never forget your past!

See Inside

Established October 1895

Sunday June 28, 2015 $2 VAT Inclusive

FROM the age of 11 achild can be charged forany crime in Barbados.

This wake up call wasissued to parents byMadam RegistrarBarbara Cooke-Alleyneyesterday, as she deliv-ered remarks at an appre-ciation ceremony for theannual 11+ programmehosted by the CriminalJustice Research andPlanning Unit (CJRPU)

to assist children in tran-sitioning smoothly fromprimary to secondaryschool.

According to theRegistrar, “…children’sactions might now havelegal consequences. It isvery important that youremind them of this and[see] that they make somegood decisions and choicesbecause now it could havea negative impact on their

life.”Similar sentiments

were echoed by Directorof the CJRPU, CherylWilloughby, who statedthat as a former head ofthe Juvenile LiaisonScheme she realised thatgreater attention must befocused on the 12-15 agegroup.

“It was a periodwhereby I saw childrenbecoming increasingly in-

volved in criminal activ-ity and negative behav-iour. So that period of ado-lescence is a very trou-bling period that parentsneed to focus on in termsof engaging your childrenin extracurricular activi-ties, pay attention to theirfriends, you need to be aconstant presence atschool as well as to ensurethat your children receivegood moral and social les-

sons through taking themto church.”

She noted that whilethis is considered to be acontentious subject in con-temporary society, chil-dren learn the GoldenRule, the importance ofbeing good citizens, val-ues and morals at church.

While giving the pro-gramme overview,CJRPU consultantModupe Sodeyi told the

parents that it is essen-tial that the bridge be-tween childhood andadulthood supports andnurtures adolescenceacross these intense yearsof growth and discovery.She explained that thechildren are sometimesoverwhelmed by thechanges at the new schoolas well as their own phys-ical changes.

ADVICE on page 3

Tighten reins on bad behaviour, parents warned

By Patricia Thangaraj

WHILE you go aboutenjoying all of the var-ious events of CropOver, never forget thehardships that your an-cestors had to endurein order to get you tothe stage where youcan enjoy certain priv-ileges today.

This was the messagethat Minister of Culture,Sports and Youth,StephenLashley, gave to patronsgathered for the FirstCitizens Crop Over CityFest and CeremonialDelivery of the Last Canesyesterday at Heroes’Square.

“As we reflect on theseminal moments of CropOver 2014, let me takethis opportunity to remindyou of that there is a pro-fundity to the Festivalthat we sometimes missin the merriment of themoment, namely thatCrop Over is really a cele-

bration of our identity as apeople; and a celebrationof the resistance and re-silience of our ancestorson the plantation, wherethe mill yard was an arenaof cultural conflict and abattleground for the reten-tion of our cultural her-itage.”

He stated that this iswhy Barbadians must beappreciative because itwas their sacrifices thatbirthed the festival thatthey know of and enjoy inthis present day.

“Crop Over, as we un-derstand it, is a creole aes-thetic which emergedfrom a collision of culturesto become a part of theBarbadian heritage. It is acultural gem bequeathedto us as an inheritance byour forefathers to whomthanks and honour isdue.”

He stated that this canbe reflected in the themethat they have chosen

REMEMBER on page 4

NEVERFORGETYOURPAST!

This passer-by stops to admire the lovely jewellery on display at one of the booths in Jubilee Gardens yesterday.

2 • Sunday June 28, 2015 The Barbados Advocate

ADVICE from page 1

SHE revealed that,from feedback fromthe evaluation sheet atend of programme, thechildren expressed aconcern about bullyingbut left with the knowl-edge required to dealwith this problem.Other topics coveredincluded drug use,wandering, your bodyand you and self-es-teem.

Kammie Holder, corpo-rate agent of theGuardian Group, themajor sponsor of the pro-gramme, told the studentsthat they are now betterequipped with the skillsto embark on a new aca-demic journey which willdetermine their quality oflife for the foreseeable fu-ture.

“Therefore the invest-ment of time and mentor-

ing being made to thiscadre of young personswill augur well for our fu-ture. Such an investmentbecomes not only our goal,but our passion as a so-cially responsible corpo-rate citizen of Barbados.”Holder urged the studentsto always do the rightthing even if it meansthey stand alone. “Oneperson can make a big dif-ference.”

Organisers of the event,while thanking volun-teers and sponsorGuardian Group for gen-erously supporting theprogramme, said more re-sources would be requiredto ensure that the over 3000 students sitting he11+ examination annu-ally would also benefitfrom the programme.Thisyear schools from the St.Thomas, St. Joseph, St.George and St. John zonewere targeted.

Sunday June 28, 2015 • 3The Barbados Advocate

By Jenique Belgrave

GOVERNMENT is ac-tively looking for a per-manent home for theBarbados Youth Service(BYS).

Making this disclosureduring a media confer-ence at his ministry’s SkyMall offices, Minister ofCulture, Sports andYouth, Stephen Lashley,stated that the new home

would be critical in in-creasing the offerings ofthe high-in-demand pro-gramme.

The new home is esti-mated to cost some $5million.

“We are looking forsome resources for that.Expansion of the servicewould require us to havea permanent location; itis now a question of finan-cial resources and we are

looking at that possibil-ity. We are also looking atmoving the BarbadosYouth Service into aNational Youth Service;that too becomes a ques-tion of financial re-sources. Once we are ableto find these resourcesthen we will be able tohave more numbers,”Lashley stressed.

Currently, the BYS, amulti-disciplinary pro-

gramme for students ex-periencing such problemsor those leaving schoolwithout any certificates,can only cater to 80 youthper year. The one-yearprogramme featuresthree components – resi-dential, skills trainingand job attachment,where according to him“each young person isequipped with the tools todevelop them socially and

educationally with the ul-timate goal of becoming awell rounded individual”.

“It is a necessary step totake because what wedon’t want to have is notfinding the resources todeal with providing inter-vention solutions foryoung people and thenhaving to spend the re-sources to deal with otheraspects of the problemwhere our young people

may fall afoul of the lawand then we have tospend the money in reha-bilitation. I believe thatwe have to find the re-sources to prevent as op-posed to deal with issuesthat occur after the fact,”he stated.

Lashley noted that aproposal would soon beformulated to be pre-sented to Cabinet on thematter.

Ministry seeking home for Barbados Youth Service

Some of the students, parents, stakeholders at the 11+ programme appreciation ceremony held in theAtrium Room of the Supreme Court yesterday morning.

Give childrensufficientguidance

GENERAL Secretary ofthe Barbados Workers’Union, Toni Moore hascalled the action taken bythe Barbados Light&Power to make employ-ees redundant without fol-lowing through the con-sultative process disre-spectful and one whichshould cause alarm to allBarbadians.

During a wide-rangingpress conference onThursday, Moore stressedthat from the outset theBWU never opposed lay-offs in circumstanceswhere proper consultationis held.

“The company in pre-senting its case sought toconvince that the layoffs

not only served the inter-est of shareholders butthat the layoffs were to theoverall good of otherstakeholders includingcustomers and the em-ployees themselves…

“So while the BWU [un-derstands] that the BL&Pmust have and wouldhave to readjust opera-tions to meet new techno-logical approaches andwhile we recognise thatthis might lead to joblosses, we were and con-tinue to be satisfied thatmeaningful and maturediscussions involving gov-ernment and the socialpartners could have re-solved this issue in thesame way that it has re-

solved other equally chal-lenging issues in the past.

“The disrespect the BLPhas meted out to theGovernment, trade union,and by extension to thepeople of Barbados, issomething that shouldcause much distress to allcitizens and residents ofthese 166 square mileswho value the importanceof industrial harmony inthe labour market.”

Moore said that theBWU is satisfied that theapproach of raising theissue to a level where allcitizens see how it impactsthem was the best alterna-tive to disruption of theworkplace. “...Especiallywhere it was easily under-

stood by the BWU that ac-tion taken in the case ofthe BL&P might ad-versely impact the work-ers themselves who stillmay not see the value ofthe national consultationthat we stress for.

“Even as the BWUrecognised process andconsultation as the pre-ferred alternative in han-dling these issues, we arevery well aware of one ofour mantras, one handcan’t clap, so where thegovernment and the othersocial partner, meaningthe employers, continue todemonstrate attitudes ofdisrespect and indiffer-ence to process our re-sponse we recognise must

necessarily be altered,”she said.

“In the case of those whovoluntarily separated, thereality is that we have notbeen challenged that theyhave a problem with a sep-aration. In the case of the14, who were made redun-dant on June 16, the chal-lenge was not whether ornot those people would gobut it was ensuring theprocess of how they wouldgo, was meaningfully ad-dressed to its completionbefore they exited.”

She noted that out of themeeting on Wednesdaythe discussion did not gointo specifics, but wasaimed at re-establishingthe process.

“That being said thecompany has made somemovement in our view inits indication given to thatmeeting to be open to ex-ploring ways that wouldprovide the kind of envi-ronment that would allowthe Union and the com-pany to move from thisvery difficult point and re-define a way forward andthat is speaking very gen-erally because I think atwhich we adjourned forthe company to revert toboth the Ministry ofLabour and the Union isdelicate enough that Iwould not want to get intothose further specifics atthis time,” she told themedia. (JH)

BWU: Proper consultation a must

(The following pressstatement by the Ministryof Finance and EconomicAffairs in response toAndrew Bynoe’s Letter tothe Nation Newspaper)

THE Ministry ofFinance and EconomicAffairs’ response to anarticle in the DailyNation newspaper onJune 23, 2015, attrib-uted to a Mr. AndrewBynoe, regarding theVAT Free Basket ofFood Items.

As was disclosed dur-ing the 2015 FinancialStatement andBudgetary Proposals, anew basket of basic fooditems that will be ex-empted from the stan-dard Value Added Tax(VAT) rate of 17.5 % willbe available for all con-sumers from September1, 2015.

In his contribution, Mr.Bynoe questionedGovernment’s “home-work” in reforming theVAT Free Basket of FoodItems and also mainlylisted the tariff headingsfor goods from the VATAct – which served toseemingly give the im-pression that some foodsthat will indeed be withinthe basket, comeSeptember 1, had beenremoved.

However, the Ministryhas stated that a greatdeal of homework was in-deed carried out and sec-ondly, the lack of speci-ficity in the article ismore likely to have con-fused consumers ratherthan effect clarification.

The new basket wascarefully selected follow-ing discussions and aqualitative and quantita-tive in-depth analysis ofthe various tariffs by an Inter-MinisterialCommittee of officialsfrom Finance andEconomic Affairs, theBarbados RevenueAuthority, Commerce,Agriculture, Health andSocial Care, over a 9-month period.

Following this process, itwas discovered that thebasket of basic goods con-tained over 400 itemsthat could not be legiti-mately identified asbasic, nourishing or af-fordable for the averageBarbadian shopper.

The public must keepin mind the fundamentalreason for the basketsince its inception in1997. It was designed as aspecial VAT exemption ona select basket of basicfood items for all taxpayers. The basketwas, therefore, always intended to be madeavailable as a way of giving relief, especially tothe poor, and to ensurethat certain foods,particularly those ofknown high nutritionalvalue, were always kept within the pricerange of the average con-sumer.

Over the years, whatbecame apparent wasthat entire tariff head-ings were included inASYCUDA, irrespectiveof whether they were ap-plicable or not. As such,what we had occurring,were foods that werenever intended to be VATfree, slipping into the bas-ket under the tariff head-ings, without considera-tions for the various ver-sions of the foods. Thissituation clearly had tochange.

Simply put, this newbasket of goods allows formore specificity where weare simply trimming thefat to make sure that itsmake-up reflects theneeds of the averageBarbadian.

For every item that isno longer in the basket,there is a nutritiousequivalent substitutethat remains in the bas-ket. This was a strategicrecommendation by theCommittee as it stronglybelieved that the changesshould not in any way potentially negatively im-pact the health ofBarbadians.

4• Sunday June 28, 2015 The Barbados Advocate

Basket nowreflectsBarbadianstaples

REMEMBERfrom page 1

for 2015, ‘Sugar Then,Sweetness Now!.”

“So, while the revelryof Crop Over has itsplace, let us not forget thesacrifices made by ourforefathers that have al-lowed us to enjoy thequality of life to which wehave grown accustomed.

The Minister ofCulture stated that it is

remembrance of their an-cestors that they positionthe celebration of this fes-tival within the period ofEmancipation.

“Against such a back-ground, I think that youcan readily appreciatewhy the present day CropOver Festival is posi-tioned within the Seasonof Emancipation. It is notby happenstance, butrather a conscious re-minder to all that we are

celebrating the strugglesof our ancestors whofought for our freedomand a remembrance ofthose who died for thiscause, whether in thecrossing of the middlepassage or in the sugar-cane fields.”

This is seen in some ofthe events that markCrop Over, he stated. “Asa consequence, theSeason of Emancipationis an important consider-

ation in the planning ofthe Crop Over Festival,embedded in activitiessuch an Evening of Folk,where themes of resist-ance, liberation and jus-tice are explored. Thisevent recalls the 1937Disturbances, now me-morialized by the Day ofNational Significance onJuly 26th, which is a wa-tershed in the socio-eco-nomic history ofBarbados.”

Crop Over Festival ideally placedwithin Season of Emancipation

THE Board of the QueenElizabeth Hospital recog-nises that its R.E.S.P.E.C.TProgramme is a valuableone and has thereforemoved to recognise and re-ward a number of staffmembers, including re-tirees, for the exemplaryservice given to the institu-

tion, over the years.Chairman of the QEH Board

Joseph King pointed out theabove, as he spoke on Friday atthe QEH’s 2015 EmployeeRecognition and RewardsProgramme, held in the QEH’sAuditorium.

It was in that setting thatKing noted that the

R.E.S.P.E.C.T programme,(Rewarding Excellent ServicePromotes EmployeeCommitment and Teamwork)is very important to the QEH,as it helps to recognise and re-ward work and work related be-haviour, that supports and fur-ther mission goals and values.

“We as a Board seek to en-

sure that budgeted funds areprovided to make sure that inone aspect, that theR.E.S.P.E.C.T Programme con-tinues and that it remains ex-tremely successful for what it isand that you our employees un-derstand that your work andeffort to maintain a high level ofpatient care, is truly appreci-

ated,” King told those gathered.“Even amidst the challenging

economic climate, you the staffshow great initiative and en-thusiasm to nurture our pa-tients back to good health. I amgrateful for this special occa-sion, because it is one more op-portunity to say thank you foryour many contributions to theQEH, however big, howeversmall, for your many years ofservice and for the quality ofyour service that keeps theQEH on track as the premierhospital in the region,” theBoard chairman continued.

“Remember, you the staff aremasters at turning the impossi-ble into the inevitable. Our suc-cess stories are proof of that.Who would have imagined thatwhen we opened our doors fiftyyears ago, that we would be-come the centre of ophthalmol-ogy, cardiac services in the re-gion and that we would havebeen tops in terms of oncologyand have the best oncologyequipment and that we wouldhave the best cadre of clinicalsupport administrative staff,second to none in theCaribbean? Thanks for yourcontinued effort and continueto strive for excellence,” Kingfinally remarked.(RSM)


Nursing Officer Lisa Asgill won the Unsung Heroes: Beyond The Call of Duty award for herhigh quality of patient care.She is receiving her award from QEH Board Chairman JosephKing.

The Innovation Award wasawarded to plumber Michael Lovell

The Service ExcellenceAward went to medical so-cial worker Rochelle Lorde.

The S.T.A.R (Special Thanksand Recognition) award wentto general worker AdrianThompson for introducing amore frequent schedule forwaste pickup.

Most Outstanding Supervisorat the QEH is CosmoBennett.

Most Outstanding Employee in the QEH’s R.E.S.P.E.C.TAwards went to the dutiful maid Roselyn Clarke-Thompson,who works in the operating theatres and who has nevertaken a sick day in the past twelve years. Here, she acceptsher award from QEH Board Chairman Joseph King.

FRAMEWORK from Back Page

timelines applicable tothe monitoring guide-lines, and these are ex-pected to be distributedto the SOEs by June30th, next week,” shenoted.

Noting that a

Corporate PlanningFramework, consisting ofa statement of corporateintent and an annual fi-nancial plan in the caseof statutory boards, or anannual business plan inthe case of state ownedenterprises, will also berequired, Bobb praisedcurrent hospital CEO, Dr.

Dexter James, for prepar-ing the staff over the lastfour years for such a mo-ment.

Noting that the focushas been on developing acorporate plan, Bobbnoted stated that theQEH is in a good place,because this is what ithas been using over the

last four years, when itpresents its estimatesand programme budgetto the Ministry of Health.

“What we have to donow is mobilise all of ourresources to meet the expectations that govern-ment has for us… this isnot the CEO’s say any-more… this not the

board’s say, the govern-ment of Barbados is say-ing to us, we are watchingyou and we are going tomonitor your perform-ance, and based on howwell you perform, we willallocate resources accord-ingly,” she told thosegathered.

“So it’s all about (driv-

ing down) inefficiencies,minimising waste andadopting conservationstrategies wherever wehave to. So our focus thisfinancial year and goingforward will mirror government’s focus,which is on stability, pro-ductivity and growth,”Bobb commented. (RSM)

Corporate Planning Framework will be a requirement

QEH staff rewarded as part of R.E.S.P.E.C.T Programme


By Ashlee Cox

IT is the belief of oneBarbadian Principalthat this country is notplacing enough empha-sis on investing in ourtroubled and damagedyoung people, as it isoften much easier topush them aside andfocus on those who aresucceeding, than it is todeal with the ones whoare presenting variousbehavioural problems.

Delivering the FeatureAddress at theHillaby/Turner PrimarySchool’s graduation,underthe theme ‘We’ve ComeThis Far; Still We Rise’,Principal of theGovernment IndustrialSchool,Erwin Leacock,en-couraged the parents, edu-cational officials and thesociety as a whole to re-ally think about those whoare not actually conform-ing to the system and tosupport them.

Stating that this was anextremely difficult time ofyear for him as the focuswas on achievement. Heexplained that his concernwas that 1/3 of less ofthose who took the examwere the ones being fo-cused on, following the ex-amination that for betteror worse defines the livesof most of the Nation’syouths.

“Let’s make somethingclear, the positive ones

may not be diminishing orreducing but the ones ofconcern to all of us , thatnumber is increasing. Ihave had the rare opportu-nity to raise these chil-dren.Their lives have beenfilled with trying to copewith issues that are be-yond their years. In a lot ofinstances, they have takena respite from beingabused, physically, emo-tionally, sexually. I do nothold back my words whenI speak of these things, be-

cause we in Barbados areextremely adept at brush-ing over things. But belowthe surface, there are is-sues that we need to ad-dress,” he stated.

According to Leacock,society needed to start aconversation about thebest way to deal with thesechildren, as they were allour children and shouldnot be left behind. Askingthe parents to really thinkabout how a child may feelto always be low in class, h

and how they would dealwith that reality.

“ Can you imagine howdamaging it is for a childto be coming 24th out of25. What about the chil-dren who come last? Howdo they deal with that? Dowe ever think about it? Dowe ever think about howdamaging it is?” he chal-lenged.

Don’t marginaliseour youth

(from left) Principal of the Hillaby/Turner Primary School, Angela Edwards and Senior Education Officer inthe Ministry of Education, Gertrude Welch.

Here, Dav-Ann Crawford receives the Irene Sandiford Garner Shield for being theMost Determined Student.

The Principal’s Prize went to the most well roundedstudent, Yahandje Daniel.

Kymani Gilkes, earned the Karen Best Award ofExcellence!


PUBLIC schools will closefor the summer holidaynext week.

The last day of school forstudents will be Thursday,July 2, while teachers willproceed on vacation afterFriday, July 3.

Nine weeks have beenallocated for the 2015summer holidays, follow-ing which the School Year2015-2016 will begin forteachers with a planningweek from Tuesday,September 1 to Friday,September 4.

Students will return tothe classroom on Monday,September 7. According tothe Ministry of Education,Science, Technology andInnovation, there will be38 weeks of instruction forthe new academic year.

The Michaelmas term(Term I) will run for 14weeks ending, for studentson Thursday, December

10, 2015 and for teacherson Friday, December 11,2015. During this term,there will be Teachers’Professional Day, occur-ring on Friday,October 16.

The Hilary Term (TermII), which starts at the be-ginning of 2016,will be for12 weeks, beginningMonday, January 4, forteachers and Tuesday,January 5, for students.The term will end onThursday, March 24, andFriday, March 25, for stu-dents and teachers respec-tively.

