DR JOHN APPOINTED
AMBASSADOR AT LARGE
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
A n t i g u a
a n d
B a r b u d a
Vol.3
No.62
$2.00
Sunshine Girls zipline on
8th day of xmas........pg 3
LIME awards 2014 unsung heroes.......pg 4
From left: Foreign Affairs Minister the Hon., Charles Fernandez, Governor-General Dr. Sir
Rodney Williams, His Excellency Dr. Joseph John and his wife.
In a ceremony at Government House yesterday,
Dr Joseph A. John was presented with his instruments
by the Governor General,
his Excellency Dr Sir Rodney Williams, conferring
on him the title of Ambassador at Large and special
consultant to the Prime
Minister on the Citizenship
Investment Program (CIP).
In his remarks, the
Governor General ap-
plauded Dr John’s exemplary and outstanding
public service record in the
field of medicine and surgery here in Antigua over
the past twenty years. He
cont’d on pg 2
Bank announces employees of the year pg 9
pg 23 For Voucher
2
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cont’d from pg 1
further noted, that over the
past year and a half, Dr
John played a prominent
role in rendering strategic
advice to the Prime Minister, whose decision to bestow this high honour upon
him was a reflection of his
resulting high regard and
confidence in Dr. John’s
high degree of competence
and ability to deliver solid
results.
Dr John is widely
known and respected as
a medical practitioner of
great talent, compassion,
and intellect; and for his
contribution to the field
of surgery in Antigua and
the region. After returning to Antigua in 1994,
and taking over the reins
at Holberton Hospital, he
systematically set about
upgrading the medical services there, conceptualizing and building the Mount
St. Johns Medical Center,
while at the same time, he
pioneered and advanced
the field of laparoscopic
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
surgery in the Caribbean.
In 2004, after 10 years of
public service in the medical field, he opened Medical Surgical Associates in
the Woods Center, a multispecialty medical and surgical clinic offering state of
the art care to the region.
In addition to his innovative leadership and trailblazing surgical practice,
Dr John is the Antiguan
visionary who is responsible for the establishment
of the American University
of Antigua medical school,
a project which has had a
profound and positive impact on our country’s economy.
Most recently, in July
of this year, a mere few
weeks after the Government took office, Dr. John
secured a private donation of $5.4 million for the
500/500 home project. “It
is one of the Prime Minister’s priority projects that I
firmly believe in, one that
makes a giant step towards
the vision of social pro-
tections and opportunities
of our people, a concept
that the Prime Minister
embraces, and once again
I am happy to have been
able to play a role in this
endeavor.”
With his characteristic
enthusiasm and high energy, His Excellency Dr.
John embraces his additional role as Ambassador
and advisor to the Prime
Minister on the CIP Program. “Long before the
program came to Antigua,”
Dr. John told Caribbean
Times: “I recognized the
concept of CIP as being
one of our most viable
tickets out of our economic
crisis.” He feels honoured
to have been given the opportunity to play such a
significant role in taking
the program to its full potential.
He went on to say that
he firmly believes that Antigua is poised at this point
to take over as the leading
citizenship by investment
program in the region, and
moreover to compete on
the world stage for the top
spot globally.
He told Caribbean
Times that he felt “humbled and privileged to be a
part of the initiative,” explaining that he has been
involved in the area over
the last year. “I think I
bring to the table the kind
of approach that will set
us apart on both of the elements that are essential to
success – establishing the
Antigua program as one
of impeccable integrity, as
well as one that will bring
in the high revenue.”
The Prime Minister has
reiterated his confidence in
Dr. John’s ability to deliver the goods, so to speak.
“Whatever Dr. John does,
he puts his all into it and
achieves successes at the
highest level. I have the
highest confidence that he
will play a significant role
in the success of our CIP
program.”
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
caribtimes.com
Ziplining For Sunshine Girls On
The Eighth Day Of Christmas
The Sunshine Girls were
thrilled to be able to experience
a ziplining tour for the first time,
courtesy of the Halo Foundation
and Antigua Rain Forest Tours. Patron of the Sunshine Home for
Girls, Lady Sandra WIlliams,
said:’ The Management and Staff
of the Ziplining Tours are superb:
always willing to put their best
foot forward, and extremely professional and customer service oriented. The girls were so excited
and grateful to have had this opportunity .”
One day earlier on the seventh
day of Christmas, and after a week
of exciting tours and treks, the
eight Sunshine Girls were invited
by Fred’s Belgian Waffles and Ice
Cream in Heritage Quay to savour
the flavour of a variety of exotic
ice creams and sorbets, including
papaya, banana and passion fruit.
Organizers of the Twelve Days
of Christmas Campaign, the Halo
Foundation, said that the girls thoroughly enjoyed their package
of events, and were looking forward to the rest of the program.
3
4
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Tuesday 23rd December 2014
L-R Front Row: Davidson Charles, Mr Vincent Benjamin, Mr Keith Eastmond, Mrs Theodora Commodore, Mrs Elnora Warner, Mrs Elaine Edwards, And Shand Merchant. L-R Back Row: Mrs. Noreen Mingo, Mrs Nutilia Simon, Rev Selina Joseph,
Ms Yvonne Destin, Mrs Kennecia Archibald
LIME Awards 2014 Unsung Heroes
with “Christmas Blessings”
LIME, Antigua and its promise to honour Christmas Blessing iniBarbuda’s
best-value unsung heroes as part tiative. Now in its third
network, delivered on of its recently launched year, LIME’s Christmas
Blessing gives customers a chance to nominate
unsung heroes in their
The Education Officer-Desiree Antonio and staff community. The winners
of Zone III schools express special thanks to the were honoured today in
following businesses for contributing to Celebrate a brief ceremony held
Teachers :
at LIME’s HeadquarCrab Hole Liquors, First Caribbean Internation- ters. In attendance were
al Bank, Sanje (formerly Benetton), Pink Mongoose, LIME staff, management
Colombian Emeralds, O J’s Bar and Restaurant, Lin- and the awardees family
en Shop, Kings Casino, Cool and Smooth, St John’s members.
