Sunday, August 7, 2011
THE BELIZE TIMES
5
BARROW SERVING “RED KOOL-AID” A couple decades ago, a certain Dean tried to get land here in Belize for cult leader Jim Jones. The uncle, the king maker of the current royal family tried to explain why Jim Jones would be good for Belize. But Mr. Price in his wisdom said “no” to Jim Jones. Well Jim Jones went to much weaker leaders in the Caribbean and got land in Guyana. This was stage for a large gathering in the hundreds who worshipped him and believed he was the next best thing to God. The cult leader actually convinced hundreds of his followers to drink poison in the from of Red Kool-Aid. Recently a certain talk show host called the UDP 9th Amendment Red Kool-Aid. The King minions have taken to the air waves and television to sell the Red Kool-Aid. All these highly paid defenders are trying to get browning points as to see who can defend the king’s decree. The ex-wife on a morning show even came down scolding the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Solicitor General for not “clarifying” things properly. Some would believe that she wrote the all encompassing amendment and force “weak back” to change the constitution because the fear is so great that the UDP will lose in the court on the issue of their second nationalization of the telecom business. A certain section of the media will defend the “indefensible” in order to maintain their huge advertising contract and so the kissing up continues. The UDP PM continues to rule by fear. He is lashing the farmers into line by telling them that the only solution he can bring to the table is to sell the controlling interest of the sugar industry to foreign owners. And he has convinced the advisors of the cane farmers that this is so. Now he wants to break up the Cane Farmers Association by allowing the foreign company to bypass the association and trade with only two or three large UDP farmers. He will guarantee this by law. Furthermore, he throws the cane farmers a bone of not even ten percent, which by law entities such as shareholders to certain rights on the Board. What the farmers want is 51% percent. And the PM could have easily given the farmers the 51% just like how he found the money for the purchase of the telecom shares. The Social Security Board is always complaining that they do not have where to invest and there is so much liquidity. If this is so then lend the farmers so they can pay back the bank on the profits from the industry. Well, the PUP is different from the UDP. UDP nationalizes the telephone company and the electricial company so that their UDP law offices can make money. The PUP believes in equity in industry. The PUP will ensure that the farmers get their 51% of the sugar industry and that the tools of production remain in the hands of the farmers. The PUP will make sure that foreign exchange earned by the sugar industry remains in Belize and not Honduras. The PUP will make sure that the farmers have total control of the marketing agreement and that they have management control. The PUP will make sure that small farmers are not squeezed out by the larger farmers who have preferential access to bank capital. The people of Belize will not drink the Red Kool-Aid. The people reject the 9th Amendment and the farmers want nothing less than 51% of the sugar industry.
10
THE BELIZE TIMES
Parham Cousins Acquitted of EX-BDF Soldier’s Murder BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 3, 2011 By Roy Davis Two cousins, Derrick Parham, 21 and Kenrick Parham, 27, charged with the murder of former BDF soldier Orlando Montero, 32, a.k.a. “Vega”, were acquitted of the charge yesterday in the court of Justice Adolph Lucas. The prosecution, represented by Crown Counsel Shemila Williams, offered no further evidence after 6 witnesses testified and there was no evidence of the identity of the person or persons who committed the murder. Justice Lucas then directed the jury of 10 women and 2 men to return a formal verdict of not guilty. The incident occurred around 9p.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at Mahogany heights, located between mile 31 and 33 on the Western Highway. Montero was on a passenger bus which left Belize City en route to Mahogany Heights. When he got off the bus he got into an altercation with two persons who were on the bus. Montero punched down one of them and the other one threw a bottle at him. Montero ran into some bushes and was pursued and caught. He has stabbed in his neck, chest and face with a broken Guinness bottle. One witness, Anthony Lino, a.k.a. “Buju”, testified that he could not remember anything about the incident. Lino said he remembers giving the police a statement but he could not recall if he signed it. As a result, Lino was treated as a hostile witness. A second witness, former taxi driver Herbert Jerez, testified that he is suffering from memory loss and he cannot remember what transpired on the night of the incident and he does not recall giving the police a statement.
Kenrick Parham
Derrick Parham
Jerez said his memory loss is due to an injury to his head caused by a wheel spanner. He told the court that he was injured about 1 year ago and he went to see a brain specialist. He said he is being treated by Dr. Sosa and he is currently on medication. A third witness, Latifah Zuniga testified that she saw the altercation between the deceased and two men, one of whom wore a dark blue cap but she cannot identify them. She said she was also on medication for an illness and she was made to sit while she testified. Without any evidence of identification the prosecution’s case fell apart. Derrick was represented by attorney Dickie Bradley while Kenrick was represented by attorney Leo Bradley.