Term III, also called theTrinity Term, will last for12 weeks. Teachers willbegin on Monday,April 11,while students will beback in the classroom onTuesday, April 12. Theterm ends on Thursday,June 30, for students andFriday, July 1, for educa-tors. (BGIS)

THE theme VibrantSocieties, ResilientEconomies, will guideCaribbean Community(CARICOM) Heads ofGovernment as theytackle a packedagenda at their 36thSummit that will beheld 2-4 July, 2015, inBridgetown,Barbados.

The CARCOM Heads ofGovernment Conferencewill commence with a for-mal ceremony onThursday evening at theHilton Barbados Resort.Outgoing Chairman ofthe Conference of Headsof Government, the Rt.Hon. Perry Christie,Prime Minister of TheBahamas, and incomingChairman, the Rt. HonFreundel Stuart, PrimeMinister of Barbados, areamong the Heads ofGovernment who willmake addresses at theopening ceremony. Newlyelected and re-electedHeads of Government of

Montserrat, St. Kitts andNevis, Guyana,Dominica, and Suriname,as well as CARICOMSecretary-GeneralAmbassador IrwinLaRocque, will also speakat the ceremony.

Discussions will focuson issues including en-ergy, in the context of aproposal for a new insti-tution to lead the Region’senergy agenda; the CARI-COM Single Market andEconomy; technologicaladvancement in CARI-COM; mechanisms foridentifying CARICOMcandidates for interna-tional positions; CARI-COM relations with theDominican Republic; andborder issues betweenGuyana and Venezuela,and Belize andGuatemala.

A High-Level StrategicDialogue between theCARICOM Heads ofGovernment and HisExcellency Ban Ki-Moon,United Nations

Secretary-General, willprecede the Conference inthe morning of Thursday2 July, also guided by thetheme, CARICOM:Vibrant Societies,Resilient Economies, APartnership forImplementation.

It will provide an oppor-tunity for CARICOMHeads of Government toengage the UN Secretary-General on theCommunity’s sustainabledevelopment agenda asattention now pivotsaround three imminentinternational confer-ences: The ThirdInternational Conferenceon Financing forDevelopment; the UNSummit on the Post-2015Development Agenda;and the UN FrameworkConvention on ClimateChange, COP 21. TheConferences have signifi-cant bearing on the fu-ture global agenda andthe development of theCommunity.

With the Strategic Planfor the Community 2015-2019 and Small IslandDeveloping States (SIDS)Accelerated Modalities of Actions (SamoaPathway) also in focus,discussions with the UNSecretary-General willseek to rationalise an in-tegrated approach to thesustainable developmentin the Community, as itseeks to make vibrant so-cieties and resilienteconomies a reality. TheSamoa Pathway em-anated from the ThirdInternational Conferenceon Small IslandDeveloping States inSeptember 2014.

Ambassadors accred-ited to CARICOM, CARI-COM Institutions, and or-ganisations including theAfrican, Caribbean andPacific Group of States(ACP) and Association ofCaribbean States (ACS)will be represented at theopening of theConference.

Stage set for 36th CARICOMSummit in Barbados

Schools Onsummer breakfrom next week

The students who sat the Secondary SchoolEntrance Examination are now preparing tomove to another stage of development. As thesestudents prepare for their respective graduationceremonies, The Barbados Advocate would liketo wish them success as they enter secondaryschool in September. We want, along with ourbest wishes, to remind these prospective second-ary school students that you can achieve wher-ever you go. Principal of Lawrence T GayPrimary School, Beverley Parris, reiterated atthat school’s graduation that ‘the school you at-tend does not matter, it is what you do when youget there...’

That said, our education system has long beentrying to adjust to and deal with the changes inthe language that, especially young people, haveused over the last two decades, and this lan-guage is evolving rapidly with the increase ofcommunication through advances in technology.With the widespread use of such readily avail-able technology, e.g. as cellular phones andtablets, language has, over time, been ‘com-pacted’ with whole phrases being reduced to sim-ple abbreviations, and words that would at onetime been spelt out are not reduced to letters,numbers and symbols, which give an idea of thephonetics but do not accurately represent the ac-tual word. Many technology users in Barbadosand the world over, in the interest of time, havedeveloped and perfected this ‘language’ so thatit is now ingrained in our daily communication,whether we are texting or messaging on ourgadgets of choice.

It is commendable that we have been quicklearners as far as technology is concerned, but ifwe are to continue to communicate person toperson, not to mention prepare our children toexpress themselves at a level that is approvedinternationally, we must make the distinctionbetween technology language and StandardEnglish so that our children could rise to theoccasion whenever either situation arises. Bothinterests must be embraced because they areboth important to our children’s developmentand overall national and global progress.

It is striking that many children, even some insecondary school, and several young adults, donot understand the basic rules which govern theEnglish Language as was taught in LanguageArts two decades ago, but they do know andunderstand what we call text language. We arecurrently in a situation where children are try-ing to learn two variations of English in amanner of speaking.

This is not a criticism as it is encouragementto acknowledge the direction in which the worldis going but make sure that the basic and neces-sary knowledge of Standard English is as mucha part of our children’s culture as the technolog-ical language.

Adults too should be forearmed by making aconscious effort to learn as much about technol-ogy so that they can put themselves in a positionto monitor their children’s progress and activi-ties when they are communicating through thevarious devices. However, they should also recog-nise the value of learning the dynamics of theEnglish Language since this can only bode wellfor the future of our oral communication.

Editorial

Education is aboutcommunication

THIS writer supports lastSunday’s topic PSVSubculture Hurting OurKids” by colleague JeffBromes, Principal ofParkinson School.

However, he finds it ap-propriate to quote from hisvery first column “FullMarks For ZR Ban” whichoccurred in the press onJanuary 30, 2000 – some15 years ago.

“Full marks to the min-isters of Education andTransport for their pro-posed ban on school chil-dren commuting on ZRvans. This is culminationof years and years of reck-lessness and irresponsibil-ity… the authorities havepassed laws to halt theirdeviant conduct, but itseems they have deridedthe legislation if we judgeby the number of timessome of them have ap-peared before the courts …We are still hearing ofbreaches of the law suchas “the milk shake,” rock-ing the cradle, loud andsordid music, excessivespeeds and passengers,and disrespect for author-ity..

My concern is, and hasalways been, the negativeeffect of this sub culture onthe wider society, particu-larly our school children.From my vantage point asPrincipal, I have encoun-tered more than my fairshare of the devastationand deleterious impact ofthis PSV sub-culture onsome of our students.

This was one of the rea-

sons why this writer onMarch 13,1994,at the firstSpeech Day of theDeighton Griffith School,requested the Minister ofEducation, the late TyroneEstwick, to ban school chil-dren from commuting onZR vans.

My office was inundatedwith calls from concernedmembers of the public.Many of them had no chil-dren at the school, but feltthey had a duty to informme of the unlawful andlife-threatening operationsof the PSV’s. On one occa-sion a PSV was going sofast, that when it reachedthe Kendal HillRoundabout, it had to gostraight on.Had the driverattempted to make theturn to the school, the vehi-cle would have overturnedwith catastrophic resultsand possibly multipledeaths since it was overloaded.

It was at this point thatI made enquiries about thedriver and managed to setup a meeting with him.Hewas very polite,but did notseem to understand thegravity of my concern forthe welfare of the children.He laughed when I men-

tioned the “milkshake”,over-loading, “rocking thecradle”, and excessivespeeds. At the conclusionof the meeting I told himthat if he did not clean uphis act within a week, Iwould ban my studentsfrom travelling in is vehi-cle.He smirched:obviouslythinking that I was bluff-ing and totally powerlessto carry out my threat.ButI would have the lastlaugh.”

The following morningat assembly this writer re-quested all students whotravel by that particularunit to remain in the hall.They were given letters fortheir parents/guardiansexpressing the school’sconcern for the safety oftheir children, and re-questing them to supportthe proposed ban.The sup-port was overwhelmingand this writer waiteduntil the end of the week.Needless to state, therewas no improvement inthe driver’s conduct. ThatFriday this writer in-formed the school, that,until further notice,all stu-dents were banned fromtravelling on that unit.

The ban was a sterling

success and lasted for twoweeks. In the second weekthe driver called the schoolrequesting a meeting.However, he was not thesame person – his walk,his talk,and even his dresshad changed.When he wasasked to speak, he stam-mered:“Skipper tings dry-dry-dry… Uh en mekkingnuttin a tal … uh couldhardly buy gas.”

He promised this writerthat he would change.Thefollowing morning anotherset of letters went outthankingparents/guardians fortheir co-operation, and in-forming them of the dri-ver’s pledge to improve hisconduct behind the wheel.His driving became socommendable, that laterthat year, this writer re-quested him to take stu-dents to the NationalStadium for sports. He ex-plained that his permit didnot allow him to travel tothe stadium, but a letterfrom the school to theChief Licensing Officerwould be appropriate.Needless to state, thiswriter gave him the letterand he transported thestudents to that event.

This writer retired fromthe school and never re-ceived any further adversereports about his driving.

This detailed reportproves that a ban is notonly hypothetical but prac-tical. It was successfullyapplied by the DeightonGriffith School some 21years ago.

BEIJING – The lack of ac-ceptance by manyJapanese people of China’srise is one of the rootcauses of the problems be-tween the two countries,China’s foreign minister, aformer ambassador toTokyo, said yesterday.

Sino-Japan relationshave long been affected bywhat China sees asJapan’s failure to atone forits occupation of parts ofthe country before andduring World War Two.

Japan and China havealso more recently been atodds over ownership of agroup of uninhabited isletsin the East China Sea.

China wants a peaceful,mutually beneficial rela-tionship with Japan,Foreign Minister Wang Yitold an academic forum.

“The question boilsdown to one thing –whether Japan will reallyaccept and welcome the re-newed development andrise of China, which is its

biggest neighbour,” Wangsaid.

“China’s developmenthas already given Japanvery great benefits. Butmentally, I don’t think theJapanese side is fully pre-pared for this. I think thisis the root cause of many ofthe issues between Chinaand Japan right now,” hesaid.

Wang said a goodJapanese friend had saidto him that China was onlyreturning to the position it

once held historically, “sowe Japanese should acceptit completely”.

“So I believe that giventime, the China-Japan re-lationship will ultimatelyreturn to a normal stabletrack,” he said.

China and Japan havebeen gradually rebuildingties after ChinesePresident Xi Jinping andJapanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe held ice-break-ing talks in Beijing lastyear.

‘For the cause that lacks assistance, ’Gainst the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that I can do’


Telephone: 467-2000 News Fax: 434-1000E-mail Address: [email protected]: www.barbadosadvocate.com

Executive Editor: Gillian MarshallGeneral Manager: Sandra ClarkeAssistant Managing Director: Sean Eteen Publisher: Anthony T. Bryan

News Editor: Dorian BryanBusiness Editor: Jewel BrathwaiteSports Editor: Corey Greaves

Ban school children from PSV transport

China says many in Japan not ready to accept its rise


LAST Wednesday wit-nessed the 55th AnnualGeneral Meeting of theBarbados National Trust,founded by two brilliantBritish benefactors ofBarbados – Ronald Tree ofHeron Bay and SandyLane fame, and PeterStevens, Senior, our firstChief Town Planner. Itprovided an opportunityfor taking stock – recount-ing some history – thegood and the bad, suc-cesses and failures – andthe challenges and oppor-tunities we must grasp tobring Barbados back to itsleadership role in theCaribbean. And the keywords are NATIONAL,PARTNERSHIPS andYOUTH.

The Trust has in factachieved a great deal.Without a professionalteam of marketing ex-perts, its work against allodds to save and developour heritage for our na-tional benefit is often un-recognised. Its first prop-erty was Morgan LewisMill – the gift of LawrenceBannister, father of our

distinguished Dr. LanceBannister, the late Dr. PatBannister and attorney-at-law Yolande Bannister.It then acquired, devel-oped and managedWelchman Hall Gully,leased the Cotton TowerSignal Station and GunHill Signal Station, devel-oped the Portvale SugarMuseum, supported andhad vested in it theSynagogue, restoredArlington House as aprized interactiveMuseum of Speightstown,acquired and restoredTyrol Cot and built theChattel House HeritageVillage, with slave hut,rum shop and blacksmithshop; restored WildeyHouse, accepted, devel-oped and operatedAndromeda Gardens etcetera, et cetera.Along theway it’s planted trees, lob-bied for environmentalpreservation and windowsto the sea, organisedSunday hikes, publishedimportant historical andcultural publications,part-nered and consulted withGovernment and other

agencies … all on a shoestring budget in the up-hill battle to promote thepreservation of our her-itage for pleasure andprofit, AND to educateALL of us to take pride inour beautiful and uniquelandscape and culturalheritage. And above all toexcite our youth with pas-sion and pride in preserva-tion.

This column recentlyfeatured our two outstand-ing “gardens” – theAndromeda BotanicalGardens and theWelchman Hall Gully andTropical Forest Reserve.Today we explore afavourite visitor attractionin the North – inSpeightstown – that I’vediscovered not many

Bajans have visited: theArlington House Museum.

Arlington was broughtto the attention of theNational Trust by JimmyWalker, then VicePresident, in his efforts topreserve this splendid his-toric town. It was clearlyone of the earliest ofSpeightstown’s houses. It’sa three storey building,with a tall gable roof andgable windows (hoodedwindows projectingthrough the roof) on thetop floor. It’s long and nar-row, with an elegant en-trance on the street frontand ground level, anddoors along the north side.One of the interesting fea-tures is the fact that thefront of the building, onthe street, is four feet

wider than the back of thebuilding – it’s not a truerectangle! Why would anysensible builder createsuch a building? The mostlikely answer lies in thepractice at the time of longnarrow lots, to give every-one a frontage on thestreet, and in the earlydays they weren’t too fussyhow the lots were drawn,resulting in boundarylines that weren’t parallel,and buildings shoulder toshoulder.

Most of Speightstown’sold houses were of threestoreys, while few suchbuildings survive inBridgetown.This is proba-bly because most ofBridgetown, except for theblock which includes theold Nicholls building (re-cently Harford Chambers)on the corner of Lucas andJames Streets, was de-stroyed by fire at sometime.

Arlington was a shipchandlery, belonging forcenturies to the Skinnerfamily,who lived above theshop.One reason for its in-terest is its resemblance

to the single houses ofCharleston. After “discov-ering” the unique SingleHouse of Charleston,South Carolina, settled byBarbadians in 1670, I readthe passage in Ligon(1657) describing singlehouses (a single roomwide) and double housesin Barbados.The term sur-vived only in Charleston,to describe their long, nar-row houses!

Arlington became thefirst Public Health Centrein the Caribbean, estab-lished by Sir Maurice Byerin 1953. It was almost de-molished when theBarbados National Bankbought the site; in fact thebulldozers went right upto the walls, exposing twofeet of foundation ofloosely packed stones; onlyGod saved the building!Paul Altman, thenPresident of the Trust,then moved in, with thegift of a most generousbenefactor, and the dedi-cation of restoration archi-tect Bruce Jardine, to

CONTINUED on Page 10

ONCE upon a time, in anexotic land, there was a bigriver which was home tomany different species offish. There were manylarge boulders or collectionof boulders which dottedthe river.Each of them washome to different types ofanimals and birds.

Where a number of boul-ders were bundled to-gether, the population ofanimals was greater, sim-ply because there wasmore space. On thoselarger rock formations,there was often more thanone type of animal andseveral species of birds.

The occupants of eachrock developed their ownway of doing things.Although the animals ondifferent rocks may havebeen related, they lived dif-ferently. Distinct culturesevolved on the rocks.

Contact with differentspecies on the larger rocksencouraged many of theanimals and birds to bor-row some of the habits andpractices from their neigh-bours. So, for example, onTin Tin rock, most of thebirds and animals lost partof their original cultureand started behaving likeother birds and animals

around them.The species on Tin Tin

loved to fete, and theirfetes were the best any-where in the river. Theirfetes were different be-cause nobody danced astheir kind danced before.Three step dances had fivesteps. There was no linedancing because nobodycould cooperate enough tomove in the same directionto the same beat, at thesame time. On Tin Tinrock, every animal dancedto its own music and in itsown style.And black birdsmated with sparrows.

Further up the river,there was Jamb Jambrock. Surprisingly, thisfairly large rock never at-tracted the variety of ani-mals and birds that otherrocks drew. Most of thosewho visited loved whatthey saw, but went backhome.

But the birds that livedon Jamb Jamb flew allover the place. And theytook their way of eating,dancing and all of theirother practices with them.

Opposite to the cultureof the birds and animalson Jamb Jamb, was thatof the species on a littlerock called Amazonia. At

first, the culture onAmazonia was largely ho-mogenous. It was a littlehappy rock. Ninety per-cent of the birds belongedto the black bird species,with a few cooing dovesand sparrows thrown in.The fish were so happythat they flew.And animallife was slow, peaceful andquiet.

Then,one day,an animalof uncertain specie namedElto started saying to theAmazonians,“Man,wunnatoo quiet. You ent see howde Tin Tin animals doesfete? You ent hear how deJamb Jamb animals doestalk? You ent know thatthey are bigger rocks fur-ther up the river thatlovely and where de dogsdoes bark different fromwunna dogs and de birdsdoes eat flying fish? Man,leh we learn from dem.”

This started a gradual

change in Amazonia. Thebirds and animals onAmazonia started to prac-tice the same culture asthe other rocks aroundthem, and even from thebigger rocks that were fur-ther up river.

And then, suddenly, astrange disease broke outon Amazonia.The animalsdeveloped sores all overtheir bodies. These soreswould juice and grow big-ger and bigger. A numberof animals died from thesesores, but never under-stood how they contractedthem. This deadly diseasehad no name onAmazonia, for it was newto them.

It also infected the birds.A bird would be flying andin the middle of flight, awing would drop off.Thosebirds became flightless forthe rest of their brief lives.

The disease spread like

wild fire because ratherthan look for the source ofthe disease and try to cureit, the doctors on Amazoniadecided to put plastersover the sores and leavethem.

Birds flew over fromneighbouring rocks andsaw what was happeningon Amazonia. They recog-nised the disease that hadbroken out and was killingthe birds and animals onAmazonia, because it hadoriginated with them.They flew back and toldthe animals on their rockswhat was happening onAmazonia. They sent overmore of the virus.

It was discovered that,in addition to the sores,this disease affected theminds of all who con-tracted it. The peaceful,disciplined schools onAmazonia became warzones. When the animalsin charge of schools de-cided to adhere to the good,tried and proven methodof discipline to restore san-ity, the head animal said,“No, no, no. That archaicmethod does not work any-more. Look at what hap-pens on de big rock up deriver.They don’t use thosemethods, so we won’t ei-

ther.”And his advisers ap-

plauded,“Yes,skipper, thatis the enlightened way.”They were the ones whobrought a strain of the dis-ease from the biggest rockwhere anarchy reigned intheir schools and wherethe same treatment ofplacing plasters on soreshad been tried and failed,but persisted with. Theyknew that every bird andanimal on the rock wouldeventually die,but at leastfor the time being, theywould live well.

The madness affectedthe working animals.Theystarted to tell their em-ployers what work they in-tended to do and whatthey would not do. Theyeven told their employerswho to hire and who theycould not fire.And becausethey had all gone starkraving mad, their employ-ers complied.

The birds and animalsall lost their co-ordinationand developed strangedances that nobody under-stood, not even those whodid them. The black birdsstarted singing mixed upsongs in foreign dialects.And the flying fish flewaway for their own safety.

The National Trust and the magical Arlington House Museum

Chaos in Amazonia


CONTINUED from Page 9

accomplish the finerestoration. And with aCanadian museumdevelopment team,produced an enthrallinginteractive museum ofSpeightstown, all master-minded by Paul Altman.

The Museum, operatedby the National Trust, isa favourite especially

with young visitorsbecause it’s almost totallyinteractive. Each floorhas themed exhibits.The ground floor featuresthe traditional but verymuch living and livelybusiness people of the oldtown – coconut vendor, shoe maker,shopkeeper, potter and soon – all eloquentlyinteractive on pushbutton videos. The first

floor featuresSpeightstown memories,through old prints and aroom sized map from1747, while thePlantation memories are dramaticallydemonstrated in themain room – the originaldrawing and dining roomof the Skinner home. Theupper floor is even moreinteresting, with a jettydown the full length with

all kinds of interactivefeatures … my ownfavourite is the notoriousGentleman Pirate ofBarbados, Major StedeBonnet. He bought hisship the Revenge, piratedfor two years, including aspell sailing with thenotorious Blackbeard,and was finally hung inCharleston, SouthCarolina. Legend says heinvented walking the

plank – perhaps he wastoo much of a gentlemanto put his victims to thesword!

And speaking ofCharleston, we werethrilled to welcome anoverseas member of theTrust to our AGM onWednesday – Mr. TraceyTodd, Director ofMiddletown Place inSouth Carolina, theoldest and grandest

garden in the USA.Tracey is an annualvisitor to our magnificentCrane Resort (with thevoted Best Beach in theCaribbean!)

