National Perspective April 24, 2011

Edition 139 Vol.3 week 34 Sunday,April 24th, 2011

www.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgwww.nationalperspectivebz.orgRead story on page 7George Price Brother Killed

National PerspectiveNational Perspective National PerspectiveNational Perspective

� e true voice of the silent majority� e true voice of the silent majority� e true voice of the silent majority� e true voice of the silent majority� e true voice of the silent majority� e true voice of the silent majority

UDP...Orange Walk East Disbands, transcends to Orange Walk Upliftment Committee

Marcel Cardona, to run independent !

Continues on page 10

Tuesday, April 19th, 2010BELIZE CITY: Although Orange Walk East area representative Hon. Marcel Cardona has abso-lutely refused to accept that he has “constructively resigned” from the United Democratic Party, his con-stituency committee yesterday said via a letter seen on page 11 that they are no longer members and supporters of the party in govern-ment.In a release late yesterrday a� er-noon, the committee said that: “Following the recent noti� cation of the EFFECTIVE EXPULSION, (carefully disguised under the cra� -ily worded phrase “CONSTRUC-TIVE RESIGNATION”, and in complete disregard for the consti-tutional rights of ALL citizens to freedom of expression, due process and a fair hearing) of the duly elect-ed Orange Walk East Area Repre-sentative Honourable Marcel Car-dona Cervantes from membership in the United Democratic Party via a letter from UDP Party Chairman Hon. Patrick Faber dated March 30, 2011, for having boldly stood up to voice the people’s concerns before

the National Assembly, the general membership of the UDP Orange Walk East Committee met and unanimously agreed to, in com-plete solidarity with its duly elected Leader and Orange Walk East Area Representative, RENOUNCE all further membership, participation, and a� liation with the UDP Party, and to FORM a new non-politically aligned or independent ORANGE WALK EAST UPLIFTMENT COMMITTEE, to continue the great work ahead of serving, along with the duly elected Orange Walk East Area Representative Honour-able Marcel Cardona Cervantes, the good people of the Orange Walk East Constituency.”� e newly converted “Orange Walk East Upli� ment Committee” goes on to say that while it recognizes that the road ahead will not be an easy one, it “pledges to work dili-gently, together with” Cardona and the community “to bring better-ment, progress and development to our people of the East, who for the past three years have been delib-

Hon. Marcel Cardona, Orange Walk East Representative

SSB Share Purchase suit hearing adjourned until September

Upbeat and optimistic Glenn Tillett exiting Court on Monday.Tuesday, April 19th, 2011BELIZE CITY: Acting Chief Jus-tice Samuel Awich in a ruling this morning rejected an application by the defendants in a suit brought by National Perspective columnist Glenn Tillett against Lois Young,

Nestor Vasquez and the Belize So-cial Security Board, precipitated the hearing being adjourned until Sep-tember 22nd, 2011.Tillett is asking the court declare the purchase of some $50 million worth of Belize Telemedia Limited shares last November 2nd, 2010 unlawful and therefore void, and to prohibit Young and Vasquez from taking part in any future deci-sions by the Social Security Board on whether or not to invest in BTL so long as they remain government representatives to Social Security Board and maintaining their posi-tions with Telemedia.Young and Vasquez are represented before the bench by attorneys Dr. Lloyd Barnett and Nigel Ebanks of the Barrow and Williams, whilst the Social Security Board is repre-sented by Mrs. Agnes Segura-Wil-

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Rogue Custom O� cers charged with ‘Extortion’

O� cer Linsbert Godoy O� cer Herbert MatuteMonday, April 18th, 2011BELIZE CITY - Police announced late this evening that they have ar-rested and charged two Belize Cus-toms O� cers with extortion af-ter an American retiree Jules Fred Wetekamm alleged that they ex-torted US$2,500.00 from him.

� e American reported that a� er he had touched down at the Phillip Goldson International Airport last Saturday, his coin collection con-sisting of 500 silver coins with a face value of a US dollar each, 60 gold coins with a face value of US$50.00

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Sunday,April 24th, 2011Page 2

NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

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The Easter Holidays for ma-jority of Belizeans are the best of times in Belize. School hol-idays are on and families get together either to travel for a vacation or to only spend time at home together. However, the situation in Belize and in particular Belize City is dread. Travelling will be limited to those persons that have the disposable income to spend, or some may argue that there will be those that have their priori-ties confused. Truthfully, Belizeans are numb and will need an ex-tra push to make them enjoy the Easter Holidays. There is a sense of hopelessness that has enveloped all the society to the point where no one wants to venture outside their homes. This is the same hopelessness that has affected all the busi-nesses in Belize, to the point that they are closing their doors. The cause of all the strife in the Belizean society has been attributed to the pres-ent Government. The UDP Government has shown that it

EASTER BLUESis unable to address any of the salient issues and solve them. The jobless rate is skyrocket-ing but no plan is in place to put people to work. The gas prices at the pumps are exces-sively high and Belize has oil, yet Belizeans cannot get any relief at the pumps. Instead, the Govern-ment has time to be engaging in quarrel with the Football Fed-eration of Belize (FFB) and by extension FIFA, the govern-ing body for football world-wide. Why is there so much distress launched at the FFB and its president, Bertie Chi-millio, by Hon. John Saldivar when the UDP Government does not provide any subsidy to the FFB and the running of its affairs? On the contrary the FFB and FIFA have provided a tremendous amount of support and contacts that has acceler-ated football in Belize. Never-theless, the propaganda by the UDP Government and its sur-rogates has been tremendous

against Bertie Chimillio and the FFB. Ordinarily one would expect us to attack Chimillio and the FFB, but they are not doing anything to negatively affect football, as a matter of fact they are not being paid by our tax dollars to grow football in Belize. However, the Gov-ernment, and specifically the Ministry of Sport, is paid by tax dollars to elevate sports in Belize as well as football. But the Minister of Sports, Hon. John Saldivar, seems more in-terested in using the FFB as a “red herring” to distract from his incompetence as a Minister of Sports. There is no need for the Minister of Sports to be con-cern about the FFB. The Min-istry of Sports has hundreds of public servants being paid by tax payers to execute any directives from the Minister. They can ensure football is played at all levels such as pri-mary, secondary, and univer-

sity level. Why should the Minis-ter’s time be spent quarrelling with the FFB which is doing additional work to what the Government should be doing? This government is too petty. The firing of Moses Sulph is another issue of petty politics that John Saldivar and the UDP continue to practice. This is the modus operandi of the UDP, and John Saldivar ap-pears to have this huge hatred stored up inside. Every Thurs-day, this said Minister is on the Government airwaves spitting hatred and fury against the Be-lizean people. How can a Gov-ernment run a country intoxi-cated on hate? As we close this week’s edition, we wish all the cyclists that will be participating in the 2011 Cross Country, good luck and a safe ride. At the risk of showing bias we hope for a Belizean to cross the finish line first. We also wish all Be-lizeans a safe and Happy Eas-ter, God Bless. OPEN YOUR EYES THE PEOPLE ARE AWAKE!!!

Government Reneges on its Word to BYGEA

By Rhenae NunezSun. Apr. 17, 2011HARMONYVILLE – BGYEA, The Belize Grassroots Youth Em-powerment Association called a meeting of its members on Sunday at Harmonyville, Mile 41 on the Western Highway to discuss issues arising from a souring relationship with the Government of Belize. Harmonyville came into existence about a year ago when a group of enterprising young men mostly Rastafarians from the City of Bel-mopan happened upon a large plot of abandoned land at mile 41 on the Western Highway (about 1,300 acres) that was being exploited by non-resident settlers in Belize. The

land belonged to a Chinese busi-nessman who abandoned the prop-erty years ago and no one could lo-cate him.After consulting with government the men were given permission to survey and develop all thirteen hundred acres – thus came about Harmonyville. Nigel Pettillo is the president of BGYEA. After they were given the go-ahead the men commenced work on the land and invited other Belizeans who did not have land elsewhere to apply for a one-acre lot at Harmonyville.Things were progressing well as many including Belizean profes-sionals who have gone through the

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Sunday,April 24th, 2011 Page 3

No-Holds-BarredBy:”PUP Plebeian” March 2012 – Do or Die for John Briceno!!

We’re now some eleven months away from National Municipal Elections and already, the consensus among PUP and UDP political pundits alike is that March 2012 will ultimately decide the fate of PUP Party Leader, John Briceno. Both believe that a PUP loss in the National Municipal Elections will sound the call for Briceno to walk the plank.Since his election as Party Leader of the PUP back in March of 2008, John Briceno has presided over two major elections, namely the National Municipal Elections in 2009 and the National Village Council Elections in 2010. Needless to say, the PUP took a shellacking in both elections courtesy of the UDP and the VIP in the case of the Belmopan City Council Election results in March 2009. Following the PUP’s dismal performance in the 2010 National Village Council Elections, many in the Party called for Briceno’s head but the guillotine wasn’t dropped. Consequently, the PUP, as all indications are, will go into the 2012 National Municipal Elections with John Briceno as its leader.Arguably, Belize City will be the most coveted prize for both the PUP and UDP mainly because it represents the country’s largest municipality and the country’s political hotbed. In National Municipal Elections, Belize City is the main event.

In Belize City, the UDP has controlled Belize City Hall since 2006 led by its one time media darling now turned persona non grata, Zenaida Moya-Flowers. While the UDP regained control of City Hall following its repeat victory in March of 2009, Her Worship had received the lowest percentage of votes among her fellow candidates. As a result, the residents of Belize were left to endure three more years of Zenaida’s gross incompetence. And as if the people haven’t endured enough already, Moya-Flowers still has some eleven more months to serve out before those three years expire.It is the collective view of Belize City residents and perhaps all Belizeans that the current UDP Belize City Council is as good as dead and is only left to be laid to rest at its pride & joy “Eternal Garden”. Deplorable streets, garbage pile ups, traffic congestion, rampant crime, “under depositing” are but only a few of the many reasons why that bunch of eleven airheads need to go, should go, must go and will go come March 2012. And since the man called Philloughby is a sucker for the camera, a most fitting farewell would see him trading in his signature Superman cap for the Dunce Cap. Now, while I’m happy to join in the Good Riddance chant for Moya-Flowers & Company, I cannot help but to be extremely concerned about

the PUP slate which will contest for the 2012 Belize City Council Elections as well as the PUP slates for the elections to be held across all the other municipalities in 2012.Belize City is already abuzz with a laundry list of names of those persons who’ve indicated their desire to be a part of the PUP slate. Those persons include some, if not, all of those persons who were members of the pathetic Tek Back Wi City slate in 2009. It is rumored that the man, who boldly exclaimed that there is but one PUP, wants to give it another run at becoming His Worship. Then, there are a few individuals who are coming out of the woodwork and asking for the Party’s consideration. And how could we forget the driving instructor who has already bestowed upon himself the title of Belize City Mayor.Yes, there is a bunch of jokers at City Hall; as the Honourable Member for Mesopotamia would say, “Even Blind Eye Jamesy ku si dat”. The answer, however, is not to offer the people of Belize City another set of jokers. The PUP Party Leader and his Executive would be well-advised to proceed with caution in their identification and selection of individuals to form not just the Belize City Council slate but, indeed, all the other slates to contest the 2012 National Municipal Elections. This is neither the time to entertain

political amateurs nor to recycle washed-up candidates. There is just way too much at stake come March 2012. Barrow and the UDP know this fully well and that is why they’ve already handpicked their Mayoral Candidate and have said to several of their currently serving City Councilors, in no uncertain terms, that they cannot and must not re-offer themselves for the 2012 Belize City Council Elections. Of course, the crybaby Philloughby needed his pacifier in his mouth after being told to make way for Darrel Bradley as the UDP Mayoral Candidate. Thus, Barrow and the UDP told Philloughby that he could run as a councilor candidate.There’s no other person for which the 2012 National Municipal Elections bears extreme importance than PUP Leader, John Briceno. Ultimately, the PUP’s performance in those elections will determine either of two outcomes: (1) Briceno retains the right to captain the PUP ship; or (2) Briceno is forced to walk the plank.It is said that Easter is a time for reflection. And so as the PUP Party Leader and his family and family of friends prepare to set sail for their annual Easter vacation spot, he would be well-advised to reflect deeply on what’s at stake for the PUP and his leadership. There are those who will be wishing for the Party Leader to fail as he did in 2009 and 2010 and those who will be wishing for him to succeed. In the end, it’s do or die for John Briceno in March 2012.


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Government Reneges on its Word to BYGEA

rigors of applying for a house lot with no luck bought into the ven-ture. The requirement was basic: be a Belizean either by birth or nation-alization, show proof of that, pay a Twenty-fi ve dollar fee to BGYEA and a Four hundred dollar fee for survey and one can realize their dream of owning a piece of land in Harmonyville. A seemingly harmonious relation-ship that had developed with gov-ernment started to sour after GOB started to renege on their word. Fol-lowing a meeting held on Monday April 5th with representatives of BGYEA and Valle Nuevo Group, a new group that recently surfaced in Harmonyville, it was decided to 152 one-acre lots would be taken from BGYEA’s Harmonyville and assigned to Valle Nuevo. Fifty-two of those who have homes and farm-lands will be allowed to stay while the remaining 100 lots will be dis-tributed randomly amongst Valle Nuevo members. Government also decided that BG-YEA would retain 800 lots. Four hundred of those lots would be distributed as BGYEA’s sees fi t while the remaining 400 lots will be distributed through a raffl e pro-cess termed a “random selection process” by government. This was conveyed to BGYEA in a memo-randum of understanding. The change of heart by government stunned BGYEA and on Sunday they called a meeting to discuss the recent developments with their members who are already land owners or potential landowners. The gathering rejected govern-

ment’s proposal and more so did not recognize Valle Nuevo. By consensus BGYEA’s board was advised to amend government’s MOU and advise government that the proposal for a raffl e is rejected so too is Valle Nuevo. Petillo and his membership agreed that there is one Harmonyville and not a Valle Nuevo and Harmonyville. According to Petillo, one hundred of the occupants who were at Har-monyville have signed with BY-GEA indicating their good inten-tion to work with BGYEA. UDP Area Representative Ramon Witz is being blamed for instigating disharmony in Harmonyville. Witz has been encouraging “his people” to go and settle on the land. The im-position has sparked confrontations with BGYEA’s members who have property at Harmonyville. Petillo called on Witz and the government to stop it and urged members who applied for land and began to pay for survey to fi nish their payments so that the work can move ahead. The project has so far developed without any fi nancial intervention from government. A feeder road was pushed through with plans to construct more in the coming months. The board met immedi-ately after the meeting to consider and prepare their response to gov-ernment. A press conference will be called shortly. Late this evening President Petillo told the National Perspective that BGYEA is still awaiting a response from government to correspond-ence sent in earlier following their meeting rejecting the MOU. The newly drafted MOU by BYGEA will be delivered shortly.