Cooperative Credit Union, Inizio, Subway, Stephen
As part of its ‘UpB Shouls, Townhouse Mega Store, Anjos Insurance, grade Christmas’ LIME
Hadeed Motors, Sign Pro, Shouls Toys Gifts and customers were asked to
Housewares, Best Tech, Schools in Zone III.
identify people within
Education Notice
their respective communities who can be described as “selfless, giving and always putting
others ahead of themselves”.
Of the scores of entries received, ten heroes
were selected to receive
Christmas
Blessings
from LIME.
This year’s winners
represent a wide cross
section of our community which includes teachers, nurses, and religious
leaders. LIME’s 2014
cont’d on pg 5
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
cont’d from pg 4
Christmas Blessing winners are Mrs Kennecia
Archibald, Mr Vincent
Benjamin, Mrs Theodora Commodore, Ms
Yvonne Destin, Mr Keith
Eastmond, Mrs Elaine
Edwards, Rev Selina Joseph, Mrs. Noreen Mingo
Mrs Nutilia Simon and
Mr James Warner.
This year’s recipients
were all surprised and
overwhelmed when they
were contacted.
Many
expressed
heartfelt emotion upon
learning that their acts of
kindness to others were
being recognised.
Marketing
Manager of LIME Shand Merchant first initiated the
LIME Christmas Blessing event and indicated
that the response from
their customers was overwhelming.
“It demonstrates that
the Spirit of Kindness and
Giving without expecting
something in return is
still very much alive in
our communities”
He added that LIME
was honoured to be able
to celebrate such unsung
heroes as part of its upgrade campaign.
The awardees expressed thanks to LIME
for such a thoughtful
initiative which captures
the spirit of the season.
In their responses they
echoed similar sentiments that giving back to
the community is a part
of who they are and that
they have every intention
to continue to do so.
Each winner received
a brand new Alcatel One
Touch Tablet and gift basket compliments LIME.
LIME is the Caribbean’s leading full service
telecommunications provider.
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5
A member of the New
Cable & Wireless Communications group, the
company has been the
‘technology backbone’
of the Caribbean for over
140 years. LIME’s state
of the art network keeps
families connected and
the wheels of business
and industry turning.
LIME’s extensive on
island network is complemented by a network
of 42,000 km of sub-sea
cable spanning 42 countries carrying voice and
data traffic for its customers and also other
telecoms operators.
6
caribtimes.com
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
The Ghost Of Christmas Past
For those who celebrate the symbolism of
Christmas, it used to be almost magical. It seemed to
take forever to come back
around, and the season
was filled with community and church activities,
shopping, concerts, parties, carolling, cool temperatures and family time.
As far as the Biblical promise that the Lord
would speed up time in the
last days is concerned, although all things are possible with God, the acceleration of time may be a
matter of perception. We
have become so busy, so
perpetually occupied, that
time seems shorter simply
because we are doing so
many things.
Now, we talk on our
phones while waiting,
while walking, while driving, while eating and while
doing something else that
should require our total
concentration. We take
our work home with us
with our smartphones and
communicate with businesses, friends and relatives halfway across the
globe as if they were mere
metres from us.
All these activities
badly distort our percep-
tion of the passage of time
and the significance of
space (which is related to
time). So, for everyone the young and the old, the
busy and the bored - time
seems to fly by at warp
speed. As soon as one
Christmas is over, it seems
as if another one is upon
us. Not having to wait an
‘eternity’ for Christmas
to come around lessens
the impact that the season
once had.
And now we have severe restrictions in some
activities that meant
so much to so many at
Christmas time. I vividly
remember the firecrackers - the ‘clappers’ and
the ‘thunderbolts’. Then
there was the ‘shiboom’ a little ball that exploded
on impact with any hard
surface. All are now illegal because the sound of
explosions has taken on
murderous significance,
necessitating police intervention.
With the crime rate being what it is, carolling on
the streets is almost totally
extinct. Additionally, the
divided neighbourhoods,
acrimonious environment
and endemic apathy have
cont’d on pg 7
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
cont’d from pg 6
destroyed most community-based activities.
Our natural environment and weather have
also changed noticeably
over the past 40 or 50
years. Because of the albedo effect (too many concrete structures that reflect
sunlight/heat), smoke and
carbon dioxide pollution
and the widespread cutting
of cooling trees, Christmas
time is not nearly as chilly
as it once was. That, too,
has served to make the
season less special than it
used to be.
Crime has made us
imprison ourselves in our
various homes and retreat
from outdoor activities.
The economic stresses
have made most of us frugal and restrictive. There
is still a lot of shopping,
and the statisticians are always quoted as reporting
that each year, people are
spending more and more
at Christmas time. The
figures are trotted out by
various administrations as
if they represent positive
markers for fiscal growth
and disposable income.
But no one has taken
the time to remind us that
inflation is the most like-
ly cause for the increased
spending. It takes a whole
lot more to buy far less
than we did only a few
years ago.