(Professor Fraser ispast Dean of MedicalSciences, UWI andProfessor Emeritus ofMedicine. Website:profhenryfraser.com)

A lot to learn at ‘interactive’ Museum

“THE Congress herebyfinds and declares that-

(1) In the face of risingproductivity andaffluence, older workersfind themselvesdisadvantaged in theirefforts to retainemployment andespecially to regainemployment whendischarged from jobs…”–Section 621,Vol.29 of theUnited States Code

As the week begins, theisland anticipatesindustrial action in thepublic sector as a resultof a dispute between theNational Union of PublicWorkers [NUPW] and theBarbados IndustrialDevelopment Corporation[BIDC], a state entity,over the dismissal of someof its employees who hadreached the age of 60.According to the BIDC,this fact gave it the rightto dismiss these workersunder the provisions ofthe Statutory Boards(Pensions) Act, Cap.184that entitle it to requiretheir retirement oncethey attain this age.

So far as I am aware, todate no one has sought toenquire as to how exactlythis provision tallies withthose of the EmploymentRights Act 2012[ERA2012] that purportcomprehensively togovern the legality of thetermination ofemployment at theinitiative of the employer,but I shall deal with thisprecise point later intoday’s column.

In those jurisdictionsthat are more protectiveof the worker’s right notto be discriminatedagainst from the hiringprocess to termination,the conduct of the BIDCwould be arguablyunlawful on the basis ofage discrimination. Forexample, the US AgeDiscrimination in

Employment Act 1967expresses “It shall beunlawful for an employer(1) to fail or refuse to hireor to discharge anyindividual or otherwisediscriminate against anyindividual with respect tohis compensation, terms,conditions, or privilegesbecause of suchindividual’s age…”

Of course, an exceptionis made for thosecircumstances where theage or relative youth ofthe employee is a bonafide occupationalqualification reasonablynecessary to the operationof the particular business.

Nor must it be thoughtthat this general form oflegislation is restricted tothe more developedjurisdictions. In theregion, both St Lucia, inits Equality ofOpportunity andTreatment inEmployment Act 2000and Grenada, in itsEmployment Act 1999,proscribe discriminationon the basis of age inrespect of most aspects ofemployment.

Indeed, none seems tohave noticed that theERA2012 similarlyprovides in section30(1)(c) that “a dismissalof an employeecontravenes the rightconferred on him bysection 27[the right not tobe unfairly dismissed byhis employer] where thereason for the dismissalis (xi) a reason thatrelates to the race, colour,gender, age maritalstatus, religion, politicalopinion… of theemployee…” [Emphasis

added].In other words, while

the Barbados law does notgenerally protect againstage discrimination atwork, it clearly does so inthe context of terminationof the employment of theworker. And it bearsnotice that the local Actdoes not excuse theemployer on any basisakin to the bona fideoccupational qualificationas found elsewhere. Itmay be submittedtherefore that thedismissal of theseworkers by the BIDC onthe stated groundscollides with thisprovision once it isapplicable to thisoccasion.

This issue turns thenon the critical matter ofthe relation between thestatute relied on by theBIDC to justify itsconduct in this case andthe ERA2012. Did theformer provision in theStatutory Boards(Pension) Act survive theenactment of theERA2012? Or must itsprovisions be now readsubject to the specificrights conferred on theworker by the laterstatute? This, to me, is thecrux of the matter.

There can be littleargument against thethesis that the

intendment of theERA2012 was torevolutionise the jobsecurity of the Barbadianworker who qualifiedunder its terms for suchprotection. It plainlycould not, and did not,make reference to everypiece of legislation thatmight be affected by itsenactment. However, thewidely accepted rule ofstatutory interpretationthat where a later statuteirreconcilably conflictswith an earlier one, thelatter takes precedenceeven where this is notexpressly stated, (thedoctrine of implied repeal)should serve to nullify theBIDC’s right to terminateon a ground that arguablyconflicts with an expressprovision in theERA2012; that is notthere regarded as a validground for termination;and that takes no accountof the proceduralsafeguards in that Act.

In a press statementissued earlier this week,the BIDC appears toconsider the matter asone of compensationsolely; the issue of thelegality of thetermination being, for it, adead letter.

In my view, this stanceis also to ignore theintendment of theERA2012 that, by its

requirement that adismissal be not onlycontractually proper butalso fair, sought to end thenotion of labour as acommodity. No longerwould it be possible for anemployer to “purchase” ajob merely by giving therequired period of noticeor a sufficient payment inlieu and therewithbringing the contract ofemployment to an end.

According to dicta froma recent judgment of theCaribbean Court ofJustice, “legislation mustbe interpreted so as toeffectuate the protectionit is intended to offer…”The ERA2012, by payingdue deference to theworker’s rights to dignityand autonomy, nowinsists that there be avalid reason for thedismissal and not aninvalid reason; that theworker be heard in his orher defence; and that theoption of dismissal wouldhave been also effected bya reasonable employerfaced with the samecircumstances.

By its insistence in thepress release that it hasfulfilled all its monetaryobligations to theterminated workers, theBIDC would appear tohave been advised thatthe ERA2012 isinapplicable to theseevents, a startlingproposition given theplain words of section 51of the Act to the effectthat “This Act does notbind the Crown butapplies to statutorycorporations”.

The resolution of thecurrent dispute and the

avoidance of industrialaction may therefore beseen as hanging on theinherently tractable legalissue of whether theBIDC’s claimed rightunder the StatutoryBoards (Pension) Act stillexists and trumps theprovisions of theERA2012. Even themuch-touted concept oflegitimate expectation inthis matter, if it is at allrelevant, depends for itsvalidity on this issuesince no expectation,legitimate or at all, shouldexist in the face of aprovision enabling anemployer unilaterally toterminate theemployment of a workerwho has attained the ageof 60…at least so long asit remains valid.

Next week, I propose totreat last Friday’sdecision of the USSupreme Court inObergefell et al v Hodgeset al where it sanctionedthe constitutional validityof same-sex marriage.This would be, of course,more for its shock valueand legal reasoning thanits local relevance,since positive legislationwould be required here toeffect a similarphenomenon. For one, inBarbados, theconsummation of anysuch marriage, at leastone between two males,would be treated ascriminal conduct andsecond, the common lawof Barbados recognisesonly as a valid marriageone between a man whowas born a man and awoman who was born awoman.

Labour is not a commodity

MEMBERS of theDiabetes Association ofBarbados will host a walk-through and tour of his-toric medical facilities in

Bridgetown today,Sunday,June 28th.

Interested persons areasked to meet at 4:00 p.m.at the former Tercentenary

School of Nursing,Jemmott’s Lane, St.Michael for the two-hourwalk which will traverseseveral districts including

Martindale’s Road,ChurchVillage and James Street.It culminates at the head-quarters of the St. John’sAmbulance Brigade on

Bay Street.Further information

may be obtained from theAssociation at telephonenumber 427-9338.

Walk and tour historic medical facilities in Bridgetown


QUOTES FOR TODAY WORDS OFWISDOM

James E. Faust Buddha“I have set the LORD alwaysbefore me. Because he is at myright hand, I will not beshaken. ”

– Psalm 16:8

“To be a good father and motherrequires that the parents defermany of their own needs and desiresin favor of the needs of their chil-dren. As a consequence of this sac-rifice, conscientious parents de-velop a nobility of character andlearn to put into practice the self-less truths taught by the SaviorHimself.”

“To keep the body in goodhealth is a duty... otherwisewe shall not be able to keepour mind strong and clear.”

IMPORTANTROLE

At the end of the day, themost overwhelming key to

a child’s success is the positive involvement of

parents.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORADVOCATE PUBLISHERS (2000) INC, FONTABELLE • FAX: 434-1000 • E-MAIL: [email protected]

LET GODSPEAK TO US

“THE newly proposed specialexcise on sweetened beverages,included in the financial state-ments and Budgetary Propo-sals for the year 2015, is here toreduce the social and economicimpact of the non-communica-ble diseases (ncds). And if thismeasure still does not trans-late to a decline in NCDs, astiffer penalty may be comingfor those who continue to en-gage in unhealthy practices”.This was part of the contribu-tion by our Hon. Minister ofHealth to the recent ‘budget’debate.

We await further clarificationfrom the Minister and/or seniorhealth officials on the detailsof the ‘stiffer penalties’. It isalso unclear whether sportspersons who aspire to improvetheir athletic performances byusing sports drinks will also be‘further penalised’: Is partici-pation in sport to be discour-aged? The small number of ba-bies born to mothers who areunable to access breast milk fora variety of medical reasonswill face “stiffer penalties” in

raising their children.Sir George Alleyne, Director

Emeritus of PAHO, in July2005 noted that it is “bad prac-tice to ask people to makehealthy choices when there is alack of agricultural policies andother initiatives to help themdo so”. Nonetheless, the pres-ent government still finds itnecessary to ‘threaten penal-ties’, taking health here in anew and uncharted direction.

I will also state at the onsetthat I support any measuresthat have the potential to re-duce the impact of the NCDs.More information is needed onthe measures outlined duringthe budget debate to determinewhether this proposed excisetax on sweetened drinks islikely to reduce the prevalenceof NCDs. The strategies, andthe implementation, will be in-teresting.

Since we have no recent dataon the exact number of personsinflicted with the NCDs, we ex-pect that the Ministry of Healthwill soon commence on a na-tional enumeration programme

(‘prevalence study’), and put inplace an ongoing surveillanceprogramme, so we can see ex-actly how many people are af-fected prior to the introductionof the ‘special excise tax’. Theongoing surveillance will allowus to determine whether the ex-cise tax is being translated intoa decline in the NCDs, or deter-mine whether it is time to moveon to the ‘stiffer penalties’( yetto be announced).

At this time, any individualwho develops one or more of theNCDs are offered free visits toany of our polyclinics (and gov-ernment promises that yet an-other polyclinic is soon to beopened to the public). They arethen offered free medicationsfrom the Barbados NationalFormulary (BNF) for the treat-ment of their NCDs, at leastwhile the diminishing stockslast.And if he or she develops acomplication of the NCD, likeheart disease, a stroke or evenchronic kidney disease requir-ing dialysis, then the govern-ment offers free tertiary careat the Queen Elizabeth

Hospital.The new excise tax on sweet-

ened will penalise all those whoutilise these free services:Making them pay a few centsmore for each sweetened drinkis not too much to ask in ex-change for hundreds or thou-sands of dollars’ worth of ‘free’medical attention and suppliesoffered by the government.[“Something for something”,one popular calypso describesthis.]

There are probably very fewplaces on this planet where, inexchange for drinking a fewsweetened drinks, one is “pe-nalised” by a government policythat offers free medical atten-tion in primary care, free med-ications, subsidised high-costshigh-tech investigations ifneeded in tertiary care, and freetreatment. As our invitationalbrochures say: “Barbados, justbeyond your imagination!” Formost countries this is way be-yond their imagination, andcertainly beyond governmentfinances. Our government saysthat they hope to ‘invest’ in thefuture health of Barbadians by‘penalising’ them with excisetaxes from sweetened drinks.

Public health officials maychoose to point out to theMinister that ‘special taxes’ puton cigarettes and alcohol in thepast have failed to reduce con-sumption. Wards at the (free)Psychiatric Hospital and the(free) Queen Elizabeth Hospitalhave been blessed with individ-uals who have been ‘penalised’for their consumption. The evi-dence that suggests a tax onsweetened drinks will be suc-cessful in reducing the inci-dence and prevalence of theNCDs has not been presented.

CARICOM Ministers respon-sible for health promised, at theDeclaration of Port-of-Spain inSeptember 2007, that CARI-COM countries will put in placeprogrammes for screening ofthe NCDs and risk factors bythe middle of 2008. Perhapsthis Ministry of Health is aboutto unveil a belated but welcome

start of an NCD surveillanceprogramme here.

Another option available tothe Minister was to reduce theallowable quantity of sugar ineach sweetened drink, and topenalise the soft drink manu-facturers if a particular quan-tity was exceeded. We haveseen, in recent years, the ap-pearance of ‘low-salt’ salt breadand low-salt corned beef, for ex-ample, but many more policiesneed to be rolled out before wecan impact an impact to bemade on the NCDs. As SirGeorge Alleyne also noted backin 2005, “urgent and sustainedresponse is needed to deal withthe alarming increase inchronic non-communicable dis-ease”.

The government’s stated ob-jective of reducing the socialimpact of the ncds is admirable:Every Minister of Health andEvery Senior Medical Officialin the last 30 years has pub-licly said so, and the Ministry ofHealth has been the ministrythat has attracted the largestportion of the National budget.We certainly have no shortageof speeches reminding us howimportant the NCDs are. Infact, the focus has shifted so farthat ‘health care financing’ to-tally overshadows ‘health’, sothe concerns are coming morefrom the Ministry of Financethan the Ministry of Health.

A single strategy of imposingan excise tax on sweeteneddrinks is likely to please theMinistry of Finance, but wouldhave little impact on our dete-riorating health situation. AsSir George Alleyne pointed out,a comprehensive strategy thatresults in affordable, accessibleand healthy alternatives ismandatory.And if this requiredan urgent and sustained re-sponse back in 2005, we cer-tainly need a comprehensive,formally documented, sustain-able programme to be actuallyimplemented immediately.

Dr. Colin Alert,MB BS, DM.

Drink tax not as sweet as it sounds

Dear Editor, I wish to commendErwin Leacock, principal ofGovernment Industrial School,for his timely, challenging, andrealistic speech at the gradua-tion ceremony of the Half MoonFort Primary School.

This speech was reported inthe print media.

He is right when he chal-lenges the education system toexamine how troubled childrenare so treated that the ofttouted statement, GIVING UPIS NOT AN OPTION, remainsmere words.

Leacock stands well poised tosay what he said because he isresponsible for the childrenthat family and the state haveseen fit to institutionalise in acorrective facility. He is able to

listen to their stories, he is ableto see the good in the most dif-ficult of them. He will tell youthat many of them take himinto their confidence, and fromwhat he hears, tell him that inmost cases, these children arevictims.

I wish to add my voice to hisand say that if any parent andany society cannot control achild under seventeen years ofage, it is they who have a prob-lem, not the child. In fact, wehave a duty to stay with ourchildren throughout their child-hood. Not pawn them off to in-stitutions or even expel themfrom school for uncontrollablebehaviour. When the parentsand the legal institution tookaway the ability to discipline

students (I do not mean physi-cally or mentally abuse them),they destroyed a powerfulmeans of nurturing our chil-dren.

Mr. Leacock, I hope that yourwords will be given regularpublicity, since they are needednow more than ever. Leacock tothe parents: “It is not going toget any easier. The school envi-ronment is becoming more com-plex and you’ve got to wise up...you don’t have a clue how theycan use technology to outsmartyou. Parents, stock up onPanadol; it is going to be chal-lenging, but for you, giving up isnot an option.” Whatever hap-pens, DON’T GIVE UP.

Fr. Clement Paul.

Wise words to parents


THE best person that canaccurately tell you whatyou are truly capable of isyou.

This is the advice thatFounder of TourismAnalytical Services and aformer student, KareemYarde, gave to the stu-dents as he delivered thefeature address at theWilkie CumberbatchPrimary SchoolGraduation Ceremony atthe Church of theNazarene.

He told them that ifthey do not rememberanything else, this wasthe main point that hewanted them to not onlytake away, but to carrywith them as they em-bark on their new journeyinto secondary school.This is especially impor-tant for them to bear inmind because they wouldalways encounter personsaround them that at-tempt to push the opin-ions that they have

formed about you on you.“I hope that if you stu-

dents forget everythingelse that I’ve said heretoday, just remember thatanything is possible –anything is possible if youbelieve and go after thosebeliefs.Why you? Becauseonly you can know howcompetent you truly are.”

He stated that they alsohave a role to play heretoo in that they mustprove to those aroundthem that they are capa-

ble of achieving more.“The point which 10, 15,

20 years from now I hopeyou remember, is that noone other than yourselvescan truly know how com-petent you are because ifyou think about it, beforesomeone dictates to youhow competent theythink you are you mustfirst show them.Therefore, you must beingto think about yourdreams and your passionsand if you really believe in

them, you go after them.”Yarde told the students

that the road that theytravel would not alwaysbe an easy one, butthrough hard work, theycan get to their destina-tion. “Now there will al-ways be distractions andobstacles, disappoint-ments and full blown fail-ures, but remember, wepersevere, we succeed, forlife we work… So yes,you’ll face new challengesin secondary school.You’ll

meet some troublemak-ers, but you need to makesure that you stay focusedon what you want toachieve.”

In addition, there wouldalways be adults in theirlives who would be thereto guide them. “You willhave your parents, teach-ers and guidance counsel-lors there to call on tohelp you through. Youdon’t have to feel asthough you have to do italone.” (PJT)

Yarde: You are the best judge of your competence

AFTER eight years oflessons, the lastgeared specifically forthe 11-Plus exam, theClass Four students ofThe Rock ChristianSchool, as well as theirteachers and adminis-trative staff, were ableto sit back and enjoytheir achievements asthat group held itsgraduation andawards ceremony inthe splendid setting ofthe Radisson AquaticaResort last Wednesdayevening.

Opening with a prayer,invited guests later heardfrom Assistant PrincipalsMrs. Maureen Earle andMrs. Walker-Bostic, thelatter being the Master ofCeremonies for the night,ably assisted by teacherMrs. Brome-Christie.Member of the board, Dr.Gloria Quintyne, alsogave a welcome.Principal, MarciaJenkins, who was absentfrom the proceedings, hada special message read byher husband, GarrickJenkins.

Also addressing thosegathered was featuredspeaker Rev. RonnieQuimby,Associate Pastorof MOP Weslyan Church,who advised students tofollow three guidelines:look beyond your today,learn in your times of dif-ficulty, and leap forwardtowards your dreams.These words of wisdomadded to the overall

theme of the evening‘Seeing Possibilities,Embracing Dreams’.

As part of the uniqueprogramme, which sawgraduands introduceeach other earlier in theceremony, the audiencewas treated to renditionsof songs by the Class Fourstudents – one of whichwas done in sign lan-guage – dances by thegirls and the boys, respec-

tively; an audio visualpresentation of the stu-dents thanking thosewho were supportive oftheir efforts; and a photojourney of their progres-sion to their currentselves.

Echoing this sentimentof giving thanks, presen-tations were made by thePlanning Committee tothe students as well asthe teachers and staff

who have made an im-pact over the years. Eachof the 21 graduating stu-dents were awarded, withValedictorians DanielJackson and NaleenaGaskin receiving addi-tional prizes for Top Boyand Top Girl; Naleenaalso received a special giftfor achieving marks inthe top ten in the islandin the recent CommonEntrance Exam.Teachers

from KG3 to Class Fourwere honoured for theirdedication to the stu-dents, going above andbeyond the call, with spe-cial mention being madeof Class Four teacher,Mrs. Hirute Yaicob.

By the end of theevening, all 21 graduat-ing students of The RockChristian School hadshared their joy at theirachievements and made

fond memories in some oftheir final moments to-gether.And with words ofencouragement embed-ded in their hearts andminds, they are all set tomove forward to the nextstep, seeing possibilitiesand embracing dreams.

(Photos complimentsFonda Corbin)

More Photos on Next Page

Rock Christian graduands receive words of wisdom

Some of the graduating class pose with their Class Teacher.


Naleena Gaskin accepts her award for Top Girl. Shealso received a special gift for achieving marks inthe top ten in the island in the recent CommonEntrance Exam.

Top Boy Daniel Jackson accepts his award fromAssistant Principal Maureen Earle.

Class Four teacher Mrs. Hirute Yaicob received a special award. Here she isalong with two of her students, Faith Williams (left) and Crystal Debidin.

Proud mum Marjorie White congratulates daughter Aliyah on a job well doneafter she received a gift.

Fair to partly cloudy, hazy and breezywith brief scattered showers.

LONDON: 19°C FAIRBOSTON: 18°C FAIRMONTREAL: 23°C FAIRTORONTO: 16°C OVERCAST/ RAINNEW YORK: 18°C OVERCAST/ RAINMIAMI: 26°C PARTLY CLOUDY

High: 00:48 a.m.& 1:37 p.m.

Low: 7:09 a.m.& 6:53 p.m.

Yesterday: 1.1 mmFor the Month: 46.8 mmFor the Year: 306.6 mm

Max: 30.5 °CMin: 24.3 °C

5:35 a.m. 6:28 p.m.

Rev. Ronnie Quimby gave an inspiring address.

THE youth of Barbadosare ready and willing tomake their contributionsto the continued decisionsmade at the CARICOMlevel.