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Marcel Cardona, to run independent?

Continued from page 1 erately abandoned, punished, op-pressed, repressed and even victim-ized by the current vindictive UDP Government.”Reports to the National Perspective are that work has begun to build a separate section for Cardona be-hind the PUP bench in the House of Representatives. It is a move un-precedented in the annals of Be-lizean politics – the ostracizing of a representative by his own party.Our intelligence gathering all point to Cardona not attending the next two sittings of the House of Repre-sentatives, and that he will resist be-ing kicked out of the UDP benches and placed in some exile behind the PUP bench. And if that means going to court he’s already secured and retained the legal � repower necessary to mount a legal battle in the court system.For the Barrow administration the Cardona problem won’t go away and will likely worsen. Already their propaganda apparachik are saying that he has reached an ac-commodation with the Opposition PUP and has returned to his PUP

roots. But Cardona’s noisy but loyal band of followers are saying that he is not a PUP, and will not return to the PUP fold, but is going to run in-dependently.� e UDP rejected Cardona as their candidate in a convention a few months ago. His disagree-ments with the Barrow leadership and UDP Orange Walk strongman Gaspar “Gapi” Vega predate the last general elections. It seems they will outlast the next general elections.Although he has not said anything publicly, his committee is not shy-ing away from campaigning for him as an independent candidate.� e PUP is expected to endorse Dr. Marco Tulio Mendez as their can-didate some time before the end of June. Cardona defeated Mendez in the last general elections. Today is the word is that the two men have remained respectful acquaintances.It is the conventional wisdom that a Cardona candidacy would draw more votes from his UDP rival Landy Burns, than it would from the PUP candidate.

SSB Share Purchase suit hearing adjourned until September

liams of Arnold & Company.Tillett is represented by attorneys Andrew Marshalleck and Godfrey Smith.Yesterday the Acting Chief Justice Awich heard arguments on the ad-missibility of three applications by both the claimant and the defend-ants.� is morning he accepted two ap-plications by the claimant seeking to amend his declarations, but rejected an application to strike out the case because in the view of the defend-ants, they had not been properly noti� ed as per their interpretation of the Public Authorities Protection Act.� ey had relied on the Section 3 (1) of the Act which states: “3.-(1) No writ shall be sued out against, nor a copy of any process be served upon any public authority for anything done in the exercise of his o� ce, un-til one month a� er notice in writing has been delivered to him, or le� at his usual place of abode by the party who intends to sue out such writ or process, or by his attorney or agent, in which notice shall be clearly and

Continued from page 1 explicitly contained the cause of the action, the name and place of abode of the person who is to bring the action, and the name and place of abode of the attorney or agent.”Tillett’s attorney had argued that he had written a letter to the defend-ants on November 3rd, 2010, and had � led for an action on Novem-ber 10th, 2010. Under court proce-dure rules the defendants then had 28 days a� er service to respond. � e court procedures had changed since the Act was last amended in 1984, and so the Act could no and did not re� ect or acknowledge this.His attorney also argued that the Be-lize Social Security Board did not fall within the ambit of the Act since it did not quite � t the de� nition of a “Public Authority” since it was a stat-utory authority rather than a govern-ment department. � e Acting Chief Justice rejected this argument.� e attorneys for the defendants asked for leave to appeal the ruling and a� er listening to arguments as well as support for that application from the attorney for the claimant, the Acting Chief Justice gave leave to appeal.

Rogue Custom O� cers charged with ‘Extortion’ Continued from page 1each, and a platinum coin with a face value of US$50.00, all to a total value of US$3,550.00 was seized, he was threatened with detention, and was asked to pay US$7,500.He further alleges that the customs o� cer conducting the inspection, a� er interviewing him in the pres-ence of another customs o� cer, told him that instead of detaining him, they would only charge “only” him US$5,000.00 and would return his coin collection and release him. Wetekamm alleges he and his coin collection was then taken to the customs building near the port in Belize City and there he paid the

men US$2,000.00, at which time he was released along with half of his coin collection.� e men told him they would re-turn the other half of his collection to him as soon as he paid up the US$3,000.00 he had in balance but that he had to do so by the follow-ing day.Channel Seven News reported to-night that Wetekamm complained to Prime Minister Dean Barrow and as a result Police arrested and charged Linsbert Godoy, 35, and Herbert Matute, 32, both customs o� cers of Belize City for extortion.Police sources say that the coin col-lection was recovered.

Police and Customs mum about bust of prominent San Pedranos

with contraband liquorMonday, April 18th, 2011BELIZE CITY: Reliable reports are that around 8 pm last night a joint Police and Customs opera-tion con� scated a chartered boat loaded with 65 cases of Mexican beer and other assorted liquor, and detained its captain and two passengers at San Pedro, Amber-gris Caye.Our reports are that the boat was

returning Ixalak, Mexico where it had gone to drop o� some Mexi-can entertainers who had been performing at a fundraiser for a pre-school in San Pedro.� e boat is owned and operated and was captained by Rudy Cas-tillo, and we have been told hi pas-sengers included a teacher from the pre-school and its principal Wil Alamilla.

For Sale by OwnerLarge track of Residential / Commercial Land, off George

For Sale by OwnerLarge track of Residential / Commercial Land, off George

For Sale by OwnerPrice Boulevard in Belmopan. Size equivalent to approx 6 lots. Price fi x to sell by owners For serious Enquiries: Call: 601- 8100 or 650-5222

Sunday,April 24th, 2011

KREMANDALA $ELLOUT

“X” CAN’T CRITICIZE BARROW & THE UDP

Page 5

Wilfully ignores the Corrupt Practices of Barrow and the UDP

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Can’t be TRUSTED!!!

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

Dancing in the dark

There are several phenomena to note that seem to be the product of Belize’s evolution into a mod-ern society and which sociologists should be studying, but we don’t seem to have any sociologists, and the powers that be don’t have those on their priority list. Maybe this is why I have been accused of being a “pseudo-intel-lectual” but I would love to see a more intellectual approach to the problems of escalating violent crime, youth suicide and mass ill-nesses in schools. I had hoped that Dr. Gayle’s re-cent research would have opened some minds to the need I perceive for more research and data gather-ing for analysis, but alas, nowhere in the Prime Minister’s recent an-nouncement of new measures to combat crime and poverty was any money allocated for basic re-search. And no, I don’t regard in-creased “intelligence gathering” as research. One of my bookies postulated in a posting this week that there may be a correlation between me-dia coverage and the increase in violent crime. Some others agreed with her. I posted that current Commissioner of Police Crispin Jeffries had also offered up that theory, and while I agree it was possibly a factor in some crimes, I hardly regarded it as the major factor in the majority of the vio-lent crimes being committed on the streets of Belize today. A good book to read that offers up some of the reasoning between the possible correlation between the incidences of crime, suicide and mass hysteria in classrooms and publicity is “The Tipping Point” by Maxwell Gladwell. We have had several mass hys-

teria incidents in Belizean primary and high schools in recent years, and no one so far as I have heard, has studied and researched these incidents, or satisfactorily ex-plained their causation. If you’re just a curious “lay” person like me Gladwell’s book is a good place to start. Again, Gladwell’s book offers some insight into the phenomenon of a dramatic increase in youth suicides plaguing Benque Viejo. In Chapter Seven he writes: “In the early 1960s. suicide on the is-lands of Micronesia was almost unknown. But for reason no one quite understands, it then began to rise, steeply and dramatically, by leaps and bounds every year, un-til by the end of the 1980s there were more suicides per capita in Micronesia than anywhere else in the world. For males between fi f-teen and twenty four, the suicide rate in the United States is about 22 per 100,000. In the islands of Micronesia the rate is about 160 per 100,000 – more than seven times higher. At that level, suicide is almost commonplace, triggered by the smallest of incidents.” He goes on to note that” What, in Western cultures, is something rare, random, and deeply patho-logical, has become in Micronesia a ritual of adolescence, with its own particular rules and symbols.”

For anyone who has been fol-lowing the news out of Benque, this should sound familiar, and I would urge the persons who have concerned themselves with try-ing to deter and prevent more in-cidences of youth suicides in that area to read up on what happened in Micronesia. In his book Gladwell discuss-es the genesis of epidemics and delves into “How little things can make a big difference.” I fi nd his discussion of crime in New York City and his theories of why it soared and then precipitously de-clined instructive. Gladwell writes: “… New York in the 1980s, (was) a city in the grip of one of the worst crime epidemics in its history. But then, suddenly and without warning, the epidemic tipped. From a high in 1990, the crime rate went into pre-cipitous decline. Murders dropped by two-thirds. Felonies were cut in half. Other cities saw their crime drop in the same period. But in no place did the level of violence fall farther or faster.” In his analysis Gladwell says: “This idea of crime as an epi-demic, it must be said, is a little strange. We talk about ‘epidemics of violence’ or crime waves, but it is not clear that crime follows the same rules of (some other) epi-demics …”

“Crime,” he continues, “… isn’t a single discrete thing, but a word used to describe an almost impos-sibly varied and complicated set of behaviors. Criminal acts have serious consequences. They re-quire the criminal to do something that puts himself at great personal peril. To say someone is a crimi-nal is to say that he or she is evil or violent or dangerous or dishon-est or unstable or any combina-tion of any of those things – none of which is a psychological state that would seem to be transmit-ted, casually, from one person to another. Criminals do not, in other words, sound like the kind of peo-ple who could be swept up by the infectious winds of an epidemic. Yet somehow, in New York City, this is exactly what occurred. In the years between the beginning and the middle of the 1990s, New York City did not get a popula-tion transplant. Nobody went out into the streets and successfully taught every would-be delinquent the distinction between right and wrong. There were just as many psychologically damaged people, criminally inclined people, liv-ing in the city at the peak of the crime wave as in the trough. But for some reason tens of thousands of those people suddenly stopped committing crimes.” In a column in late 1990s in the AMANDALA newspaper I wrote about the Broken Windows theo-ry. The theory is enunciated in the book “Fixing Broken Windows” by George L. Kelling and Cath-erine M. Coles, and published in 1996. I fi rst heard of the book in an in-terview on CBS with New York Police Commissioner William

Continued on page 6


Dancing in the darkBratton who also wrote a book “Turnaround: How America’s Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidem-ic” which was published in 1998. At the time I mistakenly thought Broken Windows was Bratton’s idea. According to Gladwell: “Broken Windows was the brainchild of the criminologists James Q. Wil-son and George Kelling. Wilson and Kelling argued that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left un-repaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that any-thing goes. In a city, relatively mi-nor problems like graffi ti, public disorder, and aggressive panhan-

dling, they write, are all the equiv-alent of broken windows, invita-tions to more serious crimes.” Now there are some sociolo-gists, criminologists and other so-cietal experts and observers who have disagreed strenuously with Gladwell et al about the causes of the New York City crime epidemic and its decline. I believe “Broken Windows” was a major factor sim-ply because I was involved in the social transformation of a troubled neighbourhood where it worked. I don’t pretend to be an expert but I believe that it is time we turned to people who would clear-ly have more informed viewpoints and perspective than me and Doug Singh, and even Mr. Jeffries – peo-ple who can research and analyze and present factual information to back up their theories and conclu-sions. Otherwise we’re just dancing in the dark.

Continued from page 5In adherence to the relevant le-gal frameworks and with respect for the national sovereignty of the countries involved, a high-level meeting on the Mexico-Guatema-la-Belize border was held on April 15th at Mexican Navy headquarters in Mexico City. In addition to the three countries, U.S. and Canadian authorities were present as special guests because the current chal-lenges are shared by the entire re-gion.The event was chaired by Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espi-nosa. As part of the Mexican del-egation, also present at the event were the Navy Secretary, Admiral Mariano Francisco Saynez, and Defense Secretary, General Guill-ermo Galván-Galván; as well as the head of the National Immigration Institute, Salvador Beltran-del-Rio, and Guillermo Valdes, Director of

A High-Level Meeting Is Held on the Mexico-Guatemala-Belize Border

the Center for Investigation and National Security (CISEN), who together comprised the Mexican delegation.Guatemala was represented by Brigadier General Juan José Ruiz, Chief of Staff of the Defense Min-istry, and General Dario Tapia, Commander of the Belize Defense Force (BDF).Making up the U.S. delega-tion were Admiral Michael Mul-len, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS); Admiral James A. Winnefeld Jr., commander of Northern Command; and General Douglas M. Fraser, commander of U.S. Southern Command.Present for Canada were General Walter Natynczyk, Chief of the De-fence Staff of the Canadian Forc-es, and Lieutenant General Walter Semianiw, Commander of Canada Command.

