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Footballers: Too many headers ‘can damage the brain’
(BBC): Frequently heading a football can lead to brain injury, warn doctors who say they have found proof on brain scans. Imaging of 32 keen amateur players revealed patterns of damage similar to that seen in patients with concussion. There appears to be a safe cut off level of 1,000 or fewer headers a year below which no harm will be done, but the US investigators say more work is needed to confirm this. Heading is believed to have killed the English footballer Jeff Astle. Astle, 59, who died in 2002, developed cognitive problems after years of playing for England and West Bromwich Albion. The coroner ruled that his death resulted from a degenerative brain disease caused by heading heavy leather footballs.
The NWA and the JDIP
(Jamaica Observer): One of the things that marred the government of the People's National Party during the more than 18 years it was in office was the alarming cost overruns on government projects, especially road construction, which was a gravy train for some party supporters. Two of the expensive cost overruns involved the North Coast Highway which escalated from US$25 million to US$75 million and the Montego Bay to Ocho Rios Highway which increased from US$60 million to US$176 million.
Trouble over trash
The Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free is again asking the government to unconditionally cancel the agreement with Dart to move the George Town garbage dump to Bodden Town. For Dart, moving the dump means that they can further extend Camana Bay and develop their “Future Residential Area”, which faces the present dump. But a new dump would threaten the integrity of historic Bodden Town, challenge an already inadequate infrastructure, and threaten the central wetlands.
The Dart public relations machine is trying to mislead us into believing that the dump must be moved. This is not true! What is true, as repeatedly made clear by Dart, is that once they hand the new site over to the government, they’ll have absolutely nothing to do with its management or the operation of any recycling facility, leaving this to the same governments which have grossly mismanaged the present dump. We urgently call on the Government to do what’s best for the people of Bodden Town, and not what’s best for the profits of a private company.
Selecting Bodden Town as the site of a new garbage dump ignores all common sense precautions and considerations:
Dumps should be located in an industrial area, like the present site — not in a residential or farm area. The agreement would require the rezoning of Midland Acres;
A dump should be located as close as possible to the source of the waste (George Town, West Bay and Seven Mile Beach), and the present site is ideally located;
A dump should be as close as possible to major transportation links (air, ship, highway), as is the present dump in George Town;
The site should have immediate access to a major roadway, and the George Town dump borders on the Esterley Tibbetts Highway;
A dump should never be near nature and animal preserves, but Meagre Bay Pond, one of the island’s key bird sanctuaries, is less than 1500 feet from Midland Acres;
Areas of cultural and historic value should be avoided. Bodden Town is the original capital of the Cayman Islands, and home to Pedro Castle, the Mission House, Gun Square, Slaves Wall, the Guardhouse, and several historic homes;
Wide open areas vulnerable to natural disasters (like hurricanes) are to be avoided. Imagine how far afield the garbage from Midland Acres would have been after Hurricane Ivan;
For both supply and possible resale of recycled power, a dump should be as close as possible to the energysource, and the present site is about 1500’ from CUC;
A dump should be as close as possible to the public sewage network, and the sewage plant is next door to the George Town dump;
More importantly, a dump should be located where property owners and residents have prior knowledge of the proximity of a waste disposal facility;
At the very least, the population of Bodden Town should be asked for their prior consent – and no such consultation seems forthcoming;
But, the cardinal rule is never relocate a dump, don’t contaminate a new site, exhaust all conceivable avenues allowing the dump to remain where it is; any new and improved waste management technology touted for a new site should be implemented (and tested, risk-free) at the existing site.
Relocating the dump to Bodden Town makes no sense at all. In fact, among the countless solutions put forward since the dump in George Town was established in 1983, moving the dump anywhere was never proposed by anyone – not until Dart wanted the George Town dump removed from sight and smell of Camana Bay.
No one ever claimed that the present dump had to be moved until the idea was floated last year by a group called WISE, claiming to be a “non-profit advocacy group”. According to the Caymanian Compass of October 4th 2010, the group admits that its proposal was based on “research” it commissioned from Apec Consulting Engineers Ltd., and Apec’s major client is Dart and Camana Bay. One of the key WISE spokespersons is Pilar Bush, head of AtWater Consulting and a paid spokeswoman for Dart and Camana Bay.
This group may be “non-profit”, but we suspect that it’s far from objective – that the “need” to move the dump is pure fiction invented by the Dart PR machine. And, cynically calling the proposed Bodden Town garbage dump an “Eco Park” is another PR trick, like calling a cemetery an amusement park.