This was made appar-ent during the FourthSitting in the First Sessionof the Youth Parliament of2014-2019 when aResolution that Barbadostakes the lead to convincethe other CARICOMNations that CARICOM’scurrent position is a win-

dow of great environmentthat places the youth andyouth related issues in therealm of high politics, asdeclared in theDeclaration of Paramaribo2010 and that memberstates are encouraged tounderstand that the voiceof the youth be consideredin continued decisionsmade at the CARICOMlevel; and the solutions toRegional YouthUnemployment lie withinthe policies adopted by

CARICOM.Friday in the Lower

House, Youth ParliamentPrime Minister andMinister of Foreign Affairsand Foreign Trade,Roshanna Trim said, “Webelieve in the ideals ofCARICOM and more im-portantly we believe inyoung people; look at thefaces you see here... this isthe next generation. Weare your leaders and westand here willing to leadyou towards a future that

cannot be held by anyone.It cannot be stopped. Wewant to stand proud. Wewant to stand undeterred.And we want to stand atthe helm of the ship andsteer our way toward a fu-ture that is bright, that isclear, that is lucrative, thatis independent, and thatis ours.”

Opposition Leader andShadow Minister ofEducation, Science,Technology andInnovation, Krystal

Hoyte, too put the youthon the front burner, de-spite not supporting theResolution brought byGovernment.

She charged,“My goal isto put youth and youth re-lated issues in the realm ofhigh politics.We can’t taketheir emotional needs andput them aside, not whenour young people are suf-fering from things like de-pression.We’ve got to findsolutions to the issues thatplague our

Caribbean…We have tolook at all of their needs.”

Quoting a Former PrimeMinister of Barbados, SirLloyd Erskine Sandiford,Hoyte urged for govern-ments to call on the youthwho are willing more, say-ing, “It is better to pass onthe torch to persons whohave been actively a partof the decision-makingprocess… The youth ofthis region have a role toplay. Let our youth play!”

(KG)

Youth ready to contribute to decisions made at CARICOM


FOR many years now, theCaribbean has been ableto cultivate a generallypositive image of high lit-eracy levels and academicachievement. It has giventhe world Nobel laureatesand has demonstrated acapacity for intellectualrigour and debate thatmakes it among the moreinteresting regions of theworld with which to en-gage. It has used this topromote itself as a loca-tion for foreign investmentand as an indicator of itsidentity and culture.

However, look moreclosely at what is happen-ing on the ground in manystates and it becomes clearthat away from a smallelite group of schools, theregion’s secondary educa-tion system is failing to

turn out students with thetype of qualifications orskills that will enable theCaribbean to succeed inthe highly competitiveservices-based industriesthat its future rests upon.

Moreover, while thereare a growing number ofpublicly and privatelyfunded centres of excel-lence within higher edu-cation in the region, it isclear that there is muchmore that needs to be doneto adapt tertiary educa-tion to the globally com-petitive academic environ-ment in which all higheracademic institutions nowoperate. Put more simply,if Caribbean universitiesare to attract the best un-dergraduates, researchersand faculty they need todo so based on a reputa-

tion for rigour, educationaloutcomes that are morethan satisfactory, and newsources of income.

Two years ago, St.Lucia’s Prime Minister,DrKenny Anthony, speakinglargely in the context ofsecondary education, speltout where declining edu-cational standards andpoorer quality schoolsmight lead the region. Hesaid that there was a need

‘to place greater emphasison developing citizens whocan make a contribution’otherwise (his country)was in danger of becom-ing uncompetitive.Concerning numbers ofyoung people, he said,were leaving school un-ready for the world ofwork, and did not haveany marketable, technicalor vocational skills.

Recently produced fig-

ures appear to supportthis.While there has beena slow upward trend inexam results for theCaribbean SecondaryEducation Certificate(CSEC) and CaribbeanCertificate of SecondaryLevel Competence(CCSLC), a December2014 Caribbean ExamsCouncil (CXC) report sug-gested that from 2012 to2014 the number of candi-date entries for Januaryexam sittings declined by25 per cent, while theMay/June entries fell by4.5 per cent. The reasonsgiven were ‘economic con-siderations, decliningbirth rates, policy deci-sions, and general low in-terest’.

What is apparent is thatthere is a pressing need to

redefine the region’s ap-proach to education to en-sure it is producing indi-viduals with competenciesthat place the region on apath to sustainable devel-opment. As manyCaribbean educators pointout, education in theCaribbean may not be fitfor this purpose as it haslargely been based onadapting a colonial inher-itance. What is needed,they suggest, is a new ed-ucational philosophy ap-propriate to the contem-porary Caribbean, aCaribbean-led assessmentof the region’s key compe-tencies, a focus on the eco-nomic areas where the re-gion might hope in futureto have global competitive

CONTINUED on Page 15

QUESTIONING the rele-vance and value of theCommonwealth of Nationsis nothing new – for suchhas occurred ever since themodern Commonwealthwas created in 1949.However, doubts have in-tensified in recent timeabout the voluntary associ-ation of now 53 countries.Claims are repeatedlymade that the organisa-tion is no longer relevantor useful. Its persistentportrayal is that of a relicof Britain’s colonial past ora hypocritical groupingwhich declares commit-ments to shared values butfails to uphold them.

The Commonwealth isnow,once again,at a cross-roads. Its member statescan allow it to continue aslow march to oblivion, orthey can rejuvenate andre-energise it to make itwork in their mutual in-terest and for the benefit ofthe global community.While the Heads ofCommonwealth govern-ments are at the centre ofthese options, the organi-sation’s Secretary-Generaland the Secretariat havevery special roles. Headsof Government are busymanaging the affairs oftheir own countries, andresponding to pressingchallenges within their re-gions and internationally.Therefore, the task of cre-ating a vision and pur-poses for theCommonwealth thatwould appeal to leaders ofthe Commonwealth andinvoke their support fallssubstantially on theSecretary-General.

If the Secretary-Generaldoes not proffer a vision ofthe Commonwealth that ispolitically appealing to,and motivational for,Heads of Government,andif the Secretariat does notdeliver work that excitesthe imagination of govern-ments, non-governmentalorganisations, the media,academia and the peopleof Commonwealth coun-tries, the association couldwither and die.

For Britain, the singlelargest contributor to thebudget of the Common-wealth Secretariat and itstechnical assistance arm,the Commonwealth Fundfor Technical Co-operation(CFTC), the Common-wealth will have to find abroader base of relevance –other than an associationof Britain and its formercolonies – to sustain com-mitment. As for its formerdominion members,Canada, Australia, NewZealand and India, theCommonwealth, as it nowstands, holds little attrac-tion for advancing their in-terests in today’s major is-sues – such as increasingtrade, enhancing security,safeguarding against ter-rorism, and managing thechallenges of climatechange. Largely, this is be-cause, apart from climatechange, the Common-wealth has not taken onthese issues – not even asa facilitator of inter-gov-ernmental discussion anda catalyst for internationalinitiatives. Even on cli-mate change, the effortmade to focus attention atthe 2009 Summit in

Trinidad and Tobago hasnot been followed-up inways that stimulated gov-ernments to see theCommonwealth as a bene-ficial forum.

The governments of big-ger developing Common-wealth countries in Africaand Asia are also strug-gling to find meaning fortheir priorities in the workof the Commonwealth.With the exceptions ofSouth Africa and India,they continue to be side-lined in the major eco-nomic and financial deci-sion-making bodies of theworld and they have had toengage non-Common-wealth countries, such asChina, to progress theirdevelopment agendas.

The small memberstates of the Common-wealth – now numbering31 and defined as havingpopulations of 1.5 millionor less – increasingly ques-tion the attentiveness oflarger Commonwealthcountries to their severechallenges. Low atten-dance by Heads ofGovernment andMinisters of the bigCommonwealth countriesat meetings create misgiv-ings in the minds of lead-ers of small states about

the usefulness of theCommonwealth as amechanism for addressingtheir concerns.

Small states are at acritical juncture in theirhistory. Increasingly, theyare marginalised in the in-ternational community.Both large developed coun-tries and InternationalFinancial Institutions be-have as if small nationsare not only irrelevant,they are a nuisance.Hencethe concerns of smallstates are either ignoredor barely tolerated.Development assistance isdrying-up; terms of tradeare worsening; access toconcessional financing hasvirtually disappeared.Thisis occurring at a time whenclimate change and sealevel rise are threateningthe existence of somesmall states and materi-ally affecting the economiclife of others. In these cir-cumstances, it is urgentthat the causes of smallstates be advocatedstrongly and effectively inthe Commonwealth andthe wider internationalcommunity. TheCommonwealthSecretariat must, there-fore,become machinery forsuch strong and effective

advocacy. For theSecretariat to do so, theSecretary-General mustbe someone who hasfought in the diplomaticand negotiating front linefor small states and whohas not only the sensitivityto their plight, but theknowledge of their circum-stances born of experience.

The Commonwealth isthe most important of allmultilateral organisationsfor small states because itis the only forum whichprovides the opportunityfor leaders of small statesto meet regularly (and asequals) with leaders oflarger and more powerfulcountries. No other organ-isation provides thechance for the Head ofGovernment of smallCaribbean states, for in-stance, to meet the Head ofGovernment of Britain,Australia, India and SouthAfrica as an equal to dis-cuss frankly and openlyhis/her country’s chal-lenges and opportunities.That is why small statescannot allow theCommonwealth to witherand die. Small states needthe Commonwealth to bevibrant and effective sothat it can advance theirinterests.

In recent years, an in-creasing focus byAustralia, Britain andCanada (ABC) on democ-racy,human rights and therule of law in Common-wealth countries, has ledto a widening divisionwithin the organisation.The argument is raisedcontinuously by represen-tatives of developing coun-

tries that the ABC’s em-phasis on these matters isat the expense of economicdevelopment upon whichthe governments of devel-oping countries place highimportance. While thisperception is mistaken,there have been inade-quate efforts to demon-strate that the great por-tion of resources is indeedspent on development.

These fractious and divi-sive conditions have arisenfrom years of neglect inwhich the Commonwealthcould have been reformedand inspired by its leader-ship. Its slide away fromits fundamental purposesshould have been arrestedand new ways created tomaintain its collegiality.The absence of vibrant ini-tiatives to keep Heads ofGovernment fully engagedin preserving andstrengthening the associa-tion has led to the inertiaand lack of enthusiasm inwhich it now languishes.

(The Commonwealth –Part II will deal with therole of the Commonwealthand the Secretary-General)

(Sir Ronald Sandersis a Senior Fellow at theInstitute of Common-wealth Studies,University of Londonand at Massey College,University of Toronto.He is also a candidatefor the post of Common-wealth Secretary-General. Responses andprevious commentaries:www.sirronaldsanders.com)

The Commonwealth’s future – Part 1

Education, innovation and the future

CONTINUED from Page14

advantage, and an ap-proach more closely re-lated to the digital world.

Speaking about this re-cently to the ChiefExecutives of two majorCaribbean companies, onefrom Trinidad, the otherfrom Jamaica, it is clearthat the matter is becom-ing serious. They notedthat companies are hav-ing to start their ownskills development pro-grammes. One cited theexample of Trinidadwhere labour shortages inthe construction, hospital-ity and the garment in-dustry are growing, andpointed to a report pro-duced by the Trinidad andTobago Chamber ofCommerce that suggeststhat poor attitudes,absenteeism, indiscipline,illiteracy, a disdain forservice industries, and alack of continuous skillstraining, were starting todamage key sectors.

This is concerning asthere are multiple studiesindicate that knowledge-

based economies repre-sent the only realisticlong-term future for mostresource-poor small statesand for this reason, educa-tion in nations such asthose in the Caribbeanhas to be transforma-tional, technology-drivenand relevant to nationaldevelopment.

Across the world, newtechnologies are now dis-rupting the way in whichin which government andbusiness is organised,threatening to leave muchof the Caribbean behind.At the same time, highspeed broadband, totalconnectivity, and the offerof low cost or even free wifiis opening the world ofideas and opportunity po-tentially to everyone,mak-ing size and location lessrelevant.

This means that trainedand educated individualscan creatively apply andally their skills to incomewithout leaving to workoverseas; offering oppor-tunity in everything fromcomputer animation, toback office services, de-sign, three dimensionalprinting applications, and

the many the new ideasthat are emerging in theworld beyond the region.

What is now happeningglobally begs the questionas to whether the skillsand forms of thinking thatmuch of the Caribbeanhas previously encouragedwill still be relevant in tenyears time.

The region is not shortof ideas about how toadvance changes in edu-cation. Taken at randomrecent reports suggestschools and theclassrooms need to bemodernised and new tech-nology introduced;distance learning needsfacilitating; considerationneeds to be given to futurelabour force demands in

priority sector such astourism, financial serv-ices, and light manufac-turing; foreign languageteaching needs expanding;schools need to be bettermanaged and more ac-countable; models like theCaribbean ScienceFoundation (CSF) that en-courage innovation shouldbe more widely applied;university research needsto be related to privatesector needs; and newsources of financing for ed-ucation are required.

Given that in mostCaribbean states educa-tional spending is fallingand having to competewith other social prioritiesincluding healthcare andhousing, the starting point

ought to be finding newfunding for education.

Here there is a wealth ofexternal experience. InNorth America, Europeand in states likeSingapore, community col-leges and tertiary educa-tion establishments havebeen created throughfoundations; corporatemoney is used forpublic/private educationalpartnerships; there arecommercially-led researchparks around universities;and fee-paying summerschools support full- timeeducation. There are alsomany other ways. For ex-ample, large regional andhemispheric multination-als engaged in the region,including those from

China, should be encour-aged to invest in schoolsand local education out ofself-interest and todemonstrate their corpo-rate social responsibility.

If innovation and entre-preneurship are to thrivein the Caribbean, it willrequire both a change inthinking and an equallyradical change in educa-tion from the primaryschool level upwards.

(David Jessop is aconsultant to theCaribbean Council andcan be contacted [email protected]

Previous columns canbe found at www.caribbean-council.org)


Technology and its potential

Across the world, new technologiesare now disrupting the way in whichin which government and businessis organised, threatening to leavemuch of the Caribbean behind. At

the same time, high speedbroadband, total connectivity, andthe offer of low cost or even freewifi is opening the world of ideas

and opportunity potentially toeveryone, making size and location

less relevant.


TRINIDAD – “There is noquestion that theCaribbean is shoulderingan unsustainable debt bur-den whichcompromises thecapacity of the economiesfor sustained growth andrestricts the options avail-able to governments to in-troduce important socialand welfare programmes,”the executive secretary ofthe Economic Commissionfor Latin America and theCaribbean (Eclac) AliciaBárcena said Friday.

She was speaking viavideo conference at theopening the 17th meeting ofthe Monitoring Committeeof the CaribbeanDevelopment and

Cooperation Committee(CDCC) in Port-of-Spain.Ministers and high-levelgovernment representa-tives from the Caribbeangathered in T&T to consider progress made inimplementation of development strategies forthe region.

Also participating in theopening ceremony of themonitoring committee onthe 40th year of the CDCCwas the current chai,Minister of State forForeign Affairs and ForeignTrade of Jamaica, ArnaldoBrown; Foreign AffairsMinister, WinstonDookeran; and GrenadaMinister of Foreign Affairs

and InternationalBusiness,Clarice Modeste-Curwen.

The monitoring commit-tee endorsed the key outcomes of the precedingtwo-day symposium that offered Caribbean policymakers and experts aforum to deliberate the region’s developmentpriorities as the interna-tional community preparesto adopt a new set of globalsustainable developmentgoals (SDGs).

Referring to the discus-sions of the symposium,Bárcena underscored thatthese represent “an impor-tant first step towards en-suring that the Post 2015

development agenda willwork for the Caribbean; byidentifying from among the17 goals the ones that willbest address the priority development needs of theregion.”

The monitoring commit-tee also focused on strate-gies for debt relief and topromote innovative financ-ing. Eclac deputy executivesecretary Antonio Pradopresented a proposal on aco-ordinated strategy to ad-dress debt reduction forsustainable development inthe Caribbean.

The timeliness of tacklingthis issue was underscoredby Minister of State forForeign Affairs and Foreign

Trade of Jamaica, ArnaldoBrown, who stressed that“the region needs a growthstrategy to build productiv-ity” and further under-scored that “a major pro-ductivity drive is essential.”

The meeting further reviewed progress in implementation of the on-going work programme ofEclac in the Caribbean.

Over the past 18 months,wide-ranging activitieshave been undertaken,including extensive research on the state of socioeconomic developmentin the subregion; strength-ening the capacity of gov-ernments to assess and re-spond to disasters through

the use of the Damage andLoss Assessment (DaLA)methodology;assisting gov-ernments with the development of nationaltrade policies; enhancingthe ability of national sta-tistical offices to make mosteffective use of census datathrough training in the useof specialised (REDATAM)software; and introducingstrategies to improve government efficiency byimplementing e-govern-ment systems.

Foreign Affairs MinisterWinston Dookeran praisedthese efforts and thankedEclac for its contribution to-wards building models ofCaribbean convergence.

CANAAN,Haiti – Beforethe January 2010 earth-quake destroyed muchof Haiti’s capital, theonly occupants of thearid hills near the city’snorthern edge wereskinny goats foragingamid the cactus andscrub.

Today, hardware storessell wood and rebar to aflood of homesteaders andchildren lug water updusty paths between rowsof cinderblock homes andtin-and-tarp shacks. Thegovernment estimates thatin 5 1/2 years, some250,000 people have set-tled in the unregulatedsprawl called Canaan,named for the biblical landof promise and prosperity.

Already consideredHaiti’s fourth-largesturban district, Canaan,

could reach 1 million peo-ple in a decade, andalarmed authorities aremoving to exert some sem-blance of control.Regularizing the informalmetropolis, however, won’tbe easy.

People displaced by thedevastating 7.0-magnitudequake have built upCanaan on their own,using an estimatedUS$100 million of theirpersonal money, some of itsent from abroad by rela-tives, and instilling astreak of independence ofwhich they are proud.

“Outsiders have not pro-vided anything to us,”Fabienne Bosquet said ather family’s scrap-woodshelter as her younger sib-lings stacked small bags ofcharcoal for sale. “It isHaitians like us that havemade something out ofnothing.”

Some of Canaan’s neigh-bourhoods boast food andbarber shops, churches,motorcycle taxi stands,anddaycare centres.Residentsare a mix of desperatelypoor Haitian families andbetter-off but still strug-gling workers, includingprofessionals who com-mute to Port-au-Princesome 12 miles (20 kilome-tres) away. But life here isnot easy. Water can be along walk away, meals arecooked over fire pits andbathrooms are just a holein the ground.

After years of looking onin dismay at the fastemerging city, the Haitiangovernment is introducinga pilot programme to in-stall basic services in a cen-tral section of Canaanwhile a master plan is de-veloped for the entire area.

With US$14 millionfrom the American RedCross and USAID,the pro-gramme plans to put inpaved roads,schools,waterand power in one zonewhile collaborating withresidents to ensure theirhouses meet minimal con-struction standards.

Both aid groups havebeen criticized for failingto build housing after thequake,a shortfall directorsblamed in large part onmuddled land tenure is-sues, logistical nightmaresand struggles cuttingthrough bureaucracy.

The biggest fear is thatCanaan might become an-other Cite Soleil, a gang-heavy maze of shacksoriginally planned as acommunity for labourers.

In the case of Canaan,the homesteaders puttingtheir own money andsweat into the settlementmakes them “very open” tourban planning and up-grades because they wantto protect their invest-ments, said ClementBelizaire, executive direc-tor of the government’sagency for public buildingsand housing.

Authorities accept thatresettlement is not an op-tion for most residents,Belizaire said.The govern-ment, however, will evictfamilies living in ravinesand other very risky areas,especially as more peoplearrive in search of jobs ex-pected to stem from anearby seaport slated toopen soon. “We know wecan’t stop this heavy influxof people so we have towork with the people tomanage Canaan as it isnow and formalize areas,”Belizaire said.

Haiti seeks to control ‘city’ that emerged from quake

ECLAC executive secretary: C’bean debt burden unsustainable

In this June 24, 2015 photo, women sell mangos and basic food supplies at acrossroads lined with shops and stalls in Canaan, Haiti. Small businesses established by settlers have sprung up all over town, catering to both residents’ daily needs and the ongoing.

In this June 24, 2015 photo, a woman walks on a hillside road in Canaan, Haiti. The community receivesno government services other than policing, say its residents.

ANTIGUA – The head ofthe country’s leadingcancer awarenessgroup is welcoming theopening of the state-of-the-art Cancer Centre

of the EasternCaribbean, which is ex-pected to provide high-quality medical, radia-tion and surgical oncol-ogy services.

