belize times 100704

Sunday, July 4, 2010 THE BELIZE TIMES 1

Nepotism by Example!

SUNDAY JULY 4, 2010 Issue No. 4700 $1.00 www.belizetimes.bz www.pup.org.bz

UDP CRONY CREAMS

Leave The Judiciary Alone!

Each week the newspapers are filled with pages of notices telling the tragic story of poor Belizeans losing their homes; their businesses; their means of survival. Each week poor Belizeans are victimized, their lands taken away by the UDP for no reason other than political malice. Each week hundreds of Belizeans labour to attain and hold on to one piece of the jewel they can call their own. For far too many Belizeans, life under this UDP administration is a constant, backbreaking struggle. But of course, these stories apply to the normal

PM Partying in Miami while Belizeans Brace for Alex

man and woman on the street, those many Belizeans who do not enjoy the privileges afforded to those blessed by Dean Barrow’s largesse. Audrey Wallace is the CEO in the Office of the Prime Minister and one of the UDP’s privileged inner circle. She has been rewarded with a house and lot in Belmopan in Cohune Walk for only $20,000. In addition, she has also been granted two large lots in Caribbean Shores for little or nothing. The documents printed here tell the story of how this favoured friend of Dean Barrow and UDP crony has managed to cream off the top in this UDP term.

See Story on page 35Barrow says – Hell No!!!

See Story on page 35

Victory for the Mayas?

2 THE BELIZE TIMES Sunday, July 4, 2010

THE LAND OF THE MAYA A source of boundless pride for Belizeans is the apparent harmony

between the various ethnic groups that call this Jewel home. The hymn sheet is familiar to any primary school student or tour guide: “the Mestizo, the Maya, the Creole, the Garifuna, the Central American immigrants, the Mennonites, the Chinese, the Arabs, al l l iving in harmony.” This week that harmony was shattered with the thunder of a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court against the UDP government and in favor of the Maya people of southern Belize. The Court has recognized that the Maya of Toledo possess customary land tenure rights.

W h e n t h e P U P wa s i n o f f i c e , t h a t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s o u g h t a constructive engagement with the Maya people and their Alcaldes and representatives. Because this issue of communal lands is so explosive, the PUP government sought to strike a balance between tradition and modernity. One alternative the PUP had put on the negotiating table, in general terms, was to al low for specific areas to be designated as communal lands while in other areas, the normal rules of land ownership and development would apply.

When the PUP administration put forward this reasonable option, it was the then Leader of the Opposition, now Prime Minister Dean Barrow, and his ex-wife who advised the Maya leaders to reject any settlement. To embarrass the PUP government, to secure immediate polit ical gains even at the expense of national unity, Barrow and company prodded their cl ients into yet fur ther confrontation. They actively blocked any settlement.

Now that the UDP are in government, Mr. Barrow has shamelessly switched sides; Lois is being paid (from the taxes of the Mayan people) to defend the government’s petit ion that the Maya people are entit led to no customary land tenure rights. In effect, those same UDP personalities who made arguments on behalf of the Maya people are today the merciless spear car riers against their erstwhile cl ients.

What has been especial ly repugnant about the UDP government’s case to discredit these significant and symbolic communities and their leaders is the argument that the Maya of Belize are not direct descendants of the ancient Chol Maya people who inhabited these lands long before the arrival of the European invaders. To buttress their position, the UDP uti l ized senior personnel from the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) who testif ied in support of the case against the Maya people. So vile is this administration that it would publicly disown its own citizens, the original inhabitants of these lands that now constitute the nation of Belize. So wicked are the UDP that they co-opt professionals whose salaries are generated from the fees that visitors pay to enter our Mayan s i tes and deploy them to the cour troom to disavow the contemporary Maya.

Alienating the Maya people is unpardonable. But the implications of this government’s posture and of the ruling are immense par ticularly in the midst of this prolonged, biting recession. For the global community of investors, this ruling essential ly pushes the pause button on Belize. Property and forestry development, mining, hydro electrical investment and land transactions wil l come to a vir tual halt in the Toledo District. To retard the progress of the people of Toledo could not possibly have been the intention of the Maya Leaders Alliance but they were obviously left with no choice by this UDP Government.

No sooner had the Chief Just ice de l ivered his r u l ing than the government announced its intention to take this matter to the Court of Appeal. So much more productive it would be for the Government to engage with the Maya Leaders Alliance and with the citizens of the Toledo District in order to ar rive at a reasonable resolution. But that is not the way of this administration. The UDP tendencies are to confrontation and the rule of the hammer.

The indigenous historian Ward Churchil l writes of the central ity of land in a colonization process he labels “the American holocaust.” On the island of Hispaniola, for example, occupied today by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the slave policies of the Viceroy Christopher Colombus reduced the Taino populat ion from eight mi l l ion to 100 thousand in seven years, according to Churchil l . That was 500 years ago. That genocide was perpetrated so that Taino land could be seized and used by European “settlers.” The history of this entire hemisphere, not just of Hispaniola, gives the Maya people of Belize every cause to be conscious of land tenure. The future of the Mayan people of Belize cannot be divorced from their land rights.

It is truly a blight on our already fragile national spirit for this UDP government to pursue any further this confrontation with our indigenous people. Humble yourself, Mr. Barrow and settle this matter with the people you swore to represent.

The People Will Not Forget…Dear Editor,It is amazing to see how far this government has come

with the issue of the indigenous people of the Toledo District. Isn’t this the same Lois Young Barrow who defended the Mayans only some years ago? Isn’t she the same person who spoke on their behalf and their cause talking about customary rights etc?

The same goes for her ex husband, the honourable Prime Minister. I remember very well when in 2007 he was interviewed by one of the TV stations and he trumpeted the cause of the Maya people of the South. How is it that he can now retract on what he said during that interview?

I begin my letter by saying amazing it is how these people f lip f lop, but on second thoughts, maybe I should say that it should not amaze anyone to hear how these people reveal their hypocrisy on yet just another issue. I hope that that our brother Greg Choc and sister Cristina Coc take note of the kind of people they were dealing with before 2008. Dean Barrow and Lois Young were sheep in wolves clothing but hopefully everyone is seeing them for what they are. Please brothers and sisters of the Unions, take note as you will be next to fall under this UDP hatchet.

And as to Lois Young Barrow, how can she have the gall to publicly question the indigenousness of the Maya people of the South? Many who saw that interview have commented that her remarks after the judgement given by the Chief Justice can be interpreted as being racist. To tell you the truth, I do believe it was a racist remark. However, maybe we should ask Lois Young Barrow if she can identify her ancestral lineage. Furthermore, how far back does that lineage go?

I will end by saying that whether it is the issue of the indigenous people, or the running of the Chief Justice, the bringing down of the cost of living no mata wat, the ownership of our oil in Belizean hands, etc…this UDP Prime Minister and his cronies have all reneged on the promises they made in 2008. This is what the Maya people and all the Belizean people will not forgive in 2013.

Yours in brotherhood,Juan Cho


security at the Court, especially after the broad daylight brazen execution of Andre Trapp. So we understand that baldy consulted with the brightest minds (LMAO) in his Cabinet, then he thought long and hard about the situation before coming up with a brilliant idea. Yup, you can see it right here. This picture shows Mr. Barrow’s

answer to the security dilemma by the Courts. Ay, no wonder Belize is in such a quandary…If Da Noh Soh!

Over-prepared?In another column in another

section of this newspaper I made a comment that the UDP idiots were probably patting themselves on the back and taking credit for the fact that Tropical Storm Alex wasn’t as bad as had been predicted. So said so done! Those idiots are

nothing if not predictable. Boss, Belizeans were lucky that Alex didn’t deliver what it promised. How the hell can NEMO take credit for that? How stupid can these people be? The fact of the matter is that Mr. NEMO should be on his knees thanking the good Lord for saving him and covering up his complete failure in preparing for this storm. No sleep yet, boss, because the Hurricane Season is young yet…If Da Noh Soh!

the left and I looked at it from the right…I even squinted but the image stayed the same. What you see here is what you get – a garage passing as the Consulate of Belize. Shame! I wonder how much we’re paying Mr. Valencia

as Consul-General. I’d love to know how much we’re paying to operate this ‘office.’ But wait, maybe we’re wrong and this is a full service Consulate – maybe Belizeans can discuss important matters with the Honorary-Consul and have him change their oil at the same time…eh could be! What a bloody witless UDP this is…things done haad for Belizeans but the f leecing continues…If Da Noh Soh!

We’re in Miami b##@h!And since we’re on the

subject of f leecing…maybe baldy could tell us how much we’re paying to keep our Consulate in Miami operating. I did a little digging and came up with a figure, but I’d like to get some verification from our just returned from Miami leader. I hear we’re paying something like $350,000 every year to keep our Miami Consulate operational. I’d be interested in knowing how much Ms. Sylvester gets in salary and perks and just who collects about $111,000 in overtime alone. Yup, that’s right - $111,000 in overtime. Methinks that it is time for an investigation to be done into the monies allocated to our Consuls and embassies in foreign lands. Lawd, Mr. Barrow yu really chancey…If Da Noh Soh!

New security measures…About two weeks ago the

Belize Times called on mini-Mugabe to address the issue of

requisite photo opportunities. Furthermore sources close to investigators have revealed to this columnist that partygoers report getting the first whiff of the stench immediately after the Prime Minister started his speech. They are also reporting that the smell grew stronger as the speech continued, and halfway through his speech the guests could take it no longer and that is when the evacuation was ordered. While authorities have identified the source of the smell, they are reportedly questioning a cattle rancher who claims that he knows exactly what the smell is…LOL. If Da Noh Soh!

Zone closed down…I hear there’ll be an uprising

in the Free Zone anytime now. Business owners are saying that things are already really, really bad and some of them have been operating at a loss, and now the UDP clowns in power put even

more of a hurting on them. See, on Saturday when Alex decided to pay us a visit the head of the Zone got an attack of the nerves and closed down all shops in the Zone. By 4:00pm more than 3,000 Mexicans who were shopping had been chased out under bells, leaving business owners furious. Our smarter counterparts right across the border kept all their shops and the Mall open for business as usual while our chief idiots at the Zone made an already bad situation worse. The higher the monkey climbs, say our angry friends from up north, the more he shows his ass…If Da Noh Soh!

What the hell…?Damn, talk about a picture

being worth a thousand words…check this one out! This is our new Consulate across the border in Chetumal, complete with Consul-General Jorge Valencia. So I looked at the picture from

You see…Remember that you saw it in

here first…first wife second lady Loisy has her mind set on being Belize’s next Attorney-General and since ex-hubby can’t seem to say no to his love bunny, it’s

as good as a done deal. Check it out…when the CJ ruled in favour of the Mayas this week, a tired and shell-shocked Loisy immediately stated that GOB would appeal the case. Now it seems to me that if she is just GOB’s attorney in this case, she would need to go check with her clients to discuss the next move. But nope, Loisy took charge and told the media exactly what GOB’s next move would be. How you like that? But hey, even blind eye jamesy could see ex-hubby’s play when he made BQ Pitts the (temporary?) Attorney-General! Lawd, even the man’s friends say that Pitts’ mental faculties are kinda ‘iffy’ right now. Looks to us like the old man only has to stand in for a little while longer before the real Slim Shady stands up and steps into place…If Da Noh Soh!

What stinks…?This columnist has received

word that the management of a hotel in Miami is contemplating billing Prime Minister Dean Barrow for costs incurred in evacuating more than 1,000 guests from the hotel last Friday. The evacuation was ordered after a horrendous stench pervaded the facilities and authorities could not identify the source.

Subsequent investigations have revealed that while the smell was highly offensive it was not toxic and posed no real threat to guests. Apparently investigations have also revealed that the terrible odor emanated from the room where Dean was holding a big party to get in his

It’s been 755 days since the Kendall Bridge was washed away. How much

longer must we wait for a new bridge, Mr. Prime Minister?


Wake up call…Knowing the UDPs in general

and in particular Mr. Nemo, Melvin Hulse, it is no stretch of the imagination to see the whole crew patting themselves on the back for a job well done with Tropical Storm Alex. But the fact that we were all spared damage from this storm has absolutely nothing to do with NEMO and certainly cannot be credited to any preparation by NEMO. The storm was an anomaly, promising 65 mile an hour winds but delivering less

than half that. There is no time or reason for self-congratulations here. If we had been hit by a storm of any note, our nation would have been devastated. If the truth be told, Belizeans were in the end given only a couple hours to prepare for the storm because Mr. NEMO was asleep at the wheel – AGAIN! How many persons were given adequate time to put up shutters, to fortify their homes, to stock up on hurricane provisions? How many shelters were opened? What resources were dispatched to render relief in the face of a storm which could have been much worse? Were preparations made to evacuate persons in the South in the event of the Kendall and Middlesex crossings becoming inundated (a sure thing in any serious storm)? The reality is that anybody on the far side of the Kendall crossing would have been left to their own devices because no provisions otherwise were made. And there are so many questions which must be answered. Tropical Storm Alex was a wake-up call, make no mistake about that. Belizeans should thank God that it was only that, and start making preparations for what else is out there. NEMO should also look at the mistakes that were made and use the reprieve which has been given to make sure they get it right next time. Because the way the season looks, there will be a next time.

Ring around the collar…On April Fool’s Day, Mr.

Barrow stood in front of the nation and took Belizeans for fools. He broke the news of a crime ring which had been uncovered within the Police Department, a ring masterminded by a Detective Constable Mangar; a ring that had been responsible for all the brazen robberies which had been taking place in the country including the Scotiabank Spanish Lookout heist. Mr. Barrow

assured Belizeans that they could sleep easy in their beds since their businesses were now safe. He credited brilliant Police work for uncovering the ring. Detective Constable Mangar was promptly arrested and his name was ruined. His wife and family were caused untold hardships. The breadwinner of the family had been incarcerated without warning. There would of course be legal and other expenses incurred. Mr. Barrow did not really care…he made his stunning declaration and sailed off into the sunset without a second glance. Now we hear that the charges against Detective Constable Mangar are about to be dropped because there was never any evidence against him. A man’s life was ruined for no reason. His name was ruined for no reason. The Prime Minister should pay for this careless mistake. The Police Department should pay, and pay dearly for the wrongs against this man and his family. We cannot allow these things to go unpunished.

Dropping the bar…Mr. Barrow is by now well

known as a man who will go back on his commitments without blinking an eye. He has been a practicing liar for many years now but has perfected the art since February 2008. Remember how in the UDP manifesto he promised the social partners and other organizations input and influence on the decisions made by government. Well the unions

UDP Politics as usualreminded him of that when the Venezuela funds were about to be disbursed. Barrow said – who, me! I don’t remember that. Then just a week or so ago he was reminded by the Bar Association that he had promised them inclusion in important decisions involving the Judiciary and the dispensation of Justice. Mr. Barrow forgot that one too and gave the Bar the figurative finger. This is a man who has no problem riding roughshod over everything and everybody in his path. Look at the case of the Chief Justice. There is no sound reason for the Chief Justice to be kicked off the Bench with such immediacy. The move will cost Belizeans who have cases before the CJ a pretty penny, since these cases will need to be heard all over again in front of another Justice. The backlog of cases will be made much worse. Mr. Barrow has been advised of all this, but has indicated that he doesn’t give a damn. He doesn’t care about the backlog or the effect on the timely dispensation of justice. He doesn’t care about the unnecessary costs and time delays which will have to be borne by those with cases before the Chief Justice. Mr. Barrow wants the Chief Justice gone, so he’s gone. End of story. Our Prime Minister should be aware that the region is watching these events unfold with much interest. There will be repercussions. Of that there can be no doubt.

Huge disrespect…There are few other cases

which reveal the hypocrisy of Dean Barrow and his lady love as much as the Maya communal rights case. The Chief Justice issued his decision this week and it has Lady Lois furious. She immediately proclaimed that government will need to appeal because this thing is huge…too huge to trust a decision by the CJ we gather. Lois went further to disrespect the Maya people, questioning

their veracity as REAL Maya. This is not the first time that Lois has disrespected the Maya. But just about three years ago it was a completely different story. Back then Lois fought tooth and nail for the same Mayan rights she is doing her damnedest to have denied. Back then she was the attorney on record for the Maya, not the attorney insulting them and demeaning indigenous people at every turn. But back then her ex-hubby wasn’t where he is today. In 2007 Dean Barrow was the leader of the Opposition and the Maya people were his best friends. In more than one interview Barrow proclaimed that the Maya would always have support from the UDP. He proclaimed from every pulpit and podium that the Maya were justified in their land claims and he had their backs in the battle for their rights. But oh how things have changed. That was back when Dean Barrow wanted to be Prime Minister, back when he would have said anything to be seated in that top spot. Now that his posterior is firmly planted in the throne, he can show how he really feels. He can now show his true disdain for indigenous people. The Maya people will not forget the very personal insults heaped on them by Lois. They will not forget the Prime Minister turning his back on them.

