National Perspective October 23, 2011

Sunday, September 4th , 2011

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Gang Culling in Southside Belize City - Read on pge 5

A New Begining!

Edition 165 Vol.4 week 8

The true voice of the silent majority

Sunday, October 23rd , 2011

...PUP Endorses Francis Fonseca As Leader!

Barrow pulls out all stops to pass ‘Ninth’!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Thursday, October 20, 2011 BELIZE CITY – Francis Fonseca will be the next Party Leader of the Peoples United Party. At a meeting of the party’s Executive Committee Francis Fonseca’s application was unanimously accepted. Fonseca has told supporters and well-wishers that he is excited at the opportunity but his excitement is tempered by the knowledge that there is a lot of very hard work ahead.

Fonseca’s appointment ends two weeks of roller coaster drama that began on Friday, October 7th when then party leader John Briceno announced suddenly and dramatically that he was resigning his position.

At that meeting of the National Executive Committee, it was also decided that Senior Deputy Leader Mark Espat would step in as Interim Leader, with the expectation that he would be formally endorsed as the Leader at a Central Party Council meeting scheduled for November 5th.

Almost immediately the party’s caucuses began to announce their endorsement of Espat as Leader and there was only one dissenting

BELIZE CITY – Despite widespread manifest opposition and two cases before the nation’s highest court questioning the legality and credibility of the Belize Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Bill, the Barrow administration has signaled its intention to ramrod its enactment through the National Assembly tomorrow, Friday, October 21, 2011. It is a date that may yet live in infamy.

Late yesterday many public officers deemed to be United Democratvoice. Arthur Saldivar, the standard bearer for Belize Rural North announced that he wanted to be leader and challenged the party executives, calling for an election. He met with little public support but on Tuesday, a day before the nomination deadline of Wednesday, October 19th, Mark Espat called the party’s standard bearers and executive members, and then released a statement that began: “Today, I informed members of the National Executive and the Standard Bearers of the People’s United Party of my final decision not to seek the post of Party Leader.”

Espat’s announcement threw the party into turmoil. In an explanation of his reason for withdrawing his name from consideration in a separate letter to standard bearers he said “You will recall that in our conversations and meetings during the past several days, we spoke openly about the circumstances under which I would accept this important nomination. Unfortunately, these conditions do not now exist.”

Espat, apparently in an interview

Continues on page 8

Continues on page 4

Where is Zenaida???

She Council ‘Noh Know’ and ‘Belizeans Noh Know Aida’!

Belize City Mayor Zenaida Moya MIA!

BIAS TOWARDS NONE !!

Page 2

For the members of the United Democratic Party, the leadership struggle of the People’s United Party has been a cause for jubilation.

However, the PUP appears in better shape as far as succession planning is concerned. We say this because in the pass two (2) weeks the PUP has had five (5) potential leaders present themselves and each capable of leading the PUP.

In the event Dean Barrow ceases to be the leader of the UDP, at a glance it is very hard to determine who can be their viable leader. The crowd at Wave Radio along with many other UDP stalwarts has already anointed Hon. Patrick Faber the, present UDP Chairman. However, there are others that believe they are worthy such as Hon. Gaspar Vega and Hon. John Saldivar. Of course, the UDP will try to diminish such thoughts presently because Hon. Dean Barrow is a vindictive individual and any thought of disloyalty by those around him will be treated severely.

The PUP is at a crossroad because most human beings desire to be led, and if there is no leader then the followers may become lost and confuse. So the PUP executive has been moving swiftly to identify a leader, whether by convention or an endorsement.

On October 7th, when Hon. John Briceno relinquished leadership of the PUP, Hon. Mark Espat became a shoo-in for leader. He was immediately appointed Interim Party Leader, which he accepted. However, almost in tandem many PUP Standard Bearers publicly endorsed him for leader, even though he, Espat, did not declare himself a candidate for the vacant leader post.

By Friday of the following week thirty of the thirty-one standard bearers endorsed Mark Espat for Leader of the PUP. The only challenge to the leadership came from

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

REAL LEADERSHIP! Surprisingly, this publication has already noted that the undermining of the PUP continues by the usual suspects, and now Hon. Briceno has joined as the ring leader. This is sad because Hon. Briceno was a victim of those same two undermining persons. In addition in order to form a Government, it requires a minimum of sixteen (16) seats to be won by the PUP. So if the PUP do not unite themselves, then their supporters will become disenchanted and remove their support.

Belize Rural North standard bearer, Arthur Saldivar, who was not given a chance in hell to defeat Espat in a convention. However, in shocking fashion on Tuesday morning Hon. Espat called all standard bearers informing them that he will not submit his name for leader and sighted the financial woes of the PUP as the primary reason.

This is unprecedented that a man who has long aspired to be Leader of the People’s United Party and was being given the leadership on a “gold” platter which he refused. This was a man who had undermined and connived for the last seven (7) years, trying to topple the Leader of the PUP so that he can ascend to that position.

And when he was given the chance, he “got cold feet” because he could

not get the support for bags of money to be bestowed upon him.

Many believed that after waiting for so long Mark Espat would have been so hungry to become Prime Minister, that he would have worked his tail off to accomplish that. However, since Tuesday Mark Espat has disappointed thousands of Belizeans by refusing to lead the PUP.

Hon. Francis Fonseca was then the next in line and had initially refused as many issues had to be in line for him to accept. On Thursday morning, those things appeared aligned, and he was able to stake a claim to the Leadership of the PUP. However, prior to the leadership nomination closing on Wednesday, MikeEspat and Julius Espat added their names to the already entered

Arthur Saldivar to vie for the leadership post. All three (3) withdrew their names on Thursday to support Hon. Francis Fonseca.

It has been reported that an endorsement of Hon. Fonseca’s leadership by the Central Party Council will be done next weekend. We advise that it be one of the biggest parties to show the strength of the People’s United Party and to put to rest all the naysayers and let the UDP understand that the real fight has now started.

The Hon. John Briceno leadership was very passive and did little to unify and ignite the people of Belize against the tyrant government of the UDP. It is felt that one cannot do worse than he did, so we say that Hon. Francis Fonseca and the PUP can only go forward now. We in no way meant any disrespect to Hon. Briceno because we had liked him as an area representative but felt he was over his head as Leader of the PUP. Surprisingly, this publication has already noted that the undermining of the PUP continues by the usual suspects, and now Hon. Briceno has joined as the ring leader. This is sad because Hon. Briceno was a victim of those same two undermining persons. In addition in order to form a Government, it requires a minimum of sixteen (16) seats to be won by the PUP. So if the PUP do not unite themselves, then their supporters will become disenchanted and remove their support.

The money will come to run a campaign when those on the outside believe that there is the possibility of the PUP defeating the UDP in a General Election. That confidence in the PUP will come from donors when they view the hard work of the PUP by their constant exposing of the lies of the Government on the media.

This, by the way, will cost nothing to do. OPEN YOUR EYES THE PEOPLE ARE AWAKE!!!

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Page 3

Belize Family Life Association on the verge of shut down

Barrow administration sit on their laurels as the economy declines

Is the ‘Drug Cartel’ Probing our ‘Security Forces’!!!

Wednesday, 19th October, 2011 By: A Former BDF Officer

Joan Burke, BFLA Executive Director

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 we depend on the income being genBELIZE CITY - If you listen to Prime Minister Barrow and his UDP, then you’ll get the distinct impression that all is well in Belize. In Barrow’s world the economy is performing in spite of cascading global economic conditions.

But try as the Barrow administration may, they cannot vault the evidence of an economy is dire straits. And so it was the Belize Family Life Association’s turn to broadcast its woes under the weight of an ailing economy.

Executive Director Joan Burke came forward in the media to tell the public that BFLA may have to close its doors because it cannot afford the cost of operation after business had significantly declined.

“The situation is this, that for 26 years BFLA as an organization have been providing sexual reproductive health services and other services to the nation. Like any other NGO you must have some means of generating income. For us over the years we’ve been able to attract very solid projects and so projects pay for our programs and activities, however projects for the most part don’t pay salaries and

erated by our clinics in the district to meet our operational expenses, which include our personnel. Over time the amount of clients entering the doors of BFLA has been reduced and so of course that resulted to drastic reduction in the amount of income that we have been able to generate to meet our personnel cost,” Burke elaborated on the organization’s current status.

BFLA has been providing services in sexual and reproductive health for twenty six years, a service vital especially to the masses who cannot afford the services of a private clinic.

Belize’s last recorded poverty rate is 43% and unemployment was last recorded at 23%. Economic experts have recorded that during economically tough times people cut back on going to see their doctors and purchasing and taking their medications because they are unable to afford to do so. The ramification of that is a spike in disease outbreaks and social conditions which then puts a burden on the government funded public health facility.

The implications are serious. What may result are increases in unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, illegal

Editor Sir, Allow me a space in your prestigious newspaper to express my views on the recent incidents that have shame on disgrace on the Belize Security Force that has been charged with over seeing our national security.

Last week Wednesday, 11th October 2011, The Washington Post echoed the growing concern of the United States, State Department regarding our Belizean territory becoming a transshipment point and a principal gateway to drug trafficking facilitating the powerfully rich Drug Cartels with a base in Belize.

U.S. Intelligence estimates that about 10 metric tons of cocaine are smuggled along Belize’s Caribbean Coast using light aircraft and ultra fast boats each year suggesting that Columbian Dons from the Cali-Cartel Operations as well as traffic routers from the Mexican Drug Cartel known as ‘Los Zetas’ might already be based in Belize over looking and ensuring that their shipments have unimpeded access without any kind of obstruction by our security forces.

One way, which has traditionally been the ‘modus operandi’ of the ‘Los Zetas’ Cartel operatives throughout the south-eastern parts of Mexico and Guatemala, is to covertly unarm the security forces or their regional detachments and if needs be, if there is any type of defense attempts, then they become deadly in their second option which is to wipe out any kind of defense. This way of operating by the cartels is a way of checking out what kind of resistance scenario they might encounter in a real situation and to preempt it with the cleaning of their armory.

That is the method used in Zacapa and lately in the Petén area in Guatemala where they come into Belize every time like genuine Guatemalan businessmen or tourist that meet regularly with their routers and facilitators.

The Security Forces seem asleep in the least not to say incompetent or afraid of what could well be a probe to test the resolve and fortitude of our national security force namely the and unsafe abortions and an increase in the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

According to Joan Burke she has reached out to the Prime Minister and she is in dialogue with the Human Development Department in an effort to rescue the organization. Burke said that the outcome of a meeting with the Ministry of Health and the Prime will determine their way forward.

Earlier this year, the Barrow administration took $50 million from Social Security Board to invest in BTL and another $20 million was procured from the Central Bank of Belize for same purpose. It begs the question why Barrow has not acted with same diligence to save a service that serves

‘BDF’. Now, we might wonder why take away The disappearance of the arsenal of more than 42 high power assault weapons that just vanished out of the armory at BDF Headquarters is not only a slap in the face to our sovereignty it is a disgrace for those who are charged with looking after our national security since any assault of the headquarters of the BDF is a direct hit on our national security.