Aside from weddings
and funerals (I still know
individuals who confuse
the two), people of faith
worship most at Easter and
Christmas. So, the churches remain full at this time
of year.
Now, the most obvious
signs of the Christmas season are the plethora of advertisements, beckoning/
entreating merchants, and
the ever-growing numbers of inescapable and
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7
ubiquitous
mendicants
who stand amid the glitter,
bright lights and shopping
crowds as stark reminders
of our harsh economic reality. And so the Christmas
that many used to know
has died. All that we have
left is its ghost to remind
us of the unbridled fun,
camaraderie and freedom
that we once enjoyed.
I miss the days of
unified communities and
the simple pleasures that
made us happy. I wonder
if any of us will ever see
them again. (Reprinted
from the Jamaica Gleaner)
8
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Tuesday 23rd December 2014
Engaging the
Brain
I should have known it was too
good to be true. There I was: permitting the foolish notion to enter
my head that I might, somehow,
just get through Christmas and the
New Year holiday without mashing anybody’s corn, or getting my
silly backside into trouble with any
of those people in high places who
hold the power to decide our fate.
But not Yours Truly … Oh no!
It’s like Murphy’s Law. You know:
“Left to itself anything that can go
wrong, will.”
The trouble is that no matter
how well intentioned we may be,
none of us has the power to control
another living Human Being’s utterances … other than by stuffing a
cloth in his or her mouth and tying
it shut – but that suggests a level of
control-freakiness I am personally
not prepared to entertain.
Quite sadly, as it has turned out;
because that deficiency (besides being unwilling to rush down to the
studios of Liberty Radio and do the
poor man a favor) kept me, and apparently any citizen present at the
scene of the crime, from arresting
well-meaning Education Minister
Michael Browne before he put his
foot in it big time, apparently for no
reason at all.
If you want to measure the seriousness of the gratuitous offense,
you only need to have heard the
crackling anger in the voice of
ABUT President Ashworth Azille,
as he announced the withdrawal
of ABUT nominees from all government boards. Out of absolutely
nothing – nothing indeed, but his
own hot air – our Education Minister had manufactured a total breakdown in relations between himself
and the entity that counts the most
in successfully delivering educational services to the Nation: our
Teachers.
Now … Who tell he do dat?
At this juncture let me note that
although every one of us (Yours
Truly included!) suffers from Footin-Mouth Disease at some point in
our life, not all of us are Members
of Parliament and Ministers of Government and the like: So when we
run our mouths into the ditch what
we say can effectively offend only
a very limited circle of unlucky
people. Unhappily the utterances,
ill-advised or otherwise, of exalted
personages like our very hard-working Education Minister have the capacity to gladden or to enrage huge
segments of the population – and
the Hon Michael Browne chose to
come on like a Grinch to the ABUT,
even as he prepared to bring Xmas
cheer to his constituents in All
Saints West.
If you ask me – and even if you
don’t – the Hon Michael Browne’s
flight of fancy has a lot to do with
that deep-seated tribal culture,
common to both Red and Blue: the
unshakable conviction that all behavior is driven by venal motives;
that every individual is pursuing
some selfish material advantage;
that everybody hungers and thirsts
to scramble onto some government
board; that all hands lust to climb
onto their party bandwagon.
Clearly our Education Minister
failed to heed one of the international Rules of the Road: “Make sure
Brain is Engaged before putting
Mouth in Gear!” I guess in these
days of default automatic transmission the younger generations may
be unfamiliar with early automotive
culture. So acting totally thoughtlessly, the Hon Michael Browne
publicly dishonored the ABUT,
painting its executive as a bunch of
venal self-seekers whose only real
desire is to belly up to the public
trough.
Now … Let us suppose, purely
for argument’s sake, that such were
indeed the case. In terms of practical
PR, the very last thing MP Michael
Browne should seek to do is let that
open secret out of the bag, especially in such a dismissive way. After
all, as Minister of Education one of
the uppermost thoughts on his mind
should be to maintain smooth relations with the teaching body, like
SOP. But then, as I always say, good
PR begins with an attitude.
So before the Education Minister goes “Ho-Ho-Ho”-ing around
All Saints West playing Santa Claus,
he may want to set aside a present or
two for the ABUT – or things may
get worse than he has gratuitously
made them.
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
caribtimes.com
9
CIBC FirstCaribbean announces
2014 Most Outstanding Employees
CIBC First Caribbean
has announced its most
outstanding employees
for 2014.
The winners of Player
of the Series award winners, who were drawn
from throughout the Caribbean are Shinika Reid
(Bahamas), Hughzavia
Bourne (Barbados Head
Office), Damien Boyce
(Barbados Head Office),
Shadden
McLaughlin
(Cayman Islands), Shel-
dene Pinder (Barbados),
Alford Collis (St. Vincent), F.O. Stephane
Burke (Antigua) and Andre Waithe (Barbados).
Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rik Parkhill,
congratulated them on
behalf of the Bank’s Senior Executive Team,
pointing out that 2014
was a challenging year
which required employees to perform at higher
levels and to embrace ad-
ditional and new opportunities.
Mr. Parkhill said each
member of CIBC FirstCaribbean team accepted
this challenge and some
achieved exceptional results, well above the required targets. He added
that sixteen high quality
nominations for Player
of the Series awards were
received therefore the
task of choosing the best
from the best was not an
easy one for the Regional
Pro Performers Committee.
