Articles

Former Attorney General David Ballantyne left the Cayman Islands last Tuesday afternoon to commence his life elsewhere without the ceremony normally bestowed on a departing dignitary.

Mr. David Ballantyne

Mr. Ballantyne resigned his post on 15 March after being censured by the Cayman Islands Government for his role in the failed Euro Bank trial.

It was alleged that Mr. Ballantyne was aware that Brian Gibbs, the former head of the Cayman Islands Financial Reporting Unit and a key witness in the trial, was working along with a UK MI6 agent to obstruct justice. Mr. Gibbs admitted to destroying evidence in the case on the orders of a "controlling agent," but rejected claims that he was involved in other illegal activities such as telephone tapping. Mr. Ballantyne steadfastly denied any knowledge of Mr. Gibbs' actions, and any wrongdoing whatsoever in the trial.

Contacted by telephone shortly before his departure, Mr. Ballantyne politely declined comment but suggested Cayman Net News view records of the UK House of Lords proceedings of 17 March.

In the official written Hansard Report of that day, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr. Mike O'Brien, is on record as saying he had been informed that "press allegations that Mr. Ballantyne had prior knowledge of or had approved the destruction of evidence which led to the collapse of the Euro Bank trial are inaccurate. The evidence is that he acted to ensure the disclosure of all relevant information to the defence in order to secure a fair trial, and acted properly in bringing the trial to an end when he concluded that a fair trial could not be ensured."

Mr. O'Brien then went on to say the UK Government had, in effect, absolved Mr. Ballantyne from any wrongdoing. "Her Majesty's Government are satisfied that Mr. Ballantyne has throughout acted with professional integrity and in the best interests of the administration of justice in the Cayman Islands."

The report concluded by saying that "press reports suggesting that Baroness Amos agreed, on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, to the dismissal from office of Mr. Ballantyne are also incorrect. The independence and security of tenure of the Attorney General is constitutionally protected in the Cayman Islands."

Mr. Ballantyne accepted a lump sum pay-off of CI$295,000 for the two years remaining on his contract, and was indemnified for any claim arising from his official capacity. The UK newspaper the Times wrote in an article in March that close confidants of Mr. Ballantyne said he was "devastated" by the allegations of his wrongdoing.

While Mr. Ballantyne's plans for the future are not known for certain, sources have indicated that a judgeship in his native Scotland is a possibility, as is a post with UK Foreign Commonwealth Office.

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The Earl and Countess of Wessex's Agenda

Their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Wessex

Their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Wessex arrive on Friday, 9 May, for a busy three-day visit which will give them a panoramic view of Cayman's historical, cultural, social and environmental protection activities and programmes. Cayman's celebration of its maritime history in this 500th year of recorded history will be a prominent feature of their visit.

The Earl and Countess are visiting on invitation of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as part of the Quincentennial Celebrations marking the Islands' first sighting by Columbus on May 10, 1503.

Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex, is the third son and youngest child of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. He was born on 10 March 1964 and christened Edward Antony Richard Louis at Buckingham Palace. The most recent visit to the Cayman Islands of other Members of the Royal Family was in March 2000, when his brother, The Duke of York, visited. HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visited the Cayman Islands in 1983 and 1994. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visited in 1962 and in 1998.

Quincentennial Activities

Launching their programme of quincentennial activities shortly after their arrival on Friday (9th), TRHs The Earl and Countess will unveil the Wall of Distinction, honouring 600 lifetime achievers, at the West Bay Town Hall. On Saturday (10th) they will unveil the Wall of History, on Albert Panton Street. The Wall of History will depict scenes from 500 years of Cayman's history.

Other quincentennial events will have a strong maritime flavour, as Cayman honours its seafaring traditions. These will include the unveiling of the Mariners' Memorial, next to Fort St.

In close proximity, the Seafarers' Festival moves centre stage as The Earl and Countess tour exhibits on display at the Port compound. On Sunday, The Earl will read the first lesson at a service honouring the islands' seafarers, at the Elmslie Memorial Church.

As part of Little Cayman's quincentennial agenda, The Earl and Countess will officially open the Blossom Village Park, in recognition of Christopher Columbus' first sighting of the two Sister Islands in 1503. The Sister Islands' National Trust will be developing the one-acre site as a community park.

Providing some background on the Islands' historical and cultural features being celebrated during this quincentennial year, the Museum will be the scene of a brief visit on Saturday. There, the royal couple will view natural and cultural history exhibits as well as the display covering the 1932 storm, the Islands' most devastating foray with severe weather, when some 109 persons lost their lives. While there, the royal couple will view, from the vantage point of the Museum's balcony, the QCO's parade of tall ships in the George Town Harbour. The six tall ships, docked in the George Town Harbour, will be open for public tours.

On Monday, The Earl and Countess will learn first hand about Pedro Castle's historic significance. The Castle was the site of Cayman's first Legislative Assembly meeting.

Social Welfare and Health-related Visits

Shifting gears, The Earl and Countess will have a peek inside Cayman's active social welfare agenda when they officiate in Saturday's (10th) opening of the new National Council of Voluntary Organisations' (NCVO) Nadine Andreas Residential Foster Home on Grand Cayman. The following day in Cayman Brac, they will visit the Kirkconnell Community Care Centre and the Faith Hospital. While on the Brac, also, The Earl and Countess will officiate in the opening of that island's Veteran and Seamen's Centre. The Duke of York had dedicated the site on his March 2000 visit to Cayman Brac.

Environmental Protection

Environmental protection activities on Grand Cayman and on the Sister Islands also feature high on the agenda. On Grand Cayman, TRHs The Earl and Countess of Wessex will officiate in the inauguration of the Barkers National Park on Saturday (10th). The Barkers Park covers 261 terrestrial acres and 2,036 marine acres, for a total of 2,298 acres. As the first national park this area will be the cornerstone of a national system of protected areas.
Within the park's boundary is a prime example of low elevation Caribbean beach ridge forest that provides essential storm protection for the area. Offshore, the mangrove sea-grass, coral-reef continuum is critical to the ecological health of the adjacent North Sound and the surrounding reef.

The couple will fly to Cayman Brac on Sunday, where they will take a close look at some of that island's natural terrain, viewing it from the 600-ft boardwalk into the still-intact forest bordering the Bight Road, one of that island's "Nature Tourism" projects. Initiated in 1997, the Nature Tourism Programme aims to develop the necessary infrastructure for land-based tourism attractions while retaining the natural environment as much as possible.
On Little Cayman, The Earl and Countess will officiate in the opening of one of that island's FCO-funded Nature Tourism projects. The Earl will put the final screw into a memorial plaque on a raised platform on the edge of the westerly wetlands, where efforts to protect the eco system while developing it into a tourism attraction have been underway over the last three years.

The ribbon-cutting and site dedication ceremony for the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) will follow on the north side of Little Cayman. The site will be the home of a marine research and education centre, which aims to provide maritime research and educational facilities and programmes regionally.

The Little Cayman National Trust Building sits on the edge of wetlands protected under the UN Ramsar Convention. It is home to the Red-Footed Booby, which the royal couple will view on their visit to the trust's offices.

Presentation of Honours and Awards

Among other official duties The Earl will on Saturday afternoon present medals to persons named in The Queen's Birthday (2002) and 2003 New Year's Honours lists. The Earl will also honour a project dear to his father HRH Prince Philip's heart, as he officiates at The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme's presentation ceremony shortly before the couple leave on Monday (12th) to continue their regional visits. In 1986 The Earl of Wessex achieved Gold in The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and since then he has been closely involved with the work of the Award. His Royal Highness has done much to raise the award's profile and to raise funds.

Meeting the People

Within this busy agenda, TRHs The Earl and Countess will take time to meet and speak with people from all walks of life. Residents in the eastern districts on Grand Cayman will have an opportunity to do just that Monday morning, when the couple will visit civic centres in Bodden Town, East End and North Side.

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Significant Boost to Scholarship Foundation

Pictured during the presentation in the presence of the Leader of Government Business, the Hon. McKeeva Bush (from left) were the Hon. George McCarthy, Mr. Ian Kilpatrick, Mr. Tom Clark and Mr. Mike Gibb.

The Insurance Managers Association of Cayman (IMAC) is pleased to announce that due to the extreme generosity of one of their members, they are now able to offer an additional scholarship to a worthy Caymanian for a course of study related to the financial services industry.

During the traditional dinner between the insurance managers and Government representatives at the start of the recent Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) convention in Chicago Mr. Ian Kilpatrick, President and owner of Crusader International Management (Cayman) Ltd. announced that he was personally donating the sum of US$75,000 to the Insurance Managers' Educational Scholarship Foundation.

Commenting on his donation, Mr. Kilpatrick said "After years in Cayman's financial industry, I was so reassured by the very positive comments from Minister Bush and the Hon. Financial Secretary with regard to Government's commitment to the future of Cayman's financial industry, I felt it was the right time to make this donation."

Mr. Kilpatrick said he was privileged to have spent the last 30 years in Cayman, working for most of that time within the captive insurance industry, and he could think of no better way of showing his gratitude than by offering the opportunity to a young Caymanian to receive an university education, which hopefully would provide the candidate with the foundation to build a career within Cayman's successful financial industry.

The Educational Scholarship Foundation was formed in 1994 to assist with the post-high school education of young Caymanians. Contributions are derived from IMAC itself, as well as the individual insurance management firms and the actual captive insurance companies themselves. It is the intention that the funds available will be used where they can provide most benefit, with preference given to a student studying a business related course.
So far, the Fund has assisted Mesha Scott from Cayman Brac, who successfully completed a United World Colleges degree at Atlantic College in Wales; Dorothy Scott from George Town, who studied at the Armand Hammer College, in New Mexico, U.S.A., before going on to study law at the London School of Economics; Bradley Erskine who studied for a Finance degree at Florida International University, and Tuda Murphy a degree at King College in Tennessee.

Tiffany Anderson of Bodden Town is the current recipient of a full 3-year scholarship awarded by the Foundation. The Scholarship, worth US$75,000, enabled Tiffany to study for a BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance at South Bank University in London, where she is now in her final year. Tiffany wishes to become a Certified Accountant once her studies are completed.

The Foundation is currently advertising for suitable candidates planning to attend university in September of this year, and as a result of this donation, should now be able to award two scholarships rather than just one. Application forms can be obtained from Mr. Tom Clark at HSBC Financial Services, P O Box 1109GT, Grand Cayman.

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World report

China President Hu Jintao

China's President Hu Jintao regards SARS as "global disaster"

WASHINGTON (AFP) - China's leader Hu Jintao regards SARS as a "disaster" afflicting not just his country but "potentially the entire world," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said after a visit to China.

"President Hu Jintao said this is a disaster of not only China, but potentially of the entire world," said the Tennessee senator, who visited China during Congress' two-week spring break, which ended last Tuesday.

"That was something that they simply had not said before," said Frist, the only member of the Senate who is also a medical doctor.

Frist said that Beijing, initially slow to publicly acknowledge the outbreak, is now fully aware of its magnitude.

Iran actress: 74 lashes for public kiss

TEHRAN (UPI) -- A court in Iran has sentenced an actress to 74 suspended lashes for kissing a male filmmaker on a public podium, press reports said.

Gohar Kheirandish, a veteran star of Iranian cinema who is in her 50s, had kissed Ali Zamani, 24, on the forehead and shaken his hands during an awards ceremony held in the central city of Yazd in November.