Don’t panic…How reassured our people

must have been when both the Prime Minister and Boots Martinez sent word advising them not to panic because they would be monitoring the situation from their party in Miami. Can you imagine that? The Area Representative of

Queen Square and the Area Representative of Port Loyola, two of the most impoverished areas in the city, were both bashing it up in Miami while their constituents prepared to face a storm they had no idea about. If that storm had brought its promised winds, there would have been significant damage in both those constituencies. As it is, there was serious flooding in Port Loyola. But it was more important for the Prime Minister and his sidekick Boots to profile than to be here with their people facing the storm. If I didn’t believe in God before I would now after what happened in Miami when the whole kit and caboodle had to be evacuated from the hotel after a bad smell overwhelmed everybody just after the Prime Minister began to talk. Talk about poetic justice. Both the Prime Minister and Boots will need to answer for neglecting the people just when they were needed the most.


The 2010 hurricane season greeted Belize first when the first storm on the calendar, Alex, paid us a visit. As a tropical storm, Alex did not have the strength of a Hurricane Mitch in 1998 or Iris in 2001, but it served as a sort of real ‘simulation exercise’ for Belizeans who got notified late but took no chances anyway.

The storm crossed over the northern portion of the country late Saturday evening and night and lasted for over five hours. At the last minute Belizeans were scurrying about in the supermarkets and at the shops to pick up supplies to be ready to weather the storm as they monitored the radio and weather channel between breaks for the latest update on Alex's progress.

When it swept over land, Alex

brought with it a heavy downpour and gusts of up to 40 knots in some areas. It dumped several inches of rainfall in the mountains, which resulted

Alex visits Belize but leaves no lasting impression…

in floods in the vulnerable sections of the country. Belize City was not spared and several of the low-lying areas were inundated. Across the

country the flood-prone areas showed evidence that Alex had left its mark, temporarily disconnecting them from the rest of the country.

Out at sea the waves were up to eight feet and small craft warning were issued earlier in the day on Saturday. Coast guard rescue teams were also called upon to conduct rescue missions in the Cayo District and near Bluefield Range.

Alex left Belize just before midnight on Saturday with gusts of up to 30 knots still blowing, but the storm did not claim any lives. It crossed over the southern portion of Mexico before entering the Gulf of Mexico ans strengthened to a category two storm. It now threatens the Texas coastline that borders with Mexico.

The ongoing saga in the citrus belt turned up to a broiling heat on Wednesday when citrus growers discovered that the second payment for citrus due on Thursday is going to be lower than usual. Upset by the unwelcome news, the Citrus Growers Association called a meeting with its membership to discuss a way forward.

The situation is such that mass producers such as Brazil and the United States are enjoying the fruits of that control and hence their local counterparts are being boxed out of the equation. World market prices have steadily risen, but payments to the growers have not risen in tandem. In fact, their payments have been even less than in 2009.

Some of the vocal attendees to the meeting insisted on having an audit done and there were those who disapproved of the current Chairperson's management style, accusing him of unilateral decisions and lack of consultation. That person, Dr Henry Canton, continues to hold over until July 17 when the CGA's Annual General Meeting takes place on July 17th. How that meeting will go is anybody's guess.

Citrus Woes Down

South!

Dr. Henry Canton


The respondents in a suit brought by attorney Lois Young-Barrow, on behalf of the Attorney General, have not yet decided whether or not to appeal a ruling by the Belize Court of Appeals to the Caribbean Court of Justice.

The two men, former Minister of Natural Resources Florencio Marin, Sr., and former Minister of Health Joe Coye, were being sued under a heretofore obscure tort, alleging that they conspired to deprive the Government of Belize of revenue by illegally transferring land for a price which they knew was less than the value. Lois Young-Barrow has claimed that what were undeveloped swamp lots with no easement to the subdivision was sold by GOB for $4,000, and should have been sold for $19,460.

At a hearing before Chief Justice Dr. Abdulai Conteh on June 19th, 2009, the CJ questioned the appropriateness of the use of the tort of misfeasance by the Government to bring suit against former officeholders, and after hearing arguments from both sides, ruled that in his learned opinion it was not.

In a judgment following an appeal by Lois Young-Barrow to the Belize Court of Appeals, the three judges who heard the arguments disagreed with the Chief Justice that the Attorney General was not competent to lay claim for damages using the tort of misfeasance.

In a narrow ruling the justices seem to agree that perhaps the weight of the allegations over-ruled the consideration of the appropriateness of the tort.

Joe Coye had vehemently refuted the allegations as totally untrue, and in his opinion the suit is malicious and scurrilous. The suit was brought by the Lois Young-Barrow on behalf of the Barrow administration only after almost a year of effort failed to find fraud in the Caribbean Shores land development project in question, and they could not continue to support a caution that had halted the continued disbursement of lots to persons who had paid for them.

Almost immediately following

Appeals Court rules Marin and Coye case should be heard

the 2008 General Elections the land in question was put under a caution, and all transactions at the entire Lands Department was suspended for several months supposedly while an “audit” was carried out. To date neither the Department nor the Ministry nor the executive have reported to the electorate as to the result of this “audit”.

As then area representative for the constituency, in 2007 Coye had spearheaded a project to turn over nearly 10 acres of swamp land into usable lots to constituents who paid the Government of Belize $4,000 for each lot. Collectively they had also paid to fill these lots to 3 feet above sea level, ensure access, and

to provide streets, drainage, utilities and other necessary infrastructure.

Coye regards the allegations of undervaluation and depriving the government of revenue through some nebulous conspiracy as spurious simply because even the attorney bringing suit as well as other members of the current Barrow administration Cabinet had reportedly paid less for land in far more developed stage.

In fact just last year, the current minister of land had illegally transferred seven lots abutting the project to cronies of current Caribbean Shores area representative Carlos Perdomo, purportedly for $2,500.00 per lot.

The lots were transferred and sold without the knowledge and the acquiescence of their owners, the Belize Bank and Belize Healthcare Partners, apparently in the mistaken belief that they were part of the land development project.

They had been filled and now had street access and access to utilities.

If the present minister of lands could sell filled lots with street, drainage and utilities access that are physically adjacent or geographical conjoined to the lots in question for $2,500.00, how come the sale of unfilled, swamp lots, with no street, drainage or utility access for $4,000.00 was undervalued and deprived the Government of Belize of revenue?

ContributedDoes the Prime Minister

understand what the real cost of Crime is? The other day I sat and watched a programme hosted by the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) through which they tried to educate the public on the cost of crime. Obviously the BCCI tried very hard to focus on how crime has increased the cost of doing business and the negative effect this has had on the growth of business activity and on economic growth.

The programme was interesting as it indeed highlighted how this issue has impacted the ability of business persons to continue in their businesses. Speaking to the local business community makes you realize that indeed the issue of crime is one that is, along with an already floundering economy, going to stagnate development.

Governance 101 teaches you that the most basic function of government is the protection of its citizens. Does the Prime Minister and his Cabinet understand that the cost of crime goes well beyond the tragic human toll; that indeed it’s a significant detriment to economic growth?

Crime constrains growth in two ways: by imposing direct and indirect costs on businesses it reduces profits, deters investment and increases business failures. And, the perception of high

levels of uncontrolled violent crime restricts work and leisure activities, restrains investment and reduces

THE COST OF CRIMEtourism.

The cost of crime both to our communities and our overall economic system is simply staggering. Because of the increase in criminal activity the country will have to pay for the extra boots on the street (Operation Jaguar) which increases government expenditure and in effect will levy a “crime tax” on Belizeans; that is a reduction in the quality of life due to crime.

Government will now have to or should increase expenditure on the criminal justice system and this, along with costly private measures to protect people and businesses against crime, is indeed unacceptable for a country where 43% of its population is poor.

It is widely accepted that non-

pecuniary costs also figure prominently in the burden of crime to the Belizean society. While “street crime,” particularly violent crimes, is disproportionately concentrated among our nation’s poorest residents, the costs of crime are much more evenly distributed than victimization statistics would suggest. Available research indicates that crime imposes large costs on middle-class families through increased taxes, private measures to reduce the risk of victimization and the fear and anxiety associated with the risk of victimization to one’s self and loved ones.

It is my hope that the Government understands that the prevention of crime is not only essential for our personal safety but is critical for a vibrant economy.

Joe Coye Florencio Marin Sr.

at www.belizetimes.bz

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We all know that Assistant Commissioner of Police Elodio Aragon has been tipped to succeed Commissioner of Police Crispin Jeffries. It is clear that the Jeffries experiment has been an utter failure and that the violent crime situation is out of control and getting worse. In these circumstances, Operation Jaguar, the latest strategy to fight the unprecedented level of violence, was the stage on which Mr. Aragon would show himself as the best candidate to be top cop.

But Mr. Aragon’s debut was not an auspicious one. While Operation Jaguar had early success, perhaps buttressed by the Police Department’s penchant for withholding violent crime statistics, it fizzled as time marched on, and in effect, it has been rendered not effectual. This means that the temporary lull in violence, particularly the senseless gun related murders, is no more and that the marauding gunmen are back to wreak havoc on society, even as we keep trembling in fear.

It seems though that no one told the Police that Operation Jaguar was not intended to solve our crime dilemma but that it was only a last ditch attempt to get a grip on a rapidly deteriorating situation. There was no way that chasing the youths off the street corners and that sweeping up the youths in the crime ridden areas of Southside Belize City would put an end to the violence, not when the Police have avoided going after the “big fish” to dismantle their criminal networks.

There is no doubt that Operation Jaguar was not carefully planned and thought through, and as a result it did not achieve its desired results. In fact, Prime Minister Honorable Dean Barrow and Minister of Police and Public Security Hon. Douglas Singh have proven that they have no idea of how to deal effectively with crime. Meanwhile, we are being held hostage by the criminals who act with seeming impunity as they are not likely to be brought to justice even if they are caught.

Mr. Barrow is quickly finding out that it is easy to complain and to criticize when you are not accountable. In Opposition, he had the panacea for crime, condemning the government for not doing enough to protect its citizens. But now as PM, he cannot even allay our fears. Alas, his idea of getting tough on crime is sitting down the notorious gang leaders to persuade them with his prodigious tongue that they must

We Need Solutions Now…stop the wanton killings. This was clearly naïve on his part.

With that in mind, it is no surprise that the criminals are not too worried by Mr. Barrow’s recent blustering about going after the criminals who are terrorizing society. The criminals themselves know that he cannot take the tough decisions, that he takes the political temperature to determine what position to take, that he is a polarizing leader who cannot unite everyone in the fight against crime, and that whenever he enlists the Opposition’s help it is only for political mileage.

It is time for Mr. Barrow and Mr. Singh to stop waffling and to focus on the choices they must make and the priorities they must set if they are to effectively manage the crime situation. We are fed up with the high levels of armed robberies, home invasions, killings, and other serious crimes that cause us to be fearful. Moreover, we are fed up of the Police always being one step behind the criminals, causing us to be hostages in our very homes. We want solutions, now!

As was the case with replacing the beleaguered Hon. Carlos Perdomo with Mr. Singh, simply replacing Mr. Jeffries with Mr. Aragon will not do. In all fairness to him, he is perhaps the most qualified academically of the Assistant Commissioners, but he also has the least operational experience. He has not commanded one of the more important Formations, much less proven himself in the Southside’s bloody streets. He has spent most of his career in management.

These are trying times for the Police who have had their image tarnished recently, and as a result, they cannot be run from the ivory tower where Mr. Aragon dwells. Besides, we all know that he owes his meteoric ascendancy to Mr. Barrow’s patronage. But his “jumping” of ranks has made him a polarizing figure as it seems that he is not accountable to anyone, and inexcusably, it has decimated the morale of the rank and file officers who risk their lives every day to protect us.

But to make inroads into the violence, we must rebuild public trust and confidence in the Police. It has to be done, even if it means prosecuting officers, including senior ones, for corruption and other untoward behaviors. Some of them have behaved so recklessly that they have caused a serious erosion of public trust in the Police. Yet, it is clear that without the public’s help, the Police will not be able to get the upper hand on the worsening crime situation any time soon.

Therefore, Mr. Jeffries must make himself accountable and responsible for the outcomes of the crime fighting strategies, negative or positive. Likewise, he must speak publicly about the lack of resources that hamper the Police’s performance and must lobby for what he needs. At the same time, he must stop pandering to Mr. Barrow and Mr. Singh and demand that they provide a supportive policy environment for the Police’s success. It is time that Mr. Singh earns his keep.


Last week Belizeans were awakened for the opening of the hurricane season with tropical storm Alex rushing to her shores unexpectedly. However, the response from the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) was noteworthy. The voluntary evacuation by people in the cayes demonstrated a clear appreciation of the vulnerability that those in low-lying areas are exposed to and their level of preparedness. In Belize citizens have become accustomed to heightening their preparedness during a hurricane season only (June to November) and fail to recognize that their vulnerability and risk to disasters are a constant threat to their livelihoods. Therefore hazard mitigation must become a central component to how the country and its people ensure their sustainable development. A few important issues in this regard will be addressed by this writer.

In 1998 subsequent to hurricane Mitch, the Government of the day saw the need to invest in infrastructure and institutional capacity to address hurricane preparedness which resulted in an investment of some US$32M. That ambitious undertaking by Government resulted in several notable accomplishments; the construction of regional hurricane shelters, retrofitting of some 250 existing shelters; drainage infrastructure in Belize City; and most importantly the institutional strengthening of the NEMO. In 2006 a national hazard mitigation plan was developed that sets out a series of strategic interventions and actions necessary to enable Belize to mitigate against the devastating effects of disasters. The main goal of reducing risk of disasters was clearly identified as the need to integrate hazard risk reduction into national development plans. The plan speaks to several areas where such intervention and integration would be required to address natural disasters such as effects of climate change, hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding; and technological hazards or man-made disasters such as fires, oil spills and infrastructure failings. The guiding principles enunciated in the national plan notes the following:

The value of vulnerability assessment and reduction;

The importance of an integrated approach to hazard risk management and development planning;

The requirement for community mobilization and public education;

The need for protection of the environment, and

The need for good governance.

Today some four years later several areas outlined in the national mitigation plan continue to require attention by Government. Of note is the importance of hazard mitigation plans to address specific disasters such as flooding, fire and hazardous waste, oil spills, food security and civil unrest. These are all disasters that Belizeans are at risk for all year around and

MITIGATION PLANS SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENTtherefore adequate preparation is an imperative. Preparedness and risk reduction also requires collaboration between the public and private sector to accomplish this objective. The Red Cross in Belize must be commended for their continuous efforts at developing the institutional and human capacity required as first responders to disasters. However, this essential partnership between private and public sector must be one based on a people-centered approach with the creation of early warning systems. Early warning and early action is what is required to save lives and reduce people’s vulnerability to hazard risk. Risk mitigation can only be adequately addressed when there is clear understanding of the risk to Belize’s

sustainable development. This very important acknowledgement must be what underpins the formulation of Horizon 2030 or any public sector development plan.

For the private sector and businesses, their economic investment is sufficient incentive to ensure the levels of preparedness and mitigation efforts required to address any disaster. Preparation of disaster plans is important so that businesses are certain of their response mechanism in the event of any disaster. Investment in training staff and developing some response plan would allow for greater levels of recovery for businesses, especially those located in vulnerable areas of the country. The dilemma for businesses under the current

environment is how best to address these pressing issues of mitigation and preparedness in the face of a less than prosperous economic climate. Nonetheless, the expense is an important investment that must compliment the efforts of the public sector. As Belizeans maintain their readiness in high gear throughout the remainder of the current hurricane season, the call must be made on Government to make the necessary efforts to ensure that maintenance programs are addressed for hurricane shelters, the utilization of an emergency communication network is addressed and appropriate early warning systems are instituted.