The theft of a 39foot Coast Guard vessel from the Coast Guard Head Quarters from its mooring is another reason to believe that while these two incidents are just a test by the cartels to humiliate our security forces, it should be an eye opener of what may be coming in the next coming weeks or months ahead which could prove deadly.

The burglary of the BATSUB offices announced this week is another slap in the face and a mockery to our national security and by extension to our national sovereignty. The question in the minds of most Belizeans is how they can continue to entrust our national security in the hands of an organization like the BDF when it is obvious that there are many serious risky cracks in the chain of command from the Minister down that threaten the very security that they were charged with providing.

An incident of this magnitude even while it is being played-down by the government of Prime Minister Dean Barrow, it is sensitive because of its nature and shameful which calls for the immediate and indisputable resignation of Minister of Defense, Carlos Perdomo, BDF General Tapia and Commandant Castellanos of Price Barracks in Ladyville.

If they have any personal dignity or the Government has the slightest respect for our national dignity at all, then Barrow should have already sacked them and they should have already tendered their resignation and left their post because in my view, the Drug Cartels are here operating among us and the incident clearly demonstrate that our national security is penetrable or it may be the same Cartel that are probing our Security forces . the poor that he unctuously rattles about? Currently government issues food baskets of about twelve dollars each to needy families in select areas. The budget allotted for the feeding program is a measly $4.3 million dollars. It shows where the Barrow administration’s priorities are placed and it is not with the suffering masses.

Today the story is about the potential fate of the BFLA but it is a sad experience that many businesses have found themselves in which has resulted in more Belizeans losing their jobs and slipping through the cracks into the jaws of poverty. So far the Barrow administration has still not offered any plan to return Belizeans to work and reducing the scourge of poverty.

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Page 4

Barrow pulls out all stops to pass ‘Ninth’!

Continues from page 1 ic Party sympathizers were told that they should go join a demonstration in support of the Ninth Amendment in front of the National Assembly building tomorrow and that they will be given red t shirts and the day off as a result.

UDP spinmiester Delroy Cuthkelvin’s brother William had sent out an email invitation to many public officers that read: “As a patriotic Belizean, your presence is highly requested at the official meeting of the National Assembly to register your support for the enactment of the Constitutional Amendment to put Public Utilities in the hands of the Belizean People and government. Date: Friday October 21, 2011. Time: 9:00 A.M. Place: National Assembly, Belmopan. If you have a Belizean flag, please bring it. Be a part of History and register your support for your people and nation.””

Ministers and their political appointees have been making calls to supporters to urge them to attend the demonstration.

Buses have been chartered for UDP supporters in Stann Creek West and Cayo South to be brought in from those adjoining constituencies to ensure that there is visible support for 9A’s passage.

Except for tepid support from the Council of Churches, who agreed not to continue to oppose the Bill after it was amended, there have been no other expressions of support for 9A except from the party in power the UDP. The Belize Bar Association, the Belize Chamber of Commerce, and the Belize National Teachers Union are all on record as being opposed to the Ninth Amendment being enacted.

After weeks of consultations the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU), one the nation’s most powerful unions, has all but unanimously voted not to support the Ninth Amendment Bill.

The Union commenced their own consultations in August in Belmopan after which there were no votes taken until a five week exercise was completed when all branches were appraised of the amendment by attorneys, a parliamentarian and a political activist who were in support and were opposed to the proposed amendment. President of the Bar, Jackie Marshalleck, Solicitor General Cheryl Krusen, Senator Henry Gordon, Attorney Audrey Matura

Shepherd, and activist Patrick Rogers presented at the first BNTU forum in Belmopan.

Earlier this month during the first general meeting of the Belize District Branch votes were taken to be submitted to the General Council.

On Friday last, the General Council of the BNTU met and reported that eight of their ten branches had voted “no” to the Ninth Amendment.

Three opinions sought from foreign jurists have been critical of the proposed amendment.

In an editorial the region’s most prestigious newspaper, the Jamaica Gleaner, was critical of the proposed amendment, saying that with the proposal the Government of Belize had embarked on a slippery slope.

Just this week the prestigious Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, wrote the Government of Belize asking it to respect the position of the Belize Bar Association and withhold passage of the amendment until legal matters are cleared up.

A non-governmental organization, Friends of Belize, was able to collect 21,000 signatures from voters calling for a referendum on 9A in only a single month, The political opposition, the Peoples United Party has registered its objection to the proposed amendment and it has been joined in principle by the Peoples National Party and Vision Inspired by the People.

The political activist groups, Citizens Organized for Liberty Thru Action (COLA) and Belizeans for Justice have called on their supporters to join them in demonstrating against the passage of 9A tomorrow in Belmopan.

The matter of the Ninth Amendment has been bundled into an omnibus appeal already lodged before the Caribbean Court of Justice while just this week two voters who had signed the petition for a referendum, asked the Belize Supreme Court from enjoining the Governor General from signing 9A into law until the matter of their referendum has been dealt with.

The Chief Justice’s ruling is expected tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. just an hour before the National Assembly convenes.

Meanwhile the National Perspective has been told that the Governor General has written Friends of Belize saying that he will not act on the petition as is required by law. It is expected that the petitioners will therefore ask the court for an Order of Mandamus.

Just last night Prime Minister Barrow in a broadcast interview said that they would go ahead with enactment of 9A because in his view: “Those that oppose the 9th have been able to persuade all these well-intentioned, reasonably-minded people that the 9th amendment will erode the individual rights of Belizeans. I am resting content because time will clearly prove that wrong. What happens - and I am going to say this on Friday - what happens 6 months from now? What happens a year from now? What happens 2 years from now, when

it becomes clear to everybody that not a single solitary Belizean individual would have been affected, in any way, negatively by the passage of the 9th? It can’t stand. Remember that all the 9th is doing is to enshrine the nationalization of the utilities, which, it appears to me, the vast majority of people believe is good thing, and clarifying constitutional provisions so as to secure that nationalization.

The argument has been, ‘Well that clarification is what is going to take away your rights,’ how? Even if you concede that the clarification is meant to ensure that no court will overturn a constitutional amendment, and in particular this constitutional amendment, how does this constitutional amendment affect any Belizean negatively? And which other constitutional amendment will there be in the future that the law will prevent the courts from overturning, that will trample

on Belizean rights? None. I fear no permanent fallout; I fear no fallout from the 9th amendment that will affect us negatively by the time the next election comes because I am saying that time will have proven that all this apocalyptic language, all these predictions of doom, will have been shown to be false - will not materialize in the slightest possible degree.”

The Barrow administration has failed to provide any reason why the amendment has to be rushed into law and tomorrow will try to disguise the fact that the proposal is widely unpopular. Every poll so far has shown that Belizeans oppose the amendment by an average of 7-3. Yet despite its manifest unpopularity, and the fact that it is in effect sub-judice, on Friday, October 21st, 2011, the Barrow administration will risk all its political capital to pass it. The question to be answered is why.

A copy of the Special Invitation the Barrow Administration has sent out to their constituents to ensure high numbers in the gallery. The invitation guarantees a monetary compensation, food and drinks just to give the false impression that they have overwhelming support for the infamous ‘Ninth Amendment’ which will be rammed down the throats of Belizeans.

For Sale by Owner Large track of Residential / Commercial Land, off George Price Boulevard in Belmopan. Price fix to sell by owners.

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Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Page 5

Gang Culling in Southside Belize City

By Rhenae Nunez

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 BELIZE CITY - Among herds there is a process called “culling”. When herds cull they kill off the weaker of their members.

Same can be said of the carnage due to gang violence particularly in Belize City’s Southside.

It is young black men killing off young black men.

In that very pattern, Noel “Bigs” Usher, 30, father of two was allegedly taken out by his own on Tuesday night around 7 o’clock on Reggae Street in the Yarbra area.

Usher, reports say, had gone to order creole buns from a neighbor who makes them to sell.

The neighbor said that Usher left saying that he would return to pick up his order a few minutes later. He hadn’t gotten far, the neighbor said, when several

shots were heard in the area.

Noel Usher had been shot multiple times.

Police say that he attempted to run for his life but could not escape his assailants, two men who were waylaying him in the poor lit area. One person from the area was detained by police for questioning.

Usher was among five who were arrested and charged in April of this year in connection with an alleged staged robbery at Heritage Bank in Orange Walk Town.

Arrested with Usher were Ricky Valencio, Harold Valencio, former Branch Manager, Samantha Carlos and Marva Welch.

Police are refusing to confirm reports that Usher’s demise had to do with him turning Crown witness in the bank robbery case therefore he was allegedly taken out by an alleged fellow member of the South Side Gangsters whose enclave is in the area.

They would only confirm that the suspect that they have in custody resides on Queen Charlotte Street in the area.

Although Usher led a troubled pass, neighbors described him as mild mannered who always gave the time of day and was helpful to many in the area. In November of 2009, he was acquitted of the murder of 62-year-old Western Union security guard, Oliver Blanco which occurred on Fabers Road in May of 2006.

Police Get between man and his Ganja

Wednesday October 19, 2011 BELIZE CITY - Not much has been heard of the Gang Suppression Unit since their major gaffe on George Street when they conducted a full assault on a group of men who were socializing in a yard following the funeral of their own. The incident occurred in August of this year and many the man were left with various injuries after they were beaten up.

The GSU were out again and this time they nabbed Albert Talbert who they say that they found with 375 grams of weed in his one-room apartment on

Maskal Street in Belize City.

Police say that when they happened upon Talbert at his home, he was seen throwing a black plastic bag through the apartment’s front door. Police fetched the bag and found the weed. Police say that they also found an addition 10 grams of weed in the apartment along with a battle dress uniform which is what the BDF uses. Talbert confessed that he bought it from a friend in the BDF. He was not charged for the uniform since it is not illegal for civilians to have them.

He was however charged for drug trafficking and possession of controlled drugs.

KREMANDALA $ELLOUT He has been bought and paid for...

Silent on issues affecting black South-side Belizeans while pretending to be their guardian...

Can’t be TRUSTED!!!

Wilfully ignores the Corrupt Practices of Barrow and the UDP

“X” CAN’T CRITICIZE BARROW & THE UDP

A PAID AD

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Page 6 Opinions are like that colloquial part of the anatomy…everyone has one.

It is difficult to ignore the politics at home when there is never a shortage of fodder to keep me glued to my facebook page for hours every day. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would not know that there has been an event of epic proportion in the political arena.

On Friday October 7, 2011 former Leader of the Opposition, John Briceno publicly announced his resignation as PUP party leader and stepped down.

Deputy Mark Espat was inserted as interim leader and there commenced a race for Leader of the Opposition. In the midst of the major shuffle, PM Barrow calls a House Meeting to pass his Ninth Amendment Bill. It is par for the course à la how it is in Belize, one big game of one-upmanship.

Stop press: October 18, 2011 - It has been confirmed that interim leader, Deputy Mark Espat has also declined nomination or anointment for the throne. Word from those closer to the inside is that Espat has also claimed that he will not be able to raise funds to rescue the PUP. While the politicians spar, people are dying from violent crimes, can’t pay their bills, don’t have jobs, there are talented young people whose potential are being stifled because they are not connected to the right people. While the political folly has provided much entertainment it hasn’t done much more for Belize and Belizeans.