Guatemalan Pastor arraigned for Handling Stolen Goods
Joel Linarez
Cruz Allen
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 3, 2011 Joel Linarez, 44, a Guatemalan pastor and businessman was put behind bars on Monday, August 1, 2011 after he appeared in the #8 Magistrate’s Court and was charged with handling stolen goods for three items that were stolen during the burglary of the computer room of Salvation Army Primary School. Linarez pleaded not guilty to the charge. Because his immigration status could not be ascertained, Magistrate Emmerson Banner denied him bail
and remanded him into custody until August 26. Police charged Linarez after they went to his warehouse on July 28 and found a Dell brand Central Processing Unit, one black and grey Samsung Sync master flat screen monitor and 1 grey board. The total value of the items is $1,650. The burglary of the computer room occurred between June 22 and July 21. The total value of the items that were stolen was $25,200. There was no evidence of forced entry and it is Continued on page 11
Sunday, August 7, 2011
18
THE BELIZE TIMES
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
23
THE BELIZE TIMES
30,000 Plus Belizeans Sitting on a Big Pile of Nothing By The Critic Last week, while surfing the Internet, I stumbled upon the heartbreaking story of Mary Kay Coyne, a 56 year old American living in New Jersey. Coyne is one of the millions of Americans across the country’s 50 States whose unemployment benefits have expired after 99 weeks. Today, Coyne and her fellow unemployed Americans are referred to as “America’s 99ers”. At the time of the news report, Coyne had just submitted what she said was her 1,862nd job application since she became jobless three years ago. Speaking about her dilemma, Coyne commented, “You’re 56-years old and you feel like you are sitting on a big pile of nothing. For the better part of a year, I have something sitting on my chest. It’s not a medical condition. It is that pressure of ‘is this going to end, when is this going to end’?” In Belize today, there are many Belizeans who could no doubt identify with the disheartening story of Mary Kay Coyne. They are the 30,000 plus Belizeans who account for the alarming 24% Unemployment rate in our country today. Like Coyne, a lot of those Belizeans became jobless three years ago when the oppressive UDP regime assumed office in February of 2008. Like Coyne, these Be-
lizeans spend countless hours each and every day sending out job application letters and resumes, oftentimes, feeling that it is merely an exercise in futility. In the case of Coyne, she had lost her job as a consequence of her firm downsizing, a direct result of the global downturn and an ailing US economy. In Belize, a growing number of businesses and companies have suffered and continue to suffer a similar fate at the hands of a government hell bent on fighting with the private sector, destroying the investment climate and crushing our industries. Consequently, a large number of Belizeans and their families have been left out in the cold. While we certainly have our own “Mary Coynes” here in Belize, the sad story of our graduates aggressively seeking a job must also be told. Fresh off their celebration of accomplishment, these thousands of graduates are forced to wake up each and every morning to the grim reminder that they are living in a country where as Buju Banton would say, “Opportunity is a scarce, scarce commodity”. Unlike Mary Coyne and her fellow unemployed Americans, there exists no Medicaid or food stamps for the 30,000 plus unemployed Belizeans to
get by on. Instead, these Belizeans and their families must, on their own, find a way to survive “by any means necessary”. Now, the Prime Minister and his Government will be quick to laud the much ridiculed “food pantry program”. Everyone knows that you could obtain more goodies from a piñata at a birthday party than you could from Barrow’s “food pantry”.
Belize in 2011 exists as an extremely gloomy place for the 30,000 plus Belizeans who remain jobless and all indications are that this dismal number continues to grow almost daily. Like Mary Coyne, our Belizean brothers and sisters feel as if though they are sitting on a “big pile of nothing” and are left to ask: IS THIS GOING to END? WHEN IS THIS GOING to END?
Bushy says on July 30, 2011 at 12:14pm
Barrow likes to play with words, so be careful! If one can challenge the Court but the power of the National Assembly is unlimited, so what is the use of going to court, if the cabinet is above the law? It is just a waste of time and money. What do you think?”
I have awaken says on August 1, 2011 at 12:12pm
Ricky Malthus Submitted on 2011/07/30 at 3:37pm
Ask yourself about the fuel prices. Benefits from BTL since nationalization? Benefits from oil to Belizeans? Barrow sincerely believes all Belizeans are stupid morons, this the reason he speaks to us in double speak, but he failed to realize that Belizeans aren’t stupid morons, we are just passive aggressive and the time will come when that will be no more.”
Barrow committed acts of waste while the economy is depressed. He doesn’t have priorities. Joblessness, homelessness, Violence (both hot and cold) too high proportionally for population size vis-a-viz other nations. This is interpreted that Barrow is both a moral hazard and a morale hazard for Belize and as such the immediacy of national explosion is waiting for the match. Is there no one in his administration who can stand up to him and tell him that Belize is burning, his administration has failed. If we are wrong, MR. Barrow, please list your achievements: Have you grown the GDP? Have you created 40,000 jobs(this is what we need),have you mitigated the inflation and cost of living? or did you throw gasoline on the fire? please Barrow, face the nation and tell them your achievements. Patriotism and wrapping yourself in the Flag is the last refuge of Scoundrels like you.”
Posts are from www.belizetimes.bz, Belize Times Facebook Account and www.channel5belize.com
24
THE BELIZE TIMES
Reid Monday’s debate on the Ninth Amendment Bill was quite revealing in more ways than one. While it revealed on one hand, many more facts about the proposed amendment than has been revealed elsewhere, on the other hand it revealed much about the members of the panel; all prominent figures in our society. The debate was hosted by Love Television and featured a number of our country’s supposedly top legal minds. The President of the Bar Association, a former Attorney General, our new Solicitor General and two sitting Senators, one of whom is also a senior counsel, met in a clash of minds to thrash out the details of the proposed latest amendment to our Constitution. At the very least, it was educational, eye-opening and time well spent on a rainy Monday evening at home. After being forced to back down on an eight amendment bill that would have allowed the Police to lock up citizens for as long as fifty-two days without charges or legal representation, the Prime Minister came once again knocking at our door with an even more dictatorial proposal. From most folk’s interpretation, the Ninth Amendment Bill seeks to remove the Constitution as the supreme law of our land and replace it with the House of Representatives; or in this case, one man! Former Attorney General Sedi Elrington spent the entire evening trying to convince us that while this might not be how it is written, this is definitely how it has been done; at least in his interpretation. Both Elrington and newly appointed Solicitor General Cheryl Krusen-Barrow spent the evening singing from a song sheet composed by Prime Minister Barrow. Much of what they were saying was regurgitated from a letter sent by Mr. Barrow to the Belizean people dated July 29, 2011. In his letter, Barrow cited some of the very cases repeated by the Sol Gen as proof that what he was doing was well within his legal rights. A main point that Mr. Barrow tried to make in his letter, and that both KrusenBarrow and Elrington echoed incessantly throughout the debate, was that the Ninth Amendment would not stop anyone from going to court. The only thing, according to Barrow and his team, is that you just cannot go to court and be successful. Now folks, really! It is becoming painfully obvious that these people really consider us stupid and have no respect for our ability to reason or comprehend simple matters. Why would anyone want to go to court to challenge a law that is enshrined in the Constitution and that states categorically, “shall not be enquired into by any court of
