Belize Times July 29, 2012

Sunday, July 29, 2012

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THE BELIZE TIMES

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SUNDAY July 29, 2012

www.facebook/Belize Times

Issue No. 4806

Whose side is Sedi on?

COLA calls Sedi a “Traitor”, demands apology from the OAS

battle with Guatemala without National Assembly-approval, second was the statement that Belize’s border with Guatemala was “ARTIFICIAL” [translated by most Belizeans as FAKE], third was his timid defense and placing of our own BDF soldiers under “criminal investigation” after they had defended Belize’s sovereignty against Guatemalan xateros in February 2012; and now, fourth, is his strange defense of the Organisation of American States damning statements against Belize after our security forces defended our territory once more last week.

Continued on page 6

NTUCB plans protest to support Police Officers Belize City, July 25, 2012 The National Trade Union Congress of Belize is planning a protest march for this Saturday, July 28, to support Police Officers who are being abused and to condemn the actions of the Police high command and the Minister of National Security.

The NTUCB is the latest to throw their support behind police officers who were opposing what they considered the arbitrary and illegal transfer of fellow policemen.

Over the past two weeks, the officers’ concerns were made public by their representatives in the Police Association. The Association President, Cpl. Eldon Arzu, said the Police Department heads had failed to follow the rules of trans-

See page 6

COLA members light banners depicting the OAS flag and Sedi Elrington’s face on fire in protest of the disrespect to Belize

Alleged cop

shooter detained

Delford Slusher

BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 25, 2012

By Roy Davis Cpl. Victor Lima Delford Slusher, 30, a.k.a. “Peter”, a fisherman and farmer residing at mile 17 ½ on the Western Highway who the police said they charged with attempted murder, Continued on page 8

Ministry of Education shuts down high school San Pedro, Wednesday, July 25, 2012 St. Peter’s College in San Pedro Town has been operating, according to its owner and manager, Frank Nunez, with a high school license since 1996.

But last Thursday he

TOP MODEL

Belize City, July 25, 2012 For the fourth time in only four years, the loyalty of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sedi Elrington has been called into question by Belizeans. First there was the secret signing of the compromís document in 2008 which forced Belize to enter a process of a possible risky legal

See page 9

COLA’s Rufus X hold up a Sedi “Traitor” poster

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

03 Belize’s Gold enriches Guatemalans 13

UDP to repeal Police Association

UDP disrespects elected Opposition See page 6

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Belmopan’s Absentee Councillor Dear Sir In one edition of the BELIZE TIMES I read about the absent or missing landlord which reminds me about a situation occurring at the Belmopan City Council as well.

At the City Council, we’ve been having some issues concerning the attendance to meetings of Councillor

Perdomo. Out of six or seven caucus meetings he has only attended about 3. He was responsible for special events and as you may know we are in that season when it comes to Belmopan day and September celebrations.

When the council wanted updates or information on those, the Councillor is never present. Another disturbing

Sunday, July 29, 2012

instance was when he was asked to find out how many people had permanent stalls by the market behind the post office. He was given one week to find out and a special date was set to meet as a council.

He did not show up and the council had to make a decision without his input. I understand that there have been talks about removing the portfolio from Councillor Perdomo, but it has been vigorously opposed by certain UDP members.

On another point, the Council may soon run into trouble financially. I stumbled on information that shows that the Council only has $46,000 in its bank account. I don’t know how they will manage the affairs of the city with so little funds.

I just thought Belmopan residents should be aware of this.

Signed, A frustrated Belmopan City Council employee

Security Needed At Art In The Park Dear Editor, I have this concern about Art in the Park held in Corozal Town.

I was there this past Saturday night and we were assaulted by a drunk man sitting by the town clock. He kept removing his shirt and one time he even came over and tried to touch my sister.

I got up angry and told him I’ll get a police. I got up and that’s when I realized that we have no kind of security out there for this function. No security or police officers for cases like these.

I came back and told my family I’m

not staying there I’m leaving and that’s when this man got up again and was directing himself to where we were and my brother got up and threatened him.

After that we decided to go home because we no longer felt like staying.

Another thing is how and why are these drug addicts and drunks tolerated to stay at the park for these events?

I’m sure everyone has seen them dancing and making fools of themselves in front of the gazebo; blocking the way and making the children feel uncomfortable. I mean what the heck!

Building

Dear Editor, I hope you can find space for my letter to the nation this week.

Treaties! Programs! The Elites! Because of their failure, injustice, discrimination, corruption and vulgarity we find ourselves in a state of stagnation. Yes there are those who are becoming very wealthy but the overwhelming majority is poor. This is so wrong and has not succeeded anywhere else around us. We have had devaluation, famine, civil war, genocide and ultimately annihilation.

If any among us think that for political or financial gain we are to carry out these policies that by their very origin are to remove us from our home, its begs these questions: what are we building? A nation for whom?

Listen to what our future has to say about the space that we the “nation state” Belize have given them: crowded, dirty, hateful, lustful, sick and deadly. How much longer will we survive with no regard for ourselves? Imagine this: the nation state Belize is exporting oil. Just imagine this now, just maybe she can become the shining light that she is after all.

But by abandoning her future in these formative years, obviously we as a nation have become too complacent that now we are allowing this to happen and with no objection. Opportunity, respect, justice; these are not privileges, they are rights.

When we started to build our nation, our future through opportunities should have been able to take us to the highest heights because that’s what we wanted for ourselves.

So why is our future’s space so crowded, dirty, hateful, lustful, sick and now deadly? What are we really building? Monuments of ourselves? This is really ugly Belize. We are a young nation, with vibrant children eager to learn but look at what we as a nation have made available to them, disrespect! For the state to assume no responsibility for its future for any period of time leaves only one alternative and that is the state we are now in, Anarchy, where nothing works.

I ask these questions again, what are we building and for whom?

Or is this only to be sold to the highest bidder?

Signed, M.L.G.

Can’t the organizers see this or are they stupidly blind?

Since it is a concern for the town I decided to write you so you can see what they have to say about it? We don’t see this happening in Chetumal because the police and security there don’t play with these kinds of individuals.

They should start locking them up at least for the time of Art in the Park.

Sincerely, Corozal Town student

Liberty Children’s Home say “Thank You” to BATSUB 19 July 2010 Dear Editor,

Why did they abandon Rowan Garel?

Dear Editor: It was a nice gesture for the wife of the PM took it upon her to raise funds through a telethon for the Disability Center, and it was good for Belizeans to donate and the various media houses donated their time and businesses to make it a success.

One downfall of the whole telethon was when those children took their piggy bank full of coins and donated it. Why didn’t the media give them live coverage donating it? Why was it that only those companies or organizations who donated big monies got live coverage? I think those children should have gotten the same coverage. Remember the verse in the Bible: when the rich was putting money in the box in the Temple then the poor widow gave one piece. Jesus told his followers that the poor widow gave the most because that’s all she had. Those children gave all that they had.

In another note I am ashamed of some of those same big businesses that didn’t support Rowan Garel in his quest to raise money for the summer camp. That little boy has the biggest heart for what he has done. Come on Belizeans, not because it was the PM’s wife you all showed support.

We have unknown heroes right here among us; show some support for them. Congrats Rowan if I had a million dollars I would have donated to your cause.

H. Bush

THE BELIZE TIMES EDITOR

Please allow me the opportunity to publicly thank British Army Training Support Battalion (BATSUB) for all the help they have given us over the years.

BATSUB soldiers and wives have extended themselves to help our organization by positively responding to our request for manpower to help in building projects and the repairs and maintenance of our facilities when the job was too big for us to handle; organizing food drive and fundraising events for us during our financially challenging years; inviting our children to use their facilities to swim during the hot summer months; giving them opportunities to experience social gatherings at their annual Guy Fork celebrations, Christmas parties and other events.

We enjoyed the patronage of BATSUB wives who annually organized Christmas drives by reaching out to their family and friends to collect Christmas presents for our children thus ensuring every child had at least one Christmas present to open on Christmas morning.

Additionally, BATSUB wives supplemented our staff by regularly volunteering and assisting the teachers in our preschool which serve both our preschool age children as well as those in the local community. Our BATSUB wives volunteers committed themselves and volunteered on a weekly basis to organize activities and games for the children, keeping

Continued on page 21

Alberto Vellos OFFICE MANAGER

Fay Castillo McKay PRINTING/PERSONNEL SUPERVISOR

Doreth Bevans LAYOUT/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Chris Williams STAFF REPORTER

Alton Humes TYPIST

Rachel Arana OFFICE ASSISTANT

Roberto Peyrefitte Printed & Published By The Belize Times Ltd. #3 Queen Street P.O. BOX 506 Belize City, Belize Tel: 671-8385 Email: belizetimesad@yahoo.com editortimes@yahoo.com

Sunday, July 29, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

House Meeting this Friday UDP to repeal Police Association with proposed legislation Belize City, July 25, 2012 The Barrow Administration announced today, in a sudden fashion, that it will hold a House Meeting in Belmopan on Friday July 27th.

The abrupt announcement, which doesn’t give the Opposition enough time to lodge appropriate questions to ministers, has raised concern over the reasons Prime Minister Dean Barrow wants the House to convene. Normally, this spells serious trouble for our coun-

try.

The BELIZE TIMES has learnt that the UDP is up to no good, as they intend to introduce legislation which repeals the Police Association. This will be done, we understand, by amending the Essential Services Act and making the Police Association null and void.

The UDP does not believe in the fundamental rights of citizens and workers, and they are slowly dismantling those rights. The Police Association has already been disbanded by

Patrol Branch

cries out for help!

Statement by Belize Police Department Patrol Branch AKA Punishment Branch A duty we are to love, a service with pride and distinction, once so but not again. Many officers of the Belize Patrol Branch are suffering.

Complaints are falling on deaf ears.

The Government of Belize apparently enjoys infringing on our rights.

At present Police Officers are being forced to work on a 12-hour shift as detailed by a few senior officers namely Assistant Commissioner of Police E. Aragon, Senior Superintendent M. Guzman and the two officers who came up with the idea of a 12hour shift, Assistant Superintendent A. Noble and Superintendent A. Grinage, who are misguided and incompetent as leaders as the Head of Patrol Branch.

A meeting was held at Princess Hotel Queens Room in the month of June 2012 to discuss and possibly negotiate terms for the commencement of the 12-hour shift, such as an increase in salary of $100.00 and days off. During the meeting several Sergeants, Corporals, and Constables raised great concerns over the 12-hour shift. Concerns raised were immediately dismissed by Assistant Superintendent Grinage and OCED Aragon.

Aragon notified the gathering that if we all disapprove of the decision, we could apply to the court for an injunction against the 12-hour shift and that the shift will commence as soon as they finalized an implementation date.

The meeting was an ambush.

Decisions to be implemented on the Belize Patrol Branch officers despite objections at the meeting are as follows: 1. The shift will be for 12 hours and officers will work 3 days and get 2 day off there after 4 days and get 3 days off and 7 days and get 4 days off.

2. The officers will be provided with meals whilst on duty.

3. Salary will be increased by $100.00 monthly.

After shift implementation/Effects 1. Some Police Patrol Branch officers after working five days from 7am to 7pm receive one day off.