As citizens the world over are revolting against exploitative governments and corporate greed, it is only a matter of time, as evidenced by conversations in social media, that Belize may well soon be a staging ground for similar movement.

The tormenting Ninth Amendment is the baby of Mark Espat, Cordel Hyde, Dean Barrow and Kremandala. I am still not convinced that the rest of Barrow’s cabinet really support 9A or can actually understand it and interpret it.

And since opinions are like that colloquial part of the anatomy, and everyone, including yours truly, has one, I venture to say that Mark and Cordel are busy trying to figure how they will face their people or whether they can face their people after Espat, after a meteoric rise, has in his third bid for leadership, crashed and burned. What Espat will do now and what will the PUP do about Espat and Cordel is left to be seen. For a split second I was enthused by the prospects of Mark Espat becoming leader because I never discounted his intellect and his impressive organizational skills but the guy is just too mercurial…one never knows what’s next with Mark and what he really stands for and that may have led to this last nose dive.

Having perused a couple old news files I found a number of stories where Mark’s agenda was questionable. It explains why some left in a huff as Espat was announced as interim leader and the anointed for future Party Leader.

The infamous “Patchakan Accord” which started the movement to secure another term for John Briceno as Party Leader is said to have been initiated by Toledo East Area Representative, Mike Espat. Espat, Mike that is, as he ordered an end to the internal fighting and decreed that John Briceno be endorsed as Party Leader. Well, they gathered in Patchakan Village in Orange Walk District and anointed John Briceno for a second leadership term and the rest is now history of seismic magnitude.

Because the party’s mantra had long been abandoned, Briceno and Espat

Quo Vadis, Belize?

PM Barrow and his sycophantic UDP have wasted no time on capitalizing on this latest PUP gaffe. There are several interpretations of what has transpired recently. Some are of the opinion that it is a last ditch effort by Belize’s bourgeoisie clan to grab whatever is left. The notion that none of the drama has anything to do with the dispossessed masses is a common sentiment.

(Mark) came off as unctuous when they spoke of the poor and dispossessed. It is still unclear what their mission was as leaders of the PUP and Members of the House of Representatives. Purportedly, Briceno was seen compromised by his family’s business relations with Lord Ashcroft. Espat and Hyde were compromised by their familial relations to Kremandala: with Hyde’s and Espat’s position more pronounced after their support for nationalization.

It is ironic because the PUP was not too long ago confident that their party would win the next general election, thanks to the bungling by the UDP. That dream has now slipped away with the latest flare up in the party. It is ludicrous but it has served Dean Barrow, Mark Espat, Cordel Hyde and by extension Kremandala, well. Like the Nazi’s during the Third Reich, there are some eerie comparisons that can be made of Dean Barrow and the sick relationship with the Hydes/Kremandala and Mark Espat.

PM Barrow and his sycophantic UDP have wasted no time on capitalizing on this latest PUP gaffe. There are several interpretations of what has transpired recently. Some are of the opinion that it is a last ditch effort by Belize’s bourgeoisie clan to grab whatever is left.

The notion that none of the drama has anything to do with the dispossessed masses is a common sentiment.

And of course Espat, Hyde and Barrow are being foisted as heroes. Like the Nazis, Barrow and his party have and continue to viciously attack any who disagree. They’ve mastered the art of propaganda and fabricated a national ideology around their twisted beliefs.

Barrow has been labeled a “dictator” by most Belizeans and the PUP. I dismissed it at first as the usual political hurlings but there is reason to take a second look and stop and examine if indeed Barrow and his cohorts in the PUP have not been studiously following a sinister script?

How else can the demonizing of Said Musa, Lord Ashcroft and the PUP be explained? According to accounts of that tragic time in human history, radio broadcast was seen as one of the best tools in Nazi arsenal. Their newspaper was also another major tool. “Its tabloid style, rabid anti-Semitism and obscene content won it favor with other party officials. Hitler himself praised its effectiveness in speaking to the ‘man on the street’ and was said to ‘read it with pleasure, from first page to last,” one account documents. Does this not

sound like the El Guardian?

“Hitler had an ability to break down arguments to their most simple terms and could move crowds on a level of emotion rather than intellect,” the account says. Does this not sound like

Barrow’s press conferences and archetypal of Barrow’s performance in the House of Representatives?

I have grown tired of the political rumbling because it is insincere and detrimental to the people. There is a plan at work here, and none of it despite how it has been packaged by either PUP or UDP, has anything to do with the people. It will take a movement like what is sweeping across the globe to stop the greed and exploitation being perpetrated by Belize’s so called bourgeoisie clan and misguided politicians.

There is a formidable antipathy toward the exploitative appetite of the bourgeoisie. This Friday, some will brave the fickle tolerance of the police and whatever else Barrow may sic to suppress the expressions of those opposed to his, Mark, Cordel and Kremandala’s Ninth Amendment. With the “consultations” as a gauge, of course the sycophants will be out in full red to attack the peaceful demonstrators in the vilest and potentially violent manner.

In a time when Barrow says that he wants the violence on the streets to end he and his PUP cohorts continue to put poor people against each other.

Belmopan can potentially be the staging ground for something much more volatile…Quo vadis, Belize?

O.W. WATCHMAN SHOT AND KILLED

October 17, 2011 Orange Walk Town: A Gas Station Security Watchman was shot and killed ‘execution style’ just before dawn last Saturday as he kept watch seated in front of one of the gas-pumps at the Shell-One-Stop Gas Station on the Belize Corozal Rd almost down-town centre of Orange Walk Town.

He has been identified as 59 year old Antonio Moguel who traditionally worked the grave yard shift at the gas station. According to the somewhat dark and blurry surveillance footage, it showed Moguel sitting on a short-legged chair against the gas pump alive at 4:11 am when suddenly a person approached him from behind and shot him to the back of the head.

The person who might have been in the company of a second suspect may have gained access to the OneStop compound from the direction of the short fence at the back side of the gas station. Police are reviewing the footage which is dark and difficult to identify anyone, hoping to at least get a hint at the identity of the killers.

The footage shows that the men left their victim and the crime scene and escaped in the same direction they had come from. A taxi driver

who was doing his morning rounds around 4:30 in the morning and passed by the gas station observed that Moguel lumped face down on the concrete as if he was seated and fell headway.

The Taxi man immediately called the police who responded immediately and observed Moguel was dead with a bullet hole to the back of the head.

According to Moguel’s common law wife, Solanie Ewan, Moguel was a good provider and a good companion. She said that Moguel usually sat at the same location every time get up every once in a while, do a physical inspection of the buildind and return to his chair.

He never complaint about his job and never mentioned if he had received any threats against his life.

With Moguel gone, Solanie Ewan, a young mother is left with two young children to look after and raise all by herself.

Meanwhile, police are still trying to put the pieces together and figure a motive for this senseless killing since, it is not believed that robbery was the intention because nothing was stole from Moguel. Moguel’s bicycle and machete was still there and unmoved. The investigation into this incident continues and police are looking for one person.

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Page 7

CONGRATULATIONS Mrs. Joyce Shaw

Jackpot winner $175,000

Lotto – Easier to play!

Easier to win!

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Page 8

A New Begining!

Western Regional Hospital welcomes first set of triples

...PUP Endorses Francis Fonseca As Leader!

Continues from page 1

with Channel 7’s Jules Vasquez that was not broadcast, claimed that the party owed $440,000 to the Holy Redeemer Credit Union, $1.8 million to the Belize Bank, $800,000 in an overdraft at the Belize Bank, and $2.3 million to John Briceno, who claimed that he spent $60,000 per month on salaries and other expenses for his staff, the secretariat, and on the Belize Times and Vibes Radio.

The party’s chairman today denied that the party owed the Holy Redeemer Credit Union any money pointing out that it was a loan to Julius Espat.

Espat was unhappy with the arrangements in place for the repayment of the party’s debts which he claimed to Vasquez, were to be borne by Lord Ashcroft in return for a future PUP government paying $600 million in compensation for the Barrow administration’s acquisition of Belize Telemedia Limited.

In his letter to standard bearers Espat cautioned that “… the Party needs, more than anything else, to bridge the alarming chasm between the priorities of big donors, on the one hand, and those of its supporters, on the other…”

And he concluded that “… donors and voters will compete for the attention of the political leaders; however, for a political party to tackle the prevailing national challenges…greater attention needs to be paid to the voters and lesser attention to the donors.”

While the party’s body politic seemed willing to swallow its misgivings about Espat’s behavior in the past and with the hope that the office would change him, they endorsed him as leader, Saldivar’s very pointed attacks on his integrity had began to create a wave of some resentment. This was short circuited with his withdrawal, but that withdrawal set off a period of confusion.

By Wednesday morning Belize had been engulfed in an orgy of speculation and rumours. It was clear that Saldivar’s bid still remained on the table but there were frantic negotiations ongoing behind closed doors.

Soon it emerged that from the

south Toledo East standard bearer Mike Espat would be applying for the post, and surprisingly, newcomer party treasurer and Cayo South standard bearer Julius Espat was also seeking support for a run at the title. The pressure, however, was on Senior Deputy Leader Francis Fonseca who was under intense lobbying to step forward and take up the mantle.

Fonseca had reluctantly bid for the position in March 2008 and had lost narrowly to John Briceno. Just late last year he had to be persuaded to remain a part of the party’s executive as deputy party leader and had seemed to have faded willingly into the background. By late evening the word was that while the other three applicants were eager beavers and had applied, it was a mystery whether or not Francis even wanted to continue with the party.

Most observers were stunned when word leaked out of this morning’s Executive Committee meeting that not only had Francis applied, but his application had been unanimously accepted and he was to be endorsed in two weeks at the Central Party Council on November 5th.

Our reports are that Arthur Saldivar will be nominated and endorsed as Deputy Party Leader while whether Julius will continue as Treasurer is still unknown.

On Tuesday John Briceno had formally resigned as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives and yesterday Channel 7 reported that John Briceno. Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde were unalterably opposed to Said Musa becoming Leader of the Opposition in the House.

The party will announce tonight, however, that it had recommended Said Musa, as the most senior parliamentarian, to act as Leader of the Opposition at tomorrow’s House meeting. He will be replaced by Francis Fonesca after Fonseca is formally sworn in as Party Leader on November 5th.

Late word is that the Governor General will not appoint a Leader of the Opposition for tomorrow’s meeting because of the trio’s opposition to Said Musa being appointed.

John Briceno, Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde did not attend today’s Executive Meeting but it is clear that while none of them will oppose Francis Fonseca’s nomination or endorsement. The question to be answered tomorrow is whether they will even attend the House meeting, and if they do, if they will continue to sit with the PUP. The trio, having now lost their bid for power, may just decide to divorce themselves from their party and join Marcel Cardona as “unaffiliated” members of the House of Representatives.

www.nationalperspectivebz.org

Wednesday October, 19, 2011 BELMOPAN - The administration of the Western Regional Hospital have three very good reasons to beam with pride today after they delivered a healthy set of triplet girls on Wednesday morning.