Given that the bank
places emphasis on providing excellent service
to its external and internal customers, all the
awardees offered noteworthy service based on
CIBC FirstCaribbean’s
“Helpful Partner Universal Standards”, which
sets out guidelines for
cont’d on pg 10
10 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
cont’d from pg 9
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
Country
Manager,
North EC Island and Belize, F.O. Stephane Burke
was named Exemplary
Leader for 2014.
She was chosen from
among nominees with
excellent
performance
management skills, who
provided developmental
support for members of
their teams.
Like the Exemplary
Leader, the winners of
the sales awards, Sales
Specialist, Alford Collis
and Platinum Manager,
Sheldene Pinder impacted positively on the morale and competencies of
their team.
In addition, they dis-
providing service to customers.
The awards feature
a specific “Helpful Partner” category, based on
employees’ provision of
exceptional internal customer service for their
colleagues and consequently the bank.
The awards in this
category went to Client
Service Officer, Shinika Reid; Manager Risk
Analytics & Reporting,
Hughzavia Bourne; Accounts Payable Officer,
Damien Boyce and Executive Assistant to the
Managing Director of the
Cayman Islands, Shadcont’d on pg 11
den McLaughlin.
Stephane Burke (Antigua)
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
cont’d from pg 10
played exceptional external customer service and
met or exceeded sales
targets.
The nominees for the
process
improvement
award were drawn from
employees who developed or refined a process
or product benefiting the
bank through the resulting improvement in efficiencies and productivity.
Systems Analyst, Andre Waithe copped this
award.
This year’s Player of
the Series winners will
join their CIBC counter-
parts from throughout
the world at a week-long
CIBC Achievers’ Conference set for January
11-17, 2015 in Maui,
Hawaii. Executives from
CIBC and CIBC FirstCaribbean will also attend
the event, which comprises business sessions
and celebratory activities.
The high achievers
will also be treated to a
celebratory weekend in
Barbados, where they
will meet with the Senior
Executive Team of CIBC
FirstCaribbean.
CIBC FirstCaribbean
TAX NOTICE
The Inland Revenue Department extends its
ABST Fresh Start Initiative that was launched in
July 2014.
Taxpayers that have arrears for Antigua and
Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST), can have all of their
penalties and interest waived once they make arrangement with the department by close of business on December 31st 2014 to liquidate the outstanding tax amount due to the department.
Taxpayers will have the option of either making one payment to pay off their debt in full, or
entering into a payment plan with the department
to liquidate their debt over time.
The Commissioner invites all ABST taxpayers
who are in an arrears position to take advantage of
this Initiative.
For further information contact the Collections
Unit by calling 468-9488 or 468-9473.
……..Commissioner of Inland Revenue
is the largest, regionally-listed bank in the English and Dutch speaking
Caribbean serving over
500,000 accounts in 17
markets, through 2,900
staff, across 100 branches and offices.
The bank offers a full
range of market-leading financial services in:
Corporate and Investment Banking, Treasury
Sales and Trading, Retail
Banking, Wealth Management, Small Business
and Credit Cards.
CIBC FirstCaribbean
is a member of the CIBC
Group. CIBC (TSX,
caribtimes.com
11
NYSE: CM) is a leading
North American financial
institution serving clients
in Canada and around the
world.
Through its distinct
business lines, CIBC Retail Markets and Wholesale Banking, CIBC
provides a full range of
products and services to
almost 11 million individual, small business
and commercial banking
clients and meets the financial needs of corporate and institutional clients. CIBC is rated A+/
Stable/A-1 by Standard
& Poor’s.
12 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Naughty
orNice
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
"Sexiest Christmas Fete Ever"
.14
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Tuesday 23rd December 2014
caribtimes.com
13
14 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
Bahamas authorities investigate
alleged rape of Jamaican detainee
NASSAU, Bahamas,
CMC – The Bahamas
government says it is prepared to let the “chips fall
where they may” after an
immigration officer was
placed on administrative
leave with immediate effect “pending investigation of a sexual assault alleged by a detainee who is
a Jamaican citizen”.
Immigration Minister
Fred Mitchell told a news
conference that while he
would not speak “more to
this matter” he was nonetheless prepared to allow
the “chips (to) fall where
they may”.
In a statement, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration said
that “a diplomatic note …
will be sent to the Jamaican Foreign Minister and
the Minister will speak to
his counterpart in Jamaica
shortly” on the issue.
The statement said
that Mitchell had already
spoken to Honorary Consul of Jamaica to The Bahamas “to convey his deep
regret at these allegations
and assured the Consul
that the matter will be
thoroughly investigated”.
The statement said that
the matter is also before
the police and that “all
necessary steps including
prosecution, suspension
and dismissal from the
public service will be applied where warranted.
“….the Ministry wishes to indicate that it does
not condone or sanction
in any way, shape or form
abuse of any kind by any
officer of the department.
It will not be tolerated and
the strongest measures
will be taken where there
are violations of the rights
of people.”
Mitchell told reporters that the government
will “not countenance any
malfeasance on the part
of individuals who are a
part of this department”
announcing that a criminal investigation will
be launched into another
matter in which money
deposited by an inmate at
the detention center had
disappeared.
“The
Government
and the Prime Minister
will not countenance the
undermining of the integrity of the Immigration
Department and stand by
measures necessary to ensure that its integrity is not
compromised.
“It is important for of-
Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell
ficers of the Department
to understand what we
have been saying that this
is a new era of increased
scrutiny,
transparency
and public accountability.
Those who cannot adhere
to those standards are not
welcome in the Department.”
The government has
come under intense scrutiny both here and internationally after it implemented a new policy from
November 1 that required
that calls on foreigners to
show evidence that they
have permission to live or
work in the country.
