Archive for February, 2009
Race for ‘God particle’ heats up
(BBC): Europe’s particle physics lab, Cern, is losing ground rapidly in the race to discover the elusive Higgs boson, or "God particle", its US rival claims. The particle, whose existence has been predicted by theoreticians, would help to explain why matter has mass. Finding the Higgs is a major goal of Cern’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC). But the US Fermilab says the odds of its Tevatron accelerator detecting the famed particle first are now 50-50 at worst, and up to 96% at best. Both machines hope to see evidence of the Higgs by colliding sub-atomic matter at very high speeds. Go to article
Accountant faces extradition
(The Australian): A UK accountant could face extradition to Australia from the Channel Islands tax haven of Jersey within weeks as part of a massive tax fraud investigation.Philip de Figueiredo, who heads a Swiss accountancy firm, was arrested in Jersey in late December at the request of officers involved in Operation Wickenby, Australia’s biggest tax fraud probe into offshore schemes allegedly used by celebrities including Paul Hogan. Australian authorities filed extradition papers with the Jersey magistrate’s court last week, seeking permission for Mr de Figueiredo to be sent to Australia to face possible charges of tax fraud and money-laundering. Go to article.
LIME “Shares the Love” for Valentine’s
(CNS): This Valentine’s Day, Saturday 14 February, LIME employees decided to spread a little chear and happiness by delivering flowers to patients and staff in the George Town Hospital, Chrissie Tomlinson Hospital, Faith Hospital Cayman Brac and the Pines Retirement Home. Tony Ritch, Country Manager LIME Cayman Islands, said, “We are continuing to show our customers that we really are different and that we are putting them first by going into the community and interacting with people on a one-to-one basis in a way that makes them feel special.” (Left: Natalia McLaughlin & a member of the George Town Hospital staff)
In a release from the telecommunications company, Ritch said, “Our LIME colleagues love to pleasantly surprise the public with our Acts of Kindness by bringing cheer and a little bit of excitement into their daily lives and the response has truly been overwhelming – incredibly positive.” (Right: Eddison Scott and Lime Girls)
LIME will continue showing its customers that it cares throughout the year with a schedule of Acts of Kindness that continues to demonstrate the company’s commitment to the Caribbean and its inhabitants.
(Left: Dr Tomlinson & LIME ladies)
Maple House receives support
(CNS: The Rotaract Blue Club of the Cayman Islands recently made a donation of $3000 to the Maple House facility, a home for children with special needs and disabilities.The donation came from proceeds raised at the first annual Open Arms Award Ceremony which was held last year. The funds have been donated to be used at the discretion of Maple House officials, who say they s will buy much needed household items, as well as wheelchair straps and other special equipment.
In a release from the club, Joy White, Manager of Maple House, expressed appreciation for the donation and the continued recognition and support that Rotaract Blue has provided. She also stated that she was looking forward to this year’s Open Arms ceremony. Rotaract Blue member Rene Shortridge stated, “Rotaract Blue is happy that the Open Arms programme has been successful and that the club is able to assist Maple House. We are hoping that the programme reaches further heights so that we are able to extend more support where it is needed.”
In an effort to raise more funds, the club announced that it has rescheduled the previously postponed Open Arms Family Fun Day event, which will now take place on 21 February at the Airport Park. The event will also provide an opportunity for those with special needs to have fun with their families, friends and the wider community. Rotaract Blue invites the community to come out and support this event.
Rotaract Blue is one of the newest Rotaract initiatives in the Caribbean. The club is proudly sponsored by Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Central and under their guidance we have become the second established Rotaract Club in the Cayman Islands. The Open Arms programme aims to create community awareness of different disabilities and to integrate individuals with disabilities into the community
Photo: Ms. Joy White (right) receives cheque from Rotaract Blue Secretary Shakira Gourzong
UCCI students study the environment
(CNS): Students from UCCI’s Environmental Science 101 course took part in a trip to the mangroves earlier this month, with the aim of developing a better understanding of the dynamic interconnections of local natural systems, human impacts and solutions. Studying the impact of human interactions with the environment is the basis of the Environmental Science classes at the University College of the Cayman Islands, the college says.
Marnie Laing, the Adjunct Professor for the class and education director of Sea Elements at the Lobster Pot Dive Center, says that interactive experience in local ecosystems fills an important role in helping to educate young Caymanians on the vital importance of mangroves and why we need to protect it. “The students can learn about the important functions of mangroves in class, but until you explore this beautiful environment, most people don’t understand how much life there is to discover. Within an hour we saw clusters of tunicates, orange encrusting sponge, mangrove oysters, local green herons eating fish among the roots and four migratory brown pelicans.”
