Archive for August 23rd, 2010

Bermuda MP blasts ‘criminal’ work conditions

Bermuda MP blasts ‘criminal’ work conditions

| 23/08/2010 | 6 Comments

(The Royal Gazette): Construction workers say their industry no longer offers a lifeline to Bermudian men who can’t read or write. They claim locals are being priced out of jobs by an influx of non-Bermudians prepared to live and work in extremely poor conditions, for very little pay. And according to Pembroke MP Ashfield DeVent, many people believe the unions should have done more to confront the issue and protect workers. One construction worker, who has been in the industry more than 20 years, told The Royal Gazette he has been unable to find work since April. The man said he used to earn $45 an hour as a self-employed worker, and an average worker would get around $30 an hour.

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Hospital in Pakistan scrambles to save children

Hospital in Pakistan scrambles to save children

| 23/08/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNN): Amiza Mai rushes through the hospital doors, tears streaming from her eyes andher two-month-old boy cradled in her arms. He is screaming. Her baby boy Kalsoon has severe diarrhea and has been vomiting. He is so dehydrated that he needs fluids pumped into him intravenously immediately. He and his entire family are living in harsh conditions after losing everything in a rush of water. They are victims of Pakistan’s mighty flood that has tossed so many families into chaos. "I’m like a rolling stone, going here and there," says his mother, Amiza Mai. "My life is over. I have lost everything. And now I am at the mercy of others and the government."

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Victims suffer violent attacks

Victims suffer violent attacks

| 23/08/2010 | 40 Comments

(CNS): Police are appealing for witness to two further violent crimes this weekend after a couple was stabbed in Elgin Avenue and a woman was held at gunpoint by masked robbers during a home invasion. In the early hours of Sunday morning a couple was attacked following a verbal altercation with a group of men in the car park of the Helium Bar on Shedden Road. The couple left that location with the intention of going to George Town police station to report the incident. After parking in Elgin Avenue they were approached by a man who had been involved in the earlier incident. He attacked the couple stabbing both of them in the stomach before running off towards the town centre. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)

The victims made their way into George Town police station and were subsequently conveyed by ambulance to the Cayman Islands Hospital. The woman, aged 27, was released following treatment but the man aged 28 remains in hospital in stable condition. The suspect is described as 6 feet tall, dark brown complexion with a braided hair style, and spoke with a Jamaican accent.

Then on Sunday night at around a quarter to midnight armed robbers entered a home in the Swamp area on Brushy Avenue. The two masked men armed with handguns entered the home of a woman, who was alone at the time, threatening her as they demanded money. They ushered her into the bathroom and searched the house and left with a small safe containing personal documents. No shots were fired.
 
One suspect is described as 5 ’7’’ tall, of dark complexion and slim built. The othersuspect is about 6’, also of darkcomplexion and slim built. They both spoke with a Jamaican accent and were wearing dark clothes.
 
Anyone who was in the area at the time and might have witnessed the men leaving the scene are asked to call the George Town CID at 949 4222. Police are requesting anyone who thinks they may have witness the stabbing or the earlier attraction to contact Detective Constable Paul Inniss at 516 4373 the George Town Police station at 9494222
 
Or the public can call the anonymous Crimestoppers line on 800 8477 regarding either these or any other crimes. You do not have to leave your name or number and could receive a reward of up to $1000 if the information leads to a conviction.

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Radio ban on opposition

Radio ban on opposition

| 23/08/2010 | 70 Comments

Cayman Islands News, Grand Cayman Island headline news(CNS): Lucille Seymour, a member of the PPM, says she has been banned from hosting a talk show on the government owned radio station because she is a member of the opposition. Seymour, who has in the past stood in for Radio Cayman’s regular lunchtime host of TalkToday, Dwayne Sterling Ebanks, was due to do so again next week but has been told she cannot host any more shows . The former George Town MLA said the message was delivered to her on Friday afternoon by station management, who had been told by government that they were using too many “opposition people”, and while they were allowed to appear on the show as guests they would no longer be invited to host the show.

Denise Miller, the leader of the Young Progressives has also confirmed that she too was told that she could no longer host the programme after standing in on occasion as a volunteer. Miller said the same message was relayed to her that government "bosses" believed there were too many opposition members hosting and her services would no longer be required.
 
Radio Cayman is a government owned station and it receives over $1 million of public money each year as well as generating its own income through advertising. The station falls under the Ministry of District Administration, Public works and Agriculture — the deputy premier’s ministry — but Seymour pointed out that the station is really owned by the people and should not be subject to the political whim of whichever administration is in power. Surprised by the message that she received, Seymour told CNS that she was not going to take it lying down without saying anything.
 
“This is a very mean spirited attitude by government,” Seymour said. “I believe when government interferes in such a way it fuels the division. It should be looking at ways to bring people together not further alienate them. I was doing this voluntarily, having been asked by the host to stand in, and I have not abused the position. And I am certainly not in opposition to the people.”
 
Seymour stated that she wanted the public to know but sincerely hoped that none of the staff at the station would be punished because she had chosen to speak out about what was said. However, it was something she felt the people had to know had happened and if this was the government’s position the people should know about it.
 
“It was wrong of the government to use the civil servants to tell me; the minister should have told called me herself if she did not want me to host and not have her staff deliver the message,” Seymour pointed out, saying that she had not heard from Juliana O’Connor Connolly, the minister with responsibility for Radio Cayman.
 
She also said there was something of an irony regarding the government’s own attitude to the TalkToday show. “They really do have a cheek,” Seymour said, pointing out that government ministers and the premier did not often use the public radio show as platform to announce their policy initiatives to the people, deny the latest rumour or rebut criticism. Instead, Seymour observed, they are choosing to use Rooster’s morning talk show, Crosstalk, which is privately owed. “Yet here they now were dictating to the staff about who should be allowed to host this show,” she said.
 
Seymour noted that the move illustrated rising concerns that this particular administration is trying to curb free speech. “By doing this, government just feeds into the current belief of the wider community that it is acting like a dictatorship,” Seymour said. “The talk shows provide an opportunity for the people to discuss the issues that are affecting all of us and this should not be about partisan politics. I was talking about the things that affect everyone and was not using the show to broadcast a political position.”
 
Seymour was formerly the third elected member for George Town in the previous PPM administration. A long time educator and advocate for the rights of the community’s poorer members, Seymour lost out at the 2009 May election by just over 200 votes to Elio Solomon, ironically the former host of Crosstalk.  

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