Gwyneth Sydney Nah Comments welcome at

[email protected]

Sunday, July 4, 2010 THE BELIZE TIMES 11 ontheWALL

South Sider says: June 30, 2010 at 10:02 amOur police are full of **it. All they due is make a lot of noise so people think they are do-ing something. COme on papa Jeff we all know what you are about…the clock it ticking you know! I know of a you man that the police charged because they claim he did a robbery I know he certainly did not do …another was charged for a shooting and you know what…same thing applies. Do unu work proper and stop messing up people’s life with false charges, all you are doing is turning good people into bad ones. Guess what happens to person state of mind after spending even 1 month at hattieville for something they did not do?

Comments posted on Belize Times Facebook, www.belizetimes.bz, www.channel5belize.com, Party Leader John Briceño Facebook

Writings

ronzy says: June 30, 2010 at 2:54 amThats what you call stupidity, lack of training, ignorance and unprofessional on the Police Dept. if that is what really happened. Cops should be able to determine if a substance is really drugs, even high school science students can do that with certain chemicals. there should be certain testers on site of a drug bust to not have this waste of time and embarassment. Lack of training and staying in the 19th century era. However maybe real drugs was found and some corrupt cop switched it for some money and even a share of money from a possible law suit victory, just putting everything out there. All in anutshell the department deserves to be sued because of their untrained and unprofessional system.BELIZEAN PRIDE says: June 30, 2010 at 9:42 amthis unprofessional acts by the plice dep. has become something of a big concern not national but an embarrasment international. imagine when the world reads on the internet about our wannabe cops can’t differenciate cocaine with other substance that looks alike. I bet the dogs they use for narcotis bust might be more trained than their partner cops. this is really a shame.Omar says: June 30, 2010 at 10:55 amIf the POLICE would stop playing politics and INVESTIGATE properly then the EVIDENCE would stand out and no lawyer would penetrate through ‘true justice’. Don’t give the garbage about lawyer Crap. If the police operate to the tune of the political masters then they know full well that their charges won’t stand out in COURT. But even if Belizean Pride is Right (and he’s not) then He should look up the time when the present PRIME MINISTER defended a known Drug Trafficker known as Faustino Moh charged with half a ton of Cocaine. Does that make Barrow a Narco-Attorney?lany says: June 29, 2010 at 11:05 amThe Prime Minister gwaan jolly with our lee bit of money…. Look our country could have taken a beating with tropical Storm Alex… The .. tropical storm should have gwaan to Miami instead and wash away the sinners of our Nation… Then look who was there Boots, when his divison could have been under water.. mein where is the loyalty to our Belizean People….Innocent until proven Guilty says: June 25, 2010 at 2:55 pmReading all the comments, i have to agree with most of what is said……….we need to rid the streets of our beautiful jewel of criminals……we will start rite inside the Belize Police Dept…dat is a mafia organization…each and everyone of them know who committed dat crime, but like Mr. Jefferies always say…”look at our statistics”……they just want the media to put out dat an arrest was made and dat a man was charged……is dis the rite man??? We complain dat our justice system has failed us, but is it really the justice system or the police dept dat is fail-ing us??? Let’s not be ignorant and turn our eyes away from the truth……we dont have inves-tigative police men……it is easy for me to go down to the station and say dat John Doe fired a shot at me…i need no witness, especially if John Doe is known to have fired a gun b4 and he is put away….let’s start doing this thing the rite way and put the rite ppl behind bars not who we just want to settle a beef with or show dat it is in our power to put u behind bars…dats the rea-son y the young men are walking free from these charges…….


By: Mike Rudon Jr.The news that Dean Barrow and

his entourage had to be evacuated from their Miami hotel this weekend because of a pervasive and terrible stench was guaranteed cause for grins and giggles. Imagine that in the middle of the Prime Minister’s grand speech the smell became so terrible that the entire hotel, more than 1,000 guests had to be evacuated. Man that must have been one heaping load of bulls@#t Mr. Barrow was spouting out. We have the same situation here in Belize when the PM opens his mouth…the only difference is that we’ve gotten so used to the smell of garbage and filth that it doesn’t faze us much.

But seriously, that situation in Miami must be the most supreme of ironies and superior intellect that he possesses, I’m sure that irony was not lost on Mr. Barrow. I’m certain that even as he was being ushered out of the room by US Secret Service agents he was thinking – oh damn I’m going to be the butt of some really cruel jokes at home. After all, Mr. Barrow is the original ‘whiff of corruption’ man, the leader who promised to put on his ass-kicking boots and stomp all over anyone in his administration who emitted even a hint of Eau de Corruption. What a joke that turned out to be! What a sissy the leader of the UDP turned out to be!

Mr. Barrow has presided over what is arguably the most corrupt administration ever in this young nation. The gentleman who promised to react to a whiff must surely have swooned at the stench. Maybe that’s what happened – the corruption

Absolutely nothing gets resolved…

within his administration was just too much for him. Within weeks of the Barrow administration coming into office, the breeze was already ripe with the smell of UDP wheeling and dealing. That smell hasn’t abated one bit; in fact it’s turned into a foul miasma which just won’t go away. Mr. Barrow has made not even one serious attempt to recognize, address, deal with or stomp out this corruption as he promised.

You know what’s really frightening? There have been so many issues rocking this nation from week to week that the corruption thing has been reduced to just a persistent hum underlying everything. You know what else is really frightening…none of these issues get resolved -they just get overwhelmed by another issue which gets pushed to the side by another issue which gets smothered by another issue which gets absorbed by another issue. While all this is happening Mr. Barrow bobs merrily along in his little cork boat with not a care in the world. Isn’t that a pisser?

Who would ever have thought that the Mayor would be allowed to get away with all the crap she did in City Hall? Makes no sense now to rehash all the hand/cookie jar cohabitating but hell, months ago an official audit showed hundreds of thousands of dollars missing from public coffers and raised hundreds of questions about distinctly funny-smelling (Eau de Corruption for sure) transactions and dealings. Barely anybody blinked. Mr. Barrow certainly didn’t miss a beat. Nobody asked any questions and indeed it passed like ‘wah lee breeze!’ – sort of like the ‘under-depositing’ thing. None of that was ever resolved. Neither were any of the allegations against Boots Martinez and the Port Loyola Housing for the Poor. Mr. Barrow waltzed determinedly around those questions and around questions asked about Gapi Vega and the Ministry of Natural Resources. And how about Mr. Clear the Land, who has got to be in line to receive a prize for most accomplishments and whopping financial success in the shortest period of time? Our Prime Minister doesn’t have time to deal with that. But notwithstanding Mr. Barrow’s studied nonchalance toward corruption, the fact is that it is rampant.

The only thing saving Mr. Barrow from the corruption thing right now will likely be the very poisoned arrows that secure his political death. This week and last the big issue is Mr. Barrow’s move against the Judiciary with his ill-advised attempt to get the Chief Justice off the bench (and replace him with one of his own

liking?). Then there’s the oil thing, where Mr. Barrow seems hell-bent on promoting offshore drilling even at the risk of destroying the nation. Just before that it was the Operation Restore Belize fiasco and the bogus Cabinet reshuffle/expansion. Before that it was something else, and before that something else. And if that’s not enough, there’s this overlying crime thing which just never goes away. And of course there’s the state of the economy which has gone into recession under Mr. Barrow and everything that brings with it…unemployment, rising cost of living, inflation, school dropouts…!

Take some time and think about it…all this corruption, all this issues week after week after week; has anything been resolved to the satisfaction of the Belizean people? Have the questions been answered? Or does Mr. Barrow think he can bob around in his little cork boat indefinitely? If he does think that, then he’s even more delusional than I think.



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in·com·pe·tent [ɪnˈkɒmpɪtənt]–adjective1. not possessing the necessary ability, skill, etc. to do or carry out a task; incapable

2. marked by lack of ability, skill, etc.

Mile 7 on the Northern Highway being repaired for more than eight months now.


As the country continues its downward spiral into an economic and social abyss, the cries of the Belizean people are getting louder and louder. However like the branch that falls in a remote forest, no one in government is hearing those cries. I wonder if the Prime Minister and his bunch of dodo birds in Cabinet understand the magnitude of the problems our country is faced with! I guess not because Dean Barrow is “betting all his marbles” on a bureaucracy-laden program called Restore Belize.

Businesses Struggling A former US President coined the

phrase ‘It’s the economy, stupid’ during his presidential campaign to accuse his opponent of not dealing with the pressing issues of the economy. It is an understatement when I say that in Belize we have been taking a licking over the last two and a half years. All the major economic sectors except oil have experienced sharp declines since the UDP took office in 2008. Tourism, aquaculture, construction, agriculture, etc have all been slumping and all the Prime Minister has said is that it will get worse.

For example, with limited cash reserves, minimal capital assets as collateral, and with more difficulty securing additional financing in these trying economic times, businesses, especially small and micro enterprises are having an extremely hard time making it through this very rough and prolonged recession. Bankruptcies among smaller businesses, primarily mom and pop Belizean operations are therefore occurring at a higher rate than we have ever seen in Belize before. This means that money is not circulating in the system and unemployment will continue to go up. The road ahead is indeed rough!

Judicial System Under AttackThe Judiciary is the last bastion of

hope for the Belizean people since all other sectors of our democratic system have been infiltrated and tainted by the tentacles of an elected dictator. With their super majority, this UDP government has the power to change the Constitution at their whim and fancy. Remember Preventative Detention whereby the Police Department could lock people up for 90 days. Things like this only happen when countries have dictators in charge.

Barrow and his government have the Judicial System under attack once more, as they have unleashed a very disrespectful and unconstitutional offensive to remove the Chief Justice before he finishes his caseload. This latest action has been met with disapproval from the often mute and slow moving Bar Association. In fact the Bar Association has publicly condemned the actions of PM Barrow and his government. But instead of giving this distinguished body the respect that they deserve, the PM has dismissed his colleagues and pretty much stated ‘I am the man’ and to hell with you! I say again, only in countries with dictators in charge can something like this happen.

Tourism Too ImportantTourism is one of the most

important industries in Belize. The economic and social benefits are felt in ever sector and every district, albeit at varying degrees. In fact, total revenues generated by the tourism industry for Belize is well over $600 million dollars annually. With the tourism industry being so important to the social-economic development of Belize, why did the Prime Minister not remove Manuel Heredia and Mike Singh from the very important Ministry of Tourism?

It is halfway through the term of this UDP government and they have accomplished nothing that could assist in developing tourism. The IDB project

that they are glorifying was developed and negotiated by the former Government. What they have done is to restructure the projects in order for a few people to enrich themselves.

The latest news coming out of BTB is that there is a restructuring of the Belize Tourism Board. I do not disagree with change, but the restructuring should have been done two and half years ago. We all know that when there are drastic changes that take place in an organization there is an adjustment period that may take up to a year. Well Belize does not have a year to wait. While other destinations are launching new and creative programs we are still trying to figure out what we are going to do and how to do it. Maybe things will settle down when the Director of Tourism finally begins to operate fulltime from Belize instead of part-time. I wonder how the BTIA and the BHA have not raised this issue. I guess some things do not change!

CrimeWe all know that crime and violence

are way out of control in our country. And we all have to accept that this issue is real bad when people are being “jacked” at the cemetery and when the Chon Saan delivery person is robbed of his motor cycle, money and food! You heard me! That is crazy right?

Maintaining the Rule of Law is the primary function of any government. However I wonder if the Prime Minister is serious about maintaining law and order in our country. Firstly the PM appointed an impotent man as Minister responsible for our security and after Carlos Perdomo failed miserable, he appointed a man whose claim to fame is dancing in one of the big Carnival Bands. With Belize ranked as the tenth most violent country on earth, one would think that the Prime Minister would appoint someone who could garner the support and respect of the men and women who have the very difficult task of protecting us. Not so! Instead the Prime Minister realizes that his government is in trouble and he cannot afford another member from his side of the House to become another casualty of war in the fight against crime, and for that reason he appointed Doug Singh.

Restore BelizeA rapper (I think it was NWA) once

stated that 911 is a joke! Well I strongly believe that Restore Belize is a joke. I have never seen committees solve any of the problems Belize has been faced

When Will This UDP Government Get It Right?with. If the Prime Minster believes that 6 committees will restore Belize then he is really clueless.

Here is why Restore Belize is a bad joke. None of the focal points covered in the program includes anything that would provide quality jobs and economic activity throughout Belize. I see no activity that will put our people to work, especially women and our youth. I see no activities that will stimulate our economy and stop the financial hemorrhaging that our business people have been dealing with over the last two and a half years. If there is no hope for our people to

improve their lives, then there is no hope for Restore Belize!

Talk to any Belizean and the sentiment is the same, this government is a waste of time! In times of crisis, our leaders should be creative in devising solutions to a country’s problems. They must use the requisite skills and perform on the job. However, this UDP government lacks the skills, experience, and exposure to deal with the plethora of issues facing Belize today. For these reasons, they will never get it right and that means we are up the proverbial creek without a paddle.


In February of 2008, the UDP under Dean Barrow promised to – Ease the cost of living by lowering electricity rates and telephone rates.

It is now July of 2010, and the people of Belize are still waiting patiently…

In February of 2008, the UDP under Dean Barrow promised to – provide greaterspending power by reducing GST and reduce fuel costs by replacing RRD with a

lower flat tax.


In February of 2008, the UDP under Dean Barrow promised to – create a minimum of 5,000 new jobs in the tourism industry.


In February of 2008, the UDP under Dean Barrow promised to – ensure private sector prosperity by achieving an economic growth of at least 6% per annum.


In February of 2008, the UDP under Dean Barrow promised to - build 1,000 quality,affordable houses annually.


In February of 2008, the UDP under Dean Barrow promised to – increase crimedetection, successful solving and prosecution of offenders by installing a fully

equipped DNA-testing facility.

It is now July of 2010, and the people of Belize are still waiting patiently.

In February of 2008, the UDP under Dean Barrow promised to – offer shares in aNational Oil Company to ordinary Belizeans so that the masses could have a

personal stake in the national petroleum wealth.

It is now July of 2010, and the peopleof Belize are still waiting patiently…

MR. PRIME MINISTER –HOW MUCH LONGER SHOULD WE WAIT?


Drug Trafficking Charge Withdrawn in ‘Bogus Drugs’ Case

BELIZE CITY, Wed. June 30, 2010 Shane Edwards, 22 and two

brothers, Brian Yorke, 24 and Kareem Yorke, 19 were found guilty of burglary yesterday in the #3 Magistrate’s Court. Magistrate Kathleen Lewis sentenced Edwards and Brian Yorke to 3 years because they had previous convictions.

BELIZE CITY, Wed. June 30-, 2010 A charge of drug trafficking

for 2.4 kilograms of what was alleged to be cocaine was withdrawn from Alwyn Gonzalez, 30 and Thasha Herrera, 26, yesterday in the #2 Magistrate’s Court. The prosecution withdrew the charge because the substance was tested by the Police Forensic Depar tment and it was found that it was neither cocaine nor heroin. The finding was made on May 25.

Gonzalez and Herrera were charged after the Police searched an empty lot next to a yard at 5436 K Street, King’s Park where Herrera resided and reported that they found two parcels, each containing 1.2 kilograms of cocaine. Gonzalez was not at Herrera’s residence at the time but the Police charged him because they allegedly found some personal documents belonging to him. Herrera and her children including a one week old baby were at the house and they were detained on May 20.

At torney Dick ie Brad ley, who represented Gonza lez and Herrera, said that Herrera was not

present when the search was done and she was made to go through an unnecessary ordeal because the Police knew from May 25 that the substance was not cocaine or heroin. Gonzalez is still faced with charges of 3 counts of drug trafficking and having ammunition without a gun license from another incident.

Kareem YorkeAlwyn Gonzalez

Two Sentenced To 3 Years While a Third Fined $2,000 for Burglary

But in the case of Kareem Yorke she imposed a fine of $2,000 because of his age and because he had no previous convictions. He was given until October 15 to pay the fine. If he defaults on payment he will serve 2 years.

The incident occurred between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on September 9, 2009 at the house of BDF Major Owen Baeza, located at Mile 12 on the Northern Highway. Baeza reported to the Police that the burglars stole household items amounting to $9,204 in value. Shortly after the burglary the Police caught the three convicted persons on a passenger bus at Lord’s Bank which was going to Belize City.

The police recovered all the items which they had with them on the bus. The trio testified and claimed that they were at a barbecue with friends in Ladyville and they called two witnesses to testify and corroborate their alibis.