President of BreastFriends and cancer sur-vivor Eunetta Bird saidshe is elated that Antigua& Barbuda now has a facil-ity that can provide holistic

care for cancer patients.“At present the Mount St

John’s Medical Centre of-fers chemotherapy but noradiation,and persons hadto travel abroad for radia-

tion. It would cause thegovernment quite a bit ofmoney and also the indi-vidual needing the care,”Bird said.

Bird said the opening ofthe state-of-the-art facilitywould definitely reduce thecost of overseas treatment.She is also hoping that pa-tients will receive qualitycare despite their status insociety. The head of thelocal group said she willalso be looking forward toseeing the establishmentof a cancer registry to doc-ument incidents of cancerin the country and thewider OECS.

An elaborate ceremony,punctuated with speechesfrom government minis-ters, ministers of theOrganisation of theEastern Caribbean States(OECS) member states,and sitting Chair of theCaricom Community,Bahamian Prime MinisterPerry Christie marked theopening of the facility.

The dignitaries who tookthe podium on Fridayspoke to the importance ofthe facility,which they saidwould save the regionalgovernments millionsspent on care and treat-ment annually.

The stakeholders alsonoted they will be adopt-ing a partnered care ap-proach with the privatesector, to ensure the serv-ices at the facility are ac-cessible to all.

Prime Minister GastonBrowne, who addressedgathering,at the facility lo-cated at the foot of theMount St John’s MedicalCentre, said the CancerCentre is a project that willcomplement the services atthe country’s lone publichospital.

The state-of-the-art fa-cility, the brainchild of for-mer Prime MinisterBaldwin Spencer, wasbirthed in 2009 during aregional health care sym-posium.


OPPORTUNITY LIES JUST AHEAD…Senior Manager, Human Resources-Industrial Relations

Do You Have What It Takes?

Can you provide sound advice on Human Resources and Industrial

Relations principles, processes and practices to support the business

requirements of a large public company? Can you provide expert

advice and guidance to managers and executives on performance

management, progressive disciplinary procedures and grievance

procedures? Do you have sound training and experience in negotiations

and conciliation? Are you familiar with the Barbados Labour Legislation,

or have a Caribbean perspective of Labour Legislation?

Are you a confident and dynamic communicator?

Do you have strong quantitative, analytical and problem solving skills?

Are you looking for an exciting career opportunity in a highly dynamic

and challenging environment?

What’s Expected

• An experienced HR professional Manager with at least 5 years’

related experience in a progressive human resources environment.

• At least a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management,

Industrial Relations, Employment Law, Business Management.

• Outstanding knowledge of labour legislation and the application of

industrial relations principles, collective bargaining procedures and

negotiation.

Please visit the careers link on www.sagicorlife.com to view

additional details and submit your application with full details of your

career by July 10th, 2015.

Sagicor Life Inc. is rated “A-” (Excellent) by A.M. Best Rating Company.

PHONE RUSH: Members of the police spent a big portion of yesterday morning in Jamaica try-ing to control large crowds that gathered at various Digicel outlets in the corporate area.The telecommunications company sent text messages informing customers that they would be able to ac-cess free phone, SIM card and J$6,000 credit if they make the switch to Digicel under the number portabilityscheme introduced at the start of this week. Number portability allows persons to switch their networks but keep their telephone numbers. Meanwhile, LIME reported that it has had more than 700 requests from persons wanting to switch from theDigicel network. At the same time, LIME says 50 of its customers have asked be switched to Digicel.

State-of-the-art Cancer Centre opens in Antigua


SANTO DOMINGO,Dominican Republic –The DominicanRepublic announcedFriday that it has certi-fied the nationality ofabout 55,000 peoplewho had spent eightyears in bureaucraticlimbo because their cit-izenship was in doubt.

The locally born descen-dants of Haitian immi-grants had been on thepoint of losing their citizen-ship because the govern-ment and courts arguedtheir parents had been in

the country illegally. Tensof thousands had troubleenrolling in school,travelling, getting formalwork, marrying or regis-tering children for lack of residence documents.

Under a ruling by theConstitutional Tribunal,the measure affected off-spring of undocumentedimmigrants born between1929 and 2007, leading toan outcry by human rightsadvocates.

President DaniloMedina announced thecertification Friday at a

summit in Guatemala.“It will be good news

when the 55,000, to thelast person among them,can effectively get all theirdocuments and at last reg-ister their children,” saidRobin Guittard, head ofcampaigns in theCaribbean for AmnestyInternational.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Haitian im-migrants are at risk ofbeing deported under agovernment crackdown onundocumented immi-grants.

BOGOTA, Colombia –President Juan ManuelSantos says an oil spill trig-gered by a rebel attack ona pipeline the worst envi-ronmental disaster inColombia’s history.

Santos made the com-ments Friday while visit-ing the southern port city ofTumaco to survey damagefrom the June 22 bombingby the RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia.

Authorities say 10,000barrels of oil have spilled

into the Mira River, leav-ing some 150,000 peoplewithout drinking water.The attack was the latest ina string of FARC offensiveactions since the grouplifted a unilateral cease-firein May aimed at givingspace to peace talks.

Santos said that theFARC attack is likely togenerate widespread rejec-tion among Colombians.

A state of emergency inTumaco is expected to last45 days.

THE man who shippedshrimp which was inter-cepted in New York lastweek with US$12M(GUY$2.4B) worth of co-caine concealed insideFriday turned himself overto local law enforcementauthorities saying that hewants to clear his name.

There in ongoing collab-oration between US offi-cials and their counter-parts in Guyana into thisbust which is the biggestin recent times of a ship-ment originating from hereand it points to an elabo-rate scheme involving per-sons both here and in theUS. Observers say therewill be pressure on the new

government to ensure thatits law enforcement au-thorities can construct anairtight case and havecharges brought.

The shipper who hassince been identified asImrain Khan, is now beingquestioned by police andranks from the CustomAnti-Narcotic Unit(CANU).His attorney GlenHanoman when contactedyesterday confirmed thathe took his client to the po-lice narcotics division lo-cated at PoliceHeadquarters, Eve Learywhere he left him.Hanoman told StabroekNews that he has advised

his client that he should beprepared to spend the next72 hours in police custodyas is permitted accordingto the law.

Neither the Police norCANU issued a wantedbulletin for Khan since thestory appeared in the localmedia and asked why hewould have turned up atPolice Headquarters,Hanoman said that giventhe fact that he was theperson who shipped thecontainer with the shrimphis client knew that hewould be a person of inter-est to investigators.

At the US end,Lusignanbusinessman 59-year-oldHeeralall Sukdeo who is

the owner of Sukdeo SonsFishing, a shipping com-pany based in Queens,New York has been ar-rested and is being heldwithout bail in a US jail.Sukdeo who also has abranch of his company atLusignan and whose localaddress is Courbane Park,Annandale, East CoastDemerara has said he wasinnocent of any wrongdo-ing, according to the NewYork Daily News.

CANU Head JamesSingh informed StabroekNews that local authori-ties were in search of Khansince he shipped theshrimp but he turned him-self in yesterday.

AFTER close to three yearsin the National Assemblyof Guyana,the Anti-MoneyLaundering andCountering the Financingof Terrorism Bill(AML/CFT) 2015 waspassed in the House onFriday, June 26 in the ab-sence of the People’sProgressive Party/Civic(PPP/C) opposition.

The Bill was presentedto the house on Thursday,June 25 for its first readingbyAttorney General,BasilWilliams and read for thesecond time on Friday,where it attracted the sup-port of all 33 members ofParliament on the govern-ment side.

The contentious piece oflegislation will now besigned into law byPresident David Granger.Williams told the Housethat the Bill has had a“checkered history in this

house,” but it is now timethat Guyana moves on.

He addressed criticismsof the Bill by the PPP/Cwhich was absent from theHouse on Friday. TheOpposition had stated thatthe Bill does not conform tothe guidelines set out bythe Financial Action TaskForce (FATF),while notingthat severallacunae and excessivewere listed within theamendments to the 2009Principal Act.The APNU+AFC made ad-ditional amendments tothe Bill, including Sections8 & 9 which deals with theestablishment of anAML/CFT Authority fromwhich members will be ap-pointed by the NationalAssembly, and removingthe powers of the Ministerto appoint the Director ofthe Financial IntelligenceUnit (FIU) and the power

of the President to dismissthe Director and placingthese powers in theAuthority.

“The members of theOpposition, who it wouldappear are waiting anx-iously for us to pass thisBill withoutthem…The main changesthat we had proposed tothe parent Act related tothe governance…I don’tknow where the criticismcomes from that 65 personscannot be better than oneperson,” said AG Williamson Friday.

He maintained that theprocess to now overlook theFinancial Intelligence Unit(FIU) is transparent andwould actually serve forthe betterment of the unit,contrary to what is beingsaid by the PPP.

“I don’t know where youcan find a more transpar-ent process than

that…This authority(ParliamentaryManagement Authority) isnot intended to rob the FIUof their independence, infact the legislation statesclearly that the authoritywill not interfere in the dayto day runnings of theFIU,” Williams pointedout.

In the new Bill, Clause17 inserts a new section –37A in the Principal Act toprovide that a police offi-cer, a customs officer or aperson authorised by theDirector of the FinancialIntelligence Unit may seizeand detain cash anywherein Guyana where theamount is more than tenmillion dollars.

It also stated that this isdone when authoritieshave reasonable groundsfor suspecting, for instance,that the currency is de-rived from a serious of-

fence or is involved inmoney laundering or ter-rorist financing.

At the moment,by law,aperson is only allowed tohave $2M on his person;however this stipulation iswidely ignored. FormerAttorney General Nandlalltold iNews on Wednesday,June 24 that the amend-ment places upon the citi-zenry an undue burden ofestablishing that theirmoney is not the proceedsof money laundering orcrime

But according toWilliams, before law en-forcement acts in such amanner they would haveto be strapped with evi-dence of a wrongdoing.

“They cannot seize cashfrom persons in the processof business, commerce,trade or suchactivity…they have to bearmed with information

with evidence given tothem by FIU and SOCU –so if anyone is approachedit must be that they arearmed with that evidence,”said the Attorney General.

“If they made a whimsi-cal detentionand seizure then they can-not be spared, they will beexposed; it is maliciousprosecution,” he added.

Colombia’spresident blastsrebels for oil spill

Dominican Republic’s President Danilo Medina, left, and El Salvador’sPresident Salvador Sanchez ceren talk during a photo opportunity at theXLV Central America Integration System, SICA, summit in Antigua,Guatemala, Friday, June 26, 2015.

Dominican Republiccertifies citizenshipof 55000 people

Anti-Money Laundering Bill passed in Guyana National Assembly

Attorney General, BasilWilliams.

Shipper of intercepted shrimp turns self in


CHARLESTON, S.C. –An activist climbed aflagpole outside theSouth Carolina statecapitol early yesterdayand took down theConfederate flag, stateofficials said, a dayafter US President Ba-rack Obama called thebanner a symbol ofracial oppression.

Two people were ar-rested and charged withdefacing a monument, theSouth Carolina Depart-ment of Public Safety saidin a statement. The ban-ner was replaced within anhour, it said.

The department identi-fied them as 30-year-oldsBrittany Ann ByuarimNewsome and James IanTyson, from North Caro-lina.

The Civil War-era flaghas been a focal point inthe United States after the

fatal shooting last week ofnine African Americansduring a Bible study ses-sion at the historicEmanuel African Metho-dist Episcopal Church inCharleston.

South Carolina Gover-nor Nikki Haley was ap-plauded yesterday at thefuneral of one of the vic-tims, librarian CynthiaHurd,when she told mour-ners, “I am sorry this hap-pened on my watch,but wewill make it right.”

Haley,who has attendedall four of the funerals sofar for the victims,on Mon-day led calls for the flag’sremoval, saying that whileit was an important part ofSouth Carolina’s past, it“does not represent the fu-ture of our great state”.

The suspect in the shoo-tings,Dylann Roof,21,hadposed with a Confederateflag in photos posted on a

website that also displayeda racist manifesto.

A group of local activistssaid they organised the re-moval of the flag,which bylaw flies at a memorial onthe Statehouse groundshonouring soldiers whofought on the side of the

pro-slavery Confederacyduring the 1860-65American Civil War.

“We could not sit by andwatch the victims of theCharleston Massacre belaid to rest while the in-spiration for their deathscontinues to fly above their

caskets,” an activist grouporganised under the Twit-ter tag #KeepItDown saidin a statement.

At a funeral for the slainEmanuel church pastor inCharleston on Friday,Obama called the banner“a reminder of systemic op-

pression and racial subju-gation”.

“For too long we wereblind to the pain that theConfederate flag stirred intoo many of our citizens,”Obama said in his eulogyfor Reverend ClementaPinckney, 41.

Activist takesdown Confederateflag outside SouthCarolina capitol

Bree Newsome takes down the Confederate Flag from a pole at the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina,on June 27, 2015.


KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait –Thousands of Kuwaitis at-tended the funerals yester-day for victims of a suicideattack on the Shiite-affili-ated Al-Sadiq mosque.

A bomb ripped throughthe mosque during Fridayprayers, killing 27 wor-shippers. It was the worstterror attack Kuwait hasseen in many years.

ISIS, a Sunni Muslimextremist group, hasclaimed responsibility forthe bombing at the mosquein the heart of Kuwait City.

Authorities have foundthe car the suicide bomberused to get to his target,

but not necessarily the per-son who drove him there.The interior ministry saidit has made a number ofarrests and that the car’sowner was among thosedetained.

The discovery of the ve-hicle was announced onstate TV,as well as the factthat its driver remains atlarge.

Beyond the manhuntlooms the issue of prevent-ing such attacks in the fu-ture and ensuring thatISIS, which is wreakinghavoc in neighbouring Iraqand also has claimed at-tacks in Saudi Arabia,

doesn’t do the same inKuwait.

Kuwaiti newspapersyesterday carried mes-sages of unity in this emi-rate where Shias are one-third of the population.Streets were quiet as thegovernment declared anofficial day of mourning.

Forensic’s teams contin-ued to look for clues in andaround the mosque yester-day amid heavy policepresence. Shards of glass,bloodstained clothing andshoes were strewn all overfrom the powerful explo-sion,which police say blewout car windows in a

nearby parking lot.Cell phone video appar-

ently shot in the bombing’saftermath and posted tosocial media showed wor-shipers walking and stum-bling through a dust- andrubble-filled interior of themosque, many with theirwhite robes splatteredwith what appeared to beblood.

In addition to the dozensdead, at least 227 otherswere wounded in the blast,state media reported, cit-ing a security official.Three of the victims wereIranian citizens,accordingto state media.

Thousands attend funerals ofKuwait attack victims

MORE than 225 peoplewere injured – about100 of them seriously –after flammable pow-der apparently explo-ded in mid-air at arecreational waterpark in Taiwan, theEast Asian nation’s of-ficial Central NewsAgency reported.

The flames eruptedwhen the unknown sub-stance blew up over astage around 8:30 p.m.yesterday at FormosaFun Coast, fire-fighterssaid, according to theCNA report.

CNA reported that “thefire was quickly broughtunder control,” but not be-fore at least 229 peoplesuffered injuries – 97 ofthem were in serious con-dition.

Video showed a mas-sive fireball suddenly en-gulfing the stage, fol-lowed by screaming peo-ple running for their livesthrough flames.

Some people used large,inflated inner tubes asstretchers to carry out theinjured, CNA reported.

Hours later, most of theinjured had been trans-ported to three area hos-pitals for emergencytreatment. Many werestill at the park, though,with CNA reporting thaton-site first aid stationswere opened to provideurgent care.

Calling it the “worst in-cident of mass injury(ever) in New Taipei,”Taiwan’s most populouscity, Mayor Eric Chucalled for ambulance sup-

port from neighbouringTaipei, Taoyuan andKeelung. In addition,Taiwanese defence min-istry spokesman LuoShao-he said all militaryhospitals in northernTaiwan were prepared totake patients.

Formosa Fun Coast in-dicated the fiery explo-sion occurred during a“Colour Play Asia” partyput on by a separatemarking company thatleased out space at thepark.

More than 225injured in explosionat Taiwan water park

Hours later, most of the injured had been transported to three area hospitals foremergency treatment.

It was the worst terror attack Kuwait has seen in many years.

PARIS – A day after a manwas decapitated at a gasfactory in France’s secondterror attack in sixmonths, residents ques-tioned whether the nationis doing enough to stop ter-rorists.

“It feels that these at-tacks are now happeningback to back,” said IlanCohn, 21, a student inParis. “I am afraid thatthere will be more andmore, just recently CharlieHebdo and now this?”

Yaccine Salhi, 35,a manonce placed on a “radicali-sation list”drove his truckinto a US-owned gas fac-tory in the southeasternFrench city Lyon on Fri-day, triggering an explo-sion as his boss’ severedhead was found at the en-trance, authorities said.

Two people were injuredin the explosion of gas can-isters. “Islamist terrorismhas again struck France,”Prime Minister ManuelValls said.He warned yes-terday that France faceseven more attacks.

Officials said yesterdaythat Salhi took a selfiewith the slain victim andsent the image to at leastone recipient.

French security forceshad been on high alertsince Islamic extremistgunmen targeted theParis office of satiricalmagazine Charlie Hebdoin January, setting off sev-eral days of attacks in thecity that left 20 peopledead.

“These were the actionsof a few isolated men, butwhat if it’s not the casenext time – we could havea mass attack by an organ-ised network of fundamen-talists,”Cohn said.“That’sreally scary. It doesn’t feellike the authorities areable to prevent anything.”

Salhi – who remained incustody yesterday alongwith his wife and sister –was known to intelligenceservices but had not beenactively monitored by se-curity officers since 2008.

No group has yetclaimed responsibility forthe attack at US-based AirProducts’ factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier. It hap-pened the same day asISIS-claimed attacks at aShiite mosque in Kuwaitand a beach resort in Tuni-sia. Overall, at least 66people died across thethree countries.

France on edge dayafter 2nd terrorattack in 6 months

BUJUMBURA – Attackers inBurundi set fire to a buildingstoring election material yester-day, two days ahead of key pollsand following weeks of violenceover President Pierre Nkurun-ziza’s bid to stay in power.

National electoral commissionofficials confirmed the attack inthe northeast Ntega district,some 200 kilometres from thecapital Bujumbura, but therewas no indication who was re-sponsible.

Parliamentary and local elec-tions are set to be held in thecentral African nation tomorrow,and a presidential vote on July15. The opposition yesterdaysaid it was boycotting polls,claiming it is not possible to holda fair vote.

“A group of unidentified youngpeople took advantage of the po-lice who were sleeping on dutyand torched a building housingelection material,” local gover-nor Reverien Nzigamasabo tolda news agency. “Part of the bal-lot boxes and voting booths wereburned, but people were able tosave the rest.”

Soldiers fired shots at thegang to chase them away, policesaid.

Two grenades were alsohurled overnight on Friday inBujumbura, witnesses said, butunlike a string of similar at-tacks, no one was hurt. Gunfirewas also heard in the capitalovernight, as it has been for re-cent days.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called for themto be delayed after the oppositionsaid they would not take part inthe polls,which come as Burundifaces its worst crisis since itscivil war ended nine years ago.

Opponents say Nkurunziza’sbid for another term is unconsti-tutional and violates a peace ac-cord that ended 13 years of civilwar in 2006.

Around 70 people have beenkilled in weeks of demonstra-tions that have been brutallysuppressed, triggering an exo-dus of over 127 000 people intoneighbouring countries.

Burundi was plunged into tur-moil in late April when Nku-runziza launched his drive for athird consecutive five-year term,triggering widespread protestsand a failed coup.

Burundielectionmaterialtorchedahead ofpolls


VIENNA – Secretary ofState, John Kerry, beganyesterday what the Obamaadministration hopes will bethe final push for a nuclearaccord with Iran, just threedays before a deadline forconcluding an agreement.

However, American officialshave almost discounted the no-tion that a deal will be made byTuesday’s deadline.Their goal isto bridge a number of technicaland political divides over thenext week in hopes of getting afinal accord to Congress by July9.

If the administration hits thattarget, Congress will have 30days to review the accord underthe terms of legislation thatPresident Obama signed inMay. If a deal came later in thesummer, that review periodwould extend to 60 days becauseof the August congressional re-cess, which would give oppo-nents in Congress more time tomobilise against the agreement.

“I think that everybody wouldlike to see an agreement, but wehave to work through some dif-ficult issues,” Kerry said at thestart of his meeting with his Ira-nian counterpart, MohammadJavad Zarif.

Zarif added, “I agree, maybenot on the issues, but on the factthat we need to work really hardin order to be able to make pro-gress and move forward.”

Though some of the main pa-rameters of the accord were ne-

gotiated in early April, muchwas left unresolved.Almost im-mediately, the United Statesand Iran issued separate state-ments on what had alreadybeen settled.

