade attacks.

4. Significantly increase the annual Police recruit Intake.

5. Significantly increase the number of police officers on patrol in Belize City.

6. Re-open and Re-activate all the Police Booths and Sub-Stations that have been closed over the past three years.

7. Re-activate and adequately resource the Community Policing and Neighborhood Watch Programs.

8. Adequately resource and train the investigative branch of the Belize Police Department including the Forensic Unit.

9. Adequately staff and resource the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Prosecution Branch of the Police department.

10. Act on the findings of the Crooks Report.

“Serve the People”

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Emerging Markets Research | LatAm

Belize: The Private Sector has Spoken

By Boris Segura, Nomura Global Economics 19 July 2011 The private sector has expressed (reasonable, in our view) misgivings about the government’s recent spate of nationalizations. If not addressed, these concerns may harm Belize’s medium-term economic outlook.

In an emergency meeting on July 6, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) discussed its position regarding Belize’s business climate. It met again on Friday July 15 to ratify its resolution, which passed with a vote of 61-30.

The BCCI became particularly concerned after the recent nationalization of Belize Electricity Ltd (BEL), which was followed in short order by the re-nationalization of Belize Telemedia Ltd (BTL).

In its resolution, BCCI expresses the necessity for certain procedures and circumstances to justify nationalizations by the government, such as overriding national importance and interest. The resolution has been presented to Prime Minister Barrow and outlines four main points.

The first point asks that the government uphold the rule of law as declared by the Courts of Law and not violate the separation of powers by infringing on other organizations’ roles. Second, it calls on the National Assembly to act within the scope of its authority to make laws for the betterment of Belize. Third, the BCCI seeks to restore the investment climate and requests mutual cooperation between itself, the government and the National Assembly for public-private partnership.

BCCI specifically requests that the government and National Assembly refrain from infringing on Consti-

tutional rights to freedom in regard to “arbitrary deprivation of private property”. The fourth point is a list of conditions and procedures regarding the acquisition of private property, including the Chamber’s request for a clear purpose for an acquisition, adequate and prompt compensation should an acquisition take place, and reasonable and fair opportunity for those who have been deprived of their property to be heard prior to compulsory acquisition.

The crux of this resolution is the BCCI’s stance on nationalizations.

Although it does not explicitly state whether it is for or against nationalization, BCCI does express a desire for clear legal procedure, as well as the need to limit nationalizations to very narrow cases. Although we do not anticipate the Barrow administration to be in an all-out crusade to nationalize the private sector, its recent moves are not positive. This is particularly the case in a small country like Belize, which needs all the private (local and foreign) investment it can get. A more transparent and friendly investment climate is crucial for such an endeavor.

At this point, we think the Barrow administration should release an explicit “declaration of principles” explaining how it plans to address the nationalization issue going forward. Further uncertainty about its plans may have a damping effect on private investment in Belize.

Since the resolution comes from the primary advocate for Belize’s private sector, we think the government should give it proper attention. A failure to do this would not only be myopic, but plain counterproductive.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Reid Belize is heading down a perilous path and if left unchecked, will lead to some very tough times in the not too distant future.

While Dean Barrow and his hired pens in the media have been able to so far keep Belizeans distracted, propaganda and spin can only hide reality for so long. Over the past couple of months, store shelves have been conspicuously void of some very basic food items and the cost of many others has continued a skyward climb. Despite government’s claim that this year’s sugar crop was in line with projections, Belizeans have found sugar, (to borrow a line from Johnny Briceno) “as scarce as UDP truths.” This week we learned that an even more necessitous staple, corn, has now joined the list of items difficult or impossible to find.

While Belizeans have been kept busy tracking the scent of red-herring issues like BTL and BEL, a very serious situation looms large on the horizon. What is necessary to note is that most of the revolutions and uprisings in the world have come as a result of food shortages. The recent unrest that led to the overthrow of governments in the Middle East and North Africa has been directly linked to a shortage of food and an increase in the cost of living. Sure the issues of oppressive rule and rich/poor disparity were key factors but at the end of the day, high prices and lack of food proved the final tipping point. These are also conditions that stare most Belizeans in the face each and every day.