2. Assistant Commissioner of Police E. Aragon, Senior Superintendent M. Guzman, Assistant Superin-

tendent A. Noble and Superintendent A. Grinage are yet to work a single 12hour of their first shift.

3. There is no increase of $100.00 to our pay.

4. Shift is too long, causing fatigue and frustration.

5. Due to fatigue of officers on Monday 23rd July, 2012 as forecasted by many, a Police Constable fell asleep behind the steering wheel whilst driving Zone 1 mobile bearing License plate number 1882 and crashed yes the newly donated police vehicle.

Here is the truth to their decision: 1. The Department has not fully worked out the shift to the way they had in mind and Officers are working some weeks 6 days and 7 days weeks to get only 2 days off, to put it in hours at times 72 or 84 hours per week, whilst other Public Service workers are working 39 ½ hours weekly and getting the same pay. That’s 32 hours more every week for a simple $25 increase per week; or $0.78 an hour.

Talk about bringing back slavery.

2. The Department agreed to provide meals for those working the 12 hour-shift and at any given time over 50 police officers report for duty and the order for meals placed at the cook is below 30.

3. An increase of $100.00 monthly, and yet the increase are like Government’s empty promises and not being carried out.

4. The Government cannot meet the $100.00 monthly increase instead they send a memo that the government will freeze Police Officers allowances as many are redundant and not needed they say.

A number of Police Officers are upset with the decisions which are being made by the heads without consideration for the lower rank officers for example: • Officers who commute from other districts for example coming from Benque, it’s a 3 hours bus ride to and from work leaving 6 hours for themselves, have little time for themselves, their family and to rest upon reaching home.

• Meals were promised but instead they provide 1 cup expired noodles and not everyone is fortunate to get noodles. The government can provide better meals for us than noodles.

powers reportedly conferred on the Commissioner of Police.

The House will also look at a legislation that will allow commercial banks to lend to each other, in a move to ease excess liquidity.

Unconfirmed reports are that the Government will introduce a new resolution in relation to UNIBAM’s constitutional challenge and will look at settling compensation of Belize Telemedia with Lord Michael Ashcroft.

• We recommend a full change of leadership in our department as the status-quo of our department is changing for the worst.

• There is a section of the Belize Police Department which is responsible for police welfare and all the welfare of officers. Where are they? Seemingly all they care about is the welfare of their pockets getting fuller. This is what the job is boiling down to today. Not honor distinction or patriotism. Priorities of several members of the force have changed which cause morale to be low and the department integrity to always be in question.

It is time that Honorable John Saldivar, Minister responsible for the Police, institute some changes in the department for the process of how decisions are implemented and to deal with other urgent matters affecting the entire Police Department. Officers will not be always pleased with some decisions however lower officers’ advice must be considered. Having tired officers on the streets endangers their lives and safety of other officers and civilians. Minister Saldivar please help us in addressing our concerns.

Sincerely yours, Concerned Officers of The Belize Police Department patrol Branch

3 Damion Flowers in desperate need of surgery BELIZE CITY, Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

By Alton Humes Damion Flowers, a 5-year-old Infant I student of the “Twin Towns” of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, is in dire straits and remains in urgent need of medical assistance after a traffic accident left him unable to do to much of anything, and has led to extreme complications to his organs which require major surgery.

Young Damion was knocked down in January of this year due to the carelessness of a driver, one Daria Brewer, and suffered injuries to his internal organs, which in turn impaired his ability to urinate freely.

His mother, Juanita Vanegas, was seeking help from the insurance company the driver was insured under, Atlantic Insurance Company Ltd (AICL). They came through in May with the option to have some international surgeons come in to evaluate and set-up a surgery time to do an urethroplasty on Damion at the Karl Huesner Memorial Hospital (KHMH).

But even when she found time to come down with him, complications abounded due to Damion losing weight from not eating and later on developing diabetes as well as the severe monetary constraints of traveling and staying in Belize City. Add it all up, and the situation got even grimmer for the young lad, and now he needs to go abroad to get the help he was denied here.

Vanegas, a mother to other children besides Damion, has had little internal family support to assist her (they live in Belmopan, and Damion’s father isn’t assisting in any way whatsoever) and urine bags and overall care isn’t cheap. But after the insurance company pulled the plug on any further assistance to Damion (citing her ‘refusal’ to have the surgery be done, although she says otherwise), it’s now left the mother in a dangerous lurch.

If you’d like to contribute to the drive to assist young Damion Flowers, you can go to any Heritage Bank and donate to the account # 4211523, or contact his mother Ms. Juanita Vanegas at 6644124.

In the middle of a national security

crisis minister john saldivar

goes shopping in chetumal

While Belize’s territorial sovereignty is under attack and the criminal elements run free, Minister of National Security John Saldivar found time to shop and spend leisure time in Chetumal on Wednesday, July 25. Talk about having priorities all wrong, abusing Government resources and wasting taxpayer funded fuel!

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Facing financial cuts, Police phones go Prepaid Belize City, July 24, 2012 The Barrow Administration’s financial cuts for the Ministry of National Security are taking effect in all forms. The Forensics Department won’t get support, the BDF will continue to struggle to get ration and patrol vehicles for our borders, weapons, uniforms, and the Government will continue to rely on begging to get vehicles and equipment for the Police Department.

This week, the Police announced that it will switch its phone lines from post-paid to pre-paid, apparently a decision due to the financial constraints the Department is facing.

The numbers will remain the same for the most part, other than the first three digits will represent the prepaid service. Here are the new numbers: Corozal Police Station - 402-0022; Progresso Police station - 403-6179; Sandhill Police Station - 205-5051; OC Crimes Investigation Branch - 207-7489; Control Room Operator - 207-4954, 207-2222, 207-2223, 207-4676, 207-4707, 2074933, 207-4939, 207-4944, 207-4945, 207-4696; Ladyville Police Station - 2052043; San Pedro Police Station, 2062022; Caye Caulker Police, 206-0099; Belmopan Police Headquarters - 8022221; Police Headquarters - 802-2223; Anti-Drug Unit- 802-1459; Police Training Academy - 802-2405; San Ignacio Police Station - 804-2022; Benque Viejo Police Station - 803-2038.

But while the nation’s national security arms are left to suffer under austerity measures, other areas are not such as foreign embassies and the Ministry of Housing which is allowed to spend over $500,000 to hire politically-selected workers. The same Housing Ministry, whose role in housing development has diminished significantly and only has two offices and a handful of office workers, has a budget of over $60,000 for phones alone this year.

The Party is nothing but the vanguard of the people, the active organ of the people, working at all times in the service of the people.”

THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Coye Family back in Court again Belize City, July 29, 2012 The Coye Family is finally getting their big day in court - again.

In December 2008, Marilyn Williams, a nurse who was flown in from New York by the UDP government to take up the job at the Financial Intelligence Unit, instructed the Police to arrest and subsequently charge Michael Coye, 66 years of age, his wife Marlene Coye, his son Jude Coye his daughter Melonie Coye and her husband James Gerou along with two employees of Money Gram, Office Assistant Deitrick Kingston and Messenger Atlee Matute.

They were charged for money laundering of over one million

dollars found in the home of Michael Coye, retired businessman and owner of the popular butane gas station by Belcan Bridge. Mrs Marlene Coye operated one of Belize’s best Floral businesses at her home for many years.

She was prevented by the FIU from travelling to Mexico from where she purchased her plants and roses and as a result her business was forced to close.

The trial finally got underway in September 2010 in the Supreme Court of Judge Adolph Lucas. The trial took nearly three weeks of hearing dozens of witnesses. The prosecution which was done by private lawyers from Pitts and Elrington, rather than from the Director of Public prosecutions office ended.

After hearing submissions from both sides, Judge Lucas directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty for all the accused persons as no case had been made out and no crime establishing the charge of money laundering was proved.

Having lost the case, the FIU appealed and last year the Court of Appeal on legal technicalities ruled there should be a re-trial. The FIU acknowledged to Supreme Court Judge Lucas they had no evidence against James Gerou and they did the same thing to the Court of Appeal Judges for Marlene Coye and Jude Coye.

The re-trial started last week in the Court of Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin and a jury of seven women and two men.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

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Get up, stand up!

Something is going very wrong in Belize, and most Belizeans at home and abroad can see it. The government, elected to serve, without fear or favour and with no discrimination to race, creed or colour, is failing the Belizean people miserably.

On an almost daily basis, Belizeans are left to wonder in amazement and disgust when the elected Government of Prime Minister Dean Barrow will get things right. Our people are under constant assault, as safety has become an expensive luxury. Even homes are becoming unsafe, as they are slowly forced to become prisons where children and senior citizens are caged behind “safety bars” if they are to feel any sense of security.

While citizen’s security is under attack, so is our national security. This is the result of the Barrow Administration’s failure to define a comprehensive security policy to protect our people from internal criminal activity and our national territory from external attacks. In fact, looking at the level of disregard for our nation’s security and territorial sovereignty, and the lack of appropriate response and inaction from the Government, one would think we have no security policy. This means our security forces are left to figure things out on their own, operating in a haphazard manner.

When the PUP was in Government it responded to threats to our border security with swiftness and unflinching national pride. Equipping our Belize Defense Force soldiers with the resources to patrol our borders and protect our territory was a priority. Our Police was supported, with resources and moral supplements, and the fight to curb crime was launched from all fronts, including social and economic interventions to rid of poverty and dependency.

Now look at what the UDP Government has done and undone. Look at the social decay in our country. Can you feel the inherent economic despair, which seems to be a repeated chorus every year? The continued disrespect of our people through victimization, abuse and manipulation?

A priority for any Government should be the protection of its citizens. But today even security officials are sadly wondering if it is worth serving under this Government. Their morale is at the lowest ever. This is the legacy of the UDP – they destroy everything in their paths, even the dreams and aspirations of a people wanting to live a prosperous life.

Of the many wrongs done to our people and the desecration of many of our democratic principles by the Barrow Administration since taking office in 2008, their attack and oppressive rule over right-thinking members of the Police Association while citing authority from a law fitting for colonial masters, is among the most disgraceful, hypocritical and sinister.

Imposing oppression over a vital institution such as the Police Department is like placing a palm over red ants, in an attempt to stop them from spreading.

If there was any time Belizeans needed to take stand against this mutiny from continuing, that time is now.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Ministry of Education shuts down high school Continued from page 1 was handed a correspondence by the newly-appointed Education Officer on the Island, Mrs. Miriam Codd-Pott, in-

forming that the Ministry of Education had made a decision to close down the night school, which offers the equivalent to a high school diploma, with im-

Whose side is Sedi on?

Continued from page 1 Last week Wednesday, Belize Defense Force Patrol soldiers stumbled unto three illegal loggers about two miles inside Belizean territory in the Columbia Forest Reserve. A confrontation ensued and the officers had to shoot at the men, killing one of them identified as Luis Alberto Martinez. Two others, identified as Jose Antonio Sosa and Hugo Monroy Ramos, were detained.

