FiWeBelize

Elections 2012

FiWeBelize — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:02:36 +0000

Elections are right around the corner, we have gotten our hands on the Manifestos for the PUP party; as soon as we get more we will be posting them up.

PLEASE! I do not want these posts to be taken negatively. I am only trying to get a better picture of what is being promised in the manifestos and point out issues that I see in them. My goal here is simply to remove confusion or doubt.

As soon as I get the manifestos for other parties they will be getting the same treatment…

And PLEASE, if you are friends with these politicians, please invite them to join our Facebook page so that they have a fair chance at providing feedback. In fact, invite ALL your friends to the session..

Together we can make a difference.

Each page posted on the Wiki will have a series of questions on the Discussion tab that I think needs to be answered. If you have questions to add to the Discussion tab, please post it here or on our Facebook page and hopefully we can get enough of these Politicians to answer them.

See the manifestos on our wiki here

What happens when a country Defaults on their Foreign Debt or gets a Bailout to avoid Foreclosure?

FiWeBelize — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:22:41 +0000

Lets look that the Bailout deal struck today to attempt to save Greece from Financial disaster.

EU – European Union
ECB – European Central Bank
IMF – International Monetary Fund

The second bailout for Greece will avert imminent bankruptcy and Greece will stay in the Eurozone.

The deal comes in two parts:

Investors take a huge loss of $142 Billion Dollars (A loss of nearly 55%)
Greece will receive 130 Billion Euros in new loans. But before that can happen they have to implement 3 Billion Euros in spending cuts.
To add, they will get an interest rate reduction to reduce the debt by another 2.8%

The price you pay

The EU, ECB and IMF places permanent monitors on the ground, in Greece. Basically they are permanently setting up shop inside of Greece and therefore infringing on the sovereignty of Greece.
A separate account will be setup to ensure that priority is placed on paying those debts thereby placing them above the Government working in the best interest of the country and it’s people.
The Greek Government will no longer have a say in how it manages its budget and honestly, the country. The parties involved will handle that for them.
Minimum wage is to be slashed by 22%, pensions between now and 2015, 150,000 public sector jobs will be obsolete, meaning that many people without jobs.

Similarities to Belize

We owe a huge foreign debt that is apparently on the brink of defaulting.
Greece heads to elections in April, Belize in a matter of days.
In late 2009, the new government of Prime Minister George A. Papandreou announced that it had discovered that its conservative predecessor had falsified budget figures, concealing a swollen debt that was growing rapidly in the wake of the global economic meltdown. Sound like the last decade or so in Belize?

Can you say looking into the future of our Jewel? I know I can.

I believe that we have been purposefully led to this point in our country’s history. I know many think that the theories are just that, but look around you and see what’s happening. Something terrible is looming on the horizon and many will not even notice because they are so distracted with all the noise going on around them.

My suggestions?

Take your eyes off the tube, leave the Jersey Shore behind.
Start paying attention to who you are voting for in politics and not American Idol or other related shows.
Learn your history, visit your library and learn what are your Constitutional and Legal rights.
Start to seek out the truth. Far too long have we depended on others to tell us what we want to know, we must re-indoctrinate ourselves to be self-reliant. This is what has us in the shit hole we are today.
Start to pay attention to our health. Start a backyard garden, find ways to live off the grid (infrastructure).
If you can, buy a gun, learn to hunt, clean, prepare, store and cook your kill.
Take some self-defense classes. Preferably, mixed martial arts and hand to hand combat.
Start looking out for others in your community. When shit hits the fan, the only way we will make it is be relying on others.
Learn and teach your children what to do in the event of an emergency.
MOST IMPORTANT: Start to open your eyes, read between the lines. Look at the forest for the trees not just the forest, you’d be surprised at what you find.

Greece secures bailout to avoid debt default (independent.co.uk)
8 questions answered on Greece’s bailout deal (cbc.ca)
You: News Analysis: New Bailout Is a Reprieve for Greece, but Doubts Persist (nytimes.com)
Greek deal greeted with cautious optimism (cbc.ca)
Eurozone approves new $173B bailout for Greece (news.blogs.cnn.com)
Bailout, Schmailout* (npr.org)

Mr. Prime Minister

FiWeBelize — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:07:42 +0000

At one time this was a hit issue in Belize. A song against the last PUP administration for their corruption and the status of the country of Belize.

It’s funny how things come full circle and bites you in the ass. This song is now perfect fitting to Dean Barrow and his UDP crew.