Kheirandish had later been quoted as saying that her gesture, which sparked protests from religious hardliners, was a spontaneous show of maternal affection. She also apologized for the foul-up, winning herself a suspended flogging.

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News

Quincentennial Celebrations in full Swing

A three-day Seafarers Festival, the royal visit of TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex and the unveiling and dedication of the Quincentennial Wall of History are among major events planned to commemorate the birthday weekend of the
Cayman Islands, as the country continues to celebrate the 500th anniversary of its sighting on 10th May, 1503.

Seafarers Festival, one of the signature events of the Quincentennial Celebrations, commemorates the maritime heritage of the Cayman Islands and will be held from 9-11th May, downtown George Town.

The Festival kicks off with a fireworks display and will include a Seafarers Regatta, street dances featuring the Barbadian soca band Krosfyah and local bands Cloudburst and Heat, performances by fiddler Yvonne Hernandez the Grand North American fiddle champion, a display of old Caymanian traditions such as quadrille dancing, kitchen dances, maypole plaiting and country music by Dexter Bodden.

Six tall ships the Raindancer II, Meka II, Nina, Schooner Larinda, Schooner Serenity and Schooner Wolf will be docked in George Town harbour for the festival and will be open for tours by the public.

A large section of the downtown waterfront will be given a new look for the festival. Along Harbour Drive, the fence alongside the Elmslie Memorial Church will be converted into "Memory Lane" -- a wall of life-size photo reproductions depicting scenes from Cayman's past.

The area to the right of the Port Authority building will depict an old Caymanian fishing village, with exterior façade of representations of old Caymanian homes. Inside the village, the public will have access to a variety of Caymanian food stalls, old sailors tying knots, and other activities including rope-making and storytelling.

The Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward) will officially open the festival on Saturday, 10th May, and dedicate the Mariners Memorial next to Fort St. George. At noon that day the Prince will ring the bell, signifying the start of the Seafarer's Regatta.

The royal couple will arrive in Grand Cayman on 9th May, and will perform a number of official duties on all three islands, before departing for Jamaica on 12th May.

Shortly after their arrival, The Earl and Countess of Wessex will unveil the West Bay Wall of Distinction, a monument containing the names of some 600 West Bay Lifetime Achievers who have been honoured for their outstanding contribution to the district and the Cayman Islands. In West Bay, he will also participate in the inauguration of Barkers Park.

Prior to the opening of Seafarers Festival, Prince Edward will unveil and dedicate the Quincentennial Wall of History a mural depicting scenes from 500 years of Cayman's history at Albert Panton Street, next to the Court House.
The royal couple will also attend a special church service at the Elmslie Memorial Church on
Sunday, 11th May, after which they will depart for Cayman Brac.

Their public appearances on Cayman Brac include opening the Veteran and Seamen's Centre, a tour of Faith Hospital and meeting staff and residents at the Kirkconnell Community Care Centre.

On Little Cayman that same day, the Prince will officially open Blossom Village Park, and the FCO-funded nature tourism project.

TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex will also cut the ribbon to dedicate the site of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute, and will visit the Little Cayman National Trust House and Red Foot Booby Ramsar site.
The royal couple will return to Grand Cayman on Sunday, and on Monday, 12th May, will tour the island, including stops at Pedro St. James, Bodden Town, East End and North Side.

Later that day the Prince will participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award presentation at Government House, where five recipients will be the centrepiece of the Cayman Islands Quincentennial celebrations.

The day promises a wide range of events highlighted by a Seafarer's Regatta, a Parade of Sail and dedication of the Wall of History by Prince Edward.

Events begin Thursday, 8 May, when the tall ships are opened for tours by special groups and go through to Sunday when celebrations end with a gospel concert at Harbour Front and a Candle Boat-Lighting in Hog Sty Bay.

Prince's Edwards involvement begins Saturday with the Wall of History Dedication, followed by an official opening of the Seafarers Festival and a walk through the Fishing Village. By noon that day the Prince will be pulling the cannon to begin the Seafarer's Regatta.

Opening of the Seafarer's Festival by Prince Edward will let loose a number of activities ranging from Fishing Village displays and the operating of food and drink stalls, in this area of historic recreation of the Caymanian life of times gone by, to model boat races, storytelling, and rope making.

That afternoon on Cardinall Avenue there will be performances of 'Old Time Kitchen Dance', a presentation by fiddler Yvonne Hernandez, renditions by country singer Andy Martin, and plaiting of the May Pole.

In the evening George Town will rock to a street fete until midnight.

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Medications and Diabetes Get the facts

An in-depth discussion about medications and diabetes, led by a general practitioner with a keen interest in the subject, will provide the cornerstone for the next Cayman Islands Diabetes Association meeting.

Set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 7 May, the meeting will be held at the Cayman Islands Seafarers' Association building, located behind the George Town library and near the bus station. It's open to everyone who is interested in learning more about diabetes; light refreshments will be available. While the session is free, $5 contributions are welcome to cover administrative costs.

Dr. Helen Hughes, a general practitioner with the Health Services Authority, will present the main topic. The information she will share about medications builds on that given during April's meeting, when she discussed the hemoglobin A1c test as an assessment of diabetes control.

"Medications have both benefits and risks associated with them," Dr. Hughes explained. "It's therefore important to be informed about what you are taking to help control your blood sugars."

Held the first Wednesday of every month, CIDA meetings are geared toward offering support for people with diabetes and their families, including sharing practical, medically proven ways of managing diabetes that are easy to incorporate into daily routines.

For more information, call 244-2663 or 927-4267.

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Cayfest choirs give praise

Choirs from seven churches across Grand Cayman will come together for Praise, Cayfest's annual evening of thanksgiving, on Monday April 28th at the Elmslie United Church, George Town.

Scheduled to start at 7:00pm, the outdoor event will feature choirs from Savannah United, First Church of the Open Bible, Boatswain Bay Presbyterian, Elmslie United, First Baptist Church, John Gray United, and Red Bay Church of God (Holiness).

Praise 2003 is being coordinated by Pastor Bob Thompson from Red Bay Church of God with assistance from his wife, Cinda. Pastor Al Ebanks from the Agape Family Worship Centre will also be participating.

Cayfest, the Cayman Islands Festival of the Arts, is produced annually in April by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF). CNCF programmes are funded primarily by the Ministry of Education, Human Resources and Culture, and a number of corporate sponsors.

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Things you didn't know about recreational drugs

l Every day about 1,200 people die from smoking while another 3,500 successfully quit.

l Tobacco advertising is targeted toward young adults, using multi-million dollar mass media campaigns that associate sex, fame, good health and social acceptance with tobacco addiction.

l The RJR Nabisco "Camel Joe" cartoon campaign is easily recognized by children as young as three years of age. It is estimated that this campaign has increased illegal sales of Camels to minors from $6 million in 1988 to $476 million in 1991.

I'm sure you've heard people defend smoking. Next time you hear one of these lies, you'll know what to say.

Lie #1
Smoking helps you lose weight. Actually there are fat smokers, thin smokers, in-between smokers. If you want to stay slim try eating right and exercising. Actually, quitting smoking has the same health benefits as losing 50 pounds!

Lie #2
If your friends smoke, you have to smoke to fit in. Your friends are being really lame if they're pushing you to do anything you don't want to do. We know its hard but show your friends a better way, by not smoking.

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Kelly Holding: Based in the Cayman Islands, operating all over the Caribbean

Rhonda Kelly, CEO and Beverly Sinclair, Communications Manager manage the Cayman office for Kelly Holding Ltd.

Laurie Ann Holding Managing Director of Kelly Holding.

"We are not just another marketing communications firm." This is the first distinction that Rhonda Kelly makes when describing the functions of Kelly Holding Ltd. As Chief Executive Officer of the recently established Cayman based company, Rhonda is quick to point out that the main focus of Kelly Holding is event management.

"We do provide the full range of marketing communications services, including public relations, promotions and media relations but our expertise lies in the successful organization and execution of events, locally and regionally" says Kelly.
Event management involves the organization of every aspect of an event, including research, design, planning, coordination and evaluation. A relatively new concept to the Caribbean although a thriving industry in the United States for decades, many companies in the region are recognizing the need for the services of a professional event coordinator in order to get value for money from their conferences, meetings and special events. This has resulted in a demand for companies such as Kelly Holding, a need that Rhonda and partner Laurie Ann Holding are working hard to meet.

Just recently Kelly Holding assisted one of its regional counterparts, Caribbean Sports Marketing, with the Digicel European Seniors Tour Jamaica Classic in association with Sony Ericsson, which was held at the Half Moon Golf Club in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Kelly Holding's contribution to this prestigious golf tournament consisted of liaising with the media and event sponsors and performing public relations functions such as writing press releases and photography.
Other Kelly Holding clients include the Cayman Islands Government's Department of Employment Relations and Cayman's Quincentennial Celebrations Office where the firm is responsible for managing communications for the Signature Events. Kelly Holding will also be organizing and managing the annual and much- anticipated Cayman Cricket Weekend, slated for July, and the 2nd Annual Cayman Islands Cadet Corps Marathon scheduled for December.

Regionally, the firm is working on other projects and building a relationship with Caribbean Sports Marketing, which manages the Red Stripe Mound at Sabina Park in Jamaica, and other such high-profile sporting related events.

Caymanian Rhonda Kelly is well equipped to handle the challenges that each of these clients present, having spent 13 years with Cable & Wireless as the local Public Relations Manager, and three years in the regional office where she managed the Cable & Wireless West Indies Cricket sponsorship. Managing this account and touring three months of the year for West Indies Cricket taught Rhonda the ins and outs of event management and, in particular, the sponsorship aspect of the business.

"Working in eight different countries around the Caribbean was an invaluable experience," says Rhonda. "Running events is different in each one and made me realize how much I loved the business and doing this type of work. I am so grateful for my Cable & Wireless experience. I believe it led me to where I am supposed to be."

Rhonda also spearheaded the Cayman Islands Civil Aviation Authority's 50th Anniversary of Aviation project in November 2002 for which she provided event management services and a complete marketing communications programme. The result was a series of well-organised and executed special events and consistent positive publicity in the local press, according to Mr. Richard Smith, Director of Civil Aviation. "We found Ms. Kelly to be quite efficient and creative," said Mr. Smith. "She demonstrated a working knowledge and familiarity with the local media and marketing partners both locally and regionally, and has a keen eye for cost effective initiatives and budget planning."

Laurie Ann Holding, Rhonda's partner and Managing Director of Kelly Holding, comes to the company from her previous position at the West Indies Cricket Board in Antigua where she was Senior Marketing Manager. A native of Antigua, now residing in Miami, Laurie Ann is married to former West Indies cricketer Michael Holding, and spends most of her time traveling throughout the Caribbean and the world, culling new business for Kelly Holding from her extensive network of contacts.

"Kelly Holding recognizes the potential in the region for the type of work we specialize in and this is why we have not limited ourselves to just Cayman or Antigua, for that matter," explains Laurie Ann. "Our vision is to provide event management services throughout the Caribbean."

Caymanian Beverly Sinclair is the newest member of the Kelly Holding ensemble. Coming on board from the Marketing and Promotions Unit in the Cayman Islands Government's Portfolio of Finance and Economics where she was employed for almost six years, Bev handles the public relations and communications aspects for the firm. She also has a significant amount of experience in event and conference planning.