The incident occurred well within Belizean territory, as several in the past have, and the officers’ response came after confrontation, which is deemed adequate in the defense of their lives, yet the OAS seemed to have gotten is so wrong when they released a statement that contained grave errors and worrying language.

“The Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, expressed his regret at the death of a Guatemalan tenant farmer in the adjacency zone between Guatemala and Belize…The death of a person in a shootout is always reprehensible and I hope that the circumstances in which this occurred are cleared up promptly,” said the OAS statement released on Friday afternoon.

The statement was fundamentally wrong in that the shooting didn’t happen in the “adjacency zone” and neither were the Guatemalans deemed “tenant farmers”, but illegal loggers.

The statement stirred national outrage and public pressure has come down on the OAS to retract its statement. But Minister Elrington isn’t siding with Belizeans on this one. He told Channel 7 on Monday night that he didn’t believe that the OAS Secretary General meant “any harm by use of his language”.

Elrington also didn’t appear concerned at the condemnation of Belize based on erroneous information and said that he finds it “very difficult to tell the OAS that they need to be precise in a matter so delicate as that”. In fact, he went further and defended the OAS’ statement by agreeing that the incident did happen, “somewhere in the vicinity of the adjacency zone”.

Apparently unwilling to defend Belize the way most Belizeans deem right, Elrington and the OAS were placed in one basket and equally condemned this afternoon as the Coalition for Liberty Through Action (COLA) held a protest action that saw them burning up banners depicting the OAS flags and the face of Minister Elrington.

The group, led by President Geovanni Brackett, gathered in front of the OAS office on Blue Marlin Drive and first discussed their position with the media, calling on the OAS to retract their statement, clarify, and apologise to the nation of Belize.

“We consider it even more reprehensible that an international organization as well-established as the OAS, which purports to be the chief mediating organ between Belize and Guatemala, can get so completely wrong the difference between the established border between these

nations and their artificially established “adjacency zone”, said Brackett.

Brackett said that if the OAS was not prepared to correct their statement and respect Belize’s sovereignty, then maybe they should exit Belize.

And Minister Elrington should follow them, Brackett urged.

“When you defend an inaccurate statement like that one, you are no longer a Belizean,” he remarked.

Brackett added that for too long Belize has had to compromise its position to placate Guatemala or OAS mediators.

He also said that the OAS seems partial to Guatemala so much that they always tend to find Belize in the wrong when we are the ones who have to defend our territory.

“All we are asking them is to be fair. We may not be Israel or the United States, but we are a sovereign nation. We are a nation,” he stated.

But after all the burning, condemnation of the OAS and string of public outcry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not budged. They seem all too contented with the OAS and have ignored the heat being placed on them, likely hoping that in time it will dissipate.

But COLA has pledged to do something if the OAS doesn’t mend the statement and express regret.

It’s President said the OAS’ inaction may put into question the international organisation’s need to exist in Belize. “If they refuse, we could remove the office…take it the ground,” he warned.

mediate effect.

The Ministry has cited a few grounds on which it has taken its decision, including: that the school failed to adhere to the standards of the Ministry as far as its operations go; that the school’s management has not provided adequate student records; that there is a lack of financial accountability and transparency; and that the school’s Board has been dysfunctional and ineffective in overseeing the operations of the school.

Nunez admits that he has been asked to try to meet certain requirements stipulated by the Ministry and that, in his opinion, he has met the majority of them. However, he feels that the shut-down was too hasty and that the school should have been given more time to try and meet the other requirements.

The school has been producing high school graduates for the past 15 years and also uses the same classroom space to offer private primary school education to the island’s chil-

dren. Prior to 2009, no municipal or governmental body has objected to the school’s operations or management. It wasn’t until this UDP government got into power that it started to target the closure of the high school. That culminated with the warning to close the primary school one year from now.

The shutting down of the high school puts a greater burden on the budding island’s other over-populated high school. The threat to close the primary school in one year’s time will mean that there will be close to 200 children displaced and out of the school system. As it is currently, there are close to 60 primary school-aged children who are not attending school simply because there is no space.

The plight of the school and the future of the students who attend the institution were discussed tonight at a meeting with the parents of San Pedro’s future leaders who attend the school. It will be interesting to learn what the outcome of that meeting will be.

NTUCB plans protest to support Police Officers Continued from page 1 fer. This placed many officers in jeopardy because of a lack of proper notice of transfer.

But today the Police have no representation and no one to fight for them.

This is after a most undemocratic decision was taken by the Ministry of National Security to disband the Association, claiming that they had overstepped their role. Even the President and members of the Association have been reportedly placed on “interdiction”, and will likely face disciplinary charges, all because they spoke out on behalf of their embattled members.

This is a first in the history of Be-

lize. Such action –stripping police officers of their right to associate and their right to lobby for better working conditions – has never been contemplated in the post-independent era. It is a step akin to colonial mentality, one where slaves were fully oppressed by their masters. This is the extent Belize has decayed under the UDP Government.

Up to news time, the NTUCB was still working on the details of the protest. It must be noted that to protest, a license must be sought from the very same Police. It would not come as a surprise if the dictatorship UDP refuses any permission to protest.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

Humor

in UDP Politics!

The following matters were discussed in Cabinet To set up a committee to examine the discovery of a weed tree growing in the Cabinet room. The Committee will determine how it got there and try to pinpoint who was responsible. When asked under what title the Committee will get, the Cabinet Secretary responded, “the boss seh Sinsemilla”. ………………….

Cabinet also examined the report submitted by the Minister of Police to allow him to read the Super Bond report because he had a degree in Economics and by right should be leading the Super Bond which caused Boots to say, “di only ting yu di lead we dah pan ur weight and size”. ………………….

After the passing of the decriminalization paper, Cabinet Secretary challenged the Cabinet table to “man up” and say who all smoked and who didn’t. Three members confessed to smoking every day. Five confessed to smoking it off and on. Three said they never tried it, five said they could have eaten it in fudge and one said he smoked but did not inhale as a disk jockey at a disco a long time ago. ………………….

Finnegan asked Cabinet to request that Cuthkelvin place a disclaimer in his “No public drinking” TV ad. Finnegan said the ad made it seem as if public drinking was prohibited everywhere, but that couldn’t be. “We haftu excluse Brads”, he said.

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………………….

Faber and Santi were heard quarreling who had the better resume for Party Leader. “I am the Chairman”, said Faber. “So, I am the Deputy Minister of Finance,” responded Santi. “I am younger,” hit back Faber. “True,” Santi said, “you make look younger, but I’m the one with Red Bull wings”. ………………….

The Cabinet Secretary opened a letter sent by a Primary School student and was about to read it to Cabinet members, but was embarrassed when all he saw was a line that said: “PLEASE leave when the Circus leaves town”.

In other related news: Boots held a meeting to convey Cabinet wishes to send his work gang to the Border as buffers, to provide a first line of defense against Guatemala. After cussing up, drinking and smoking, the gang said “why the Ministers dem noh goh?” ………………….

Vernon Cuthkelvin is back at it again, asking Cabinet’s permission to sanction him, placing an order for a Referendum for the people of Belize to decide if he can import “fertilizers”. ………………….

The Mayor of Belize City visited his dermatologist asking how he could appear on television without appearing as if he wore make up. “You got to wipe your face”, he was told, “just before you go on and during the breaks, and take off that bloody lip stick”. The Mayor got upset and answered, “No, it only looks like lipstick; I have real soft, pink lips”.

8

THE BELIZE TIMES

Alleged cop shooter detained

Continued from page 1 was only arraigned on a charge of kept unlicensed ammunition without a gun license when he appeared today in the #6 Magistrate’s Court.

Slusher pleaded not guilty to the charge. Magistrate Hurl Hamilton explained to him that the court could not offer him bail because of the nature of the offence. Slusher was remanded into custody until August 30.

The charge of attempted murder is for the shooting of Corporal Victor Lima who was shot in the left and right side of his chest around 10 p.m. yesterday.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Police say they received a report of a home invasion in Hattieville and when they responded to the report and went to the house, Lima was shot. Two females, Shakira and a 17 year old minor, told police that while they were at home, a person known to them as “Peter” entered armed with a firearm and asked them where the kilo was. They said Peter then proceeded to search the house.

It was while he was searching the house that the Police arrived and Lima was shot. The corporal lies at the hospital in a critical condition, and depending on the outcome of his treat-

Chain

into custody and it is to run concurrently with the sentence for wounding.

The incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. on November 26, 2011. The virtual complainant, Janice Leslie, testified that she was walking on Cemetery Road near to Pound Yard Bridge when Conorquie came from behind and snatched at a gold chain from around her neck. She responded by grabbing him.

She said a struggle ensued between her and Conorquie and during the struggle Conorquie kept telling her to let him go. During the brawl, he even bit her on her right hand.

She said her friends, Kimberly Nicholas and Daisy Garcia went to her assistance and Conorquie received a

Snatcher gets 6 years BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 25, 2012

By Roy Davis Moses Conorquie, 31, charged with robbery and wounding, was found guilty of both charges today in the #2 Magistrate’s Court.

Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser sentenced him to 6 years for robbery and 3 years for wounding. She stipulated that the sentence for robbery is to take effect from November 28, 2011 when Conorquie was remanded

Adrian Gordon’s “crazy talk” aborts Attempted Murder trial BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 25, 2012

By Roy Davis The trial of Adrian Gordon, 22, charged with 2 counts of attempted murder, was aborted in the court of Justice Adolph Lucas on Friday, July 20.

Justice Lucas discharged the jury of 6 women and 3 men and traversed the case to September 17, after Gordon gave a statement from the dock in which he did not say anything that made sense. Gordon, who was deemed fit to stand trial last Tuesday, was “talking crazy”.

Before the jury decided that Gordon was not insane and that he was fit to take his trial, it heard the testimony of Dr. Claudina Cayetano, the psychiatrist who evaluated and treated him.

The alleged incident occurred around 6a.m. on July 13, 2009, at an apartment, located at 20 Dolphin Street. The victims were Germainlindo Chen, 25, a plant operator and his common-law wife, Miriam Pierre, 25. Both of them were tenants at the apartment at the time.

Chen, a.k.a. “Jermaine”, testified that he had just taken a bath and had just exited the bathroom, located about 20 feet from his apartment, when a

Adrian Gordon

person, whom he identified as Gordon, confronted him and attacked him with a silver-colored kitchen knife.

Chen said Gordon stabbed him in the left side of his neck, cut his throat and stabbed him in his left arm pit.

Chen fell to the ground bleeding.

Dr. Salvador Paguaga, who examined and treated Chen, testified that the injury to his neck was life threatening.

Pierre testified that she was asleep in the apartment when she was awakened by the voice of Chen calling out for help. She said she got up and when

Delford Slusher ment, Slusher could see other serious criminal charges placed on him.

The police reported that shortly before midnight last night they went to Slusher’s house and when they searched it they found 2 live rounds of 9 millimetre caliber ammunition.

In 2006 Slusher was charged with the murder of 24 year old fisherman, Noe Barrow. He was freed of that charge in 2009 when a nolle prosequi was entered after the witness could not be located to testify.

cut over his left eye.