law”? That would be an exercise in futility if there ever was one. The Prime Minister is claiming that all he wants to do is ensure that public utilities are always under the control of governments. There are certainly arguments as to why that would not be the best route to travel but those arguments have been exhausted and pushed aside. The question now is, if that is what you want to do, then why approach such a narrow objective with this broad swash. Do we need such a heavy sledgehammer to kill such a small ant? According to Elrington, the Prime Minister is only doing what the people are telling him to do. What people? When was anyone ever asked if this is what we wanted; such drastic changes to our Constitution? As Senator Shoman consistently pointed out, “you want the voice of the people, then hold a referendum.” How about changing the Constitution to guarantee all citizens a say in how our country is run? How about making a referendum necessary, as was previously understood, before any such major change is made to our Constitution? Of course, Mr. Barrow has gone the other way and the first law that he enacted upon taking office was designed to deny us any such right. How about giving us back the right to a referendum and making the result of any such referendum binding on the government of the day! A big surprise to me was Henry Gordon. While a known UDP stalwart, Gordon seemed able to put aside his partisanship and offer an objective view. I must say that I have a whole new opinion of this man. As for the President of the Bar, I found her refreshingly frank, genuine and comprehensive. Lisa Shoman was as usual, brilliant, and even the borderline intolerable Villanueva and Hulse performed well as moderators. What became abundantly clear is that all Belizeans need to wake up and be more familiar with our laws and the way in which we are governed. It is imperative that lessons on the Constitution become mandatory in our schools like yesterday. We cannot continue to give politicians this carte blanche authority over our rights and liberties. We need smaller, not bigger government and we must bridle the power of any man who attempts to run roughshod over the rest of us. We must stay aware and remain in control of our own destinies. Dean Barrow will not be stopped easily. He is intent on establishing a dictatorship and making fools of the Belizean people. He obviously has spent much time studying and refining his Machiavellian tactics. He is masterful with his clever sound bites and fallacious arguments. For Mr. Barrow, this is all just a game and he does not feel the need to play by the rules; he instead endeavors to rewrite them. He has spent much advertising dollars to influence and buy off the umpires. If this is just a game though, this man must understand that it is the ninth inning. The mighty “facey” is at bat with “no balls” and many strikes against him. Careful how you swing that bat, careful!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
In my perspective… Take your hands off BSI #2
By Rayford Young In my last article, I thought I was clear about what needs to happen to resolve the dilemma in which BSI (Belize Sugar Industries) finds itself. I guess the powers-that-be missed it or they did not understand what I was saying. I thought it was a very simple solution so let me once again restate the solution to this problem, as it was stated in my previous article: “In my opinion, the Barrow administration and the Honduran bank is not the answer... the answer is “us” - the people and businesses of Belize can solve this problem. The Cane farmers and BSI workers, Belize banks, Belize businesses and corporations and yes, even the public could buy out or merge BSI to assure the company remains viable for all those that invested in BSI, and for the continued economic growth of Orange Walk and Corozal districts. Everyone can have a stake in its future”. Now was that so complicated? I don’t think so. Maybe that’s the problem. My solution is too simple. Sometimes it’s the simple ideas that resolve big problems, if we want it to be resolved. I even offered to send a check as one of the new stakeholders in this new BSI company. No one contacted me. I was so disappointed. I had my $40.00 all written out to BSI and ready to go. But no one called me. Did you know if three hundred thousand Belize people sent a $40.00 check to BSI they would have all the money they need to continue operations? They would have about twelve million dollars. AH, now it doesn’t look so stupid anymore. And it would remain a Belizean company owned by all the people that sent in their $40.00. We don’t need the big banks or the Hondurans and certainly not this Administration. So when I read in the BELIZE TIMES that “Banco Atlantida is proposing to buy 51% of the shares in BSI. BSI workers currently own 81% through Belize Employee Holdings, Tate & Lyle owns 10%, and the Government of Belize owns 9%. For Banco Atlantida to end up with majority ownership, the current shares would be watered-down and the amount of shares increased. Only the workers would lose shares, because after 51% goes to Banco Atlantida, and Tate & Lyle and GOB keep their 10% and 9% respectively, the workers would only keep a minimum 30%. Banco Atlantida has offered to purchase the 51% stake for $20m. Banco Atlantida is also proposing to invest
a further $70m into the industry broken down as follows: $25m for sugar mill expansion, $20m for sugar cane production, $5m for working capital, and $20m as financing for cane farmers. On the face it sounds like a great deal of money into the industry, but the investment, some of it unnecessary, is proposed over the next ten years. More interesting is what Banco Atlantida wants in return for their ownership of BSI. The BELIZE TIMES has learned that in the list of demands are that Banco Atlantida obtains 20,000 acres of land for sugar cane production. The value of such vast land is around $20m, which means we would be simply giving up essential capital to foreigners. Cane farmers have expressed serious concern about the unfair level of playing field that would be created if a well-financed bank became a grower. With such financing they could introduce technology which would easily out-finance and wipe them out of the industry. Banco Atlantida is also asking for a sovereign guarantee on a $20m loan sought from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The $20m is the same which the Honduran Bank proposes for financing for cane farmers. But the question is: why does PM Barrow believe giving a Sovereign Guarantee to a foreign interest is the “better option” than providing it to our Belizean cane farmers? Flouting a nationalistic fervor, the Government has already risked $50m of Social Security and $20m of Central Bank funds to support the takeover of BTL. So why is a sovereign guarantee, offered to Banco Atlantida, too much for the cane farmers who want to keep BSI in the hands of Belizeans? This Banco Atlantida/BSI deal is actually Barrow’s Accommodation Agreement. It is a secret accommodation to continue pursuing its crony capitalism policy which was the driving force behind the takeover of BTL and BEL. The Government has two directors on BSI’s Board. The Prime Minister’s brother is a Board member of Altantic Bank, a local subsidiary of Banco Atlantida. It is Atlantic Bank which carried out the majority of the feasibility study that took the Honduran bank’s interest from merely financing to ownership of the sugar factory”. That’s way above my pay grade and too complex. I still like my idea. Here is how it would work. BSI would arrange with banks and credit unions around the country for anyone to come in and fill out a simple form and make your deposit. Once that’s done, you are immediately a shareholder of BSI. You can deposit as small or as high as you want. The higher the deposit the less small donors we’ll need. Once BSI is profitable again they will then repay their share holders with interest. BSI would set up a website where the donors/share holders can log in and get quarterly reports and see what their investment has earned. I know this is too simple for some but everything does not have to be complex. I like my idea so much I’m going to up my pledge to $49.95US. Once again, where do I send my check?