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Cayman Islands Mission attend Bahamas Camporee

The Hon. Fred Mitchell, Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs inspecting Master Guides from the Cayman Islands. Photo by Pastor Jeffrey Thompson

A delegation of 60 Master Guides from the Cayman Islands Mission of Seventhday Adventists under the leadership of Pastor Reinaldo Dracket attended Camporee 2003 April 16th - April 23rd, at the Bahamas Youth Camp Grounds on Gladstone Road, Nassau Bahamas.

More than 400 Master Guides from Cayman, Jamaica, United States, and the Bahamas attended the youth camp. Pastor Israel Leito, President, Inter-American Division (IAD), headed the list of church officials in attendance. He was accompanied by Pastor Bernardo Rodriguez, Youth Director, IAD; Elder Herman Ming, Treasurer, West Indies Union; Pastor Balvin Braham, Camp Director and President, West Jamaica Conference; Pastor Derek Bignal, Youth Director WIU; Pastor Jeffrey Thompson, President, Cayman Islands Mission; Pastor Leonard Johnson, President, Bahamas
Conference. Youth directors from all of the West Indies Union were also in attendance.

The opening ceremony on Wednesday, April 16th, was spectacular. Everyone wore his region's colors: yellow for West, red for Central, white for North, lime for Cayman, blue for East and aqua for the Bahamas. Pastor Derek Bignal, Youth Director, WIU admonished the Master Guides that there would be "no feelings", an expression connoting "it's all right - no problem when you were misunderstood - no feelings when you were confused - no feelings. When you felt abused - no feelings."

On April 17, the Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minster of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service inspected the Master Guides. The Hon. Leslie Miller, Minster of Trade and Industry; and Ms. Arlene Turnquest of the Ministry of Youth accompanied him. They toured the tent city briefly, and inspected a parade.

Creativity was displayed in the creation of names for the groups (Extraordinary East, Noble North, Willing West, The eagle has landed, the USA, Courageous Cayman, Essentially Central and Beautiful, Blessed Bahamas); decorating the camp grounds - the signs just seemed to grow more beautiful every day; the drills and flag raising ceremonies; and in those beautiful camp songs. Every conference had to make up an "original" song about the Camporee and some of the songs were "excellent - and improving!" another Camporee slogan.

The competitions were fierce. There was a daily the Bible challenge quiz, morning watch drill, and blind man's drill. There were water relays, tower building, beach ball relays, and pioneer passage. Yamma St. Fleur, of the Bahamas dramatically related the story of James White (a pioneer of the Adventist church), a presentation that left her hoarse for the rest of the Camporee!

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Cayman attends Hurricane Workshop

John Tibbetts, Chief Weather Forecaster

Recently, John Tibbetts, Chief Weather Forecaster at the National Weather Service attended a 2003 Hurricane Workshop. The workshop, which was held in Miami at the Hurricane Center, March 23 April 4, 2003, attracted attendees from Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, Aruba, Bahamas, Martinique, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Canada and the Cayman Islands.

The objectives of the workshop were to:

. Familiarize forecasters in the region with how the hurricane center functions.
2. Identify the tools forecasters at the hurricane center use as well as provide exposure to the latest tropical cyclone research, analysis, tracking and forecasting methods.

3. Other areas covered - "Coordination between Emergency Managers and Weather Services."

4. Manage the relationship with press "Public Weather Services and Dealing with the Media."

5. "This workshop was extremely beneficial as we face changing weather patterns each year. It was also helpful for John as a senior member of our team to have the opportunity to collaborate with his counterparts from other Caribbean islands to discuss our national plans, strategies and tactics for dealing with hurricane preparedness," remarked Mr. Fred Sambula, Head of Meteorological Services.

Mr. Tibbetts, along with other members of the National Weather Service are members of the National Hurricane Committee (NHC) for the Cayman Islands. Director of Civil Aviation, Mr. Richard Smith commented "this training is extremely timely as we are once again approaching Hurricane Season."

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Editorial

Health and Education go Hand in Hand

With SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) now a major focus for world and regional leaders, attention locally must again shift to healthcare, particularly the kind that is affordable to the masses that reside here.

Government, beset with a slump in tourism and the economic fallout from the war on Iraq, will begin to look at ways to balance its budget.

Often times, the axe falls on social services. Historically, expenditures on healthcare have seen a sharp drop, and we might see this again now. Seldom do budget planners stop to consider the importance of healthcare to a country's social and economic health.

Just because we now have a better public hospital, as well as a private one, to go with a Government-mandated health insurance plan, does not mean our country's healthcare system is healthy.

The healthcare issue mainly concerns three equally important aspects: accessible, quality healthcare services, affordable and reliable health insurance and readily promulgated health education.

Without taking issue over the quality of our healthcare services, there are claims that healthcare accessibility is increasingly a problem. Long waits to see doctors at the hospital are now the norm. The situation is deteriorating to the point that some patients are going elsewhere for care, even if they can't really afford to go to a private doctor. Others who can't afford to go elsewhere either wait perhaps too long or forgo the proper care.

As for health insurance, theoretically every worker on the island has some, however the Government Plan calls for such minimal coverage that anything but short-term and minor injuries or illnesses are above its limits. Upgrading the mandated plan to more comprehensive coverage more than doubles the monthly cost of the insurance, and makes it unaffordable to many of our people even in the best of economic times.

As the costs of both healthcare service and health insurance rocket skyward, many members of our society are being left out of the healthcare loop.

The bottom line of a society is not dollars and cents, it's people. We must find a way to adequately provide timely and quality healthcare to every person resident here who needs it.

Globally, money or more precisely, the lack of it is the reason why the less fortunate receive substandard medical care, or so we are told. It is hoped that this does become a problem here.

There is, perhaps, another solution. It's a solution that also costs money, but not nearly as much as the alternatives. And the money spent is more of an investment than expenditure, because the money is spent to prevent the need of medical attention rather than to treat ailments.

It is through education that many, many diseases and injuries can be prevented. This education should start in the schools but not be limited to our young. Campaigns to educate adults through multi-media public service announcements, awareness programmes, employer initiatives, and post-treatment instructions are all vital in preventing health problems.

The issues that could be covered are wide and varied, from the dangers of smoking and drugs, to those of drunk-driving, sedentary lifestyles, and improper eating habits.

Not only does this type of education help the person being educated, it increases the chance the that what is learned will be passed on to future generations.

By embarking on a proactive and encompassing National Health Education Programme, many of the medical problems afflicting our people today can become moot in the future.

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Special Report

Cayman's Chief Justice calls on world community:
Work together to achieve global standards for the forfeit of the Proceeds of Crime

Current anti-money-laundering initiatives, including the Vienna Convention and other multi-lateral treaties and conventions, have not been entirely effective in combating drug trafficking and organised crime, said Cayman's Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, Q.C. He called on the world community to cooperate in closing the gaps through the development of global standards.

The Chief Justice was addressing the Pacific Rim International Conference on Money Laundering and Financial Crime, in Bangkok, Thailand, late March. He was invited to speak on developing global standards in the face of present challenges to the restraint and forfeiture of the proceeds of crime.

The conference was organized and hosted by the Thai Government and supported by the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and the United States Government. More than 500 delegates as well as representatives of various supporting and funding agencies attended.

The head of Cayman's Judiciary outlined the existing world initiatives, including Cayman's leading-edge innovations, but said that these measures have not provided "a truly effective solution" because what is needed is "the wholesale confiscation of the proceeds of crime." This goal, he said, requires the implementation of "civil forfeiture measures on a global scale."

As such, civil measures would continue to be based on established legal principles, while being more amenable to incorporation of "common procedural requirements designed to avoid the unnecessary obstacles to international cooperation." Based thus, such standards would achieve their aims without "the prerequisite need and difficulties of proving crimes to criminal standard, when its objective-forfeiting the proceeds-is entirely different."

Included in the new standards, he said, should be "an obligation to share recovered proceeds with other countries involved with or assisting in their recovery."

"Asset-sharing should therefore not be seen merely as a political tool to buy cooperation in the international struggle against crime," he continued. "It should be regarded as an international obligation."

Speaking to the issue of tax evasion as a predicate offence for money laundering and the making of confiscation orders, the Chief Justice noted, "Few issues can be more vexed in the context of seeking to arrive at global standards for the restraint and forfeiture of the proceeds of crime." The reason for this is that present day "Euro-Socialist" governments, in particular, seem unable or unwilling to recognise that "tax evasion is not an offence againstthe law of all humanity."

xplaining, he said, "While it is criminal and rightly punishable at the domestic level, tax evasion is not readily amendable to multilateral standards, the rules being as variable as the regimes from which they spring."

As a consequence, the offence of tax evasion did not lend itself to ease of international definition, he said, adding, "Not only is there no readily identifiable mutual criminal basis for enforcement of purely fiscal measures, but Commonwealth courts have long declared that they have no obligation to enforce the fiscal measures of foreign countries."

As such, he said, "tax evasion and other purely fiscal offences are hardly likely ever to become universally accepted as predicate offences for the translational interdiction of the proceeds of crime." He continued that while most right-thinking persons would agree that tax cheating was wrong, sovereign states are not "likely to forego the perceived fiscal benefits which their different tax systems allow for the sake of interdicting the proceeds of foreign tax evasion -- at least not without treaties which provide reciprocal benefits."

The Chief Justice said that attempts to treat fiscal offences as crimes for the purposes of inclusion in global standards for the restraint and forfeiture of proceeds of all serious crimes may only add further barriers to the attainment of the original goals. He quoted the Council of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF): "Initiatives relating to tax evasion and tax avoidance should not be allowed to compromise the genuine anti-money-laundering efforts of the CFATF."

Turning to the key obstacle to effective anti-money-laundering efforts, Mr. Smellie said that for many countries this boiled down to attempts to employ "conviction-based forfeiture measures" as opposed to the more effective "civil-based proceedings."

"As an enhanced measure of society's response to the threat of serious crime, the civil/in rem procedure carries all the (requisite) attributes and justificationswithout the need and difficulties of proving crime to the criminal standard when the objective of forfeiting the proceeds is entirely different."

The Chief Justice said that further continuing barriers to effective international efforts in combating money laundering included:

The failure of many countries to make transparent the true beneficial ownership of assets. "Despite the various international initiatives, corporate vehicles and trusts are still allowed to be used to mask the criminal nature of assets," he noted. "It is axiomatic that the corporate veil should not be allowed to protect assets where the necessary prima facie link to criminal conduct is shown."

The inability to use information provided for the prosecution of one matter when provided for another specified matter, as arises from the typical Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). "Once there is a settled international standard for the provision and use of information for the prosecution of crime and the restraint and forfeiture of the proceeds, there should be no reason why information provided for use in one such matter or aspects of a matter should not be available for use in another," the Chief Justice said, "provided, of course, that the other matters meet the standards for disclosure and that it can be shown without the formality of further requests as between the international authorities."

The Chief Justice, in explaining why the typical MAT request is processed at quickly as in only six weeks in the Cayman Islands, said that other speakers had expressed concern that delays in the provision of international legal assistance can often result in the assistance being so late that it becomes literally worthless.

Other delegates spoke of information being provided to their requesting countries after legal proceedings had concluded. "We don't allow that to happen in the Cayman Islands," the Chief Justice said, "We stick to six weeks." He said that prime factors locally were the cooperation of the private sector and the small size of the jurisdiction.