The usually media hostile administration opened its doors on Wednesday to give full account of how the identical triplet girls came into the world.

In May of this year, the institution suffered embarrassment after an employee mistakenly discarded the body of a still born into the dumpster.

Wednesday was all smiles of pride from administration and the proud parents , Irene Cecilia Garcia and Alfred Avilez.

“I couldn’t imagine having 3 babies,” the visibly proud mom Irene Garcia said from her bed. The girls came at 9:41, 9:54 and 9:56 and were delivered by caesarean section on Wednesday morning. The procedure was performed by Dr. Melhem Ayala.

“I felt nervous and excited when I heard the news,” proud Dad, Alfred Avilez said. “I spoke to my wife, and I told her that it’s a big blessing; it’s 3 girls. First time in my life I will see 3 girls - triplets - and I think it’s also the first time in my family,” Avilez said. He told the media that he was thankful to

God for their big blessing.

Dr. Edna Mendez, pediatrician at the hospital said that the babies were 37 weeks along, almost full term and were of good weight which is unusual for triplets.

The joyous arrivals soon infected the entire staff who put funds together to buy gifts for the newborns. “We wanted to ensure that there is a safe delivery, and so everybody cooperated well.

I must applaud a staff here, doctors, nurses, both in the operating theatre as well as in the ward - everyone had really put in their work here pound here.

So much so, the staff had also decided to put together funds and purchased gifts,” Pearl Ellis, Regional Health Manager said.

“I think that the good outcome that we have today, is a testament to the teamwork that we have at Western Regional Hospital. From the time that the mother started at the clinic, we have been working as a team, and I think that this is why we have a good outcome today,” Bernadette Wade-Rivas, Matron at the hospital gleamed.

Garcia and Avilez live in St. Mathews Village with their two other girls ages five and two years. Avilez says that his blessings are enough and is not planning on having anymore children.

NTUCB ditches Paul Perriot as Union Representative in the Senate Thursday October 20, 2011 BELIZE CITY - The Belize Energy Workers Union executive committee was shocked yesterday to receive a letter from the National Trade Union Congress of Belize informing them that their President Paul Perriot, had been unceremoniously removed as the organization’s 1st Vice President and was being replaced as their senatorial representative.

According to the terse letter the decision had been taken at a meeting two Thursdays ago on October 6th, and the reason given for the removal was that Perriot was “non-functioning”.

The BCWU Executive had faithfully attended meetings of the NTUCB General Council, even the two meetings prior to the last meeting, when the organization could not make a quorum of 6 members. They did not

attend the last meeting because they had been given short notice.

Paul Perriot has been living out of the country, reportedly in Puerto Rico, since losing his home to foreclosure several months ago.

Reportedly the Belize Energy Workers Union and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers opposed the motion while the Christian Workers’ Union, the Belize National Teachers Union, the Belize Water Services Workers Union, the Public Service Union, and the Belize Workers Union supported it.

NTUCB President Dylan Reneau has said that there will be no union senator to attend the next session of the Senate scheduled for next Monday. He has also said that the NTUCB had not finished polling its affiliates and therefore had not taken a stand on the proposed Ninth Amendment.

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Page 9

Caribbean News

Cuban agent freed in US to US man loses bid for release in Aruba missing case lobby for fellow agents

HAVANA (AP) — The first member of a Cuban spy ring to walk free from prison in the United States thanked islanders Friday for their support during his 13 years behind bars and vowed to keep pushing for the release of the other four.

Rene Gonzalez, a 55-year-old dual U.S.-Cuban citizen who left a federal lockup in the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 7, spoke through a home video that was broadcast and rebroadcast on Cuban state television and government-run websites.

“It is truly difficult to address people who are so loved and who you feel a part of through a camera, but I had to communicate with you and say how grateful I am for everything,” Gonzalez said.

“We have felt we were in good company from the thousands of messages, the letters from children, all the workers’ and students’ groups who have sent messages from Cuba, the support that has never been lacking and sustained us through these years of injustice,” he added.

Gonzalez and the other four members of the “Cuban Five” were convicted in 2001 of being part of a ring known as the “Wasp Network” that sought

to spy on U.S. military installations in South Florida, Cuban exile groups and politicians opposed to Castro’s government.

The Cuban government hails the men as heroes, and they and their supporters have long insisted they were only in the U.S. to detect and prevent violent attacks against their country, mainly by Miami-based exile groups.

They also complained that Miami was an unfair location for the trial.

Gonzalez vowed Friday to lobby for the others’ release.

“The fact that I am now out of prison only means an end to one avenue of abuse to which I had been subjected.

But we still have four brothers who we have to rescue,” he said. “They don’t deserve to be where they are.”

Gonzalez, his family and the Cuban government asked that he be allowed to go directly to Cuba, but a judge ordered him to serve three years of probation in the United States.

Gonzalez’s wife and Cuban authorities have expressed concern for his safety in Florida, which is home to a large Cuban exile community and the anti-Castro groups he was monitoring.

Haiti prison break trial to begin Tuesday

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Fourteen police officers and prison officials in Haiti will be tried in the death of at least 11 inmates during a prison break, a United Nations representative said Saturday.

The trial is slated to begin Tuesday, said the representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

The defendants face charges that

range from murder and attempted murder to arson and aiding and abetting escape.

The trial stems from a prison break that took place in the southwestern coastal town of Les Cayes on Jan. 19, 2010, one week after the massive earthquake killed an estimated 300,000 people.

A riot started when some of the 400-plus prisoners tried to escape because they were terrified of aftershocks in the overcrowded prison.

Haitian police and U.N. peacekeepers from Senegal surrounded the building to prevent an exodus like one that occurred at the main penitentiary in downtown Port-auPrince on the day of the earthquake.

Haitian police rushed the building and opened fire. U.N. police saw the bodies of 10 dead prisoners but more people are believed to have been killed and dozens more were wounded.

The investigating judge alleged that up to 22 people were killed.

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) — A judge in Aruba has turned down a U.S man’s request to be released from jail as a suspect in the presumed death of his travel companion.

Maryland businessman Gary Giordano appealed an order detaining him for 60 days while authorities investigate the disappearance of 35-year-old Robyn Gardner. His lawyers say there’s not enough evidence to hold him.

The judge rejected his request Monday.

It was his second failed appeal.

Attorney Michael Lopez says the defense will try again at the end of the month when the 60-day order expires.

Prosecutors say they will seek to extend the order.

Giordano denies wrongdoing and says Gardner was swept out to sea while snorkeling. Her body has not been found.

Founder of Cuba’s Ladies in White dies

HAVANA - Cuban dissident Laura Pollan, who founded the opposition group Ladies in White and who for nearly a decade staged weekly protest marches with other wives of political prisoners to press for their release, died Friday, her husband said. She was 63 and had suffered from acute respiratory problems.

Mrs. Pollan was one of the best-known and most vocal opposition figures in a country where those who dissent publicly risk reprisals or imprisonment. Even

after the Ladies accomplished the goal for which they were founded - their husbands’ freedom - the group continued to protest against the government, which excoriated the women as traitors doing the bidding of the United States. “She was a teacher and a housewife, but she became a leader for civil rights,’’ said Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, a prominent human rights activist on the island.

Before 2003 she was a nearly anonymous high school literature teacher. She steered clear of politics and was reluctant about her husband’s dissident activities. Then the government struck with one of the biggest crackdowns on dissent in decades, arresting her husband, Hector Maseda, and 74 other activists, social commentators, and opposition leaders.

The arrests sparked the creation of the Ladies in White and began Mrs. Pollan’s transformation from activist’s spouse to agitator in her own right.

Officials say it is not clear how many people were killed for various reasons.

It’s not known exactly how many inmates were in the prison before the break, how many inmates escaped or how many bodies were actually recovered. Investigators say they suspect some of the bodies were secretly buried.

Prison Inspector Sylvestre Larack, one of the defendants, said police did not use lethal force but instead discovered the dead bodies. He attributed the killings to an inmate ringleader who shot dead fellow

inmates before the jail break. Some police officials said inmates attacked and killed each other.

The suspected killings prompted Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont to insist that money not go to Haiti’s justice reform efforts until a thorough probe was completed.

The Haitian government and the U.N. peacekeeping mission later opened a joint commission to investigate the allegations.

The defendants could face life in prison with hard labor if convicted.

Haitian justice officials could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Page 10

89 dead in Central America after days of downpours

Mexico City, Monday: Oct 17, (IANS) At least 89 people have been killed and some 350,000 affected as a week of devastating torrential rain continued in Central America.

Days of non-stop rains provoked a wave of mudslides in the region.

Presidents of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have called a state of emergency, reported Xinhua.

El Salvador President Mauricio Funes put the death toll at 32, adding that more than 20,000 people had been evacuated to shelters.

Honduras President Porfirio Lobo appealed for “solidarity” among all Hondurans to extend a helping hand to those suffering.

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said: “We have decided to declare a state of public calamity for the entire country before the magnitude of the disaster happens.”

Latest figures showed the toll in Guatemala rose to 28 after five more bodies were retrieved from mudslides.

Meanwhile, according to the Universal paper, the toll in Mexico rose to nine. Three more deaths in Honduras took the death toll there to 13, while Nicaragua’s death toll remained unchanged at seven.

Official figures show at least 350,000 people have been affected across the region, including 132,700 in Mexico, 65,000 in El Salvador, 30,000 in Honduras, 12,000 in Nicaragua, 10,000 in Costa Rica and 800 in Panama.

According to weather forecasts, intense rain is expected to continue for at least a day across southern Mexico and Central America and could extend to as far as Cuba, Jamaica and nearby islands in the Caribbean.

Hugo Chavez travels to Cuba for medical tests

In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez speaks before flying to Cuba from Simon Bolivar international airport in Maiquetia, near Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday Oct. 16, 2011. Chavez is returning to Cuba on Sunday to undergo a series of medical tests to evaluate his cancer treatment. Chavez, who finished what he described as his fourth and final round of chemotherapy in Cuba last month, said he will be undergoing what he described as “rigorous examinations.”

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned to Cuba on Sunday to undergo a series of medical tests to evaluate his cancer treatment.

The president, who finished what he described as his fourth and final round of chemotherapy in Cuba last month, said he will be undergoing what he described as “rigorous examinations.”

“I have faith that we’ll get through these tests,” said Chavez, speaking at Simon Bolivar International Airport before boarding a plane for Cuba.

Chavez, 57, underwent surgery in Cuba in June to remove a tumor from his pelvic region. He has not revealed what type of cancer he is battling, but he has said that tests have shown no signs of a recurrence.

The self-described revolutionary said he expects to return to Venezuela with a few days with “good news.”

He did not elaborate.

Chavez, a former paratroop commander who was first elected in 1998, has repeatedly vowed to beat cancer, fully regain his health and sail to a victory in

next year’s presidential election.

He recently announced that doctors predict his hair will soon grow back, and even joked about growing an afro before he begins campaigning for next year’s Oct. 7 vote.

Many Venezuelans, particularly the president’s critics, are skeptical of his assurances that he’s recovering. Some suspect that Chavez has not revealed all the details regarding his illness, concealing them like a confidential state secret, because he’s in grave condition.