Brian Yorke

BELIZE CITY, Wed. June 30, 2010 Ruben Galdamez, 46, a laborer

of Benque Viejo Del Carmen, was sentenced to 6 years yesterday in the #1 Magistrate’s Court after he was found guilty of attempted burglary. Chief Magistrate Margaret McKenzie, who imposed the sentence, said she gave Galdamez one more than the minimum sentence, which is 5 years, because he has previous convictions for burglary

Benque Laborer Sentenced To 6 Years for Attempted Burglary

and theft. The incident occurred at around

7:30 a.m. on February 24, 2010. Amelia Jau, the owner of Elita’s Fast Food, located in the Farmer’s Market, testified that she secured her fast food shop on February 23 and she went home. She said when she returned the following day she was told by Police Corporal Jones that a man tried to break into the shop.

Jones testified that he saw Galdamez stooping on the ground trying to pry open one of the windows of the shop. He said Galdamez ran when h saw him and he pursued Galdamez and caught Galdamez in front of Bards Store, located about 50 yards from the shop. Galdamez testified and denied he committed the offence.

He claimed that he was drunk and he fell asleep and he was awakened by the Police.

Ruben Galdamez

Shane Edwards

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52 Year Old Man Sentenced To 6 Years And 6 Months for Burglary

BELIZE CITY, Wed. June 30, 2010 Eli Kerr, 52, a laborer of #26

Tigris Street, pled guilty to burglary and damage to property when he appeared today in the #1 Magistrate’s Court.

Chief Magistrate Margaret McKenzie sentenced him to 5 years for burglary and 18 months for damage to property with the stipulation that the sentences are to run consecutively. Kerr had 2 previous convictions for burglary, one for attempted burglary and 2 for damage to property.

The incident occurred yesterday at the warehouse of Lin Lobe, located at #6 Marine Parade Boulevard. Lobe on behalf of the General Manager of Chateau Caribbean, Bernard Bahadur, reported that he was working the night shift when he heard a noise coming from the warehouse. Lobe called the Police.

When the Police arrived they saw Kerr coming out of the warehouse with a sack which contained 13 empty quart bottles and 10 empty pint bottles. The bottles were valued at $11.50. Kerr said he was trying to get some empty bottles from the old building. The wooden wall of the warehouse and one PVC pipe were damaged by Kerr when he broke into the building.

Sosa Charged With Theft Sentenced To 6 Months for Handling Stolen Goods

BELIZE CITY, Wed. June 30, 2010 Dwight Sosa, 37, a laborer of

#69 Plues Street charged with theft and handling stolen goods, pled guilty to the lesser charge of handling stolen

Dwight Sosa Eli Kerr

Lancelot Arana Gets 3 Years for Attempted Burglary

BELIZE CITY, Wed. June 30, 2010 Lancelot Arana, 40, a laborer

o f Jane Usher Bou leva rd , was sentenced to 3 years today in the #3 Magistrate’s Court after he was

found guilty of attempted burglary. Magistrate Kathleen Lewis, who imposed the sentence, said she gave Arana 3 years because he had no previous conviction.

The inc ident occur red at around 6:50 a.m. on January 27, 2010, at the Indeco building at Port Belize Free Zone. According to the evidence produced by the prosecution two security guards caught Arana trying to pry open the building with a crow bar and they subdued him until the Police arrived. When the Police arrived at the scene they saw Arana lying captive on the ground with the crow bar beside him.

Arana testified and denied that he committed the offence. He said he was just passing through the area and he was beaten by a security guard because he did not give the security guard a cigarette. The court visited the locust to ensure that Arana got justice.

Lancelot Arana

goods today in the #6 Magistrate’s Court. He was sentenced to 6 months by Magistrate Dorothy Flowers who stipulated that the sentence is to run consecutively with any other sentence he is serving.

Sosa in addition to the 6 months will serve time in default of payment of fine for $1,000 and $300 for convictions of theft and possession of a controlled drug. The theft occurred between December 2009 and January 30, 2010 at Boss Hog Pro Auto, located at the corner of Central America Boulevard and Trinity Street.

Fifty year old Ian Smith, the owner of Boss Hog, reported to the Police that he left his friend, Sosa to stay at Boss Hog and Sosa stole a number of items, including Musical instruments, which amounted to $7,836 in value.

On January 14, 2010, as a result of an investigation the Police went to Fair Brothers Pawnshop and recovered some of the stolen items.


CARACAS,Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's parliament declared on Tuesday that 11 oil rigs seized from US company Helmerich and Payne were now state-owned property, for-malizing a move by the government to nationalize them.

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said last week Venezuela would national-ize the rigs following a year-long dis-pute over pending payments by state oil company PDVSA.

Most lawmakers voted to list the 11 rigs as a public utility after the en-ergy and mines commission brought the motion.

On Saturday, Ramirez said the OPEC member would pay Helm-erich and Payne book value for the

equipment and would agree a price in talks with the company.

Socialist President Hugo Chavez has nationalized most of the Latin American country's oil industry, starting with major heavy-crude projects worth billions of dollars in 2007, then taking over dozens of smaller service companies last year.

At the weekend, Ramirez said the government would not let the private sector idle equipment in pay disputes with PDVSA and did not rule out further nationalizations.

On Friday, PDVSA said it had reached agreements with 32 other companies over tariffs after the state firm fell behind in payments when oil prices collapsed in 2008.

WASHINGTON USA (Reuters) -- A congressional panel is poised to take the first step toward ending a de-cades-old US ban on travel to Cuba and removing other hurdles to food sales to the Caribbean island, a senior lawmaker said on Tuesday.

"This bill has been needed for a long time," House of Representa-tives Agriculture Committee Chair-man Collin Peterson said in a state-ment ahead of committee action on Wednesday.

The bipartisan bill that Peter-son helped craft with Representative Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, enjoys broad support from US farm and business groups that favor ending the nearly 50-year-old US embargo on communist-led Cuba.

The bill is expected to clear the committee and be sent to the full House, where it will face strong re-sistance from conservative lawmakers and Cuban-Americans who oppose any step to ease restrictions on trade and travel with Cuba until a democrat-ic government is in power in Havana.

Proposals to lift the ban have floundered in Congress over the last decade due to concerns about human rights abuses in the one-party state built from Fidel Castro's 1959 revolu-tion.

President Barack Obama has taken some steps to improve re-lations with Havana, such as allowing unlim-ited family travel and remittances and greater te lecommunicat ions links.

But Washington says the Cuban gov-ernment has failed to reciprocate, making it politically difficult for the White House to move further in easing

the Cold War-era embargo.Cuban officials have encouraged

recent US trade delegations visiting Havana to work for abolish the travel ban because the arrival of more Amer-ican tourists would give the govern-ment more money to buy US goods.

Business groups mounted a lob-bying effort on Tuesday to ensure Pe-terson would have enough votes in the committee to approve the bill without any changes.

"Enabling Americans to travel to Cuba and expand already legal export operations is an important first step to reforming US policy toward Cuba," Bruce Josten, top lobbyist for the US Chamber of Commerce, said in a let-ter to lawmakers.

Congress exempted farm sales from the long-standing US embargo on Cuba in 2000 so long as Havana paid for the goods in cash and mon-ey transfers were handled by a third-country bank.

The administration of former President George W. Bush angered many farm-state lawmakers by inter-preting the cash payment rule in a nar-row way as payment before shipment.

Even so, US farm exports to Cuba reached a record $710 million in 2008, before dropping to $528 million in 2009.

US lawmaker sees panelvoting to end Cuba travel ban

FIFA lifts ban on El Salvador's association

Venezuela lawmakersformalize seizure of oil rigs

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA) -- Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir is adamant that Guyana is not a country plagued by the worst forms of child la-bour but said government is making every effort to address ills which can lead to this scourge.

Speaking with the Government In-formation Agency (GINA) recently Nadir noted that the issue of child labour has been very prominent in the news.

However, he stressed that govern-ment firmly denies there are grave instanc-es of child labour in the country.

“We will admit that we do have seri-ous truancy problems. We’ve had a pro-gramme called TACKLE and its primary goal is to ensure that more of our children attend school and get an education,” the Minister said.

He stated that the ministry has launched several promotional campaigns over the past few weeks aimed at having parents send and keep children in school.

The programme is being spearheaded by the government of Guyana with sup-port from the European Union (EU) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

“One would have noticed we have also launched a campaign with the sup-port of the private sector and the labour unions to hold up a red card against child labour.” This, the Labour Minister said, is an international campaign coordinated by the ILO.

“…And we’ve had the good fortune

of having the top football team in the country; Alpha United partnering with us in this World Cup season,” Nadir pointed out.

He warned employers who may be involved in child labour to desist as they can be subject to prosecution.

“We are asking persons to be vigilant, report any suspicion or knowledge they have and the government will act,” the Labour Minister said.

On Monday, Nadir challenged the United States Government to produce evidence of child labour in Guyana, and provide proof that they removed 984 children from exploitative situations here.

“Since they have confidently and boldly made this claim, the Government of Guyana asks that the US provide the names of the children and where they were placed. The statutes of limitations have not run out and the government can still prosecute errant employers for en-gaging in child labour,” Nadir said.

He questioned why after four years of being on the ground, the officials failed to mention to either the education or labour ministries that they had found instances of child labour here.

“I again vehemently deny that there was any project in Guyana that ever re-moved over 984 children from exploit-ative child labour or prevented 2000 (plus) from entering such. I am absolutely certain that the project did not, absolutely did not, achieve this super-human feat,” the Labour Minister maintained.

Minister insists Guyana is no 'child labour country'

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) -- FIFA said on Thursday it was lifting the suspension of El Salvador's foot-ball association with immediate effect, after the Salvadoran authorities agreed to its requests surrounding the regis-tration of the association.

"As the two conditions set by FIFA have been met, the FIFA Emer-gency Committee today on 27 May 2010 decided to lift the suspension of the Salvadoran Football Associa-

tion with immediate effect," it said in a statement.

FIFA had decided on May 10 to suspend the association "until the au-thorities formally accepted the legiti-macy" of the Salvadoran football as-sociation's normalisation committee as well as registered the association's new statutes.

On May 17, the Salvadoran au-thorities amended the law to comply with the requests, said FIFA.


En El Salvador, Álex causó la muerte de tres personas y obligó a evacuar a unas 700 personas, especialmente en los departamentos de Santa Ana, Sonsonate, La Libertad y San Miguel. Álex podría convertirse en huracán en el Golfo de México.

APPublicado el 28 de Junio de 2010Villahermosa, México, junio 28. La

tormenta tropical Álex se intensificaba este lunes mientras cruzaba las aguas cálidas del Golfo de México, por lo que se emitió una alerta de huracán para los residentes de un tramo de la costa que va del noreste mexicano al sur de Texas.

Una alerta de huracán significa que es posible que se presenten condiciones de uno de ellos en las siguientes 48 horas. Álex tenía vientos máximos sostenidos de 95 kilómetros por hora antes del mediodía, pero se prevé que se convierta en huracán el martes y que sus vientos máximos sostenidos alcancen los 193 kph para el miércoles. Si Álex alcanza los 120 kilómetros por hora, será declarado huracán categoría 1.

La fuerza de los vientos de la tormenta se extiende a 110 kilómetros de su vórtice. El meteoro se mueve con dirección norte-noroeste a 11 kph y se pronostica que alcanzará la categoría 3 de huracán antes de tocar tierra.

La alerta se extiende desde 360 kilómetros al sur de la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos hasta 160 kilómetros al norte, a lo largo de la costa de Texas, hasta cerca de la bahía Bafin.

Álex se ubicaba el lunes a 860 kilómetros al sureste de Brownsville, Texas. Las lluvias podrían llegar a los estados de Veracruz y Tamaulipas para la tarde del martes o el miércoles, informó el Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC, por sus siglas en inglés) con sede en Miami.

No se esperaba que el centro de la tormenta llegara a la zona del derrame petrolero cerca de la costa de Luisiana, dijo la madrugada del lunes Stacy Stewart, especialista en huracanes del NHC, pero los vientos periféricos de Álex podrían empujar el crudo costa adentro y obstaculizar las operaciones contra el derrame.

Las fuertes lluvias que ya sufrieron partes de Centroamérica y la península de Yucatán en México podrían llegar a

los estados de Tamaulipas o Veracruz a mediados de semana.

Las lluvias provocaron un alud en Guatemala y desbordes de ríos en El Salvador que dejaron un total de cinco muertos. La precipitación continuará en el sur de México y Guatemala hasta el martes, advirtieron los pronosticadores.

Dos hombres limpiaban un camino vecinal en la aldea guatemalteca de Chulaj, a 154 kilómetros de la capital, y al comenzar las lluvias se refugiaron bajo un peñasco que los enterró al derrumbarse, dijo David De León, vocero de la Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (Conred).

En El Salvador, el jefe de la Dirección General de Protección Civil, Jorge Meléndez, informó el lunes que un hombre murió el domingo tras ser arrastrado por el desbordamiento de un río en la región oeste del país, elevándose a tres la cifra de fallecidos por las lluvias en el país. Otras 700 personas han sido evacuadas.

Meléndez señaló que debido a los constantes aguaceros se decidió elevar el lunes el nivel de alerta y al mismo tiempo se suspendieron las clases, en todos los niveles, el lunes y martes. La alerta naranja, la tercera de cuatro etapas, obliga a evacuar a las familias más expuestas al peligro en zonas de alto riesgo.

Álex tocó tierra en la costa de Belice el sábado como tormenta tropical pero se debilitó hasta el nivel de depresión tropical a su paso por la península de Yucatán. El sistema de tormenta salió de tierra firme y entró a las aguas del Golfo la tarde del domingo.

Belice al parecer evitó daños importantes. La coordinadora de emergencias Noreen Fairweather dijo en la radio nacional que no hubo reportes de víctimas o lesionados.

En la costa mexicana del Caribe, otro importante corredor turístico de la región, las autoridades advirtieron a los visitantes que se mantuvieran lejos de las corrientes fuertes, pero no hubo reportes inmediatos de daños en las playas de Cancún, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen o Tulum.

En el Pacífico, los otrora poderosos huracanes Celia y Darby se convirtieron en tormentas tropicales mientras sus remanentes de alejan de las costas.

Álex se fortalece en Golfo de México Un fuerte sismo de magnitud 6.2

sacudió a primera hora de este miér-coles el sur de México y su fuerza se sintió en la capital del país, pero no se reportaron daños, dijeron autoridades locales.

El Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos (USGS por sus siglas en inglés) dijo que el sismo tuvo una profundi-dad de 20 kilómetros y su epicentro se ubicó 125 kilómetros al oeste-sudoeste de la colonial ciudad de Oaxaca, en el estado del mismo nombre ubicado en la costa del Pacífico, y a 355 kilómet-ros al sud-sudeste de la capital del país.

Inicialmente, el USGS haba re-portado una magnitud de 6.5 para el sismo.

SustoEn Ciudad de México, personas

vestidas en pijama salieron de sus casas, mientras que helicópteros so-brevolaron la ciudad revisando po-sibles daños, pero las autoridades no reportaron incidentes graves.

"No tenemos reportes de edificios

dañados ni de personas lesionadas, mucho menos de víctimas", indicó el director de protección civil de la Ciu-dad de México, Elías Miguel Moreno, a la radio local.

El Centro de Alertas de Tsunamis del Pacífico precisó que no había aler-ta de tsunami tras el sismo en México.

Por su parte, las autoridades de protección civil en Oaxaca tampoco reportaron daños y no hubo nece-sidad de cortar servicios como elec-tricidad o teléfono, aunque testigos señalaron que el sismo se sintió con fuerza.

"Sí estuvo fuerte, pero está todo bajo control. No fue necesario evac-uar (...), las personas sí bajaron a re-cepción y estuvieron un rato, pero ya subieron", indicó Noe, recepcionista de un hotel en el centro histórico de Oaxaca, a Reuters vía telefónica.

Jorge Cervantes, guardia de un hotel cercano a la costa, afirmó que el sismo se sintió con intensidad pero no había heridos o daños.

Sismo 6.2 sacudió México

La firma que representa en Co-lombia al cantante dominicano Wil-frido Vargas desmintió en la noche de este miércoles que el artista tenga lista una demanda contra la estelar cantautora barranquillera Shakira, por supuesto plagio en el tema “Time for Africa (Waka Waka)”, seleccionado como himno del Mundial de Futbol Sudáfrica 2010.

Alvaro Galeano, director del Grupo Premium Colombia, que rep-resenta en Colombia y en el exterior a Vargas, sostuvo en un comunicado que la información carece de funda-mento real.