In an article entitled “Food, Democracy and Markets”, author David Malone made the point that “we could make sense of which countries have had uprisings simply by looking at which most relied on importing wheat to feed their people”. Guess which country relies heavily on importing wheat to grind into flour for the making of our daily bread? In June 2008, Belize came close to facing a crisis when the price of wheat went sharply up. Fortunately, prices fell back briefly to affordable levels but since the middle of last year, have been steadily climbing again and currently stand at just about where they were during the high levels of 2008. All indicators are pointing to a continued upward trend and while the cost of bread is at a controlled price, look for bakers to start screaming increase again very soon.

On April 16th of this year, the IMF and World Bank held a joint meeting to discuss a study that had been commissioned on food shortages and world food prices. In summing up the situation, World Bank President Robert Zoellick commented that “we are one shock away from a full-blown crisis”.

The official report revealed that world food prices were up a whopping 63% from only a year ago and predicted that the global food crisis was likely to get much worse. Anyone who has been to a store or supermarket in Belize lately will attest to the fact that we

have been doing just fine in keeping pace with this global inflation. If you couple that with the current shortage of sugar, corn, lettuce, onions and pretty soon, flour, you will have identified perfect “tinder for revolution”.

According to the World Bank Report, in just 10 months, since June 2010, 44 million more people in the world are living on less than BZ$2.50 per day and make up an “emerging category of what officials call the “new hungry”.” Here in Belize, the latest census confirmed that as many as 43 percent of our people qualify for the execrable status of being poor. Think about it people, almost half of our population hungry, angry and desperate; is there any wonder that crime is at the level where it is?

What makes our situation more intolerable is the blatant and impertinent way in which our elected officials flaunt their illgained wealth in the faces of the very ones from whom they steal it. They fly to foreign lands first class to do their marrying, shopping and partying and when at home, drive the most expensive and luxurious vehicles and live in the high lap of luxury. They divide the people’s goods and money among themselves as if it were “spoils of war” while doing very little to address the serious and pressing problems of the day. The Prime Minister continues to lie to the Belizean people while squandering millions on needless litigation and at the same time, funneling precious resources to family, friends and cronies.

If managed properly, Belize’s resources is more than adequate to take our small population through the toughest of times.

Favoring only a select few while burdening the majority with high taxes and oppressive laws however, is not the way to go. In a recently aired television story, Plus TV of Belmopan ran an investigative story of sugar and corn being carted away to neighboring Guatemala. This evidently, is being done with the full sanction and cooperation of our own Marketing Board; the very ones tasked with insuring that food supply is adequate to need. The immediate family of some high ranking members of cabinet has been given permits and concessions to export much of what we need and to import plenty of what we do not need. Many will remember the story of tons of onions being imported from Holland while our local crops were left to rot in the fields. At the same time, our sugar and corn is being shipped across the borders to Mexico and Guatemala making millions for these favored cronies but leaving our store shelves and cupboards dry in the process. It might be time to take a page from nations like India and China who impose bans on certain products in order to ensure that their people can eat.

The unfortunate reality is that Belize has no need to find itself in such dire strait. We have more arable land per capita than anywhere else in the hemisphere and a climate conducive to the growing of many needed products. We must ensure that we provide for our own people first! To paraphrase and old Kriol proverb, if we continue to sell our rectum we will wind up defecating through our ribs. The situation on the ground is getting more and more dread. As more people get hungry, the crimes get more brazen and brutal and more and more people find themselves fighting for daily survival. How long Belize, how long?

Sunday, July 24, 2011

In my perspective…

Traits of a Good Leader

By Rayford Young I believe these next two men showed these traits. They were great leaders.

Gandhi - Indian Spiritual/Political Leader and Humanitarian 1869 - 1948 (Mohandas Karamchand) Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India. He became one of the most respected spiritual and political leaders of the 1900’s. Gandhi helped free the Indian people from British rule through nonviolent resistance, and is honored by his people as the father of the Indian Nation. The Indian people called Gandhi Mahatma, meaning Great Soul. (legalservice.com) John Fitzgerald Kennedy – Former US President Kennedy brought to the White House the dynamic idea of a New Frontier approach in dealing with problems at home, abroad, and in the dimensions of space. Out of his leadership in his first few months in office came the 10-year Alliance for Progress to aid Latin America, the Peace Corps, and accelerated programs that brought the first Americans into orbit in the race in space.