She also testified that two men, a truck driver and a security guard, assisted them and Conorquie was finally subdued.

But Conorquie managed to escape and ran down West Collet Canal Street towards the fish market on Vernon Street. He was apprehended by

the police before he reached the fish market.

The piece of gold chain that was found in Leslie’s hand was admitted as exhibit at the trial.

Conorquie testified and denied that he committed the offences. He said that it was the arresting officer Corporal Graciano Briceño who slammed his head into the police vehicle and caused the cut wound over his eye.

But Senior Magistrate Fraser did not believe his story and she found him guilty.

she went outside she saw Chen lying on the ground.

She said Gordon grabbed her by her hair and he stabbed her in the left side of her neck and the left side of her

forehead.

Gordon was represented by attorney Phillip Palacio. Crown Counsel Trienia Young represented the prosecution.

Moses Conorquie

9

BELIZETIMES SUNDAY JULY 29, 2012 THE BELIZE TIMES see full color at www.belizetimes.bz or Facebook/ Belize Times

This Week’s Sunday, July 29, 2012

TOP MODEL Make-Up

tips

By Tania Tanesha (E-mail: mua.tania@ gmail.com, Cell: (501) 604-0736) Although brown is the common eye colour, this week I’ll focus on Hazel eyes.

They are downright gorgeous and very easy to play up with makeup, to make them pop. The colour hazel is basically different hues of green and brown. Depending on your eye shadow, hair colour, and eyeliner, you can make hazel eyes stand out dramatically and make those eyes seem more greener, or browner. Read on to find out more about what the colour hazel really is, and what eye shadows and eyeliner techniques would really make these eyes have it.

Are you Hazel?

It is a bit difficult to pinpoint what colour hazel really is because there are so many different shades and hues that make up hazel. In general, hazel eyes are brown in the centre and surrounded by green. Hazel eyes can have a variety of shades, such as a golden green, golden browns and light greens, blue-green and brownish hue, etc. But for your eyes to be classified as hazel, they must have some shade of brown in them.

Dos and Don’ts Celebrities like Rihanna, Kate Beckinsale and Tyra Banks sport gorgeous hazel eyes, and I think a lot of different colours can play up the eyes, easily. And because hazel is a combination of colours, there’s no limit to the colour choices to make these naturally pretty eyes stand out.

Tip 1 – I personally believe less is more with these eyes and the focus should be on the eyes. As a makeup artist, unless it’s for an occasion that calls for it, I wouldn’t dramatize the eyes with heavy colours, dark liners and mascara.

Instead, pale and neutral colours like baby pinks, pastel lavender, apricot, peach, and dark shades for contouring eyes like plum, forest green, and purple are perfect. Play around with colours and metallics, such as coppers, golds and silver.

Tip 2 - Keep greens on a subtle level and try and avoid blue and gray eye shadow as these can clash with the eye colour.

Tip 3 - Nothing makes your eyes stand out more than coloured mascara.

Try it in shades of purple, dark green and off black.

Tip 4 - If you have dark hair and lashes, go with black, dark brown or very dark green mascara and eyeliner. If you have blonde or light eyelashes, go with brown mascara and lighter eyeliner, such as a medium brown, green, bronze or even khaki.

With this in mind, you can personally make your hazel eyes stand out above the rest. Unless the time calls for it, I would use pastel colors for the eyes, a light blush and pale lips to compliment a flawless face. View makeup looks from different celebrities with hazel eyes to get more of an idea on what to go for- practice them, and show off those sparkling eyes every time you put your best face forward.

Ebony • • • • • •

Career Plan: Dance Company Owner Sign: Aries Favourite Food: Scallop potatoes with veggies and cheese Likes: exercising, dancing, volleyball, modelling, singing, drawing Lives in Belize City Fav. Quote: “Do what you love and love what you do - one love”

CATWALK FASHIONS What’s Hip...What’s Hot...What’s Now! Phone: 203-2936 / 620-7481 #148 Cor. Queen & North Front Streets Belize City, Belize

10

THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 29, 2012

SMART Harrison Parks Cricket Championship Finals - Game 1

BELIZE'S #1 SPORTS PAGE

DHC Excellence beats Western Eagles

Dirk Sutherland made 9 runs

Champions Cup Football Competition

City Boys blazes FC Belize 3-0

Belize City, July 22, 2012 The Raymond Gentle City Boys stomped FC Belize 3-0, while the Belize Defence Force drilled S&W Old Road 4-0 in the Champions Cup football competition at the MCC grounds on Sunday.

Ryan Simpson and Delroy “Thinman” Andrews led the City Boys attacks and Andrews succeeded in embarrassing FC Belize goalie Stanley “Jordan” Reneau with the first winning goal to lead 1-0 at the half.

In the 2nd half, a defensive error by FC Belize’s George Estrada caused the referee to eject Estrada from the ball game with a red card and award City boys a penalty, which Andrews converted for a 2-0 lead. Elroy Rowley replaced Reneau in goal, but

FC Belize’s fortunes did not improve as young Gilroy “Bredda” Thurton blasted in a 3rd goal for the 3-0 win.

Westlake is still No.1 in the competition and they enjoying their 4th win after the Maskall team was a no show for their scheduled game on Sunday.

Champions Cup Football Competition

BDF melts S&W Old Road Belize City, July 22, 2012 In Game 2, the BDF held football clinic for “Sugar & Water” Old Road which ended in a 4-0 final score.

BDF’s Erwin “Bird” Flores and Daniel Jimenez led their attacks with the help of midfielders Philip Lewis, Richard “Cheety” Jimenez, Harrison Tasher and David “Gringo” Ramos.

The S&W Old Road defenders Glenford Flowers, Jermaine “Bowfoot” Zuniga and David Robateau tried to contain their attacks, but Khalil Velasquez’s execution of a free kick found Daniel Jimenez for the finish, and there was little Old Road’s goalie Victor Villamil could do to stop it.

Erwin Flores got roughed up by the Old Road’s defense and had to be replaced by Marlon Meza.

S&W Old Road’s Ernest “Dubu” Flores and Paulie “Fabulous” Bradley tried to get an attack going, with the help of their midfielders but the BDF defenders Vallan Symns, Bryon Usher, Khalil Velasquez and Michael Martinez shut them out up to the half.

In the second half, Danny Jimenez set table for Marlon Meza to score a 2nd goal; and while Villamil managed to stop 2 more attacks by Danny Jimenez and an outside shot

by Harrison Tasher, he could not stop all as Tasher scored a 3rd goal for the BDF. The BDF brought in “fresh horses’ with Franz Vernon, Akeem Jones and Shane “Chucky” Flores, and Shane Flores embarrassed Villamil with a 4th goal to complete the 4-0 rout.

Manu Macaulay defends

BDF’s Michael Martinez controls the ball

Glen Pook made 36 runs Rancho Dolores, July 21, 2012 Double Head Cabbage Excellence Cricket Club won Game 1 of the 2012 Smart Harrison Parks cricket championship finals, bowling out the Rancho Dolores’ Western Eagles: 136-119 in Rancho Dolores on Saturday.

Excellence batted first, and the Rancho Dolores’ bowlers decimated their ranks retiring the first 3 batsmen for zero runs! Norman Pook bowled out the opening batsman, Shane Young sent his partner packing, and Norman dismissed the 3rd.

Young Emmanuel Mcfadzean entered to bat only 3 runs before he was caught on a ball from Norman Pook. This made way for the Man of the Match, Kenny Broaster, to enter and wallop 5 sixes and 3 fours. Kenny’s big brother Ian Broaster entered to partner with Kenny after Norman Pook took his 4th wicket, dismissing Keenan Flowers for 3 runs. Together the Broaster brothers ran up the score as Kenny scored 56 runs, and Ian batted 4 sixes and four, scoring 37 runs before he was caught on a ball from Dean Perez Sr. Sydney “Brooksie” Martinez batted 2 sixes for 16 runs before he was caught out on a ball bowled by Jonathan Benjamin, who took the next wicket for zero runs. Benjamin took the last wicket, his 4th, for 3 runs, retiring the Excellence squad for 136 runs, with Brandon Broaster remaining Not Out after scoring 5 runs. The Rancho Dolores’ bowlers had also bowled 13 wides and a “no ball”.

When the Rancho Dolores squad came to bat, Kenny Broaster retired both opening batsmen for 3 runs. Joseph Gillett hit a six but had only scored 11 runs, when he was caught out on a ball bowled

by Keenan Flowers. Kenny Broaster took his 3rd wicket for zero runs, and was now 3 for 3.

The Rancho captain Dirk Sutherland entered to score 9 runs before Ian Broaster got him to pop up for an easy catch. Jonathan Benjamin batted 2 sixes to score 17 runs before he was caught on a ball from Marlon “Camala” Nicholas.

Glen Pook entered to hit 3 sixes and score 36 runs, but Kenny Broaster’s bowling average improved to 4 for 3 runs as he took the next wicket for zero runs. Marlon Nicholas also took another wicket for 1 run. Nicholas took his 3rd wicket when Martin Joseph was caught after hitting 1 six.

Things looked grim for Rancho, when the 9th wicket fell with only 66 runs scored. Then Shane Young entered to partner with Glen Pook and they ran up the scored with a series of singles, Young also walloped 2 sixes to score 19 runs. Pook was caught out by Emmanuel Mcfadzean, with the Western Eagles having scored only 119 runs, including 15 wides and two “no balls” from the Excellence bowlers.

Saturday, July 28 in Double Head Cabbage may be trophy day for Excellence, who will be looking to clinch the championship with a 2nd win.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

11

THE BELIZE TIMES Barrow & Williams Summer Table Tennis Senior Open Tournament

Carlos Cui wins Table Tennis Open BELIZE'S #1 SPORTS PAGE

Belize City, July 22, 2012 Carlos Cui won the Barrow & Williams Summer Table Tennis Senior Open Tournament at the “home of table tennis” at the Belize Elementary School on Sunday.

Some 16 players had registered for the tourna-

Carlos Cui is the 2012 champ

Belize Table Tennis Association Under-15 Cadets’ Category

Belize City, July 22, 2012 In the Cadets’ under-15 competition, Mishek Mishek won 3-0 over Fabio Carballo in Round 1, and 3-0 over Ashar Arthurs in Round 22. Musa won 3-0 in a rematch with Ashar Arthurs in the championship final.

Ashar had won 3-2 over Gina Lisbey in Round 1. Relegated to the losers’ bracket,

Mishek Musa wins Cadets U-15 Lisbey won 3-2 over Fabio Carballo, but he lost 0-3 to Ashar Arthurs, who advanced to take on Musa in a rematch in the finals.

2012 Interoffice basketball finals

Mishek Musa is the U-15 champ

2012 Interoffice basketball finals – WIN OR GO HOME!

Alamilla’s Furniture takes series to 3rd game Belize City, July 22, 2012 Alamilla’s Furniture/Ministry of Education tied the 2012 Belize City interoffice basketball championship finals at 1-1, by a razor-close 79-76 overtime win over Tuff E’Nuff Tours in Game 2 of the series at Bird’s Isle last Saturday night.