But Mitchell made it
clear that the acts against
persons detained at the
detention center “are not
systemic or sanctioned by
the government”.
Meanwhile,
police
said that they had detained
six Jamaican women, two
from the Dominican Republic and a Colombian
woman at a nightclub.
The police said they
believed the women were
“at that location for the
purpose of lewd dancing
and solicitation for prostitution.
“The women were
taken into custody for
Breach of the Immigration
Act. The club owner was
also arrested for breach
of the Business License
Act,” the police statement
added.
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
caribtimes.com
15
Senior Trinidad police officer removed
from Caribbean Airlines flight
P O RT- O F - S PA I N ,
Trinidad, CMC – Acting
Trinidad & Tobago Police
Commissioner Stephen
Williams said he has ordered a probe into reports
that a senior police officer
was removed on a flight to
Tobago after he failed to
follow orders to switch off
his mobile telephone.
The Police Service
Social and Welfare Association (PSWA) said it
also welcomed the investigation into allegations
that Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Peter Reyes may have acted
unprofessionally, possibly
to the point of official misconduct of duties after he
was removed from a Caribbean Airlines (CAL)
flight to Tobago last week.
Media reports said
that Reyes, who was on
his way to Tobago to take
over command of the police service, had refused to
adhere to the regulations
given by the air flight attendants.
Reyes told the Trinidad Express newspaper
Monday that he did not
know how to switch off
his cellular phone causing
the one hour delay in the
departure of the airline. “The truth is I did not
know how to switch off
the phone…,” he said.
CAL said it was forced
to transfer the passengers to another aircraft to
transport them to Tobago
and a report lodged with
the police.
In their report, the
flight attendants Karen
Wilson and Lieko Sue
Hong described Reyes
as an “unruly” passenger
who had made racial remarks.
“He continued his
conversation briefly with
the caller and as I stood
by his row asking him to
please switch off his cellular phone as the doors
were closed, the engines
were running and the aircraft was taxiing, he advised me that it was an
urgent call.
“I advised this passen-
ger that all cellular phones
must be switched off at
this time despite the urgency of the call.
“He then loudly stated
to me that I was attacking
him because he was not
white.
“At this time he increasingly showed that
he was angry by talking
loudly to the passengers
around him referring to
the point that I wouldn’t
pick on him if he wasn’t
black,” Wilson said in her
report to CAL’s management on the incident.
PSWA general secretary Michael Seales
said while the association
found the whole incident
“unfortunate”, it welcomed the the decision
by Williams to appoint
a team to investigate the
matter.
“From the observations the association has
made from the article on
the Sunday Express which
purportedly depicts the
reports from flight attendants on the plane, then a
very serious event has unfolded.
“It goes right to the
heart of security implementations and adherence
of law and regulations.
And this is especially serious as we live in a world
where terrorism is a major
issue.
“Therefore, the association has taken an interest
in this matter, and if these
allegations turn out to be
true then we are ready to
rumble so to speak, and
take this matter as far as it
needs to go,” Seales said.
16 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
Court grants orangutan basic rights
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- An orangutan that has lived 20 years
at the Buenos Aires zoo is
entitled to some legal rights
enjoyed by humans, an Argentine court has ruled, a
decision the ape’s attorney
called unprecedented and a
ticket to greater freedom.
The ruling comes a
month after a local animal
rights group filed a habeas
corpus writ in favor of Sandra, who was born in Germany but has lived in captivity in Buenos Aires most
of her life.
“Following a dynamic
... judicial interpretation, it
is necessary to recognize
that the animal is subject to
rights, and should be protected,” said the Dec. 18
ruling, published Monday
by the official judicial news
agency.
Andres Gil Dominguez, who represented the
orangutan, said the “unprecedented” ruling paves
the way for the habeas corpus rights to be accepted by
the courts and for Sandra to
be released at a sanctuary.
“It sets a precedent that
The orangutan named Sandra sits in her enclosure at Buenos Aires’ Zoo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, yesterday.
changes the paradigm of
animal guardianship and
will impact their rights. ... It
will lead to a lot of discussions,” Gil Dominguez told
The Associated Press.
“From this ruling forward ... the discussion will
be whether captivity in itself damages their rights.”
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
caribtimes.com
17
Cuba says it has a right to grant asylum
HAVANA (AP) -- Cuba
said Monday that it has a
right to grant asylum to
U.S. fugitives, the clearest
sign yet that the communist
government has no intention of extraditing America’s most-wanted woman
despite the warming of bilateral ties.
New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie has urged President Barack Obama to demand the return of fugitive
Joanne Chesimard before
restoring full relations under a historic detente announced by Obama and
Cuban President Raul Castro last week.
Chesimard was granted asylum by Fidel Castro
after she escaped from the
prison where she was serving a sentence for killing
a New Jersey state trooper
in 1973 during a gunbattle
after being stopped on the
New Jersey Turnpike.
Asked if returning fugitives was open to negotiation, Cuba’s head of North
American affairs, Josefina
Vidal, told The Associated
Press that “every nation has
sovereign and legitimate
rights to grant political asylum to people it considers
to have been persecuted. ...
That’s a legitimate right.”
“We’ve explained to
the U.S. government in the
past that there are some
people living in Cuba to
whom Cuba has legiti-
mately granted political
asylum,” Vidal said.
“There’s no extradition
treaty in effect between
Cuba and the U.S.,” she
added.