At 46 years of age, Kennedy became the fourth president to be assassinated and the eighth to die in office.

(Legalservice.com) It is clear that these two men were competent, courageous and men of honesty. These traits are so lacking these days. Today it seems most leaders are corrupt, self-serving and think only of themselves, their families and their cronies.

How does Prime Minister (PM) Dean Barrow shape up alongside these great men and the list of traits of a good leader posted at the top of this article? Mr. Barrow had a great opportunity to take the country in a new direction but he got caught up in the trappings of money and power. I think Mr. Barrow is a disappointing leader. As the first black man to be elected Prime Minister of Belize, one would think he would be sensitive, trustworthy and honest in all his dealings knowing how difficult it is to elect a black man in this country. His actions and his leadership will determine if another black man is elected in the very near future. And at this moment I would say he has failed miserably.

One of the big problems the country of Belize faces is that the PM is also the minister of finance which means he alone has total control of the government and the finances of the country. This is a

lot of power that can only lead to corruption and punishing your opponents.

This has to change or we will never have honest governance.

This PM thinks he is above the law and has ignored court orders on the Telemedia case. No country can operate effectively if everyone does not respect the rule of law and adhere to the laws. This PM has also forcefully taken over privately owned companies replacing those in charge with his friends and family who have no experience, i.e. operating an electricity or media company.

This only stifles businesses potentially investing in this country. The fact that the government can come in when they want and take over is enough for companies not to even consider Belize as a place to do business.

The lack of a bold plan to fix the crumbling infrastructure of this country is alarming, indeed. The state of our bridges, roads, utility services and public buildings needs to come into the 21 century. A plan to lift the poor out of poverty to a decent life is so needed.

How much longer must the poor live in card-board houses? What will it take?

Then there is Shyne Barrow, the PM’s son who was appointed as Belize’s musical ambassador. This convicted felon, who served years in a U.S. prison, should not be serving in the government. But because his father has the power, he was given this position.

In March of this year Shyne returned to Belize from his residence in Israel, to sponsor a big concert. He told the people of Belize that many of the big name rappers from the USA were coming. None showed up. The local artists and promoters were embarrassed as he made a fool of them, leaving them with huge bills. He left the following day with a big bill unpaid at the hotel where he stayed. While I can’t blame the PM for the actions of his son, it’s his judgment I’m questioning. He had no business appointing this felon in the first place.

These are just a few incidents that demonstrate this man lacks good judgment and has no short or long-term plan for the country. He has no respect for the rule of law, takes over private companies, has questionable morals and is an incompetent administrator. He has no idea how to reduce the climbing rate of crime and has no proposal for new jobs. He only looks after his family, friends and ex-girl friends instead of looking out for the best interest of the country and the people.

I read somewhere that the Barrows think of themselves as royalty. They were so disappointed when they were not invited to the wedding of William and Kate earlier this year. Belize doesn’t need royalty impersonators. Belize needs good governance, a decent, respectable caring PM. Someone with the country’s best interest at heart. We need men like President Kennedy and Gandhi who had respect and good judgment. They cared about the less fortunate and had a plan.

Unfortunately, men with those leadership traits are now hard to find.

Rayford Young is a Belizean-American, who currently lives in Michigan, U.S.A.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

THE BELIZE TIMES

Does the Bible contradict itself?

Have you ever wondered why the Bible seems to contradict itself? The word “contradict” can be broken into two separate words contra- dictate.

To “dictate” is to give instruction, or to order. “Contra” means against. To contradict is to ‘not do as you say’, or to say both do and don’t about the same thing. I know it sounds strange!

I heard the story of a man taking his son out in deep cold water to fish.

The son who accompanied his father and the other two fishermen did not know how to swim. It happened that they had an accident and the boat was damaged, leaving the men no choice but to swim to a nearby island!