In the weeks since, pro-nouncements from Iran’ssupreme leader, Ayatollah AliKhamenei, have appeared tobacktrack on some fundamentalelements of the preliminaryagreement, including how longprovisions in the accord would

be in effect.Major differences appear to

remain on inspection provisions,the pace at which economicsanctions against Iran would beremoved and how quickly Irancould expand its uranium en-richment capability during thefinal years of an accord.

“What we want is a robustdeal that recognises Iran’s rightto civil nuclear power, but guar-antees that Iran gives up defin-itively the nuclear weapon,”

Laurent Fabius, France’s for-eign minister, said after arrivingin Vienna yesterday to meetwith Zarif.

Fabius added: “For this thereare three indispensable condi-tions: a lasting limitation ofIran’s research and develop-ment capacity; a rigorous in-spection of sites, including mil-itary if needed; and the thirdcondition is the automatic re-turn of sanctions in case it vio-lates its commitments.”

Kerry, in Vienna, begins effort tocomplete nuclear accord with Iran

ATHENS/BRUSSELS – Theeuro zone got ready to deal witha Greek debt default next week,after refusing to extend creditfollowing Prime Minister AlexisTsipras’s surprise announce-ment of a referendum on anoffer from creditors that his left-ist government rejected.

Athens asked for an extensionof Greece’s bailout programmebeyond Tuesday, the day it mustpay 1.6 billion euros to the Inter-national Monetary Fund or gobust.

But the other 18 members ofthe euro zone unanimously re-jected the request, freezingGreece out of further discus-sions with the European Cen-tral Bank and IMF on how todeal with the fallout from a his-toric breach in the EU’s 16-year-old currency.

The swift rejection was a star-tling demonstration of the de-gree to which Tsipras had alien-ated the rest of the currency blocwith a final-hour announcementthat upended five months of in-tense talks.

The Eurogroup of finance

members shut Greece’s YanisVaroufakis from a meeting inBrussels and issued a statementwithout him, accusing Athens of

breaking off negotiations unilat-erally.

“The current financial assis-tance arrangement with Greece

will expire on June 30, 2015, aswell as all agreements related tothe current Greek programme,”it said, making clear its refusalof a grace period to hold the vote.

Varoufakis said the refusal toprovide an extension “will cer-tainly damage the credibility ofthe Eurogroup as a democraticunion of partner memberstates”.

“I’m very much afraid thatthat damage will be perma-nent.”

The offer from creditors re-quires Greece to cut pensionsand raise taxes in ways thatTsipras has long argued woulddeepen one of the worst econo-mic crises of modern times in acountry where a quarter of theworkforce is already unem-ployed.

But voters in other euro zonestates – including economicpowerhouse, other southernstates which have sufferedharsh austerity in return for EUcash and poor eastern countrieswith living standards muchlower than Greece – have lostpatience.

Euro zone readies for Greek default

Secretary of State, John Kerry, left, and Wendy R. Sherman, the under secretary for political af-fairs, in Vienna yesterday.

Greeks have been queuing to withdraw cash.


CAIRO – Egypt faced trea-cherous weather condi-tions yesterday, as a sand-storm blanketed the northof the country and a mag-nitude-5.2 earthquakecentred in the Sinai penin-sula shook buildings morethan 200 miles away in thecapital, Cairo.

The epicentre of thequake was 4 kilometres(2.5 miles) southeast of thebeachside town of Nuwei-

ba in the Sinai, and about75 kilometres (46 miles)south of Egypt’s borderwith Israel, according tothe US Geological Survey.

Airports near Alexan-dria and Marsa Matrouh,along the Mediterraneancoast, closed and divertedflights to Cairo due to poorvisibility from the day’ssandstorm, Civil AviationMinister Hossam Kamelsaid in a statement. Visi-

bility reached as low as500 meters at the Burg al-Arab airport near Alexan-dria, he said.

Fierce winds whippedthrough the capital asmany residents took coverfrom the sand by stayingindoors. Others were seenbraving the storm wearingsurgical masks or coveringtheir faces with clothing,as the wind sent rubbishand dust swirling.

At its peak, the sand-storm covered the capitalin a thick orange cloud,dramatically reducing vis-ibility.

In the Red Sea town ofDahab, 68 kilometres (42miles) south of the epicen-tre of the quake in the

Sinai peninsula, thetremor shook loose cloudsof dust that envelopednearby mountains,accord-ing to a witness.The quakeappeared to startle localresidents and tourists. Italso shook the nearbyGaza strip. No serious

damage was immediatelyreported from the earth-quake in Egypt or in Gaza.

The Egyptian Ministryof Health said in a state-ment that there were noreports of deaths or in-juries anywhere in Egyptdue to the quake.

Egypt sees sandstorm and earthquake on the same day

ANKARA – Turkish Presi-dent Recep Tayyip Erdo-gan said that Turkey willnever allow the establish-ment of a Kurdish state inSyria after major gains byKurdish fighters.

In a strong-worded war-ning late on Friday, Erdo-gan accused the Kurds ofethnically cleaning othercommunities from landthey have taken afterpushing back IslamicState forces from theTurkish border.

“I say to the internatio-nal community that what-ever price must be paid,we will never allow the es-tablishment of a new stateon our southern frontier inthe north of Syria,”Erdogan was quoted byTurkish media as tellingguests at a dinner to breakthe Ramadan fast.

He accused Kurdishforces of “changing the de-mographic structure” ofseveral areas close to theTurkish border,which alsohave Arab and Turkmen

populations.Turkey has fought a 31-

year insurgency in thesouth east of the countryby the Kurdistan Workers’Party (PKK), which Anka-ra claims is closely linkedto the main Syrian Kur-dish People’s ProtectionUnits (YPG) militia.

Erdogan’s commentscame a day after IS mili-tants mounted a bloodysurprise attack on theKurdish-held border townof Kobane, killing at least164.

Kurdish forces havesince driven the jihadistsout of the highly symbolicSyrian town, which theKurds wrested back fromIS in January,according tothe Syrian Observatory forHuman Rights.

Erdogan again deniedpersistent claims of Tur-kish collusion with the ji-hadists, saying, “It is a biglie to accuse Turkey of hav-ing link with a terrorist or-ganisation.”

Despite ongoing peace

talks with the PKK, thecreation of any Kurdishzone in the north of Syriadeeply worries Turkey,particularly as it bordersthe already autonomousKurdistan region of north-ern Iraq.

Turkey is one of thefiercest opponents of Ba-shar al-Assad’s regime inDamascus and has takenin more than 1.8 millionrefugees since the war inSyria began.

But in an interview withthe Turkish newspaperHurriyet, Saleh Muslim,the head of the DemocraticUnion Party (PYD) – thepolitical wing of the YPGmilitia – denied they weretrying to create an inde-pendent state. “We do nothave such a project,” hesaid.

However,Turkish mediaspeculated today thatErdogan and Prime Minis-ter Ahmet Davutoglu hadasked its military to inter-vene in Syria earlier in theweek.

Turkey will ‘never allow’Kurdish state in Syria, warnsPresident Recep Erdogan

File photo of Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan.

NEW YORK – A day afterkilling the first of twoconvicted murderers whoescaped from a maximumsecurity prison in NewYork, hundreds of law en-forcement officers werescouring an area near theCanadian border yester-day in hopes of appre-hending his accomplice.

David Sweat, a 35-year-old imprisoned for killinga sheriff ’s deputy, re-mained at large threeweeks after taking flightfrom the Clinton Correc-tional Facility in Danne-mora, New York. He is be-lieved to be hiding in thewoods near Malone, NewYork, where his accom-plice was gunned down onFriday.

After Richard Matt wasfatally shot by US Border

Patrol officers, a tight se-curity perimeter was setup in the area whereSweat was believed to beholed up.

New York State Policedeclined to provide addi-tional information aboutthe search and would notsay why they thoughtSweat was in the area.

Malone is 27 miles (43km) northwest of theClinton prison, where theconvicts were discoveredmissing on June 6.

Police tracked Matt tothe Malone area, justsouth of the Canadianborder, when two burgla-ries were reported thisweek at backwoods cab-ins. DNA evidence onitems found at the sitesindicated Matt’s pres-ence.

After authorities werealerted to a third break-innear Malone on Friday,officers spotted and con-fronted Matt outside thecabin, police said.

Border Patrol agentswarned Matt to drop theshotgun he was holding,and shot and killed himwhen he failed to comply,police said. The escapeefired no shots of his own.

In making their escape,Matt and Sweat cutthrough the walls of theiradjoining cells andsneaked along the cat-walk on the other side toa steam pipe, slitheredthrough the pipe andpopped out of a manholeoutside the prison walls.

Two prison workershave been charged withaiding them.

New York manhunt forprison escapee heats upafter accomplice killed

Law enforcement officers stand along County Route 41 during a search for anescaped prisoner south of Malone, New York on June 27, 2015.

Sunday June 28, 2015 •23The Barbados Advocate

For better or worse, how wespend or misspend ourtime is our own choice.

While you might already knowthat you procrastinate, or thatyou’re always late, or that you’rea little flaky, you might notrecognise how much of that be-haviour is rooted in your ownunique and possibly dysfunc-tional relationship with time.

You also might not realise howmuch power you have to changethis relationship. Doing so sim-ply requires that you take anhonest inventory of your own be-haviours and beliefs, and admitwhere you fall short.Telling thetruth about how you treat yourtime gives you perspective, clar-ity, and the opportunity to adopta different mindset if you wish.

Twenty years of life coachinghas familiarised me with a fewtime-related personality traitsthat show up in even thesmartest and most successfulpeople I meet. I call these traits“time bandits,” because they arelawless thieves of our most pre-cious natural resource! I like togive these thieves humorousnames to make them easier to

approach and dismantle.See if you can spot your

ownbrandoftimemis-man-age-

ment in these characters.

1. The Time MartyrsAlthough they constantly

lament that there’s “neverenough time,” these people-pleasers fill their schedules withcommitments to others insteadof focusing on what’s truly im-portant to them. They gain re-spect and validation this way,but they neglect the list of thingsthat would actually build self-re-spect,because being accountableto those things is scary. They’llleap at a chance to say “yes” toany request that pulls their at-tention away from the task athand – a neighbour’s yard sale,a child’s last minute homeworkassignment, or a friend in needof advice.

The Truth: Everybody in theworld has the same amount oftime – 24 hours, every day. Ifyou feel overcommitted or un-derserved,you’re not prioritisingit properly. Take a closer look atthe personal tasks you put off tohelp others. Ask yourself, “Whyam I avoiding this?” Yes, you’reavoiding. Why?

2. The Wild ProcrastinatorsWhether fuelled by adrena-

line or paralysed by indecision,these thrill seekers love workingagainst the clock, down to thewire.Some even claim that theirbest work is done under pres-sure, but is it really? Is thatlightning mo-

ment worth all the missed op-portunities, the damaged rela-tionships, and the constantstress, anxiety, and guilt?

The Truth: Procrastination isthe exact opposite of productiv-ity. On a deeper level, it’s also anever-present distraction youcarry with you when you agreeto “deal with it later”.Until then,you’re shouldered with a nag-ging, unfulfilled responsibilitythat keeps you from being fullypresent.

3. The UnderestimatorsWith feigned assurance

that “this will only take aminute,”underestimatorsget lost in an activity andblame the hours for pass-ing by while they weren’t

paying attention. Each com-mitment thereafter gets post-

poned and compromised be-cause they didn’t accu-

rately gauge their time.These people load

their scheduleswith a hundredbrilliant ideas,then wish upona star that theywill all get

done... somehow.The Truth: Things

take time, and that’s OK.Playing dumb about that fact

does not get you off the hook forbeing an adult about it andmanaging it maturely!Inefficiency with time createsworkaholics are who are blind tothe traps they set for them-selves.

4. The Do-It-AllsIt’s almost enviable how much

these productive busy bees seemto accomplish in a single day.They treat time like a game thatis won by doing as much as hu-manly possible. They valuequantity over quality, and get-ting it done over doing it well orenjoying it. Girls’ night, laundryday,dentist appointment, or din-ner plans are all treated thesame – like an endless round ofwhack-a-mole. Do-It-Alls feelfrazzled and unfulfilled no mat-ter what’s on the calendar.

The Truth: Simply put, it’s im-possible to experience joy in thepresent moment when yourmind is already racing to thenext thing on the list. No onecan “do it all” forever – it’s an un-sustainable and dangerouspractice. This behaviour causesburnout, health problems, rela-tionship woes, and personal re-grets.

5. The Commitment-PhobesAlternately called “flaky” or

“free-spirited,” these types wantto play it by ear before commit-ting to anything.They fear beinglocked into a reasonable sched-ule because they might losetheir spontaneity or miss outwhen something better comestheir way. Stifled by concreteplans, commitment-phobes waituntil they’re “in the mood” to dosomething – which leaves agreat many things undone.

The Truth: Successful peopledon’t live their days according totheir moods; they conduct theirmood to suit the plan. Commit-ment-phobes are slaves to theirmoodiness, which is a recipe forconfusion, discontentment, andultimately, failure to launch.

If you can admit to being one,some or even all of these timebandits, you’ve already made astep in the right direction!Mastering time begins whenyou know yourself well enoughto design a plan that works foryou and makes you happy.Given that every other aspect oflife is affected by your relation-ship with time, it can either be-come your Achilles’ heel or thesecret to your success.

No matter who you are orwhat you do, the choices youmake about how you spend yourtime determine the kind of lifeyou have. Choose wisely!

5 time management personality types:WWWWhhhhiiiicccchhhh aaaarrrreeee yyyyoooouuuu????


TAKE a cruise or stay in afancy hotel?

Thanks to an innovative de-sign from Serbian architectureand design firm Salt & Water,travelers of the future may nothave to chose.

The “Floating Hotel withCatamaran Apartments” – re-cently named a winner at theprestigious Millennium YachtDesign Awards in Italy – al-lows passengers to enjoy theluxuries of a modern hotel withthe adventure of floating downa river.

The innovative design fea-tures a floating central basewith multiple mini suites thatcan detach from the hotel dockto cruise to smaller waterwaysand rivers that can not be ac-cessed by traditional ships andlarger vessels.

“The whole concept is de-signed with the possibility of

customization, so we can de-sign a dock and main floatingconstruction to fulfill clients’needs,” designer Svetlana Mojictold FoxNews.com via e-mail.

“There is also the possibilityof having smaller stations forcharging batteries or emptying

waste, so guests can enjoylonger autonomy cruisingthrough the smaller channels.”

Each individual catamaranconsists of an outdoor deck, in-terior family room, a bathroom,storage closets, and sleepingareas that can accommodate

up to four passengers. Guestscan take a dip off the deck orenjoy other water activities likefishing or tubing.

Mojic says one of the mostimportant aspects of the designis the ability to get in touchwith nature.

“The unusual shape was de-veloped as a result of our in-tended goal to create a smallvessel that can navigate slowspeeds,” Mojic explained. “Andwith plenty of windows, youhave uninterrupted view of thenature around.”

YOU know what youneed to bring on va-cation: Bathing suit,

money, maybe an extrapair of glasses or yourmedications. The list ofwhat you don’t need islonger.

Whittling down a packinglist means you can use a carry-on and that means you savethree ways:

Save money: No bag fees* oroverweight penalties

Save time: No long waits atthe baggage carousel.

Save sanity: No worriesabout your bag making a flightas you sprint to a connection.

WHAT TO LEAVE BACKHOME

1. Anything irreplaceableSad to say, there are some-

times thieves among us. You’veheard of rogue baggage han-dlers rifling luggage but do yourecall the couple that waltzedout of Phoenix’s Sky Harborwith more than 1 000 bags?True, they were all eventuallycaught and sentenced but a lotof the stolen stuff was gone forgood. And don’t forget all thosetravel scams designed to partyou from your money and valu-ables. Why risk it? One excep-tion is electronics becausetoday they are our everything.

Keep such devices on yourperson but leave the expensiveearrings and necklaces athome and leave the irreplace-able one-of-a-kind timepiece inthe vault. If you must show offto fellow travellers, flash yourfrequent flyer miles.

2. Valuables with no IDIt happens to all of us; we

put down our phone, get dis-tracted and forget to pick it up.The TSA sees this at securitycheckpoints on a regular basisbut that doesn’t fully explainwhy their Lost & Founds arefilled with pricey electronics.The big problem: most itemscan’t be returned because theowners cannot be found!Granted, you might not nor-mally want to tape a businesscard to your phone or tabletbut it’s not a bad idea whentravelling. Or jot down yourdevice’s serial number andkeep it in a safe place.

3. WineWine or liqueur or anything

tasty and breakable should notbe packed. If the liquid is in acontainer larger than 3.4ounces, it won’t be allowedthrough security in a carry-onbut putting it in a checked-bagis a dicey proposition, too.Even the most carefullywrapped and zip-bagged bot-tles can break. Whether it’s agift or souvenir, ship it. Nosense ruining a perfectly goodsuitcase.

4. SunscreenSee number three. If it’s too

big, the TSA will toss it. Or youmay find a lotion explosion in achecked-bag. Big box drug-stores are everywhere so buyyour sunscreen on arrival.

5. Reading materialI love the heft and texture of

a book as much as anyone butnot when travelling due toweight and space concerns.

This is where electronics areespecially useful; light andthin, a single device can holdan entire library.

6. Too many shoesMy rule of thumb is wear a

pair, pack a pair. And wear theheaviest ones on the plane.

7. Hair dryerToday, even the cheapest

budget motels have dryers intheir bathrooms and if you’restaying with family, don’t yousuppose they might have one,too?

8. A ‘maybe’ outfitThis is a luxury only the

darn-the-cost traveller can af-ford, or someone travelling bycar. Look at your clothes care-fully before packing: then, sep-arate items you know you likeand will wear from those youthink you might like to wear.Then, ditch all the ‘maybes’.

9. Extra credit cardsAs a rule, I take two at most.

Some friends have one spousehold on to one, while the otherkeeps the second card. Jotdown all card numbers andbank phone contacts in case ofloss or theft and stash this infoseparately (not in your wallet).

10. A checked-bag for one

I get it. There are timeswhen you absolutely need a bigbag. Fine, but why not shareit? A family of four with twochecked-bags vs. four with foursaves $100 round-trip on mostairlines.

Bonus: Don’t bring a phonethat’s missing important con-tacts

Check your phone before youtake off to be sure you haveadded all the important con-tact numbers you’ll need in-cluding airline, hotel, rentalcar and the dogsitter or what-ever. Chances are you won’tneed any of these but it’s goodto know they’re there if you do.

10 Things you should never pack for vacation

Sail away on a floatinghotel suite

The futuristic design allows for low impact on the surroundingenvironment.The interior of each suite accommodatse up to 4 passengers.


By Paul Husbands

THIS monthhosted thebiggest week of

gaming entertainmentof the year with theculmination of the20th ElectronicEntertainment Expowhich took place inLos Angeles, June 14-18th (E3).

This show is basically amassive marketing pushfor all of the latest gameannouncements bypublishers including the‘Big Three’: Sony,Microsoft and Nintendoas well as some others.Not only do thevideogames look betterthan ever, but never hasmy family been moreinterested in thesepolygonal worlds.

The gaming industry ishealthier than ever, asthe new consoles - thePS4 and Xbox One –continue to rip up thesales charts with Sony’sconsole especiallydominant. Consoles havenow become powerfulenough to render worldslike Star Wars inastoundingly accuratedetail, so much so thateven my mum would

occasionally ask me if I’mplaying a game orwatching a movie.

So why exactly has thismedium caught theattention of the familyfor so long? It’s simple, itis right there in thecenter of the living room.Nothing means homelike having the familytogether in one room,socialising and sharingmemories. So imagine,for over a decade in myown home, that centerhas been host to alienblasting, Super Mariojumping and high-speedcar racing to the delightof those watching andtaking part.

Living roomadventures

Videogames are reallythe evolution of partygames of old. Monopoly,UNO and Charades areclassics that we all grewup with. Who remembersMusical Chairs and Pinthe tail on the Donkey?What about Wii Tennisand Wii Bowling? Soundsfamiliar? Well the lattertwo mentioned havebecome a mainstaywhenever my youngercousins come over. To thedelight of the younger

ones as they swing theirvideogame controllerslike tennis rackets andbowling balls and thedismay of everyone elseas they scamper out ofthe way of getting struck,these modern past timeshave brought nothingbut pure unfiltered joyfor us younger-at-heart

souls.

Forever youngThe essence of why

these games continue tobring so much fun tothose brave enough tohold a controller has tobe nostalgia. Thatmoment where we aretransported back to our

childhood when we firstexperienced thepossibilities ofinteractiveentertainment. Whenyou realised that youcould be the ultimate‘hero’, the main characterin your favourite movieor even step into a wholenew world. Those are the

moments I’m transportedto whenever I boot up agame with the family –moments of sheerwonder and magic thatonly videogames canbring. That harmony oflaughter and fun that Iwill cherish for decadesto come – it is beyondpriceless.