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Limiting the United Nations in Iraq

By Nile Gardiner and David B. Rivkin

WASHINGTON (UPI) Numerous countries, including most members of the European Union, Russia, China and virtually all of the Group of Seven, or G7, major industrialized states, are clamoring for the United Nations to play a leading role in Iraq. Even some coalition partners, such as Britain, have been urging the United States to accord the United Nations considerable influence, mostly out of a desire to help heal the breach in the Atlantic alliance and rehabilitate the United Nation's tattered record.

While the United States should always listen respectfully to its allies, it is imperative in the weeks ahead for the administration to rebuff U.N. plans for a central role in a post-war Iraqi government. Moreover, the Bush administration should apply the following guidelines to involvement by the United Nations and the international community:

The United States and Britain, not the United Nations, must oversee the future of a post-Saddam Iraq. There is no need for the United States to spend diplomatic capital on securing a U.N. resolution mandating a post-war allied administration. While such a resolution might be politically helpful, the United Nations and European countries need it just as much, if not more, than the coalition does. If France, Russia and Germany are prepared to offer a satisfactory draft resolution, the United States and Britain should accept it.

Only those nations that have joined the "coalition of the willing" should participate in the post-war administration, reconstruction and security of Iraq.

The role of the United Nations in a post-war Iraq should be solely humanitarian.

All individuals who have committed war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and other grave violations of international or Iraqi law should be vigorously and promptly prosecuted. Truth finding and national reconciliation activities, patterned after the post-apartheid South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, should be launched promptly.

Both the prosecution and truth finding should be carried out primarily by the Iraqis themselves with appropriate input from coalition countries. There should be no involvement by any international tribunals, whether ad hoc as was the case in the Balkans or in the form of the permanent International Criminal Court.

The United States must press the UN Security Council to end the oil-for-food program. All of the revenues from the past sales of Iraqi oil, now controlled by the United Nations, are the sovereign property of Iraq and should immediately be turned over to the Iraqi interim government. The United States should also take the position that all of the outstanding Security Council Iraq-related sanctions resolutions have been vitiated by virtue of the regime change in Iraq. No new U.N. Security Council resolution repealing the previous sanctions is legally necessary.

The interim government, run by coalition countries, and its eventual Iraqi successor government, should be viewed as the legitimate government of Iraq, disposing of all attributes of sovereignty.

Oil and other financial contracts signed between former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime and European governments and companies that have violated either international law by flouting the Saddam-era sanctions or the applicable Iraqi national law should be carefully scrutinized by the post-war Iraqi government. There are good reasons to believe that the Iraqis can legally repudiate, or at least renegotiate, any inequitable or one-sided contracts signed during Saddam's tenure.

Once the Baathist regime's archives have been opened in Baghdad, there must be a full and exhaustive investigation into links between the Iraqi dictatorship and foreign companies and politicians. Appropriate US sanctions should be applied against those businesses that have contributed to Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction or have violated the UN oil-for-food program.

In addition to adhering to these principles, the Bush administration also needs to challenge numerous legal and policy
arguments being advanced by U.N. partisans. These claims include:

(1) That the coalition members cannot administer Iraq without the United Nations' legal imprimatur;
(2) That the coalition cannot draw on Iraqi national resources to pay for any reconstruction-related needs;
(3) That all existing Security Council
sanctions resolutions originally passed to address specific misdeeds by Saddam's regime remain fully in force and can be overturned only by a new Security Council resolution;
(4) That only the United Nations can bestow legitimacy on any new Iraqi
interim administration;
And, ultimately,
(5) That the UN-led process is essential to the creation of an Iraqi democratic polity.

All of these legal and policy propositions are wrong. They are driven largely by the same ill-thought-out impulse of trying to discipline American military and diplomatic power that was so evident in the pre-Operation Iraqi Freedom debates at the United Nations. They are also inconsistent with the UN Charter and violate international law.

Coalition countries can legally govern Iraq on an interim basis. An entity created by coalition forces which can and should delegate authority to Iraqi-run local, regional and national institutions as quickly as possible is the legitimate government of the sovereign state of Iraq. That entity is entitled to use Iraqi national resources, including proceeds from oil sales, to pay for the country's reconstruction and rebuilding projects. Over time, more and more power and authority would be assumed by the Iraqi-run democratic institutions. Eventually, coalition-run governing structures would
be dissolved.

While the United Nations' endorsement of this effort would be politically advantageous, it is not legally required. Indeed, under the 1907 Hague Regulations, the 1949 Geneva Convention IV, and customary international law norms, the coalition countries bear the ultimate responsibility for the safety and well being of the Iraqi people until the full transition to a new Iraqi government takes place. The coalition caused the regime change in Iraq. So, until the new Iraqi government is in place, the coalition countries bear the ultimate responsibility for the safety and well being of the Iraqi people. They cannot legally delegate their duties, rights and obligations to any third parties or international institutions, including the United Nations.

Legal authority issues aside, a UN-controlled post-war administration would merely serve as a Trojan horse for European nations opposed to regime change, enabling them to stake their economic and strategic claims in Iraq. This cannot be allowed. Efforts by Paris and Moscow to retain the U.N. sanctions regime against Iraq, particularly the oil-for-food program, also ought to be vigorously opposed by the United States.

As a matter of law, various Security Council resolutions imposed on Iraq under Saddam's regime were predicated upon the specific misdeeds committed by that regime. Since the conditions that gave rise to these resolutions have now been vitiated, it is entirely permissible and appropriate for the United States to hold that the resolutions are no longer in force and that rescinding them does not require a new Security Council resolution.

The United States should also immediately address the legal status of both the post-Saddam interim governing entity, run by the coalition countries, and the eventual Iraqi national government. The Bush administration should vigorously argue that, under the existing international law norms, both the interim entity and its successor Iraqi government are fully legitimate and possess all attributes of Iraqi sovereignty, including the ability to borrow money, sign contracts with foreign entities, and manage Iraq's natural resources.

Neither the UN Charter nor customary international law grants the United Nations any cognizable legal right to recognize governments or bestow a seal of good housekeeping on them.

Moreover, it certainly would be awkward for an organization that lets Col. Moammar Gadhafi's Libya run the UN Commission on Human Rights and was content to have Saddam's Iraq chair the UN Conference on Disarmament to act as if it can or should pass moral judgments.

In a March 26 statement to Congress, US Secretary of State Colin Powell made it clear that Washington would not give the United Nations a commanding role in administering a post-war Iraq. Powell said, "We didn't take on this huge burden with our coalition partners not to be able to have a significant dominating control over how it unfolds in the future."
Echoing Powell's comments, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice stated that the coalition, not the United Nations, would be the "leading" force in administering Iraq after the downfall of Saddam.

The Bush administration envisages a temporary US-led administration, which will govern Iraq until an interim Iraqi government can be put in place. The administration is charged with overseeing civil governance, reconstruction and humanitarian assistance. It will work with a coalition-led security force, which may involve up to 60,000 coalition troops.
Aside from the immediate reconstruction-related tasks, the administration has articulated a set of far-ranging, ambitious long-term goals, including fostering a democratic Iraq in which Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis would live in peace, developing a civil society and rule of law, and empowering Iraqi women to become full-fledged participants in the country's political and economic life.

The United Nations should also be denied a role in the post-war security force. The United Nations' track record in peacekeeping operations has been a dismal failure, from the Balkans to West Africa. Coalition forces, operating under the existing command authorities and not the United Nations, must be entrusted with the security of post-Saddam Iraq.
There is a strong case to be made for Britain taking command of the security element of a post-war force under the overall command of Gen. Tommy Franks. Britain has deployed 45,000 combat troops to the Gulf, tens of thousands of whom were at the forefront of military action against the Iraqi regime. The British government has already discussed the possibility of 15,000 British troops' remaining in Iraq for several years after the downfall of the Baathist regime.

The United Nations is slowly dying as a force on the world stage and will go the way of the League of Nations unless it is radically reformed and restructured. It failed spectacularly to deal with the growing threat posed by Saddam, and its influence may well diminish further in the coming years.

Indeed, what happens to the United Nations in the future very much depends upon how it behaves here and now. In this regard, there is no doubt that France and Russia are pursuing narrow, selfish and anti-American policy agendas with regard to Iraq's post-war governance and democratization. Their policy aspirations are quite different from any conceivable UN vision of how a post-Saddam Iraq should be governed and reformed.

Unless the United Nations opposes the French and Russian plans at least with the same vigor it has displayed in trying to handicap the administration's Iraq policy, the United Nations would lose all credibility.

President George W. Bush should make it clear that no further discussions on the Iraq issue are needed at the United Nations. Indeed, the role of the United Nations in a post-war Iraq should be limited to purely humanitarian involvement. The United States and Britain should take the lead in administering a post-war Iraqi transition government, with the United Nations playing only a subordinate role.

 Nile Gardiner is visiting fellow in Anglo-American Security Policy at The Heritage Foundation.

 David B. Rivkin Jr. is a partner in the Washington office of Baker & Hostetler, LLP. He served in the U.S. Department of Justice, the White House

 Counsel's Office, and the Office of the Vice President in the Reagan and first Bush administrations.

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Venezuela a year after failed coup

By Larry Birns And Manuel Rueda,
UPI Outside View Commentary

WASHINGTON (UPI) A year ago, Venezuela's democracy narrowly survived a major test as rightist sectors of the middle-class-led opposition joined with several ranking military officers to briefly overthrow President Hugo Chavez, taking advantage of an ongoing popular protest that was peacefully calling upon him to resign.

Prior to last April's failed coup, Venezuela's opposition has had a list of both valid grievances and skeptical critiques on Chavez's commitment to democracy. These included a set of decrees issued by Chavez in November 2001 that critics maintained had undermined local authorities as well as the National Assembly's jurisdiction over projects small and large. These decrees allowed the president to appoint his political allies to senior posts at the national oil company, PDVSA, that could compromise that venerable institution's meritocracy.

At the time of the attempted coup, Chavez's narrow survival was mainly due to his close ties to certain factions of the military. Business federation head Pedro Carmona comedically declared himself the country's new leader. But he was unable to secure support from key senior officers and enlisted personnel at the air force base at Maracay and at other garrison sites in the interior, which declared that they would not recognize his rump government.

But ultimately, it was Venezuelans' high regard for non-violent solutions that allowed Chavez to return. Broad participation in the repeated protest marches that made up the opposition's core strategy preceding the coup indicated Chavez's rule had lost much of its popular support. But Carmona did not have sufficient elite backing or support of the poor to neutralize pro-Chavez generals in the country's interior.

This was the case even though Chavez was repeatedly being assailed by the media, particularly the country's four major
television stations.

Since then, the opposition has continued to seek to bring down Chavez, most notably by the now-ended two-month general strike that paralyzed the government's main source of income, the national oil industry.

Venezuela's privately owned media once again joined the effort by churning out one-sided anti-Chavez coverage.
Once again, the opposition was inspired by a valid list of complaints against Chavez's commitment to plebiscitary democracy and its own interpretation of the rule of law. In recent months, it has mobilized around such issues as the inflammatory militarization of the Caracas metropolitan police, edicts that could restrict freedom of speech and the government's allegedly lax stance against Colombian rebels building staging sites on Venezuelan territory.
The opposition has provided a distinct service to the nation in reminding the government that democratic legitimacy goes much further than respecting electoral results. But, with the decline in the effectiveness of the now-disbanded general strike, even the most anti-government sector must realize that lasting changes in Venezuelan society should come about through an electoral solution and not by destroying the national economy.