The two fisher men being strong enough swimmers swam to safety, while the father had a decision to make. Because it was virtually impossible for both of them to reach safety, either he would also swim to shore and save his own life, or stay with his son in the water and freeze to death. The story ended with the father going to his twelve year old son, hugging him and they both died! In this story the father did not find it an option to leave his son alone, scared, and forsaken to die on his own in the water, but found his son’s peace of mind more important than his very own life. Put another way we could say that this man committed suicide! He knew his son would die in minutes but rather than swimming to safety he made the decision to stay and die with him!

If I could measure crime according to kingdom scales, I would say that murder and lying are among the worst. Actually in the CALOM (Constitution, Law and Operating Manual) we are told of six to seven things that our spiritual political leader hates! Along with murder, lying is mentioned twice! Proverbs 6:16-19. Just a minute, let me reverse, I feel I need to stop and park here a little while!

In the kingdom of God there are crimes that can be committed. Living in these crimes causes you to be locked away or thrown out of the country!

In the case of committing the crime of suicide your last crime happens to be murder and will result in permanent imprisonment and torture so “DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!” Trust me it won’t get easier because you’ve done that, and truly your problems will have just started, and we are talking for eternity where no time exists! Remember time was made to facilitate humans, allowing for specific structure and rest!

Now that we have cleared the air in this area let’s get back to our topic (does the bible contradict itself). My answer to that question is both yes and no. It really depends on which lens you are looking through. Today, I’ll be picking on two crimes murder and lying. We have already concluded in previous writing that there is a difference between murder and killing. If I’m driving on the highway and you run in front of my car I killed you. If you offended me and I plan how I will kill you then I murdered you. In-fact in the CALOM we are told that just to hate on a fellow human is murder!

(1 John 3:15).

Lying is the second crime I am picking on today. When I intentionally say, write or communicate something I know is not true I am lying. Apart from murder we are also told not to lie, but in an effort to contradict itself I can show you many references in the CALOM where lying was allowed!

For lack of time let me make reference to one subsection of the CALOM that covers both. Keep in mind that to enjoy the depths of the story it’s a must read of only two verses. In 1 Kings 22:20-22 we find a case where both lying and killing is encouraged. God got enough of Ahab and wanted to kill him. He had a meeting with his workers (angels) and they plotted how this would happen. God eventually chose a lying spirit to go and do his bidding! Check it out for yourself!

How can this happen you say? Let’s begin from the top. I remember a joke I heard years ago. It goes like this “Rule number one the boss is never wrong, rule number two if the boss is wrong check rule number one”!

Let’s first establish that God owns everything. The earth, the air we breathe, a matter of fact He owns us! When we commit murder we are taking something away that doesn’t belong to us, but when He does it He is simply taking back His breath from us!

So in closing, the next time you think about the CALOM contradicting itself start from this parameter, God is a King, anything coming out of his mouth immediately becomes a law. Now from this stand point we can then begin to evaluate contradictions, etc.

Until next week God Bless!

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 24, 2011

BELIZE TIMES WEEKLY

SCIENCE & TECH R

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Selected By Chris Williams

Thermogeddon: When the Earth gets too hot for humans

by Hazel Muir According to a recent study, parts of the Earth could start to become uninhabitable within a century. Surely it cannot be true?

IT IS the late 23rd century. Houston, Tel Aviv, Shanghai and many other once-bustling cities are ghost towns. No one lives in Louisiana or Florida anymore, and vast swathes of Africa, China, Brazil, India and Australia are no-go zones, too. That’s because in all of these places it gets hot and humid enough to kill anyone who cannot find an air-conditioned shelter.

This is the nightmare scenario outlined in a study published earlier this year. If we carry on as we are, it claimed, in as little as a century a few small areas might start to get so hot in summer that no one could survive without air conditioning. Three centuries from now, up to half of the land where people live today would regularly exceed this limit.

“I knew just from basic physics that there would be a point at which heat and humidity would become intolerable, and it didn’t seem that anyone had looked at that from a climate change perspective,” says Steven Sherwood, an atmospheric scientist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. “When you look at the data, it becomes pretty clear that it wouldn’t take as much climate change as people seem to think to hit this.”

This is an astounding claim. Scientists have long warned that climate change will have serious consequences: big sea-level rises, floods, droughts, more extreme weather, extinctions and so on. But if Sherwood and co-author Matthew Huber of Purdue University in Indiana are right, huge parts of the planet could effectively become uninhabitable.