The Current Government Approval Rating in Belize Is 8% (fiwebelize.com)
PM of Belize announces Election Time is On (fiwebelize.com)
Moody’s: Belize PM Suggestion Of Changes To Bond Payments Is Credit Negative (fiwebelize.com)

LET’S SPREAD THE LOVE

FiWeBelize — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 01:39:59 +0000

by Audrey Matura-Shepherdon Friday, February 17, 2012 at 4:36pm ·

oceana heart (Photo credit: joão faissal)

There is no one day that is better to love than the other… so when we celebrate valentine’s day it is our way just to consciously reconnect and remember that love can solve so many things. That is why we say God is love, and he epitomizes how forgiving and all-embracing love is. Now we must admit that we are all inherently born with free-will and so we can chose to love or hate but the latter is surely too draining and self-consuming and honestly it can’t be good for the soul. So while it sometimes seems hard to forgive and rule, lead or live with love, the alternative of hate is just too devastating.

Love for country

There are many things we can love. The first and greatest commandments say ‘love thy God with all thy heart, mind and soul and thy neighbor as thyself. ‘ Clearly we are called on to love God … but also to love others. It is the love for others that will propel us to build our country out of love so that when the country prospers – so will the rest of us living in it. That is why a country’s development is measured by yardsticks such as: mortality rates; poverty rate; unemployment rate; amongst others. It is the love for people that will allow us to love the country in which these people must live and survive.

I have met so many Belizeans who love this country and I am so proud to have met them…they come from all walks of life. There is one thing that seeks to divide us and rob us of that love for country as a priority, and that is party politics. But from my vantage point it seems that people are wising up and realizing that they can support a party, but not above the country and its national interest. To all my hermanas and hermanos (sisters and brothers) across this country we love…keep taking off the blindfolds and colour-tinted glasses and join the voice of the people to demand better for Belize.

More will realize that the love of our country, Belize, above party-fanaticism will get us ahead. We cannot continue this yoyo-system where a set of people get rich and fat when their party is in, while the others go through ‘magah-season’ and vice versa…no! All regardless of political affiliation should be allowed to live by the principles embodied in the preamble of the Constitution of Belize and by the freedoms and rights given to us under said document. Then stocked in the middle are those who are absolutely no fanatics either way, but whom just want better and so must suffer under both parties….thus now the demand for a credible and viable third and fourth party is even greater.

Love and respect

Now this brings me to the issue of me being declared ‘persona-non-grata’ [literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country. It is the most serious form of censure which one country can apply to foreign diplomats, who are otherwise protected by diplomatic immunity from arrest and other normal kinds of prosecution- wikipedia] by the PM whom with all due respect cannot make these national issues personal. I want the record to reflect that even in the face of all adversity, the personal attacks on me as a woman on Wave radio and even my Oceana request being ignored and not responded to by either the Prime Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources, I have remained true to my issues of offshore oil drilling. I remain persistent and willing to speak the truth and talk, write and discuss the issues.

I will always respect the office our Prime Minister, and knowing Dean Barrow personally makes it even easier for me to do. Even if said respect is not reciprocated, I just know life too short to be distracted from the true issues of national development. My love for my country very often keeps me anchored as to what it is the bigger picture and no matter how many stones are thrown I will not flinch. Let’s be real do I not have the right and obligation to write and call on the office of the Prime Minister on the matters of offshore oil?

Some say that the PM’s remarks on Love FM seems to be calling on Oceana to reign me in and if needs be remove me if Oceana wants to remain involved. I think the record needs to show that even if I was not at Oceana I would be involved in this issue and more… and that as a matter of fact, it is only because I must respect the office I hold and the job I am hired to do that I have self-controlled what other issues I would be involved in. So for any government, my remaining at Oceana should be a blessing because I am forced to work within defined parameters. But out of respect for the folks at Oceana – I would never jeopardize the work they do and continue to do for our oceans… but when I do chose to step out… beware I will get even more involved in other national issues of my country which I love! Thank God I decided to stay living here otherwise as ‘persona non grata’ I would have been denied entry… he he he

Tough loved

Now as to the aspect of being rude to the PM, well, all have their views and all know my style and those who knew me during my time as a Senator with the UDP will tell you I have surely tamed down. Of course those were the days when the PUP wanted to throw me in jail at all cost, and tried to attain against me at least a conviction of 12 months so I can never be a member of the National Assembly and cannot continue in my role as a Senator. I remained firm then and the UDP loved it, and I remain firm now, and the UDP hates it… well can’t please anyone! But to date I remain firm with my position on many issues that are of a social nature, especially crime and children and women issues… I hold these close to my heart and will continue. But to me the issues of oil exploration near, around, or along our magnificent barrier reef is just too dear to my heart!