Welcome to the Party or... Fu You, Fu Me, Fu All A We

Just about everywhere I go some will say that the UDP is no longer as popu-lar as it once was prior to their elec-tion to offi ce in 2008. Simultaneously they will also say that the Opposition is not ready. But there is not much confi dence expressed in the any of the so-called “third parties,” so where does this all leave us? That is the dilemma that we face to-day. “We have no leaders,” a learned attorney told me while we sat and chatted at the Supreme Court on Monday. He is not a Belizean and has stayed out of Belizean politics. “Where are our leaders going to come from?” he asked again. We gazed around at the activities going on around the court, a new police bus had just pulled up and young black men were being off loaded with shackles on as their mothers cried and cursed at the system that put their sons there – even a woman was in lock up “Welcome to the Party,” - the catchy refrain beckoned me. I had become disgusted with the PUP and decided to just stay away. I’m sure there are a few who prefer I do so for now and forever. Their wish may yet be grant-ed. Unlike some that are caught up in the popularity contest for acceptance – I am not. I do not live vicariously neither I don’t care for or want to be a star. Recently I was contemplating returning to the big tent, “where ev-eryone is welcome” but I was quickly reminded that such is not the case. “Welcome to the party” is only for a few. There are some of us in this society who have distanced from the two ma-jor political parities and have decided to remain apolitical or independent. I am one of those persons. I have spent a lot of time thinking of my decision, some of it I was forced to make and some I am sure I would have arrived at in due time. While some agree that politics is a dirty game, I refuse to ac-cept that the basic moral and ethical codes that should exist in our daily interaction are separate from our poli-tics. In fact our politics should be the hallmark of such principles.

Each time I thought of “going home or returning under the tent” I am remind-ed to keep a safe distance. When I at-tempted to approach the tent, I did so with trepidation. It wasn’t long before my misgivings were confi rmed. I have watched with great dismay the way both major political parties are self-destructing. The infi ghting in the PUP does not bode well for our confi dence in the future leadership of our country and that which many of us had for the UDP has been dashed. We have adopted as the norm a cul-ture of punishing those who disagree. If one does not toe the line, one is sub-jected to all sorts of abuse, outright vi-olations of one’s constitutional rights. I don’t know when we descended to this level where our national discus-sion is rife with personal attacks on private citizens who constructively criticize and make suggestions toward our advancement. When did we get to this state where our leaders feel that they and only they know it all? Seems the fi ght in the PUP will not abate, if anything it continues to evolve. With the UDP there are spo-radic eruptions that alert us that things are not well over that side either. Lost in all the antipathy are the real issues that are affecting the nation. Everyone seems preoccupied with power and fame than to spend time to consider rising crime, cost of living, unemploy-ment as well as the quality of life is-sues and fi nding solutions to those. Things have drastically changed in Belize and change things must but instead of realizing improvement in standard of living and quality of life and longevity, those have been de-

nuded. “Welcome to the Party” is a farce. There are the gatekeepers who ensure that some of us stay far away. “Fu You, Fu Me, Fu all a We” is a sick joke played on all of us. It’s only those pre-ferred by Barrow who can partake of the bounty. I was fi red, Glenn Tillett was forced out, Moses Sulph was fi red recently, Paul Perriott was frustrated into leav-ing his job at BTL, Hirian Good was fi red, and Captain Charlie Good died fi ghting for the rights of his wife and Belizean workers. Atanacio Guti-errez was shot dead at Tower Hill. Marcel Cardona was fi rst thrown out of cabinet and gagged and is now be-ing thrown out of the UDP for telling the truth, Zenaida Moya is being sus-pended, and the list can goes on and on. What we all have in common is that we did not bow to the masters and sing their praises even when we were feeling the repercussions of their mis-guided policies. The random and blatant acts of vic-timization continue unchecked. No one can point the accusatory fi nger be-cause both parties have and continue to exploit their own and those consid-ered to be their opponents. I do suspect that this subject will now grab attention now that Cola has the “gravitas” to take on Moses Sulph’s case. The crowd behind Sulph is reso-lute to put an end to the practice of po-litical victimization. The hoggishness by some in both par-ties has turned off many like myself. Being outside of the mainstream of the two major political parties has given me a great opportunity that

I don’t think I want to exchange. I asked someone whose opinion I re-spect tremendously if he thought that the two major political parties have evolved. The question was incomplete but I wanted to see if his thoughts in anyway refl ected mine. “Sure they have evolved,” he emphat-ically told me, “but what they have evolved into is another matter.” The major political parties are no lon-ger issue oriented – their major role is to win elections. No where is this best manifested than with the UDP where their campaign was propaganda and money driven. Immediately after the election was won, it seems that the government started to unravel because it had no clear agenda. Not even the basic promises of “good governance and transparency” were adhered to. The same can be said for the PUP. Even though there is clamoring for the return of the PUP to government, per-sonally I don’t want to see this PUP leadership in government given their penchant for punishing people like me who believe and practice free speech. The issue of poverty and the impact on society will be the central issue when the next campaign starts. If things continue along this trend, then poor people will be the ones voting in the next general election who will decide who our next government will be. The money factor will have a great impact on that decision. I will venture to say that the money is being withheld until that season is called. This is not a criti-cism of our less fortunate brothers and sisters, but rather a regrettable result of the circumstances created by this government because of its failure to come up with policies to stave off the consequences of the global economic meltdown on our people which has reduced them to pawns ready for the highest bidder. It is time for a new day – or a return to the days when voting was open and honest and free of all the inducements. I part with the words of late Honor-able Phillip Goldson, “the time to save our country is before you lose it.” A Blessed and safe Easter to all.


Hair Braids/weaves May Lead To BaldnessBy: Dr. Steven Chang April 11th, 2011A new study, published this week on the website of the Archives of Der-matology, shows an association between weaves and braids and a type of permanent hair loss called central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA). Researchers believe that these so-called “traction” hairstyles, which exert a great deal of stress on the scalp due to how tight the hairs are pulled, can lead to the development of pus-filled bumps which later become infected by bacteria and lead to scarring and thinning of hair. “Making matters worse, women who are already losing their hair are more likely to favor these hairstyles because they help disguise thinning hair, the study notes.” The study doesn’t show that these hairstyles directly cause CCCA, just that there may be an association. Furthermore, the study only included wom-en. Those with CCCA were more likely to have balding maternal grand-fathers, as well as diabetes. Based on the study the average age of women with CCCA was 58. However, the condition often presents itself among women in their 40s, and sometimes as young as their 20s and 30s.

Samuel Price, brother of George Price, murdered

Samuel Price, 84Tuesday, April 19th, 2011At news time today police does not appear to have any leads as to who killed Samuel “Sam” Price, 84, the younger brother of the Father of the Nation, the Right Honour-able George Cadle Price.On Saturday, April 16th, about

9:15am investigators were called out to Price’s residence at mile 5½ Northern Highway, where on the second floor of the building they found his body slouched over a tub in a bathroom of the house. He had apparently been bludg-eoned to death and robbed.Police say that about 8:00am, his nephew Clement Usher visited the residence as he usually does every Saturday, and discovered his uncle dead. Signs of forced entry were observed on both a wooden and a metal door on the second floor en-trance of the house and reliable re-ports are that the family has noted that several of his possessions are missing.

Police searches yield four unlicensed firearms and

ammunitionMonday, April 18th, 2011BELIZE CITY: Early last Friday morning, about 5:10am the Gang Suppression Unit, under the pretext of having heard shots fired, searched several houses in two Lake Independ-ence neighbourhoods. In a home at #5 Flamboyant Street, they found a chrome-colored .38 revolver loaded with two rounds of ammunition. As a result Police arrested and charged Erson Andrews, 19, Jenny Lewis, 29, and a 12-year old student, all of home were present at the home, with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.Later that afternoon a police mobile patrol on West Collet Canal, Belize City searched Samuel Bevans and discovered a .22 revolver and loaded with 5 rounds. Just 5 minutes earlier Ernest Mangar, a bus conductor for James Bus Line reported that around midday whilst on board a James bus and on reach-ing the corner of Cemetery Road and Dolphin Street, the bus made a stop for a passenger to exit. Mangar said that he was standing near the door when a man grabbed his black purse but he refused to hand it over, and held on to it.The unmasked man then pointed a black handgun to his head and cocked it. Fearing for his life, Man-gar released the purse which con-tained $1,000.25, and 2 ticket books,

the property of James Bus Company. The perpetrator then ran on Dolphin Street along with another man and would have made good their escape but a quick Police response led to the recovery of all stolen items and the seizure of a .22 revolver loaded with 5 rounds of ammunition and the arrest of Samuel John Bevans and a 14-year old minor, both of whom have been charged with the robbery. Later on Friday night about 7:10pm Police on mobile patrol on Jane usher Boulevard searched Fernando Middleton, 25, unemployed of Jane Usher Boulevard and found a black Kora Brno .38 revolver, (serial num-ber 406936), loaded with 9 rounds of ammunition. Fernando Middleton has since been arrested and charged with keeping an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.On Sunday Police conducted a house search at the residence of Brian Thompson, a mechanic of Belize City which resulted in the discovery of an Astra brand 9mm pistol, loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition, and a .38 revolver loaded with 4 rounds of am-munition. Police say they also turned up a transparent plastic bag contain-ing 19 grams of suspected cannabis. Also present at the time of the search were Emmerson Skyers, Brent Garoy and Nikita Jones. All four persons were formally arrested and charged for keeping unlicensed firearm and ammunition and possession of weed.


Caribbean news

Cuban court study-ing appeal from U.S.

contractor

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba’s high-est court has received an appeal by U.S. aid contractor Alan Gross seeking to overturn a 15-year jail sentence handed down last month for crimes against the Cuban state, the head of the court said on Satur-day.Ruben Remigio Ferro, president of the Supreme Tribunal, told re-porters the appeal had been filed in recent days by lawyers for Gross, who was accused of helping set up unauthorized Internet access for Cuban dissidents.The case brought to a halt a brief warming in long-hostile U.S.-Cuba relations and threatens to keep them on hold because the United States has said there will be no progress while Gross, 61, is held.“There is an appeal presented. It is at the disposition of the judges who are attending the case,” Remigio Ferro told reporters while watching a military parade in Havana on Sat-urday. The parade preceded a Com-munist Party congress later in day to consider reforms to the Cuba’s troubled economy.He would not speculate on when

the court would rule on the appeal, saying it still had to be analyzed.Remigio Ferro gave no further de-tails, but there were earlier reports Gross’ lawyers argued during his March trial he should only have been accused of visa violations be-cause he entered Cuba on a tourist visa instead of work visa.He was convicted of the more seri-ous crime of “acts against the inde-pendence and territorial integrity of the state.”Gross was in Cuba working for a se-cretive U.S.-funded program aimed at promoting political change on the communist-led island. He has been jailed since his arrest in Ha-vana in December 2009.Cuban leaders view the program as part of ongoing U.S. efforts to top-ple the government.The United States has said Gross was only helping Jewish groups set up Internet and had committed no crime.His wife, Judy Gross, has pleaded with the Cuban government to re-lease her husband because their daughter and his elderly mother have cancer.

Alan and Judy CrossHAVANA – Cuba’s Communist Par-ty began the process of electing new leaders Monday in a vote that is likely to formally name Raul Castro as first secretary in place of his brother. All eyes were on the selection of the No. 2 position, which could signal the Cas-tros’ choice of an eventual successor.The vote came during a historic Party Congress convened to consider hun-dreds of changes that officials hope will breathe life, along with a certain free-market spirit, into an ailing econ-omy. Committees gave preliminary approval to a number of measures, including one that would let Cubans buy and sell private homes, some-thing that has been prohibited since the 1959 revolution.An official photograph taken by Cu-ban state media from inside the spa-cious convention hall where the party confab was taking place showed Cas-tro placing his vote inside a ballot box. The ballot read, “Candidacy for Mem-bers of the Central Committee.” A box reading, “Vote for All,” was checked on the ballot, indicating that Castro had approved an entire slate of candi-dates.The candidates themselves are not vis-ible in the picture, and it was not clear when the new leadership will be an-nounced. The party congress is sched-uled to wrap up Tuesday.Fidel and Raul Castro have held the top two spots in the Communist Party since its creation in 1965. But at this year’s Sixth Party Congress, there is an air of mystery surrounding the lead-ership vote.In March, Fidel, 84, announced he had resigned as first secretary of the party when he ceded the presidency to Raul several years ago, although the party’s website still lists him as its

Raul Castro Votes for a new Communist Party Leader

leader.Raul Castro is widely ex-pected to formally ascend to the No. 1 spot, but there is speculation that a fresh face could become his top party deputy.The government is still full of aging revolutionar-ies who fought to topple Fulgencio Batista in 1959. In a speech opening the Congress this weekend, Raul warned that a new generation is needed to take over when the old guard is gone.He even proposed term limits for officials includ-ing the president — a ta-boo subject during the half-century in which Cuba has been ruled by either him or his brother. The goal is to create op-portunities for younger

politicians to get experience, Raul said.The speech intensified speculation the job might go to someone such as La-zaro Exposito, the young Communist Party chief in Santiago de Cuba, or Marino Murillo, the former Economy Minister who has been put in charge of implementing the economic re-forms.With change in the air, officials have repeatedly emphasized a message of continuity amid transition, and Fidel Castro echoed that theme in an essay published earlier Monday.“The new generation is being called upon to rectify and change without hesitation all that should be rectified and changed,” Castro wrote.Divided into five committees and meeting behind closed doors, party delegates are considering more than 300 proposals for economic changes, many of which were first announced last year. They affect sectors from ag-riculture, energy, transport and hous-ing to new rules letting Cubans go into business for themselves.State-run Cuban news media report-ed intense debate over several points, such as the need for formal contracts to improve control and payment of taxes in the agricultural sector; pro-viding credit to independent workers who need capital to launch their busi-nesses; and eliminating the island’s unique dual-currency system, under which workers are paid in Cuban pe-sos, while many imported goods are available only in a dollar-linked cur-rency that is beyond most people’s reach.One committee gave initial approval to a measure legalizing the buying and selling of private real estate by Cuban nationals, state television reported in

the afternoon. Islanders have been clamoring for years to end such re-strictions.Also on the table is a proposal to eventually eliminate the monthly ra-tion book, which provides Cubans with a basic basket of heavily subsi-dized food and other goods.The ration book is one of the most cherished of subsidies on the island, but President Raul Castro has repeat-edly said it is unsustainable, and a dis-incentive to work.Delegates were expected to vote in

a full session later Monday on the whole package of economic proposals, which have undergone extensive revi-sions since they were first announced last year. The changes have not been made public, meaning Cubans won’t know precisely what has been voted on until the measures are approved.The Party Congress does not have the power to enact the changes into law, but the suggestions are expected to be acted upon quickly by the Cuban Na-tional Assembly over the coming days and weeks.