The anti-Chavez movement has been rendered less effective because an abiding hatred for Chavez appears to be its only unifying credo. As a result, schisms are breaking out as various likely opposition presidential candidates jockey for the race, if a proposed referendum on Chavez's rule in August actually materializes.

The tough task of establishing a referendum date on Chavez's recall still lies ahead. Yet it should be remembered: none of the admittedly frustrating negotiations on mending Venezuela's democratic procedures could have been possible if the Bush administration had been successful in backing Carmona's White House-approved script to oust a constitutionally elected president, which would have all but guaranteed bloody class-warfare.

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Business News

Financial institutions moving operations offshore

By Sonia Kolesnikov, UPI Business Correspondent

SINGAPORE (UPI) Over the next five years, the world's 100 largest financial-services companies expect to transfer an estimated $356 billion of their operations offshore in an effort to significantly reduce their costs, according to a survey released.

The survey, conducted by Deloitte Research, also found that 2 million jobs would be moved offshore, with India receiving about half of those jobs. Ireland and South Africa are also attractive offshore centers, with China, Malaysia and Australia growing in popularity.

The financial institutions expect to reduce their cost by nearly $1.4 billion each by 2008, the survey said.

The shift of operations offshore is already underway. Thirty percent of the survey's 27 respondents currently have offshore operations and that percentage is expected to climb to 75 percent within two years.

"Offshoring is gaining momentum at a rapid pace," says Christopher Gentle, a director at Deloitte Research. "And getting offshoring experience as soon as possible translates into greater benefits -- from higher cost reductions to more business processes being handled by the low-cost centers."

But Deloitte Research emphasizes that taking a business offshore must be planned and executed carefully to be successful. The survey found that more than one-third of the moves offshore have been unsuccessful with the institutions planning no further relocations.

These unsuccessful moves have common characteristics, including cost reductions significantly below the average, a narrower scope with fewer functions moved offshore; a scale nearly one-fourth smaller than average, and a much shorter timeframe for planning and execution.

The survey shows that banks and insurance firms are transferring offshore such functions as application development, coding and programming, accounting and finance, operations, processing and administration, call-center operations and contact support centers.

Financial institutions that can utilize their existing offshore facilities expect significant future savings -- as much as 45 percent -- because they leverage offshore scale and scope.

But firms aspiring to move offshore should move quickly to capture the benefits of doing so, Deloitte noted.

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Help Me Harlan

Mom wants help with boy-crazed daughter

Harlan Cohen

Dear Harlan,
My problem is with my 15-year-old daughter. Most of the time she is great, but whenever a new guy comes into her life, all rules are out the window. The pattern is infatuation, disregard for rules (which are pretty minimal), inappropriate behavior and lies to cover it up. This pattern has played out three times now over the past nine months. Our efforts to establish a measure of real-life consequences instead of contrived punishments works in the short term; however, each time we think the problem is solved, here comes another episode with another boy.
She openly states that she thinks sex is no big deal, using guys is no big deal and the whole friends-with-benefits thing is justifiable. I could handle this if she were 17 or 18, but at 15 we've got at least two more years in the same house, and I feel time is quickly running out for us to help her learn to think before she acts. Our hope would be to find a way to help her learn that poor choices have consequences and to think before she makes bad choices. Unfortunately, she sees many teens getting away with all of these things.

We think that she has tried some variety of drugs and alcohol, and possibly had sex. Lack of knowledge is not the problem here. If nothing else, we have always been open and honest about everything with our kids, asking the same of them. We know that all young people go through some amount of experimentation, but our concern is that she seems to fall into these behaviors with no forethought and no concern for her personal health, safety and future.

What can she do to regain our trust? What can we do to give her the room to earn it, without giving too much? Every time we think we can give a little, another episode surfaces. We want to be able to trust her again, once and for all.

What do you suggest?

Concerned Parent

Dear Parent,
Her job is to make mistakes. Yours is to be there when she makes them. She needs you more than ever, but more than ever, she can't see it. While a toddler gets hurt and runs toward you, a teenager gets hurt and runs away. Follow her. Hug her. Talk to her again and again. Even if she nods her head at the wrong times, rolls her eyes and stares off into space she still hears every word. You are her greatest influence.

As for the risky behaviors, educate her by talking to her, clipping articles and columns, buying her relevant books and again, discussing birth control, sex, drinking, drugs and the risks of sex too soon. Be an active part of her life and watch for signs of trouble. Plan mother and daughter activities regularly. Be both a mom and a friend.

As for the trust issues, discuss your dilemma with her. Maybe she doesn't realize her pattern. Let her know if she expects to take the car out next year, stay out late and go off to college, you two need to work out a system for her to earn your trust. Ask your daughter to offer suggestions. In the meantime, I'll ask teenagers and parents to send in their suggestions. Consider this to be continued ...
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Walking Back

The district of East End (Part 2)

Will Jackson

There were no permanent industries in Cayman. Turtle fishing depended on going to another country's water, as the numbers had earlier on being demolished around the island, thus could hardly be called a local industry. But some body came up with the idea of a rope making industry, as there were so many thatch trees throughout the place. The idea fitted East End perfectly; there were more thatch trees on this end of the island than any other parts, and there seemed to have been poorer people on a general basis. So the rope industry was a great blessing to many families.

Looking back into the past, one can only wonder what really did the settlers have to make them happy! The young people especially of that era were brought up amid want and penury, with no comfort such as the youths of this generation enjoy. There was no radio, so common today that it does no interest us today, by reason of televisions and internets of the times, radio is not appealing. Fifty years ago one sound crazy to start telling young people concerning computers and such things have become so wide spread and common to young and old alike.

Mails from abroad could take a month or six weeks to be delivered in Cayman, and when it reached East End was another guess. I heard a lady say recently, she doesn't write letters again because it is easier to do E mail on the internet, or just talk to her loved ones or friends on the telephone. That is the quality of life East End has become accustomed to in this 21st century.

Up until the second decade of the 20th century all communications with any where off shore depended on sailing schooners; they served every purpose, whether passengers, food stuff, hardware or precious mails; once mails to the district depended on a person walking twice per week to George Town carrying and bringing mails from and to the district. Later that rugged service improved to the district mail being picked up at Frank Sound three times per week, where there was an exchange of Bodden Town, East End and North side. Now we have the pleasure of our own post box at our own modern, little post office on a daily basis.

It was not until 1935 that the first motor car drove to East End, though only to the first house in the district, after a little dirt road was carved through cliffs and swamps by the kind and gracious wisdom of Mr. A.W. Cardinal, a commissioner sent down from England. From Mr. Cardinal's first trip to East End riding an old black horse, he fell in deep sympathy with the plight of the people of the district living in isolation. He promised there, and then to help brighten the lives of those people.
That was indeed the greatest earthly blessing that ever was bestowed on East End by the crown or any of its representatives. Being able to ride in a motor car and ride to George Town meant that when one became seriously ill he or she could be taken to see a doctor; quiet true, there was only one doctor for every one and every ailment, but sometimes he helped the sick one to feel better with his treatment; then too, the farmers were helped by getting their produce to town where they could sell or exchange it for others much needed things.

There was no hospital for one to go to, nor was there a district clinic in those days. There was no electricity or any telephone. The district was served by a couple of good midwives who worked on their own, delivering babies and taking care of mothers; rarely was it ever said that a mother died in child birth. Mrs. Elnora Connolly Miss Lishma McLean and Mrs. Sarah McLaughlin were noted midwives who did their jobs well. Nurse Beulah was a registered nurse and sometimes lived in the district and helped many otherwise sick people. In the earlier times, before the car access if one fell real sick he had to be taken by canoe to George Town to seek medical help. Many were residents who didn't live through the trip.

Water was supplied from community wells, some people had to go distances away from home to obtain drinking water, and you may be reminded that there were no refrigerators or ice to cool water or drinks during those heated days. Every housewife used the same means of cooking her dinner and almost always the same type of dinner consisting of the locally grown produce and dumplings cooked in coconut milk with some kind of sea food, which was not limited, they called that run down. They had no stoves only a fire hearth, using fire wood for every thing.

There was hardly anyone sleeping on a mattress such as we are accustomed to in this age. Beds and pillows were homemade, stuffed with dry banana leaves and spread on a wooden bed stead. Four poster mahogany beds were commonly used in the master bed room. The lack in modern comforts was great, but the people's heart did not trouble them in such things. They were happy with what they had.

All of the foregoing that I have said applied to grand and great-grand parents, except to the many still alive like me who have passed eighty summers, starting in the good old days when smoke pans were our defense and the sea our best bath tub; when mosquitoes attacked men and beast like low hanging clouds. The middle and the late thirties of the 20th century brought about the beginning of a little change in the living conditions I my beloved East End; leaving the hard time stories we will next talk about the late days of spring and roses on the thorns. God bless every one real good.

Will Jackson
Seafarer and noted
Caymanian Historian

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Chiropractic

The Rotator Cuff

Dr Jemal Khan,
Chiropractor

The "rotator cuff" is comprised of four muscles: subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor. These muscles originate from the shoulder blade and attach to the upper arm, forming a cuff that surrounds the ball and socket joint of the shoulder. The tendons (the part of the muscle that attaches to the bone) are the "weak link" in this unit and can therefore become damaged or inflamed.

This socket joint of the shoulder is very shallow, which allows for the incredible range of motion of the shoulder. The rotator cuff muscles compensate for instability of this shallow joint by holding the ball of the arm tight into the socket of the shoulder blade. The four rotator cuff muscles also allow the ball and socket joint of the shoulder to glide smoothly in its socket as you lift your arm. When these muscles are weak or injured, they can't effectively do their job.

Most commonly, the rotator cuff is overused in sports like tennis, golf, or baseball. Body builders or weight lifters that commonly focus on only large muscle groups can be predisposed to rotator cuff problems if they ignore the rotator cuff.
Tendonitis of the rotator cuff is the most common cause of shoulder pain in adults from age 30 and up. Rotator cuff problems begin with simple tendonitis or bursitis, and then can progress to tears of the rotator cuff muscles.
Pain associated with the rotator cuff is felt around the shoulder joint, most predominantly in the front. Pain often radiates into the upper arm and, in severe cases, into the forearm. Sharp pain is usually felt with overhead activities such as throwing. As the condition becomes more severe, pain can be felt with daily activities such as lifting, putting on a shirt, reaching into the back seat of the car, and washing hair.

Associated with this complaint is mild to moderate weakness, especially with overhead activity. Sometimes there is a 'popping' sensation associated with mild bursitis. Suffers usually find they are unable to sleep on the effected shoulder.
Treatment of rotator cuff injuries includes proper exercise to strengthen and gently stretch the rotator cuff muscles and deep massage to break up the scar tissue. Ultrasound and electrical muscle stimulation can help speed healing as well. When returning to exercise remember R.E.S.T.= Resume Exercise below the Soreness Threshold. Rehabilitative exercises should not cause pain while performing the exercise and little to no pain afterwards. Manipulation (adjustment) of the spine and extremity joints is very effective in restoring normal function to the joints, as well as to the surrounding muscles and nerves. Balancing the shoulder girdle in the way usually leads to a decrease in pain and faster recovery.