WHEN it comes to youthsports, well-meaning par-ents commit many sins –some of which may sur-prise you.These sins gen-erally are based on a de-sire to ensure kids benefitfrom sports – and excel.It’s the “excel” that getssports parents in trouble.Once parents take thefocus off of having fun andstart to concentrate onwinning, kids suffer.

Here are some sportsparent sins:

– Sports parents believetheir kids prefer winningabove all else.Truth is, ifyoung athletes have tochoose between losing andgetting to play the wholegame, they choose playingtime. Having fun, beingwith friends, and gettingplaying time are more im-portant to kids than win-ning.

– Sports parents buyinto their kids’ supersti-tions.These are beliefs,such as “I have to wear agreen sock on one foot andeat chocolate eggs forbreakfast or I won’t scoreany goals.” But parentsshould not run for thebright socks or chocolate-

laced breakfasts to sup-port these superstitions.Parents need to focus onwhat truly builds kids’confidence:They need toconcentrate on their kids’positive qualities, recalltheir best moments, andensure their equipmentand uniforms are theproper fit.

– Sports parents re-mind their young athletesto avoid making the samemistakes they did lastgame.While parents aretrying to be helpful, this isa big no-no! When kidsdwell on mistakes, theirfocus is in the wrongplace. It’s hard for them tomove on after a mistake.What’s more, kids re-minded about mistakestend to freeze up andavoid taking risks.Instead, they need to actfreely and intuitively inorder to learn, feel confi-dent, and excel.

– Sports mothers andfathers avoid confrontingcoaches who yell and hu-miliate. If parents witnessa coach yelling at or hu-miliating a young athlete,they need to take action.Acoach’s negative feedback

undermines kids’ confi-dence and often promptsthem to quit sports alto-gether.Too often, parentsdon’t want to “rock theboat” by confrontingcoaches.They don’t wanttheir kids to lose playingtime.

– Sports moms anddads focus on outcomessuch as scholarships andwins.When parents focuson the score or the win,they’re pressuring theirkids in negative ways. Inorder to enjoy sports, kidsneed to “play in the mo-ment.”That means con-centrating on the nextplay – not on what willhappen at the end of thegame.When kids play inthe moment, they’re morelikely to “get in the zone,”take risks, and feel happyand confident.That’swhen they’re more likelyto perform well.

The bottom line: It’seasy for adults to fall intosports parent traps –doing what all the otherparents are doing, or sign-ing their kids up for ex-pensive and time-consum-ing athletic activities.Instead, parents should

think hard about whatmakes their kids happy insports. Generally, positivecoaches, a loving and in-clusive team culture, andsupportive – but notoverly involved – parentshelp boost kids’ confidenceand happiness in sports.

Most important, underthe right circumstances inyouth sports, kids learn totrust their instincts, takerisks, have fun and just“go for it,” lessons that canbenefit them throughouttheir lives.

Surprising sports parent sins

Videogames bring the family together

The Goodall family plays Assassin’s Creed at a PlayStation 4 pre-launch event in Toronto.


THE success of any relationship can beboiled down to certain tenants. Beingable to work well with your partner andpossessing the deep knowledge of whatmakes people tick is essential to creat-ing and sustaining successful relation-ships.

Successful and happy relationshipsare made up of partners who possess adeep understanding of human emotionsand their subsequent behavioural out-comes. When partners have this knowl-edge they unlock the secrets of beingable to accurately predict the needs ofthemselves and their partner.

1. Supportive: For a relationship tobe successful each person needs to feela sense of support and optimism in theconnection. When partnerships are sup-portive they are infused with hope, giv-ing each person the consistent sensethat things can only get better as theycontinue to work together.

All people respond to hope as hopesustains motivation.

When people feel supported they canmore clearly visualise the process of

staying together and each becomes in-spired. Therefore, it is essential the re-lationship be grounded in an unwaver-ing belief in the integrity and honestyof the goals and values of love.

2. Rewarding: Each person in therelationship must see the reward in-volved in coming together. In successfulrelationships reward is based on eachpartner’s worth and significance to thebigger picture of the love shared. Thereis no better reward to inspire continuedmotivation than to have each partnerfeel they shine in their own importanceand contribution.

3. Cohesion: Trust is a basic needwhich every relationship needs.Partners must view the relationship asa collaborative effort backed by loyaltyand commitment. If the relationship isin trouble and in need of support orguidance, the partners trust they cancome together in a way where needsand concerns can be met and realised.

Sustaining relationships are made up

of people who view each other as neces-sary equals and show a mutual respectfor each other’s differences. They findways to focus on solutions, not prob-lems and are committed to open com-munication in an effort to keep thingstogether.

4. Open: Successful relationshipshave partners who are consistently at-tuned to what is happening within andoutside of the relationship, and theirpossible impacts on the relationship.Each person pays attention with anopen mind, are able to set aside precon-ceived notions about their partner andstrive to see each other for who they areand what each brings to the table.

Partners are open to understandingthat constant intervention or naggingplaces blocks to deeper intimacy.Therefore, a certain amount of open-ness and personal freedom is whatmakes relationships go the distance.

Great relationships enjoy the ele-ment of being open to being surprisedby their partner and aren’t locked into

things having to be fixed in any certainway.

5. Protective: Relationships thatthrive give each partner the feeling ofprotection. The partners feel reassuredthey are in a relationship that will notlet them fail. Each is aware that anythreat to the security of their relation-ships undermines their love, and thatany insecurity must be addressedopenly so the proper changes can bemoved into place. The solutions madeare handled via discussion betweenpartners and serve to benefit both peo-ple.

However, a healthy relationship doesnot try and protect a person from them-selves. The growth of any relationshipis grounded in the self-learning of eachperson. In this way each partner learnsthrough experience what works andwhat doesn’t work in light of the overallrelationship. This type of freedom al-lows each person to grow within a safeenvironment, mistakes and all.

Continued on Next Page

10 secrets of successful relationships

WHETHER you’re returning tothe dating scene after a brief hia-tus or you’re a dating veteran,there are some rules you’ve prob-ably been following religiously.And you know what? It’s proba-bly the reason you’re still single.Some of the love laws you swearby are no longer relevant.Nowadays, the general rule ofthumb is if you’re interested insomeone, don’t play games. Behonest and upfront about yourfeelings. Simple, right? Here arefive dating rules you should ditchright now.

1. Don’t return a phone call until 48hours later

What are you waiting for? Peopleare busy and no one has time tobreathlessly wait for a phone call. Inthe past, dating experts reasonedthat waiting this long would makeyour love interest think about you ob-sessively, and that once you called, heor she would be putty in your hot, lit-tle hands. While it’s true you’ll be onthat person’s mind, you might not beassociated with positive thoughts.Your honey might just be thinkingabout going on a date with someonewho is more available. Roughly 24hours is the most you should wait tocall someone back. Use commonsense – and common courtesy. (Anddon’t wait an entire day to return atext.)

2. Play hard to getFollow this rule if you want to be

alone. Also follow this rule if you likehouse sitting while your couplefriends go away to the Caribbean.And you should especially follow thisrule if you have aspirations of oneday becoming the best cat parent inthe whole wide world.

3. Men should pay for all datesNope, wrong. All relationships

should have an element of give andtake. It would be unfair if one personis always giving while the other sitsback and takes. So, if your date of-fers, it’s OK to let that person payfrom time to time.

“While it’s fair for a guy to pay inthe beginning, it’s not fair to expect aguy to pay all of the time – especiallyif both parties make a similaramount and have expenses like stu-dent loans, a car payment, etc. Thisexpectation to many couples haschanged, although there aren’t anyrules on how to update it. It reallycomes back to both people discussingexpectations so that both feel theyare getting their needs met,” saidStefanie Safran, relationship expertand founder of Stef and the City.

4. Dates should only take place onFriday or Saturday night

Any day of the week is fair game.Why limit yourself to two or threedays out of a seven-day week? Live a

little!“There are lots of reasons you

might want to date on a weekday orin the afternoon: the place you aregoing, work schedules, prior commit-ments. Be open enough to toss asidedinner and the movies for coffee andboogie boarding, going to an amuse-ment park, or a game of pool and abeer,” Leon Scott Baxter, relationshipexpert, founder of CouplesCommitted to Love, and author ofThe Finance of Romance told TheCheat Sheet.

5. There is only one right person foryou

This one isn’t really a rule, butwe’ll throw it in there. It’s a myththat tends to lead a lot of peopleastray. So here goes: don’t be toopicky. You may just miss out on some-one who could make you deliriously

happy. Resist the urge to criticiseeach and every potential love just be-cause your exact specifications arenot being met. Put the list away, for-get your “type”, and just get to knowand enjoy the company of a few newpeople. One of them just might be thebest thing that ever happened to you.

“Consider this. Every man andwoman who have navigated the painand complexity of divorce stood infront of a preacher, priest, or justiceof the peace and made vows to theright person. Every single one. Buteventually they discovered somethingwrong with Mr. or Miss Right. Thenthere’s this. A good many divorcedmen and women had already locatedright person 2.0 while in the processof divorcing right person 1.0. And thewhole thing begins again,” said AndyStanley in his book, The New Rulesfor Love, Sex, and Dating.

Dating rulesthat don’t apply

anymore

In the past, dating experts reasoned that waiting 48 hrs to call your love inter-est would make him/her think about you obsessively, but nowadays 24 hours isthe most you should wait to return a call.


NOT sure where to start whenchoosing a day-of hairstyle? Tryusing your face shape as a jump-ing-off point! Whether you’reround, oval, square, or heart-shaped, there’s a perfect updoand down ‘do for you. Here,celebrity hairstylist Mara Roszakgives her (very DIY-friendly, verychic, sure-to-flatter) recommen-dations.

RoundDown ‘do’: A smooth, centre-parted

blow-out with soft curls at the endswill elongate the face, Roszak says.To get the look, apply a styling creamto damp hair and dry with a roundbrush. Then, use a curling iron with aone-and-a-half inch barrel to roundoff the ends. Finish by teasing thecrown to add height – it’s anothersneaky elongating trick.

Updo: A half-up, half-down hair-style keeps hair out of your eyes andslims the face. Create a centre part,blow-dry hair, then curl the endswith a one-and-a-half inch barrel.Create two skinny braids on eitherside of your head and secure themwith bobby pins, mid-height, at theback of your head. Finish by teasingthe crown.

Oval Down ‘do’: Oval face shapes can get

away with many hairstyles, but loosewaves will help to add just a touch oflength to your shape. Part hair sothat it’s slightly off centre and use aone-and-a-quarter inch iron to createsoft curls. Then, break up the curlswith your fingers, tease the crown,and apply dry shampoo, focusing onthe roots. Polish it off with a bit ofhairspray to keep everything inplace.

Updo: A polished ponytail is an-other great, universally flattering

style that will help addlength to your face,if you want it.Use a one-and-a-quar-ter inchcurlingiron tocreatesoft,

loosecurls.Sectionhair intothree parts– one on eachside of thehead. Tie the backsection of your hairinto a ponytail with aclear elastic. Then, pull the left

section of your hair tothe back of your

head, wrap itover the elas-

tic, and se-cure your

hairwith a

bobbypinon

theright

side.Then, do

the re-verse: Pull

the right sec-tion of your hair

to the back of yourhead, wrap it over the

elastic, and pin it to the left side

of your ponytail. (At this point, yourhair should be criss-crossed over theponytail.) Finish by applying a littlehairspray onto your fingertips andgently pulling out the curls to give ita loose, relaxed texture.

SquareDown ‘do’: A straight and sleek

blow-out with a centre part is supersimple and chic, Roszak says. Apply astraightening balm to towel-driedhair, blow-dry it straight, and go overit with a flat iron. Then, on one sideof your face, pin your hair behindyour ear. (This will create volume tobalance out your angles.) Want to adda touch of embellishment? Use acrystal barrette instead, or stick in asmall flower!

Updo: A centre-parted low ponytail,à la Carolyn Bessette Kennedy willsoften your angles. Blow dry hairstraight, go over it with a flat iron,and pull it back with a clear elastic.Spray hair with a smoothing serumto eradicate flyaways and boostshine.

HeartDown ‘do’: Beachy waves with a

side part will balance and soften aheart-shaped face, Roszak says.Apply a texture spray to damp hairand rough dry it. Then, curl your hairwith a one-inch barrel iron, but leaveout the ends. (Doing this will giveyou that loose, effortless look.) Finishwith a root-lifting spray for addedvolume.

Updo: Like side-parted waves, amessy side bun will create balance.Part hair to one side. On the sidewith the part, create one wide braidand wrap it into a bun. Spread thebun apart with your fingertips.Finish by adjusting the bun so thatit’s sitting to one side on the nape ofyour neck and secure it in place.

Continued from Page 266. Challenge: Successful relation-

ships promote competition, reward andachievement. Relationships that arecompetitive crave more and more chal-lenge to grow and to learn. This type ofcompetition brings an element of funand camaraderie into the relationship.

The motivation of the relationship isthe desire of each person to keep prov-ing themselves and their significance.As the relationship thrives throughup’s and downs it becomes stronger.Like a palm tree, the more a relation-ship is forced to bend and flex thestronger it becomes from within.Relationships that thrive can weatherevery storm and come out even moresuccessful.

7. Catalyst: Exceptional relation-ships act as a catalyst for each personto grow and succeed. It provides thespace for each partner to generate theirown innovative ideas about life andlove. Whenever a relationship sup-presses the creative energy of one orboth partners and becomes rigid, it

kills the spirit of connection and contin-ued growth.

This is why it is said that rigid struc-tures collapse first. Wherever there isindividuality, there must flexibility.

Each partner must adapt and be ableto work through issues with a commit-ment to expressing their true selves,and each must be flexible and yieldingknowing that all interventions to thepartnership must come from a place ofclarity eventually creating harmony be-tween partners. This is the type of rela-tionship that supports innovation, per-sonal expansion, invention and success.

8. Morale: It is vital for each partnerto be completely in touch with the moodor emotional state of their significantother, and always seek to raise it.Exceptional relationships intention anenvironment of positive morale. Eachperson is open and honest regardingbehaviours that aren’t working for therelationship, including their own, if it isbringing the morale of the relationshipdown.

Each partner is wise to pay attention

to the silence and empty spaces in therelationship because it is here that thetone of the relationship is most clearlyrevealed. Endless drama and short-sighted decisions cloud clear thinkingand forward moving progress in anycollaborative effort.

Successful relationships allow forregular time for each person to em-brace silent reflection. In silence eachperson can see more clearly what is es-sential for themselves, their partnerand the larger goals of the relationship.

9. Cleanse: People sharing vibrantrelationships understand it only takesone toxic person to destroy the entirerelationship. With forethought, goodjudgement and quick decision making,effective partners weed out the weaklinks in their relationship, whetherthat is certain negative behaviours ei-ther partner has personally, or if itmeans weeding out external peoplehaving a negative influence on the rela-tionship.

A partnership cannot be successfulwhen the behaviour, manipulation and

poor attitude of one person continues toimpede the relationship and its inti-macy.

10. Service: Successful relationshipsare based in service, not selfishness. Noone person does all the work, nor is anyone person seeking more recognitionthan the other. The collaborative effortcomes directly from the efforts of eachindividual partner contributing to thewhole. Being in the mind of service, inthe helping of the other, keeps the part-nership humble.

Each person keeps a watchful eye insustaining a healthy and open mindedfeedback loop of communication. Thereare no coercive ways of pushing forthings to happen by either person.Each partner allows the process ofgrowth and innovation to unfold on itsown.

Sherapy Advice: A happy, intimateand successful love relationship isbased in each person being fully sup-ported, loved and respected with fore-thought and consideration in all deci-sions individually and collectively

Successful relationships promote competition

Wedding day hairstyles for your face shape


It’s sometimes said that the wedding dresssets the tone of the entire event. So whatdoes that mean if the wedding dress is

made from toilet paper?In a contest with nearly 1 500 entries,

designers crafted dresses using nothing but

Charmin toilet paper, tape, glue and/or a needle and thread. Charmin and Cheap ChicWedding were the sponsors of the event, now inits 11th year.

But this year’s contest had a twist: For thefirst time, the winning design will inspire a

r

Stunning toilet paper wedding dresses

Models prepare for the 11th annual toilet paper wedding dress contest at Kleinfled’s Bridal Boutique in New York, June 17, 2015.

A model wears ‘The Silhouette of my Garden’ – a design by Mimoza Haska.

A model shows ‘Hope’ by designer Frank Cazares dur-ing the 11th annual toilet

paper wedding dress contest.


ready-to-wear dress to be created by Kleinfeld Bridal. Donna Pope Vincler created the winning dress and won $10 000.

Cheap-Chic-Weddings.com, which operatesas a money-saving website for brides-to-be,

began the annual contest 11 years ago basedon the popular bridal shower game. Designersused between two and 40 rolls of CharminBasic, Charmin Ultra Soft, Charmin UltraStrong, and even a vintage Charmin productfrom the 1970s.

per wedding dresses

Model Aubrey Vincler shows ‘Top Hat, TP and Tails’ by designerDonna Pope Vincler.

A model walks the runway wearing ‘Garden Party’ a design by Carol Touchstone during the 11th annual toilet paper wedding dress contest at Kleinfled’s Bridal Boutique in New York.

An up close look at the bouquet in the’Top Hat, TP and Tails’ by designer Donna Pope Vincler.


WE know you wantto get chores out ofthe way as quickly

as possible. However, ifyou’re committing thesecommon cleaning mis-takes, you just might bescrubbing sun up to sundown.

1. You don’t follow the‘top to bottom’ rule

If vacuuming is your leastfavourite chore, it can betempting to get it out of theway first. But if dusting thetop shelf (or cleaning the ceil-ing fan) is your last task forthe day, dirt will likely fall overyour freshly vacuumed carpet-ing. And then you have do thatannoying part all over again.

2. You don’t sort laundrywhen it really counts

Every now and then, youmight skip sorting by colour tohurry laundry day along (somemoms even find that doinglaundry “by person” saves aton of sorting time – especiallywhen all of your kids’ clothesare similar hues and fabrics).But pre-sorting is often actually a time-saver inthe end.

“Don’t forget toseparate lint

givers from lint catchers, liketowels from knits or corduroy,”says Carolyn Forte, director ofthe Cleaning Lab at the GoodHousekeeping Institute. “If youwash them together, you’llspend time trying to rid thefuzzy fabrics of lint.”

3. You tackle windows ona sunny day

The nice, warm sun mightactually inhibit your efforts,since the heat could cause your cleaner to dry before youcan wipe it away. That meansstreaks – and then you’ll justhave to start over.

4. You don’t turn off yourvacuum’s brush rollerwhen you switch to woodor tile floor

“If you’re vacuuming barefloors with an upright vacuum,be sure to turn off the rotatingbrush,” says Forte. “Leave iton, and you’ll scatter dust anddirt instead of picking it allup.”

5. You wash dishes at thesink before you put them inthe dishwasher

Yes, you should scrape anyfood scraps into the garbage,but don’t bother hand-washingor even rinsing your dishes before they go in the dish-washer. Research shows that it doesn’t get your dishes anycleaner, and our experts agree.

“Prewashing dishes is awaste of time and energy,” saysForte. “Simply load them in thedishwasher, and if you aren’trunning it right away, let thedishwasher rinse them with a‘rinse only’ cycle.”

6. You don’t let tilecleaner sit for a few minutes before you startscrubbing

“Give spray tub and tilecleaners a few minutes to workbefore wiping them away, “saysForte. “Letting them sit helpssoften and dissolve soap scum

and stains, so less scrubbing is required.” And less elbowgrease means less time (and anot-so-sore arm the next day).

7. Your family doesn’t remove shoes at the door

The dirt you track in fromoutside can really build upover time, so beat it at its owngame by going shoeless inside.And while you’re at it, doubleup on doormats (one insideand one outside). They grab

dirt before it can reach yournew cream car-

peting.

8. You use a lint roller to clean up pet hair

If you’re staring down a par-ticularly fur-covered couch, youmight instinctively reach forthis sticky paper. But a lintroller, while handy, isn’t reallyup to heavy-duty jobs. Whenyou need to clear a ton of pethair at once, reach for a damprubber glove instead to effi-ciently whisk the fuzz away.

9. You forget that yourcleaners need cleaning, too

“Dirty cloths, mops, and fullvacuum cleaner bags don’t pickup or remove dirt,” says Forte.“You’ll just be working harder

and longer with no resultsto show for it. Clean

or replace yourcleaning tools

as needed.”