Environmental Science student Deino-Karl Escoffery had positive feedback on the excursion: “The trip was definitely a success. The first hand experience was really beneficial; we were able to see up close, where and how mangroves grow and observe the life that is supported by the mangroves. The entire class participated and we learned a lot from the experience.”
UCCI stresses the importance of interacting with the local community through the Science Department. Students of environmental classes are given the opportunity to learn from many leading scientists in Cayman, in both the public and private sectors. Visiting lecturers include experts from organizations such as the Department of Environment, the National Trust and the Department of Environmental Health.
For more information on classes offered at UCCI, please visit www.ucci.edu.ky or contact Administration at 949 9580.
MACI forsakes Christmas party, gives to Brac seamen
(CNS): Last December, the staff of the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (MACI) collectively decided to take funds allocated for the organisation’s annual Christmas party and instead donate the funds to the Veterans and Seaman’s Association of Cayman Brac, whose Hall on the Bluff was severely damaged by Hurricane Paloma in November. (Left: Jaris Poldervaart, MACI representatives Krista Dixon and Kenrick Ebanks, Holroy Walton and Arlin Tatum)
Last week representatives of MACI, Mr. Kenrick Ebanks, Director – Global Operations, and Krista Dixon, Maritime Officer and MACI Social Committee Chairperson whose family is from the Brac, travelled there to present a cheque in the amount of CI$10,000 to representatives of the Cayman Brac Veterans and Seaman’s Association. Accepting the donation were the organisation’s President, Holroy Walton, and retired seafarers, Arlin Tatum, George Walton and Jaris Poldervaart.
MACI CEO, Joel Walton, himself from a seafaring Brac family, said, “A number of us here at the Maritime Authority have been closely impacted by the devastation caused to the Brac and our families there. The entire staff of MACI felt the funds earmarked for a Christmas party would be far better spent in helping those affected on Cayman Brac, and we feel blessed to be in a position to be able to help during the Brackers’ time of need.”
On accepting the donation, Holroy Walton said, “I must tell you the truth, that I am very proud and happy to know people of such character to present such a generous amount to our recovery.” H. Walton, who spent 31 years at sea, is the grandson of a Master Mariner, and he noted that the late father of Joel Walton, Mr. Japheth Walton, was one of the pioneers in the Brac’s shipbuilding heritage.
“We take great pride in the sea,” explained H. Walton, “and that’s why we built the Seaman’s Hall, and to help keep the legacy of those who’ve gone before us.” He said he wished to thank all those at MACI, and, especially his cousin, Joel Walton, for the generous donation, adding that he was “overjoyed for the consideration”. He hoped they would be able to realise even more financial resources to enable them to preserve the Hall “for those younger ones coming up.”
Dixon said she was particularly pleased to be able to personally participate in the presentation. “So many of us at MACI Headquarters in Grand Cayman have close connections to people here on the Brac and it makes me particularly proud to work for an organisation that contributes to the ongoing tradition of all things maritime in the Cayman Islands.”
In an additional spirit of holiday giving, MACI also, in December, donated a considerable amount of furniture toJohn Gray High School. The presentation was made to the school’s Deputy Principal, Allan Hewitt by Glenda Dilbert-Davis, MACI Head – Human Resources and Administration (left). This was a result of the organisation’s move to new office accommodation at Strathvale House on the waterfront.
Youth highlighted in regatta
(CNS): One of the highlights of the third KPMG International J/22 Invitational Regatta later this month will be the focus on youth sailing and this starts off with the KPMG Youth Sailing Day on Wednesday 18 February at the Cayman Islands Sailing Club. This is the third time that a local school has been invited to take part in the event and this year 20 students from North Side Primary will enjoy a day of sailing and nautical activity thanks to KPMG and Cayman Islands Sailing Club.
A release from CISC says the youngsters will experience dinghy sailing with instruction by the Club’s Director of Sailing Mike Weber and Coach Jenna Pickering. In addition, lunch and drinks are provided and each participant will receive a KPMG Regatta t-shirt.
The focus on Cayman’s young sailors continues through the Regatta events, which take place 26 February to 2 March, when the Cayman Islands Sailing Club’s youth team will be competing alongside Cayman’s top J/22 teams and visiting crews from USA, UK, Bahamas, Bermuda and Jamaica. The 4 person youth J/22 team comprises some of Cayman’s most experienced and talented young sailors: Marina Maffessanti (helm), Chris Delaney, Alex Walton and Oliver Fogarty. They are looking forward to giving the other teams some very close competition.
