Belize City, May 16, 2013 In a rushed and shameless attempt to carry out late and last minute repairs to village roads in order to win votes in the upcoming village council elections, a UDP politician’s construction company desecrated a world-recognised Mayan site. An entire week after Denny Grijalva’s heavy-duty equipment was caught by CTV-3 News of Orange Walk clawing desperately into the 2,300 year old Mayan mound known as Noh Mul for the removal of limestone, no one has been detained nor charged. It appears that because this case involves a UDP politician and because the embattled Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega is implicated, the wheels of justice are barely turning. There has been global outrage at the act. Countless international news agencies, from CNN to Fox News, NBC and National Geographic, have reported on the incident, accusing Belizeans of having lost respect for the kind of cultural heritage treated as treasures elsewhere. The two men involved – Grijalva and Vega – have put out lame and half-baked excuses. The Deputy Prime Minister has thrown Grijalva under the bus. Vega has gone on record to claim that his Ministry did not issue a license to excavate the Noh Mul site. But Vega has not explained who gave permission to Grijalva or whether he was aware that the former pastor/UDP politician had been given orders to repair roads in his Orange Walk North constituency. We doubt he was oblivious to this fact, as Vega has been boasting about repairing roads to his constituents. Grijalva accepted responsibility for the “very unfortunate incident” in a statement issued yesterday afternoon. He claimed ignorance about what was going on and said his foreman who operated the machinery on top of the mound sought permission for the private landowner before excavating the site. Grijalva seemed to justify the act by claiming that excavation has been going on at the site for about a decade. The UDP has been in office for almost six years. Guilty! In the public’s view, all persons involved in the demolition of the Mayan mound must face severe punishment. Grijalva’s acceptance of the “condemnation” is evidence that he is principally involved. Section 61 of the National Institute of Culture and History Act states that anyone who removes “earth or stone” from any ancient monument without a permit is liable to a fine of ...

Not funny… I’m generally a happy, jovial sort of guy, content to poke fun at others. Hell, when I get bored enough I even poke fun at myself, just to show you what a genuinely joyful person I am. But this week’s column won’t be hilarious or cute or even hilariously cute. This isn’t the time for that. The mocha monster otherwise known as Dean Oliver and a whole other mess of less complimentary names wants to call general elections sooner, rather than later. No worries, mini-Mugabe…we ain’t never scared. Belizeans know that Dean O only has one game plan and the fear is that his election strategy will be to try and steal this one. We gotta turn up the heat just a notch, don’t we? ……………………. You smelling it yet? The mocha dude kicked off his tour way up north in Corozal Southeast and to be nice to our beloved PM let’s just say it was a monumental, catastrophic, gargantuan flop! Of course this should be no surprise at all, since the smooth talking, pontificating PM ain’t never been liked up north. Hell, who can even understand half of the words coming out of his mouth? Check it out…the red brigade pulled out all the politicos from the north, all the paid generals and paid foot-soldiers and all the lackeys and still couldn’t assemble more than 200 people. I got a little worried when I watched Jules’ news story on Channel 7 and he made mention of buses streaming in – then I realized that the fellow must have been caught in traffic by the Corozal Bus Terminal and saw commuter buses heading to Chetumal and he got confused. No worries Jules, we understand. But yeah, I can’t imagine the mocha man being too pleased with the reception he got. But I figure by the time he visits a couple other destinations he’ll be used to it for sure… ………………………. You’ve gotta be kidding… I mean, seriously? The idiots in red have launched a series of pre-election campaign ads which have left me dumbfounded. Now my few friends will tell you that I am frequently dumb, but very rarely dumbfounded. Look at the one on health, for example. According to the UDP, they have made amazing strides in health since 2008. I have no doubt that came as a great surprise to Minister of Health Pablo Marin. Hell, it came as a surprise to Belizeans ...

The UDP Cabinet of political and intellectual dunces is not only considered a joke and a farce by many Belizeans, but this week will go down in the archives as this newspaper’s Hypocrites of the Week. Collectively, the Cabinet holds tremendous decision making power in the country, and with that power a tremendous responsibility to the people of this nation. That body of dim-bulbs has taken all our people for fools and is running Belize into the ground. While so many issues have been hitting Belizeans daily, the Cabinet has remained for the most part blind, deaf and mute. Our people have been faced with a crippling economic recession, rising cost of living, steadily rising fuel costs, education crises, the Kendall Bridge, crises in health and allegations of corruption in almost every department and level of government. Cabinet has said nothing. When our nation was dubbed the murder capital of the world by the Economist, Cabinet said nothing. As grenades exploded in our streets and Belizeans experienced a new era of urban terrorism, Cabinet said nothing. As our young men were gunned down daily and innocent victims lay paralyzed by stray bullets, our Cabinet said nothing. Despite week after week of the most stunning revelations of misappropriation of funds and corruption in the Belize City Council, Cabinet said nothing. Even now the City Council is embroiled in the latest round of scandal and missing money, and Cabinet has said nothing. So many issues, so much suffering by our people and Cabinet has said nothing. Instead, every week a sentence or two on a Cabinet release revealed that our Ministers had discussed the latest gala that would be attended by the Prime Minister abroad, or who would be acting in his absence, or World Food Day. Petty nonsense discussed by our Cabinet while our people are bombarded with critical issues. Now we understand that while our military has had to take to the streets to rein in crime, the discussion in Cabinet was about a liquor license issued to former UDP National Campaign Manager Karim Berges. We understand that while our streets are now filled with BDF soldiers wielding machine guns because our Police Department couldn’t handle the job, our Ministers were fully engaged in jostling over whether Mr. Berges should get a license or not. Our Cabinet of Hypocrites and fools should be ...