Top cop replaced in vio-lent Mexico border state

MEXICO CITY – � e Tamaulipas state governor replaced his public security chief on Sunday a� er 145 bodies showed up in mass graves in the violent border state in the last two weeks.Gov. Egidio Torre Cantu said in a statement that he tapped former military Capt. Rafael Lomeli Mar-tinez as the new chief because his experience in the military and with the federal police would help him coordinate beefed-up security ef-forts announced by federal and state authorities last week.� e outgoing chief, retired Brig. Gen. Ubaldo Ayala Tinoco, o� ered the governor his resignation in light of the new security e� orts, saying Torre Cantu should have the op-portunity to choose the leader, ac-cording to state Interior Secretary Morelos Canseco.“� e new appointment is very sim-ple,” Canseco told � e Associated Press. “It is part of a commitment by Tamaulipas to strengthen the state’s contribution toward an integrated public security strategy based main-ly on coordination among federal, state and municipal authorities.”Lomeli, who has worked in Tamauli-pas in the past, most recently co-ordinated Federal Police e� orts in Nuevo Leon, a neighboring state also racked by violence from the warring Gulf and Zetas drug cartels.Authorities in Tamaulipas began uncovering bodies in mass graves in early April following reports that passengers were being pulled o� buses at gunpoint in the township of San Fernando. As of last week, 145 bodies had been found in 26 graves. Fernando is the same place where 72 Central and South Ameri-can migrants were found slaugh-tered last August.Both mass killings have been blamed on the Zetas. Only one body has been identi� ed, that of a Guate-malan man. Authorities have yet to say whether dozens of bus passen-gers reported missing were found in the graves.President Felipe Calderon on Friday

said he has ordered an increase of federal forces in Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and parts of the neighboring states of Coahuila and San Luis Po-tosi without providing details, and that he would reinforce operations to ensure security for those trave-ling on roads and in buses.Mexico Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora earlier in the week an-nounced a � ve-point initiative to in-vestigate the crimes and to increase security, including the federal mon-itoring of transport buses.As of last week, authorities said they had 17 suspects in custody in rela-tion to the mass graves.On Saturday, the Mexican navy nabbed a man it called one of the leaders of the San Fernando Zetas cell, presenting Martin Omar Estra-da Luna, alias “El Kilo,” in Mexico City on Sunday and alleging he was involved in both the killing of the 145 and the migrant massacre last August.� e navy also presented 11 others taken in the same operation who are believed to work for Estrada Luna. � e Mexican government last week o� ered a 15 million-peso ($1.27 million) reward for information leading to Estrada Luna’s capture.According to a statement, the navy sent units to the area where the mass graves were found to develop intelligence and tactical operations that also involved and international exchange of information. It didn’t specify if the U.S. was involved in the operation, though the U.S. has provided intelligence information to Mexican forces in the past in nab-bing top drug lords.� e statement said the investigation led on � ursday to the questioning of 24 people, plus the apprehension of 25 vehicles, 15 ri� es, more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition and communications equipment.From there, authorities found Estra-da Luna in a house in the Tamauli-pas capital of Ciudad Victoria on Saturday. � e statement said he was arrested with � ve other people. Au-thorities later apprehended six more in Ciudad Victoria in the same op-eration and con� scated three luxury SUVs, six more large caliber guns, ammunition and doses of white powder.Besides Estrada Luna, the Mexican government is o� ering a 15 million-peso ($1.27 million) reward for in-formation leading to the arrest of Salvador Martinez Escobedo, an-other alleged leader of the Zetas cell in San Fernando, plus 10 million pesos ($846,000) for Roman Palo-mo Rincones and 5 million pesos ($423,000) for Sarai Diaz Arroyo, who both allegedly participated in the latest massacre.

Mexico judge orders 16 police detained for 40 days

MEXICO CITY – A Mexican judge ordered 16 police o� cers to re-main detained for 40 days pending an investigation into their alleged involvement with the Zetas drug gang in a region where authorities have found a series of mass graves, prosecutors announced Monday.� e 16 municipal police o� cer from San Fernando, in the bor-der state of Tamaulipas, are being investigated for organized crime, kidnapping and homicide, federal prosecutors said in a statement.� ey were detained last week for allegedly protecting members of the Zetas and covering up the kid-nappings of bus passengers and others who traveled a highway connecting San Fernando to the U.S. border.Authorities have recovered 145 bodies since early this month in San Fernando, where authorities say the Zetas killed 72 Central American migrants in August.And in the central state of Hidalgo Monday, prosecutors announced they had arrested 27 members of the Zetas gang for their alleged in-volvement in a car bomb that ex-ploded in January that killed one police o� cer and wounded three others.Fernando Hidalgo, a spokesman for the Hidalgo state prosecutor’s o� ce, said seven of those arrested were women.� e three women were � rst picked up police on Sunday following an anonymous tip. � ey allegedly confessed to belonging to the Ze-

Ex-wife of reputed gangster jailed in theDominican Republic

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – A Dominican court has jailed the ex-wife of a reputed Carib-bean drug kingpin for at least three months.Leavy Nin Batista has been detained on suspicion of laundering money for her former husband’s alleged tra� ck-ing network. No charges have been � led, but the Dominican legal system allows for preventive detention.

Five Spanish agents escorted the 33-year-old Batista from Madrid to the Dominican capital over the weekend. She was jailed Monday.Batista’s ex-husband is Jose Figueroa Agosto, captured last year in Puerto Rico on suspicion of shipping Co-lombian cocaine to the U.S. main-land.Batista allegedly � ed to Europe in 2009 with a fraudulent passport.

tas and told police where to � nd the others at safehouses, where they also found guns and mari-juana.On Jan. 22, police received a tip there was a body in the trunk of a car; when they arrived, the vehicle exploded.Investigators said the Zetas cartel carried out the attack in the town of Tula, Hidalgo, apparently in re-venge for the recent killings of two cartel members by police.Hidalgo is the home state of al-leged Zetas leader Heriberto Laz-cano Lazcano and a central transit point for drugs.Also Monday, federal prosecutors announced that a judge had or-dered Jose Jorge Balderas, known by his initials “J.J.,” to stand trial on charges of using falsi� ed docu-ments.Balderas is a suspect in last year’s near-fatal bar shooting of Salva-dor Cabanas, a former star for Paraguay’s national football team and Mexico’s Club America.But Balderas has not yet been charged with the shooting; in-stead, prosecutors have charged him with possessing passports that bore his pictures but sev-eral other names. It was unclear if prosecutors were planning to bring other, more serious charges against him.Balderas was arrested in Mexico City in January.Balderas has denied shooting Ca-banas and instead blamed another man already arrested in the case.


Syria forces disperse protest, Homs now a ghost town

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian forces opened fire to disperse protesters early in Homs Tuesday, activists said, the latest city to be swept by the tide of unrest against President Bashar al-Assad’s authoritarian rule.By midday Tuesday they said the center of Homs resembled a ghost town, with shops, markets and schools all closed in the city of around 700,000 people, where 17 protesters were killed Sunday night.Security forces including As-sad’s irregular “shabbiha” militia “chased people in the streets of Homs until 6 a.m. (0300 GMT),” one activist in the city said. “The streets are empty.”Another said that 25 wounded people were in hospital.Rights groups say more than 200 people have been killed in the protests which swept across Syria after demonstrations first broke out in the southern city of Deraa a month ago, inspired by the Arab uprisings which toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia.The protests, the first such revolt since an Islamist uprising was ruthlessly put down in 1982, com-prise all shades of society, includ-ing ordinary Syrians, secularists, leftists, tribals, Islamists and stu-dents.The rallying cry in the protests has been “Freedom, Freedom. God, Syria and Freedom only. Some shouts of Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) resonated after Friday prayers.Assad, who has ruled for 11 years since assuming power on the death of his father Hafez al-Assad, has responded with a combination of limited concessions and fierce

crackdowns.In a sign that authorities would offer no ground to protesters, the Interior Ministry Monday night described the unrest as an insur-rection by “armed groups belong-ing to Salafist organizations” try-ing to terrorize the population.Salafism is a strict form of Sunni Islam which many Arab govern-ments equate with militant groups like al Qaeda. Assad and most of his inner circle are from Syria’s mi-nority Alawite community, adher-ents to an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam. The government says Syria is the target of a conspiracy and authori-ties blame the violence on armed gangs and infiltrators supplied with weapons from Lebanon and Iraq, a charge opposition groups say is unfounded.State news agency SANA said Tuesday that an army brigadier and three family members were ambushed and killed on Sunday by “armed criminal groups” in Homs. Two other officers were also killed in the city on the same day, it said.LIFTING EMERGENCY LAWAssad said Saturday he would end nearly half a century of emergency rule with legislation that should be in place by next week, but his pledge did little to appease protest-ers calling for political freedoms.Dozens of medical students dem-onstrated at Damascus Univer-sity’s college of medicine Tuesday chanting “Stop the massacres. Syria is free. Syria is dignity,” two rights campaigners in contact with the students said. They said securi-ty forces beat the students to break up the protest.In Deraa, where the protests first broke out and which has seen most bloodshed, residents said Tuesday

that security forces who stayed off the streets in recent days were be-ing reinforced, possibly ahead of a move to reassert full control over the restive Sunni Muslim town.A separate Interior Ministry state-ment Tuesday called on Syrians “to avoid taking part in any marches or demonstrations or protests.” Gatherings of more than five peo-ple are already banned under the emergency law.At several demonstrations and funerals in Homs and southern towns in recent days, chants which a few weeks ago focused on de-mands for greater freedom have become more hostile to Assad.Syrian authorities have intensified bans on independent media since protests challenging the authori-tarian rule of Assad erupted more than a month ago.No independent media is allowed into Homs or other cities witness-ing unprecedented pro-democ-racy demonstrations. Several in-ternational journalists have been expelled or arrested.Western countries have con-demned the violence but shown

no sign of taking action against Assad, a central player in Middle East politics who consolidated his father’s anti-Israel alliance with Iran and supports Islamist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, while hold-ing intermittent, indirect peace talks with Israel.While the Syrians demanding freedom seem far from dislodging Assad, any political change in Syr-ia would be a major concern for its friends and foes alike in a volatile region.Syria’s Lebanese and regional al-lies, Shi’ite Hezbollah and Iran, are weary about the protest move-ment. A new leadership in Damas-cus might end Syria’s three-decade alliance with Iran and support for Hezbollah.Any downgrading of Iran’s alliance with Syria, its main conduit for aid to Hezbollah and Hamas, would reshape the political landscape in Lebanon, where Hezbollah and its allies now hold the upper hand over their U.S.-backed Sunni and Christian opponents. It would also damage Tehran’s ability to project its influence in the Middle East.


FRATRICIDE AND SUICIDEBy: Nuri Muhammad

Orange Walk East Upliftment CommitteeLiberty AvenueLouisiana Area

Orange Walk TownBelize, Central America

Monday, April 18, 2011.

PRESS RELEASE -

Following the recent notification of the EFFECTIVE EXPULSION(carefully disguised under the craftily worded phrase “CONSTRUCTIVE RESIGNA-TION”, and in complete disregard for the Constitutional rights of ALL citi-zens to:freedom of expression, due process and a fair hearing) of the duly elected Orange Walk East Area Representative Honourable Marcel Cardona Cervantes from membership in the United Democratic Party via a letter from UDP Party Chairman Hon. Patrick Faber dated March 30, 2011 for having boldly stood up to voice the people’s concerns before the National Assembly, the general membership of the UDP Orange Walk East Com-mittee met and unanimously agreed to, in complete solidarity with its duly elected Leader and Orange Walk East Area Representative, RENOUNCE all further membership, participation, and affiliation with the UDP Party, and to FORM a new non-politically aligned or independent ORANGE WALK EAST UPLIFTMENT COMMITTEE, to continue the great work ahead of serving, along with the duly elected Orange Walk East Area Representa-tive Honourable Marcel Cardona Cervantes, the good people of the Orange Walk East Constituency.Although it is recognized that the road ahead will not be an easy one, and shall be laden with many boulders and hurdles to cross or jump over, the newly-formed ORANGE WALK EAST UPLIFTMENT COMMITTEE pledges to work diligently, together with the Honourable Marcel Cardona Cervantes and Orange Walk East Community, to bring betterment, progress and development to our people of the East, who for the past three years have been deliberately abandoned, punished, oppressed, repressed and even victimized by the current vindictive UDP Government. We trust that with God’s help, and the active support from the Orange Walk East Community, together with the outpouring of moral support and encouragement from the larger Belizean community, TOGETHER WE SHALL OVERCOME all OBSTACLES, as “UNITED WE STAND, and DIVIDED WE FALL!”… And our Orange Walk East Constituency stands MORE UNITED THAN EVER behind our duly elected Orange Walk East Area Representative, Honourable Marcel Cardona Cervantes, as he represents our only hope to TRULY CHAMPION the cause of our downtrodden and oppressed people of the Orange Walk East Constituency. ENOUGH is ENOUGH! The time to save our country is NOW, before we lose it!We take this opportunity to CORDIALLY INVITE ALL socially-conscious persons who believe in the core values of justice and fairness for ALL (and not just a chosen few),to join and support our ORANGE WALK EAST UPLIFTMENT COMMITTEE, in our quest to defend the rights of our oppressed people, against the oppression and tyranny of our present Prime Minister and his vindictive UDP Government. TOGETHER we can MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE! TOGETHER, and with our continued faith in God, WE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS! TOGETHER, we can make Prime Minister Dean Barrow, with all the power of the State behind him,bend to or kneel before the will of the people and the people’s duly elected leader for the Orange Walk East Constituency, Honourable Marcel Cardona Cer-vantes!

UNITED WE SHALL OVERCOME!

UNITED We STAND,DIVIDED We FALL!