So New Scientist set out to discover if their claim really is plausible. What is the limit of human survival, and could global warming really lead to this limit being exceeded in some areas?

Even today, heatwaves can kill tens of thousands of people. In France alone, more than 14,800 people died of heat stroke in 2003. Hurricanes, tornadoes and floods might get all the headlines, but in the US heatwaves claim more lives each year than all of these phenomena combined.

The victims of heatwaves are usually the most vulnerable: the sick, the elderly and the very young. As heatwaves become more severe, though, the proportion of the population dying will rise. Even healthy adults acclimatised to heat will succumb if it stays too hot and too humid for too long. To function normally, we have to maintain a core body temperature of around 37 °C. If it rises above about 42 °C, we die.

Exactly why is still not understood. The body diverts blood to the skin to try to cool off, which cuts the blood supply to the gut.

One theory is that bacterial toxins from damaged guts start leaking into the bloodstream, eventually causing multiple organ failure.

What is clear is that to prevent our core temperature rising too high, our skin temperature must not exceed 35 °C for more than a few hours. In dry climates sweating will cool

the skin sufficiently even in temperatures of 45 °C or more. But in humid climates where the air is nearly saturated with moisture, sweating makes little difference.

So temperature alone is a very poor guide to what people can survive. A better indicator is the “wet-bulb temperature”.This is the temperature that a mercury thermometer wrapped in a wet cloth would record. It is a measure of both heat and humidity, and reflects the temperature you could lower your skin to by sweating.

Even fit and healthy people couldn’t survive sustained wet-bulb temperatures above 35 °C, say Sherwood and Huber. This heatstress limit applies even to people sitting naked in the shade next to a fan. Without air conditioning or access to cooler or less humid places, they will die.

The claim that people cannot survive a wet-bulb temperature of 35 °C or more for long is reasonable, says Chris Byrne, an exercise physiologist who specialises in human thermoregulation at the University of Exeter, UK. “At any temperature above that, we switch from a state where we’re losing heat from the skin to the environment to one where the environment imposes a heat load through the skin,” he says. “There’s no doubt that if those conditions arise, you’re probably looking at a lethal situation for the vast majority of the population.”

To find out whether this heat-stress limit is ever exceeded today, Sherwood and Huber looked at patterns of temperature and humidity around the world during the past decade.

In a few places, such as Death Valley in California, temperatures can hit 50 °C or more.

There is far less variability in wet-bulb temperatures, though, as the highest temperatures tend to occur in deserts with low humidity. At present, annual maximum wetbulb temperatures almost never exceed 31 °C (see graphs).

There is a reason for this, a kind of natural thermostat: the hotter and more humid air becomes, the more likely it is to rise and be replaced by cooler air. That’s because humid air is less dense than dry air of the same temperature and pressure, as water molecules weigh less than those of oxygen and nitrogen.

What’s more, when humid air starts to rise, the water vapour begins to condense and release latent heat, warming the air and making it rise even higher.

In weather jargon, hot and humid air is likely to be unstable, often leading to thunderstorms that cool things down. “That means that no matter where you go around the world, the wet bulbs top out at around 30 or 31 °C,” says Sherwood.

But instability is relative: air rises only if it is less dense than surrounding air. So if the entire tropics get warmer and more humid, air will have to be somewhat hotter and more humid before it starts to rise. Global warming, in other words, will crank up the thermostat.

To work out how wet-bulb temperatures will change as the world warms, Sherwood and Huber turned to a computer model. The take-home figures: for every 1 °C that the global average temperature rises, maximum

wet-bulb temperatures will rise by about 0.75 °C (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol 107, p 9552).

Survival barrier Other researchers see no problem with this prediction. “The climate modelling here is very solid,” says Peter Stott of the Met Office Hadley Centre in Exeter, UK, which researches climate change. “Having chatted to a couple of colleagues about this, we think what they are saying seems entirely reasonable and consistent with what we would expect.”