Sunday, August 7, 2011
THE BELIZE TIMES
RAMPHAL’S BLUNT WARNING
By Rickey Singh SHRIDATH RAMPHAL, the noted Caribbean man who headed the pathfinding West Indian Commission and served the University of the West Indies as Chancellor for 14 years, has warned against the endangering of our Caribbean Community by a “crippling separatism’’. Further, that the leaders of the 15-member regional economic integration movement, now in its 38th year, resist the “old entrancement of local control’’ and avoid falling victim to rhetoric that expediently urges “a slow down’’ or “pause’’ when the harsh realities of our Caribbean environment and the global challenges demand focused “matured regionalism’’. And, in making an open plea for shared regional vision and leadership, the former three-term secretary general of the 54-member Commonwealth and ex-AG and foreign minister of Guyana, said: “We need not fall short in vision or in leadership, but mindful, always, of the infinite unity of our people’s needs.’’ Sir Shridath was at the time delivering the recent inaugural G Arthur Brown Lecture Series that memorialises a most distinguished son of Jamaica and the Caribbean, the first Jamaican to head the Central Bank of Jamaica and former deputy administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. Ramphal’s central theme for the public lecture, organised to coincide with last month’s 50th anniversary of the Bank of Jamaica, was “Vision and Leadership: The Infinite Unity of Caribbean Needs’’. His stimulating regional overview and assessment of these needs, encompassed the vision that led to the establishment of the 15-member high-level West Indian Commission that produced the seminal 1992 Time for Action Report, and extended to last month’s 32nd Caricom Summit in St Kitts. At that annual event, talk by leaders of a “slow down’’ in the regional economic integration process was to follow the earlier notion of need for a pause as earlier verbalised at the leaders’ special retreat in Guyana. What was rather ironical for Ramphal—an iconic West Indian messenger—as it could also have is the rhetoric of slow down and pause, sharply contrasted with the needs of the Community as identified in a significant study recently conducted by the St Augustine-based Institute of International Relations of the University of the West Indies. Entitled Caribbean Regional Integration, and involving some of the
most eminent scholars, it is viewed by Ramphal as “the most authoritative contemporary commentary on the issue of Caribbean integration and very specially, of the challenges facing it’’. In its executive summary, the study makes quite clear: “There was a real sense that the optimistic era of Caribbean integration may well have passed just at the time when it is most desperately needed. The difficulties facing the region are no longer simply about competing in a globalising economy. “Rather’’, it noted, “they are existential threats which bring into question the fundamental visibility of Caribbean society itself— climate change; transnational crime; the decline of regional industries; food security; governance challenges; international diplomacy and so on, which can only be effectively addressed by coordinated regional (my emphasis) responses...’’ In the thinking of the scholars who contributed to the institute’s study, these problems are becoming increasingly acute in the immediate present, and failure to act immediately, effectively and coherently at the regional level could quite conceivably herald the effective decline of Caribbean society as a perfect storm of problems gathers on the horizon. The study warned that “it cannot be stressed just how critical the present juncture is’’, adding that “this may well be the last chance to save the formal integration process in the Caribbean as we know it, to set the region on a new development path, and another opportunity might not present itself in the future’’. Evidently, further inspired by the thinking of the eminent regional scholars who participated in the institute’s study on the state of Caribbean regional integration, Sir Shridath was to make the telling observation that the outcome of last month’s Caricom summit in St Kitts “seems to have confirmed the validity of the fears of West Indians at all levels’’. “In the environment of public scepticism in which the summit was convened’’, he noted, “there were many verbal assertions of dedication to the goals of Caribbean integration. Those assertions are welcome; they mean, at least, that it would be politically perilous to assert otherwise to the vast majority of Caribbean people. But, of course, it is what Caribbean leaders did at St Kitts that matters most.’’ And in his judgment, Ramphal argues that the Caricom leaders’ decision in St Kitts to “slow down’’ the integration pace “a bit and look at a more realistic calibration of where we need to go in the integration movement’’ (according to the summit’s host and current chairman, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas), was, “effectively, reaffirmation of the conclusions of the special retreat in Guyana.’’ In his delivery of the inaugural G Arthur Brown memorial lecture, Ramphal, clearly distressed over the future of Caricom, was to wonder aloud: “Slow down, given that we are already at dead slow, how far is that from ‘stop’?’’
27
Sunday, August 7, 2011
THE BELIZE TIMES
Why Most Men Avoid Church Have you ever wondered why when you enter a church building the vast majority of members seem to be women? A couple nights ago I was enjoying an early nights rest only to wake up to a concerned voice saying “Babes wa big animal deh ina the house!” It happened to be a little bat. Still shocked and half asleep, I found myself jumping on the bed and looking on like everyone else. After a while I realized it was my responsibility to deal with this bat. We began a game of hide and seek as somehow it seemed it was a bit drunk and was unable to fly properly! Well for me it was ‘hide and seek’ but for him ‘Life and Death’! Finally after an hour and a half of battle, I came out victorious by tossing it out on the street to find a new place to stay! My weapons of choice were two bed sheets, a pillow, and a plastic container. See he was living in the roof where we had just sprayed a healthy dose of poison, so he decided to seek refuge in a more ‘respiratory’ acceptable environment! He had a number of things working against him, but I’ll give you two. Firstly it doesn’t matter how much extra space and rooms we have in our house, it is too small for my family and a bat to live in! Secondly we use lights in the night and I understand they are uncomfortable with this! It ended up in a unanimous decision that the bat had to leave and he was thereby given immediate eviction! After looking at it carefully I have come to the conclusion that churches are starved of males because males find themselves in the same position of the bat. Most of the church environments are not conducive to men! I will try to share with you two of them. The next time you enter a church building take a deeper look around. The majority subscribe to colors and decorations that scream out women, they attract more women than men. To give you an example I have visited many barber shops, auto parts stores, tools stores and to be honest with you I have not found one that would be painted pink or decked down with beautiful flowers! These designs are to men as light is to a bat! Another male repellant in the church today is the songs that are sung. Some songs speak of the future such as in the sweet by and by, completely irrelevant to the here and now while other love song seems to be sung from a more feminine point of view. Imaging you are a male visiting a church and you see with your ear a man singing to Jesus about kisses of your lips, or hold me close, never let me go! While for women this passes unnoticed, a male not understanding the intent of the songs sees this experience as a bat would look at roach spray! This is coupled with the stigma portrayed that the men in churches are “soft”! In the world today, there are men with no womb who believe they are womb-men and there are womb-men who believe they are men just that they have a womb! Let me tell you something about Jesus. Many movies portray him as a slim built man but imagine this, in his day there was no power saw or power tools to make your work easy, you had to saw board by the power of your arm, no router, power drill, nail gun etc. I’m trying to say that Jesus was no soft pops! He would enjoy stopping at builder’s hardware to buy power tools and he would also remember the faucet. So in closing, as you decorate the church building, ask yourself the question “Is this a welcoming environment for men?” And also as you choose or write new songs ask yourself the question “how would men feel singing these words?” Tune in next week as I seek to close this episode answering the question “Why are Churches Empty?”