When we talk about the crisis that affect youth our attention is immedi-ately drawn to those high risk youth on the Southside, caught up in the in-cessant fratricide, and the crime and violence that continue to plague our community. When we talk about fix-ing the “youth problem” this is usually where we think the work must begin. But issues affecting youth are much wider and far more pervasive than the “city boys” that gets most of our at-tention. While it doesn’t usually get dis-cussed in the context of youth prob-lems, the occurrence of suicide among youth is a serious issue that falls with-in the gambit of problems affecting young people. This is particularly so, when patterns of behavior that leads to suicide are detected, and this seems to be the case with the frequency of at-tempted suicide out west, in Benque. Earlier this month young Daisy Cerda, who had attempted to take her life two months before, succeeded in doing so on Monday, April 4. The elaborate and deliberate manner in which she carried out her own demise has brought attention to the growing popularity of a certain “conscious-ness”, called EMO, among youth, es-pecially girls, in the Benque area. This is a different set of youth than the ghetto youth we have become ac-customed to on the nightly news; these are youths in a new dilemma. They are not from the same socio-economic framework that usually defines the “youth problem”. They may be poor, but they are not destitute; some are from homes where both parents are present. Yet something remains miss-ing in these youth’s lives. They com-plain of not having enough of their parent’s time. But parents are asking, “Why my kid? We gave her everything she need-ed; she wants for nothing. We made sure that she never had to suffer any-thing we had to go through; yet, this girl is talking about killing herself….what is going on?” they ask. Maybe the problem has not reached crisis point yet if you count the num-ber of those who have actually killed themselves; two, according to news reports. This number is still below the definition of “a crisis”. But when you look at the reported cases of young people that have attempted suicide, according to the Police, then there is a major problem brewing here. PC Joshua McKoy, attached to the Benque Police, reported he has dealt with as much as forty cases of youth who have mutilated themselves in an attempt to do great harm, and that the majority of them were girls who had some kind of involvement with EMO. If this is true this is clearly an alarm-ing situation and warrants the attention of professionals like Dr. Michael Pitts, and the Public Health administration at the highest level; not to mention the other agencies like Psychiatric Ser-vices, Human Development, Women’s Department and Youth for the Future. The report of these life threatening in-cidences should have been enough to require the engagement of these gov-

grew beyond the inner cities of the US to find like minds in countries in the Caribbean, like Belize. The expanding drug trade and its routes through the Caribbean in the eighties, and the des-perate conditions faced by many youth throughout the region, created an en-abling condition for the growth of the gang culture. This culture became large and was dramatized in pop culture through rap songs, dancehall music, videos and the whole culture was taken worldwide through the mainstream media. When the movie “Colors” came to Belize in 1988, the climate for a gang culture al-ready existed. Young Belizeans were back and forth between Belize and Los Angeles and the drug trade in the eighties was opening a way to many of these young Belizean entrepreneurs. Already you had a budding culture of turf war for control of the cocaine and mari-juana trade passing through Belize. Young dons were already breaking into groups and imitating their coun-

terparts in the LA and New York. So when “Colors” debuted in ’88, it was just a dramatization of something that was already growing among youths in Belize and not the “cause” of the gang problem, as some insist on saying. But as a foreign influence affect-ed us twenty five years ago we must move decisively to root out the impact of EMO before it takes root and be-come a culture as the gang culture has become in Belize. What I am saying is that we have to look at those en-abling conditions that are making this kind of demonic ideology take hold of our youth out west. Clearly there were those enabling conditions that kept the gang culture an enduring reality in Belize City. We have to identify those conditions out west that is enabling the growth of the EMO consciousness and make steps to address these conditions with the combined efforts of the com-munity, the church, the business com-munity, NGOs and the government. (Comments welcomed at [email protected])

ernment departments to see how they could have structurally address this situation before it becomes worse. Just as we are beginning to get a grip on the root causes for the pat-tern of black brother killing black brother (fratricide) in Belize City, with the help of research documents like the Dr. Gayle Report; just when we were beginning to understand the underlying circumstances that created this explosion of juvenile delinquency among our young people in the Belize City area; just when we were starting to put the youth problem into a socio-economic context, all of a sudden, we are confronted with a new phenome-non trying to establish itself in Belize. We are faced with another US based youth phenomena influencing our youth in Belize. The enabling en-vironment was there when the gang culture came through twenty five years ago and it appears the enabling envi-ronment exists with these youths in Benque as they are being affected by a foreign influence.EMO is working to get a strong hold among vulnerable youth. This “consciousness” is pri-marily among the young, female Mes-tizo out west and in the north. Some say it had its origin from contact with youth from Guatemala. I hear reports of special black clothing, black eye shadow, hair over the eye and black fingernail polish are all symbols seen being displayed by youth influenced by this EMO “consciousness” This EMO consciousness is a small blip in the wide gambit of para-psy-chological phenomena active in the US. They are considered a very small entity in the wider scheme of things. But as small as they maybe in the US, they have become large in Belize when we understand that some of our youth have come under their influence and are attempting to kill themselves. It is known that hardcore, acid-rock is a major purveyor of anarchy, fatal-ism and demonism that characterize the messages in their music. This goes back for over three decades but this culture has survived and continues to be a popular attraction to many youth, worldwide who have lost hope in the promised ideals of the western world. They actually have followers and in the world of websites, and Facebook, where there are actual social networks of Satanist who promote their ideolo-gy with vigor, especially to the young and vulnerable. This “consciousness” has also been active politically and has spurred the “anarchist” who was the most contentious force in the protest at several G-8 summits. If we understand the dynamics of the gang phenomenon we saw de-velop over the last twenty five years, that it too, in a way, had its origin in the copycat pattern of the Crips and Bloods established in South Central Los Angeles, Compton. These were all areas where young Belizeans lived and interacted with the gang culture. If we understand this then we should understand why we can’t take these foreign mind invasion, like EMO, for granted. This social phenomenon of a liv-ing gang culture, with all its symbols of colors, dress, language and lethal arsenal, had its origins in the US but


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Honorable Melvin Hulse Minister of TransportMinistry of TransportBelmopan

April 18, 2011

Dear Minister,

The Belizean Bus Association (BBA) through this medium expresses its concern regarding the lack of transparency being perpetrated by the Ministry of Transport regarding the granting of runs to Mr. Sergio Chuc.More than six months ago, the BBA was as-sured that it was recognized by yourself as an important component of the industry and that we would be considered a seat on the Transport Board to have a democratic voice in the process of issuing runs. The BBA, being granted a seat on the Transport Board you agreed would bring balance to the process of issuances of permits.We are therefore very disturbed to learn from Mr. Chuc himself that he has been promised 15 runs from Belize City to Benque between 5:00 AM and 12:00 PM and return from Benque to Belize City from 1:00PM to 6:00PM.Mr. Chuc has confi rmed that he has already im-ported 18 buses to take up these runs. Unfor-tunately, in the rush to acquire equipment, Mr. Chuc has imported substandard (junk) equip-ment that are of lower quality than the existing standards in the industry.It is only logical that if a signifi cant investment as such was made, that Mr. Chuc has indeed been promised/assured of these runs without the proper due process. Mr. Chuc has boasted pub-licly that the runs were given to him because he is a supporter of the UDP.The members of BBA deserve equal consider-ation as they are established and have the neces-sary experience and investments to take on these runs. These runs should not be granted to an un-proven entity simply because he is a UDP crony.The BBA therefore requests on behalf of its membership for you to fulfi ll your commitment to the BBA to bring transparency to the process that has been fl awed and unjust for so long. We thank you Minister in advance in anticipa-tion that you will address this situation to elevate the industry above politics.

Sincerely and respectfully,

Mr. Andrew ShawPresident – Belizean Bus Association

Cc Ms. Candelaria Saldivar – CEO Ministry of Transport Mr. John Flowers – Chairman, Transport Board

Ever since � e UDP came to pow-er the Public Transportation in-dustry has fallen into chaos at the hands of the � ipping Minisister Hulse who has manipulated the industry and handled the pub-lic transport operators as if they were his pawn in his own little Chess game. Hulse has ran the entire industry to the ground dis-enfranchizing the traditional op-erators giving them no say as was promised more than six months ago to award political supporters and cronies who has no experi-ence in providing service in public transportaion . � is week the President of the Be-lize Bus Association, Mr. Andrew Shaw, wrote a letter to Minister Hulse (as seen on you right) ex-pressing their concern regarding the lack of transparency by his Ministry in the granting of more than 15 runs from Belize City to

Benque and visa -versa without any type of consultation with the other stakeholders and without due-process to Mr. Segio Chuc, aknown UDP crony.Chuc has boasted that he has al-ready imported his 18 buses that will service 15 runs initially be-tween 5:00am and 12:00 noon from Belize City to Benque Viejo and from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm from Benque Viejo to Belize. � e Asso-ciation’s president also pointed out to Minister Hulse that the buses being imported is substandard junk which in the long run will af-fect commuters.� e BBA calls on the Minister to full� ll his commitment for consid-eration of a seat on the Board. Since Hulse took over the Ministry of Transport, the commuters have seen the entire industry change signi� cantly for the worse.

www.nationalperspectivebz.org www.nationalperspectivebz.org www.nationalperspectivebz.org

BUS OWNERS ASSOIATION DEMAND TRANSPARENCY


By the time you read this column, people will be making preparations for the upcoming Easter weekend. Although, it is traditional that Belizean families take this opportunity for family re-unions, and travelling together to holiday destinations, other sites or destination in Belize while others travel outside the country but this year, it’s going to be completely dif-ferent. For the last three years we have been subjected to many harsh realities and economic constraints. The possibility of traveling for the middle-class has been signifi cantly affected by the very high cost of fuel and for the growing poorer class, it is just imagining the pos-sibilities that some time in the near future and another government, it will get better. But Easter is also a time for refl ection when as a family we remember when Christ died on the cross for all of our sins. So it is in reality, a Christian celebration. On Good Friday, Christians throughout the world commemorate the crucifi xion of Jesus Christ. I am making this point to draw the com-parison to the fact that in Belize fac-es a serious leadership crisis, while we pray and hope that this Easter weekend will be safe, we can only wish for the best but the possibil-ity is that at the end of the holidays the situation can be worst. Over the past weekend an 86 years old man, Mr. Sam Price, the younger brother of the Father of the Nation, the Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price was killed in his home. The weekend before another man was shot and killed in Belize by the fi sh market in broad day light in a crowded place. It is really aggravated at-this point in time because it appears that murders and violent crimes continue to go on unabated. This Government in its incompetence and its impotence to address crime, just simply does not have what it takes to make Belize a safer na-tion. I was stunned to hear the head of the Gang Suppression Unit, Mr. Vidal, revealing that the G.S.U was his idea. It is ridiculous that such a costly program is the initiative of an individual and not the initiative of the hierarchy of the Belize Police Department; much less a policy of the Government and far more dis-turbing, not a bipartisan or multi-sectorial policy. Now, the purpose of this article is not to disrespect Mr. Vidal, the head of the G.S.U, in fact it is in support of Mr. Vidal, many Belizeans will believe that any ini-tiative is better than none at all. The fact is though, that the crimes tsuna-mi that is sweeping over this Nation is a national crisis, and therefore requires the input of every sector. It certainly requires input from the opposition, from the clergy, from civil society, and of course from the youth. Two weeks ago the Univer-

sity of Belize held a research press conference at the Radisson. This Department of the University, in my view, becomes the most relevant in-stitution right now in this country. The professionals and scholars at the University need to do a compre-hensive research, provide an analy-sis of what is going on, come up with a needs assessment and make the proper recommendation that all the afore mentioned agencies can come together discuss or debate, and present a unifi ed, cohesive, na-tional strategy to address and arrest the crime situation in Belize. Really and truly, there is no excuse or explanation that could comfort the minds of Belizeans as to why we are at almost 40 murders to this date in the year. The Gov-ernment needs to look seriously, at the point being made here. Over the past few last weekends despite that purported increase in security presence and the G.S.U high profi le camera operation, there are still sev-eral shootings and killings. These continue to happen even after the Prime Minister has gotten approval from his cabinet, to propose amend-ment to our country’s constitution to enact preventative detention. In my honest opinion, I believe that if this Government is unable to make this City and this Country safer it is time then, for them to resign or for them to call the elections, so that a new mandate can be given to a new Government, who must have the competence to manage the affairs of this country raging from growing the economy to allowing the resi-dence of this country to feel safer with in the confi nes of the border and to feel safer as a nation who’s borders are protected by its Na-tional Security Forces. Allow me to draw this illustration, what we have today is the C.E.O in the ministry of National Security being a former deputy commissioner of Police, but he is heading the National Securi-ty! On the other hand, we have the C.E.O in the ministry of Police and Public Safety who is an ex cornel in the defense force but he is run-ning the Police Ministry. So why do we have a man with military expe-rience in charge of Police and the man with Police experience running the military? Then the Government wants us to believe that their best option is to try and fi nd a foreign commissioner of Police. If we are not able to properly utilize the re-sources that we have locally, and I am not convinced that this Govern-ment has done the best that can be done to address the crime situation in a none- partisan and nationalistic way then I don’t think we have any reason to be looking for any foreign assistance. No commissioner, no nothing!

just my impartial view.