The upshot is that if global average temperatures rise by 7 °C, the maximum wetbulb temperatures in a few places will start to exceed the 35 °C survival barrier for periods of hours or days. Of course, heat stress won’t suddenly start to be a problem only at this point. Rather, as heat and humidity slowly rise from today’s levels, heatwaves will kill more and more people. Their economic impact will also climb as physical labour outdoors or in buildings with poor air-conditioning becomes increasingly difficult.

With global warming of 7 °C, however, the heat and humidity would start to become intolerable in some places. “We’ll be seeing migrations out of hot and humid countries where people can’t survive the heatwaves,” says Sherwood.

If the global average temperature rises by 12 °C, half of the land inhabited today would become too hot to live in (see map).

The uninhabitable regions are likely be those with the highest heat stress today, including the Amazon basin, India, parts of Africa, China, Australia and the south-eastern US. That would have a nightmarish outcome. In theory, people in affected regions could adapt, living in underground shelters during the summer months, for instance, or not leaving air-conditioned houses or cars for long without cooling suits.

But the cost of running air conditioning constantly could be unaffordable for many individuals and businesses. Most livestock, for instance, would perish unless kept in air-conditioned barns at times. Even worse, a prolonged power cut could cause mass fatalities. “That’s a scary scenario,” says Sherwood. It seems likely that most people would move to cooler climes - leading to conflict over land and resources.

“The scenario they’ve laid out is pretty devastating. It’s a much more serious and catastrophic outcome than people have identified before in the context of heat-related mortality,” says Patrick Kinney, director of the climate and health programme at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York. “It seems to be based on sound reasoning, and good models and data. People have already thought about illhealth effects of climate change, but nobody that I know of has considered there being a threshold above which it basically becomes impossible for people to live.”

Kinney says we should be cautious about quantitative statements, such as “half the inhabited land”. “But the fact that any amount of the world would become uninhabitable, and we don’t know the exact propor-

tion - that to me is alarming,” he says.

So there seems little reason to doubt that if the world gets warm enough, parts of it will start to exceed the heat-stress limit.

The big question, then, is whether the planet will get warm enough. Could there really be a global temperature rise of 7 °C or more?

The short answer is yes, in the long term.

How much the world will warm depends on two things: how much more carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere and how much warming that CO2 produces, also known as climate sensitivity. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), every doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere will raise the temperature by between 1.9 and 4.5 °C, with 3 °C being the most likely value.

If climate sensitivity is as low as 1.9 °C, then it would take centuries for the planet to warm by 7 °C even if we continue pumping out lots of CO2. On the other hand, if climate sensitivity is as high as 4.5 °C, we could hit the 7 °C point within a century if we carry on as we are, although this could still be avoided as long as we slash emissions soon enough.

Heroic efforts The catch is that the IPCC’s estimates of climate sensitivity are based only on fast feedback processes that are relatively easy to model on computers. They exclude slower processes such as the oceans switching from absorbing CO2 to emitting it, or the release of methane from thawing permafrost.

Studies of Earth’s past suggest that actual sensitivity could be higher than computer models predict, with a few suggesting it could be as high as 7 °C (New Scientist, 30 June, p 38). If long-term sensitivity is high, it will be much harder to avoid big temperature rises over the next few centuries.

“Most of the discussion has been about the 21st century, but warming isn’t going to stop in 2100 unless our emissions have fallen almost to zero by then, and that would require heroic efforts,” says Sherwood. “If you consider that carbon releases might be a little higher than the most likely value and that the climate might be quite sensitive to inputs of energy, it’s not too hard to get up to 10, 12 or even 15 °C by the 23rd century.”

The danger is that if we pump too much CO2 into the atmosphere, large temperature rises might become inevitable even if all human greenhouse gas emissions cease. “We need to think about how to ensure that a large fraction of the fossil fuels are simply left in the ground,” says Sherwood. “That’s going to take a change in direction that many people are not yet seriously taking on board.”

Even fewer are taking on board the idea that parts of the planet could become too hot for humans to survive. If there is a fault in Sherwood and Huber’s reasoning, however, none of the researchers contacted by New Scientist could identify it.

“Scientists tend to be conservative - we stick to what we know and avoid speculating about things that are hard to pin down,” says Sherwood. “I think heat stress is an important impact of climate change that we’ve missed and there may be others, particularly with large, but possible, warmings.”