Varios portales de internet es-cribieron más temprano que "Vargas entablaría una demanda contra la co-lombiana por alrededor de 11 mil-lones de dólares".

La página enelshow.com afirmó que oficialmente se sabe que la can-ción fue compuesta por Shakira y el grupo sudafricano Freshlyground, pero Vargas sostendría que esa estrofa pertenece a su autoría. “El negro no quiere” fue grabada en los años 80 y se convirtió en un éxito internacional.

El portal terra.com, que cita la versión digital de la revista TV y Novelas-USA, escribió que Wilfrido Vargas pretendía demandar a Shakira "por supuestamente copiar parcial-mente la melodía".

Pero ahora, según la publicación,

se sabe que la canción de Vargas, con-tiene estribillos de la canción africana original, que fue un hit en el 1986 e interpretada por la banda militar de Camerún Golden Sounds. Zangalewa es un tema original y parte del rep-ertorio de los soldados y de grupos juveniles como los Scouts, en toda África.

Sin embargo, el comunicado su-scrito por Galeano precisa que "tanto el Grupo Premium Colombia, como el selecto grupo de artistas que pertene-cen a su nómina propenden por una óptima relación con el entorno artísti-co nacional e internacional; por tanto no contempla la mínima posibilidad de entablar demandas contra nadie en particular".

"Adicionalmente, es nuestro de-ber aclarar que la letra original a la que hace referencia la noticia expu-esta en algunos medios es propiedad de un grupo africano y que no es de la autoría del artista dominicano Wil-frido Vargas", añade.

"Finalmente, exaltamos y admi-ramos la carrera de la artista barran-quillera y le deseamos la mejor suerte en el futuro cercano", concluye el co-municado.

Esta melodía logró estar muy pegada en Colombia en 1987, donde la canción se conoció como Waka, Waka y se cantó en español, mante-niendo el coro original del tema.

Representante de Wilfrido Vargas desmiente demanda contra Shakira por plagio


Hey, Grads! Congrats! Hope you’re having a great summer. I can only imagine how it feels -

walking up to get your certificate, going to prom and thinking about your next steps. It seems over-whelming but cool at the same

time…

Careers Word Search

ARCHITECTBANKER

CHEFDOCTOR

ELECTRICIANENGINEER

JOURNALISTLAWYER

MANAGERMECHANICMUSICIAN

NURSEPARALEGAL

PILOTPOLICEOFFICERPSYCHOLOGIST

SCIENTISTSOLDIER

TEACHER

Numbers Teaser

Try to fill in the missing numbers.The missing numbers are integers between 0 and 9.

The numbers in each row add up to totals to the right.The numbers in each column add up to the totals along the bottom.

The diagonal lines also add up the totals to the right.

Answers toNumber Puzzle


When I think of the idea of prayer it amazes me. Imagine I can talk to God!!!! The Sunday School song still echoes in my memory, “Jesus on the telephone tell him what you want, tell him what you want, tell him what you want right now” In those days I would use all my Smart and BTL credits to bombard Jesus for a new bike. But prayer is a wonderful promise that God has left to us.

And prayer for God is serious talk: “…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" James 5:16. That is a comforting feeling to know that if I am faithful and obedient God will definitely listen to me. The Bible teaches that we can be bold in this belief: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" 1 John 5:14-15.

As a believer in God’s word and a follower of his commandments, prayer is the antidote for all the troubles and worries of the cold outside world. In his letter from Rome, the apostle Paul wrote to the discouraged and oppressed believers in the city of Phillipi whose city had been militarily taken over by Alexander the Great “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:6-7.

Prayer must have been important, it is referred to repeatedly throughout the Bible and we are challenged to not only give it a try but to be in constant prayer. It appears to be a key to happiness: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

When the Bible says “prayer” it doesn’t mean a formal, primary school kneel down, close your eyes and clasp your hand. No prayer is not a formal recital, even when the disciples asked Jesus, "Teach us how to pray," in Luke 11: 1, He answered by teaching them the prayer we call the Our Father or The Lord's Prayer. That prayer was only a model. Prayer is a natural uncomplicated and honest talk between you and our living God, in the same way we talk to our mothers and best friends.

Allow me to share this story of the Empty Chair: A man's daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her

father. When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said.

"No, who are you?" "I'm the new associate at your local church," the pastor replied. "When I

saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up." "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing

the door?" Puzzled, the pastor shut the door. "I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all

of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head.."

"I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I'll be with you always.' Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now."

"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."

The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that afternoon.

"Did he seem to die in peace?" he asked. "Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called me over to

his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, In fact, beyond strange--kinda weird. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed."

AmazinGraceText Messaging God


keep his squad in the ball game, also snagging 2 steals, and drawing a foul to drain in 2 free throws and tie the score at 36-36. Another free throw from Solis gave Customs their 1st lead of the ball game 37-36. Then the YFF boys came back strong and even though veteran Jason Daly added 11 pts for Customs and played big D, grabbing 12 rebounds, YFF’s Ervin Moguel and Al Thurton scored in money time for YFF to post the 54-44 win.

On Sunday, in Game 1, the Youth for the Future boys insured a 45-40 win over the Roe Group of Companies. This time, Ervin Moguel led the YFF assault with 10pts, grabbing 5 rebounds and a steal as YFF led 10-6 in the 1st quarter. YFF’s Lincoln Kelly added another 10 pts, snagged a rebound and dished out an assist, but Roe Group’s Lucho Munoz tossed in 9 pts, grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out an assist and stole the ball 5 times to tied the score at 23-23 at the half.

Roe Groups’ Pandy Rennon added

The Youth for the Future posted back to back wins in and all enjoyed victories when the 2010 Inter-office basketball competition continued at the Belize City Center on Monday, while the National Fire Service and Guardian Newspaper / Housing Department also enjoyed wins in their first outings.

On Monday, the Youth for the Future taxed Customs 54-44. YFF led from the getgo with Fenton Ross draining in 3 treys to lead 15-12 in the 1st quarter, and with Dwayne Davis scoring 14 pts on the put-back from 16 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists and snatching a steal, the YFF boys extended their lead to 26-23 at the half.

YFF’s Bernadote Felix hit a long trey as he added 11 pts, grabbing 5 rebounds, blocking a shot, dishing out 2 assists and snagging a steal as the YFf continued to lead 35-30 in the 3rd quarter

Customs’ Oliver Solis scored 19 pts and grabbed 3 rebounds to

7 pts, snagged 4 rebounds and blocked 2 shots, snagging 3 steals to keep the score tied at 31-31 at the end of the 3rd quarter; the YFF boys took it away in money time, with buckets from Fenton Ross, 3 from the charity stripe, and more buckets from Bernadote Felix, Dwayne Davis, and Erwin Matthews.

In Game 1 on Monday night, the Guardian Newspaper/Housing D e p a r t m e n t r a n o v e r B e l i z e Healthcare Partners/Central Cable 58-34. Guardian’s Bernard Felix top scored the ball game with 28 pts, also grabbing 2 rebounds and 7 steals to lead 11-9 in the 1st quarter. Dwayne Davis added 11 pts and grabbed 7 rebounds while dishing out 4 assists and snatching 3 steals to stay on top 21-20 at the half.

Healthcare’s Trevor Meighan led his squad with 11 pts, g rabbing 4 rebounds, while dishing out 3 assists and snagging 2 steals, but the Guardian boys overpowered them in the 3rd quarter to lead 43-24.

Youth for the Future win 2 back to back in Inter-office basketball

BHPL/CCV soldiered on valiantly with Andrew Moody adding 8 pts, grabbing 3 rebounds, dished out an assist and stole the ball once, they outscored Guardian 20-15 in the 4th quarter, but it was not enough as Guardian went on to post the 58-44 win.

In Game 3 on Monday, the National Fire Service came back from a9-15 deficit in the 1st quarter to burn KHMH 56-42.

Kenroy Roca led the firefighters with 17 pts, also grabbing 4 rebounds and 2 steals as they took over the lead 27-23 at the half. Tyrone Palmerston hust led the ba l l and scored on fast breaks for 14 pts, grabbing 9 rebounds while dishing out 2 assists and grabbing a steal as their lead grew to 45-35 by the end of the 3rd quarter

KHMH’s Rosney O'brien scored 12 pts, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 2 shots, while Leon Staine added 10 pts, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, blocked a shot and snagged 6 steals.


D e f e n d i n g I n t e r o f f i c e basketball champs Belize City Counci l and First Car ibbean Investment Bank/Quan Trading Company each posted wins in the 2010 Inter-office basketball openers inside the Belize City Center last Friday.

In Game 1, First Caribbean Bank/Quan's Trading deposited a 4 9 - 4 5 w i n o n d e f e n d i n g subchamps Atlantic Bank. FCIB’s

Atlantic Banks’ Darwin 'Dawgy' Elijio added 13 pts, grabbing 3 rebounds and a steal, but they trailed 34-40 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Bank came back to tie the score and take over the lead in the last quarter, but the FCIB boys took it away in money time 49-45.

In Game 2, the Belize City Council closed down the Port of Belize 54-46. BCC’s Joshua Jones led with 17 pts, grabbing 6 rebounds, while dishing out an assist and snagging a steal, but the Ports squad led 15-12 in the 1st quarter.

CitCo’s Kenroy 'MVP' Usher added 13 pts, while grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists and snatching 7 steals, as they gained a slim lead 29-28 at the half time break.

Port’s Leroy 'Fayah' Forbes led with 11 pts, grabbing a rebound and 3 steals, but the Citco lead g rew to 46-51 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Lloyd Burgess added 10 pts, grabbing 5 rebounds and 2 assists, blocking shots and snatching a steal, but it was CitCo up 49-45 at the final buzzer.

In Game 2 on Sunday, Alamilla's / Ce l lu l a r P lus ro l l ed out a wheelchair for Belize Healthcare Partners / Central Cable Vision to recover from their 34-65 loss. Alamilla's Marlon Middleton led with 16 pts, grabbing 5 rebounds, while dishing out 3 assists and snatching 4 steals to lead 20-8 in the 1st quarter. Steve Bonnell added 13 pts, grabbed 2 rebounds, blocked a shot and snatched 2

Belize CitCo & FCIB/Quan Trading Co. win in Interoffice basketball

Jacob 'Snake' Leslie led with 21 pts, grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out an assist and snatched 6 steals, but the Atlantic bank boys kept it tied at 13-13 in the 1st quarter.

FCIB’s Shamir Martinez added 14 pts, grabbed 8 rebounds and 2 steals, but the Atlantic Bank’s star, Andrew 'Head' Staine responded with 15 pts, 2 rebounds, blocking a shot and grabbing 2 steals to lead 22-20 at the half time break.

steals to stay on top 29-18 at the half.

BHPL/CCV’s Joseph Martinez responded with 6 pts, grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists and blocking 2 shots, but Cellular Plus was out front 39-22 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Emerson Middleton also chipped in 6 pts, grabbed 8 rebounds and 2 steals in the 34-65 loss.

In Sunday’s Game 3, Tuff e Nuff Tours shocked Belize Electricity Limited 60-48. Tuff e Nuff ’s Ashton Edwards drained in 6 x 3ptrs to top score with 24 pts, while also grabbing 2 rebounds, dishing out an assist and snatched 3 steals, but BEL held it tight 14-14 in the 1st quarter.

Tuffe’Nuff ’s Tyrone ' Joka ' Edwards added another 12 pts, grabbing 2 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists and snagging 3 steals for a slim 29-27 lead at the half.

BEL’s Leon Young answered with 12 pts, grabbing 3 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists and snagged a steal , but Tuff e Nuff had opened up a 43-34 lead by the end of the 3rd quarter. Hershell Ar mstrong chipped in 8 pts, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out an assist as Tuf e Nuff tours went on to post the 60-48 win.

The competition continued with games on Wednesday night before the big international exhibition games between the Belize national team and the Venezuelan national team in preparat ion for next week’s Centrobasket tournament in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on July 5-15.


By: Mike Rudon Jr.I’ve been told that I have an un-

healthy fixation on Mr. Barrow and the thought was enough to give me a real ‘ugh’ moment. I mean, it’s true that I harbor a very healthy dislike for the fellow whom I’ve never exchanged more than two words with, by the way. I dislike his arrogance which is so patently manifested in everything he does. I dislike his ‘fakeness’ - his prac-ticed gestures and rehearsed poses and dramatic pauses whenever in the pub-lic forum. I dislike his nonchalance

and disregard for the reality of life on the streets; I dislike his penchant for belittling persons he feels are below his social and intellectual class. I ab-solutely cannot stand his love for huge words and lofty expressions which look absolutely stunning on paper but mean nothing out here. I resent the bombastic Barrow who does whatever the hell he wants and doesn’t give a damn about anyone else. I am offend-ed by this man’s lies, followed shortly after by periods of selective amnesia and/or condescension when his lies are queried. I loathe the supercilious leader whose transparent nepotism and ‘special interest love’ has trans-lated into wealth and bounty for a few while the majority starve.

Should I go on, because I can? I haven’t even really touched on his fail-ings as the leader of the nation yet. Hell, maybe I do have an unhealthy fixation. But anyway, I was in a dis-cussion this weekend about love and bonds which cannot be broken and for some strange reason Dean and

Lois entered the conversation (how’s that for an unhealthy fixation?). My friend on the barstool next to me re-marked that he had never met Lois, but from all the hype he had expected her to be someone of superior intel-lect and moral persuasion, a paragon of legal virtue and a warrior for the rights of the common man and wom-an (well Dean said so, didn’t he). So my friend says, in between sips, that he managed to catch Lois in action in the past month or so and he was shocked by how far removed perception was from the reality. She came across as a little demented, said my friend, a little shell-shocked, somewhat confused and very arrogant.

Ah my friend, you are right, said I. In fact, I myself had held a high opinion of the lady based purely on the hype, and was sadly disillusioned. Engrossed in thoughts of hype, per-ception and reality, perhaps it should come as no surprise to readers that my thoughts turned to our leader, Dean Oliver. That gentleman is also, I be-lieve, a victim of the hype. Or more ac-curately, I should say that we Belizeans are victims of his hype. Spellbound by the halo around his head and the gold-en aura encircling this near deity, we expected a giant among men, a leader without equal, a black bald-headed Moses to part the red seas and lead his followers to the promised land and so on and so forth…! Damn those UDP spin-masters were good. But yeah, so instead of all that, we got Dean…just Dean! We sure lost out in that bargain.

We got Dean, who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform and vowed to smite down the wrongdo-ers with his rod of correction (enter snicker or chuckle or smirk here).

Instead, Dean has presided over the most corrupt administration in our nation’s political history. The would-be political giant campaigned on a platform to lower the cost of living NO MATTA WHAT. Instead, the little man we ended up with has led us into an economic recession. The cost of everything has gone up. Fuel went down for a couple weeks before shooting straight up. Dean just con-veniently forgot his promise to keep fuel to $7 even if he had to lower government’s take. Before elections we were promised a hero who would work tirelessly to better the lives of ALL Belizeans. Instead we got a neg-ligent fool who has worked tirelessly to enrich members of his family and ensure that they eat fillet mignon and prime ribs every day while the rest of us eat condensed milk and pack bread. Hell, who can even afford condensed milk these days? Almost half of the nation lies below the poverty line, but you won’t find Mr. Barrow’s family members in that category…oh no!

So we wanted a giant and we got a giant ego with a little man attached. Mistakes do happen, I told my friend as we ended the maudlin conversation and slid limply off our barstools. But our Belizean people do not forget and they will not forgive the transgressions of the little man with the big head and bigger ego. We will not forget…

An unhealthy fixation…





White Velvet Gloves

010101010100101010101010101010101010101001010101010100101010101010101010101010101001010101010100101010101010101010101010101001010101010100101010101010101010101010101001THE PATRIOT

The anecdote as relayed in old wisdom is that you cannot cook a frog using boiling water. The parabolic meta-phor teaches that the unhappy critter will unfailingly remove itself from the pot, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death.

Elsa Paz, Elsa Paz, Elsa Paz. Last Wednesday night when I heard her La-dyship the UDP mayor of San Pedro tongue lash the government, I almost dropped the unbuttered piece of bread back that I had clenched over my steam-ing cup of Milo. Did you hear what I heard? The mayor basically said to Bar-row and her own government to go “chuck off on a peg”. Normally, parlia-mentary responsibility would bridle the moral and political conscience of elect-ed leaders who share the same kalloh bed sheets. But in this case I was told that the rule of parliamentary responsi-bility should not compromise politicos outside the House of Assembly.