Mr. Barrow who knows me personally and knows my passion and commitment for an issue when I take in on, knows that I will remain relentless, but surely now rude I am not… but then again who defines rude? I don’t throw a tantrum when he or nay of his peeps are rude and disrespectful to me. As Mose Hyde told me Berris Hammond has a song that says “warriors don’t cry” and Bob Marley says “No woman no cry”

It is not rude to write your PM before he dissolves the National Assembly to ask that the law be used for the benefit of the people and thus ask him to table a resolution that we hold a referendum, in time for elections on March 7, 2012. In his interview on Love FM he said if he is re-elected he would do it then once it passes cabinet… hmmm just my point it could have been done and monies and resources saved. .. but I guess as he said on Love FM “ I was never in favor of their trying to manipulate it so that it would fall on election day.”

I view it contrary, that nay government would want an early mandate on this issue and given the economic crisis would have wanted not to have to pay for a separate and distinct election process for an issues that could have been lumped on the same day… it’s like the rational for holding both elections that very same day. He said On January 31, 2012: “two elections are going to be far more costly than one….we have to bear in mind the question of cost and so I certainly thought that doing the general and municipal in one would assist us to cut down the cost”. Readers can reason this for themselves.

Keeping to that same philosophy Oceana relied on the very amendment of the Referendum Act, which the PM so proudly takes credit for to suggest yet a proper and legal window of opportunity to get the referendum on the ballot and thus saves tax-payers money.

Under the Referendum Act it states: Sec. 2(1) subject to the provisions of this Act, a referendum shall be held in any of the following circumstances:- (a)where the National Assembly passes a resolution declaring that a certain issues or matter is of sufficient national importance that it should be submitted to the electors for their view through a referendum…”

I love my Reef

However, let’s not lose sight of what the issues it’s all about – surely I am not larger than the issue and neither is the PM. The matter of offshore oil is of such importance that we cannot allow the usual political footballing with it. This is an industry if not properly placed in check will bring more damage than good and not even in a way that will ensure the individual upliftment of our people.

I propose that if we cannot even control and monitor the onshore oil exploration properly how we can even start looking offshore. Let’s be practical… why not do the onshore exploration and exhaust that before we even look offshore, should we ever decide to go that way centuries from now.

Case in point is the big announcement that Treaty made about finding oil in Southern Belize – they sent out a press release and put it on their website and wow their shares went out. But when inquiries were made the government, even the PM said it was bogus. Yep and Andre Cho in an interview with Seven news said “The government’s official position is that that is not true. We inspected the well on Monday 30th of January. Treaty drilled into this limestone on Friday, and they immediately put out a press release that it is commercial. Common sense tells you that something is wrong there. They had informed us and we went down and inspected the well. We looked at the rock cuttings that they say have oil.”

The point here is that we have not heard anything about sanctions against them for this irresponsible act, no reprimand, nor no stop order, fines or some form of punishment to dissuade them form ever trying this stunt again. I am informed that as a result of this announcement their stock went form 3.5 cents to 11 cents… and I assure you some people made millions as a result… and yes – none of that yet comes to Belize because they are merely at the exploration point.

Belizeans should not take this a light casual matter – because now internationally it makes us look like a banana republic – where anything goes and it goes unpunished. Let’s not forget that Treaty is exploring under a Princess onshore concession and so should not have by-passed the major concessionaire. One these seemingly little things are left unchecked it sets the low standards under which the might oil companies will use as the threshold form which they operate.

In the case of offshore – ponder it… do you love your reef enough to take stand for it and against the oil companies the leaders that facilitate them?

Share the love… it is a wonderful feeling – to my haters, critics, opponents and detractors be assured I still love you… it takes too much to hate and I just got to put all my energy in ensuring NO offshore drilling. I appreciate all of you… with your biases and nuisance and agendas and issues and problems, and humanness, rage, anger, imperfections – after all none of us are perfect …..one love!

GG Tells OCEANA No-Go On Referendum Enquiry (cayobuay.wordpress.com)
WikiLeaks – Update On PetroCaribe (fiwebelize.com)
Petition against Offshore Oil Exploration & Drilling in Belize (fiwebelize.com)

Earth Hour

FiWeBelize — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:06:53 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for you to become more sustainable and do something positive for the environment. It’s been the source of inspiration for millions of people taking steps towards a cleaner, safer future. It’s not just about saving energy for one hour, it’s about going Beyond the Hour with lasting, behaviour-changing actions for a sustainable planet.