Sunday, July 24, 2011

THE BELIZE TIMES

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THE DPP SHOULD

RESIGN

Belize City, July 20, 2011 The Director of Public Prosecutions should resign. As DPP she holds a critical position in the country. She is in charge of all prosecutions. A person holding such a position is like a judge of the Supreme Court. She cannot allow her integrity or her image to be called into question.

The DPP was politically appointed by the UDP government. A government that has shown little regard for the law and for the impartial administration of the law. When the post of DPP became vacant, the UDP installed the current person to the post. There was no advertisement for Belizeans or others more mature and experienced to fill the post.

What has the DPP accomplished? She has the worst record of prosecutions. She has the best record of chasing away all the Belizean lawyers who worked in the DPP office. The list provided to us at the BELIZE TIMES included Audrey Shepherd who was a prosecutor. She sought to work as the legal advisor to the Police at Prosecution Branch to assist Magistrate Court Prosecutors but guess who strongly opposed.

Last week in the Supreme Court hearings into a law suit against the government and Police Commissioner were being held by Judge Hafiz. Three men are suing for wrong against them. They were kept in prison for a year although there was no evidence against them.

How can anyone be in prison where there is no evidence? This is the fault of the DPP. The DPP is the sole person responsible by law for prosecutions. She has the authority to withdraw charges. She has the authority to over-rule the Police on any case. She is a check and balance against abuses by the Police. She seemingly never does so. She allowed the Po-

THE BELIZE TIMES lice to keep three Belizeans in prison when a simple letter withdrawing the charges would have saved the taxpayers having now to pay thousands of dollars for a wrongful imprisonment.

The political DPP not only fails to put brakes on the excesses of Police wrongdoing and the conduct of rogue officers.

She condones it. Given the mountain of evidence by citizens of the physical abuses at the hands of Police officers, including the Unit headed by the DPP’s husband; not a single instance of prosecution by the DPP has occurred.

The husband of the DPP has children with another person. One, who is only 7 year old, was lashed by him so cruelly that her school friends, a teacher and a doctor have all testified to the result of the cruelty. It is a serious case of child abuse. The Minister responsible for the welfare and protection of children has been silent. So too the National Children’s and Families Committee and Women’s Department and under this government, that is not surprising.

The DPP is accused by the 7 year child of participating in the cruelty and being present when her husband was lashing her. The DPP sent out a statement that the cruel beating was acceptable. She was wrong to do so. She knows the law and so she knows that she cannot be a judge in her own cause. She should have had an independent attorney review the Police file and the child’s statement and doctor report. She is bound by law to excuse herself from possible criminal matters involving her husband and herself. Instead, she is part of a cover up and has deprived a little child from receiving justice.

For these reasons, grave and serious, the Director of Public Prosecutions should step down and save herself and country the embarrassment of facing court action for abusing her high office.

The Demise of BAHA Continued from page 16

Ministry of Agriculture. Example: • Importation of uncooked meat products from Mexico by a certain Senator of Belize City without meeting import requirements. There were executive threats of dismissal if the products were not returned to the Senator (5th April 2011). Is this how Montero protects the local industry with such risk of diseases entering the country?

• Flowers brought by a friend of the “Weasel” were not allowed entry by quarantine officer as procedures/regulations were not followed. The Weasel then called and threatened the officer.

• Unqualified persons picked to fill administrative posts such the Managing, Human Resource and Finance Directors and recently the post of Quarantine officers.

This is notwithstanding that there is misappropriation of $30,000. We need to keep an eye on wastefulness of funds at BAHA. Someone check those deposits at the First Caribbean Bank in Belmopan which only has one signature when by law two signatures are required.

It was once felt that funds received through the International Development Bank (IDB) were administered and used for the purposes stated in the loan agreements without political interference but alas Montero dealt his cards and puff! Dismiss that idea. It is no longer a transparent process as proper procedures are not followed. He has manipulated the system in the administration of the project and substandard equipment is being purchased, unqualified personnel are hired and a huge delay in acquisition is the norm.