Dr. Jemal Khan,
Chiropractor
Cayman Chiropractic Clinic

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Overseas People

Controversy-tainted US ambassador to India quits

United States ambassador to India Robert Blackwill

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Outspoken US ambassador to India Robert Blackwill has resigned, less than a year after he was accused of treating staff like "furniture" as a controversy raged over his conduct in office.

Blackwill formally quit in a florid resignation statement, saying he was returning home to write and teach.
"This past January while in Washington, I informed President Bush, Secretary of State Powell, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and National Security Advisor Rice that I would be going back to the faculty at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government near the end of this summer to continue my academic career," he said.

"I will thus join my illustrious colleague, John Kenneth Galbraith, in proudly representing my country for two years as American Ambassador to India, and then returning to Harvard to teach and to write."

Galbraith, the famed and provocative Canadian-born economist born in 1908, was ambassador to India during the Kennedy administration,

Blackwill's resignation follows two years of rumors and innuendo over his handling of staff, and a testy relationship with Pakistan.

Diplomatic sources said last May that Blackwill's management style was unpopular and the State Department sent investigators to his embassy to probe his performance.

"The word from Delhi is that this guy is incredibly arrogant and that he really does treat the staff like furniture," said a diplomatic source at the time.

His departure was not greeted with much chagrin on Monday.

"I don't think there'll be too many people sad to see him go," said one senior US official on condition of anonymity. "Reports from Delhi were that he was a real tyrant."

Another diplomat said that the style of Blackwill's valedictory note also raised eyebrows in the State Department.
"The line about Galbraith reeks of pomposity," the diplomat said.

Blackwill said that he and his wife Wera Hildebrand would badly miss their life in New Delihi.

"Mother India has marked us deeply and only for the better -- for all time," he wrote, in the letter which also quoted Mark Twain's description of India as "the cradle of the human race."

"Getting to know something about this fabulous country has been one of life's pinnacles. From North Block and South Block to the valleys of Assam to the spare splendor of Rajasthan's deserts and Mumbai's exuberance, from the mountains of Kashmir to the Golden Temple to Kutch and Bangalore's IT dynamism, all that is India compels us," Blackwill added.

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Princess Anne to create memorial in NY

Britain's Princess Anne

NEW YORK (AFP) - Britain's Princess Anne arrived in New York on Monday, 28 April with seeds for a planned memorial garden in lower Manhattan to remember the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The garden in Hanover Square is a gift from the British community in New York to the people of the city and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2004 as a place of "contemplation and comfort," the British consulate general said in a statement.

The seeds being brought by Princess Anne are from flowers that feature in the gardens of several British royal palaces.

During her two-day stay, the princess will be briefed on the progress of redevelopment work around the devastated World Trade Center site, where nearly 2,800 people died when hijacked planes slammed into the twin towers.

She will also visit several charitable organisations.

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Syria changes rigid school uniforms

DAMASCUS, Syria (UPI) - Syria has decided to change the rigid color of its long-time school uniforms from military khaki to the brighter tones of blue, gray and pink starting next school year in a move seen as reflecting its serious wish for peace, government-run newspapers reported last Tuesday.

The Baath and Tishrin newspapers said the Ministry of Education adopted the new school uniforms in the elementary, intermediate and secondary schools.
They said the measure was to be in effect as of the 2003-2004 school year. Accordingly the elementary female and male students will have unified blue uniforms while the intermediate students will have pink and blue uniforms.
Gray, blue and pink will be worn by secondary school students.

The newspapers did not give reasons for such a new measure but observers referred it to an attempt by Syria to show its serious wish for peace in the Middle East.

An informed source told United Press International that the measure has been under study for some time and came in response to "the people's wish."

Recent western media reports have recently criticized Syria for its school uniforms arguing that the military-colored costumes do not reflect Damascus declaration that peace is its strategic option.

After the war on Iraq ended, U.S. accusations and threats poured on Syria alleging that it possesses chemical weapons and possibly harboring officials of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's Baath Party regime.

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Overseas Feature

Militant Iranians turn on the charm as they try to lose terrorist tag

By Karl Malakunas

Female members of the Iraq-based People's Mujahedeen guerrillas service a tanks at their base in Iraq, not far from Baghdad. US forces have allowed the guerrillas to keep their arms and maintain their war against the Iranian government, a spokesman told the AFP at their military base. AFP PHOTO/Ahmed AL-RUBAYE

ASHRAF, Iraq (AFP) - With pink roses in one corner of the room and a serving of morning tea on the polished wooden table, the People's Mujahedeen "terrorist" group offered a warm welcome to their headquarters in eastern Iraq.

"The cookies are homemade," a fatherly looking member of the group said with a big smile.

And so began the Iranian armed opposition group's charm offensive as it seeks to rehabilitate a reputation battered by more than 15 years of an unholy agreement with Saddam Hussein's brutal regime that saw it use Iraq as a base in its bid to overthrow the Iranian government.

The United States, the European Union and Iran have all branded the People's Mujahedeen a terrorist organisation.
But with the US military occupying Iraq after toppling Saddam, there are early signs Washington may be looking to recast the mujahedeen as "freedom fighters".

After British and US warplanes bombed several of the mujahedeen's bases in Iraq during the war to oust Saddam, the United States announced this week that it had agreed to a "ceasefire" with the group.

One of the mujahedeen's spokesmen, dapper Italian-educated civil engineer Mohsen Nadi, went further on Wednesday, saying that in fact the "mutual agreement" with the United States would allow the groups' thousands of soldiers in Iraq to remain armed and continue the fight against Iran's hardline rulers.

While refusing to be drawn on whether he expected the United States to drop the terrorist tag, Nadi emphasised the apparently similar goals that Washington and the People's Mujahedeen shared.

"Our war is only aimed at toppling the mullahs' regime in Iran in order to establish democracy and for peace and stability in the whole region," Nadi said.

Iran was one of the three nations, alongside Iraq and North Korea, that US President George W. Bush famously grouped together last year as the "axis of evil".

During a day tour for AFP of the People Mujahedeen's remarkably modern Ashraf headquarters 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Baghdad on Wednesday, Nadi returned repeatedly to the "terrorist" issue.

"For us it's been a very serious red line not to cross that not even one civilian be wounded," Nadi said.

"So far there has not been even one case."

Nadi was also insistent that "our war is only with the mullahs' regime", claiming that more than 100,000 people had died under Iran's "fundamentalist, terrorist, clerical government".

"How can we be called the terrorist group when we are fighting for freedom, democracy and regional stability?"
If Washington is indeed looking to rehabilitate the mujahedeen's image, Nadi's message could well be thrown up in lights while the US State Department's description on its website of the group is discreetly deleted.

"History studded with anti-Western activity, and attacks on the interests of the clerical regime in Iran and abroad," the website says, while also claiming Saddam used the proceeds of smuggled oil to build the mujahedeen's Ashraf base.

"This new headquarters for a terrorist organisation suggests what is in store for Iraq's neighbours if Saddam gets his hands on more Iraqi oil revenues."

Nadi offered a cool response to the suggestion that it was contradictory for the United States to now allow mujahedeen "terrorists" to operate from the same base Saddam was accused of building for them.

"This is not a contradiction if we have a force that has its principle emphasis on independence and democracy," Nadi said.
Nadi later showed AFP the base's small, but modern hospital where three women were recovering from what they said was most likely a US bomb attack at another Iraqi mujahedeen camp on April 6.

Mahnaz Bazazi, 45, has had both her legs amputated above the knee but Nadi, perhaps wary of antagonising the United States at such a vital time, was careful not to express outrage over the incident.

"The Americans have made no announcement on any bombings (against the mujahedeen)," he said, before taking AFP to a huge traditional Iranian lunch of chicken and rice served by a genial waiter dressed in army green.

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Overseas News

Report: Peterson's body found in March

Scott Peterson

OAKLAND, Calif. (UPI) - Investigators said they located the bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn son weeks before the bodies were washed ashore, according to a published report Sunday.

The Oakland Tribune said the bodies were located in mid-March using side scan sonar inside the shipping
channel in the San Francisco Bay.

But before they could retrieve the bodies, they believe a heavily laden tanker passed over or near the burial spot, churning up the channel's bottom and dislodging the sunken corpses. The wind, choppy waves and high incoming tides influenced by the full moon combined to eventually bring the bodies to shore.

The Tribune reported the original burial site was miles away from where the only suspect, Laci's husband Scott Peterson, told police he had gone fishing Christmas Eve. That was the day Laci, eight months pregnant, was reported missing.
Modesto Police Chief Roy Wasden said investigators believe they found the bodies as early as mid-March.

One law enforcement source told the newspaper that the discovery of the bodies by sonar was kept quiet, out of fear that Laci's husband might flee.

But with Scott Peterson now in jail on charges of killing Laci and their unborn son, Connor, those close to the investigation confirmed the detection of Laci's body weeks before it washed ashore April 14.

Sources told the newspaper the remains, possibly wrapped in some sort of plastic and held down by heavy material, were found by side-scan sonar deep in a shipping channel of San Francisco Bay, about 4 miles off Brooks Island.

Strollers found Laci's unborn baby in a tidal pond 250 yards east of the last house in Richmond's marina Bay on April 13. Laci's partial remains were discovered the next day at Point Isabel.

A state lab in Richmond identified Laci and Connor by DNA analysis April 18.

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Celebrated French hunter charged with murder in Chad

LIBREVILLE (AFP) Alain Le Foll, a well-known French big game hunt organiser, is being held in custody in the African state of Chad in connection with two murders which he denies.

Le Foll, 55, who has been organising safaris for statesmen and big businessmen for 30 years, is accused of having killed two nomad herdsmen and has been in custody in the capital Ndjamena since the beginning of this month, he told an AFP correspondent by telephone.

"I have been detained arbitrarily for nearly a month for deaths which did not happen. Indeed the opposite can be proved," he said.

Le Foll is under investigation for the alleged murder of the two herdsmen on March 2 in the south of the country at a hunting reserve near the border with the Central African Republic.

He said there had been a heated discussion between nomads armed with assegai spears and game wardens at the reserve where rearing animals is not permitted.

Le Foll said he had tried to intervene to calm things but one of the nomads had attacked him with his assegai, wounding him in the arm and leg.

He had fired his weapon twice in the air, then twice into the ground at a distance of 1.50 metres (five feet) from their feet. The game wardens had also fired shots and the nomads had fled.

"I am being accused of murder for using legitimate defence, and I did not kill anybody," he said. "I think they're just trying to extort money from me."

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Two million die each year at workplace: ILO

GENEVA (AFP) Some two million people die each year worldwide from work-related diseases and accidents, the equivalent of 5,000 workers every day, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said.

Each year, 270 million accidents are reported at the workplace, of which 355,000 are fatal, and 160 million cases of work-related illnesses are registered, the ILO announced in a study released to coincide with the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

Improving work safety standards is particularly critical in developing countries where a fatal accident is four times more likely to occur than in developed nations, the report showed.

The ILO evaluated the financial cost of these accidents and diseases at almost 1.25 billion dollars, or about four percent of the world's gross national product.

"The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is intended to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help to reduce the number of work-related deaths each year," the Geneva-based organisation said, adding:

"Because decent work is safe work."