In a letter to the White
House made public Sunday, Christie said Cuba’s
asylum for Chesimard,
who has changed her name
to Assata Shakur, was “an
affront to every resident of
our state, our country, and
in particular, the men and
women of the New Jersey
State Police, who have
tirelessly tried to bring this
killer back to justice.”
The
first
woman
ever placed on the FBI’s
most-wanted terrorist list
was living so openly in Havana that her number was
listed in the phone book.
The FBI and the New
Jersey State Police have
offered a $2 million reward
for information leading to
Shakur’s capture.
Bernadette Meehan,
a spokeswoman for the
White House’s National Security Council, said
the Obama administration
will “continue to press in
our engagement with the
Cuban government for the
return of U.S. fugitives in
Cuba to pursue justice for
the victims of their crimes.”
Several
infamous
convicts and suspects in
high-profile American cases live openly in Cuba, as
Cuba’s head of North American affairs, Josefina Vidal, speaks
during an interview in Havana, Cuba, yesterday.
are others convicted of less
serious crimes. Among
these are a woman convicted of killing a police officer
four decades ago, a man
sought for a 31-year-old
armed robbery, airplane hijackers and dozens of people accused of Medicare
and insurance fraud.
Cuba occasionally returns people convicted or
suspected of committing
crimes in the U.S., but it
doesn’t observe traditional extradition and refuses
to send anyone back for a
crime Havana considers
political in nature, according to the State Department.
The Castro government’s frequent position on
returning fugitives has been
to ask for the U.S. to return
people wanted in Cuba.
“We’ve reminded the
U.S. government that in
its country they’ve given
shelter to dozens and dozens of Cuban citizens,”
Vidal said. “Some of them
accused of horrible crimes,
some accused of terrorism,
murder and kidnapping,
and in every case the U.S.
government has decided to
welcome them.”
In Cuba’s first detailed
public response to Obama’s
historic
announcement
last week, Vidal said Cuba
is open to all of Obama’s
moves to improve relations
and strengthen private enterprise and civil society
on the island. That includes
U.S. equipment to improve
the Cuban Internet and U.S.
exports to Cuba’s new class
of private business owners.
“Our president has
said we welcome President
Obama’s decision to introduce the most significant
changes in relations with
Cuba in 54 years,” Vidal
said. “That includes the entire package.”
Cuba has historically
imposed heavy regulations
on the Internet and private
business as it has blamed
the U.S. embargo for the
problems of the island’s
stagnant economy.
18 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
caribtimes.com
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
Monday’s Sudoku Solution
19
SUDOKU
C R O S S WO R D
Across
1. Former Venetian coin
5. Acknowledges applause
9. Allays
14. Desire deified
15. Song for Callas
16. Deplete
17. Rainier locale
20. Hereditary stuff
21. Game with matadors
22. Thought
23. Storm start
24. One destined to receive?
25. Italian tenor of note
28. New Year’s Eve word
29. Withdraw (with ‘’out’’)
32. They have pull
33. Breathing apparatus
35. One who leers
37. A capital place
40. Standoffish
41. Denuded
42. Barnstorming feat
43. Flat sound
44. Fall short
46. Witchlike women
48. Gulf War missile
49. Large, round wicker basket
50. It can be concealed
53. Computer symbol
54. Stable bit?
57. Canadian industrial center
60. City on the Penobscot
61. God’s was little, in fiction
62. Reading aid
63. One who wants to know
something
64. ‘’We the Living’’ author
65. Last word in an ultimatum
Down
1. Beyond risque
2. It’s south of Georgia?
3. Historic Parks
4. Type of tray
5. Wad
6. It plays in church
7. Olympic skating gold-medalist
8. Paulo lead-in
9. Oater saloon feature
10. Awake and moving about
11. Meat type
12. Trumpet accessory
13. Risked getting points
18. ‘’Stupid ___ stupid does’’
19. ‘’The First ___’’
23. Con game
24. More gargantuan
25. Pepsi and Coke, but not
7UP
26. Botanical angles
27. Attorney general and Nevada city
28. Yearly record
29. Pole-vaulter Billy
30. Superior grade of black
tea
31. Word with booby or sand
34. Not an auctioned suit, in
cards
36. Lively dance in duple time
38. Bawdy
39. Appeared inviting
45. ‘’Travels With My ___’’
(Graham Greene)
47. Use and return for money
48. Quill, e.g.
49. Show contempt toward
50. Horse halter
51. ‘’I’m all ___’’
52. Without self-control
53. Peruvian Indian
54. Like some confessions
55. Uses a scope
56. Drink like a fish
58. Pole for propelling
59. Hearty drink
20 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
“The Inter-School Recycling Competition starts again in
January 2015! Interested schools may contact the Environment Division at 562-2568 by January 10th, 2015. Remember Recycling is a good habit! Pick it up!”If you have any
questions please feel free to contact me at 464-8157.
“The life you save could be someone you know”
Antigua & Barbuda Red Cross Is Offering Certified FIRST
AID/CPR Training Course Mondays and Thursdays 5:00pm
to 8:00pm Starting on Thursday January 12th, 2015 For Further Information: Call Tel # 462 0800/ 771-8253
Employment
Cashier/ Administrative Assistant needed. Must be fully
qualified with cxc subjects including math and English.
Apply in person at Shoe Palace on Redcliffe Street with
resume. Tel number 462-2362.
Domestic helper needed. Must have experience in similar
job. Apply in person at Shoe Palace on Redcliffe Street or
call 726-0374.
Driver/Handyman needed. Must be able to drive manual
vehicle with a valid drivers license. Apply in person with
an application at Antigua Fisheries Limited on Market
Street.