Tuff e’Nuff had taken an early lead in the finals series after they won Game 1: 66-58 on Friday night.

Greg “Chippy” Greg Rudon led

Alamilla’s with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and Alamilla’s led 19-17 at the end of the 1st quarter. Kurt “Chengo” Burgess added 15 points, 17 rebounds to lead 35-31 at the half.

Tuff e’Nuff took over the lead 4944 by the end of the 3rd quarter and they looked to take it away but Alamilla’s forced the game into overtime as John Rudon hit 3 long treys to add 9 points to tie 67-67 when the buzzer sounded at the end of the 4th quar-

ter. Kevin Lorenzo added 5 points for Alamilla’s to win 79-76 in overtime.

Game 3 of the series comes up on Friday, July 27.

The latest in NBA Trades Updated to Tuesday, July 24, 2012 Brooklyn Nets signed F Tornike Shengelia.

Chicago Bulls signed G Marco Belinelli.

Minnesota Timberwolves acquired F Dante Cunningham from the Memphis Grizzlies for G Wayne Ellington.

New Orleans Hornets signed C Anthony Davis and G Austin Rivers to three-year contracts.

New York Knicks signed G Pablo Prigioni.

Philadelphia 76ers signed F-C Maurice Harkless and C Arnett Moultrie.

Washington Wizards signed G A.J. Price Brooklyn Nets signed G C.J. Watson.

Chicago Bulls signed G Kirk Hinrich Dallas Mavericks signed G Jared Cunningham.

Minnesota Timberwolves signed C Greg Stiemsma to an offer sheet Cleveland Cavaliers claimed F Jon Leuer off waivers from the Houston Rockets.

Dallas Mavericks signed G Jae Crowder.

Denver Nuggets signed F Anthony Randolph to a multiyear contract.

Philadelphia 76ers signed C Kwame Brown.Thursday, July 19, 2012 Chicago Bulls signed F Vladimir Radmanovic.

Dallas Mavericks signed G O.J. Mayo.

ment held in double elimination format, and Carlos Cui advanced by a 3-0 win over Fabio Carballo in Round 1 and a 3-0 win over Mike Rivero in Round 2.

Cui won 3-1 against Nicholas Martin in Round 3, and Cui won 3-1 in a rematch with Martin in the championship final.

Martin finished ranked No. 2.

In Round 1, Martin had advanced by a 3-0 win over Leo Carballo, and a 3-1 win over Davis Huang in Round 2.

After his loss to Cui, martin was relegated to the losers’ bracket where he won 3-1 over Huang, to return to face Cui in the final.

Relegated to the losers’ bracket, Huang triumphed 3-0 over Miguel Reyes, 3-1 over Gian Lisbey, 3-0 over Mike Rivero and 3-0 over Moses Babb, who ended ranked 4th. Huang ranked 3rd after he took on Martin in a rematch but lost 3-1.

Alamila’s Kevin Lorenzo scored 5 points

Tuff e’Nuff takes Game-1 lead in finals series Belize City, July 20, 2012 In Game 1 on Friday, Greg Rudon had hit a long trey to lead Alamilla’s with 15 pts, 4 rebounds for a 13-9 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Rogers added 14 pts, 5 rebounds and Kurt Burgess added added 9 pts, 7 rebounds and Alamilla’s was still up 32-30 at the half.

Tuff e’Nuff turned things around in the 2nd half, led by Farron Louriano with 16 pts 11 boards, and Tyrone Edwards added 14 pts, 3 rebounds. Raul Roches stuffed in a monster dunk as he added 10 pts, 6 rebounds, and Tuff e’Nuff was up 47-44 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Carlisle Barrow scored 6pts, 5 rebounds for Alamilla’s, and Kevin Lorenzo and Shane Rosalez chipped in 5 pts each, but Tuff e’Nuff’s lead grew as Keith Acosta added 7pts, 3 rebounds, Kelly and Williams each hit a long trey as Kelly added 6pts, while Williams and Ashton Edwards each added 5 pts to their 66-58 win.

Visit Us Online at: www.belizetimes.bz

12

THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 29, 2012

3 killed in Northern Highway collision Belize City, July 24, 2012 The Northern Highway between miles 11 and 12 claimed three lives early last Friday morning when two cars crashed head on into each other.

The accident happened shortly after two in the morning near a curve on the highway. It involved a Saturn Vue SUV and a Saturn sedan car, driven by Police Constable Deon Makin, Jr, 25, who was heading toward Orange Walk.

The SUV was driven by Lawrence Chow, 29, towards Belize City.

Reports are that Makin lost control of his vehicle and slammed into Chow’s vehicle. As a result, Makin’s passengers, Edwin Crawford, 22, an employee of the Princess Casino, and Ashley Williams, 20, a second year student at SJC Sixth Form died on impact. Helen Canelo, 19, and Jay Avila, 22, survived, but not without varying degrees of injuries.

When the police arrived at the scene of the wreckage Canelo had managed to free herself from the vehicle and get out. The rest,

Edwin Crawford

Deon Makin

Ashley Williams

however, had to be freed with the Fire Department’s “Jaws of Death”.

One Ladyville resident, Kevin Dawson, told reporters later that day that he was one of many who were awakened by the loud bang.

He said it sounded like an explosion and when he got outside, noticed the engines of the two vehicles mangled into the mid-sections of the vehicles. Residents did all they could to render aid, but two of the passengers were already dead, while the third casualty was barely conscious and gasping for air. The survivors, Avila, Chow and Canelo, have all been treated and released from the KHMH. Chow, we understand, suffered a fractured leg and minor cuts and bruises. Police have served him with a notice of intended prosecution, as is prescribed by law.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

13

THE BELIZE TIMES

Belize’s Gold enriches Guatemalans UDP’s border security continues to fail…miserably BELIZE CITY, Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 In the long, torrid and often sensationalized history of what is now the Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute, it is Belize’s natural patrimony that has come under attack by Guatemalans who invade, plunder and massacre our land under what is indisputably he Government’s terribly impotent gaze.

And now, after all of the past the controversies – that of Santa Rosa in Toledo, multiple incursions to harvest Xate palm and timber (not to mention those various incursions of farming on Belizean soil), comes confirmed reports that the Guatemalans are extracting gold.

The Guats are going old-school, using pans and other basic ‘equipment’ to pan for gold (with their eventual plan is to sell the gold they find for up to 250 quetzals, or just around BZC$69.00 per nugget) in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve and its varied environs, including the Ceibo Chico River, near no less than the sole outpost which is monitoring and working to curtail these incursions, and is operated by Chiquibul’s co-managers, the Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD).

FCD rangers, backed by the Belize Defense Force (BDF), came upon and arrested a grouping of Guatemalan gold panners at Ceibo Chico some days ago, although they had been down there for some months now. But under the strict-

est of ‘diplomatic rules’, all they could really do was tell the Guatemalans to leave, or at best, severely warn them and their ‘colleagues’ not to return to the area. But a very flustered Executive Director of the organization, Rafael Manzanero, has been sounding the alarm to the media, and has consistently warned that if the Government lacks the will to get and keep the rogue trespassers out, then FCD and its rangers cannot do much more than they already have.

Manzanero’s comments on a news interview last night, Tuesday, July 24th,

seemed to highlight the immense fear of what a continued lack of will against the Guatemalans will do for his organization and staff, and Belize on the whole: “I am not confident (extracting the Guatemalans from the area) is going to work fully, but at least what we know is that we have already informed them. The people understand that this is already inside of Belize’s territory and so the other measure now that will be coming is to fully detain them and bring them out. I believe that the Guatemalan govern-

ment should be informed through a diplomatic note or whatever, because the worse scenario that can happen is that we would be considered as ejecting people from there illegally, whilst we have all the right and the authority as law enforcement agencies to get involved in this major problem occurring down South”.

The question remains, will the current UDP Government continue to fail the preservation and defense of Belize’s sovereignty, and allow illegal trespassers to continue the exploitation of Belize?

14

One Lucky Boy!

Cayo District, July 25, 2012 A male Jaguar which was found starving and badly malnourished at a resort in the Toledo District has been saved by the compassion of Belize’s wildlife conservationists. The blackin-colour Jaguar, known as “Bosch” (Mayan word for black), was found by the Ya’xche Conservation Trust Head Ranger last week Tuesday.

Marchilio Ack had received reports of animals being starved at the Ballum Na Resort, owned by Belize Loge and Excursions and located in the Boden Creek Ecological Preserve. When he went to check he was startled by the discovery.

“When I reached out there I saw the jaguar barely moving, he was starving to death because you could see that he is very slim.

There were two of them, we saw the other jaguar motionless - not moving, we tried to give him stuff to see if he could move but he was already dead. There was no water in the cage and they had not been feeding the jaguar. That the reason why one of the jaguar died,” explained Ack in an interview.

He immediately contacted other rangers for help and they placed the dying Jaguar on rehabilitation. After a few days of feeding him and supplying him with water, the Jaguar began to respond. When he was fit for moving, officials of the Belize Zoo arrived to move him to a facility where they could give better treatment.

The transfer was not easy. Zoo officials had to build a special transfer crate. The Jaguar was lured unto it by beef liver which had been placed inside. Once he went for the bait, it was locked and he was placed in a vehicle for the three and a half hour ride to the zoo and a new start.

Zoo officials said the cat had to withstand the gruelling ride, because they could tranquilize him due to his extremely poor health.

Visit Us Online at: www.belizetimes.bz

THE BELIZE TIMES

Lucky Boy has a new home at the Belize Zoo (Pic by Belize Zoo) At the Zoo, officials are reporting a remarkable story of recovery. The Jaguar’s name was even changed from Bosch to Lucky Boy. “I have been spending a great deal of time with Lucky Boy. He is an exceptional animal. Eating from my hand, and, to my happy amazement, giving a “high 5” for his dinner. I am so very happy we were able to rescue this fellow,” reported Zoo Director, Sharon Matola, on their Facebook page.

By Day 5 at the zoo, the Jaguar was even more responsive. “Lucky Boy’s eating like a champ, and interacting enthusiastically with his caregivers. A surprisingly calm and easy going jaguar, a special diet and tender love and care are all he wanted. He’s definitely on his way back to being healthy and beautiful once more.”

While the story is one of triumph for local conservation officials, it also points to a need for proper monitoring and even stiffer penalties for the maltreatment wildlife.

In Belize Jaguars are endangered species. Reports are that Ballum Na Resort was not in possession of a permit to have jaguars on his premises.

The resort owner, Ken Karas, who lives outside Belize, said he “regrets” the situation. He laid the blame on his property manager. According to Karas, since the resort closed in May, only staff remained to maintain the property and care for the animals. He said a weekly budget was provided to feed the animals, but it appears the money was misused which led to the situation.

All this while, Karas added, he was unaware of any health issues regarding the animals at the resort.

The BELIZE TIMES understands that the Forestry Department is looking at levying charges on the owner under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sunday, July 29, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

Of this and that…

TO KILL A MOCKING BERT Christopher Lowe could have “Samuel L. Jacksoned” Bert Vasquez.

Two thumbs up to Christopher Lowe.