Well as I snapped back in my re-tort to that much appreciated but con-fusing cliff note of political education, parliamentary responsibility and Barrow dictatorship are two different things. Barrow’s arrogance and self awarded divinity does not stomach independent thought very well and never, and I mean never, tolerates dissent.

Now, when the Mayor of San Pe-dro stands up and publicly flips the bird at Dean Barrow’s insistence on offshore oil drilling, it causes the public to twitch impulsively the same way we did at the suicide rant of Mark King or the school girl naivety of the exiled…ammm…ammm…what is his name again? Oh yeah, Marcel Cardona.

Elsa gial, you gawn off, but you haad ayz: Mugarrow said clearly and conclusively “… I do not agree with any suggestion that we simply cut and run, that we say that there can never be offshore oil exploration in this country. ..You don’t stop flying because there is a risk that the plane will crash.” (Not one of his better analogies there). He even got condescending when he said - dum-mies: “You don’t run off half-cocked, and because of what is admittedly a di-saster in the States, foreclose on all your options,”

There he goes again with that kind of language; this is the second time Bar-row is included in a cock, bull and balls story with a female mayor. But Elsa, she

haad ayz, and upstaat, in full kimbo she sucked her teeth and repeated: “"First of all, I would like to say that myself and my council, we are totally against the oil drilling especially like right now we are seeing the problem with Mexico with the spill of oil there…I believe that government should have some kind of consideration before doing any deci-sions of this type.”

Elsa must have been smelling her political arm or she is taking advice from Dollah because she “paient up inna” Barrow face, and tell ah cold “ I have always said that [they]don't have respect for local authorities like myself with my council because we are not informed of what is happening in our island.” This uman no hide and talk.

Well Elsa she give dey wah tongue lashing about the same thing the PUP has been saying on behalf of the Be-lizean people for the past two years: ” bass unnu no di consult wid we and lone di go ova we head. We no deh wid dat nor unnu” in long form she said “I believe as local authorities we should be informed and there should be pub-lic consultation or at least consult with the local authorities to see if we agree with the project before they go ahead and do any approvals…and in a case like this for this approval of oil drilling and any environmental concern there is a lot of times that this private sectors or investors go all the way Belmopan to get these approvals.”

The uman fine out bout all a di drilling from Marleni at six thirty even though she is the only elected female politician for the UDP – memba Z get hib out. But her assault was not only on Mugarrow, she also “step pan” the whole boys club. She fling sohn big raak afta Gapi and Manny: "Well I believe that government should work more closely to us to have a better commu-nication. There are a lot of times that I have been in Belmopan especially with Minister of Natural Resources which is one of the biggest ministries and one of the ministries that has to do a lot with the island when it comes to forestry and all kind of environmental issues that are happening on the island.”

Barrow no shame? The highest ranking UDP elected female politician publicly scolded him when she said” I believe that government should come together with us and try to work togeth-er with us…” Barrow’s treatment of

women in the UDP and in leadership is a well known and well documented one, so the retaliatory hair pulling of Paz is no surprise.

What is interesting is that this oil scandal is as much a stain on Barrow’s new clothes as the ambassadorship of Shyne, the deportee or Zenaida’s naked confession as to his anatomy. Remem-ber, Barrow seems to be financially ben-efiting from these oil companies. This man facey, yah? Remember he gawn pan national television and said basically that much – again sake a Julez he. Barrow had the face of brass to admit that this law partner was the secretary for Prin-cess Petroleum Limited who has one of these rainbow colored concessions.

Then Jules gave him truth serum in one of his “short story questions” reminding him that he is still a benefi-cial partner in Barrow & Williams and if something benefits Barrow & Williams it would benefit Barrow. Yap, Barrow no fraid fi yuh, he responded annoyed and confused even that it should be other-wise: “Any professional work that Bar-row & Williams does will benefit me. Indeed I continue to quite publicly and openly draw a share of the profits.”

Yap! You heard it from the horse’s mouth. So if Barrow is so invested in the oil drilling disaster to be unleashed on us and we know politically, he normally bax down uman weh try breathe up inna he face, then how Elsa could dare come out against the UDP and Barrow? Remem-ber what happen to poa Zenaida?

Well, for the most part Elsa she is the antithesis of Zenaida, she is not flashy, not emotional and surely plain spoken. In fact, most people say that she holds herself out as a blandly inane poli-tician. But the reason she will become

no Zenaida is because of the socio-po-litical reality of San Pedro and the eco-nomic power that municipality wields in the UDP.

Elsa understands that the political power that San Pedro extorts in front of the UDP and the rest of Belize is directly attributable to its earning potential un-der tourism. That faction of red finan-ciers gets their money from dressing up in the tourism disguise. The only other local financiers or political dons are the northenos of the UDP. Money runs politics that is why Gapi is DPM when he is a political retard who cannot chew and talk politics at the same time. Elsa she knows this fact and she knows that if that tourism economy is interrupted the social and political power of Belize Rural South will be demoted to a very expensive but barefoot version of Punta Gorda.

Come on, Donavan could see that no tourist will come to Belize to swim under those big leaking iron towers of oil stations or pools of tar. Barrow does not have to worry, he pays no attention to his land locked constituency in Queen Square and he can pay Boots to clean up the soot on his beach front property in Buttonwood Bay if Kim protests too much. But for Elsa’s political survival, drilling is public enemy number one edg-ing out nappy haired Belize City men by a narrow margin.

Elsa is finally speaking the same language the PUP and the people of Be-lize have been shouting, even if she is lip-syncing for the gods of political ex-pedience and survival. San Pedranos are against Barrow and have already jumped out of his pot, croaking in protest of be-ing the main course of Barrow’s glutton-ous and oily insensitivity.

It’s been 755 days since the Kendall Bridge was washed away. How much

longer must we wait for a new bridge, Mr. Prime Minister?


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Tropical Storm Alex, the first system in the region, crawled over the country last weekend and made landfall near Belize City. First projections and computer models had Alex coming directly over Ambergris Caye. Those early projections prompted local officials on the island to spring into action before the rest of the country. If readers were following the news, they would realize that in San Pedro and Caye Caulker, Mrs. Jeromey Timrose Augustine has been active since December of last year preparing for the 2010 hurricane season. But can the same be said about the rest of the country, specifically for NEMO’s National Coordinator and the flippin’ Melvin?

The big test for the National Coordinator and flippin’ Minister came when Alex paid an early visit to Belize with forecast maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour. NEMO officials in Belmopan were caught with their pants down. Little did the officials in San Pedro know that neither the National Coordinator nor the flippin’ NEMO Minister had their “hurricane preparedness plan” in order. Sounds like a joke, but it became evident when the muscles were put to the test and the island’s officials had to steer the ship through the storm with the expertise they had around.

With NEMO Belmopan clueless about dealing with storms on the island, everything was left to the recently transferred NEMO Coordinator on the island and the members of her committee. Yes, the chancy National Coordinator and the Flipping Minister should be ashamed for leaving Ms. Augustine out in the cold with only her committee to help weather the storm. Ask anyone in the committee in San Pedro and they will tell you that when Ms. Augustine requested her emergency kit, she was told “we no gat nothing yet cause we neva prepare for this storm.” How on earth can the National Coordinator not have NEMO prepare for a storm when we are one month into the hurricane season? How on earth can they have announcements in the media advising the local residents to have an emergency preparedness plan when they themselves have none?

Perhaps it was the state of emergency or maybe a last minute move to save the government skin from major embarrassment that prompted Junior Heredia to take control of the emergency preparation on the island. Whatever the case, someone in authority had to lead and Junior Heredia did. The committee in San Pedro was constantly briefed by hydrologist Frank Panton who has experience with tracking hurricanes as a retired Met Officer. For the most part, the committee members were committed at a time of need. Despite the composition and political affiliations of its members, all in all, the committee was up and running upon call.

While the National Coordinator and the flippin’ Minister were making certain

stupid and immature recommendation, the local San Pedro NEMO branch found it fitting to do otherwise. Even when the flippin’ Minister wanted a total island evacuation at midnight before the storm, the committee said no. So when Panton, Augustine and Junior were on the airwaves telling the islanders of the timeline action plan, that got the flippin’ Minister and the National Coordinator up in arms. This columnist understands

Get the Sense…

that for every occasion that the Love FM island reporter had the local NEMO officials from the island on the airwaves Ms. Augustine was called by her superiors. In many instance those calls were received during the meetings and the committee members were witness to Ms. Augustine being scolded, belittled and disrespected by her superiors all in the middle of the emergency.

In fact, Junior felt it necessary to place a call to the flippin’ Minister and have him back off. The flippin’ Minister was reminded that during an emergency San Pedro is handled differently than the rest of the country because of its geography. Of course the flippin’ Minister was not happy and Junior was forced to tell the flippin’ one that, “as long as I am the Chair of NEMO in San Pedro, I will run the committee the way we always do.” Then came yet another blow to flippin’ Minister - “jump high or jump low, I will make decisions for my constituency even if it means being removed as chair.” But Junior did not end there; he told the Flipping Minister that, “instead of looking at the

pettiness of my committee, you should get NEMO in order because we in San Pedro are more prepared than NEMO at a national level.” The very fierce telephone fight was done after the local committee was tired of being schooled and scolded by the National Coordinator and Flipping Minister.

After seeing that some of his committee members are known PUPs, Junior was forced to make an authoritative comment and shouted at the Flipping Minister over the phone, “Not even under a PUP administration did I have so many problems with NEMO like I have now under my own UDP government.” Junior’s telephone conversation says a lot about NEMO at a national level; they are confused and clueless. Alex is an awaking call for NEMO’s National Coordinator and the Flipping Minister; a message for them to get their act together. One thing that is evident however is that if Belize remains in the hands of the Flipping NEMO Minister and a stronger storm comes our way, many of us will be left up that proverbial creek without a paddle.


¿Comprenderá nuestro Primer Ministro cuál es el costo verdadero del crimen? El otro día miré un programa emitido por la Cámara de Comercio e industria (BCCI) de Belice con el cual intentaron educar al público sobre el costo del crimen. El BCCI (por sus siglas en Ingles) intentó centrarse en cómo el crimen ha aumentado el costo de hacer negocio y el efecto negativo que este ha tenido en el crecimiento de la actividad económica y en el desar-rollo económico.

El programa era interesante pues destacó de hecho cómo este tema ha afectado la capacidad de los nego-ciantes de continuar en sus negocios. Hablando a la comunidad negociante local le hace realizar que en verdad la aplicación del crimen es de hecho un problema que ha estancado nuestra economía que de por si se encuentra ya muy deteriorado.

El gobierno 101 le enseña que la función más básica del gobierno es la

protección de sus ciudadanos. ¿Sera que el Primer Ministro y su gabinete entiende que el costo del crimen va más allá del peaje trágico humano; ¿que es de hecho un detrimento sig-nificativo en el desarrollo económico?

El crimen estanca el crecimiento en dos maneras: en costos directos e indirectos imponentes en los negocios,

reduce los beneficios de estos, disuade la inversión y aumenta faltas de nego-cio. Y, la opinión de altos niveles del crimen violento incontrolado restringe el trabajo y pasatiempos, refrena la in-versión y reduce el turismo.

El costo del crimen a nuestras comunidades y a nuestro sistema económico total está escalonando simplemente. Debido al aumento en la actividad criminal el país tendrá que pagar a los que se encargan de imponer el orden (Operación Jaguar). Es obvio que aumentara los gasto del gobierno y en efecto impondrá un “impuesto del crimen” sobre Beliceños; eso sig-nifica una reducción en la calidad de vida debido al crimen.

El gobierno ahora tendrá que o debe aumentar gastos en el sistema judicial criminal y éste, junto con me-didas privadas costosas para proteger a la población y negocios contra el cri-men, es de hecho inaceptable para un país donde ya existe la pobreza en el

43% de su población. Se acepta extensamente que los

costos no pecuniarios también se im-ponen prominentes en la carga del cri-men a la sociedad Beliceña. Mientras que el “crimen de la calle,” particular-mente los crímenes violentos, se con-centra desproporcionado entre los res-identes más pobres de nuestra nación, los costos del crimen se distribuyen mucho más uniformemente que la es-tadística de la persecución sugeriría.

La investigación disponible indica que el crimen impone costos grandes ante las familias de la clase media. Atraves del incremento de impuestos, las medidas privadas para reducir el riesgo de la persecución, el miedo y la ansiedad asociadas con el riesgo de la victimización a uno mismo y nuestros seres queridos. Es mi esperanza que el gobierno comprenda que la preven-ción del crimen es no sólo esencial para nuestra seguridad personal pero es crítico para una economía vibrante.

EL COSTO DEL CRIMENDOMINGO 4 de JULIO , 2010 Issue No. 4700 $1.00 www.belizetimes.bz The Truth Shall Make You Free

Todos sabemos que el Comisio-nado Asistente de Policía Elodio Ara-gon se le ha indicado para la sucesión del Comisionado de policía Crispín Jeffries. Está claro que el experimento de Jeffries ha sido una falta completa y que la situación violenta del crimen está fuera de control y ha continuado incre-mentando. En estas circunstancias, Operación Jaguar, la ultima estrategia para combatir el nivel sin precedente de la violencia, era la etapa en la cual el Sr. Aragon se demostraría como el mejor candidato para ser poli superior.

Pero el debut del Sr. Aragón no era propicio. Mientras que la Operación Jaguar tuvo éxito temprano, quizás de-bido a la inclinación del departamento de policía para retener estadística vio-lenta del crimen, se fue esfumando a como pasaba el tiempo, y en efecto, se ha hecho no eficaz. Esto significa que la calma temporal en violencia, particu-larmente los asesinatos sin sentido solo fue eso temporal y que los pistoleros que nos invaden están de nuevo para causar estragos en la sociedad mien-tras que los ciudadanos tiemblan de pánico.

Pareciera sin embargo que nadie le dijo a la policía que la Operación Jaguar no fue hecha para solucionar nuestro dilema del crimen sino que era solamente una tentativa temporal en una situación que rápidamente se deterioraba. No había manera que el perseguir y tratar de sacar a los jóvenes delincuentes de las calles en las áreas infestados por el vandalismo y el cri-men de Southside Belice pusiera fin a la violencia, no cuando la policía ha evitado ir detrás de los “pescados grandes” y desmantelar sus redes crim-inales

No hay duda que la Operación Jag-uar no fue planeada y no fue pensada cuidadosamente, consecuentemente no alcanzó sus resultados deseados. De hecho, el honorable Barrow y el

Ministro de la policía y de la segu-ridad pública Hon. Douglas Singh ha probado que no tienen ninguna idea de cómo ocuparse con eficacia del cri-men. Mientras tanto, estamos siendo rehenes sostenidos por los criminales que actúan con impunidad y que pare-ciera aun de ser capturados es probable que no sean traídos a la justicia.

El Sr. Barrow está descubriendo rápidamente que es fácil quejarse y criticar cuando usted no es responsable de sus hechos. En la oposición, él tenía la panacea para el crimen, condenando el gobierno por no hacer lo suficiente para proteger a sus ciudadanos. Pero ahora como P.M., él no puede incluso aliviar nuestros temores. Su idea de combatir el crimen es sentándose con los líderes notorios de la cuadrilla para persuadirlos con su lengüeta prodigi-osa que deben parar las matanzas sin sentido. Esto es claramente ingenuo de su parte.

Con eso en mente, no es ninguna sorpresa que los criminales no se en-cuentren preocupados, cuando el Sr. Primer Ministro dice que ira detrás de ellos. Los criminales saben que él no puede tomar las decisiones resistentes, que él toma la temperatura política para determinarse qué posición tomar, que él es un líder polarizante que no pu-ede unirse con nadie en la lucha contra el crimen, y que siempre que profese necesitar la ayuda de la oposición es solamente por el kilometraje político.

Es hora para que el Sr. Dean Bar-row y el Sr. Singh se centren en las opciones que deben hacer y las priori-dades que deben fijar para manejar con eficacia la situación del crimen. Es-tamos hartos con los altos niveles de robos armados, de invasiones locales, de matanzas, y de otros crímenes serios que nos hagan ser temerosos. Por otra parte, estamos hartos de que la policía siempre este a un paso detrás de los criminales, haciéndonos rehenes en

NESECITAMOS SOLUCIONES AHORA….

Joyce Mitchell

nuestros mismos hogares. ¡Deseamos soluciones, ahora!