KPMG is the title sponsor of the Regatta and Youth Day. Other sponsors and suppliers of goods and services to the regatta include Kirk Freeport, Harbour House Marina, Caribbean Marine Services, Tortuga Rums, Flowers Bottled Water, Champion House Catering, Mainstay Sailing, Subway West Shore & Industrial Park, English Bakery, Cost-U-Less, Infocus Photos Ltd, Cayman Islands Sailing Club and the local J/22 boat owners.
The regatta features a number of social events which are open to members and non-members and this year includes an art exhibition “Colours of Cayman” of works by local artists Avril Ward and Dora Williams. Part proceeds of any art sales will go to CISC sailing programmes.
For further information about the event or the CISC, contact Club Manager, Rick Caley on 947 7913 or at admin@sailing.ky.
YCLA to honour activist
(CNS): Estella Scott-Roberts, who was murdered in October 2008, will be honoured at the Young Caymanian Leadership Awards (YCLA) 2009. A special tribute and an Honorary Award will be presented to highlight the leadership of a young Caymanian, who was a nominee in 2004. The YCLA said it has been working closely with the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation, under the direction of Rayle Roberts, Estella’s husband and Chair of the Foundation. Roberts is also a YCLA alumni finalist from 2006.
“The Young Caymanian Leaders Foundation will be bestowing the honorary YCLA to Mr Roberts in recognition of the overall solid leadership values of his wife, Estella,” said Melissa Wolfe from YCLA. “Her focus, dedication and determination inspired a nation. Her sincerity, trust and genuine concern for people inspired those closest to her.”
Taskforce recommends new law to ministry
(CNS): After almost four years of work, the Stalking and Sexual Harassment Taskforce has provided recommendations to the Ministry of Health and Human Service to help it form legislation offering victims much needed protection from this kind of abuse, which is common in the Cayman community. Joannah Bodden Small, the Chair of the taskforce, said that following considerable analysis of the research and comparative data, the taskforce was hopeful that laws would be enacted that would offer meaningful protection.
Small explained that government now had the Legislative Recommendations, the Survey Report the Research Report and the video documentary "Protect Cayman", with the goal of helping the ministry create the framework for the necessary new laws . “We have requested that our recommendations be considered by the government with a view to implementing new laws to protect victims of stalking and sexual harassment in the Cayman Islands,” she said.
Small added that aside from the original survey results and the research report, the committee had submitted information which contained a summary of Cayman’s existing legal regime and a review of 11 jurisdictions that have legislated on the issues.
“The Survey Report concluded that both stalking and sexual harassment were indeed occurring in the Cayman Islands, with 1 in every 2 respondents experiencing some form of stalking as described in the survey and 2 in every 5 respondents experiencing some form of sexual harassment as described in the survey,” Small added.
The Survey Report confirmed an overwhelming support for legislation against stalking and sexual harassment with 92.7% of those who took part stating they supported legislation being implemented against stalking and 94.6% of supporting legislation against sexual harassment.
“We hope that our arguments for the implementation of new legislation, and the manner in which such legislation should be approached, will be persuasive and actioned as soon as possible,” Small said.
The need for new and separate legislation is based on a number of issues, not least the fact that when incidents were reported to them, the Family Support Unit of The RCIPS said their power to address complaints of harassment and stalking was limited to where the complaints fell within an existing offence in Cayman’s laws.
This has often meant exercising powers under laws that were not specifically designed to deal with the issues, such as the Information and Communications Authority Law, which contains provisions for use of an ICT network or ICT service to abuse, annoy, threaten or harass another.
“The police have expressed frustration that the absence of laws on our books designed specifically for stalking or sexual harassment have rendered them powerless in certain situations where they wished to be of assistance but did not have the power to lawfully assist,” Small stated.
“An increased awareness of the negative impact of stalking and sexual harassment in the Cayman Islands is the first step towards eradicating these problems in our society. There are more and more reports of victims coming forward to confront the perpetrators and take action against them where possible.”
She noted that legislation was important but it must also be coupled by society’s understanding of the issues and a zero tolerance approach towards stalking and sexual harassment in the wider community as often people did not see that their behaviour amounted to harassment or stalking.
“The creation of the Gender Affairs unit demonstrates government’s willingness to provide the focus and perspective needed to properly review issues such as stalking and sexual harassment. The Ministry of Health and Human Services has expressed its support for our project from the project’s inception and indicated its willingness to collaborate with the Taskforce so far as possible to incorporate our recommendations into the priories government is developing for the subject area of gender affairs,” Small said.
The taskforce was looking forward to assisting the Gender Affairs unit and the Ministry in any way possible that will help victims, she added.