Not for beating Bert Vasquez in the head rather than shooting him.

But for being a man. For showing Bert the way. Christopher Lowe showed the example. The lesson is: do not mock the system.

See what Christopher did? He was guilty of wounding. Everyone knew it. He was a man, he pleaded guilty. That makes him big.

Bert, see? It ain’t hard. We all know you are guilty. Save us some time. Save yourself some dignity.

Plead guilty.

P.S. Five hundred dollars is excessive. One hundred dollars a stitch. We thought it was an eye for an eye. Not a stitch for a life.

How about a suspended sentence? How about binding over to the peace? How about community service? How about provocation?

How about if it was your daughter?

Five hundred dollars is not a local sentence. Check public sentiment. Ask Cayo people. It is not a Belizean sentence. It is foreign. It is alien.

Appeal the sentence on principle, Chris.

KEYS TO THE CITY Crime in Belize City is a tourist attraction. Like the two “kinels”.

Like greasy fry chicken. Like the swing bridge at six o’clock on a Tuesday.

Crime is to Belize City as citrus is to Stann Creek. As sugar cane fields are to Orange Walk.

Señor Coconuts was being robbed. A good Samaritan with a gun saved the day. He made them get the sense. Nuff respect. He was a neighboring businessman.

This story is poetic. The robbers run right into Mortuary Lane.

A mortuary is a dead house. It is a place to keep dead bodies before burial. The black youths in the city are in a living mortuary.

Something else needs to die though. What happened to the businessman? He is a hero. Why was there not a big ceremony for him? Why was he not given the keys to city?

Zenaida gave a stranger the keys to our city. She gave a dude from CABO. The dude was Mr. Sidney Francis Martin. No one remembers him. No one can tell us what he ever did for Belize.

If this were Manhattan or Los Angeles or some other US city, this cat would be on Good Morning America and the Today show. He would be on the news. He would be taking pictures with Bloomberg. He would get a ton of free stuff. He would get the paparazzi.

He would be getting the royal pat on the back from the public.

Civic duty. Collective responsibility. Re-learning to be our brother’s keeper. The good old days.

This is the direction in which we need to drive this city.

Give him the keys to this city.

PASS THE DUTCHIE Just for the record, H. Said Musa is Yoda. Wise cat. Radical brother. He is Mr. Miyagi. Beware.

Weed. THC. Herb. Ganja. We are talking weed again in 2012. Old news. The PUP would have already done this from when Ramsey and his mule were alive.

It was 2004 Maureen Leslie was Assistant Commissioner of Police. The UDP were pretentious.

They fought it.

Why all this high grade chatter now? Right after a pilinki budget? I am not a puffer of the magic dragon but if you ask me I say: “do not step on the grass”.

The question is…but why now?

Look, we are dealing with too many things. We have a government that 9 out of 10 times is incompetent.

This is a government by circus.

They always have some big distraction.

First there was the 100 day honeymoon. Then there was the office of the “First Lady”. Then there was Preventative Detention redux.

Then there was the ninth amendment theatre. Then the “fake nationalizations”. Then the soap opera reunion. Then there was the oil refinery. Then there was cancer. Then there was the Inspiration telethon.

It is always some pageantry with the Government. It is never any substance.

But the real story is democracy. Does Belize want to legalize marijuana? How will this “sprang head” government know?

The only way to know is frightening to them: an election. The UDP are scared of elections. But for this we need a referendum.

In California they had Proposition 19. The speaky spokey name was the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. It was a vote on whether to legalize the herb in California or not.

The vote lost. It had a 60% voter turnout though. The final count was a photo finish. 53.5% to 46.5% in favor of the no smoking sign.

We have too many things on the table to guess this one. We have UNIBAM inna wi “shut”. We have off shore oil drilling bubbling about. We have dem Guatemalans and their invasion by either stealth, UDP naturalizations or international court traps.

Hey, how about this idea? The UDP say that we have no money for democracy. Referendums are too expensive. Well how about four referendums in one? High grade, ile, boada and buggerism…

POLLO BRUJO Pollo Brujo is a fast food chain in Mexico. It is sells rotisserie chicken. Finger licking. Cruffy love us some of the poultry witch.

Belizeans often bring back a

roasted bird on a trip from Chet.

The chicken is slow roasted for two hours.

Not the Public Health Department. Not BAHA, the Agricultural people. But Customs is taking away people’s cooked chicken. It costs a whopping 100 pesos per meal. That is almost sixteen bucks BH. They say it is because of the Avian Influenza virus. Bird flu ting.

Who is genius in charge? This is what happens when we have idiots as Ministers. Whistle when I say Pablo.

Listen kiddo. There are these little organizations. Ever heard of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)? They are experts on international food safety.

They gave a joint statement. Check your news. If you cannot read look at the pretty pictures. Ok, son?

The statement said that Chicken and other poultry are safe to eat if cooked properly. There is no epidemiological proof that humans can get the disease if the food is properly cooked. (Even if the chicken was contaminated with the virus before cooking.)

FAO/WHO made the statement to clarify food safety issues in relation to the avian influenza crisis.

The statement has been issued through the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN).

Did the UDP Ministers not read the Memo?

Cooking of the chicken at or above 70°Celsius throughout, so that absolutely no meat remains raw and red, is a safe measure to kill the H5N1.

There is no active virus remaining if it is properly cooked this way.

Rotisserie is the best example of this kind of cooking.

Even though it is dumb. Our Customs officers are telling travelers it is in the bone of the chicken.

But they have no problem with it being eaten. Just no bringing it across. Question: if it is good enough to eat in Chet, what makes it bad one hundred feet across the river?

Ok, so that may be too hard a question to ask this UDP. But what about at least a travel advisory saying “WARNING: Do not spend your money on Pollo Brujo. It will be confiscated and eaten behind your back.”

DELUXE APPARTMENT IN THE SKY Michael Finnegan killed George Jeffersons. Seriously. The iconic actor Sherman Hemsley died in his home in El Paso, Texas on Tuesday.

This is right after he heard messed up Finnegan say that “thing di happen fuh Belizeans, with the 201213 budget.”

This UDP government is salt.

They are bad luck. They are a party plagued by incompetence. Disease. Various other matters of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The UDP like imaginary and fake things. Like possibilities and sitcom characters. Reality escapes them. They hallucinate.

15 But Hemsley’s was a sad story.

Despite a popular tv career. Starting from a character of “George Jeffersons” in the show “All in the Family” and then bouncing to a gi-normous tv carreer, George Jefferson died lonely.

He was never married in reality. Never had a child. Never had a family. In 74 years he never knew the truth of real love. Of real family.

The charade is over. The bukut and jokes are done. We can see the through it now.

WITH FRIENDSHIP BRIDGES LIKE THESE Just a quick note. There is a bridge that rainbows from Belize to Mexico. It is called the Friendship Bridge.

Thousands of Belizeans and Mexicans use it. Everyday. The bridge is dirty. It looks like a dirty alley way in Brooklyn. It has lots of garbage. It has graffiti. It looks bad. There should be a new bridge in the future. Until then we have no reason to be nasty.

It looks “sleck”. Is this a reflection of Belize/Mexico relations?

JAIL JOHN The Police are being chanced.

Sounds funny but it is true. This is police brutality. It is cruel and inhumane. The UDP is personalizing the issue. They are blaming three officers. They are singling them out.

They are attacking them like they attack PUP standard bearers.

They use the same voice of an endomorph. They are torturing the messenger. They are ignoring the message. The police need to stop whispering in corners. Get up stand up.

We know you will.

The public does not know that three weeks ago the police force went on strike. It was kept hush hush. Three weeks ago the entire shift for Patrol Branch did not show up for work. The Minister had to force Eastern Division officers to do double shifts.

They are being chanced. They blame John Saldivar. He is the fat culprit. Henderson is just a dumby.

Like a puppet dumby. John is the perpetrator. He is the person of interest. He is the suspect.

The UDP under John Saldivar introduced the 12hour work cycle. This is illegal. It is contrary to the same Police Act. It is also illegal in the Labour laws. John does not care.

But the real war and grenade throwing has not started yet. John left a time bomb when he was Minister of the Public Service. It has been announced that the allowances for Public Servants will be cut.

The reason is dumb.

Officers are being transferred.

Their allowance is being cut. The UDP is creating desperate hustlers in khaki.

When this cut of allowance happens, then the brown thing hits the fan…

DO NOT WORRY “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

16

THE BELIZE TIMES

YWCA grant lends new ‘beginning’ for women and youths

U.S. Ambassador H.E. Vinai Thummalapally hand over donation to Mrs. Sonia Linarez

Steve Gaynair

BELIZE CITY, Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

By Alton Humes The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), a haven organization for young women and young people at large, continues to celebrate its strides towards being an alternative form of leadership, mentorship and education through its myriad of programs and services catered to young people. There was not a better way to cap off 50 years and more of service to the youth and people of Belize than with a handover of a grant check just under US$100,000 from the US Embassy during a brief ceremony held this morning at the Y’s school-styled headquarters on St. Thomas Street and Freetown Road in Belize City.

After the singing/playing of the respective national anthems of both nations as well as a brief prayer led by Mistress of Ceremonies and YWCA Board Secretary Ms. Jennifer Smith, the ceremony was open with a brief welcome by the recently elected President of the Board of Directors, Mrs. Sheree Smiling-Craig, who succeeds Dr. Carla Barnett.

Mrs. Smiling-Craig started off by saying that the Y continues to sustain and create “creative and innovative approaches” to promoting alternative education, whether through

their Helping Early Leavers Program (HELP) which assists young women who never made it to high school to gain skills to enter the work force, or a newer Barbershop Program, which not only facilitates a safe haven for young men (and women, for beauty shops) to talk about Sexual and Reproductive Health (S&RH) issues such as HIV and other sexual diseases, but also teaches young men future entrepreneurial skills.

The grant, totaling around USC$99,935.00 (or BZC$199,870.00) will go to these aforementioned programs, two of whose participants spoke at the ceremony. Steve Geynair, a member of the Barbershop Program, told the gathering that in addition to working towards having his own barbershop some day, he also wanted to be a mentor to other young men, including teens and pre-teens who look up to him, and who he could steer into other alternatives to criminal activity.

H.E. Vinai Thummalapally, US Ambassador to Belize delivered a brief keynote address that mostly highlighted the organizations that have benefitted directly from the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) and its extensive funding, including Youth for the Future, Youth Business Trust, and others, after which he handed over the check to the Y. Incidentally, it was noted that the Ambassador’s birth mother, an American-born national, founded the first YWCA branch in his native India, a characterization Ms. Smith declared ‘once a member of the Y, always a member’) But it is President Smiling-Craig who summed up best what this check really means overall: “This marks the beginning of change for all those people involved and all those who will participate…” And truly, there could be no better beginning or change than this.

THE WORLD IS READING

THE BELIZE TIMES www.belizetimes.bz

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sunday, July 29, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

Home Economics

The price of eggs - What it has to do with anything

by Richard Harrison In developed countries, eggs are graded as small, medium and large....each with a different price.