The Ministry of Education wishes to advise the General
Public of its closure of the Ministry’s Headquarters from
23rd December 2014, to accommodate minor repairs and
the spraying for termite infestation. Normal operations will
return on Monday 29th December, 2014. Please be guided
accordingly.
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
caribtimes.com
21
DEAR LADY X HOROSCOPE
My husband took up
the guitar about 10 years
ago. I thought it was a
great idea at first and encouraged his interest.
Within two years of his
learning to play, I was expected to sit, listen to him
and never interrupt a song.
Needless to say, his demands have not gone over
well with me.
This is his hobby, not
mine. He plays well, but
can’t sing a note. When he
does, he sounds like a cat
in heat, and he likes to perform like he’s playing for
a crowd.
My peace and quiet at home are gone. He
says I don’t support him.
What is your take on this?
-- WANTS PEACE AND
QUIET
DEAR WANTS: Your
husband wants praise and
validation, and you should
give it to him in the area
where it’s deserved -- for
having mastered the guitar.
However, because his
singing needs tweaking, be
honest and tactfully suggest he find a vocal coach
to help him in that area.
If he reacts defensively, be sure to mention that
some of the finest singers
in the world get coaching
throughout their careers to
avoid damaging their vocal cords.
PS.
Perhaps
you
should encourage him to
find other musicians to
start a group. That way,
he’ll have an outlet for his
talent and you’ll be free (at
last!).
Monday’s Crossword Solution
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
If you’re not sure what you
want to say, now is the time
to think it through. Your message will come through loud
and clear, so make sure it’s
the one you want to broadcast.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
It will be a day of reversals.
Men will act like little children, and little children will
act like men. You can’t predict the outcome, but you can
choose the journey.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
You provide for basic human
needs — for instance, the
basic need to be listened to.
Eye contact, human touch,
a feeling of belonging — in
giving these things, you’ll be
a hero.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.
21). Because of the strains
of your profession and/or the
criticism to which you are
so often exposed, it will be
important to actively seek to
reduce your stress. You deserve some comfort.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
It’s very possible that you’ve
surrounded yourself with
narcissists. Therefore, don’t
expect them to see what
you’ve done. Don’t wait for
them to notice your accomplishments, big or small.
Privately acknowledge and
praise yourself.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21). Your creativity is
a precious gift. It comes so
easily to you that you don’t
realize what’s needed to
keep it going strong. A stable
home life is important to the
balance.
CANCER (June 22-July 22).
The habits you’ve kicked
once or twice will require
your attention again. Maybe
there’s a better way. For instance, what would happen if
you just turned and ran?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You
find it very easy to be patient
when you’re reasonably sure
you’ll get your way in the
end. However, when you’re
unsure about the outcome,
it is very difficult to wait
around.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
“Perfect” isn’t. When a thing
is refined to the highest degree, the next stage is that it’s
spoiled. Therefore, do not
aim for perfection. Do your
best, and let it be.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). In movies, relationships
often start with fights. In
real life, people who don’t
get along at first seldom get
along later. You’ll appreciate
the early stages of a relationship, for better or worse.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). You’re sure of yourself
and won’t be inclined to discuss your position or direction. When you don’t expect
anything, you will be able to
recognize and welcome what
comes, which isn’t bad at all!
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). They will try to control you, but don’t let them.
Though you are an integral
part of a team, you are also
free to act as an individual,
beholden to no one but yourself.
22 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
cont’d from pg 24
porters.
“We should be having
that little bit of confidence
from the last time we won
but having said that, cricket plays on the day and everyone needs to come up
with their A game.
“We’re 1-0 down in
the series and it is tough
to beat this South African
team which is the number
one team [in the World]
but I think we have some
fight in us and we can give
them a good fight down in
Port Elizabeth.”
West Indies put in a
poor showing all-round at
Centurion. They reduced
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
the hosts to 57 for three
after winning the toss and
bowling in good conditions, but allowed captain
Hashim Amla (208) and
AB de Villiers (152) to
add a record 308 for the
fourth wicket and propel
South Africa to 552 for
five declared in their first
innings.
In reply, the Windies
were dismissed for 201 in
their first innings and following on, were bundled
out for 131, to suffer their
heaviest defeat in South
Africa.
“The first hour, on the
first day of the Test match
was good, getting three
wickets for a little bit of
runs [but] we didn’t assess it well going forward.
Hashim Amla and AB de
Villiers came together and
had a brilliant partnership
and we didn’t bowl in
the areas we want to that
would have created more
opportunities,” Ramdin
said.
“Having Kemar Roach
out was a blow for us and
we had to make up with
the other guys,” he added,
referring to Roach’s ankle
injury in the final session
of the opening day that
ruled him out of the series.
Ramdin said the West
Indies attack was good
enough to bowl South Africa out twice but needed
to be disciplined.
“I believe we have
the resources, I just believe we need to adjust to
the pitches here. I think
we bowled too short,” he
contended.
“The results that we
got on the first morning of
the Test match, guys got
caught behind and if you
look back at it, you can
say we were [guilty] of
bowling too short to AB
de Villiers and Hashim
Amla [allowing them] to
score square of the wicket.”
caribtimes.com
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
23
Lawyer claims trio victimized by WICB
BRIDGETOWN,
Barbados,
CMC – A prominent lawyer retained
by some West Indies players during
the recent strike impasse, has accused
the West Indies Cricket Board of victimisation in the axing of the experienced trio of Dwayne Bravo, Darren
Sammy and Kieron Pollard from the
one-day squad to face South Africa.