29
Sunday, August 7, 2011
31
THE BELIZE TIMES
UNIBAM says Church’s campaign is founded on “fallacies, fear, ignorance, unassailable dogmatism” My humble 2 cents on the 9th Amendment Continued from page 2
demonstrate against the 13 proposals, and yes, the people of Belize can rise up at anytime to show their displeasure, however, the Minister seems to want suggest that Belizeans should accept this option as that ONE option that will put them in charge of an Administration gone wild! Nay, Mister Minister! This should NOT be so! In a system such as ours, we depend on the CORRECT formulation of Laws to determine the way we are governed and will live. Laws that are made in such a way as to reflect the majority of the society’s will, norms etc. If the Minister is truly suggesting that revolutionary upheaval should be the standard by which the people have control over the Government, then I suggest that the learned Honorable Minister has become ‘unglued’!! (pun intended!) Listen, for those of us who have not come even close to being anywhere near a school of law, we have to depend on the architects and proponents of the amendment to give us all the facts, so we can then make a determination on our own. However when it becomes plain that you have artfully omitted certain implications of the amendment, then the whole premise becomes suspect! Belizeans from all walks of life should be very concerned at the provisions in the amendment that remove the power of the people via the courts to make a lawful determination on the WHOLE amendment! What’s the use of you telling me that you can take away my property and if I question the validity of your actions, I ONLY have the right to question the procedures used in doing so!! And what is even MORE alarming is that you close ALL the doors on any recourse in the Courts, but on the other hand you also leave one open for Parliament to add any other amendment or law that they see fit, thereby putting THAT additional law beyond the reach of the court as well! The debate will continue but I for one am definitely NOT convinced that this 9th amendment, in its current form, is ONLY about enshrinement of the Belizean ownership of the utilities! As Ms. Marshalleck pointed out last night, the actual words are right there in the proposed amendment for the world to see!! There is no ambiguity! This slide down the proverbial slippery slope that this administration is taking us, must be vehemently stopped and I wholeheartedly applaud vocal opponents of the 9th amendment such as Attorneys Lisa Shoman and Jackie Marshalleck, and Senators Gordon and Hulse for taking the lead in ensuring that we are not drawn unknowingly into a “Dean-tatorship”! Signed, Kindly withhold my name.
Continued from page 2
sive, pluralistic model, it must contend with these dangerous forces that, left unchallenged, would keep the country in an arrested state, void of vision and potential for growth in multiple ways. It is no surprise that these forces perpetuate themselves by callous exploitation of the basest human emotions-fear and hatred. They may dumbfound and paralyze a populace and nobody knows how to manipulate them more than political demagogues and religious fanatics. Fear and hatred undermine a healthy democracy and must be confronted, challenged and eradicated if the promise of a young democracy is to be fulfilled. UNIBAM, in exercising its constitutional rights to due process of law in the Belizean democracy, finds it necessary to issue a response to a series of homophobic, fundamentalist propaganda launched by certain religious groups. Such propaganda is clearly designed to exploit the ignorant piety of the gullible and incite fear and prejudice among the Belizean people against gay and lesbian citizens. It is based solely on religious dogmas that are antithetical to reason or logic. These religious groups obviously
have no intention to engage in a reasonable dialogue on the issue of homosexuality and a prejudicial law that could be used unjustly against gays in Belize. Their sole purpose is to disseminate their fallacious information and fuel the flames of intolerance. It is imperative to recognize and emphasize the fact that Belize is NOT a theocracy or ruled by biblical tenets. UNIBAM’s constitutional challenge to Article 53 of Belize’s criminal laws is a matter to be settled ONLY by the courts without any influence from religious bodies or their incendiary rhetoric. UNIBAM’s argument is firmly based on the cause of inalienable human rights, regardless of nationality, religion, gender, economic class, race or sexual orientation. If Belize is to progress socially, it is imperative that it resist dogmatism, zealotry and bigotry, especially those that come under the guise of an ostensibly innocuous church. Dogmatic thinking and ideologies are counterproductive; they allow no room for intellectual inquiry, analysis, exchange of ideas or a healthy dialogue on important civil issues. If God is the be all end all, the explanation for everything, then humans must
merely succumb to the tenets of God and not utilize their own intellectual capacity. During the Dark Ages in Europe the dominant church rigidly censored the arts, sciences and philosophy, in effect, the public forum of ideas. Hence, for almost a millennium, there was little significant development in these fields, which we know advance culture and civilization. Instead the church was busy sanctioning holy wars, witch hunts and burnings at the stake, the victims being anyone who did not comply with their strict tenets and moral codes. In fact, religious fanatics and gross distortions of religious texts have been responsible for significant strife in human history—the Inquisition, the Crusades, justification of slavery, the oppression of women, terrorist bombings in Ireland and the Middle East, to name a few. Belize, an already poor, struggling nation, cannot afford to be dragged into retrogression by these religious zealots for whom nonsensical dogmas should replace human autonomy, volition, potential and responsibility. It would be a grave travesty to allow these religious bigots and their highly subjective tenets to have any influence on pubContinued on page 33