“The president must understand the country cannot continue with this uncertainty regarding his illness,” said Gustavo Azocar, an opposition politician and radio talk show host who believes Chavez is unfit to continue governing. “He has attempted to hide the true circumstances of his health.”

Azocar argues Chavez should step down.

“The president is not in physical condition to continue as president,” Azocar said. “He should focus on his medical treatment and follow the instructions of his doctors.”

A statement from state public security department in Tamaulipas, where Matamoros is located, said officials were notifying the families of those killed and injured. It said there would be an investigation.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A bloody, dispute between two inmates and The violence lasted from about 8 hours-long fight in a prison in the other prisoners joined in, creating a.m. to 10:30 a.m. local time before Mexican border city of Matamoros a melee that lasted until authori- soldiers and marines took control, on Saturday left 20 inmates dead ties retook control of the facility in according to a state official who and 12 injured, state officials said. Matamoros, which sits across the was not authorized to comment.

The violence comes as Mexican The fight apparently started with a border from Brownsville, Texas.

prison conditions have been under increased scrutiny because of violence and escapes.

On Thursday, a fight between gang members at a prison outside Monterrey left seven inmates dead. In July, a riot in a prison in the border city of Juarez killed 17 inmates.

Gangs and drug cartels often dispute for control of prisons in Mexico, which also suffer a high level of corruption.

Fight in Matamoros prison leaves 20 inmates dead

Page 11

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Germany dampens hopes EU Occupy Wall Street hits summit to solve crisis 1-month, raises $300,000

German’s Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, speaks to the media during a press conference at French finance ministry in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Finance ministers and central bank governors of the world’s leading economies are gathering in Paris to discuss how to save Greece from bankruptcy, beat a path out of Europe’s wider debt crisis and restart global economic growth.

BERLIN (AP) — German finance chief Wolfgang Schaeuble dampened expectations of an upcoming EU summit, saying Monday that it would not provide a comprehensive solution to the eurozone debt crisis that threatens to cause another global recession.

Markets have rallied for days on hopes for the plan, which is widely expected to focus on lightening Greece’s debt load, making banks raise more money and boosting the scope of the eurozone bailout fund’s lending capacities.

Schaeuble said leaders expected to adopt a five-point plan to address instability within the eurozone but that more work would still needed to be done.

“We will not ... have the definitive solution on the weekend,” the finance minister said in Duesseldorf, according to the news agency dapd. “But we want to get rid of the market uncertainty with the five elements.”

Stocks and and the euro fell after the comments as investors reigned in their expectations that the Oct. 23 meeting in Brussels would mark a turning point for the beleaguered 17-nation currency zone.

Optimism had grown earlier this month when German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the EU meeting would yield a “comprehensive response” of measures to counter the debt crisis.

One of the key sticking points is getting banks to take sharper losses on the Greek government debt they hold without causing a messy default that could roil markets and plunge the global economy back into recession.

A second bailout for Greece tentatively agreed in July calls for a 21 percent writedown on the debt, but European officials say Greece needs to an even bigger discount, possibly 50 percent.

Talks with representatives of the banks are still ongoing.

To protect the banks from such losses, the EU plan is expected to call for them to have stronger capital buffers.

Schaeuble endorsed the EU Commission’s proposal to force key lenders to raise the financial pad they maintain to absorb losses to about 9 percent of their loans, investments and other risky assets.

“I assume that in Europe we will agree on the nine percent,” he said Monday.

Analysts have estimated that such new core capital rules might require the biggest banks to raise several billion euro each. If they fail to raise it from investors, they would have to turn to their government.

Forcing banks within months to raise their capital buffer to 9 percent would effectively mean advancing new international rules on bank capital, the so-called Basel III rules, which were meant to be binding only in 2019. To pass this summer’s stress tests, European banks only needed to have capital cushions of 5 to 6 percent.

Finally, the EU’s plan would seek ways to maximize the impact of the euro440 billion ($600 billion) bailout fund, or European Financial Stability Facility. Some have suggested that the fund guarantee a part of government bonds issued, to boost their appeal to investors.

Details on all these plans are scant on all these plans, however, only days ahead of the weekend’s meeting.

Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert downplayed suggestions the plan would spell the end of the crisis.

“The chancellor has said that the dreams that are taking hold again, that with this package everything will be solved and everything will be over on Monday, will again not be fulfilled,” he told reporters in Berlin.

“These are important steps on a long path, and that is a path that will continue far into next year where other steps must follow,” he said.

Seibert would not give any more details about the ongoing discussions between European countries, saying “the debates will be held internally and made public on the weekend.”

Meanwhile, the debt crisis is weighing on the real economy. Germany’s central bank, the Bundesbank, said Monday that Europe’s biggest economy would likely slow in the coming months amid “clearly weakened” demand for its industrial goods.

It said in its monthly report that following strong growth in the third quarter, prospects for the final quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 had “further darkened.”

The Occupy Wall Street movement marks its one-month anniversary today, and has also reached another milestone--the once fledgling movement has raised $300,000 in donations, according to the Associated Press.

Saturday was perhaps the biggest day yet for the protests over income inequality and corporate influence on politics. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world rallied on Saturday, from Pittsburgh to Rome. In New York City alone, more than 70 protesters were arrested when a faction set out from Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan toward Times Square. Meanwhile, nearly 200 protesters were arrested in Chicago after refusing to leave a tent city in Congress Plaza.

The supporters of the movement are sending about 300 boxes of day of donated food, clothes and other goods to Zuccotti Park, the AP reports. (Monetary donations are pouring in on the Occupy website, as well as at demonstrations.) The protesters have even received goggles to protect them from pepperspraying policemen.

Despite questions over whether the protesters have concrete demands or proposed solutions to their grievances, the movement appears to be growing more and more influential.

President Obama mentioned the protests Sunday during his speech at the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial dedication.

Occupy Wall Street traces its beginnings to February, when the Canadian magazine Adbusters called for a “popular uprising” in the West modeled on the pro-democracy demonstrations in the Middle East.

(Slate has a great illustrated timeline of Occupy Wall Street’s rise.)

The first rally didn’t happen until Sept 17, when a ragtag group of about 1,000 people gathered next to the statue of a bull near Wall Street.

Some of them began camping out at Zuccotti Park, which quickly became the movement’s epicenter.

The protesters began to attract

widespread attention when a video edited by the hacktivist group Anonymous showed female protesters being pepper-sprayed on Sept. 24 by a police officer who appears to walk away after the incident. Anonymous says the pepper spray was unprovoked, but the NYPD defended the policeman’s actions.

Protesters again called foul on the police on Oct. 1. The protesters said they were lured onto Brooklyn Bridge and then arrested. More than 700 protesters were arrested after police said they were not allowed to use the main roadway and block traffic. Protesters contended that police encouraged them to use the roadway.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg--who is unsympathetic to the protesters’ cause--threatened to clear out Zuccotti Park on Oct. 12 so that it could be cleaned. The group that manages the park backed down from that threat on Oct. 14, after protesters staged a clean-up of their own.

Also on Oct. 14, a legal observer from the left-leaning National Lawyers Guild, Ari Douglas, was struck by a police scooter. In the video below, you can see him screaming in pain. Douglas was arrested for disorderly conduct. New York Daily News photographer Dan Marino, who witnessed the accident, says that Douglas was struck by the scooter but then stuck his leg under the wheel to make it appear as if he were trapped under it, but other witnesses said Douglas’ foot was genuinely trapped under the scooter.

On Saturday, 22 protesters were arrested when they visited a Citibank in Lower Manhattan to close their accounts. Citibank says the protesters were being disruptive, so they called the police. Policemen locked the demonstrators inside the branch and then arrested them. In the video below, a young woman who says she is a Citibank customer is grabbed by a plainsclothes cop and pushed back into the bank and arrested.

Page 12

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

$175,000 lotto jackpot won

by Primary School Principal

Mark Espat - No bridge builder Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, but ugly is universal. Brent Reilly You will excuse me if I am not all that surprised that for the third time in three years Mark Espat refused the leadership of the Peoples United Party. If this were baseball, Mark would be heading back to the dugout, the showers, and probably to another team.

I would only be mildly surprised if Mark Espat, with Cordel Hyde in tow, were to leave the PUP and either form their own party or make common cause with one of the so-called third parties. The mostly men who run the PUP don’t like to hear it, but the PUP is at its lowest point ever, and they should be hoping it is at its nadir and will

authority or responsibility.

For too long the only criteria for such a position is loyalty and nothing else.

The PUP has been afraid of the debate, the discussion about what is wrong with the party, why it became unpopular and remains unpopular because those who should defend the status quo must know that they would lose that debate.

The law of evolution is that you change or die. The PUP appears to be dying because it seems it can’t change.

It is an open question if many of these so-called blue bleeders really have any principles, and if they do, do they have the conviction of their principles, and the courage of those convictions? If they did they

My surmise is that Francis Fonseca will come under maximum, probable irresistible pressure to take up the reins, but if not former party leader Said Musa will step back up temporarily and grab the wheel while the attempt to right the badly listing ship is ongoing. rise again.

I am no fan of Mark Espat, and I say that with the caveat that I am no fan of nearly all of our political, religious, social or business leaders. Mark should have left the PUP 5 years ago. His on again-off again engagement with the Grand Old Party is part of the problem.

He is the square peg in the round hole that is the PUP, and he needs to move on.

My surmise is that Francis Fonseca will come under maximum, probable irresistible pressure to take up the reins, but if not former party leader Said Musa will step back up temporarily and grab the wheel while the attempt to right the badly listing ship is ongoing.

As one of my bookies opined, the PUP would do well to look outside the inner clique for a new face, but we all know that under the present circumstances, head hunting corporate-style is virtually impossible. It simply might make too much sense.

The PUP is now a dysfunctional organization, riven by factionalization, and it is clear that the current crop of candidates and apparatchiks is a decidedly mostly motley crew. They are more interested in clinging to their positions than in what is best for the party, and they lack any vision of what is best for the country. It has bothered me for years now that so many of them, at all levels, so eagerly demand to be paid simply to be a PUP. For too long the attendance at PUP meetings at all levels too resembled PTA meetings, you know the ones where only a few parents show up?

For too long I see too many people who claim to be PUP and I think to myself these people really have no place in positions of

would leave forthwith, is what I think.

The beauty that was the PUP has been slain in low places. How have the mighty fallen!

I asked 24 people if they thought Mark (and Cordel) would run for the UDP if the opportunity presented itself, and 16 said they thought they would. Admittedly my mini poll is not scientific but the results mirror what is also my opinion. After this latest episode of the party scorned, Mark may have crossed a line. It’s not personal when I say he should continue to leave, and leave what remains of the PUP to its own devices, I am just being a sofa critic. We need a strong opposition to check and balance DOB and the UDP and Mark (and Cordel) plus Wil Maheia, David Gonzalez, Patrick Rogers et al could provide that opposition, if only they would stop drinking the Ashcroft koolaid DOB and Kremandala has been serving them.

Is it only me? Am I the only one who thinks Mark had an incredible chance to stand up for his espoused principles? Wasn’t this the ideal opportunity to try and “… bridge the alarming chasm between the priorities of big donors, on the one hand, and those of its supporters, on the other?”