ABOUT EARTH HOUR

Hundreds of millions of people, businesses and governments around the world unite each year to support the largest environmental event in history – Earth Hour.

More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.

WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?

Global warming is the greatest threat facing our planet today. A warming planet alters weather patterns, water supplies, seasonal growth for plants and a sustainable way of life for us, and the world’s wildlife. Climate change has already started, but it’s not too late to take action. There’s still time for us all to be part of the solution.

Earth Hour to Show Landmark Action on Climate Change (prweb.com)
Action for the planet : Earth Hour is March 31st …. (environmentaleducationuk.wordpress.com)
Earth Hour – Our World Is Brilliant (osocio.org)
Earth Hour Countdown (iamjoe.wordpress.com)

Belize – Guatemala Partial Scope Agreement

FiWeBelize — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:45:55 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

The Belize-Guatemala Partial Scope Agreement (PSA) is the first trade agreement that Belize has signed with another country bi-laterally. (View Agreement) Negotiations were launched on 22 November 2004. Belize had signed the Agreement on 26 June 2006, and the Congress of the Federal Government of Guatemala had approved the PSA in October 2009. The Guatemalan President has recently issued a decree to give effect to the agreement on April 4th 2010.

Existing Trade with Guatemala

Belize has a negative trade balance with Guatemala. This means that we import more Guatemalan products that we export Belizean products to Guatemala. (View illustration on Trade Balance). There are great export opportunities to be gained from the PSA with Guatemala.

Potential for Expansion in Trade

Based on the data provided by the Directorate for Foreign Trade, Guatemala imports products that Belize can easily supply on a predictable and consistent basis. These products are orange juice, spirited, whether or not sugared, sweetened or frozen, kidney beans, fresh fish, livers and roes, frozen shrimps and prawns, in shell or not, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic invertebrates, meat and edible meat offal, live poultry, live swine, bovine animals, and maize (corn). (View Tradable Import Data).

All of these products are currently being imported by Guatemala from the United States, Nicaragua and Ecuador. Noting that the provisions of the PSA provide for efficient land transportation, and based on Belize’s proximity to Guatemala, it is imperative that Guatemala be viewed as one of our major export markets.

Members of the productive sector will need to take advantage of this new agreement that allows for preferential access, in many instances, of goods exported from Belize to Guatemala.

Below provides a summary of key elements in the PSA with Guatemala.

Market Access

The agreement is only partial in scope, meaning it allows for reciprocal (two-way) trade between Belize and Guatemala on a small number of goods. The Agreement covers 150 specified tradable products. The PSA specifies for the immediate elimination of tariffs by 50% and 100%; these goods are grouped in Category A. Under Category A products, Belize will be able to sell at preferential tariff margins to Guatemala products such as: tilapia, yellow maize (up to 20,000 MT at 0% duty), black beans (up to 875MT at 0% duty), rice, toilet paper, doors, windows, wooden and wicker furniture, matches, most citrus fruits and concentrate, mangos, guavas, watermelons, pineapples, plantains, among others. The goods marked with Category ‘A’ on Guatemala’s list are those products in which Guatemala has granted Belize preferential (duty free in many instances) access to their market.

The agreement also provides for Belize to gradually eliminate its tariffs it charges on Guatemalan imports by 50 and 100 percent over three years for those products categorized as ‘B’. Likewise, a gradual elimination of Belize’s tariffs on Guatemalan imports by 50% and then 100% over a five year period is contained in category ‘C’.

The Schedules of tariff concession and elimination are included in the text of the PSA.

Rules of Origin

A Certificate of origin is required when preferential tariff treatment is claimed. Each certificate is valid for 180 calendar days from date of issue and is valid for one use only. The Provisions of the PSA stipulate that Belize’s Custom and Excise Department is the only competent authority in Belize to issue Certificates of Origin for Belize’s exports to Guatemala.

Specifically, the Rules of Origin provisions in the PSA provide that to qualify for origin criteria, goods have to be wholly produced or substantially transformed.

Wholly produced means:

goods from the mineral, plant or animal kingdoms (including those from hunting and fishing), extracted, harvested or gathered, born and raised or captured in one or both Parties;
goods produced in one of the Parties from the goods cited in the preceding sub-paragraph above;
goods produced exclusively from materials wholly produced in one or both Parties; or slag, ashes, residues, wastes and scrap, gathered or obtained from manufacturing and processing operations performed in the Parties, fit only for the recovery of materials.