Slavery, Poverty and Crime in Belize Continued from page 2
gage rates. As a result home ownership is rapidly being destroyed and thousands of people have been put out of their homes. The problem could have been easily resolved by enacting a usury law as has been urged to do. A usury law, such as is used in advanced countries to protect their economies, puts a limit on the upper interest rate that lending institutions can charge. The Prime Minister’s failure to act has resulted in thousands of home and business foreclosures. Foreclosures on loans with interest rates so high that the loans were not performable. As there has not been a usury law passed, there has not been affordable interest rates by which properties could be re-financed to save the homes and businesses from foreclosure. At the same time hundreds of home owners who could not continue to pay on their loans, due to their high interest rates, have sold their homes, at greatly reduced prices, to prevent foreclosures of their loans and deficiency judgments against them. In Belize the stated interest rates on home loans generally run from 11% to 14%. However, in many of such home loans the interest is compounded, with interest on interests and the interest is assessed daily instead of monthly. The result being that such loans actually accrue interest at the rate of approximately 15% and 18%, not 11% or 14%. The present rates on home loans in the United States are easily determined on the Interest, at either www.bankrate. com or www.amerisave.com. The May 6, 2011 interest rate quoted on amerisave for a fixed rate 15 years home loan was 3.25%. The fixed interest rate quoted by bankrate on such a loan was 3.85%. Home interest rates in Guatemala
run at about 8% and the home interest rates in El Salvador and Honduras are equally low. Banks that operate in Belize also operate in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Why is it that the same banks charge interest rates in Belize that are nearly twice the interest rate they charge in other countries and three times the interest rates that are charged in the United States? The answer is that the Prime Minister and other politicians allow them to do so. By allowing them to do so, the Prime Minister and other politicians have aided in the destruction of Belize’s economy, resulting in poverty and the increase in crime. Why hasn’t the Prime Minister caused a usury law to be enacted to prevent such high interest rates? Only he knows, however, he has spoken on television regarding “his friends in banking”. On September 24, 2009 the Hon. Said Musa addressed the House of Representative s in respect to the necessity to lower interest rates to save the economy. Said Musa was correct, lower interest rates were necessary to save the economy. England, United States, Peru and most other advanced countries lowered their interest rates to save their economies. The Prime Minister only promised to lower interest rates in Belize; the interest rates were never sufficiently lowered. Belize’s economy therefore went bad and continues its downward spiral. The result of a failed economy is poverty. Crime is a symptom of poverty. Until a usury law is passed, limiting the interest rate that can be charged there will never be recovery from the failed economy. Crime will continue to increase as long as poverty and the failed economy exist. In his 2010 budget presentation the Prime Minister stated: “Society will be benefited through the reconfiguration
and lowering of the banks interest rates structures”. Three years have passed since the campaign promise and the Prime Minister has not acted to put a limit on interest rates by enacting a usury law. During the tragic 3 years period of inaction hundreds of home owners have lost their homes and many businesses have been foreclosed on. Seventy (70%) percent of all employment comes from small businesses. Small businesses cannot survive with high interest rates. Poverty comes from unemployment. The time for the Prime Minister to choose between his “friends in banking” and the people and enact a usury law has long passed. Until he does so and causes a proper usury law to be enacted, poverty and the high crime rate will continue. Kenneth Gale
32
THE BELIZE TIMES
Sunday, August 7, 2011
MONIQUE HABET WINS MISS EARTH BELIZE 2011 Belize City, July 27, 2011 Twenty-four year old Monique Habet of San Ignacio, Cayo claimed the coveted title of Miss Earth Belize 2011 at the Miss Earth Belize Pageant held at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, July 23, 2011. BELIZETIMES EXCLUSIVE
Living with
AUTISM
Continued from page 26 We still have a whole lot to learn about autism and about my son, because we honestly don’t know what his life will be like in the future, and that scares us. We think about what would happen to him if something should happen to me his mother, as he is so young. How would he survive? I know his father and sisters will always be there for him, there is no question about that but there is nothing like a mother’s love and patience. To other families with autistic children, just remember to take it one step at a time, and always remember there is a reason why this special child was given to us by God. You may not think so right now, but just give it time and a lot of patience. As a wise man once said, “time reveals all great things”.