Am I missing something here?

I thought he wanted to “… tackle the prevailing national challenges of poverty, economic decline, inequality and violence” and believes that “… greater attention needs to be paid to the voters and lesser attention to the donors.”

And I thought that being the leader of a mass movement, a political party, was the ideal position to do exactly that.

Guess I thought wrong.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 BELIZE CITY – Mrs. Joyce SpainShaw, 54, the teaching principal of Central Farm’s St. Barnabas Anglican Primary School, took the day off today and traveled nearly the length of the Western Highway from Unitedville, Cayo, to come claim the latest huge Lotto jackpot.

Accompanied by her youngest daughter Tamisha, Mrs. Shaw had come to the Belize City, Queen Street offices of Tropical Gaming Company Limited to collect her cheque for $148,750.00. The lady was as cool as the proverbial cucumber.

“I knew from two weeks ago that I was going to win,” she told anyone who asked over lunch courtesy of the game’s operators. “I guess it hasn’t hit me yet.”

She was enjoying a rare day off from teaching her Infant II class and her exuberance was only exhibited by a ready smile. She was confident from then, assured that her dream would come true once she had selected the right numbers.

Shaw didn’t stop smiling an hour or so later as she told the media that she had been playing the game regularly for the last 4 years. However, it was not the numbers she usually bought that won. She had asked one of her friends who was going into town (San Ignacio/Santa Elena) to buy the two sets of numbers she usually bought, and three quick picks. It was one of the quick picks that came up the big winner, but her regular numbers didn’t fail her either, returning a Match Three that also paid $759.00.

“Well what motivated me - actually it’s the great commercials,” a beaming Joyce Shaw said. “The lady in the bus and my girls keep telling me, you look like that lady in the bus, and I said I win the Lot-

to, I win the Lotto, I would throw myself and I said I win the Lotto, and I said I am going to win it. So it’s not a surprise, it’s not a shock for me I’ll be honest with you I had the feeling.”

She was already asleep at her home in Unitedville when she got the news Saturday night.

“Well I was sleeping when I got the call, because my girlfriend, she got the ticket for me, and she call me almost 10 o’clock and told me that I had won.”

It had not really hit her yet.

“I am still not there yet, honestly not there yet.”

It will be a life changing experience but for now she said: “Well, of course I am going to give some to charity, and I have two daughters and I think the rest is for them.”

She knew from before she won why she would win she told the assembled press: “… I keep speaking to my parents whenever they come and I said I’m gonna win it, I need some finances for a friend who is in bed, who is sick. And so it was Friday during the world food day at Central Farm I was speaking to a parent and he said you buy Lotto? I said yes, I do and I need some money at this point in time. And I told him I was going to win. So it’s not a surprise, it’s not a shock for me. I’ll be honest with you, I had a feeling.”

And it is a great feeling for this divorced mother of three.

“It’s a great feeling, it sure is a great feeling to know that I was the lucky person, or I am the lucky person.”

She plans to keep on teaching, something she has been doing for the past 33 years, and even after she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 55 next year, she’s hoping she’ll be asked to continue.

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

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Page 14

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

I mpartialView By: Marshal Nunez

The PUP is in transition and that creates a political vacuum in the democracy of the country. Since Johnny Briceno resigned as the leader of the PUP and Mark Espat was unanimously appointed as the intern leader, the dynamics of the PUP has been in transition. While great things are expected from Mark Espat, Mark has still not made any public announcement as to his position.

Simultaneously, while Mark tries to galvanize support for his leadership it is expected of him that he will also address some of the shortcomings of the party, while he also focuses on getting a slate ready for the upcoming municipal elections.

In all honesty it is asking Mark to do what is virtually impossible.

One of the main concerns that we have heard since Mark became interim leader is the extent of the outstanding bills owed by the PUP. We understand that it is in the millions; however we are not sure what the figure is. Last week Impartial View spoke to the treasurer of the party and suggested that the financial position of the party is a direct indictment on his performance. What we did not know last week, was the extent of the outstanding bills that this party owes. Particularly, I am disappointed in the performance of the treasurer but I will not expound on the treasurer. This column concern is more about the transition that the party is going through and possibly what will happen with the leadership and changes in the hier-

archy of the party.

Wednesday October 19th is the deadline for application for those intending to vie to be leader of the party. We know that Belize Rural North standard bearer Arthur Saldivar has submitted his application. As I prepare this article, Mark Espat has not submitted his application.

Several things have been going on, Mark has been soliciting support for an endorsement as leader and as of midday Tuesday, October 18, 2011 it is understood that Mark Espat had the exclusive support of the Northern, Western and Southern caucuses of the party and had been able to garner the support of eleven of the twelve constituencies of the Eastern caucus. The numbers mean that Mark Espat has the support of thirty out of the thirtyone constituencies.

The only one that is not supporting Mark is the Belize rural north constituency, which is the constituency for Arthur Saldivar. Saldivar on the other hand has been making rounds in the media and have launched a campaign against Mark Espat. There are those inside the PUP who believe that Saldivar’s strategy is not good for the party and its image but, of course, there are those who are totally supporting Arthur Saldivar. Then again, this is all about politics, and as we often say, politics is dirty.

While I was preparing this article a rumor began to circulate that Mark Espat will not take up the offer and will not submit his application to offer himself for the leader of the party. While at this particular time I’m not able to confirm it, it seems to have strong roots and

therefore I will take the opportunity to add it to this column and ask your forgiveness if it goes the other way. If Mark does not offer himself as leader it creates some new dynamics for the PUP. The PUP absolutely has to get its act together for the primary purpose of guaranteeing that we have a true democratic system.

As Impartial View had indicated the week after the passing of the Right Honorable George Price, this party has still not ask the electorate for forgiveness and I’m still not sure they have been forgiven. The PUP may want to seriously consider their philosophy, that of social justice for all. I am not sure that the people believe that the PUP is still about social justice for all.

I am an extremely proud PUP, but I’m not sure I am one that is willing to go out and campaign on the social justice for all philosophy, I’m not sure the people will buy that.

But I will be greatly motivated to go out and remind the Belizean electorate that the PUP is the party that brought self government, that brought adult suffrage and we are the party that fought for and attained political independence. The PUP is the party that brought independence.

I am not sure how feisty the PUP standard bearers are and I am not sure that they are confident that they can go out and energize the electorate in their constituency or perhaps they are afraid that if they go out they are going to be brought under the microscope. My message to these people is that the founding members of the PUP had to fight for the cause. Let us do some reflections and stop thinking

only of ourselves and start thinking about the almost three hundred thousand Belizeans whose quality of life have been affected over the past few years.

If you recall the history, the exservicemen riots and uprising of the 1930’s was about quality of life. Our grandparents resisted the British and put their lives on the line because they wanted a better quality of life. That movement back in the 1930’s led to what later caused our dollar to devalue. In these times our dollar is symbolically devalued as well. This UDP government appears to have a colonial mentally. If we cannot recognize that history is repeating itself then it means that we cannot find the purpose to lead our people.

My brothers and sisters, all this mayhem and division in our party can be resolved if we consolidate our energy behind the single purpose of fighting to make the quality of life better for all Belizeans. Once there is a purpose then we must pursue it and once we are in pursuit of change there will emerge a leader.

Reflect back to the late 1940’s, the labor union movement’s sole purpose was for a better quality of life and that movement evolved into the People’s Committee. The People’s Committee emerged into the People’s United Party and out of that party came one of the greatest leaders in the western hemisphere - the Right Honorable George Cadle Price, the man whom we claim to love so dearly and subscribed to follow in his leadership, but we are not displaying the commitment or the passion to do what he did sixty-one years ago. If we really want to keep this party going, please let the Right Honorable George Price be our conscience. Let him be the silent listener in all our political meetings. And if we really love the man the way we claim we do, we owe that to him.

Just my impartial view.

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Page 15

Burning Issues THE “ME FIRST” COMPLEX

By: Nuri Muhammad Columbus was lost and built his reputation of “discovery” on a false presumption and sustained it on a deceitful and racist claim that only Europeans were civilized enough to “discover” the world.

He denied the humanity of those he found because acknowledging them as human beings would have negated his claim of “discovery”.

This Columbus complex is alive as a recurring pattern in our Belizean social history. We seem content to bury the accomplishments of others to the point where it’s forgotten from the collective memory of the public space, therefore, when the same action or set of ideas returns, it appears to be for the first time.

This “me first” complex is so deeply buried in our psychic that it overrides our conscious behavior. We have such an insatiable desire to be ‘first’ that we deny every other past contribution as valid. I’m always amazed how little acknowledgement we give to the contributions of others, as if, to do so, diminishes the uniqueness of our own contribution.

Additionally, those who reintroduce an idea rarely give credit to those who brought the idea originally. We seem to hate the verbal indictment, that “yo late!”, so we strive to be the great discoverer of any new idea, concept, project or program even if we have to bury others in the process. We seem to live with the anxiety of forever aiming to be the “first to know and show”. This is a form of psychic plagiarism run wild.

For example there was no acknowledged connection between the radicals of the 1918 riots and the nationalist movement of the 50’s or the radicals of UBAD in 1969. Each step seems to be a fresh start over with no historical group memory.

For example during the UBAD period we had no idea of the stories of all those black Belizean men and women who had gone before us in the early 1920s and 30s, and all the great work they had accomplished in the 1950’s; those who knew never told us the story. So young UBAD acted like all before us were “Anglophiles stooges” and we were the first to bring “black consciousness” to Belize. So like Columbus, who claimed to discover someplace that was already inhabited by others we UBADers claimed a reputation of original blackness that was misleading.

We didn’t know the history of black Belizeans who were inspired by the message of the Hon. Marcus Garvey and who built the Liberty Hall on Barrack Road in record

But just as Columbus denied the great civilizations of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca, to establish his reputation, UBAD denied the great contributions of their predecessors like Isaiah Mortar, Samuel Haynes, T.V. Ramos, Cleopatra White and Antonio Saboranez to claim their status as the “first”.

The works of these black Belizeans predecessors were not recognized or celebrated in any significant way by UBAD. And as long as nobody talked about these past heroes UBAD got away with proclaiming that they were the “first” to bring blackness to Belize in 1969. time between the twin visits of Mr. Garvey back in the 1920s. This gallant group also started the first social outreach service to the poor through the Black Cross Nurses which went on to form the genesis of the colonial government’s Social Development Department later.

These black Belizeans long before there was a UBAD were inspired to establish tangible services for the upliftment of black people in Belize in the 1920s 30s and up to the 40s.

How could UBAD, forty years after the UNIA, claim to be a “first black group”, when except for the shortlived, Free Breakfast Program for school children, it has no history of providing tangible service to the Belizean people?

But just as Columbus denied the great civilizations of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca, to establish his reputation, UBAD denied the great contributions of their predecessors like Isaiah Mortar, Samuel Haynes, T.V. Ramos, Cleopatra White and Antonio Saboranez to claim their status as the “first”. The works of these black Belizeans predecessors were not recognized or celebrated in any significant way by UBAD. And as long as nobody talked about these past heroes UBAD got away with proclaiming that they were the “first” to bring blackness to Belize in 1969.