Al igual que con el caso con sub-stituir el Hon. Carlos Perdomo con el Sr. Singh, substituyendo simplemente al Sr. Jeffries con el Sr. Aragon no hará el milagro. En toda imparcialidad a él, él es quizás más cualificado académi-camente de las comisiones auxiliares, pero él también tiene la menos experi-encia operacional. Él no ha ordenado una de las formaciones más impor-tantes, mucho menos probado en las calles sangrientas del Sur de Belice. Él ha pasado la mayor parte de su carrera en la gerencia

Estamos viviendo épocas difíciles para la policía que ha hecho su imagen deslustrar recientemente. Además, to-dos sabemos que él Sr. Aragon debe su predominancia meteórica al Patrocinio del Sr. Barrow. Pareciera que al saltar y subir de rango no se hace respon-sable de sus actos y en consecuencia ha diezmado la moral de los oficiales de la tropa que arriesgan sus vidas diari-

amente para protegernos.Pero para combatir la violen-

cia necesitamos reconstruir la confi-anza del público y la confidencia en la Policía. Tiene que ser asi, aunque signifique despedir algunos elemen-tos que más que ayudar y fortalecer nuestro sistema lo han deteriorado con su comportamiento negligente y poco ejemplar. Sin embargo parece que sin la ayuda del publico, no se podrá com-batir esta situación tan deplorable que esta sufriendo nuestra sociedad..

Así que El Sr. Jeffries mas le vale que empiece a hacerse responsable de las estrategias para combatir el crimen cualquiera que esta sean. De igual manera debe de hablar públicamente de lo que le hace falta para combatirlo y luchar por conseguirlo. Que deje ya de besarles el trasero al Sr. Barrow y al Sr. Singh y que empiece a exigirles que le provean un ambiente de apoyo para que esto sea un suceso. Es tiempo que El Sr. Singh se gana su plata con el sudor de su frente!


Belize TimesThe En Español

By: Mike Rudon Jr.Las noticias que el Primer

Ministro Barrow y su entourage tuvieron que ser evacuados de su hotel en Miami este fin de semana debido a un olor penetrante fue causa de risas garantizadas. Imagínese que en medio del magnífico discurso del Primer Ministro el olor l legó a ser tan ter rible que el hotel entero de más de 1.000 huéspedes tuvieron que ser evacuados. Me imagino que sar ta de tonterías estaba diciendo el Sr. Barrow para que ese olor sal iera de su boca! Tenemos la misma situación aquí en Belice cuando el P.M. abre la boca… la única diferencia es que estamos tan acostumbrados al olor de la basura y de la inmundicia que ya no nos afecta tanto.

Pero ya hablando en serio, esa situación en Miami debe ser la más suprema de las ironías y intelecto superior que él posee, Estoy seguro que la ironía no fue perdida en El Sr. Barrow. Me imagino que cuando los agentes secretos del servicio de los E.E.U.U. lo l levaban fuera del cuar to él pensaba – maldición! “Seré de nuevo victima de algunas bromas de mal gusto en casa”! Después de todo, Sr. Barrow despide ese olorcil lo original a” corrupción', el l íder que prometió ponerse sus zapati l las especiales para patearle el trasero a cualquier elemento en su administración con el solo olor a “Eau de Corrupción” que el sintiera! ¡Qué broma resultó ser!

El Sr. Barrow ha presidido sobre cuál es indiscutiblemente la administración mas corrupta en esta joven nación. El caballero que prometió reaccionar a un olorcil lo de corrupción debe haber disfrutado del hedor. Eso es quizá lo qué sucedió - la corrupción dentro de su administración era demasiado para él . En tan solo semanas luego que la Administración del UDP entrara en poder, ya se podía sentir ese olor a lo corrupto al entrar en las oficinas. Ese olor no ha disminuido en lo absoluto pues las cosas van de mal en peor. El Sr. Barrow ni siquiera ha hecho una tentativa seria de reconocer, de tratar o de ponerle un hasta aquí a dicha corrupción.

¿Y sabe usted lo que más resulta espantoso? Que ha habido tantos problemas semana a semana que el tema de la corrupción se ha reducido apenas a un ronquido persistente subyacente. Que todo mundo sabe que esta latente pero que nadie cree que se pueda hacer algo al respecto. Y hay algo mas espantoso todavía, que ninguno de estos problemas que afectan nuestro país ha sido resuelto! Mientras que todo esto sucede a nuestro alrededor, el Sr. Barrow se menea complacida mente en su barquito de corcho con la tranquil idad que tienen los que disfrutan de problema alguno. ¿Verdad que es para enojarse?!

¿Quién habría pensado que se le permitiría a la alcaldesa sal irse con la suya en el Concil io de la

Ciudad? Metió la manita en las cajas publicas y una auditoria oficial demostró el defalco de centenares de millares de dólares y muchos sintieron el hedor a la corrupción! Un tema que planteó preguntas sobre (Eau de Corrupción) seguramente en transacciones y reparticiones dudosas. El Sr. Barrow y su administración apenas pestañearon. Nadie hizo preguntas y pasó de hecho inadvertido como una brisa pasajera. Como siempre nada se resolvió al respecto. De la misma manera como también nada se resolvió respecto al tema de las alegaciones contra Boots Martínez y el Programa de viviendas de Port Loyola para los pobres. El Sr. Barrow bailó el vals alrededor de esas preguntas y alrededor de preguntas hechas acerca de Gapi Vega y el ministerio de recursos naturales. Y que tal si recordamos al Sr. ¿Clear the Land? que debería estar haciendo fi la india para recibir un premio por la mayoría de las realizaciones y éxito financiero en el período mas corto de tiempo? Pareciera que el Primer Ministro no tiene tiempo para tratar con esos temas. Pero a pesar de que el Sr. Barrow se sigue haciendo de la vista gorda respecto a la corrupción, el hecho esta que sigue desenfrenado!

Lo único que salvaría al Sr. Barrow de las gar ras de la corrupción en este momento será probablemente las f lechas envenenadas que aseguraran su muerte polít ica. Esta semana y en nuestra penúltima el tema importante del Sr. Barrow contra la judicatura con su tentativa poco aconsejable de sacar a la Principal Justicia del Banco (y substituirlo por uno de su propio gusto?). Y luego también existe el tema del petróleo, donde Sr. Barrow parece determinado en promover la perforación mar adentro incluso con el riesgo de destruir la nación. Antes que eso estaba el f iasco de la Operación Restauración Belice y lo falso de su supuesta modificación del gabinete/la extensión. Siempre una insensatez tras otra! Y por si fuera poco, existe el tema del crimen que no parecen ser capacitados para combatir! . Y por supuesto hay el estado de la economía que ha entrado en recesión debajo del Sr. ¡Barrow y todo lo negativo que trae con ella… el desempleo, incremento en el costo de vida, inf lación, nuestra niñez y nuestra juventud dejando las escuelas…!

Tómese un tiempecito amable ciudadano y analice cuidadosamente. Semana tras semana están estos problemas que af l igen a nuestra sociedad. ¿Acaso se ha resuelto a la satisfacción de la gente de Belice alguno de los problemas que afectan a nuestro país? ¿Se han contestado sus preguntas? O el ¿Sr Barrow piensa que él puede menearse alrededor de los problemas en su barco de corcho indefinidamente? Si él piensa eso, entonces él se encuentra aún más loco de lo que pensaba!

Una fijación malsana…

Nada Resuelto...

Por: Mike Rudon Jr Me han dicho que tengo una

fijación malsana con el Sr. Barrow y se me enchino la piel de solo pensar en la probabilidad. En verdad abrigo una aversión muy sana para el compañero con quien nunca he intercambiado más de dos palabras. Tengo aversión a su arrogancia que se manifiesta en todo que él hace. Tengo aversión a su falsedad – a sus gestos practicados y pausas ensayadas de actitud dramática siempre que se encuentra en el foro público. Tengo aversión su desconsideración ética. Tengo aversión a su inclinación para desestimar a personas que él se siente están debajo de su clase social e intelectual. Siento repugnancia por su amor a las palabras enormes y las expresiones altas que parecen absolutamente imponentes en papel pero no significan nada en realidad pues se las lleva el aire. Las mentiras de este hombre me ofenden, seguidas poco después por períodos de amnesia selectiva cuando se le pregunta sobre sus mentiras. Detesto al líder arrogante con su nepotismo transparente y del cual su interés especial por las personas se ha traducido a abundancia y a generosidad para algunos mientras que la mayoría muere de hambre.

¿Acaso debo continuar? Porque puedo. Y eso que no he tocado el tema de sus fallos como el Lider de la Nacion todavía. Me encontraba en una discusión sobre el amor y los enlaces que no pueden ser rotos y por cierta razón extraña Dean y Lois se incorporaron a la conversación (que les parece cómo fijación malsana?). Mi amigo al lado de mí comentó que él nunca había conocido a Lois, pero por todo lo que Dean a dicho de ella, el esperaba que ella fuera un dechado de virtudes, alguien de intelecto superior y de persuasión moral, un modelo de la virtud legal y un guerrero para los derechos del hombre y de la mujer común. Mi amigo continuo diciendo entre tragos que miro a Lois en acción en el último mes y sintió una sacudida eléctrica al darse cuenta hasta dónde la opinión era diferente al de la realidad. Ella le pareció un poco demente, algo confundida y muy arrogante.

Cuanta razón tienes Amigo, de hecho, yo mismo tenía una

alta opinión de la señora basada puramente en el bombo, y fui tristemente desilusionado. Absorbido en pensamientos del bombo, de la opinión y de la realidad, quizás debe venir como ninguna sorpresa a los lectores que mis pensamientos regresaran a nuestro líder, el Sr. Dean Oliver. Ese caballero también es, yo creo, una víctima del bombo. O más bien, debo decir que nosotros los Beliceños somos víctimas de su bombo. ¡Hechizados por el halo alrededor de su cabeza, esperábamos un gigante entre hombres, líder sin igual, un Moses negro y calvo partiendo los mares rojos y conduciendo a sus seguidores a la tierra prometida y así sucesivamente y así sucesivamente…! ¡Pero en vez de todo eso, conseguimos a Dean… solamente a Dean! Ah que negocio, en donde nosotros salimos perdiendo!

Obtuvimos a Dean, que hizo campaña en una plataforma de la contra-corrupción y juro golpear violentamente a los malhechores con su barra de la corrección (incorpore una sonrisita o risa ahogada o aquí). En lugar, Dean ha presidido la administración más corrupta de la historia política de nuestra nación. El gigante político supuesto hizo campaña en una plataforma para bajar el costo de vida, CUESTE LO QUE CUESTE! En lugar, este pequeño hombre nos ha conducido a una recesión económica. El coste de todo ha incrementado. El combustible bajo un par de semanas antes de incrementar ridículamente! El Primer Ministro acaba de olvidarse convenientemente que su promesa de mantener el combustible a $7. Antes de las elecciones nosotros fuimos prometidos a un héroe que trabajaría incansablemente para mejorar las vidas de TODO Beliceño. En lugar conseguimos a un tonto negligente que ha trabajado incansablemente para enriquecer a miembros de su familia y para asegurarse de que coman miñón y costillas de cerdo, mientras que el resto de nosotros come leche condensada y pan. ¿Rayos! quien puede incluso permitirse la leche condensada actualmente? Casi la mitad de la nación se encuentra debajo de la línea de la pobreza, pero usted no encontrará a ¡Miembros de la familia de Barrow en esa categoría…claro que no!

Deseábamos a un gigante y conseguimos un ego gigante unido con un pequeño hombre. Los errores suceden, dije a mi amigo mientras que terminamos la conversación y nos deslizábamos de nuestros asientos. Pero nuestra gente de Belice no olvida y no perdonará las transgresiones del pequeño hombre con la cabeza grande y el ego más grande. No nos olvidaremos…


han identificado la fuente del olor, están preguntando según se informa a un ranchero tipo ganadero que dice reconocer que tipo de olor es! …. ¡Si no es así!

¿La Zona Libre cierra sus puertas?Se rumora que en cualquier

momento habrá una sublevación en la Zona Libre. Los dueños del los negocio están diciendo que las cosas están ya realmente, realmente mal y algunos de ellos han estado funcionando con perdidas, y ahora los payasos del UDP en el poder los hieren mas todavía. Vea

usted, el sábado en que la tormenta Alex decidió darnos una visita, el jefe de la zona le dio un ataque de nervios y decidió cerrar todas las tiendas en la zona. Hacia las cuatro de la tarde más de 3.000 mejicanos que estaban haciendo sus respectivas compras fueron prácticamente correteados de las tiendas bajo la mirada de dueños de negocios furiosos. Nuestra contrapartes más elegantes a través de la frontera guardaron todas sus tiendas para el negocio como de costumbre mientras que nuestros principales idiotas en la zona hicieron una situación ya mala, peor! ¡Cuanto más alto sube el mono mas muestra el trasero!!!, dicen nuestros amigos del Norte… ¡Si no es así!

¡Maldición!Hablando de un cuadro que vale

mil palabras! Mire esto! Éste es nuestro nuevo consulado a través de la frontera en Chetumal, Consulado General Jorge

Valencia. Miraba al cuadro a la izquierda y lo miraba del lado derecho… incluso escudriñé pero la imagen permanecía igual. Lo qué usted ve aquí es lo que usted consigue - un garaje que pasa como el consulado de Belice. ¡Que vergüenza! Me pregunto cuánto estamos pagando al Sr. Valencia como Cónsul-General. Me encantaría saber cuánto estamos pagando para hacer funcionar esta oficina ¡Pero espere, quizá juzgamos mal y en realidad si es un consulado con todos los servicios – los Beliceños ahora pueden discutir quizá materias importantes con el Cónsul- Honorario y hacer que él cambie el aceite de sus coches al mismo tiempo… ahh, podría ser! ¡Qué UDP mas baboso tenemos, las cosas están mal en Belice pero el esquileo continúa… ¡Si no es así!

Ve usted……Recuerde que usted lo vio aquí

primero… la Sra Loisy se ha propuesto ser la próxima Procurador General de Belice y puesto que el ex-marido no puede decirle no a su conejita del amor, es mas que seguro que es un hecho ya. Compruébelo usted mismo… cuando el CJ( por sus siglas en Ingles) gobernó a favor de los mayas esta semana, una

cansada y sorprendida Loisy indicó inmediatamente que el GOB abrogaría el caso. Ahora me parece que si ella es abogado del GOB en este caso, ella necesitaría ir a checar con sus clientes para discutir el siguiente movimiento. Pero nope, Loisy tomó la iniciativa y dijo a los medios exactamente cual sería el siguiente paso del GOB. ¿Qué le parece? Pero hey, incluso el ojo oculto Jamesy podría ver la jugada del ex-hubby cuando nomino a BQ Pitts (temporalmente?)¡Procurador General. Caramba! incluso los amigos del hombre dicen que las facultades de BQ Pitts se están deteriorando!¡Nos parece que el viejo estará en esa posición temporal muy poco tiempo mientras la Sra tome el puesto de Procurador General. ¡Si no es así!

Qué apesta…? Este columnista ha recibido palabra

que la gerencia de un hotel en Miami está contemplando pasarle al Primer Ministro Barrow la facturación de los costos incurridos en evacuar a más de 1.000 huéspedes del hotel el viernes pasado. La evacuación fue pedida después de que un hedor horrendo impregnara las instalaciones y las autoridades no podían identificar la fuente. Las investigaciones subsecuentes han revelado que mientras

que el olor era altamente ofensivo no era tóxico y no planteó ninguna amenaza verdadera a los huéspedes. Las investigaciones también han revelado al parecer que el olor terrible emanó del cuarto en donde Barrow llevaba a cabo una reunión. Además fuentes fidedignas han revelado a este columnista que el informe de los que se encontraban en la reunión percibió el primer olorcillo del hedor inmediatamente después de que el Primer Ministro comenzara su discurso. También están divulgando que el olor creció más fuerte a medida que el discurso continuó, y a medio camino con su discurso las huéspedes al no poder soportar el creciente hedor fueron evacuados. Mientras que las autoridades

demuestra la respuesta del Sr. Barrow al dilema de la seguridad en las cortes. ¡Ay,

por eso es que estamos como estamos! ¡Si no es así!