In Belize....eggs are not graded....they sell wholesale for $77/30-dozen or $0.214/egg without the crates. They used to sell wholesale for $0.16 ten years ago.

Ten years ago, a tray of eggs would bring a mixture of large and medium eggs....today they are filled with small eggs.

Today it takes 3 eggs to do what 2 eggs used to do....since the price per egg has increased by 33% over those ten years....and the size reduced.....we have actually seen a real increase of 88% in the price of eggs over the past ten years.

It used to be that Belizeans would consume eggs for breakfast....along with beans and corn tortillas....but now even the rural people are going with imported cereal...and ramen noodles.

Those who could not afford meat would cook an egg to eat with their rice for lunch. Now they opt for ramen noodle soup, which is ready to eat and less expensive...especially since the government has reduced the import duty to ZERO....encouraging its importation by their importation commercial allies.

We know that the egg producers are exporting the best eggs to Guatemala in truck loads....hopefully at a better price than we paying them for small eggs in Belize?

The only reason why we have an egg industry in Belize....is because the industry is fully protected by the government.....only the hatchery is allowed by law to import eggs into Belize. No egg for consumption is allowed into Belize. With no import competition....this is how there exists an egg industry in Belize. If importers were able to import eggs from the USA at market prices, there would be no egg production industry in Belize.

The price of eggs is driven mostly by the price of fuel, corn, soybean and feed concentrates which go into the feed.

Belize charges 100% tax on fuel....and ZERO on ramen. Belizeans are opting to eat more and more ramen....and putting the more nutritious egg and beans aside. Belizeans are going more and more mal-nourished. Our children are living mostly on cereal and ramen noodles. Our adults mostly have chicken tacos, meat

pies, chicken tamales and other street side foods for breakfast...indeed some of the spots now open for lunch and dinner.

This needs to be reversed..... tax on fuel should be ZERO....and the tax on ramen, which is not produced in Belize, should be 100%.

This way, corn and soybean can be produced cheaper in Belize, which would make chicken feed less expensive....egg price will be lower....and thus consumers would feed their children with eggs and beans for breakfast...instead of cereal and ramen. Our people will be better nourished and able to be more productive.

Belize charges ZERO percent import duty on LARD....PIGTAIL IN BRINE....CANNED MEATS, such as CORNED BEEF. All of these things are very unhealthy for our population. While the government is encouraging their consumption by putting a low rate of importduty....making the retail price artificially low....it is costing us on the other end....expensive medical TREATMENT OF CANCER, HYPERTENSION, DIABETES and other illnesses that are known to be associated with the high levels of preservatives and salt in these products. The import duty on these things should be 100%..... the import duty on fuel should be

ZERO....we would be producing much more of what we consume profitably....our people would have a much more nutritious diet....and our national wealth basket would be overflowing.

Let’s get back to basics!!!

Let’s start with correcting the fuel tax injustice!!!! All power to the eggs....hay que tener huevos!

Richard Harrison is a local businessman and investor in the manufacturing and service industries. Send comments to harrisonbz@yahoo.com.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Forward Belize, the Cooperative Way (pt. II)

By Stanley Lemus We need to step out of our comfort zone, out of the box, and pool our financial resources as best to promote and set up cooperatives in the following areas: (a) Agricultural Cooperatives: can help producers assure market and supplies, help to achieve economy of scales and gain market power through joint marketing, bargaining, processing and purchasing supplies and services. (b) Arts and Crafts Cooperatives: this could help artists and craft persons maximize their earning potential and working conditions. (c) Business Cooperatives: formed to increase purchasing power of supplies at a lower cost, i.e. Taxi Cooperatives. (d) Child Care and Preschool Cooperatives: Provide higher quality enrichment and better educational programmes for our children and families. (e) Credit Unions: There’s no limit placed on the amount we can have. Additional formation of Credit Union across the country can help to provide financial services to Belizeans. (f) Custodial and Cleaning Services Cooperatives: Will help to create immediate new employment opportunities and provide the benefits of ownership for its

Land Ministry goes on lockdown Belize City, July 25, 2012 The Ministry of Lands (Natural Resources) has ordered an immediate lockdown of its computer system, in reaction to the BELIZE TIMES publishing of dozens of land documents that expose well known UDPs including Ministers and their friends and families acquiring dozens of lands.

The BELIZE TIMES understands that a directive was passed last week, prohibiting any employee from accessing and having the capability to print land documents. The Department has also implemented a system to track any of the employees who access land information from their system, we understand.

For three consecutive weeks, including this week’s issue, the BELIZE TIMES has been exposing what appears to be outright and outrageous land greed by UDPs.

Visit Us Online at: www.belizetimes.bz

co-workers. (g) Food Cooperatives and Buying Clubs: Can give many of us consumers access to grocery products using a customer –directed approach. (h) Housing Cooperatives: Houses can be built by members which can offer ownership options for all income groups (i) Student Cooperatives: Set up and ran by students to meet their specific needs. (j) Worker Cooperatives: Help to create more employment opportunities and provider the benefits of ownership to its members. Although the formation and creation of cooperatives will help to create a vast improvement for many Belizeans and our economy this will not be received with open arms by some of the grocery and uncaring mercantile business people who will immediately see this as a threat to their control. If we promote more co-

operatives in Belize, the benefits can be enormous for all.

Cooperatives will help to develop our minds so we don’t remain dependent on any of our leaders. Through cooperatives we can offer jobs, training, interdependence on each other, this driving us to unity in purpose of serving one another. We are able to come together through the cooperative spirit of creating our own autonomy of man-

Sunday, July 29, 2012 aging our lives and our livelihood.

Finally, urgent formation of cooperatives will require bold persons who are willing to step out and up to taking control of managing their financial and economic destiny which could help to lead Belize to the path of real economic dependence. The cooperative/movement is good way of growing and serving ourselves as well as others. Serve the people, the cooperative way.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

19

THE BELIZE TIMES

DID YOU KNOW?

RAMADAN Did you know Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and a time when Muslims across the world will fast (give up eating) during the hours of daylight?

The Qur’an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during this month.

How do Muslims keep Ramadan?

Almost all Muslims try to give up bad habits during Ramadan, and some will try to become better Muslims by praying more or reading the Qur’an.

Fasting helps to teach self-discipline and generosity.

It also reminds Muslims of the suffering of the poor, who may rarely get to eat well.

It is common to have one meal (known as the suhoor), just before sunrise and another (known as the iftar), directly after sunset.

Ramadan is also a time to spend with friends and family.

Eid ul Fitr The end of Ramadan is marked by a big celebration called ‘Eid-ulFitr’, the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast.

Muslims celebrate the end of fasting and thank Allah (God) for the help and strength that he gave them during Ramadan to help them practise self-control.

The festival begins when the first sight of the new moon is seen in the sky.

Eid is also a time of forgiveness, and making amends.

All About Ramadan!

All About Ramadan!

Happy Ramadan!

Happy Ramadan!

If you want to solve this crossword make sure you read what we wrote about Ramadan.

If you want to solve this crossword make sure you read what we wrote about Ramadan.

All About Ramadan!

If you want to solve this crossword make sure you read what we wrote about Ramadan.

Across 1. Ramadan is a time to spend with _______ and friends!

4. Doing this during Ramadan helps to teach self-discipline and generosity.

Across 8. The ninth month of the Islamic calendar.

Unscramble each of the clue words.

Down 1. Ramadan is a time to spend with _______ and friends! Unscramble thenumbered clue words.

Copy the each letters of in the cells to other cells with the 2. The festival of 'Eid-ul-Fitr' begins when the new ________ is seen in the sky. same number.

4.

Doing this during Ramadan helps to teach self-discipline and generosity.

Copy the letters in the numbered cells to other cells with 3. The meal eaten right after sunset is called.

8.

The ninth month of the Islamic calendar.

5. The meal eaten before sunrise is called.

6. This contains the word of Allah.

Down 7. All Muslims try to give up ________ habits during Ramadan.

Answers: 1. Friends 2.Amends 3.Meal 4.Fast 5.Habits 6. Celebration 7. Discipline

the s

2. The festival of 'Eid-ul-Fitr' begins when the new ________ is seen in the sky.

3. The meal eaten right after sunset is called.

Answers: 1. Friends 2.Amends 3.Meal 4.Fast 5.Habits 6. Ce 5. The meal eaten before sunrise is called.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Do we lack proper leadership? Pt. II I remember years ago relaxing in my living room enjoying a pirate movie. The scene was shot in a sort of secret operation part of the ship. Inside was the Head pirate, his best friend who incidentally was his most trusted advisor and not to mention ‘Doctor’ for the entire crew, and a few other high ranking officers in the ship.

They were about to enter a battle and the odds were so high against them that it would be a sure defeat! It so happened that they were never beaten before in a battle and one little officer began showing signs of disloyalty and disrespect to the chief pirate who immediately got offended and began raising his voice! Immediately he pulled out his revolver and shot his best friend, the advisor, the doctor, who stood by his side for years through thick and thin. He shot him right in the leg! I was as surprised as the doctor when this happened. The pirate’s words were somewhat as such saying that if ‘I didn’t have a problem to shoot my innocent close friend in the leg what do you think I would do to you or anyone else who tries to over throw me?’

He was a wicked leader as far as I was concerned and by the look on his best friend’s face he was probably thinking the same thing. After all the sacrifices made, this was the thanks he would get for it!

After I got over what I just saw I finally understood why this leader shot his best friend in the leg and that was to save his life. The pirate knew that he couldn’t convince the doctor to come off the ship as they were going into a losing battle, and staying on would end in definite death!

By shooting him in the leg, while they were docked at a city, he would have to leave the ship to get medical attention and therefore live knowing that his best friend cared enough for him to shoot him in the leg!

In the Operating Manual (Proverbs 27:6) it tells us that the wounds of a friend are better than the hugs of an enemy! There are many times when a leader is faced with doing what’s best for someone and that may be far from what that person wants causing ill feeling and animosity, but I can say to you that the end result of being under any leader breathes the will of God occurring in your life!

This brings up my last point in this series that I may have to finish next week and it may well be quite controversial in the way it might seem to deny the conventional logic and reasoning we have been fine-tuned to adhere to.

So I hope to whet your appetite with the following statement.

In the operation manual or on the pages of the Constitution, Romans 13 and Hebrews 13 to be more precise, it tells us that no leader exists except he or she is placed there by God! It did not say that all Christian leaders have been put there or ordained by God, even worse it did not say that all good leaders have been put there by God. It rather says all leaders are put there by Him and it continues to instruct us on the way we should relate to these leaders! I invite you to join me next week as we explore the unconventional interpretation of God’s perspective in relation to placement of leaders and our relating to them!

Until next week God bless!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Manley’s message from the grave (Pt.1)

By Ian Boyne, Contributor, Jamaica Gleaner Published: Sunday | July 22, 2012 There is no post-Independence decade fraught with as much tension, divisiveness, bitterness, class warfare as the 1970s. To this day, discussion on the 1970s reignites much of the drama and pain of that turbulent period.