Substantially transformation means:

goods that go through a substantial transformation, produced in one or both Parties with non-originating materials must comply with any of the following conditions:
goods that are classified in a tariff heading which is different from those headings in which all the non-originating materials used are classified; (CTC rule)
goods in which the cif value of non-originating materials used in its production does not exceed 50% of the fob value of the goods produced; (value added rule) or except for goods classified in chapters 61 to 63 of the harmonized system, the goods resulting from assembly and mounting operations realized in one or both Parties using originating or non-originating materials of the Parties, when the cif value of the non-originating materials does not exceed 50% of the fob value of such goods;
goods produced exclusively from originating materials;
goods produced in a Party, that fulfill the specific rules of origin established in Article 6 of the Annex on Rules of Origin attached to the PSA;
games or assorted goods, provided that all components used in their production satisfy the conditions established in the Annex on Rules of Origin.

The PSA also defines what would be considered as insufficient working or processing in which a certificate of origin will not be issued. (View PSA Rules of Origin Data)

Investment

The PSA provides for the promotion of investment between both countries. Particularly, the agreement speaks of joint venturing and the facilitation by both parties with respect to the issuance of necessary permits, licenses, and contracts for technical, commercial or administrative assistance with relation to investments.

The PSA also provides for a favourable investment climate to attract investment in both countries. Emphasis on the discouragement of anti-competitive business practices was enshrined in the chapter on Investments. The agreement also provides that investments of investors of either party shall not be nationalized, expropriated or subjected to measures that would nullify their value, or have effects equivalent to nationalization or expropriation.

The chapter on Investments also contains its own provisions for the settlement of disputes between an investor and the country to which the investment is made concerning any breach of obligations under the agreement.

Land Transportation

Chapter Ten of the PSA covers land transportation to facilitate the trade of goods between Belize and Guatemala.

The chapter also contains key provisions on freedom of transit in which vehicles and their divers should be allowed to transport between the countries freely without any hassle. Transportation in the chapter does not refer to local load or cabotage but limited to the transportation of goods originating in Belize and Guatemala only.

A Land Transportation Committee will be established (six months after signature of the Agreement) to address all the problems currently existent at the Belize-Guatemala borders.

[Original Article]

WikiLeaks – Update On PetroCaribe

FiWeBelize — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:34:29 +0000

Reference id 06CARACAS1712 aka Wikileaks id #67671 ? SubjectUpdate On Petrocaribe

Image via Wikipedia

Origin Embassy Caracas (Venezuela) Cable time Mon, 12 Jun 2006 15:48 UTC Classification CONFIDENTIAL Source http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/06/06CARACAS1712.html References 05CARACAS3560, 05CARACAS3594, 06CARACAS1238, 06PARAMARIBO343 Referenced by 06CARACAS1849, 06CARACAS2297, 06CARACAS2406, 07PORTOFSPAIN456 Release time Thu, 1 Sep 2011 23:24 UTC --> History

Time unknown: Original unredacted version, leaked to Wikileaks
Thu, 1 Sep 2011 23:24: Original unredacted version published, with HTML goodies

VZCZCXRO5939 RR RUEHDE DE RUEHCV #1712/01 1631548 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 121548Z JUN 06 FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4974 INFO RUCNARA/ARA COLLECTIVE RUEHHH/OPEC COLLECTIVE RUEHBE/AMEMBASSY BELIZE 0077 RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 6628 RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 5549 RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 0712 RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 1282 RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN 0183 RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON 0380 RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 2090 RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 0335 RUEHBH/AMEMBASSY NASSAU 0103 RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO 0704 RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE 0156 RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN 3186 RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 2174 RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 3585 RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 0243 RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0781 RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0280 RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 001712 SIPDIS SIPDIS ENERGY FOR CDAY, DPUMPHREY, AND ALOCKWOOD NSC FOR DTOMLINSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2015 TAGS: EPET?[Petroleum and Natural Gas], ENRG?[Energy and Power], EINV?[Foreign Investments], VE?[Venezuela] SUBJECT: UPDATE ON PETROCARIBE REF: A. 2005 CARACAS 03560 B. 2005 CARACAS 03594 C. PAP 856 D. 2005 BELIZE 00952 E. PAP 971 F. CARACAS 1238 G. PARAMARIBO 00343 Classified By: Economic Counselor Andrew N. Bowen for Reason 1.4 (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: During the past seven months, the BRV appears to have focused on building institutions such as joint venture companies to support the Petrocaribe initiative (Reftel A). Shipments of oil still appear to be relatively few in number. Although the lines between various BRV initiatives such as Petrocaribe and Petroamerica have always been blurred (Reftel B), the BRV has clearly been linking Petrocaribe to its Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a trade agreement/Latin American integration project that was created on December 14, 2004 in opposition to the FTAA. END SUMMARY