This causes the funds to be used improperly

and the failure of the project to achieve its objectives is compromised. Sadly this is the case with BAHA! Mike Thomas on eyeing the new vehicles being acquired though the IDB project has already promised to give Montero a few from the fleet. Mr. Weasel, the new vehicles being received are not replacements but complimentary units required for the effective performance of activities of the designated departments.

CEO Gabino Canto has benefited through the Weasel’s kowtowing by being gifted with two of the present fleet since supposedly the engines were not working. The expert serviceman, Mr. Rudy Spain advised him on this. All Staff know that is bull…t since both were working; but Gabino owns them now and fresh paint is being applied in a garage behind the Kontiki area in San Ignacio, where they are hidden from the public’s eyes.

Mrs. Yamili Cano Vasquez, HRD never signs or agrees to anything on staff matters unless approved by his majesty, the Weasel. How will any initiatives for the improvement of work conditions, pensions, and insurance or appraisal system for staff be developed? Perhaps she has been advised by Eulojio Cano to let the inept Weasel take the fall for everything therefore the hesitance in signing! AGAIN NO SUPPORT FOR STAFF!!

Keeping an eye on the three Blind mice at BAHA’s headquarters in Belmopan!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

15 yr. old is 8 months pregnant Continued from page 11

where he had his way with her.

Police, after receiving the report on 15th July, arrested and arraigned Middleton on the charge of Carnal Knowledge, and he has been remanded until September 22nd.

Another case involves a 13-year-old, who says she was forced to engage in sexual acts on two occasions (9th December, 2010 and an unspecified date in June of this year) with a “gentleman” known only by his first name, “Marlon”. Police are seeking “Marlon” for

questioning / arrest for this incident.

Finally, Mr. Victoriano Assi, a laborer of Big Falls Village in Toledo District, is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl from Santa Elena Town, Cayo District. According to the report she gave Police, there were three separate incidents of Carnal Knowledge on June 22nd, July 3rd and 11th, 2011 respectively, while she and Mr. Assi were staying at a residence in town. Mr. Assi is currently being held

by Santa Elena Police, pending charges.

Good riddance!!

Continued from page 20

barely able to keep the town clean, have failed miserably at keeping the streets in good conditions, and have done absolutely nothing to assist employment and greater economic activity.

The Mayor’s legacy will be best described by his utter lack of leadership. His inability to regulate the traffic department, which is mired with allegations of corruption; his fights with small vendors and taxi operators, and his own family issues which came to light and were found unacceptable in Orange Walk’s Catholic community, are how best the Mayor will be remembered.

De la Fuente and the UDP ran on a campaign of transparency and accountability, but they failed to produce a thorough fi-

nancial report for any year. Not even the Councilors are privy to the detailed expenditures of the Council, and even the Ministry of Local Government has been forced to send in auditors to probe through files and find out what has been going on.

In due course, the shenanigans of the UDP Mayor-led Council will come to light, but for now, one wonders why the Mayor, who is relatively ‘liked’ in the community, has decided not to seek re-election. Sources within the UDP indicate the reason may be that he felt his party disrespected him by allowing a novice and political unknown an opportunity to challenge him at a Mayoral convention. That newcomer is Ivan Leiva, who is the Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega’s choice candidate.

GOB GIVES OUT EXPIRED FOOD TO THE POOR

By Carla Bradley For some weeks now reports were received of people from various parts of the country receiving expired goods in these so called “pro poor alleviation project” baskets. Most people would say it is bogus, but people have saved these food items, sealed as was given to them.

In Middlesex, a community in Stan Creek, villagers poured in to receive their share of these “wonderful gift baskets”, as most people would in these bad times that the country is currently facing but these packages were not so “wonderful”.

The Village Chairman boasted and announced that on Thursday July 14, 2011

free food will be given out to the villagers of Middlesex. A close inspection was done on these goods after receiving them and to their surprise; the goods were expired months ago and some from as far back as 2010. Such items as cornflakes, canned sardine, condense milk and biscuits to name a few were in these sealed packages. It was also reported in the village of Santa Cruz also in the Stann Creek West Constituency and others.

These packages of dangerous food items were delivered to the chairpersons but whether it is from Area Rep or NEMO is not clear but either way Minister Melvin Hulse is the person responsible.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 24, 2011

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 24, 2011