In October 2010, the Government invited tenders to redevelop the GT landfill and create a waste-to-energy facility. Proposals were specifically limited to dealing with the landfill on the current site. It is understood that the only proposal to move the dump to Bodden Town, submitted by Decco, Dart’s construction company, ended up in 6th or 7th place, and did not even make the Central Tenders Committee’s “short list”.
It did not meet the parametres of the Request for Proposals, and there were “concerns about the potential environmental impact of locating a new dump in the central wetlands area”.
The tenders procedure ended with the government announcing in December that the winning bid was submitted by Wheelabrator Technologies to build and operate a hi-tech waste-to-energy facility on the present site, which would sell the energy created to CUC.
What changed all this?
Along came the spinmasters from Dart with the need to move the dump, while its executives admitted that the present dump was the “single most commonly stated hurdle for potential purchasers of various residential units at Camana Bay”. There we have the only reason for moving the dump!
We are not against new development, but moving the garbage dump to Midland Acres offers no jobs or economic growth. Quite the opposite. It will be an immediate obstacle to new businesses being established in the district, and to new residential developments. Bodden Town will face a major increase in truck traffic, noise and pollution, along a main road already critically dangerous and overtaxed. While Dart’s real estate will increase in value, Bodden Town will likely suffer a decrease in property vealus.
Bodden Towners will be exposed to possible toxic air emissions, a stench which, with winds from the East, could easily extend well beyond the village of Bodden Town towards the west, the risk of fires and explosions, disease through rodents and other pests, potential contamination of the water table extending into the central wetlands, and a possible disaster in the event of a major hurricane. Who would want to “Go East”?
Don’t Dump on Bodden Town! Keep BT Dump Free! No to rezoning Midland Acres! Not a single vote to any candidate who supports a dump in Bodden Town! The proposed dump must be stopped!
Channel Islands Lottery jackpot above £500,000 mark
(BBC): The jackpot for the Channel Islands Christmas Lottery has risen above £500,000. The first prize rises in relation to ticket sale increases and currently stands at £504,000. The 2010 first price was a record high of £750,000 with more money than ever going to charity. During 2011 more than £400,000 of money raised from the 2010 lottery was donated to charitable organisations across the islands. One of those to benefit was The Croft, a respite service for children and adults with learning disabilities. Sue Aldwell, secretary of the Friends of the Croft, said: "We were totally thrilled to receive funding, it will make the most amazing difference to everyone that we help support.
Young boxer takes on second pro challenge
(CNS): Local pro boxer Peter “Lightning” Lewison will be fighting his second professional boxing match against Florida’s Brant Skyler on Saturday 26 November. The 24-year-old Caymanian boxer, following in the footsteps of his role model, Caymanian boxer Charles “Killa” Whittaker, made the transition from amateur to professional boxer in June this year when he fought his first professional fight, alongside Whittaker, in “Ambush” at Camana Bay. Lewison knocked out Florida fighter Alex Lubo in the second round, despite Lubo’s greater experience. As an amateur boxer, Lewison excelled in the New York Golden Gloves competition and spent time training at the world famous Gleasons Gym in New York, which has trained world class boxers such as Mike Tyson.
Saturday’s event looks set to be an exciting one, also featuring undercard fights by local up and coming amateur boxers Thomas McField, Aaron Powell and Dariel Ebanks.
Doors open at 6:30pm at the D Dalmain Ebanks Boxing gym in the Truman Bodden Sports Complex. Tickets are available now. Call 927 0092 or visit www.lightninglewison.com for further details.
Hobson’s choice
I thought I would set myself a goal to try and write a commentary on the markets and not use “Europe”, “periphery” or “debt”. As you can see I just failed, which is a good thing as this commentary would be decidedly short if I hadn’t. The past couple of weeks haven’t been a good time to be a prime minister. Having seen two go, Greece’s Papandreou and Italy’s Berlusconi, there must surely be a bit of unease being at the top.
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An open letter to the voters of West Bay
Are you satisfied with life in West Bay these days? Is the crime rate in your district acceptable to you? How about drug abuse? Are you content with the education that all West Bay children are receiving? What about spouse abuse and alcoholism? No big worries there either?
The rest of the Cayman Islands can only assume that the voters of West Bay are happy and content with the status quo. Why else would you keep electing the same man to represent you, over and over? Since 1984 the majority of voters have elected McKeeva Bush to lead and protect the district of West Bay. Surely you would have changed course by now if you weren’t happy with the state of your district, right? It’s been nearly 30 years of Bush and one can only conclude that West Bay has been shaped to his liking. What we find hard to understand is how it’s to your liking.