Again the fact that Phillip Goldson and Leigh Richardson were the first political prisoners in Belize was never highlighted all during the UBAD experience. These men walked the walk; they were men of principle. They went to jail for their convictions. The Belize Billboard, a daily newspaper, was the anti-establishment paper of its day. Goldson and Richardson were convicted for an article criticizing the colonial government and was sent to jail for one year hard labor. They were the revolutionaries of their day. Isn’t it interesting that the sedition trial of Hyde and Shabazz about fifteen years later, for and even less harmless article, is never connected to these pioneers. Why? Maybe it’s because to maintain this Columbus complex in UBAD’s interpretation of history, and to be the great discoverers of “everything black and revolutionary”, the Goldson/Richardson story had to

be minimized in the UBAD myth despite its revolutionary milestone.

If Columbus had acknowledged the significance of the indigenous people he found in the new world he would have nullified his so-called “new world” discovery.

But this goes beyond the protagonists of the UBAD myth and as I said in the introduction of this essay, reaches deeper into the social psychology of certain sectors of the Belizean society.

I remember some years ago as Director of Youth, a young person brought to me with a proposal entitled: Youth at Risk. She impressed on me not to share the document with anyone else since, “Belize people like thief yo ideas”. I assured her that I would not. A few weeks later she returned to my office very

irate, and accused me of breaking my promise. Apparently she had heard several people using the term ‘youth at risk’ and she knew that they must have gotten the idea from reading her document. Needless to say, I was at pains to explain to her that the words, ‘youth at risk’, was a UN term that has been in use for several years before she wrote her proposal.

Today with internet in the mix the deception becomes even more acute, since ideas, concepts, projects or programs found through a web search can be passed off as your own without being discovered because many people may not have access to internet. Because relatively few have access to internet the chance that someone can Google your idea and discover where you got it from is limited; hence plagiarism runs wild.

We also see this Columbus complex rampant in our media personalities in radio, television and print sectors. The amount of intellectual dishonesty in radio host, journalist and even editors is rampant in Belize. Those who pass off their ideas as original by simply not sighting where they got those ideas from is a clear sign that even our media gatekeepers are caught up in Columbusism. Many want to be seen as the “first” to introduce an idea to Belize.

True human progress resembles links in a chain rather than isolated occurrences. We all build on what we found before us. While some take credit for new ideas there is really “nothing new under the sun”; what is new is time and circumstances; what we call new is only an old approach to new circumstances. Let’s learn to give credit where credit is due. (Comments are welcomed at nuribz@ gmail.com).

Duo Charged with Drug Trafficking

Monday: 16th October 2011

In Court when they appeared before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser, Belize City: Two persons identified Mario Cunil pleaded guilty and was as 19 year old Mario Cunil of Aresentenced to 3 years in prison and nal Village and 30 year old Leslie additionally fined $10,000.00 dolGrinage , of San Ignacio and charged lars which is to be paid by Decemthem both with ‘Drug Trafficking’ ber 15th 2011 in default an addifollowing a search of Grinage’s vetional 3 years in prison. Cunil tried hicle that was intercepted on Monto impress on the Magistrate that day on Vernon Street. Police say the Grinage had no idea that the Drugs intecepted a Toyota Pickup driven was underneath but the Magistrate

by Grinage going up contrary to did not believe him. traffick on the said Vernon Street Grinage pleaded ‘not guilty’ and and found 1,814.4 grams of Mariwas offered bail in the sum of juana (almost 4 pounds) wrapped $8,000.00 dollars and his case is in 4 packages on top of the spare schedule to be heard on December wheel which was screwed under the 5th 2011. vehicle..

www.nationalperspectivebz.org

Page 16

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

Marion Jones Stadium construction hits another snag GOB tight-lipped about contract signed with alleged Mexican cartel

CANCUN, MEXICO - The construction of the Marion Jones Stadium has been stalled a number of times by political bantering which has resulted in contractors being changed and the design being modified.

Word is that the project which has long surpassed original completion date has hit another snag and there will be some changes before the project can proceed.

Luis Carillo, the Mexican contractor and owner of “Urbanizadora Continental” the company which is building the stadium was killed during a robbery attempt at a restaurant in Cancun on Monday night.

Carillo’s family who live in Belmopan have left for Mexico to make funeral arrangements and look after his business. Carillo’s Belizean partner assured that the project will proceed. Who the Belizean partner is – is unknown. Last known contractor working on the ubiquitous fence of the stadium is UDP standard bearer in the Albert Division, Herman Longsworth.

Mexico - even popular tourism destinations have been plagued by ongoing violence being waged by the country’s drug cartels. It is unclear whether this was a related case or an isolated matter.

According to a report in the Milenio Newspaper, Carillo was executed in the parking lot of El Pollo Feliz Restaurant. The paper also reported that Carillo is allegedly the nephew the Juarez Cartel boss, Vicente Carillo Fuentes.

Carillo was embroiled in a scandal in January of last year over a contract for the construction of a prison facility. The contract was granted by former Secretary of Infrastructure, Gabriel Mendicuti Loria and former Governor, Felix Gonzalez Canto. Scandal erupted after

other contractors who claimed that they met the requisites for the contract were apparently bypassed and the contract went to Carillos’ company Urbanizadora Continental.

After shooting Carillo on Monday night, the assailants reportedly escaped in a taxi.

There is mounting suspicion in Belize as news of the slaying and the possibility that it may be cartel related. There are questions about how the arrangement came about and if the Government of Belize knowingly engaged in business with an entity that is allegedly connected to criminal organization. The report carried on the government friendly Channel 7 News was very circumspect on the details of the story.

In 2009 a script dubbed “The Broaster Report” which reportedly written by Superintendent of police; Edward Broaster accused members of the Barrow cabinet of being involved in criminal activities. In the report, Broaster said, “Minister Gasper Vega is a member of the Mexican Cartel and his boss is John Curly who is currently the owner of La La Milk in Mexico.

They are responsible for the transshipment of several tons of cocaine to USA. Other Ministers are also involved in the operations and one of the main players is Superintendent Myvette who is the officer in charge of the Orange Walk Police formation”

It is unknown when the contract with Urbanisadora Continental was signed. Last reported signing of any contract regarding the stadium was in August of 2009 when four contracts were said to have been signed, one of which was with L&V Construction for $1.4 million which was to dismantle the bleachers and build the eight feet perimeter fence.

Government of Belize is yet to comment.

www.nationalperspectivebz.org

PRESIDENT’S SPEECH ON I.C.U. DAY, OCTOBER 20TH, 2011

My fellow Belizeans, in particular credit union memberowners. A Happy International Credit Union Day! I appreciate your taking the time today to celebrate the credit union difference and to recognize the contributions that credit unions make every day to the lives of member-owners, their families, and their communities worldwide.

Beginning in 1948, credit unions have come together annually on the third Thursday in October to commemorate the credit union movement’s history and achievements. This year, a global committee of event organizers has chosen the theme “Credit Unions Build a Better World” to anchor the celebration.

“Credit Unions Build a Better World” celebrates the important economic and social contributions credit unions make to their communities worldwide that inspire 188 million people from around the world to choose credit unions for accessible financial services. This year, cooperatively owned and controlled credit unions are aligned with the greater cooperative business sector and the United Nations as they launch the International Year of Cooperatives 2012 on October 31ST, 2011.

The community commitment and positive economic and social change are just some of the ways that credit unions differ from traditional “forprofit” banks and financial institutions. Credit unions are very different, indeed, both in philosophy and structure. For more than 150 years, credit unions worldwide have proudly put people before profits in order to provide access to affordable financial services for all members. Credit unions invest their earnings in helping members meet their financial goals.

In addition to lower loan rates and better service, members experience the difference that comes through our democratic structure, service to members and social goals that credit unions embody.

In Belize, our credit unions have consistently educated our membership about the importance of being thrifty, living within their means, saving for a rainy day, and repaying their loans promptly. We have embraced improved technology so that our members can now access their accounts and perform transactions through ATMs and online. Our partnership with the Government of Belize through the Belize Rural Finance Programme is allowing us to bring financial services and financial education to the needy in our rural areas.

Our credit unions in Belize are just 13 among more than 53,000 credit unions in the world. Today we join

our fellow credit union members in 100 countries to celebrate ICU Day! Whether our members are rich or poor, from villages or cities, in communities at peace or in conflict, credit unions are helping them to create new opportunities every day. With access to a safe, convenient place to save their money and secure affordable loans, members from all walks of life are able to create new opportunities for themselves, including starting small businesses, building homes, and educating their children.

The credit union movement started in Belize in 1943 with the vision to serve you, our member-owners. Since then, our goals have always been the same: to meet your financial needs and to provide you with opportunities that enable you and your family to succeed. With your support, the Belize Credit Union Movement has grown over the years to in excess of half a billion dollars in assets and 127,000 members. Yes! In our little Belize one out of every 3 persons belongs to a credit union. We hope to continue growing daily as our communities we actively serve continue doing the same.

In the spirit of International Credit Union Day, let us look beyond our local community to recognize credit unions for the important role they play in many distressed urban and rural areas worldwide. Our people are hurting. Many would not have been able to own their homes, start new businesses or attend school without the help of credit unions. In some areas of the world, people would have no access to financial services at all without their credit unions.

No matter where you are in the world, access to financial services is vital. Rich or poor, young or old, we all face similar challenges in life.

Together, credit unions are helping members overcome those challenges, not only here in Belize, but throughout the world. Credit unions have consistently carried on the traditions set forth by their early pioneers and exemplified the values of thrift, selfsufficiency and volunteer leadership democratically elected from among the members. Those qualities help credit unions create a special place for themselves among the world’s financial institutions.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating International Credit Union Day! One member at a time, we are working to make a difference in Belize and around the world. With God’s continued guidance and Blessings we look forward to serving you, your families and your communities for many more years to come!

SESNECIL ROUQIL RO61FegSaPNOITACILPPA

Sunday, October 23th , 2011

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CHANGE!

This is the change we have hoped for...the change we have waited for! ...Change will come by ourselves doing for ourselves! ...We can manage our City without the interference of politicians for the next three years!

We need a city government that will be responsible and answerable to the people directly!

WE DO NOT NEED A BETTER CITY GOVERNMENT,...WE NEED A DIFFERENT CITY GOVERNMENT

CITIZEN CANDIDATES! Citizens Candidates is a group of ordinary Belizeans ( no brand name ) who can get the job done. Ordinary Belizeans run businesses and corporations everyday that are more complex than managing Belize City. We cannot afford to keep abandoning our City’s destiny to untested Politicians and unprepared aspirants. To get it done right, we must have to do it ourselves. We feel it, we experience it, we can get it done!!!

DO YOU HAVE A DESIRE OR URGE TO SERVE BELIZE CITY?