COLA: “We Are Not Swallowing this Pill”

By Rhenae NunezTues. Apr. 19, 2011BELIZE CITY – A modest group gathered in Belize City’s historic Battle� eld Park this morning to send a basic message to Prime Minister Barrow and his UDP ad-ministration, “we are not swallow-ing this pill and we want Moses Sulph reinstated forthwith!” Sulph committed the capital sins of � rst being a vociferous leader of Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action, (COLA) and sec-ond, participating in a sit-down in front of the PM’s O� ce on Febru-ary 1 of this year in Belmopan in protest of government’s insistence to allow for oil exploration in o� -shore Belize and in protected ar-eas. He or she who dares to challenge or embarrass the powers that be, in this case the pompous Barrow administration will experience their wrath. Shortly a� er Sulph’s and COLA’s act of bravado Sul-ph was informed that his desk at the Registry Department in the Courts complex was being inves-tigated. � at investigation wound up and Sulph was sacked from his job last week. In a heated meeting held on Sat-urday at the Public Services Un-ion o� ce on Kut Avenue in Belize City, a strong message was sent out to that COLA will be taking

this one on in the name of all who have been victimized by either ad-ministrations especially this one. Sulph spoke brie� y at this morn-ing’s press meeting and main-tained that there was nothing to investigate at his desk because he did not handle cash. He vowed to continue his work because it is his calling to defend the rights of the oppressed. Vice President of COLA, Geovanni Brackett main-tained the same tenor from Satur-day and expressed outrage at the level of political victimization be-ing meted out by the Barrow gov-ernment. “� is has to stop!” he emphasized. “We want Moses Sul-ph reinstated forthwith,” Brackett went on. Brackett expressed outrage that citizens are not free to express themselves because of victimi-zation. COLA was joined by Public Service Union President Jackie Willoughby who decried the “open vote worker” practice. “It has become a politician’s play ground,” she criticized and said that the PSU has been agitating for improvement to the entire system regarding government workers. COLA has vowed to continue to pressure government to stop vic-timization of people who dissent and agitate for Moses Sulph to get back his job because he is a father of young children.


The Board of DirectorsManagement & Staff

of

HRCUwish its members -owners and all Belizeans a

Happy, Blessed, and Safe Easter Season 2011

Our 67th AGMwill be held on Saturday,April 30th, 2011SJC Landivar Gym -3:00 PM

HRCU will bew open regular working hours on Holy Thursday!( 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Our Business Center ( with 2 ATM’s remains open offering 24-Hour service during the entire Easter Holidays!


HEAlTHY LIVINGHEAlTHY LIVINGHEAlTHY LIVING

Bipolar DisorderNearly 6 million adults in the U.S. have bipo-lar disorder, but it's an o� en misunderstood—and tricky to diagnose—mental illness.

What Is Bipolar Disorder?Bipolar disorder, sometimes called manic depression, affects nearly six million American adults, or about 2.5% of the adult population, ac-cording to the National Institute of Mental Health. Some patients who eventually get diagnosed spend years, even decades, cycling through institutions and switching therapists before they get the cor-rect treatment. Is this topic for you?This topic discusses bipolar disor-der in adults. If you are concerned that your child or teen may have bi-polar disorder, see the topic Bipolar Disorder in Children and Teens.Bipolar disorder is an illness that causes extreme mood changes from manic episodes of very high energy to the extreme lows of depression. It is also called manic-depressive disorder.This illness can cause behavior so extreme that you cannot function at work, in family or social situations, or in relationships with others. Some people with bipolar disorder become suicidal.Having this disorder can make you feel helpless and hopeless. But you are not alone. Talking with others who suffer from it may help you learn that there is hope for a better life. And treatment can help you get back in control.Family members often feel help-less when a loved one is depressed or manic. If your loved one has bi-polar disorder, you may want to get counseling for yourself. Therapy can also help a child who has a bi-polar parent.What causes bipolar disorder?The cause of bipolar disorder is not completely understood. We know that it runs in families. It may also be affected by your living envi-ronment or family situation. One possible cause is an imbalance of chemicals in the brain.What are the symptoms?The symptoms depend on your mood swings. In a manic episode, you may feel very happy, energetic, or on edge. You may feel like you need very little sleep. You may feel overly self-confi dent. Some peo-ple spend a lot of money or get in-volved in dangerous activities when they are manic.After a manic episode, you may re-turn to normal, or your mood may swing in the opposite direction to feelings of sadness, depression, and hopelessness. When you are depressed, you may have trouble thinking and making decisions. You may have memory problems. You may lose interest in things you have enjoyed in the past. You may also have thoughts about killing yourself.The mood swings of bipolar disor-

der can be mild or extreme. They may come on slowly over several days or weeks or suddenly over a few minutes or hours. The mood swings may last for a few hours or for several months.How is bipolar disorder diagnosed?Bipolar disorder is hard to diag-nose. There are no lab tests for it. Instead, your doctor or therapist will ask detailed questions about what kind of symptoms you have and how long they last. To be di-agnosed with bipolar I disorder, you must have had a manic episode lasting at least a week (less if you had to be hospitalized). During this time, you must have had three or more symptoms of mania, such as needing less sleep, being more talk-ative, behaving wildly or irrespon-sibly in activities that could have serious outcomes, or feeling as if your thoughts are racing. In bipolar II disorder, the manic episode may be less severe and shorter.Your urine and blood may be test-ed to rule out other problems that could be causing your symptoms.How is it treated?The sooner bipolar disorder is iden-tifi ed and treated, the better your chances of getting it under control. One of the most important parts of dealing with a manic episode is rec-ognizing the early warning signs so that you can start treatment early with medicine that is especially for manic phases.Many medicines are used to treat bipolar disorder. You may need to try several before you fi nd the right combination that works for you. Most people with bipolar disor-der need to take a medicine called a mood stabilizer every day. Medicines called antipsychotics can help get a manic phase under

control. Antidepressants are used care-fully for episodes of depression, because they cause some people to move into a manic phase.People often have to try several different medicines before fi nd-ing what works for them. Regular checkups are important so that your doctor can tell if your treatment is working.Counseling for you and your fam-ily is also an important treatment. It can help you cope with some of the work and relationship issues that your illness may cause.Charting your mood is one way you can start to see your patterns and symptoms. Keep a notebook of your feelings and what brought them on. If you learn what triggers your mood swings, you may be able to avoid them sometimes.People often stop taking their medi-cines during a manic phase because they feel good. But this is a mis-take. You must take your medicines regularly, even if you are feeling better.Who is affected by bipolar disor-der?Over 3 million Americans—about 1% of the population, or 1 out of 100 people—have bipolar dis-order, with similar rates in other countries.1 Bipolar disorder occurs equally among males and females. It often begins between the ages of 15 and 24.2Home TreatmentHome treatment is important in bipolar disorder. To help control mood swings, you can:Take your medicine every day as prescribed. Get enough exercise. Try moder-ate activity for at least 30 minutes a day, every day, if possible. Mod-

erate activity is activity equal to a brisk walk. For more information, see the topic Fitness. Get enough sleep. Keep your room dark and quiet, and try to go to bed at the same time every night. Eat a healthy, balanced diet. A balanced diet includes foods from different food groups Click here to see an illustration., such as whole grains, dairy, fruits and vegetables, and protein. Eat a variety of foods within each group (for example, eat different fruits from the fruit group instead of only apples). A varied diet helps you get all the nutrients you need, because no single food provides every nutrient. Eat a little of everything but nothing in excess. All foods can fi t in a healthy diet if you eat everything in moderation. For more information, see the topic Healthy Eating. Control the amount of stress in your life. Manage your time and commitments, establish a strong system of social support and effec-tive coping strategies, and lead a healthy lifestyle. Techniques to re-lieve stress include physical activ-ity and exercise, breathing exercis-es, muscle relaxation, and massage. For more information, see the topic Stress Management. Avoid alcohol and illegal drugs. Limit caffeine and nicotine dur-ing manic episodes. Learn to recognize the early warning signs of your manic and depressive episodes. Ask for help from friends and family when needed. You may need help with daily activities if you are depressed, or you may need support to control high energy levels if you are experiencing mania. For more information, see: The more you know about bipolar disorder, the better you will be able to cope with this lifelong illness. There are many steps that you can take—or help a loved one take—to recognize and better manage manic episodes.

Learn the warning signs of a man-ic episode and get early treatment to avoid disruption in your life. At the same time each day, record your mood and any symptoms. Take medicines as instructed by your doctor to help reduce the num-ber of manic episodes. To help prevent a manic episode, avoid triggers such as caffeine, al-cohol or drug use, and stress. Exercise, eat a balanced diet, get a good night’s sleep, and keep a consistent schedule to reduce minor mood swings that can lead to more severe episodes of mania. Have an action plan in place so that if you do have a manic episode, those who support you can follow the plan and keep you safe.


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BirthsAubrey Jamulet Desiree to Mark Anthony and Natasha Diane Bethran nee BevansAshna Dilip to Dilip and Shalini Ramesh Budhrani nee MahitaniAlexa Nicole to Arturo Antonio and Judy Ann Portillo nee Ram-clamJulio Enrique Jr to Julio Enrique Sr and Isenia Angelica Chi nee Batun

MarriagesGiovanni Mendez to Yolanda Rodriguez both of Belize CityJan Robert Philips of Ladyville, Belize to Letricia Nicole Lamb of Burrell Boom, BelizeStephen Alexander Hartloff to Carole Susan Leavell both of Lincoln, California, USAAlan Eugene Marks to Tammye Kay Canada both of Lake Os-wego, Oregon, USADavid Andrew Morgan to Dana Nicole Anglin both of Iowa, USADaniel Bryan Bredahl to Billie Jo Lori Shoen both of Minnesota, USARobert McKinley Rheves to Floripe Del Carmen Carbajal Ocana both of Texas, USAAbdullah Saleh Sowayan to Jennifer Susan Dickey both of Maryland, USARyan Leith Benson to Carrie Melissa Terbasket both of British Columbia, CanadaRicardo Gamaliel Narvaez to Wei Yun Chang both of Corozal Town, CorozalDaniel Seth Modaff to Stephanie Lee Tripp both of Illinois, USARomel Alexander Gomez to Idolly Irene Staines both of San Pedro, Ambergris CayeRaymond Anthony Evans to Rochelle Denise Barrett both Tea-kettle, CayoMiguel Evaristo Verde to Gladys Silvetti Osorio both of Sartene-ja, CorozalMarcus Rash to Cristina Chub both of Bella Vista, ToledoRoscendo Cal to Delphina Chub, both of Corazon Creek, ToledoRicardo Makin to Avelina Chiac both of Corazon Creek, ToledoElloyd Junior Gilharry to Fidelina Pineda both of Belize CityJerome Alexander Williams of Hopkins, Stann Creek to Jhoanna Karenina Larrieu of Belize CityMarl Oliver Leadbetter to Naomi Claire Rutledge both of Eng-land, UKNelson Perez Blanco to Silvia Racquel Zena Portillo both of Belize CityJoel Angel Harcourt William Reid to Crystal Nicole Halliday both of Ladyville, BelizeHamid Amir to Eloisa Hassan both of Burrell Boom, BelizePedro Maurilio Camal of Paraiso, Corozal to Yariceli Cano of Caledonia, CorozalDane Smith to Mildred Larios both of ladyville, BelizeSteve Ortiz to Marly Minelle Cruz both of Belize CityRandy Tyrone Hyde to Lesly Yanery Alfaro both of Belize CityEduardo Hernandez to Lillian Danett Acosta both of San felipe, orange Walk

DeathsAnthony Fitzroy McField,65Victor Louis Jacob, 71Raul Ilizaliturri, 66Amber Dishawn Ramclam, 9Maria Zoila Reyes, 55Oscar Ervin Mariano, 48

Servings:8

Cooking Time:Prep: 30 minutes, Cook: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Australian leg of lamb, boneless 1 tsp cayenne pepper 2 tsp garlic, chopped 2 tsp Kosher salt, divided, to taste 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp lemon zest, divided 1 cup lemon juice, divided 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped 18 ounce roasted red pepper (about 5 peppers/3 cups) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided 2 tbsp lemon zest, divided 2 tbsp lemon juice, divided 2 tsp fresh rosemary, choppedInstructions:

To make the marinade, combine the cayenne, garlic, Kosher salt, 1 cup of the olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest, 1 cup of the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of the rosemary. Pour over the lamb. Refrigerate lamb for 24 hours, turning every few hours to coat in marinade. Place lg on a preheated grill and cover. A� er 15 minutes, remove the cover and turn. Cover again. Cover again. Continue to turn meat every 15 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 140°F, about 35-45 minutes. To make the roasted red pepper sauce, combine half of the roasted red peppers, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 ta-blespoons lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and teaspoon of rosemary in a blender. Blend until smooth. Fold in the remaining roasted red pepper. Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until needed. To serve, slice lamb and place 6 ounces on a plate. Top with cup of chunky roasted red pepper sauce.



Aries- Just about anything that can go wrong this week. It takes all your energy just to feel comfortable among a group of peo-ple. And your new shoes aren’t fi tting right. If those shoes still hurt, by all means return them. If you’re still uncomfortable so-cially, fi nd a new social group. Everything you do has an effect on your reputation. Sunday you’re surrounded by likeminded people and fi lled with optimistic thinking about the future.Taurus- This week is beset by all-consuming passion. It isn’t a fun sort of passion- not artistic or musical or anything like that, it’s emotional. The outside world is almost distorted by the strength of your feelings. You are understandably wary of other people. The key is to not let that wariness transform into what may appear as righteousness. That’s no way to charm someone. Something that’s dogged your understanding for a while suddenly makes sense.