According to Ms. Darlene Clarke Campbell, Director of Belize International Pageants Ltd. (BIPL) “Ms. Habet has a calm and sweet personality that draws people toward her. She was obviously the other candidates’ favorite. We
believe she will represent us well”. Ms. Habet will represent Belize at the Miss Earth Pageant in Pattaya, Thailand on November 12, 2011. Miss Earth is one of the three most coveted titles in the world beauty pageant arena
and is devoted to a single most important cause - our ENVIRONMENT. Miss Earth Belize will be a Goodwill Ambassador and Spokesperson for Belize as well as its environmental and Continued on page 34
Young man murdered in Cotton Tree after parting fight Continued from page 6
edly killed by one of his own relatives, a 15 year old boy. Castillo’s stepfather, Earl Hemsley, says that his stepson was killed for breaking up a fight earlier in the day last week Wednesday. According to Hemsley, sometime around 2:00 that same afternoon a fight had broken out between Castillo’s aunt with whom he was staying and another relative in the village. The fight turned into a mob armed with sticks, stones and 91machetes. But little did he know that the fight which eventually ended that afternoon would resume later on in the night. Castillo’s aunt became ill and she needed a painkiller that night. Forgetting about the previous incident, Castillo volunteered to go buy the painkiller for her. He left the house with two of her sons, his cousins, and together they went to the shop. But while there, they noticed that a group of young boys, most of them relatives, were advancing on them
with sticks, stones and machetes. They decided to run, splitting up to lose their aggressors. Castillo ran through the adjacent yard hoping to elude them in the dark. But the youths knew the yard all too well and found Castillo hiding from them. That was when one of them, suspected to be the 15 year old, hacked him cruelly across the head with a machete. Hemsley said that her son spoke with her only half an hour before he was killed. He joked with her she said as she waited for a local game show to begin. The last thing he told her was “I love you, I love you, I love you.” When the phone rang a short while later with Castillo’s younger brother nervous and worried she knew something was wrong. That was when her sister took the phone and told her that Castillo had been chopped and that they were on their way to the Belmopan hospital. But he never lived through the night. Castillo bled to death. His stepfather said that there were two chop wounds:
the deep gash on his head and another on his arm presumably inflicted when Castillo raised his hand to block the blow. The yard where the incident happened had a trail of blood leading from that the back all the way to the front. Earl Hemsley said that the lack of remorse on the alleged killer’s face makes him want full justice for his stepson. Meanwhile, the villagers are still shocked at what happened. In the short space of time that Castillo was there he had earned the liking of everyone he met. He was quick to help the children and mannerly to the elders. He lived with his parents at the corner of Mahogany and Mopan Streets and was hired as a handyman by his neighbor, Browns Butane Gas. He’s described as a quiet young man who never went looking for trouble. Police have charged Castillo’s 15 year old cousin with his murder. They say that they have enough evidence to get a conviction.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
33
THE BELIZE TIMES
6%
n Gordo on ngt Elri
i Sed
BELIZETIMES POLL
Poll results: Belizeans say No to 9th Amendment 15% Krusen
Lisa Shoman
36%
17% Marshalleck
26%
Belize City, August 2, 2011 The majority of Belizeans do not support the 9th Constitutional Amendment. That was the result of two polls conducted this week. The first poll conducted by LOVE FM following, a live debate on the amendment on Monday night, questioned: Who do you think was the better panelist in the Love Television/Love FM national debate on the proposed Belize Constitution Ninth Amendment on August 1? No, surprise, the top vote getter, as of press time August
UNIBAM says... Continued from page 31
lic policy. Instead of spreading fallacies and condemning others, these church groups would better serve the Belizean public by speaking out against poverty, rampant crimes, violence, injustice, and political corruption. The Christ we are familiar with says nothing about homosexuality, but he surely was a vehement critic of injustice and religious hypocrisy. The Christ we are familiar with compassionately walked among the lepers and the sex workers, warning the zealots and the pious against casting the first stone at them. But instead of loving their neighbor as themselves, inspiring hope, or fighting for the rights of the oppressed, these religious groups somehow find it more worth their time to march and spread fallacious propaganda condemning homosexuals. They are fully aware that such tactics promote fear, discrimination, ignorance and even violence. Certain church leaders have been exploiting the power of their pulpit to misinform the public about the amendment to Section 53 of the laws of Belize. This is blatant hypocrisy. It seems that the church’s philosophy of love and forgiveness has transformed into one of hatred and persecution. These crusaders must be held accountable for spreading pernicious lies that dangerously misguide the public. One of their recurring mantras, and that of homophobes in general, is “that by removing the sodomy law we give license to these homosexual pedophiles to infiltrate our schools and sexually abuse our children.” There is ample empirical evidence from the Caribbean that shows that most child sexual abuse/ rape/exploitation is perpetrated by heterosexual men. The incidents of heterosexual sexual abusers molesting young girls (including members of their own families) are epidemic in Belize. In fact, there have been innumerable cases in our society of young girls being molested, raped and kidnapped. If and when these cases are aired there is no public outcry as was demonstrated by the recent violent response against an alleged molester in Succotz last week. That the victim was a male ostensibly points to a public aversion towards the “gay boogie man” as well as the patriarchal value that the male sex is more valuable than the female. To further educate on this issue, sex between men and minor boys (pederasty), is not considered by sexologists to be derived from sexual orientation and eroticism. Sexual abuse of children is based on control, abuse of power and exploitation of the vulnerable. It is, therefore, deceptive
and dangerous to correlate homosexuality and pederasty. Now, it is interesting that this fallacious propaganda is coming from religious preachers who have had no shortage of sex scandals with minors over many years and in many countries. Great job, Christian soldiers; what a way to do God’s work. First take the plank out of your own eye, and you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Zealots seem unaware of their own self-contradiction, though conscious of the way they select their battles. What religious creeds deem sinful is not the same as criminal conduct. Premarital sex, having multiple sex partners and using contraceptives, though sinful in the eyes of the church, are widely practiced without any civil or state disapproval. It is noteworthy that these crusaders do not try to have the state criminalize these practices. They obviously know the impossible battle they would have with such campaigns. They are also hypocritically aware of a slew of other forbidden practices cited in their religious texts, but which they themselves commit on a daily basis and then seem to conveniently ignore. And so, once again, homosexuality becomes the cause célèbre that helps to validate their raison d’etre. Make no mistake, it is a campaign founded on fallacies, fear, ignorance, unassailable dogmatism, and a refusal to comprehend the world within the sphere of reason and logic. UNIBAM reiterates its case that consenting adults have an inalienable right to their bodies and to privately engage in whatever form of intimacy they choose. This right should not be impeded, in any way, by a state law, or the highly subjective values of religious doctrines and dogmas. Belize has an auspicious opportunity to stand out as a promising, young democracy, one that empowers its citizens with their rights and designs laws that preserves those rights. Belize is at the threshold of taking a leadership position with very few nations in the Caribbean and Central America to decriminalize sodomy, as almost all developed nations have done. We trust that Belize will choose to join such league of nations and set an example for the region. We will continue to resist religious bigotry and challenge these crusaders to disprove Jonathan Swift’s observation that “we have just enough religion to make us hate but not enough religion to make us love one another.” Signed, Caleb Orozco Executive President UNIBAM