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN OUR CITIZENS’ CANDIDATES IN CONTESTING THE 2012 BELIZE CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS AS INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES

Notice:

...YOU DO NOT NEED TO LEAVE YOUR PARTY ...WE ARE NOT A POLITICAL PARTY ...FOR THE NATIONAL ELECTION VOTE YOUR PARTY ...BUT FOR BELIZE CITY, LETS MANAGE IT LIKE A BUSINESS ALL PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES MUST ACCEPT COUNCILLOR POSITION AS A FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT UPON TAKING OFTo Send Application and for inquiries contact: changebelizecity@yahoo.com; belizecitychange@yahoo.com or Call: 662-1678; 625-1070 A PAID AD

Sunday,October 23rd, 2011

Page 18

SCA girls lead CSSSA volleyball Belize

City, October

18,

2011

The defending national high school champs, St Catherine’s Academy girls are leading the Central Secondary Schools Sports Association (CSSSA) volleyball competition with 3 wins as the competition continued at the Belize City Center on Tuesday, October 18.

The SCA girls blew away the Gwen Lizarraga High school girls in 2 sets.

Jerika Burton and Brianny Staine led the SCA attack with the spikes at the net to finish plays set by Ashley Habet and Xiomara Quan to win the 1st set 25-18.

The Gwen Liz girls tried for a comeback but the SCa girls dominated 25-13.

The SCa girls had also enjoyed their 2nd win in 2 sets over the Wesley College girls last Friday: 25-8 and 25-16.

The SCA girls also won their first outing against the Ladyville Technical High School, dominating both sets 2513, 25-13 last Wednesday, October 12.

The Ladyville Technical High School girls posted their 2nd win as they outlasted the Wesley College girls in 3 sets on Tuesday evening, taking the 1st set 25-14. The Wesley girls ral-

lied to win the 2nd set 25-23, but the Ladyville girls took the 3rd set 15-9.

The Ladyville Tech girls had enjoyed their 1st win last Thursday, when they outlasted the Anglican Cathedral College girls in the best of three sets. The Ladyville girls won the first set 25-88, but the Anglican girls recovered to take the second set 25-17, and the Ladyville girls had to go to extra points to win the third set 18-16.

The Anglican Cathedral College girls had won easily over the Maud Wil-

liams High School girls 25-15 and 25-19 on Monday evening. The ACC girls had also got an easy bye to their first win when the Gwen Liz girls forfeited the opening game of the competition last Tuesday.

The Gwen Lizarraga High School girls won easily against the Maud Williams High School girls last Friday evening: 25-14 and 25-11.

The Wesley College girls had also won over the Maud Williams High School girls in two sets 24-14, 25-11.

Holy Redeemer & St John Vianney boys win 3 each in primary schools volleyball Belize City, October 18, 2011 The Holy Redeemer RC School boys and the St. John Vianney School boys are leading the Belize City primary schools volleyball competition 3-0, which continued at the Belize City Center on Tuesday, October 18.

The Holy Redeemer School boys enjoyed their 3rd win 25-14, 25-6 over the queen Square Anglican school boys on Tuesday. The Holy Redeemer School boys had also enjoyed their 2nd win over the Ephesus 7th Day Adventist School boys: 25-11, 25-7. The Holy Redeemer boys had outlasted the St. Martin De Porres School boys who won the first set 25-14, before the cathedral boys took it away 25-19, 15-12 in their first outing, on Thursday, October 6.

The St. John Vianney School boys enjoyed their 3rd win 25-17 and 2516 over Ephesus 7th Day Adventist School boys on Monday, October 17.

The St. John Vianney School had also enjoyed their second victory over 2516 and 25-23 over the boys of Ebenezer Methodist School. The Vianney boys had won 25-16, 25-23 over the boys of Queen Square Anglican School in their first outing on Friday, October 7.

The St. Martin De Porres School boys toughed it out to post their 2nd win

in 3 sets over the Ephesus 7th Day Adventist School boys:20-25, 25-15 and 15-13. The St. Martin De Porres School boys had won over the Queen Square boys: 25-9, 25-9, in the opening game of the competition on October 4.

The Belize Elementary School boys posted their 2nd win when they prevailed over the St John’s Anglican School boys: 25-19 and 2511 on Monday, October 17. The BES boys got an easy bye to their

1st win when the Salvation Army School boys forfeited their scheduled game last Wednesday, October 12.

The St. Ignatius RC School boys posted their 2nd win: 25-9, 25-11 over the St. John’s Anglican Primary School boys last Thursday. They had also won 25-17, 25-21 over the Buttonwood Bay Nazarene School boys in their first outing.

The Ephesus 7th Day Adventist School boys had also toughed it out to win over the Queen Square Anglican

School boys, taking the first set 25-13, but the Queen Square boys rallied to win the second set 25-23, before the Ephesus boys took the third set: 15-11.

The Wesley Upper School boys had also won over the Buttonwood Bay Nazarene boys: 25-15, 25-15 last Tuesday, October 11.

The Wesley Upper boys had also triumphed 25-16, 25-17 over the winless St. John’s Anglican boys in their first outing.

Sunday,October 23rd, 2011

Page 19

Team Garage is a 1-2 powerhouse in BTTA team table tennis Belize

City, October

10,

2011

Team Garage No.1 spanked the Hurricanes 5-3, while Team Garage No.2 outlasted the BDF Spin Kings 5-4 to post 2 wins in the Belize Table Tennis Association’s team table tennis competition at the home of table tennis at the Belize Elementary School Auditorium on Sunday, October 16.

Team Garage No.1 upset Hurricanes 5-3. Garage’s Tyrone Tun spanked Davis Huang 3-0, and blanked Hector Lopez 3-1, while Eric Stamp crushed Hector Lopez, Davis Huang and Carlos Cui, 3-1 each. Cui had won 3-1 over Roberto Leal, and 3-0 over Tyrone Tun, while Hector Lopez won 3-1 over Leal.

The Garage No.2 team outlasted the BDF Spin Kings 5-4 in the last match of the day. Garage’s Mario Guerrrero spanked BDF’s Charlton Roches 3-1, and double-blanked Lionel Cutkelvin and Radford Baizar 3-0 each, while Garage’s Mike Sanchez spanked Lionel Cutkelvin 3-0 and Luis Marin blanked Cutkelvin 3-0.

The BDF’s Radford Baizar had outlasted Luis Marin 3-2 and also upset Mike Sanchez 3-2, while Charlton Roches spanked Luis Marin 3-1 and blanked Mike Sanchez 3-0.

The Tallawah’s terminated the Terminators 5-2, when Talawah’s Harim Ochaeta won 3-0 over Terminator’s Wen Te Chen and 3-0 over Jason Lin. Tallawah’s Moses Babb also won 3-3 over John Le, 3-0 over Wen Te Chen and 3-0 against Jason Lin. John Le had won 3-0 over Tallawah’s Gian Lisbey and Jsaon Lin had won 3-2 over Lisbey.

The Tallawah’s blew out the Turds 5-0, as Ashar Arthrus spanked Khalid Encalada and Jarrid Thompson, 3-0 each. Harim Ochaeta also spanked the Turds’ Raymond Woods and Khalid Encalada: 3-0 each. Gian Lisbey blanked Jarrid Thompson 3-0.

The Fantastic Four terminated the Terminators: 5-3. Ricardo Bailey won 3-0 over Allen Lin, and 3-2 over John Le. Aaron Stock also won 3-0 over Allen Lin while his teammate Joseph Suknandan won 3-1 over Wen Te Chen and 3-0 over Allen Lin. The Terminators John Le had won 3-1 over Sukhnandan, and Wen Te Chen had won 3-1 over Aaron stock and 3-0 over Ricardo Bailey The Fantastic Four had also dazzled Jet Amp 5-1; with Aaron Stock opening the victory roll by a 3-0 win over Ted Marin. Stock fell 1-3 to Jet Amp’s Ensworth Tzul, but his teammate Joseph Sukhnandan won 3-0 over Jeff Ali and 3-0 over Ted Marin, while Ricardo Bailey outlasted Ensworth Tzul: 3-2 and triumphed 3-1 over Jeff Ali. Jet Amp had done better in a 5-0 win over the Turds later that day. Jeff Ali won 3-0 over Khalid Encalada and 3-0

over Raymond Woods. Ted Marin won 3-0 over Raymond Woods, while Ensworth Tzul won 3-0 over Jarrid Thompson and 3-2 over Khalid Encalada.

The BDF Spin Kings spanked Jet Amp 5-2. The BDF’s Charlton Roches won 3-0 over Ensworth Tzul and 3-1 over jeff ali, while Chris Neal won 3-1 over Jeff Ali, and Radford Baizar

won 3-0 over Ted Marin and outlasted Jeff Ali 3-2. Jet Amp’s Ensworth Tzul had won 3-1 over Baizar, while Ted Marin won 3-0 over Chris Neal.

The Hurricanes edged past Team Cuz 5-4. Hurricanes’ Carlos Cui had won 3-1 over Cuz’s Nichloas Martin, and 3-0 over Hollis Parham and 3-1 over Jorge Espat. His teammate Davis

Huang won 3-2 over Hollis Parham and Hector Lopez won the ninth deciding match 3-0 over Parham. Cuz’s Nicholas Martin had won 3-0 over Hector Lopez, and 3-1 over Davis Huang.

Jorge Espat had also outlasted Lopez: 3-2 and won 3-1 over Davis Huang.

Holy Redeemer girls 3-0 lead primary schools volleyball Belize

City,

October

18,

2011

The defending city champs, the Holy Redeemer RC School girls are leading the Belize City primary schools volleyball competition which continued at the Belize City Center on Tuesday, October 18.

The Holy Redeemer RC School girls enjoyed their 3rd win: 25-11 and 25-10 over the Queen Square Anglican school girls on Tuesday.

The Holy Redeemer RC School girls had enjoyed their 2nd win 25-14, and 25-7 over the Ephesus 7th Day Adventist School girls last Wednesday. They had also triumphed in their first outing, 25-15 and 25-9 over theSt. Martin De Porres RC School girls on the 2nd day of competition on Thursday, October 6.

The St. Martin De Porres RC School girls tasted their 1st win in 2 sets: 25-17, 25-22 over the Ephesus 7th Day Adventist School girls on Tuesday, October 18.

The Belize Elementary School girls won easily over the winless girls of St John’s Anglican School in two sets 25-8 and 25-12 on Monday, October 17. The BES girls got an easy bye to their 1st win when the Salvation Army School girls forfeited their scheduled game last Wednesday, October 12.

The Ephesus 7th Day Adventist

School girls won over the Queen Square Anglican School girls 25-21 and 25-20 last Thursday.

The St. Ignatius RC School girls had won 25-14 and 25-16 over the girls of St. John’s Primary School last Thursday.

The St. John Vianney RC School girls enjoyed their 2nd win 25-17 and 25-8 over the Ephesus 7th Day Adventist School girls on Monday, October 17. The St. John Vianney girls

had enjoyed their first win: 25-18, 25-15 over the Queen Square girls.

The Wesley Upper School girls outlasted the St. John’s Anglican girls in their first outing: 25-23, 25-23.

The Queen Square Anglican School girls had also tasted victory 25-17 and 25-16 over the St. Martin De Porres girls on the first day of the tournament on Tuesday, October 4.

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Sunday, October 23th , 2011