Aside from cash pay-outs following an accident in the workplace, the overall financial cost increases when workers take early retirement due to invalidity, reducing the working life by an average of almost five years.

The ILO estimated that on average, five percent of workers are absent from their work every day, figures which can vary between two and 10 percent according to the sector and type of work.

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Nigeria to replace debt-ridden carrier with new airline

LAGOS (AFP) Nigeria will soon launch a new national airline to replace Nigeria Airways, a debt- and corruption-ridden carrier threatened with liquidation, aviation sources said.

Nigerian Global, a joint venture company between the government, Triation AG of Switzerland and some Nigerian partners, will soon replace Nigeria Airways, they said.

A London court recently ordered the liquidation of Nigeria Airways, established in 1959.
However, the Nigerian government floated the proposal for a new airline, Nigerian Global, ostensibly to prevent the assets of the erstwhile national
carrier from being seized by its foreign creditors.

An Airbus 310 sporting the emblem of the proposed new carrier, Nigerian Global, arrived the country on April 17 and another plane was due to come this weekend, sources said.

A total of eight Airbus 310 planes are expected to be brought into Nigeria as part of the new airline's fleet.

Top officials of Nigeria Airways, including the managing director recently, resigned in protest against what they called government interference in the management of the airline.

In 18 years, the airline has had 12 managing directors.

From a fleet that two decades ago boasted 20 planes, Nigeria Airways has only one plane left.

Critics of Nigeria Airways derisively call it Nigeria air waste.

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South Korea Sends troop to Iraq

South Korean soldiers wave before boarding a plane during a farewell ceremony at Seoul military airport in Sungnam, 30 April 2003. Some 673 non-combatants, including engineers and medics, left for Iraq to help the US war efforts. AFP PHOTO/Choi JAE-KU

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News From Our Region

Caribbean Tourism Organisation To Celebrate Caribbean's Diverse Spiritual Heritage

Karen Ford-Warner, deputy
secretary general, CTO.

Hugh Riley, director of
marketing, Americas, CTO.

Dr. Jean Holder, secretary
general, CTO.

Honourable Obie Wilchcombe, chairman, CTO

The Caribbean is known for its many diverse facets, among them its diverse faiths.

On June 1st, that spiritual diversity will be celebrated in New York, as the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) kicks off the Caribbean Week celebration with a special interfaith service at New York City's St. George's Episcopal Church.
The service, held at the church at 209 East 16th Street in Manhattan, will encompass several forms of religion practiced throughout the Caribbean and will include music by the Royal Barbados Police Force Band and a presentation of the region's flags by the Caribbean Dance Troupe of Hartford.

Key CTO officials, including Dr. Jean Holder, Secretary General of the organization; the Honourable Obie Wilchcombe, chairman of the CTO and Minister of Tourism of the Bahamas; Karen Ford-Warner, deputy secretary general of CTO and said Hugh Riley, CTO's director of marketing for the Americas, will all make remarks at the ceremony.

"While each Caribbean country celebrates life in its own unique way, spirituality and faith can deliver an unparalleled sense of unity within this diversity," said Riley in a prepared statement. "What better way to start Caribbean Week 2003 than by gathering member countries, Caribbean friends and colleagues to share, give thanks and rejoice in a true Caribbean manner."

Admission to the event is free but tickets must be obtained in advance by calling the CTO's New York office at (212) 635-9530.
Caribbean Week celebrations will continue through June 6th and will feature among other activities, a Caribbean Food Fair and Cultural Exposition. The fair will showcase signature dishes of several Caribbean chefs on June 2nd from 11 a.m. sundown at Bowling Green Park.

The annual Caribbean Marketplace for Journalists will be held on Wednesday, June 4th at the Roosevelt Hotel and will bring together representatives of CTO Governments, hoteliers and journalists in a trade show setting.

The week concludes on Friday June 6th with the annual glitzy black-tie affair at the Waldorf Astoria, which is attended, by several leaders and ministers from the region each year.

This year, organizers say they are trying to include more programmes that will target the general traveling public. Tourism to the region has seen a slump since the war on Iraq and the plan may be to try to garner more traffic from travelers in North America.

More information about the week's activities can be found at: www.caribbeanweekny.com.

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Jamaica Tourist Board to shutter overseas offices

Approximately nine months after allegations of financial corruption erupted at the Jamaica Tourist Board New York office, JTB officials have announced plans to shutter most of its overseas offices.

The Jamaica Gleaner on Monday quoted sources at the Board as saying that offices in the U.S. as well as in Europe, including Holland, Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom, many soon be closed in an effort to scale back on expenses. The JTB has offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York in the USA and in Toronto, Canada. There are also offices in Frankfurt, Germany, London, Paris, Rome, Japan and Taiwan. Locally, there are offices in Montego Bay, Negril, Black River, Ocho Rios and Port Antonio, with its headquarters in Kingston.

Board officials reportedly will hire qualified persons in select areas to represent them and push the country's tourism agenda. Such persons will have to operate within the confines of their own offices or homes. It is a tactic currently employed by St. Lucia.

The JTB move apparently comes from recommendations submitted following the investigation into the alleged scandal at the office in New York.

Staff cuts are expected to take place locally as well and a restructuring program has been underway since last year.
Director General of Tourism Mrs. Carole Guntley-Brady declined comment on the rumor, directing all remarks to Director of Tourism Paul Pennicooke or JTB Chairman Dennis Morrison. Both were unavailable.

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Caribbean Advocates Voice Concern Over Ashcroft Ruling

By Felicia Persaud

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's remarks have
immigrant advocates upset.

Irwin Clare, the Jamaican-born head of the New York-based Caribbean Immigrant Association, says he's concerned that immigrants "rights are being eroded" in the United States. Clare's comments comes as U.S. Attorney-General John Ashcroft declared on Friday that illegal immigrants can be held in detention indefinitely even if they have no known links with terrorism.

Ashcroft's order means that aliens will not be released on bond while immigration judges are deciding their cases, once the U.S. government can show they are a national security threat. The decision was made following the case of Haitian immigrant David Joseph. The immigration judge and appeals board had concluded they did not have authority to deny bond based on the national security concerns cited by the government, which has sought to detain more illegal immigrants since the 9/11 terror attacks.

Joseph was among the 216 Haitians who arrived in Miami by boat on Oct. 29th last year, then leaped from the craft into Biscayne Bay and ran along a major causeway. A total of 100 Haitians who arrived on the same boat as Joseph had been granted bond by judges. Ashcroft's decision also will affect them all except Cubans, who by law, are automatically allowed to stay in the United States if they reach its shores. It is a law that has been bashed as racist and politically motivated.
The recent ruling has advocates seeing red. Other immigrant advocates joined Clare in blasting the statement as an abuse of power in the name of fighting terror following 9/11.

Cheryl Little, executive director of Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, told AP that Ashcroft's opinion is the latest in a string of government decisions "manipulating our very serious national security concerns to justify targeting nationals of Haiti."
Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, added, "As disturbing as this decision is, it's really not that surprising, because Ashcroft has managed to keep his finger in all the immigration-related pies and ensured he can exert his authority shoulder-to-shoulder with (Homeland Security Secretary) Tom Ridge."

The National Coalition for Haitian Rights said it would fight to overturn Ashcroft's order. Dina Paul Parks, the New York-based coalition's executive director, said the decision further erodes immigrants' legal rights.

"If you were lucky enough to get a sympathetic judge you could potentially get released on bond. Now even that prospect is taken away," she told AP.

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BWIA Board of Directors playing hardball with government

By Felicia Persaud

BWIA remains cash-strapped.

British West Indies Airways (BWIA) may be hard up for cash but its board of directors reportedly insists on playing hardball with the Patrick Manning administration.

The Trinidad Express on Sunday reported that directors who attended a "do-or-die" meeting at Sunjet House, Port of Spain, Trinidad on Friday decided they would not consider the state's guidelines for the cabinet approved loan unless it was presented to them in writing.

The Trinidad government last week said it would not loan BWIA any more money unless the carrier meets its demands for a management review. But the private sector-controlled board apparently says unless government sends them a copy of the demands in writing they would not consider the conditions.

Government sources were quoted as saying they were stunned at the board's decision especially since the carrier is being besieged by creditors and clearly has no money.

The Patrick Manning administration late last week agreed to throw BWIA a US$18.5 million lifeline after airline officials and BWIA boss Mr. Conrad Aleong blamed the US$11.2 million losses the company suffered on the influx of charters, competition from Air Caribbean and Caribbean Star, higher fuel prices and insurance costs and the US FAA downgrade from Category 1 to Category 2.

Government set the bailout with some state strings including financial commitments from the airline's large private sector stakeholders as well as the hiring of a consultant to review BWIA's books. Now the Express is reporting that in addition to the conditions laid out last week, the administration is also looking to liquidate the carrier and start-up a new flag carrier, minus the burdensome union contracts and costs.

Government also reportedly wants to take a package of legislation before Parliament to provide for a Chapter 11 landing. Once this is passed, all labour contracts will be up for re-negotiation.

It is now left to be seen whether BWIA will accept the government's offer or continue to play hardball.

A similar situation is arising in Jamaica. Air Jamaica's Chairman Mr. Gordon 'Butch' Stewart is saying the current management will continue to run the airline despite government's claim that its new 45 percent stake plus its conditional preference shares will soon put it in the driver's seat at
Air Jamaica.

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Sports

Couples pulls away for emotional Houston win

Fred Couples of the US hits out of the bunker on the second hole, 27 March, 2003 at the Players Club at Sawgrass, Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida the site of The Players Championship. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES

HUMBLE, Texas (AFP) Fred Couples earned an emotional win Sunday in front of thousands of adoring fans at the Houston Open, posting birdies at four of the last five holes to pull away from a trio of golfers and end a five-year title drought.
A former world No. 1, Couples carded a five-under-par 67 en route to a 72-hole total of 21-under 267 and a four-stroke victory over playing partner Mark Calcavecchia, Hank Kuehne and Aussie Stuart Appleby.

After closing the tournament with a 10-foot birdie putt, Couples accepted congratulations from Calcavecchia, then broke down in tears while thanking his wife, Thais, and his coach, Butch Harmon.

"I am always emotional when nice things happen to nice people," Couples later joked.

Couples had gone 87 starts without a victory, dating to the 1998 Memorial. He has 15 titles overall, including the 1984 and 1996 Players Championship and the 1992 Masters.
"I haven't played really well in five years, and I worked hard on my game, and it meshed," he said. "And to win, it's a great bonus for (caddie) Joey and myself and my wife and his family, but I have a lot of people to thank.

"That's kind of what was going through my mind. Didn't get it out very well."

Sunday's win was worth 810,000 dollars, which pushed Couples into the top 10 on the money list with more than 1.37 million dollars. He has not finished a season higher than 47th since 1998, when he was ninth.

Couples, who is 12th on the all-time money list with 14.6 million dollars, began the week ranked 77th in the world. In 1992, he was ranked first for 16 weeks.

The 43-year-old Couples also became the first University of Houston product to win the event, which began in 1946. It was held at the brand new Redstone Golf Club for the first time this year following a 28-year run at The Woodlands.

Always one of the most popular players at a tournament, Couples had the equal of a home crowd on his side this week, making the experience that much more enjoyable.

"If I was sitting in the locker room and Mark had won, it would have been a nice day for me still," he said. "But it's a lot more fun for me than Calc or Kuehne or any of the other guys."