Barbadian Ralph Thorne QC,
who still represents Bravo, said his
client had been “wronged” and he
would “await his instructions” before
deciding on the next move.
Bravo, Sammy and Pollard were
members of the one-day side which
took the controversial decision to quit
the tour of India last October, sparking a bitter impasse with the WICB
and players union, WIPA.
“The demotions of Bravo, Sammy and Pollard exclusively to the T20
team reveals evidence of the victimisation that we have fought against,”
Thorne told the Sunday Sun newspaper here.
“A region’s best cricketers normally wind down their careers by
moving to the longer versions of the
game. The WICB is reversing that
trend by sending its most senior players in the opposite direction.
23 December 2014
“Until these selections and deselections make sense, we will have to
continue to accuse the WICB of victimisation.”
Bravo served as the players’
spokesman on the ill-fated tour of
India, a role that brought him into
conflict with the WICB and WIPA
president and chief executive, Wavell
Hinds. Appointed to lead the ODI side
last year May, Bravo was dumped
in favour of 23-year-old emerging
all-rounder Jason Holder for the South
Africa series starting next month, and
is now unlikely to be selected for the
World Cup in Australia and New Zealand bowling off in February.
In the wake of the abandoned tour,
the WICB appointed a three-man task
force to investigate the circumstances
surrounding the players’ controversial
action. The task force, headed by Michael Gordon QC and which submitted its report to the board a week ago,
said the WICB, WIPA and the player
were all to be blamed.
“The chairman of the task force
told me in writing that they had no
powers of coercion nor sanction
against any player,” Thorne said.
“I will not reasonably conclude
that in spite of his assurances, the
Until 27 December 2014
WICB has exploited portions of the
report to dismiss Bravo.”
He added: “When Mr Bravo telephoned me this week from Australia
we knew that the WICB was about to
do him wrong. Still I was hoping they
would not have wronged my client in
this way.
“Mr Bravo has been victimized
and I will await his instructions before I act further. In the meantime, I
will also await the position of WIPA
on this matter.”
The 31-year-old Bravo has played
164 ODIs, scoring 2968 runs at an average of 25 and taking 199 wickets at
29.51 apiece. Since taking over ahead
of last year’s Champions Trophy in
England, Bravo has led the West Indies to series victories only over minnows Ireland – a one-off game in Jamaica – and over Bangladesh, ranked
number nine in the World.
Pollard, meanwhile, averages 25
with the bat from 91 ODIs while Sammy averages 23 from 115 matches,
and has taken 79 wickets at 44 apiece.
Despite their exclusion from the
ODI squad, all three players have remained a part of the Twenty20 set-up
for the three-match series in South
Africa.
29 December 2014
24 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Tuesday 23rd December 2014
Hill Top deal a severe body blow
to First Division Leaders Bullets
By Vanroy Burnes
Hill Top dealt a severe
body blow to front runners
of the ABFA First Division
Sani-Pro Bullets beating
them 2 goals to nil in their
own back yard yesterday.
Playing in front of
a large spectator crowd
watching from all directions Hill Top looks the
better team throughout the
match, even though Bullets
applied some serious pressure in the latter minutes of
the game.
Hill Top opens their account in the 30th minute by
YAFU Lake which was the
only goal of the first half.
On resumption both teams
came out looking for goals,
but it was Hill Top through
YAFU Lake again who
found the back of the net
from a low cross from the
right by Chad Vidal which
lake put away beating the
diving Bullets Goalkeeper
a defenders.
In other matches, Potters Tigers beat Lion Hill 4
goals to 2 at Golden Grove.
Lloyd Jeremy scored twice
in the 27th and 80 plus 1 minutes, Jeymore Brown and
Chava Mc Dougal scored
in the 49th and 43 minutes
respectively for Potters Tigers, while O’Neal Brown
and Wayne Brown scored
for Lion Hill in the 62nd and
78th minute respectively.
English Harbor and
Glanville’s played to a
draw of 3 goals each. Kylan
Cabral scored all 3 goals for
English Harbor and Tarrick
Prince scored all 3 goals for
Glanville’s.
Hill Top victory pushes them to 30 points still 5
points behind leaders Bullets, Potters Tigers victory
pushes them to 28 points,
while English Harbor and
Glanville’s moves up a
points each to 23 and 22 respectively.
The first division con-
tinues on Tuesday with 3
matches. Willikies will be
at home to Liberta, Seven
Seas All Saints United will
also be at home to Celtics, While Cool & Smooth
Empire will host Sea View
Farm at King George.
In second divison action on Monday, Police defaulted to Tryum. However
on Tuesday in the second
division, Golden Grove
will take on 5PS at Golden
Grove.
Ramdin: WI not out of it yet
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa,
CMC – Captain Denesh Ramdin has
warned detractors not to write West Indies off just yet.
The tourists were humiliated by
an innings and 220 runs on the fourth
morning of the opening Test at Centurion on Saturday, to send them 1-0 down
in the three-Test series.
West Indies now head into the second Test starting Boxing Day in Port
Elizabeth, a venue where West Indies
pulled off their only success on their
last tour of South Africa seven years
ago, when they won by 128 runs.
Ramdin is taking hope from that
performance.
“Our last memory there we won
a Test match and from this game, we
would like to take some of the positives
when we go down there,” he told recont’d on pg 22
Caribbean Times is printed and published at Woods Estate /Friars Hill Road By Kimon Drigo who is also the Editor and resides at
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