“Standard tactics” to win hearts for dolphin parks
(CNS): Reacting to recent press articles that appeared to support the tourism and community benefits of the two captive dolphin parks that have recently opened on Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) has reiterated its long-held opposition to the facilities, and said the dolphin parks were using “standard tactics to convince the public that they are a humane and valuable asset to the community.”
In a statement released Monday, the association, which is made up of a cross-section of businesses and stakeholders from the tourism sector, said that its position had not changed: “CITA has been on record since 2002 as being opposed to these facilities and we have well researched and documented facts that support this position.”
On 8 January, The Caymanian Compass published an interview with Bob and Suzy Soto, both leading figures in Cayman’s tourism industry, who went on the record as supporting the dolphin facilities. The article, Dolphin facilities have tourism pioneers’ support, said the Sotos “believe that there are many advantages to having swim-with-dolphin facilities in the Cayman Islands, such as an outlet for children to interact with dolphins, a boost to Cayman’s tourism product and that it provides dolphins a secure setting compared to the harsh life of the open seas.”
On Sunday, 15 February, Cayman Net News published an article, He’s no fish, he’s my friend Nemo, about a field trip by students from Lighthouse School to Dolphin Cove, where five students and a teacher swam with one of the captive dolphins.
In response to these and other articles CITA stated, “Already both captive dolphin attractions have employed many of their standard tactics to convince the public that they are a humane and valuable asset to the community. Local tourism and marine pioneers have been used to spread their doctrine, the wonderful children of the Lighthouse School invited to play with the animals and small children and families pictured with the ‘smiling’ dolphins. And please don’t be misled about the employment opportunities for Caymanians and the economic value of new jobs; the majority of employees are foreign and that is not going to change any time soon.”
CITA’s statement continued, “There are no adequate facilities for captive dolphins. There are more elaborate and sophisticated ones, but no dolphin parks are suitable as wild dolphins swim hundreds of miles a day and have the whole ocean in which to live in. They have been recorded to dive to depths of hundreds of feet. They live in a social family pod and nurse, nurture, teach and protect their young. Statistics show that the average life of a dolphin in captivity is 7 years versus 50 years in the wild. Saying that the facilities in Cayman are world class or provide the best in care is very misleading. It is based on the underlying principal that some captive dolphin facilities are acceptable and it is the CITA’s position that they are not. These are highly intelligent mammals they do not deserve to be captured, taken from their families, stressed and forced to live the rest of their life in a swimming pool that is perhaps only 20 feet deep.”
Turning to the educational aspects promoted by the dolphin parks, CITA said they understood that both adults and children learn about dolphin behavior and biology when they swim with them. “People would probably love to ride a camel or see a wild cat too, however that does not make it right to capture and incarcerate them here in Cayman.”
The statement continued, “Of course dolphins are entertaining, but this is something that they are forced to do in order to obtain their food. Dolphins are clever, which is why they are a highly valued commodity; they will exercise their skills in order to survive. If doing tricks is what it takes then they will do them. They are a sentient creature, which means that they have self awareness similar to humans, surely we should not capture them for our own entertainment?”
CITA noted that the organisation opposed the captive dolphin facilities from long before any permits were granted, development started or animals imported, “but we were not listened to.”
In August 2008 the organisation asked the government to place a ban on any future imports of dolphins with a well documented paper on the impacts on capture to the wild dolphin populations, but said, “We have had no response to this request. The practice of herding, terrifying, wounding and killing is typical of all dolphin captures. The Cayman park owners could argue that they purchased their dolphins from other parks, however the other parks will now have to restock their own facilities from the wild, so there can truly be no distinction. If the developers are correct in their claim that these creatures breed successfully in captivity, there will be no need to import any more. We will stop being a party to the capture of wild dolphins and this is something that we can be proud of. There is nothing Caymanian, sustainable or indigenous to having captive dolphin facilities in Cayman. We should not be a copycat destination but instead embrace ‘all things Caymanian’.”
CITA stated its strong support for tourism, including new development and diversification of our existing product. “We encourage the growth of new properties, dive sites, restaurants and attractions but the CITA will not support either of the captive dolphin parks. Will people visit these places? Perhaps, but is it right for the dolphins and our future vision of tourism in the Cayman Islands? That is for you to decide.”
The statement concluded, “Once again, we beseech the government to seriously consider the implementation of a ban on the future importation of cetaceans, as many other nations have already done. We need to protect these marine mammals, the environment, the reputation of our tourism product and the culture and heritage of the Cayman Islands. Let your voice on this matter be heard. You can request email copies of our position papers by emailing info@cita.ky.”