--------------------------------- BUILDING PETROCARIBE INSTITUTIONS --------------------------------- ¶2. (C) Petrocaribe is composed of 14 countries (including Venezuela) that signed the Petrocaribe Energy Cooperation Agreement on June 29, 2005 as well as Haiti, which signed the agreement on May 14, 2006 (Reftel C). Signatories to the agreement are provided generous financing terms when they purchase oil and petroleum products from Venezuela and have the option of making partial payment in goods and services (Reftel A). State entities importing oil under Petrocaribe have a two year grace period and a 17 year timetable for repayment at a two percent interest rate when the price of oil is below USD 40 per barrel. When the price of oil is above USD 40 the payment period is 25 years and the interest rate drops to one percent. The initiative also contains a social development component. As part of the initiative, the BRV has created the AlbaCaribe Fund. The fund, with initial capital of 50 million USD provided by Venezuela, will finance social and economic programs in Petrocaribe countries. The fund's capital will be augmented by the issuance of financial instruments, contributions based on a percentage of petroleum sale financing under Petrocaribe, and "savings produced by direct hydrocarbon commerce". Details on the actual state of the fund are not available and we cannot confirm that any disbursements have been made. (COMMENT: The BRV is notoriously slow and incompetent at delivering results through similar programs in Venezuela. END COMMENT)

¶3. (U) Under Petrocaribe, Venezuela will only deal directly with state entities, rather than the private sector. In order to carry out its commitments under Petrocaribe, PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company, has created an affiliate, PDV Caribe. PDVSA Vice President for Refining Alejandro Granado serves as PDV Caribe president. PDV Caribe is charged with creating a shipping network as well as increasing members' storage, refining, and distribution capacities. PDVSA claims it has sufficient shipping capacity to meet its Petrocaribe obligations and that Petrocaribe members will only be charged the actual costs of shipping.

CARACAS 00001712 002 OF 003

¶4. (U) PDV Caribe has recently begun forming joint venture companies with member states. PDV Caribe and Belize Petroleum and Energy Limited, the state oil company of Belize, signed an agreement on June 9, 2006 to form a joint venture called ALBA PetroCaribe (Belize Energy) Ltd. which will handle fuel shipment to Belize. PDV Caribe will have a 55 percent equity stake in the company with Belize Petroleum holding the remainder. The joint venture will handle shipments of crude oil, refined products, and liquefied petroleum gas at the equivalent level of 4,000 barrels of oil per day. PDV Caribe also indicated that it would assist Belize with the construction of a 50,000 barrel storage facility and improved port facilities. Granado was quoted on the PDVSA website as stating PDVSA is considering the possibility of processing crude oil in Belize. Granado noted Belize produces 2,500 barrels of crude oil per day, which covers 85 percent of its needs, but does not have any processing facilities.

¶5. (U) PDV Caribe officials met with officials of St. Kitts and Nevis on June 8, 2006 to discuss the formation of a joint venture between the two countries. The parties will meet again on June 27. PDVSA is also in negotiations with Dominica to form a joint venture.

¶6. (U) Granado and a team of PDV Caribe officials also met with officials from Antigua and Barbuda on June 8 to discuss the formation of a joint venture. Granado said Antigua and Barbuda is being considered as a storage and distribution point for the Petrocaribe system. The proposal will be discussed at an energy minister's meeting to be held on June 14 in Dominica. Energy ministers from Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are scheduled to attend.

¶7. (U) Finally, Venezuela has created several entities with Cuba in order to further Petrocaribe. PDVSA-Cuba, PDVSA's office in Cuba, has been charged with furthering energy cooperation between the two countries. In addition, a joint venture, PDSVA-Cupet, has been formed to upgrade the Cienfuegos refinery (Reftel A). PDVSA-Cupet is a joint venture between PDVSA Cuba and Commercial Cupet, an affiliate of Union Cubana de Petroleo. PDVSA-Cupet's goal is to produce 15,000 barrels of gasoline, 14,000 barrels of diesel, 7,000 barrels of jet fuel, 33,000 barrels of fuel oil and 1,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas per day. On April 30, 2006 the director general of PDVSA Cuba and representatives of the Cuban firm Internacional Maritima S.A. signed an agreement forming TransALBA, a shipping company that is charged with integrating shipping within Petrocaribe. TransALBA will initially be based in Havana but there are plans to open branches in various Caribbean countries. Cuba and Venezuela have also formed a company called Ferrolaza that will develop railway infrastructure throughout Latin America. Finally, President Chavez stated in a press conference at the signing of the ALBA accords, whose centerpiece was an FTA between Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia, on April 29, 2006 in Havana, that Venezuela and Cuba would create a supertanker base at the Matanzas terminal in Cuba and would jointly operate the base.