What is it you see in the nearly 30-year reign of Bush that we don’t? What exactly are you getting out of this man’s incredibly long win streak? West Bay is home to many fine Caymanians, of course, but these days it also appears to be home to a nest of lost boys who shoot first and think later. If the Marl Road can be trusted (and we all know that it often can be), West Bay has a serious drug and alcohol problem as well as a crisis of dysfunctional families.
I know what you are thinking: “George Town has problems too!” Yes, George Town seems to have more than its share of criminals these days as well. But at least George Town voters don’t keep reelecting the same person, across decades, hoping against all reason that the same action will produce different results.
Cayman’s ridiculous and unfair version of democracy is set up in a way that almost guarantees we will end up in the situation we find ourselves in. A small block of voters in one district can elect and reelect the same person over and over who then, if he or she is skillful enough at backroom deals, can become the leader of the entire country. The result is that we have a national leader who is entrenched in a district and does not answer to the people of the entire society.
Why would Bush or any other premier care about what the voters of North Side, East End, Cayman Brac or anywhere other than West Bay say about his words and deeds? They don’t vote for him. One can only chuckle when a furor rises every several days over something our premier does. People repeat the same question: “How can he get away with that?” The answer, of course, is that he can get away with it because most Caymanian voters don’t live in West Bay and have no direct impact on his political fortunes.
Clearly the Cayman Islands need national elections for national leaders so that someone at the peak of power has to always keep in mind the needs and concerns of all voters. Until that change comes to pass, however, we can only hope that you, the voters of West Bay, will pause long enough to look around and assess the state of your McKeeva-made district and rethink your habit of voting him back again and again for more of the same.
Britain falls silent to remember war dead
(The Telegraph): The tribute started at 11am, the time the guns on the Western Front fell silent at the end of the First World War in 1918. Ceremonies nationwide commemorated fallen servicemen and women from both World Wars and later conflicts, including the 385 British personnel who have died since operations began in Afghanistan in 2001. The silence was particularly poignant for those at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, who are mourning the loss of the latest soldier to die on active service. Private Matthew Thornton, 28, from the 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, was killed by an IED while on patrol in Babaji on Wednesday. His family paid tribute to him last night as a "dedicated soldier" who "loved life".
U20 Women’s World Cup qualifying group is set
(CIFA): The Cayman Islands under 20 National Team now know who they will face in the second and final stage of the Caribbean Football Union Qualifying round. After finishing second in the previous round, Cayman has now been drawn into a group with the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica. The final stage of this tournament will be held within the period 9-17 December 2011, or at latest 18-31 January 2012. The dates of Cayman’s fixtures and venue are still to be confirmed. Winners of Group E and Group F as well as the best runner-up chosen from the runners up of both groups will qualify to the CONCACAF Women’s U20 Tournament which will be held in March 2012. This is the final round ofQualifying for the World Cup Finals Tournament.
The 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup will be the 7th edition of the tournament. Only the world’s best sixteen teams from all six confederations will compete in the World Cup Finals. The tournament will take place in the summer of 2012 in Uzbekistan.
Women’s Technical Director Thiago Cunha is excited for the next round and believes that the girls are ready to compete. “The game that we played against Trinidad & Tobago in the previous round showed that we can compete with the best teams in this region, the girls learned a lot from that game and I am sure that experience will prove vital in the next set of games, the girls believe that they are good team and they believe that they can beat anybody, they are confident but very focused and they will continue to work together both on and off the field as they prepare”.
Fifteen year old Cayman striker Shanelle Frederick is confident that Cayman can advance to the final stage of qualification, “We are very excited about this draw, this is what we live for, we train and prepare for these big competitions and I know that I can speak for all the girls and say that we are ready to take on this challenge”.
The Women’s National team is currently training four times a week in the morning and in the evening as they prepare for the next round of competition. The majority of the squad also plays in the Cayman Islands Women’s Football League.
CFU U20 World Cup Qualification Final Stage:
GROUP E
Cayman Islands
Dominican Republic
Haiti
Jamaica
Group F
Cuba
Puerto Rico
Trinidad & Tobago
Guyana
The corrosion that is corruption
Many of us will remember the “Good Old Days” when driving along South Sound was akin to driving in snowy northern forests. The milky coloured marl used for the road whirled over the cars and the vegetation at the side of the road. Danger lurked but did not become apparent for some time. Sooner or later (and in the case of Fiats it was sooner), the high salt content of the marl corroded the undersides and wheel arches of our cars. And it was only a question of when, not if, the hidden devastation to the vehicle showed itself – usually in the rainy season when dirty water started appearing unannounced in the floor pan.
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