¿Sobre-preparado?.... En otra columna en otra sección

de este periódico hice un comentario, sobre que los idiotas del UDP se acariciaban la parte posterior y tomaban probablemente el crédito por el hecho de que la tormenta tropical Alex no fue tan mala como se había predicho. ¡Dicho y hecho! Esos idiotas no son nada si no predecibles. Tenemos suerte que la tormenta no fue desastrosa. ¿Cómo rayos puede NEMO tomar el crédito por eso? ¿Cuan estúpido puede esta gente ser? El hecho es que el Sr. NEMO debe estar en sus rodillas agradeciéndole al buen Señor por haber sido tan bondadoso con el. ¡Pero no se duerma Señor, porque la temporada de huracanes apenas inicia! Ningún sueño todavía, jefe, porque la estación del huracán es joven todavía… ¡Si no es así!

¡Estamos en Miami!....Y puesto que estamos hablando

del esquileo… quizá el Calvo podría decirnos cuánto estamos pagando para mantener a nuestro consulado funcionando en Miami. Hice un poco de investigación y di con una figura, pero quisiera conseguir una cierta verificación de nuestro apenas líder que recién regreso de Miami. Escucho que estamos pagando algo así como $350.000 cada año para mantener nuestro consulado de Miami operacional. Estaría interesado en saber cuánto La Sra Sylvester consigue en sueldo y gratificaciones y apenas quién recoge cerca de $111.000 en tiempo suplementario solamente. Yup, así como lo escucha! - $111.000 en horas extras. Creo que es hora para que una investigación se lleve acabo en referencia de los dineros asignados a nuestros cónsules y embajadas en tierras extranjeras. Hmmm Sr Barrow, de verdad que es usted chancista!! ¡Si no es así!

Nuevas medidas de seguridad… Hace aproximadamente dos semanas

nuestro periódico, Belize Times, le pidió a mini- mugabe tratar el tema de seguridad en las corte. Especialmente después de la ejecución descarada a amplia luz del día de Andre Trapp. Entendemos que el Calvo consulto con las mentes mas brillantez de su gabinete, entonces él pensó largo y duro en la situación antes de subir con una idea brillante. Yup, usted puede verlo aquí. Este cuadro

Belize TimesThe En Español


Belize TimesThe En Españolla Barra el dedo figurado. Éste es un hombre que no tiene ningún problema en caminarles a las personas por encima o a cualquiera que se le ponga en su trayectoria. Mire el caso de la Principal Justicia. No hay razón para que la Principal Justicia se le trate con tan poca desconsideración. El movimiento costará a Beliceños que tienen casos no resueltos antes del CJ un penique bonito, puesto que estos casos necesitarán ser oídos de nuevo delante de otra justicia. La reserva de casos estará peor! mucho peor. Al Sr.

Barrow se le ha aconsejado sobre esto, pero el ha indicado que le vale! Él parece no importarle la reserva de casos o el efecto sobre la dispensación oportuna de la justicia. No le importa en lo absoluto los gastos innecesarios y retrasos que tendrán estos casos inconclusos. El Sr. Barrow desea sacar al Sr. Conteh, y asi será hecho! Porque el lo ordena! Final de la historia. Nuestro Primer Ministro debe estar enterado que la región está mirando estos acontecimientos con mucho interés. Habrá repercusiones. De eso no les quepa duda!

Enorme desacato……. Hay pocos otros casos que revelan

la hipocresía de Dean Barrow y su amor a la señora Lois tanto como el caso comunal de las derechas de los mayas. La Principal Justicia publicó su decisión esta semana y tiene a la señora Lois furiosa. Ella proclamó inmediatamente que el gobierno necesitará abrogar porque esta cosa es… demasiado enorme para confiar en una decisión hecha por el CJ ( por sus siglas en Ingles). La Sra Lois aun fue más lejos pues le falto el respeto

a los Mayas. Dudando de la veracidad como mayas VERDADEROS. Ésta no es la primera vez que Lois le falta el respeto a los Mayas. Pero apenas hace aproximadamente tres años era una historia totalmente diversa. En ese entonces Lois luchó con dientes y unas por los mismos derechos Mayas que ahora quiere destruir. Anteriormente ella abogaba por ellos, no era el Abogado que los insultaba y que degradaba a la gente indígena en cada vuelta. Pero en ese entonces su ex-hubby no era el Primer Ministro. En el 2007 el Barrow era el líder de la Oposición y la gente maya eran sus mejores amigos. En más de una entrevista Barrow proclamó que los mayas tendrían siempre ayuda del UDP. Él proclamó en cada púlpito y pódium que justificaran a los mayas sus demandas de las tierras y proclamaba que estaba con ellos en su lucha por sus derechos. Pero o, cómo las cosas han cambiado. Eso era cuando Barrow estaba en su campana para Primer Ministro. Entonces el decía lo que fuese para convencer a las personas votar por el UDP. Ahora que se encuentra sentado firmemente en el trono, él puede demostrar cómo realmente se siente. Él puede ahora demostrar su desdén verdadero para la gente indígena. La gente de los mayas no se olvidara de los insultos muy personales apilados en ellos por Lois. No se olvidarán del Primer Ministro que les ha dado la espalda completamente!

No teman… Como estarían de tranquilos las

personas cuando ambos el Primer Ministro y Boots Martinez les mando decir que no teman porque estarían supervisando la situación desde Miami. ¿Puede usted imaginar eso? Representante del área de Queens Square y el representante del área de Port Loyola, dos de las áreas más empobrecidas de la ciudad, ambos

dándose la gran vida en Miami mientras que sus constituyentes se preparaban para hacer frente a una tormenta que ignoraban que los iba a golpear. Si esa tormenta hubiera traído sus vientos prometidos, habría habido daños significativa en ambos distritos electorales. Aunque si hubo inundaciones en Port Loyola. Pero era más importante para que el Primer Ministro y su sidekick perfilar que estar aquí con su gente haciendo frente a la tormenta. Si no creyera en Dios antes, ahora después de lo qué sucedió en Miami cuando tuvieron que ser evacuados del hotel después de que un mal olor abrumara a todos enseguida después que el Primer Ministro comenzara a hablar. Hablemos de justicia poética. Ambos el Primer Ministro y Boots tendrán que dar cuentas el porque descuidaron a su gente en el momento en que mas los necesitaron.

Llamada de atención….. Conociendo al UDP en general y

particularmente al Sr. Nemo, Melvin Hulse, no es parte de la imaginación poder imaginarse a todo este equipito darse golpecitos de satisfacción en la espalda por un trabajo bien hecho con la tormenta tropical Alex. Pero la tormenta no tiene absolutamente nada que ver con NEMO y no se puede acreditar ciertamente a ninguna preparación hecha por NEMO. La tormenta era una anomalía, prometiendo vientos de 65 millas por hora pero entregando menos que la mitad de eso. No hay tiempo o razón

para auto felicitarse. Si una tormenta de cualquier fuerza superior nos hubiera golpeado, nuestra nación habría sido devastada. A decir verdad, los Beliceños estábamos solos y contábamos con solo un par de horas para prepararnos para la tormenta porque el Sr. ¡NEMO estaba dormido en el timón - OTRA VEZ! ¿Cuántas personas tuvieron el tiempo suficiente para fortificar sus hogares, o para comprar provisiones en caso de una tormenta o huracán? ¿Cuántos abrigos públicos fueron abiertos? ¿Qué recursos fueron enviados para rendir la relevación frente a una tormenta que habría podido ser mucho peor? ¿Habían preparaciones hechas ya para evacuar a personas en el sur en caso de que las travesías de Kendall y de Middlesex se inundaran? La realidad es que a las personas del otro lado del Kendall se habrían dejado a la voluntad de Dios y a sus propios dispositivos porque no se hizo ninguna provision de otra manera. Y como esta, hay muchas preguntas que deben ser contestadas. La tormenta tropical Alex fue una llamada de atención, no cabe duda de eso. Los Beliceños debemos agradecer a Dios que solamente fue una pequeña tormenta, y en el futuro hay que estar preparados para esta temporada de tormentas y huracanes. NEMO debe también mirar las equivocaciones que fueron incurridas y utilizar la suspensión temporal de un castigo que se ha dado para cerciorarse de que la próxima vez se pongan las pilas y preparen todo a tiempo y adecuadamente para que no haya perdida de vidas humanas. Porque definitivamente vendrán mas!!!

Red alrededor del anillo…….En abril, el día de Los Inocentes

el Sr. Barrow parado delante de la nación tomó a los Beliceños por tontos. El lanzo al publico las noticias que una red se había descubierto dentro del departamento de policía, una red encabezada por un policía detective el Sr. Mangar; una red que había sido responsable de todos los robos descarados que habían estado ocurriendo en el país incluyendo el de Scotiabank. El Sr. Barrow aseguro a todos los Beliceños que podían dormir tranquilos porque

sus negocios se encontraban seguros. Él acreditó al departamento de Policía el brillante trabajo de descubrir la red. Arrestaron al detective Mangar puntualmente y su nombre fue arruinado. Causaron a su esposa y familia dificultades y el susodicho fue encarcelado. Por supuesto habría consecuencias legales y otros costos que incurrieron. Al Sr. Barrow no le importo el dolor de la familia… hizo su declaración imponente y navegó hacia el horizonte sin mirar atrás! Ahora escuchamos que los cargos hechos al detective Mangar están a punto de ser levantados porque no se encontró evidencia contra él. La vida de un hombre fue arruinada por ninguna razón. Su nombre fue arruinado por ninguna razón. El Primer Ministro debe pagar por este error imperdonable. El departamento de policía debe pagar, y pagar muy caro los males hechos contra este hombre y su familia. No podemos permitir que estas cosas permanezcan impunes.

Cayendo la barra… El Sr. Barrow es bien conocido ya por ser poco hombre. No cumple lo

que promete sin importarle a quienes afecta. Es un mentiroso compulsivo por muchos años y parece haber perfeccionado el arte desde Febrero del 2008. Recuerde cómo en el manifiesto del UDP él prometió a los socios sociales y otras organizaciones entrada e influencia en las decisiones tomadas por el gobierno? Las Uniones le preguntaron sobre ello cuando los fondos de Venezuela estaban a punto de ser desembolsados. ¡Barrow dijo - quién, yo! No recuerdo eso. De la misma manera que la Asociación de la Barra de Abogados le recordó que él les había prometido la inclusión en las decisiones importantes que implicaban la judicatura y la dispensación de la justicia. Y adivinen que? El Sr. Barrow también se le olvidó esa promesa y mostro a

Políticas UDP, como siempre


On Tuesday Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh delivered a 62 page decision which grants the Mayas of Southern Belize customary land tenure rights in 33 villages in the Toledo district. It is a battle the Mayas have been fighting since June of 2009 and the victory in the Supreme Court has been cause for much celebration in the South.

But Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow says that celebration will be short-lived and he plans to appeal imme-diately. In an interview in the UDP’s of-ficial newspaper, Barrow claims that the decision is “injurious to the public in-terest, it is injurious to national unity and it is injurious to the development of the Maya.” Barrow also stated that his Government will be making no move in terms of the management of the land until after the appeal is heard. Mr. Bar-row’s position was first voiced by his ex-wife and GOB’s attorney of choice Lois

Young, who right after the judgment was delivered stated in no uncertain terms that she felt that Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh was wrong in his decision and had not done a thorough job in consider-ing the evidence presented.

Young took GOB’s position even further, questioning openly the ances-try and cultural veracity of the Mayas – “What we are saying is that they have not proven that they are direct descen-dants of the Manche Chol…they are to prove that they are the indigenous people and from the very start, we have said that they are not the direct descendants of the Manche Chol."

This case, even if no other, has served to highlight the utter hypocrisy of Prime Minister Dean Barrow and his emissary and girl Friday Lois Young. In 2007 while in Opposition both Barrow and Young had declared themselves (at least in the public eye) warriors for Ma-

Victory for the Mayas? yan rights. In October of 2007 when the Mayan won customary land tenure rights to three communities, then leader of the Opposition Dean Oliver Barrow did not miss the photo opportunity, stat-ing in an interview with Channel 7 that – “Socially, politically I think that it is of course a great victory for the Maya people but a victory to be wel-comed by all the people of this coun-try. I had already had, in my capac-ity as Leader of the Opposition a few weeks ago, a meeting with the Maya Leaders Alliance and we had talked about this much vexed issue of Maya land rights. And I had said to them that it was clear that certainly in San-ta Cruz, Conejo, and I believe Sun-daywood, the inhabitants of the vil-lage were absolutely certain that they wanted to operate in those villages on the basis of communal tradition-al Maya rights and I had indicated to them in advance of the judgment that I would have absolutely no dif-ficulty with that. But a UDP govern-

ment would be happy to respect that and therefore not to be issuing leases or titles or concessions in any of those villages.

But without losing a step the Prime Minister has done a complete about turn and is now vehemently opposed to the Maya getting those same rights he whole-heartedly supported not even three years ago. His sidekick Lois has also mysteri-ously lost her passion for the rights of the Maya and is now willing to resort to any-thing including personal insults to deny the Mayas their customary land tenure rights.

Because of the position taken by the Prime Minister, the victory in the Su-preme Court has been rendered meaning-less in terms of legal rights being granted to the Mayas to manage their own lands. And if Barrow has his way and the appeal by GOB is successful, it will be a dev-astating blow to the Mayas of the South who have already had their cultural au-thenticity questioned by government’s attorney.

On June 3, 2010, Bernard Quinton “BQ” Pitts was sworn in by Dean Barrow as the new Attorney General. This took a lot of work as Pitts became the first AG who is neither an elected representative nor a member of the senate. In fact, Dean Barrow had to molest the constitution to secure the appointment of Pitts, by passing the seventh amendment to the constitution which makes a provision for an AG who is not a member of either house.

But in less than two weeks as the titular head of the Attorney General’s Ministry, B Q Pitts has failed to make one single improvement or effective policy in his new job. Shamefully on the converse reports reaching Belize Times indicate that the only identifiable thing he has done is

Nepotism by Exampleto hire another one of his unqualified daughters to help to take over a section at the General Registry.

After the tip, our investigations confirmed that Sheena Pitts, who is the daughter of B.Q. Pitts, has been employed for the summer by the Attorney General’s Ministry, conveniently run by her “Daddy”. But the staff and other hard working public servants at the Registry informed the Belize Times that it is worse than just using Government funds and our tax dollars to give his own “pickney” a summer allowance. Sheena has been given a big post too.

Daddy Pitts bestowed on Sheena, half sister to the egg thrower Sharon Pitts, the post of second in command of the

entire Estates Department of the Registry for the summer. We learnt that this is an important department that deals with legal applications for the properties of people who have died.

This section of the Registry was being run by a hard working public servant who slaved at that desk for many years. We tried to reach the president of the Public Service Union, Jaqueline Willoughby Sanchez on this one but were unsuccessful.

Ex-Inferior Court lawyer B Q Pitts who has accomplished nothing as AG has taken a page out of Barrow’s book of nepotism. He has put his little girl in a High Court office where she is wholly unqualified to perform. This is just terrible. The child, who is surely not the brightest bulb in the socket as it is, does not even have a law degree. She still has not managed

to pass in order to get into law school, and is still crawling through a bachelor’s degree. Members of staff at the Registry told the Belize Times that on a number of occasions she has given out bad and wrong advice to civilians who went to the Registry to file documents for their deceased loved ones.

The same AG has another daughter who is being fed from the public coffers in Tricia Pitts who was doubling up to represent the FIU in the money laundering case which is quickly falling apart. So that is two daughters employed and paid by your money.

But who is to complain? The AG would in multisyllabic old English tell you that Dean Barrow has done the same thing for his daughter, brother, family members, and ex-wife in the Court system. So why can B Q Pitts not do it too?

The Belize Times has been able to confirm that UDP Village Councilor and Treasurer of the Lots Committee in Bella Vista Village, Fidel Maradiaga has been

UDP Councilor Arrested for Missing $$$$$

detained by Police in connection with money for which he cannot account. Reports are that more than $21,000 was missing when the Chairman of the Lots Committee made

checks with the Treasurer. Those monies allegedly went missing between May 2009 and May 2010.

Maradiaga allegedly could not explain away the missing money and was immediately detained by Police. The Belize Times spoke to the Chairwoman of the Village, Gloria Hernandez, but she explained that she could shed no light on this issue. In the recent

village council elections, Hernandez who ran on a PUP slate was elected as Chairwoman of the Village while all six Councilors were elected from a UDP slate. For this reason, Hernandez told us, she has not been invited to meetings held by the Council and has not been apprised of the situation.

Maradiaga remains detained pending charges.

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