Gemini - Think of yourself as a space exploration vehicle, wander-ing into unknown territory, snapping pictures -- and not making any kind of judgment, just collecting facts. Let someone else fi gure out what it all means. You’re more engaged intellectually, but you still aren’t putting your hands on your hips and telling people what to think. That attitude’s just not interesting to you right now. The shifting breeze is sending you in one direction after another.Cancer-You have one foot in one camp and one foot in another. Where does your allegiance lie? What do you need most at this moment? If at all possible, put off making any decisions. You’re just as torn about everything. Though cancelling your evening plans and cozying up in front of a DVD sounds, perhaps, lazy, it is also wise. This is just not the week -- or the weekend -- to dazzle people in social settings. (If you fi nd yourself in such a setting, expect to be wildly misinterpreted.) Leo-Time to haul out the magnifying glass and take a closer look. What you’re looking at isn’t entirely clear, but allow yourself to hold some unknown variables in your head; it will be a while before this puzzle coheres. Amplifi cation in the romantic realm intensifi es everything else -- which is exactly what you’re in the mood for: more, better, richer, sweeter. Knowing exactly what you want grants you a confi dence that some might be threatened by. Virgo-There are so many ways of seeing something as the opinions of your friends so amply demonstrate. Instead of com-ing down hard on those you disagree with think of yourself as a pair of giant cartoon ears. Wednesday and Thursday, you are pretty sure you know how things should be done, but, again, adopt a passive role and let someone else shoulder the burden. (Your shoulders have been taking the brunt of it lately.) Libra-You sweep your arms across the table and draw all your mon-ey and possessions toward your chest. How can this be explained, this weird urge toward materialism? It’d be good for you to give something away. Be generous in other ways: be emotionally giv-ing, insist on hearing the long versions of stories. The weekend may have you shuffl ing your feet and casting your eyes downward -- you’re lost in thought about something that happened a while ago.Scorpio-Your radiance is a little hard for everyone else to take. You walk into a room and everyone else looks slightly less magi-cal. It’s as if you pull all cosmic energy toward you, though it’s not like you’re doing it on purpose. You become a benefi ciary of the very excitement you help generate; you become wrapped up in an activity you wouldn’t involve yourself in if you were alone. The weekend is less wild, days of calculations and self-control. Sagittarius-Bringing your mood swings to work won’t endear you to anyone as the week begins. A gym session or walking to the offi ce in the morning can clear your head and get you ready to be productive. By Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, your head should be back in the game and your good cheer and wry wit make you fi rst pick for everyone’s team. Watch for an op-portunity in disguise now, too -- that setback can be your gain. Capricorn-All the information is lined up and in order, clear as day -- all you have to do at this point is make the call. Obviously, it’d be smart not to make it alone. Ask others what they think. Then detach yourself emotionally from the proceedings and decide. Once a course has been decided, Wednesday commences a blur that extends into the foreseeable future, a blur of speed and productivity and brightness. Aquarius-Even if you’re off-balance at the beginning of the week, stick with your routine as much as possible. Going through the mo-tions has a therapeutic effect. By Wednesday and Thursday, you can identify a contradiction, make a discovery and fi nd a way to move forward that feels great. An interruption or delay could be a good thing now. You’re not so much judging books by their covers as speed-reading on Friday and Saturday; fi nd out a lot in short order.

Pisces-It’s ‘handle with care’ time on Monday -- love’s a little tricky, and you need some TLC. But Tuesday and Wednesday look fabulous for romantic matters, and you look fabulous, too! You have a way with words that’s especially suited to online fl irtation or other electronic types of reaching out. At the end of the workweek, be careful of the in-tersection of love and work, even if you’re simply getting too involved in a coworker’s love drama. When the weekend comes, putting someone else fi rst is especially important. Your love karma’s looking great!

How to Brighten and Whiten Your SmileTaking care of your teeth means more than brush-ing with a good toothbrush twice a day with a � ouri-dated toothpaste, and visit-ing the dentist twice a year, but those are the basics for caring for your smile. As we get older, problems with bad teeth and gums start to show in terms of yellow-ing, chipping or sensitivity. With age, teeth lose their whiteness and begin to yel-

low: one sure-� re way to take years o� your appearance is by whiten-ing your teeth with a home or pro-fessional whitener.Many toothpastes claim to be “whitening”, but when you read the label, you’ll see the only active ingredient is � uoride. Fluoride is necessary for preventing cavities, but it doesn’t do a thing for whit-er teeth. Other over-the-counter “whitening” products include bak-ing soda and peroxide. Baking soda wisdom works by friction: it polishes stains from teeth. But, if your enamel is thin in places, bak-ing soda can wear it further, expos-ing the dentin layer beneath the enamel. When that happens, you wind up with a brown spot or pit in the tooth. � ese spots o� en appear along the gemlike, where enamel tends to wear away naturally and is weak. Whitening toothpastes can’t � x worn enamel: it takes a trip to the dentist to replace the missing layer with bonding. Strengthing and repairing worn tooth enamelWorn enamel comes with age: it also appears in younger people who grind their teeth, people who eat a lot of acidic foods, and people with bu-limia whose enamel has been worn away by stomach acids. People with chronic heartburn or acid re� ux dis-ease may also have enamel worn o� by acid, but for bruxers (or people who grind their teeth), the enamel comes o� because of the pressure ex-erted by the jaws. � e enamel � akes or cracks o� under the pressure. If you grind your teeth, your dentist will recommend that you wear a plastic night guard over your teeth at night.A beautiful smile starts with great teeth, but genetics can create crook-ed teeth, under or overbites or even so� enamel prone to cavities. Teeth may become chipped, abscessed or stained. But modern dentistry is highly technical and practically painless. Procedures that once hor-ri� ed our parents are now done eas-ily and with little fuss: root canals, bonding, white � llings and even

tooth replacements are simple den-tal procedures.But if you’re going to get a mouthful of teeth worked on, you’re going to still need a pocketful of money. If you live in a city, there may be a dental school taking patients at lower cost, but otherwise, you will want a den-tal insurance plan that supports the health of your teeth. Most employers don’t pay dental insurance costs, and most health insurers will only cover accidental damage to teeth.Natural tooth whitening remedy and productsPeroxide is the classic at-home tooth whitening ingredient. Toothpastes like Rembrandt contain peroxide in a dosage that, over a period of weeks or months, has a bleaching af-fect on teeth by six shades or more. Depending on your teeth’s sensitiv-ity, you may prefer slower-working toothpastes to quick-acting whiten-ing kits. Bleach can make teeth sen-sitive, so if you try a tooth-whiten-er, go slow at � rst, and maybe pair it with a sensitivity-reducing paste such as Sensodyne.Professional dentist tooth whitening If you’re in a hurry, you can have your teeth professionally whitened in about an hour at the dentist’s for around $300. Your dentist may use a combination of topical bleaching gel and a light activator to get your teeth super-white in no time at all.Whiten your teeth without a trip to the dentistIf you don’t want to spend several hundred dollars, you have other op-tions. Rembrandt has a new two-hour whitening system (Rembrandt 2-Hour White from www.drug-store.com) that uses trays and a gel to whiten teeth in a much shorter time than the usual two-week peri-od needed for other whiteners. You leave the trays on for 20 minutes, then take them out for ten minutes, alternating until the two hours are up. Or you can try other popular at home whiteners, like Crest White Strips, which take about a week to complete the whitening process.


Suriname, April 13, 2011

Team Belize won the bronze medal after they fi nished 3rd in the International Cricket Confer-ation Americas division 2 crick-et tournament in Suriname last week. Belize had the same record of 3 wins and 2 losses as Panama, who fi nished second because of a better Net Run Rate, even though Belize had beaten Panama in regular competition.Team Be-lize’s 3rd win was a 158-110 win over the Bahamas on Wednesday, but they lost their 5th and fi nal match to the Turks & Caicos Is-lands. Mykelt Anthony was the Man of the Match, against Ba-hamas, taking 5 wickets; and Conway Young batted 42 runs.Team Belize’s other wins were 166-90 over Brazil on Monday in which Man of the Match Dirk Sutherland took 4 wickets, while Team Belize also won their open-ing game 87-81 over Panama on Saturday, april 9.Panama took on Suriname(4w - 1 loss) in the

Team Belize wins bronze in ICC Americas Div. 2 cricket

championship fi nal on Friday.Team Belize strong performance means Belize has now moved up in the In-

ternational Cricket Council rankings, and will remain in the ICC Americas

Division 2 Tournament. The team came home on Sunday morning.

Orange Walk Town, April 16, 2011

The Rising Stars of Belize City won Belize Telemedia under-15 national basketball championship at the Or-ange Walk multipurpose complex in Orane Walk town over the weekend.In Game 1 on Friday evening, the Ris-ing Stars qualifi ed to the fi nals when they won over the northern regional champins, Orange Walk Technical, 82-46. MVP Roderick Williams led the assault with 16pts as the Stars led 16-14 at the end of the 1st quar-ter.Zachary Usher scored 10pts and while Shaquille Crawford and Syd-ney Bradley scored 8pts each to lead 44-24 at the half. Andrew Vasquez, Keyvon Evans and Troy Lomeine added 6pts each for the Stars to lead 65-41 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Eusebio Espinoza led O. Walk with 12pts and Izsair Rosado added 11pts, while Shimar White tossed in eight, but Frederick Williams and Dimitri Fabro scored 4pts each for the Stars’ 82-46 win.In Game 2 on Friday night, the Southern regional champions, the Junior Spartans, also qualifi ed to the fi nals by a 51-47 win over Cayo Harlem. D’ Ondre Reynolds and Quinton Bowen scored 10pts each, and the Spartans led 13-9 in the fi rst

Rising Stars wins BTL u-15 national basketball champsquarter and 31-21 at the half. Cayo’s Santiago Clarke and Denzel Nunez scored 19pts each, but Spartans’ Sean Noralez scored 6pts, Keith Francisco added 5pts and Jaleel Palacio - 4pts for the Spartans to lead 42-35 by the end of the 3rd quarter.In Game 3 on Saturday morning, the Orange Walk Tech u-15 boys eliminated the Western regional champions, Cayo Harlem, 70-62 to win 3rd place. Cayo’s Santiago Clarke scored 27 pts for Harlem to 20-13 in the fi rst quarter and Denzel Nunez and Joshua Gutierrez added 12pts each, as Harlemled 30-27 at the half.O.Walk’s Shimar White and Ru-dolph Flowers scored 18pts each and Milbert Sambula added 11pts, as they had seized the lead 49-42 by the end of the third quarter.Harlem’s Charles-ton Gardiner added 4pts, Herson Per-ez - 3pts and Aaron Allison tossed in a bucket, but O. Walk’s Michael

Shaw’s 7pts, Izsair Castillo’s 6pts and Chris Manzur and Eusebio Espinoza - 4pts each for O.Walk Tech’s 70-62 win.In Game 4, the championship fi nal

on Saturday, the Rising Stars blew away Junior Spartans of Dangriga, 80-44. MVP Roderick Williams scored 34pts, and Shaquille Crawford added 14pts, Zach Usher - 13pts, and Keyvon Evans - 10pts and Adrian Car-

dona - 4pts. Junior Spartans’ D’ondre Reynolds and Keith Francisco had 11pts each, and Sean Noralez and Irakeem Lewis - 5pts each

and Jaleel Palacio hita long trey.The Belize Basketball Federa-tion president Paul Thompson presented the championship tro-phy and individual trophies to the Rising Stars and 2nd place trophies to the Junior Spartans at the awards ceremony after the fi nal game. The O.Walk Tech. boys received 3rd place medals and Most Valuable Player award went to Roderick Williams, who also got Most Points and Most rebounds.

Clarke scored 27 pts for Harlem to

quarter and 31-21 at the half. Cayo’s Santiago Clarke and Denzel Nunez scored 19pts each, but Spartans’ Sean Noralez scored 6pts, Keith Francisco added 5pts and Jaleel Palacio - 4pts for the Spartans to lead 42-35 by the end of the 3rd quarter.In Game 3 on Saturday morning, the Orange Walk Tech u-15 boys eliminated the Western regional champions, Cayo Harlem, 70-62 to win 3rd place. Cayo’s Santiago Clarke scored 27





Cayo’s Santiago Clarke and Denzel Nunez scored 19pts each, but Spartans’ Sean Noralez scored 6pts, Keith Francisco added 5pts and Jaleel Palacio - 4pts for the Spartans to lead 42-35 by the end of the 3rd

Western regional champions, Cayo Harlem, 70-62 to win 3rd place. Cayo’s Santiago Clarke scored 27






Orange Walk, April 16, 2011

The Kruzzars of Belize City won Belize Telemedia under-15 nation-al basketball championship at the Orange Walk multipurpose com-plex in Orange Walk Town over the weekend.In Game 1 on Friday evening, the Southern regional champions, the Foreshore Spar-tans qualifi ed to the fi nals by a 69-62 win over the Western regional champions, the Benque Eagles. Spartans’ Darren Levy scored 8pts, and Jordan Walters 7pts to lead 18-15 in the 1st quarter. The Eagles’ Nahib Hernandez drained 3 long treys to score 30pts, but Hubert Usher Jr. answeres with 2 treys for 19pts, and Trevon Mitch-ell’s had 14pts as the Spartans led35-30 at the half and 51-46 by the end of the 3rd quarter.The Ea-gles’ Ulisses Duarte scored 10pts, and Nahjib Guerra added 7 pts, Del-vin Guevara - 6pts and Gustavo Pech – 5pts; but Spartans’ Lucien Hasbun added 7pts and Malik Flores and Ron Montejo 4pts each for the Spartans’ 69-62 win.In Game 2 Friday night, the Kruzzars ran over the northern regional

Kruzzars win BTL U-17 national basketball champs

cham-pions, the Orange Walk Technical U-17, 108-59. Kruzzars’ MVP Devin Daly led with 21 pts. Brian White added 11pts as they led 32-9 in the 1st quarter. Dan-

iel Sanchez added 15pts and Rahyme Sacasa hit 2 treys to add 12pts for the Kruzzars to lead 56-26 at the half.