Couples' good friend, two-time teammate in the Ryder Cup and playing partner Sunday, Calcavecchia had the lead to himself with six holes to play but bogeyed two of them en route to a 70. He shared second at 17-under 271.

"I will take out of this week that I know I am going to win again, eventually," said Calcavecchia, whose last title came more than two years ago. "I said I'd win this year a few weeks ago, so I am narrowing in on it."

So is Kuehne, the 1998 US Amateur champion who didn't even earn a mention in this year's PGA Tour media guide but moved closer to unconditional exempt status by earning 336,000 dollars. He finished with a 66.

Appleby came close to his first victory since winning at The Woodlands four years ago, closing with a 69.

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Yao Ming wants Clipper's Wang Zhizhi on national team

Los Angeles Clippers' Chinese center Wang Zhizhi (l) jostles for position for a rebound with Houston Rockets' Chinese center Yao Ming. AFP PHOTO/Lucy NICHOLSON

BEIJING (AFP) NBA Houston Rocket sensation Yao Ming has asked that his former teammate Los Angeles Clipper Wang Zhizhi be invited back to China's national basketball team, but so far the state's crusty sports officialdom is not willing to listen to the star player.

"The Clippers have finished their season so I really hope that big Wang can come back this summer and join the national team so that the two of us can play together," Yao told Friday's Titan Sports.

"With him we have two big men with an inside and outside game that no team in Asia is even close at matching," the 2.26-meter (seven-foot-six) center said.

China's newly named national team is expected to gather in Beijing early next month to prepare for the Asian Basketball Championships which will be held in September in northeastern Harbin city, Heilongjiang province.

Wang's name has been left off the group of 16 players, but the list did include San Antonio reserve center Menk Bateer, China's third player in the NBA.

The team needs to win the championship if it wants to participate in next year's Athens Olympics.

The 2.11-meter Wang hoped to play for the national team at last summer's World Basketball Championships and the Asian Games, but was kicked off for refusing to return for some three months of training before the tournaments.

Instead, the former national team standout trained in a NBA summer league where he eventually won a 3.3-million-dollar contract with the Clippers.

Without Wang, China put in dismal performances at both events and lost the Asian Games crown to South Korea, as a tug of war among the sports officials raged in Beijing over Wang's alleged lack of patriotism and loyalty to the nation.

Players, however, almost unanimously voiced support for Wang's inclusion on the team, while also saying the long-winded training left them exhausted.

"I know (Wang) likes to score, but that doesn't matter to me, I'm more than happy to rebound for him," Yao said.

"What would be even better and what I really hope is that all three of us NBA players can come together again underneath our country's flag."

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Cayman Islands Darts Association Awards Presentation ceremony

The Cayman Islands Darts Association will be hosting an awards ceremony for the current Heineken Winter League Darts Competition which concludes later this week. The ceremony will take place at the Chameleon Club and Lounge on Saturday 3rd May 2003 at 8.00pm.

In addition to the Trophy presentation there will be door prizes and several spot prizes.

All players, members and supporters are invited to attend. There will be drinks specials and free hors-douvres.

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Cayman Islands Martial Arts Bash

Beginner Kids winner
Advanced boys winners

Tiny Tots sparring.

The Spring Bash National Martial Arts Competition was held at Kings Sports Center on April 12th under the auspices of the Cayman Islands Martial Arts Federation (CIMAF).

This was the first major martial arts competition for 2003. There were over 60 participants representing four different martial arts styles on the island, ranging in age from 4-years to 30-plus. All considered the tournament an exciting success. The next annual CIMAF event is planned for June 5th this year.

An international competition is planned for October as well as a national championship to end the 2003 competition season in November.

For more information on CIMAF and martial arts, including Ladies Self Defense classes in the Cayman Islands contact President Claude Myles at 949-8581 or Secretary Geddes Hislop c/o Purple Dragon at 949-5132. The CIMAF executive meets the first Wednesday of every month at 5:30PM at the office of Intelsec Consultants in George Town.

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Cayman Islands' newest Black Belts graded

Vashti Ramgeet and Wayne Jones celebrate their Black Belts.

Over the weekend of March 28th-30th 2003, two students from the Cayman Branch of Purple Dragon School of Martial Arts traveled to Trinidad. There, at Purple Dragon World Headquarters, Wayne Jones (age 33) and Vashti Ramgeet (age 11) helped make history by participating in the international organisation's 100th Black Belt Grading.

Candidates from six countries underwent the three-day and two-night trial to obtain the coveted title of a Purple Dragon Black Belt. Both candidates representing the Cayman Islands were successful, adding Vashti to a very small list of female Black Belts under 12 years old in Cayman.

This event was dedicated to the memory of Sensei Antonio Jacob, the youngest son of Purple Dragon founder Professor Don Jacob.

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Cayman Islands Martial Arts Federation Spring Bash 2003 results

Cayman Islands Martial Arts Federation Spring Bash 2003 results

6 years and under beginner forms
1ST PLACE: Conor Cockhill
2ND PLACE: Jason Kitch
3RD PLACE: Eddie Durech
4TH PLACE: Rashaun Rivers

7-9 years beginner forms
1ST PLACE: Samantha Marcarenhas
2ND PLACE: Daniel Byrnes
3RD PLACE: Lucas Byrnes
4TH PLACE: Alex Pascal

7-9 years inter/ advanced forms
1ST PLACE: Nikolai Solomon
2ND PLACE: Justin Hislop
3RD PLACE: Mario Franco Dadal
4TH PLACE: Francisco Hernandez

10-12 years beginner forms
1ST PLACE: Khari King
2ND PLACE: Christopher Delaney
3RD PLACE: Gavin Bodden
4TH PLACE: Chynae Sammules

10-12 years inter/ advanced forms
1ST PLACE: Benjie Rivers
2ND PLACE: Van Ramgeet
3RD PLACE: Von Ramgeet
4TH PLACE: Garrett Conolly

13-15 beginner forms

1ST PLACE: Joanna Morrison
2nd PLACE: Andre Jackson

13-15 intermediate/ advanced forms
1ST PLACE: Santiago Chiniboga

13-15 intermediate/ advanced forms
1st PLACE: Sandiq Mahammed
2ND PLACE: Tracia Barrett

under 15 years weapons intermediate/ advanced
1ST PLACE: Benjie Rivers

6 years and under sparring m/f
1ST PLACE: Rashaun Rivers
2ND PLACE: Daniel Conolly
3RD PLACE: Frederick William
4TH PLACE: Matthew Crowe

7-9 years beginner sparring male
1ST PLACE: Akinyele Logan
2ND PLACE: Alex Pascal
3RD PLACE: Gabriel Schmidick
4TH PLACE: Lucas Byrnes

7-9 years intermediate/ advanced
sparring male
1ST PLACE: Jaryd Bodden
2ND PLACE: Justin Hislop
3RD PLACE: Francisco Hernandez
4 TH PLACE: Nikolai Solomon

7-9 years beginner sparring female
1ST PLACE: Samantha Marcanrenhas
2ND PLACE: Nikita Cox

10-12 years beginner sparring male
1ST PLACE: Gavin Bodden
2ND PLACE: Khari King

10-12 intermediate/ advanced sparring male
1ST PLACE: Von Ramgeet
2ND PLACE: Benjie Rivers
3RD PLACE: Garrett Connolly
4TH PLACE: Dagaen McLaughlin

10-12 years inter/ advanced sparring females
1ST PLACE: Chynae Sammules
2ND PLACE: Vanessa Williams

18 years and over beginner sparring males
1ST PLACE: Carl Higgins
2ND PLACE: Sandiq Mahammed
3rd PLACE: John Lawrence

BLACK BELT DIVISIONS

12 and under forms Black Belt

1ST PLACE: Vashti Ramgeet
2ND PLACE: Gabriella Hernandez
3RD PLACE: Stephanie Lewis
4TH PLACE: Michael Brandon

13- 17 years forms Black Belt
1ST PLACE: Timisha Edwards

18 year and over forms Black Belt
1ST PLACE: Carlos Ramirez
2ND PLACE: Harold Davie

12 and under weapons Black Belt
1ST PLACE: Gabriella Hernandez
2ND PLACE: Stephanie Lewis
3RD PLACE: Michael Brandon
4TH PLACE: Vashti Ramgeet

13- 17 years weapons Black Belt
1ST PLACE: Timisha Edwards

12 and under sparring Black Belt
1ST PLACE: Michael Brandon
2ND PLACE: Vashti Ramgeet
3RD PLACE: Gabriella Hernandez

Over 18 years sparring males Black Belt
1ST PLACE: Morris Martin
2ND PLACE: Husam Rochez
3RD PLACE: Carlos Ramirez
4TH PLACE: Harold Davie

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Sports Summary

Sport Summary

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich

Popovich named NBA Coach of the Year

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFP) Gregg Popovich has been named the San Antonio Spurs' first ever NBA Coach of the Year, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

Popovich guided the Spurs to a 6022 record and their third straight Midwest Division title.

The Spurs matched Dallas for the league's best record and earned the top seed in the play-offs. San Antonio was 419 after January 1 and became the first team in NBA history to win 18 of its last 20 road games.

San Antonio's best-of-seven first round Western Conference series with the Phoenix Suns is tied 22.

Popovich replaced Bob Hill as coach of the Spurs in December 1996, and owns a 339185 regular season record. He guided the Spurs to their only NBA title in 1999.

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt hits a return to Sweden's Thomas Enqvist during their Davis Cup quarter-final singles match Sweden vs Australia in Malmoe 04 April 2003.

Hewitt heads for Hamburg

HAMBURG, Germany (AFP) Australian world number nine Lleyton Hewitt has confirmed he will play at the Hamburg Masters Series starting on 12 May, organisers said Wednesday.
Wimbledon champion Hewitt, who sat out last week's Monte Carlo Masters Series and who is also absent from Barcelona this week, will use the 2.45 million euro event as a warmup for the French Open, starting on 26 May.

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FACTS ABOUT Cayman Net News ...

The current print edition of Cayman Net News is now on sale on newsstands everywhere in the Cayman Islands

Cayman Net News' website is up-dated at 1:00 pm every Tuesday and Thursday. There are also frequent News Updates on other days, including weekends and public holidays.

Cayman Net News' full edition including Display and Classified ads can also be read on-line, by clicking the appropriate box on the home page.

The Cayman Islands Government's official web site is now accessed by clicking the the appropriate box on the home page. This important feature allows viewers to access a multitude of important information and features of the Cayman Islands including: Directories, General information and Guides, Immigration Services, current Weather, and other top Cayman links

READER SERVICES -

Community, sports and service organizations are encouraged to send announcements and photos of up-coming events for publication.

Corporate and business press releases with photos relevant to the Cayman Islands are considered for publication.

Feedback and Letters to the Editor are encouraged from viewers.

Forward via e-mail to: caymanet@candw.ky or Fax to: (345) 949-0679

CORPORATE and PRODUCTION OFFICES -

Cayman Net Ltd.
85 North Sound Road,
Alissta Towers
Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands, BWI

Telephone: (345) 946 6060 / Emergencies (345) 916 4622

This Site was designed and is maintained by Cayman Net Ltd., publishers of:
Cayman Net News tabloid newspaper;
caymannetnews.com  online news edition
This Week in Cayman  A Weekly Magazine, Tourist and TV Guide.