Belize City, May 13, 2013 Strange activity is taking place within an environmentally sensitive area along Belize City’s northside shoreline. Construction workers have set up camp and are digging into the ground, preparing to erect an unknown structure, next to Dolphin Park on Seashore Drive in the Caribbean Shores area. Several weeks ago, 7 News had inquired into the goings on at the site and the explanation given back then was that the area would be used as “storage” for construction equipment. The area is designated as a mangrove reserve, but no reason was given as to how it came to be that the public space was occupied by unknown private interests. The storage area now appears to be a fully-operational work site as the men enclosed the area with chain link fence and have begun physical work. A large container sits at the site. Holes can be seen in the ground. Steel pipes and concrete beams lay nearby. What’s going on at this location? Some years ago, residents fought for its preservation when a local businessman attempted to construct a boat marina and three-storey complex. The residents said the shoreline is a natural habitat, with its mangrove patches along the coast. The area designated for a community park, was named Dolphin Park, after constant citing of the beautiful Dolphins. Can the Belize City Mayor explain what is taking place? Will the Department of Environment investigate? Are the residents, which includes the Prime Minister, concerned?

[caption id="attachment_17091" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Lennox Bowman scored 17pts"][/caption] Belize City, May 11, 2013 Oceana No Limits enjoyed their 3rd win 106-103 over the Department of Youth Services on Saturday night. Greg “Chippy” Rudon led with 36 points while Jacob “Snake” Leslie added 24 points, Brandon Rogers had 15 points and Russel Staine added 14pts. Vinnie Garbutt tossed in 12 points, Robert Ferguson was good for 5pts and Rhetton Belisle tossed in a bucket. Oceana led from the getgo, even as Brian “Brybo” White led Youth Services with 24 points, 11 rebounds. Kenroy Usher added 22 points, Junior Arnold had 20 points and Lennox bowman added 17pts. Chris McGann tossed in 6pts and Arthur Neal had 4 points 11 rebounds. CYDP’s 3rd win came against the Allied Insurance Abyssinians on Saturday evening. Abyssinians led 24-21 in the 1st quarter and 38-35 at the half as Darwin Leslie scored 19 points, Rupert Brown added 19 points, and Roscoe Rhys scored 17 points. CYDP’s Bernard Felix rebounded with 26 points and 8 rebounds; Leroy Louriano added 17 points and 5 rebounds and Ian Lennon and Matthew Young each added 12 points. Young grabbed 18 rebounds to tie the score 58-58 in the 3rd quarter. Abyssinians’ Paul Swasey scored 9 points, Michael Staine added 8 points; but CYDP’s Jermian Tillett scored 11 points and Alfred Bainton added 5 points in their 86-81 win. Other matches: CYDP vs. Department of Youth Services – 75-74 Top scorers: Lennox Bowman 21pts, Brian White 15pts; Bernard Felix 15pts, Matthew Young 13pts Police vs. Belize Telemedia – 83-59 Top scorers: Orlando Bowen 18pts, Sheldon Williams 14pts; Lupito Acosta 18pts, Devon Lozano, 12pts Tuff e’Nuff vs. Sir Belikin – 103-83 Top scorers: Winston “Air Jun” Pratt 25pts; Jamal Kelly 14pts Sir Belikin vs. Belize Telemedia – 84-80 Top scorers: Travis Lennon 24pts, Stephen “Muerte” Williams 19pts, Leon “Bigs” Williams 13pts, Jarrel Velasquez, 12pts Oceana No Limits vs. Allied Insurance Abyssinians – 101-92 Top scorers: Jacob “Snake” Leslie 28pts, Vinnie Garbutt 19pts, Darwin “Puppy” Leslie 29pts

1.      Considering that the Minister of Immigration has declared that there will be no more visas issued from Havana, would he be willing to disclose just how many visas have been issued so far by UDP Ambassador to Cuba Said ‘Badi’ Guerra and to whom? 2.      Would the Minister of National Security be able to confirm or deny reports that an employee of his Ministry who is married to the younger sister of another UDP Minister and also works in that Ministry handled the rental of the vans which carried the smuggled Chinese nationals to their border crossing up north? 3.      Would the Minister of Police be willing to provide details of his so-called investigation into the Civil Aviation Department which is managed by his brother? And would the Minister further be able to respond to allegations that he cleared the Civil Aviation Department before an actual investigation was even conducted? 4.      Would the Prime Minister be able to say when his handpicked Music Ambassador who is also his son and enjoys all diplomatic perks will produce the promised song about Belize, or in fact do anything at all which can classify as representation of our nation?