Michael Manley was at the heart of it all. We can’t have reflections on our 50 years of Independence without discussing Michael Manley and his role in postIndependence Jamaica. In my view, Michael Manley has been our most seminal prime minister, our sharpest in terms of intellectual breadth and our most perceptive in terms of his grasp of the scope of political Independence. His comprehensiveness of vision has never been surpassed. Already these words, I am sure, are generating enraged opposition. You can’t be neutral about Michael Manley.

But there are some things which can be objectively and dispassionately established. There has been no postIndependence political leader who has privileged the issue of equality the way Michael Manley has. It was appropriate, therefore, for Delano Franklyn, in putting together a collection of Manley’s Budget speeches, to title his book Michael Manley: The Politics of Equality. Similarly, in her highly engaging work based on her doctoral thesis, the Cambridge and Boston College-educated academic Anna Perkins titled her work, Justice as Equality: Michael Manley’s Caribbean Vision of Justice.

MUST-READ SPEECH Manley’s 1969 speech in Parliament, which is where Franklyn begins, is most instructive and should be read by everyone interested in Jamaican politics, especially as we celebrate Jamaica 50. Said Manley in that intellectually delightful presentation: “Every society that achieves greatness must begin with an idea of its own possibilities, must begin with a concept of what it wishes to become, must begin with a dream that becomes a focus for its aspirations, must begin with a vision of justice, above all, a vision of justice.” Justice as equality, as Dr Perkins puts it.

Manley, in that speech, dismissed the canard about equality meaning equality of abilities, talents and possessions, etc. Manley was clear on what equality did not mean: “We do not mean a society in which every man is paid the same wages, regardless of the function he performs. We do not mean that everyone is born with the same talents, same character, same personality. We do not mean that everyone must drive the same car and share the same taste.” And yet years after, we would hear people mouthing those same silly objections to Manley’s philosophy of egalitarianism.

But Manley saw clearly that an unequal society was a wasteful society; a society that impairs efficiency and order; a society which courts instability. The brilliance of Manley’s intellectual grasp of these issues - from the 1960s - is reinforced when one is immersed in contemporary development literature. I am currently reading the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, former chief

21

THE BELIZE TIMES economist at the World Bank, who just released his latest book, The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers the Future. Stiglitz does a masterly job of debunking Right-wing apologists for inequality, shatteringly showing the harms of inequality.

Says Stiglitz: “Inequality’s apologists - and they are many - argue that giving more money to the top will benefit everyone, partly because it would lead to more growth. This is an idea called trickle-down economics. It has a long pedigree - and has long been discredited.” But long before it was discredited, in the Gilded Age of capitalism, Michael Manley saw it was a dead end.

In that highly perceptive 1969 speech, Manley said, “The system of self-perpetuating privilege is wasteful of human talent.

This is so because it excludes vast areas of skill from full engagement in the working of the society and substitutes in the critical areas of industry and business a rule or hereditary succession.” The “final retort of the Right,” says ‘The Price of Inequality’, “makes reference to an economic and moral justification of inequality accompanied by a claim that attempting to do anything about it will simply kill the golden goose and ... even the poor will suffer.”

Liberty Children’s Home say “Thank You” to BATSUB Continued from page 1

them positively engaged and happy.

The children knew them on sight and look forward to their arrival.

Despite the drastic downsizing of BATSUB, they continue to reach out to the community and extend their assistance. In order to conserve finance and generate income, Liberty raises pigs and chickens, and grows vegetables. At any one time we have between 12 and 24 pigs. In March, 2012, BATSUB built a concrete pigpen to replace the dilapidated structure the pigs kept escaping from. The modern pigpen has enough stalls to comfortably house all the pigs and we even have a special area for birthing. This month BATSUB responded to our request for help to repair and improve Liberty’s damage greenhouse which was damaged by a storm last October. The roof which was constructed from PVC pipes and plastic turned inside out like an umbrella in a wind storm. With the roof gone, the greenhouse was ineffective in keeping out the rain and bugs.

BATSUB engineers surveyed the damaged greenhouse and designed and built a stronger, flat, slanted roof to withstand strong winds. Knowing our financial constraints they donated the wood needed for the new designed and with the help of local BATSUB workers, reinforced the structure and replaced the damage roof. Having the greenhouse back in operation will increase the production of vegetables which are used as a source of income. Last year Liberty sold over 250 pounds of organic tomatoes to the Radisson hotel.

BATSUB soldiers, civilian workers, and wives have helped our organization saved thousands of dollars and allowed our children to broaden their horizon, developed social skills, experience other cultures, regain their trust, and most importantly improved their self esteem. We have come to enjoy and rely on their help and support and are extremely thankful for their assistance in helping us continue our work with our children- Belize’s future.

Sincerely, Delfena Mitchell (Director)

22

THE BELIZE TIMES

Senor Coconut vows to stay open after armed robbery BELIZE CITY, Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

By Alton Humes The spirit of hard work and being able to still own and operate a business is something that, even in these extremely hard times, is ingrained in the Belizean ethos. But when that spirit is shattered and invaded by the criminals, you’d tend to question everything. And for the small staff of Senor Coconut Restaurant on Eve Street, that is precisely what they are doing – maintaining a sense of ‘normalcy’ while still recovering from the shock and near-death experience of their first armed robbery since establishing their foothold in the early-tomid-2000’s.

The BELIZE TIMES today spoke to the manager as well as the ubiquitous female employee of the restaurant who shared the heart-rending fear she endured during the robbery last Friday, July 20th, 2012. The history of the restaurant which, like Macy’s and Dit’s, sells Belizean food, goes back about a decade or so, and they moved around on the same block, and experienced some minor shifts in management. But what hadn’t changed, at least not until two gunmen ruined their comfort on June 20th, 2012, was serving and delivering good Belizean food, battered economy or not.

Both the owner and the employee are still upset over the robbery, asking of one of the men who was captured and identified as Ernest Billery, “Why dehn [two] pick dis place?”

Veronica Tillett, the cashier, said that sometime after 2:00pm, she was at the restaurant along with her niece, sister and the waitress when two dark complexioned men walked towards the counter and asked for

Be Careful

By Gertrude Velasquez Last Friday I was travelling on a bus from Belize City to Boom Cut Off. I had a bag with green plantain and limes, also two journey cakes that I bought at the Red Cross Booth passing by Stella Maris. I saw a lady selling green plantains, lime and banana and I really never needed these things but I love to support people so I bought five green plantains, a bag of limes from her with the two Journey cakes.

It came up to $3.00. When I got to the Boom Cut Off, the bus was filled so I was struggling to pass with my bag. A man was going in front of me and I asked him if he could help me carry out the bag. He gladly took it and went into thin air with it because when I got off the bus, he was nowhere to be seen. I had to laugh because if he had known it was only green plantains, lime and the two journey cakes in it, probably he wouldn’t have taken it.

But do you know what I got in return?

No. 1, I got a ride in a pick-up truck that took me at my gate. When I got in the house a bag of groceries from one of my daughters was waiting on the table for me. These are the things that were in it: 5lbs Flour, ½lb Cheese, 3lbs Red Kidney Beans, 2 tins milk, 1pk Macaroni & Cheese, 1pk Lala Milk, 2 big ripe Plantains, and 1pk Shortening .

Out of evil cometh good. This write up is just for you to be careful who you ask help from. There is more bad than good in God’s world. Be careful.

the menu. One of the men turned to Tillett’s sister and asked for a soft drink. She replied that the cooler was locked and that she could not open it.

Just then, the man pulled out a handgun and placed it to the left side of her head, demanding her money and cellular phone. The man, who was unarmed, grabbed Tillett’s niece by the neck and took her cell phone valued at $350.

The men then ran out of the store and attempted to escape. Just then, a concerned citizen heard the commotion and he pulled out his licensed gun and shot at one of the assailants, Billery, injuring him, and allowing his capture.

Billary has since been arraigned as of yesterday, Monday, July 23rd, 2012, and is scheduled to return to court on August 30th, 2012.

But just like the sprit of strength

and dignity that continue to stand in the face of tragedy and chaos, Senor Coconut and its staff are fighting back by staying in the game – always open and ready to serve. Indeed, as the owner put it to us, “We will be here for a long time still…”

And certainly, no robber, thief or hooligan could dare stand up to that.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sunday, July 29, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

23

UDP disrespects elected Opposition Belize City, July 24, 2012 The UDP Government continues its disrespect of the Opposition People’s United Party and elected PUP area representatives by assigning powers and resources to their own political agents instead.

One example is what is taking place in Belize Rural Central (BRC) where the Barrow Administration is forcing a rejected and lazy politician

Another Corozal Shooting Victim survives gunman’s ambush

Corozal Town, July 25, 2012 A brazen shooting in Corozal Town last night almost ended fatally for one man who luckily survived a gunman’s ambush.

Reports are that the ye t-to-be identified victim was sitting underneath a palapa along the popular Miami Beach area, when he was accosted by a gunman who arrived riding a bicycle and opened fire at him.

This happened just before 10pm, in an area which is usually busy during the night.

The gunman was able to escape on foot, leaving a bleeding gunshot victim behind, who relied on good Samaritans to help him to the Corozal hospital for treatment.

This is the third shooting in only four weeks in Corozal Town. All three shootings have occurred on Wednesday nights, with the two previous resulting in four casualties.

Two weekends ago, Corozal Town residents held a protest march against crime and called for more support for the Police Department.

on the constituents. The voters of BRC elected PUP Area Representative Hon. Dolores Balderamos and rejected the do-nothing former UDP area representative Michael Hutchinson.

But the peoples’ will has not been respected. Hutchinson, in a closed UDP election that occurred several weeks ago, defeated UDP Senator/ Minister Godwin Hulse and UDP Belize City Mayor Darrel Bradley, for the political post of “Care Taker Representative of Belize Rural Central”.We are not sure what the post is all about or what is there for Hutchinson to “take care of” when he neglected the constituency for four long years, but the UDP has given him wide and questionable powers with the political post.

One such apparent power is being able to “recommend” land acquisition on behalf of persons to the Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega. The BELIZE TIMES obtained a letter, dated June 11, 2012 in which Hutchinson “submits recommendation” for a certain person “to purchase” a Lords Bank lot. We are told that Hutchinson has been signing and sending similar letters to Belmopan.

Our perusal of the Belize’s laws reveals that no such power can be granted to a political “caretaker”. Recommendations for land acquisition can be done by

the elected representatives, or more accurately in this case, it must come from the Village Council since Lord’s Bank is a village.

Last month during a press conference held by the People’s United Party, the Party Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca warned the Government that this disrespect will not be tolerated.

“The People’s United Party stands ready to partner with the Government on important national issues but our partnership must be grounded in good faith and mutual respect. 97 days after the elections, un-elected U.D.P. Standard Bearers continue to influence the actions

and decisions of the Government in constituencies represented by dulyelected members of the People’s United Party. Today, we make it absolutely clear to the U.D.P. Government that this disrespect must end immediately. If it continues it will destroy any further opportunity for dialogue and cooperation on any other issue,” stated Hon. Fonseca.

The BELIZE TIMES understands that the UDP has also appointed caretakers in other constituencies and districts through whom they are illegally channelling resources.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 29, 2012