3, 2011 was our very own PUP senator Lisa Shoman who took 37% of the votes. Rounding off last place was Wilfred Elrington who only scraped fifteen votes. As the new generation of young people would say “rofl”. Apart from those two important stats, the most important calculation is that a super majority of sixty nine (69%) agreed with the arguments against the bill, (Shoman, 37%, Marshalleck, 24%, and Gordon, 8%). Maybe now, this lying and dictatorial UDP government
will stop saying that they are doing the will of the people. In the first empirical poll on the topic the UDP Government lost, more than two to one. The results of the poll, an admittedly humble one, show that more Belizeans disapprove of this crazy bill than the percentage of votes (56.3%) that the UDP stole in the last general elections. We note that at that time they did not mention these draconian dictator’s laws. But like the new Baskin Continued on page 34
36
THE BELIZE TIMES
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Chamber Calls on the Government
to Withdraw the 9th Amendment Bill AUGUST 3, 2011 If enacted, the proposed Ninth Amendment to Belize’s Constitution creates a very dangerous situation, which is not contemplated by our Constitution. It allows the Legislature to have absolute power to amend the Constitution as long as it has the requisite two-thirds to three-fourths majority and follows the other procedural requirements under Section 69 to enable the amendment. In effect, we move from a Constitutional Supremacy where the laws passed by the Legislature must conform to the Constitution, to Parliamentary Supremacy where the Parliament is supreme and can pass any law without reference to our Constitution. The potential for abuse is real. If the Legislature has absolute powers it can take away any fundamental right or freedom from Belizeans by further amending the Constitution, and we will have no recourse to challenge the substance of the amendments. In other words, with the passage of the Ninth Amendment we risk losing the basic rights and freedoms we as Belizeans consider the very essence of our democracy. We would be placing ultimate control of our democracy in the hands of our elected representatives, without any check on their powers. As with the recently withheld proposed Eighth Amendment (Preventative Detention), we note that this current administration had proposed drastic changes to our personal liberties. With the Ninth Amendment, the Eighth Amendment can be reintroduced, and we would be unable to challenge its substance in the courts. In our democracy all persons are equal before the law, and all persons are afforded equal rights to challenge any law passed by the Legislature. While the Chamber recognizes the right of the Government to nationalize property, every person whose property has been acquired should have a right to access the Court to challenge that acquisition. If the Constitution is to be amended to deny that right to certain persons, it creates inequality in our law, undermines our democracy and sets new precedence to which we can all become victims. Further, the Chamber objects to the proposal that investment of Social Security funds, the people’s money, should now be considered Government shares in public utility companies. Government control and interference have been shown to be detrimental to the Fund, which is why the Chamber and other social partners fought in 2005 to take the Social Security fund out of Continued on Insert 4
THE BELIZE TIMES
37
INSERT 1
Sunday, August 7, 2011
THE BELIZE TIMES
39
INSERT 3
40
INSERT 4
THE BELIZE TIMES
Chetumal Mayor advises Mayor Moya: Get Up or Get Kicked Out! Belize City, August 3, 2011 Two weeks ago, Belize City Mayor Zendaida Moya-Flowers led a delegation or should we say a “circus troupe” to neighboring Chetumal, Quintana Roo. Apparently, some sort of “circus exchange program” was established between the two cities as it is reported that a vehicle with a megaphone was seen/heard driving around the main streets of Chetumal and announcing “El Circo del Ayuntamiento de la Ciudad de Belice ya llego”. Our good neighbors to the immediate north of us certainly got a treat. Not only did they get to see the main clowns, Moya, Samuels, Chang, Usher, Espejo and Singh but as an added feature, they got to see the “super clowns”, Gabriel Martinez, “Sedi” Elrington, Carlos Perdomo, “Chendo” Urbina and “Landy” Burns. We at the BELIZE TIMES understand that the delegation’s visit was made on the invitation of the Mayor of Chetumal, Lic. Carlos Mario Villanueva Tenorio. Surely, Mayor Tenorio must still be beating himself up for extending an invitation to a bunch of “tontos”. We don’t know whether the “revival meeting” was conducted in English or Spanish. Either
Chamber Calls on the Government
to Withdraw the 9th Amendment Bill Continued from Insert 1 political control. The Ninth Amendment seeks to reverse the people’s will as expressed at that time and to deem the Social Security Board’s (SSB) shares in our public utilities as a part of the Government’s shareholding, with the requirement that if the SSB is to sell its shares, it must first offer the shares to Government. Aside from infringing on the SSB’s freedom to deal with its property, this gives rise to possible conflict of interest and abuse. If the entrenchment of ownership of public utilities is all the Ninth Amendment sought to achieve, the Chamber would not be so concerned. However, when the Government goes beyond entrenchment and seeks to interfere with our fundamental rights as Belizeans, rights which if lost may never be regained, this cannot be taken lightly. The Chamber calls on the Government to withdraw the Ninth Amendment and renews its call for the Government to desist from taking any actions that offend the principle of separation of powers and our democratic institutions enshrined and entrenched in our Constitution. (Press Release)
way, we know for sure that Moya and her pathetic bunch of councilors made complete idiots of themselves as they all are horrible at speaking English properly, let alone Spanish. Heaven forbid that anyone of these imbeciles did any interview with the Chetumal media. We should find some comfort, however, in knowing that they didn’t take along with them the councilor who loves to flaunt the cap with the “S” which, by the way, stands for “SUPER IDIOT MAN” and not “SUPERMAN”. We’ve been told that in her meeting
with Mayor Tenorio, Moya extolled her counterpart for the wonderful work he has been doing as Mayor of Chetumal. Moya also told Mayor Tenorio how impressed she and her councilors were with the streets and lights and other infrastructure of his city. So, there we have it fellow citizens of Belize City. While we were walking, driving, and bicycling on streets dug out with potholes and craters, Moya and her delegation were cruising on the well paved streets of Chetumal. While we were crossing pitch-dark bridges, Moya
Sunday, August 7, 2011 and crew were driving over brightly lit overpasses. How we are still laughing our heads off here at the BELIZE TIMES after hearing about Moya boasting about her “Get Up & Run” activity to Mayor Tenorio. Now, that’s some funny stuff but way funnier than Moya’s boast is the response she got from her counterpart. Perhaps knowing how we, on this side of the border, feel about Moya and Co. and how eagerly we await the upcoming Municipal Elections in March of next year, Mayor Tenorio remarked to Moya, “Get Up or Get Kicked Out”. Indeed, Mayor Tenorio for come March 2012, Moya & Co. will “Get Kicked Out” of City Hall by us, the people of Belize City – SE FUE!