O.Walk’s Tyrone Baptist led with 11pts, Timothy Mo-

rey had 9pts and Kareem Hyde hit 2 treys for 8pts, but the Kruzzars were up 81-40 lead in the 3rd quarter. Kruzzars’ Tariq Middleton add-ed 13pts and Lincy Lopez - 14pts in the Kruzzars’ 108-53 win.In Game 3 on Saturday morning, Benque Eagles won

3rd place 72-67 over the O. Walk Tech boys

Gustavo Pech scored 14pts as the Eagles led

15-12 in the 1st quarter. O.Walk’s Homer Peralta and

Tyrone Baptist scored 8pts each, but Nahib Hernandez’s 11pts saw

the Eagles leading 27-22 at the half. Eagles’ Ulisses Duarte hit 2 long treys for 10pts, and Mahjib Guerra also hit a trey for 10 pts to lead 53-39 at the end of the 3rd quarter. O. Walk’s Timothy

Morey hit 2 long treys as he led with 18pts, Jerry Vasquez added 15 pts, Kareem Hyde - 10pts, but the Eagles’ Mark Tesecum answered with 14 pts and Delvin Alcoser scored 3pts in their 72-67 win.In Game 4, the champion-ship fi nal on Saturday afternoon, the Kruzzars crushed the Foreshore Spar-tans 101-41. Again MVP Devin Daly led with 22 pts, and they were up 29-9 in the 1st quarter. Spartans’ Hubert Usher Jr had 16 pts and Lucien Hasbun - 13 pts, but Kruzzars’ Tariq Middle-ton scored 14pts and Kyle Middleton - 12 pts to lead 47-24 at the half.Tyler Myvett scored 11pts and Lincy Lopez - 10pts, as the Kruzzars led 77-34 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Spartans’ MVP Trevon Mitchell scored only 5pts, while Kruzzars’ Brian White had 9pts and Bryton Codd - 6pts in the Kruzzars big win.The Belize Basketball Federa-tion president Paul Thompson present-ed the championship trophy and indi-vidual trophies to the Kruzzars at the awards ceremony after the fi nal game, and the Spartans got 2nd place trophies. The Benque Eagles received 3rd place medals and the Most Valuable Player award wentto Kruzzars’ Devin Daly.

Belize City, April 17, 2011

The BTL softball women won the all day marathon opening the 2011 Belize City softball competition at the home of softbal at the Rogers Stadium on Sunday.IN Game1, the BTL women walloped the Hurricanes 19-0 as Elaine Humes, pitcher Mary Flowers, Ruth Lamb, Martha Rhys and Nya-sha Higinio came home in the 1st in-ning. BTL’s pitch-er Mary Flowers struck out 6 batters and shut out the hurricanes, while Lydia Cacho, Babsy Cadel, Flowers, Ear-lene Belisle, Noire-cia Frazer, Kaylie Macfadzean, Kimani Williams and Christine Clarke scored 9 runs in the 2nd inning to lead 14-0. Frazer and Macfaz-ean rounded the bases again in the 3rd inning and Humes, Cadle and Flowers came home in the 4th for the 19-0 win.In Game 2, the Mirage lady Rebels crushed the Orchid Blazers 9-6. The Blazers led 4-2 when Agnes and Ashley Lucas and Elfreida Garri and Ortencia Richards came home in the top of the 2nd inning second, while only Rebels’ Sherlett Jonnes and Sherlene Humes scored for the Rebles in the bottom of the second. Lady Rebels’ Sharette Vernon

BTL softball girls wins Belize City women’s soft-ball marathon

hit a home run in the third and Arneek Baptist Lanisha Jones, Humes, Gee-na Joseph and Christine Jacobs score six more runs for in the fourth. The Blazers tried to catch up when Jolene Davis score in the fi fth, and Ashley scored again in the sixth, but the Reb-els secured the 9-6 win.In Game 3, BTL won 3-1 over the Rebels, with Elaine Humes rounding the bases

twice for BTL and Cadle came home once, while only pitcher Lanisha Jones came home for the Rebels.In Game 4, the Blazers moved up to take on the Rebels again, after they eliminated the Hur-ricanes 13-6. The Hurricanes had led 5-1 when Kiri Lizama came home in the 1st inning, and Sasha Brown and Marcia James came home in the 2nd

to lead 3-1. Kiri, Kira Arnold and Tiffara Welch scored

3 more runs in the top of 3rd and only Blazers’ Pauline Bradley came home in the bottom of the second, as the Hur-

ricanes led 6-1The Hur-ricanes’ pitching fell apart

in the bottom fo the 3rd and Agnes and Ashley Lucas, Fiona Rivero, Jolene Davis, Arnold, Bradley, Ortencia Richards, Elf-reida Garri and Yvonne August scored 9 runs and Agnes, Fio-na, Arnold and Bradley scored 4 more in the 5th inning.In Game 5, the orchid Blazers up-set over the defending champs, Mirage Lady Rebels, 8-5 in 7 innings to teak aon BTL in the 6th and fi nal game.In

Game 6, the BTL ladies extinguished the Orchid Blazers 8-0 in 5 innings to

Jonnes and Sherlene Humes scored

Davis score in the fi fth, and Ashley scored again in the sixth, but the Reb-els secured the 9-6 win.In Game 3, BTL won 3-1 over the Rebels, with Elaine Humes rounding the bases





in the bottom fo the 3rd and Agnes and Ashley Lucas, Fiona Rivero, Jolene Davis, Arnold, Bradley, Ortencia Richards, Elf-reida Garri and Yvonne August scored 9 runs and Agnes, Fio-na, Arnold and Bradley scored 4 more in the 5th inning.In Game 5, the orchid Blazers up-set over the defending champs, Mirage Lady Rebels, 8-5 in 7 innings to teak aon BTL in the 6th and fi nal game.In

The BTL softball women won the all day marathon opening the 2011 Belize City softball competition at the home of softbal at the Rogers Stadium on Sunday.IN Game1, the BTL women walloped the Hurricanes 19-0 as Elaine Humes, pitcher Mary Flowers, Ruth Lamb, Martha Rhys and Nya-sha Higinio came home in the 1st in-ning. BTL’s pitch-er Mary Flowers struck out 6 batters and shut out the hurricanes, while Lydia Cacho, Babsy Cadel, Flowers, Ear-lene Belisle, Noire-cia Frazer, Kaylie Macfadzean, Kimani Williams and Christine Clarke scored 9 runs in the 2nd inning to lead 14-0. Frazer and Macfaz-ean rounded the bases again in the 3rd inning and Humes, Cadle and Flowers came home in the 4th for the 19-0 win.In Game 2, the Mirage lady Rebels crushed the Orchid Blazers 9-6. The Blazers led 4-2 when Agnes and Ashley Lucas and Elfreida Garri and Ortencia Richards came home in the top of the 2nd inning second, while only Rebels’ Sherlett

Baptist Lanisha Jones, Humes, Gee-na Joseph and Christine Jacobs score six more runs for in the fourth. The Blazers tried to catch up when Jolene City softball competition at the home

of softbal at the Rogers Blazers tried to catch up when Jolene Davis score in the fi fth, and Ashley Davis score in the fi fth, and Ashley scored again in the sixth, but the Reb-els secured the 9-6 win.In Game 3, BTL won 3-1 over the Rebels, with Elaine Humes rounding the bases





in the bottom fo the 3rd and Agnes and Ashley Lucas, Fiona Rivero, Jolene Davis, Arnold, Bradley, Ortencia Richards, Elf-reida Garri and Yvonne August scored 9 runs and Agnes, Fio-na, Arnold and Bradley scored 4 more in the 5th inning.In Game 5, the orchid Blazers up-set over the defending champs, Mirage Lady Rebels, 8-5 in 7 innings to teak aon BTL

of softbal at the Rogers Stadium on Sunday.IN Game1, the BTL women walloped the Hurricanes 19-0 as Elaine Humes, pitcher Mary Flowers, Ruth Lamb, Martha

sha Higinio came home in the 1st in-ning. BTL’s pitch-er Mary Flowers struck out 6 batters and shut out the hurricanes, while Lydia Cacho, Babsy Cadel, Flowers, Ear-lene Belisle, Noire-cia Frazer, Kaylie Macfadzean, Kimani Williams and Christine Clarke scored 9 runs in the 2nd inning to lead 14-0. Frazer and Macfaz-ean rounded the bases again in the 3rd inning and Humes, Cadle and Flowers came home in the 4th for the 19-0 win.In Game 2, the Mirage lady Rebels crushed the Orchid Blazers 9-6. The Blazers led 4-2 when Agnes and Ashley Lucas and Elfreida Garri and Ortencia Richards came home in the top of the 2nd inning second, while only Rebels’ Sherlett

Davis score in the fi fth, and Ashley of softbal at the Rogers Stadium on Sunday.

Davis score in the fi fth, and Ashley scored again in the sixth, but the Reb-scored again in the sixth, but the Reb-els secured the 9-6 win.In Game 3, BTL won 3-1 over the Rebels, with Elaine Humes rounding the bases



3 more runs in the top of 3rd and only Blazers’ Pauline Bradley came


in the bottom fo the 3rd and Agnes and Ashley Lucas, Fiona Rivero, Jolene Davis, Arnold, Bradley, Ortencia Richards, Elf-reida Garri and Yvonne August scored 9 runs and Agnes, Fio-na, Arnold and Bradley scored 4 more in the 5th inning.In Game 5, the orchid Blazers up-set over the defending champs, Mirage Lady Rebels, 8-5 in 7 innings to teak aon BTL

Stadium on Sunday.IN Game1, the BTL women walloped the Hurricanes 19-0 as Elaine Humes, pitcher Mary Flowers, Ruth

sha Higinio came home in the 1st in-ning. BTL’s pitch-er Mary Flowers struck out 6 batters and shut out the hurricanes, while Lydia Cacho, Babsy Cadel, Flowers, Ear-lene Belisle, Noire-cia Frazer, Kaylie Macfadzean, Kimani Williams and Christine Clarke scored 9 runs in the 2nd inning to lead 14-0. Frazer and Macfaz-ean rounded the bases again in the 3rd inning and Humes, Cadle and Flowers came home in the 4th for the 19-0 win.In Game 2, the Mirage lady Rebels crushed the Orchid Blazers 9-6. The Blazers led 4-2 when Agnes and Ashley Lucas and Elfreida Garri and Ortencia Richards came home in the top of the 2nd inning second, while only Rebels’ Sherlett

Stadium on Sunday.IN Game1, the BTL women walloped the

home in the 1st in-ning. BTL’s pitch-er Mary Flowers struck out 6 batters and shut out the hurricanes, while Lydia Cacho, Babsy Cadel, Flowers, Ear-lene Belisle, Noire-cia Frazer, Kaylie Macfadzean, Kimani Williams and Christine Clarke scored 9 runs in the 2nd inning to lead 14-0. Frazer and Macfaz-ean rounded the bases again in the 3rd inning and Humes, Cadle and Flowers came home in the 4th for the 19-0 win.In Game 2, the Mirage lady Rebels crushed the Orchid Blazers 9-6. The Blazers led 4-2 when Agnes and Ashley Lucas and Elfreida Garri and Ortencia Richards came home in the top of the 2nd inning second, while only Rebels’ Sherlett

scored again in the sixth, but the Reb-els secured the 9-6 win.In Game 3, BTL won 3-1 over the Rebels, with Elaine Humes rounding the bases



3 more runs in the top of

ricanes’ pitching fell apart in the bottom fo the 3rd and Agnes and Ashley Lucas, Fiona Rivero, Jolene Davis, Arnold, Bradley, Ortencia Richards, Elf-reida Garri and Yvonne August scored 9 runs and Agnes, Fio-na, Arnold and Bradley scored 4 more in the 5th inning.In Game 5, the orchid Blazers up-set over the defending champs, Mirage Lady Rebels, 8-5 in 7 innings to teak aon BTL

San Andres, Corozal, April 17, 2011

The Centro Escolar Mexico girls and men won the Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of Belize (ATLIB) northern regional championship host-ed by Corozal Junior College at the CJC campus in San Andres, Corozal on Sunday. April 17. The Corozal Ju-nior College girls and men both won 2nd place, so the 4 teams will repre-sent the north when CJC hosts the ATLIB national football champion-ships on Saturday, April 30.The Cen-tro Mexico girls won 3-0 in a penalty shootout after regulation time had ended in a 1-1 draw. Jackie Gonzalez scored fi rst for CJC in the 2nd half, but Centro Escolar’s Lucy Domin-guez equalized for a 1-1 draw. Cent-gro Escolar converted 3 penalties, while the Corozal girls missed all.The men’s tournament was played in a round robin format, and Centro Escolar Mexico won all 3 of their games whiel Cjc men fi nished with a 2 win - 1 loss record to take 2nd place.

In Game 1, The St John’s Junior Col-lege men had not done so badly in the opening game of the tournament and were leading 2-0 over the Belize Adventist College men at intermis-sion with goals by Darren Leal and Charles Canton. But the Belize Ad-ventist men had taken the fi eld with only 10 men, and in the second half when more players arrived to give them a full complement, Alex Innis blasted in a shot that defl ected off a SJCJC defender into the goal, reduc-ing the defi cit to 2-1. Alex Innis head-ed the ball over Armando Luna’s head for a second goal to equalize the score and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.In

Centro Escolar Mexico girls & men win ATLIB northern football regionals

Game 2, the Centro Escolar men had completely dominated the CJC men 4-0 in the second game of the morning. Shamir Adair Duran and Walder Cas-taneda had led the attacks supported by Noe Hernandez, Yancy Ek, Nor-man Cruz and Kevin Ramirez at mid-fi eld and it was not long before Walder Castaneda broke through the CJC de-fense to embarrass the goalkeeper with the fi rst winning goal. A few minutes later Walder caught up to a splice from Noe Hernandez and blasted as sec-ond goal into the net. Noe would play give and go with Shamir Duran on the right win to score a third goal before intermission. Norman Cruz lobbed the ball over the head of CJC goalie for a 4-0 win. In Game 3, Walder Espinoza scored 2 more goals in Centro Esco-lar’s 4-2 in over the SJC Junior College men. Darren Leal and Kendice “Sube” Williams scored 2 goals for the SJCJC boys, but Norman Cruz and Andy Che scored 2 more goals for Centro Esco-lar’s 4-2 win.In Game 4, the Corozal Junior College men got on the good foot when over when Kai Zetina, Lu-igi Abaj, Tomas Zetina and Elionaz Vargas each scored one goal for the 4-0 win over the Belize Adventis Ju-nior College men.In Game 5, Centro Escolar also dominated the Belize Ad-ventist College men 3-0. Walder Cas-taneda scored the 1st goal in the 14th minute. Shamir Duran scored a second goal in the 35th minutes into the sec-ond half, and Yancy Ek added a 3rd goal in the 60th minute of play.In Game 6, the CJC men also outlasted the SJCJC men 2-1 in the sixth game of the day, Irbin Carillo and Chris Bae-za scored for CJC; while only Reuben Mehunro scored for SJC Junior Col-lege.


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National Perspective April 24, 2011