--------------------- PETROCARIBE SHIPMENTS

CARACAS 00001712 003 OF 003

--------------------- ¶8. (U) It is our understanding that Venezuela has made shipments under Petrocaribe to Belize (Reftel D), Haiti (Reftel E), and Dominica as well as regular shipments to Cuba. Venezuela sent a shipment of 60,000 barrels of diesel and 40,000 barrels of gasoline to Haiti under the standard Petrocaribe financing terms (Reftel A). Part of the diesel shipment, however, was a donation. In addition, Venezuela will donate 120 tons of asphalt to Haiti each month for twelve months. On June 7, 2006 Dominica received its first shipment of 1,200 barrels of asphalt under Petrocaribe. Dominica is scheduled to receive asphalt shipments on a quarterly basis.

¶9. (C) COMMENT: We are not aware of any additional shipments under the terms of Petrocaribe but we assume that at least some shipments are occurring. Venezuela was shipping oil to various members of Petrocaribe under the terms of the San Jose and Caracas accords. For example, the Dominican Republic was receiving 50,000 barrels of oil per day under the two agreements and is supposed to be receiving 54,000 barrels per day under Petrocaribe. Obviously, Venezuela has committed to ship oil to all of the Petrocaribe members on a regular basis. For example, Jamaica has a supply agreement with Venezuela for 21,000 barrels a day of oil and products. What is not clear to us is whether the shipments are occurring in a timely manner. Given PDVSA's long list of administrative and managerial problems (Reftel F), it would not surprise us if it was having great difficulty in meeting its obligations. As we noted in Reftel A, shipping has not been one of PDVSA's strong points. END COMMENT

------- COMMENT -------

¶10. (C) A cursory review of PDVSA press releases and President Chavez's speeches clearly show that the BRV regards Petrocaribe as a key component in ALBA, its grandiose trade agreement/integration scheme for Latin America and Caribbean. It is no accident that Petrocaribe joint ventures contain ALBA in their names. Although Petrocaribe is the most developed part of the Petroamerica continental energy initiative, the question, as always with BRV schemes, is whether the BRV has the human capital, persistence, and wherewithal to actually execute its plans. The BRV is infamous for announcing sweeping, dramatic new initiatives which never go anywhere. It is hard to imagine how PDVSA will be able to properly staff the plethora of Petrocaribe joint ventures when it has serious staffing problems and declining oil production at home. In addition to human capital constraints, the BRV is increasingly relying on PDVSA to both fund and carry out a long list of social development projects, at home and abroad. These limitations are further exacerbated by PDVSA and the BRV's use of hardball tactics whenever they do not get their way (Reftel G). Given its current muddled operating state and competing interests for its time and money, it is hard to see PDVSA devoting the type of resources to Petrocaribe to fully meet its burgeoning obligations in a professional manner. WHITAKER

[Original]

AP Interview: Haiti leader says Venezuela aid key (seattlepi.com)
AP Interview: Haiti leader says Venezuela aid key (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Eco-audit warns about Mesoamerica reef threats

FiWeBelize — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:53:16 +0000

Feb. 9: A new report out on the Mesoamerica Reef finds that despite some improvements, more needs to be done to protect the region’s coral reefs. Msnbc.com’s Dara Brown reports.

Will Coral Reefs be Gone by the End of the Century? [Greg Laden's Blog] (scienceblogs.com)
Lawsuit Aims to Protect Endangered Caribbean Corals from Overfishing (climateofourfuture.wordpress.com)
Detecting detrimental change in coral reefs (physorg.com)
Ocean temps drive coral growth – and decline (summitcountyvoice.com)
Enviros Sue USA to Protect Caribbean Coral (repeatingislands.com)
Electrified cages jolt coral reef survival (uwtreasures.wordpress.com)

Animal Farm-George Orwell

FiWeBelize — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:29:35 +0000

Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell published in England on 17 August 1945.

Animal Farm (Photo credit: Ben Templesmith)

According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II. Orwell, a democratic socialist, was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, especially after his experiences with the NKVD, and what he saw of the results of the influence of Communist policy (“ceaseless arrests, censored newspapers, prowling hordes of armed police” – “Communism is now a counter-revolutionary force”), during the Spanish Civil War. In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell described Animal Farm as his novel “contre Stalin”.

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”

The novel addresses not only the corruption of the revolution by its leaders but also how wickedness, indifference, ignorance, greed and myopia corrupt the revolution. While this novel portrays corrupt leadership as the flaw in revolution (and not the act of revolution itself), it also shows how potential ignorance and indifference to problems within a revolution could allow horrors to happen if a smooth transition to a people’s government is not achieved.

The original commandments were:

Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
No animal shall wear clothes.
No animal shall sleep in a bed.
No animal shall drink alcohol.
No animal shall kill any other animal.
All animals are equal.

Later, Napoleon and his pigs are corrupted by the absolute power they hold over the farm. To maintain their popularity with the other animals, Squealer secretly paints additions to some commandments to benefit the pigs while keeping them free of accusations of law-breaking (such as “No animal shall drink alcohol” having “to excess” appended to it and “No animal shall sleep in a bed” with “with sheets” added to it).

The changed commandments are as follows, with the changes bolded:

No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.

Eventually the laws are replaced with “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others“, and “Four legs good, two legs better!” as the pigs become more human.

This story is literally playing out in real life in Belize.

Politicians, like the Pigs taking the people for fools over and over again.
Politicians using the Police like the Dogs to do their dirty work.
Politicians using the Govt for their own personal benefits and gains.
Each party has their “Squeeler” mouthpiece.
Snowball “Scapegoats” are a common thing. Politicians point fingers at everything and everyone but themselves.

Snowball attempts to teach the animals reading and writing; food is plentiful, and the farm runs smoothly. The pigs elevate themselves to positions of leadership and set aside special food items, ostensibly for their personal health.

This reminds me of the early struggles as Belize moves to nationhood.

Napoleon abuses his powers, making life harder for the animals; the pigs impose more control while reserving privileges for themselves.

Sounds exactly like what happened once politics really took foot in Belize and has been happening for some decades now.

Share your

thoughts…

Animal Farm (socyberty.com)
Animal Farm by George Orwell (lennymaysay.wordpress.com)
Animal Farm – Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis (socyberty.com)

How to boost the economy, fight poverty and reduce crime?

FiWeBelize — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:19:48 +0000

The recommendation is to follow a simple four step strategy:

1) People First (Results based Approach)

The government must utilize “inclusive” policies that put people at the centre of development. Such policies must ensure that the general populace benefits by reducing unemployment, fighting poverty and providing fair justice.

2) Government Modernization Programmes

To move the country forward towards becoming a united, and progressive society with higher living standards, it will require to implement a well mapped out series of noteworthy modernization and transformation programmes. Acknowledging major weaknesses in the government machinery in terms of implementation, transparency and efficiency of delivery, the modernization is indeed a bold step in the right direction to address and rectify these challenges and obstacles quickly.

Therefore it is necessary to establish some priority areas where the changes must occur. In general the Key Result areas identified should include: Fig

Eradicating Poverty
Reducing corruption
Fighting crime
Improving education
Improving transportation
Improving basic rural infrastructure

Key performance indicators or indications that impact is being achieved would be the poverty levels, the income per capita, reduction in crimes, improved services and connectivity etc.

3) Economic Transformation Programme

These programs should be based on inclusiveness, income generation and sustainability and should be encompassed in a National Economic Plan or Strategy (Macroeconomic Strategy).

Some examples for focus in Belize that can be prioritized are:

Key Economic Areas:

Agriculture
Tourism
Industry – agroprocessing etc.
Energy
Telecommunications
Education
Health
Financial Services
Business services
Construction
Etc.

4) Holding government accountable (Monitoring and evaluation)

To be a politician, or to run for office, you are required to compromise. Most end up compromising their values, their goals and their expectations. Some also throw out their honesty and integrity. I’m not saying politicians are bad people. Quite the opposite, most are very good people trying to do positive things.

Our system of government cannot survive without citizen involvement. The first step is to find out what is happening. The second step has to be letting our government know what it is we want them to do and what we want to do for ourselves.

I would recommend that a group of citizens be set up to include certain civic leaders and to include a cross section of the society i.e. civil society, trade union, churches etc and people who have the country at heart.

Investment in human resource key to reduce poverty (thehimalayantimes.com)

FiWeBelize

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