9 cleaning mistakes that really

slow you down

AT every gym,you’ll find “thatguy”. He’s the

one who doles out un-solicited advice, usespointless gear, anddoesn’t seem to knowwhat a shower is. Noone wants to be nearthat guy, so don’t behim.

Steer clear of thesefive annoying gymhabits, so you’re not theone people are trying toavoid.

1. Giving unwantedadvice

This is true for allwalks of life: Only giveadvice when asked, oryou’re going to come offas a huge jerk. And no, itdoesn’t matter if you’re“definitely correct”. Formost of us, unwanted ad-vice is indistinguishablefrom criticism, and nega-tivity flair-ups are some-thing you really want toavoid at a gym, since it’sa struggle for some peo-ple to even show up.

If you feel like another

member is doing some-thing dangerous, let atrainer or staff memberknow.

2. Using gear youdon’t need

The number one thingyou don’t need to bringto the gym: liftinggloves. Have you everwatched Olympic lifters?They don’t use gloves,and they’re holding 375pounds over their headsand setting records. Sounless it’s freezing coldin your gym or you havean open wound, ditch thegloves. They don’t pro-tect against calluses andcan actually be a safetyconcern.

Wearing lifting glovesmakes it harder to gripthe bar and will messwith your technique –both of which are impor-tant for a good workoutand injury prevention.That extra cushionmeans extra stuff is be-tween your hand and thebar, which kills your gripstrength on pulling exer-

cises like deadlifts, rows,and pull-ups.

A safer approach is tolift without gloves. Yourhands might be uncom-fortable in the begin-ning, but they’ll adjust.

3. Having bad hygiene

We get it; if you’re ac-tually working out, youwill break a sweat, andthat’s OK. But, please,don’t put on those same,sweaty clothes tomor-row. Wear fresh, cleanworkout clothes, not ashirt that has been sit-ting in your gym bag formonths. And please, usesome kind of deodorant,especially if you tend toget stinky after a fewminutes of sweating.

The popular, sweat-wicking polyester work-out clothes may keepyou cool and dry whileyou exercise, but theyalso stink a lot worseafter use, compared witha cotton T-shirt. That’sbecause odour-causingbacteria seem to grow

better on polyester than they do on cotton,according to researchpublished in the journalApplied andEnvironmentalMicrobiology.

For the sake of yourskin and others aroundyou, wash your clothesafter every workout.

4. Using bad technique or form

Don’t let your form

slide just because youwant to accomplish a biglift. You shouldn’t becompromising techniqueto max out; it can bedangerous. When you liftwith improper form, youincrease the potential forinjury, and you’re proba-bly not even working theintended muscle groups.

Proper form ensuresthat you’re targeting thecorrect muscle group. Ifyou’re swinging aroundduring lifts, your tech-nique is failing you, andyou’re not going to seethe results you want.For the best, and safest,workout, always useproper form, lift an appropriate amount ofweight, and incorporatebreathing into your tech-

nique.

5. Not using yourmanners

This should go withoutsaying: Be polite at thegym. Don’t wear inap-propriate clothing ormake loud noises (yuck).Always put back yourweights. Never curl inthe squat rack. Wipedown a machine afteryou use it. Don’t sit on amachine while you’retexting, especially whensomeone else is waitingto use the machine. Bepolite when asking if you could work in or ifsomeone asks you thesame thing.

And remember, guys:‘Please’ and ‘thank you’go a long way.


FRESH on the heels ofthe belly button chal-lenge comes anotherbizarre body trend out ofChina: the collarbonechallenge.

Weibo, China’s versionof Twitter, is blowing upwith images of womenputting coins in theircollarbones, and there isa trending hashtag forthe phenomenon.

According to People’sDaily Online, the “rules”state the coin muststand up.

Chinese-language siteSina News wrote put-ting the coins in theclavicle represents thebody as “skinny andsexy”. It also calls thecollarbone challenge“simpler” than the bellybutton challenge.

But while these chal-lenges – first belly but-ton and now collarbone –may just seem silly, ex-perts say they couldpose a danger to somepeople.

“This social mediachallenge is dangerous

because it stokes com-parison and fuels inse-curity, especially for peo-ple who struggle withdisordered eating and

poor body image,”said Claire Mysko,programme director forthe National EatingDisorders Association.

“NEDA promotes socialmedia challenges thatpromote body positivityand encourage self-acceptance.”

The collarbone challenge is another bizarre body trend, which is coming fromChina.

The most annoying habitspeople have at the gym

‘Collarbone Challenge’ latest onsocial media to raise concern

HAVE you ever won-dered why the refresh-ing, slightly pepperytaste of cilantro can bemore like a mouthful ofsoap to your dining part-ner?

People who claim theyhate cilantro aren’t justbeing picky. Whether ornot you like the herbcomes down to genetics.

SciShow, a YouTubechannel that answers avariety of life’s most puz-zling mysteries throughscience, uncovers thetruth behind this divisivegreen.

According to the seg-ment, cilantro tastes

soapy to between four to14 percent of the world’spopulation.

Over the past severalyears, scientists haveconducted studies com-paring both identical andfraternal twin tastes anddetermined that mostcilantro haters are bornwith a group of olfactory-receptor genes, known asOR6A2, which pick up onthe smell on aldehydechemicals. Aldehydes areresponsible for variousfragrances includingvanilla, cinnamon andthey are found in bothcilantro and soap –which have yet to be de-

termined.But it’s a bit more com-

plex than that. Somestudy participants with-out the OR6A2 gene alsoreported saying thatcilantro tasted soapy,leading researchers tobelieve there may bemore complicated ge-netic factors at work.

In the meantime, ifcilantro makes your foodtastes like soap, you canrest easy knowing thatit’s genetics – not thatsomeone didn’t wash itcorrectly.

And if you can’t standthe taste, try using flat-leaf parsley.

zTry as you might toeat healthy, chancesare you’re falling

short on at least one ofthese key nutrients: vita-min A, vitamin D, vitaminE, folate, vitamin C, cal-cium, magnesium, potas-sium and fiber.

On average, people, es-pecially Americans don’tget enough of these so-called shortfall nutrients,according to the latestdraft of the 2015 DietaryGuidelines for AllAmericans. How much doyou need? How do you getmore? Hint: Eating a lotmore fruits, vegetablesand minimally processedwhole foods will get youthere.

Vitamin AWhy you need it:

Vitamin A is a fat-solublevitamin that’s importantfor cell growth and func-tion. It’s also importantfor your immune systemand vision.

How much you needdaily: 900 mcg (men); 700mcg (women)

How to get it: VitaminA is available in dairy,fish and meat (especiallyliver). You can getcarotenoids – the nutri-ents that make vitamin A– through fruits and veg-etables. They’re particu-larly abundant in darkleafy greens (like spinachand broccoli) and vibrantorange-colored fruits andvegetables (sweet pota-toes, cantaloupe, mangoand more).

Vitamin DWhy you need it:

Vitamin D helps yourbody build strong bonesby regulating the balanceof calcium and phospho-rous. Deficiency has beenlinked to a variety of dis-eases, including Type 2diabetes, IBS, depressionand heart disease.

How much you needdaily: 600 IUs (men andwomen); 800 IUs (adultsover 70)

How to get it: We actu-ally get most of our vita-min D from sunlight(UVB rays stimulate yourskin to make previtaminD-3). But if you live abovethe Mason-Dixon Line,chances are your body’sshort on natural vitaminD during winter months,when there’s not enoughUVB to produce D. (Youmight also risk deficiencyif you don’t have muchsun exposure – due toclothing, sunscreen or airpollution.) Food sources ofD include oily fish (suchas salmon and mackerel),dairy products, egg yolksand fortified cereal.

Vitamin EWhy you need it:

Vitamin E describes an-tioxidants that protectfats in your body (includ-ing LDL, the “bad” choles-terol) from oxidizing.

How much you needdaily: 15 mg (men andwomen)

How to get it: Plant oils(particularly sunflowerand safflower), nuts andavocado are good ways to

get this fat-soluble vita-min.

FolateWhy you need it: Folate,

also called B-9, helps cre-ate DNA and metabolizeamino acids, which areyour body’s “buildingblocks.”

How much you needdaily: 400 mcg (men andwomen)

How to get it: Greenleafy vegetables, citrusfruit and legumes (lentilsand beans) are all greatways to get folate.Fortified cereals andflours can also add toyour folate intake.

Vitamin CWhy you need it:

Vitamin C is importantfor healthy skin and im-mune function.

How much you needdaily: 90 mg (men); 75 mg(women)

How to get it: Citrus

fruit, kiwis, strawberries,red bell pepper, broccoliand white potatoes allhave good amounts of vi-tamin C.

CalciumWhy you need it: A

healthy skeleton is thedriving reason to getenough calcium in yourdiet.

How much you need:1,000 mg (men andwomen); 1,200 mg (adultsover 70)

How to get it: Yogurt(regular plain yogurt hasmore calcium than Greekyogurt), calcium-set tofu,beans, bok choy, milk andfortified nondairy milksare your friends here.

MagnesiumWhy you need it:

Magnesium does manyjobs in your body. It’sneeded to extract energyfrom food, to keep bonesand cells healthy, and to

create DNA, RNA andproteins.

How much you need:400 mg (men 19 to 30);420 mg (men 31 andolder); 310 mg (women 19to 30); 320 mg (women 31and older)

How to get it: Leafygreens, nuts and wholegrains are some of thebest sources of magne-sium.

PotassiumWhy you need it:

Potassium is an elec-trolyte – it helps yourheart to beat! It’s also im-portant for strong bones.

How much you needdaily: 4,700 mg (men andwomen)

How to get it: Fruits,vegetables and low-fatdairy are the best ways toget potassium. Since youneed a lot of potassium,get a wide variety ofwhole foods in your diet.One baked potato has 926

mg, a banana has 422 mgand a cup of milk has 366mg.

FibreWhy you need it: We

could sing the praises offiber forever, but let’s justtouch on some highlights:It helps lower your LDL“bad” cholesterol, it keepsyou “regular,” and it helpsregulate your blood sugar.

How much you needdaily: 38 g (men); 30 g(women)

How to get it: Beans arebrimming with fiber, asare whole-grain cereals,fruits, vegetables andnuts. Fiber is found inplant-based foods — gen-erally the less processedan ingredient, the morefiber is left intact.

*Note: Recommendedamounts are based onthe recommended di-etary allowances andadequate intakes foradult men and women.


Eating a lot more fruits, vegetables and minimally processed whole foods is important.

9 nutrientsyou’re notgetting enough of

If you hate the taste of cilantro,blame it on your genes

Cilantro is one of themost divisive herbsout there.

OVERWEIGHT andobese people with type 2diabetes may feel betterafter a meal if they startit off with vegetables orproteins and end with thecarbs, suggests a newstudy of 11 people.

Finishing the broccoliand chicken beforetucking into bread andfruit juice was tied to alower rise in blood sugarlevels over the next twohours, compared toeating the same foods inthe opposite order,researchers report inDiabetes Care.

“When we saw theresult, we were reallyencouraged that this issomething that couldpotentially benefitpeople,” said Dr. LouisAronne, the study’ssenior author from WeillCornell Medical Collegein New York.

Approximately 29million Americans –about 9 percent of theU.S. population – havediabetes, according to theCenters for DiseaseControl and Prevention.About 30 percent of those

people are undiagnosed.Type 2 is the most

common form of diabetesand is often linked toobesity. In type 2diabetes, the body’s cellsare resistant to thehormone insulin, or thebody doesn’t makeenough of it. Insulinhelps the body’s cells useglucose in the blood forfuel.

Drinking whey proteinshakes before meals hasbeen linked to lowerblood sugar levels aftereating, but little wasknown about theinfluence of foods, andthe order in which they’reconsumed, on blood sugarlevels following a meal,the researchers write.

Blood sugar normallyrises after eating, but forpeople with diabetes itcan spike dangerously.Diabetics are often told toavoid foods high on theglycemic index – ameasure of how rapidly afood gets converted toglucose in the blood – likewhite breads and sugarydrinks.

The new research

suggests that people maybenefit from timing theirconsumption ofcarbohydrates during ameal instead of simplyavoiding certain foods.

The researchersrecruited 11 people withtype 2 diabetes who wereall overweight or obese.They were also taking adrug called metformin,which helps to controlblood sugar.

The participants allfasted for 12 hoursovernight beforeconsuming a 628 caloriemeal with protein,carbohydrates and fat.

One week, theyconsumed thecarbohydrates (ciabattabread and orange juice)first. Then they ateskinless grilled chicken, asmall salad and butteredsteamed broccoli 15minutes later.

The participants atethe same meal a weeklater, but the order of thefoods was reversed, withthe salad and broccolifirst, then the chicken,then the carbs.

The researchers also

took blood samples beforethe meals and 30, 60 and120 minutes afterward.

When the participantsate vegetables andproteins first, their bloodsugar levels were about29 percent lower 30minutes after startingthe meal, compared towhen they ate the carbsfirst. At 60 and 120minutes afterparticipants beganeating, blood sugar levelswere 37 percent and 17percent lower,respectively, compared towhen the carbs camefirst.

“It’s possible what this

is doing is delaying ortempering how fast thecarbohydrates getabsorbed,” said Dr. SethuReddy, chief of the AdultDiabetes Section at theJoslin Diabetes Center inBoston.

“I think certainly it’s aninteresting study thatsays eating a good saladbefore your meal mayhelp with glucoseabsorption,” said Reddy,who was not involvedwith the new study.

The new study may notbe the full story, Reddytold Reuters Health. Forexample, he said, it willbe important to see what

happens beyond twohours, and what’shappening to thecarbohydrates. Theresearchers also say morestudies with longerfollow-up times areneeded.

As of now, he said, thetheory is that theabsorption of thecarbohydrates issomehow slowed down byeating vegetables, whichare low on the glycemicindex.

“This shows that thehighly desired foods canbe a part of a diet if wesneak them in there,”Aronne said.

By Truneal Kwang

IT happens on the bus,making your wayhome after a long day.

Or, on the couch watchingtelevision. Maybe even inthe movie theatre, beforethe film starts. If youcan’t stay awake in any –or all – of these places, it’sa good bet that you’resleep deprived. This lackof shut-eye does more thanjust make you grumpy;the risk of high blood pressure and obesity alsorises.

Now, there’s a newreason to make sure youget the recommendedamount of shut-eye. Notgetting enough sleepcould increase yourchances of getting Type 2diabetes, a disease oncebelieved to be causedmainly by beingoverweight. In fact, justthree consecutive nightsof inadequate sleep canelevate a person’s risks toa degree that’s roughlyequivalent to gaining 20pounds.

Research indicates that

sleep may be asimportant as exercise anddiet when it comes todiabetes. It showed thatpeople who sleep sixhours or less a night aretwice as likely to developdiabetes in their lifetimeas those who clock inseven hours.

Diabetes arises whenthe body can’t properlybreak down blood sugar,or glucose, leaving yourcells starved for energy.One thing that greatlyincreases your chances ofa blood-sugarmalfunction is beingoverweight. Excess fatmakes it harder for cellsto properly use insulin, ahormone that helps keepglucose levels normal.

So, when you don’t getenough sleep, your bodyseems to require moreinsulin to maintainnormal glucose levels.Sleep deprivation seemsto change the body’sstress levels and hormonebalances, all of whichaffects glucose regulation.Eventually, sleeplessnesscauses insulin-producingcells to stop working

properly, elevating glucose levels which thenelevates your chances ofdiabetes.

Adding to the problemis the fact that fatiguealso jolts the sympatheticnervous system into highgear, throwing off itsability to regulate bloodsugar. In fact, numerousexperts agree that it justtakes two nights ofsleeping four hours or lessto disrupt your body’sprocess.

The first step tolowering your risk is

figuring out the idealamount of sleep that youneed. Contrary to popularbelief, eight hours isn’tthe gold standard foreveryone. Anywhere fromseven and a half to ninehours may be best foryou. It all depends onfactors like genetics andage. For example, kidsand teens need more thanpeople in their thirties, but less thanseniors. Your fitness levelalso plays a role. Doing athirty-minute workoutthree times a week will

more than likely improveyour quality of sleep,leaving you morerefreshed and your bodyready to take on the day.If you feel rested whenyou wake up – regardlessof how many hours you’veslept – that’s a good signthat you’re gettingenough sleep.

Fortunately, the sleep-diabetes connection isreversible. Move yourbedtime forward by thirty,or even fifteen minuteseach night. After aboutfour or five days, you may

find yourself waking up afew minutes before thealarm goes off, and that’syour magic sleep number.Keep in mind that whileyour body can recoverfrom short periods ofsleep deprivation, it’sharder to bounce back ifthe problem is chronic.Your body interprets thatsleep deficit as a constantstressor, and the chanceyou’ll get diabetes grows.So, the best defense isoffence – sleep well, eathealthy, and keep onexercising.


Not getting enough sleep could increase your chances of getting Type 2 diabetes.

Highly desired foods can be a part of a diet if we sneak them in there.

Linking sleepand diabetes

Eating vegetables, proteins beforecarbs may impact blood sugar


“And as the murderous stones camehurtling at him Stephen prayed,

‘Lord Jesus,receive my spirit.’ And he fellto his knees shouting,

‘Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!’And with that he died.” (Acts 7:59-60,LB).

IT is a truism that once you havewalked a long time believing that Godis,and that he is a “Rewarder”of those

who diligently seek after him, there aresome practices in the lifestyle ofunbelievers that leave you shaking yourhead reflectively.I find myself forced todayto follow up on my topic of last weekalthough with a slightly different,nonetheless related,slant. I am fascinatedto see the number of persons, interestinglymainly women, who insist that theforgiveness displayed by family andmembers of the AME Church inCharleston, South Carolina where amassacre of nine persons took place twoWednesdays ago, was not onlyunwarranted but symptomatic of theinherent weakness of Black peoplehistorically. I am not speaking here of anexpression of emotional inability to feel awillingness to forgive those who havesignificantly wronged us, but more of anintellectual, well thought out thesis thatdictates that forgiveness is unpalatableand unwise if we are to develop as a peopleand not make our former mistakes.

I am not one of those Christians whoattack Feminism merely on the face of it.There are feminist views with which I canat times find agreement and there areissues with which I cannot in goodconscience as a Christian agree.But I seekalways to weigh the merit of the positiontaken within the ambit of Christianunderstanding and against the principlesof the Biblical Word. A strong element offeminist righteousness mixed with a

perceived consciousness of the part Blacksought to play in the evolution of theirlegacy permeates the belief that we oughtnot to forgive.We ought instead to look atour historical weakness of constantforgiveness and gird up our loins, as itwere, so as not to fall into that ineffectivesyndrome as we venture into the future.Such a position is not only ungodly froma Christian perspective, but is alsodestructive to us psychologically,emotionally and productively. It isforgiveness that releases not only the onewho has wronged us but also us ourselvesfrom the burden of carrying the weight ofanger and resentment that eats into ourvery being and quite possibly causes us tobe unwell.

Forgiveness is the lynchpin upon whichthe Gospels hang. It is the foundation andpurpose of Christ’s residence in our midst,and the avenue whereby we reachsalvation. It is the hallmark of grace.Forgiveness is the currency used betweenman and God to negotiate and forge ourrelationship. “Don’t cause the Holy Spiritsorrow by the way you live.Remember heis the one who marks you to be present onthat day when salvation from sin will becomplete.Stop being mean,bad-temperedand angry! Quarrelling,harsh words,anddislike of others should have no place inyour lives. Instead be kind to each other,tender-hearted, forgiving one another, justas God has forgiven you, because youbelong to Christ.” (Ephesians 4:30-32,LB).The Holy Spirit living inside us is a sealguaranteeing that we belong to God andholding him to his promise. “The HolySpirit is like a down payment, a deposit,a validating signature on the contract.”

Those who stand in opposition to thisdoctrine are moved to say that the plightof the Black man throughout his historyhas been hamstrung by a too eager

willingness to forgive those who havewronged you, and leaves us open to acontinuing exploitation that hampers ourability to move forward successfully. Theseminal point that we disagree on is notso much the forgiveness aspect, but thefact that we belong to Christ,having beenbought with a price - his life andforgiveness. Of course, within their beliefsystem (I almost said religion) is theannulment of what Christ has done and,indeed the denial of Christ himself. Theyrather see him as a figment of ourmisplaced imagining, promulgated bywhite exploiters to gain our acquiescenceto thraldom and servitude. They are ofthe ilk of those who are quick to offer thatthe only reason that black people areChristian is because “the white man gaveus the Bible in exchange for our freedom”.And even if they do concede Jesus Christas a reality, they perceive him to be weakand inconsequential for allowing himselfto die on the cross. They mistakemeekness for weakness.

In reality they fail to grasp a salientpoint and miss out on a much morepoignant exchange. For if we were freebefore slavery it points only to us beingfree in this world – a temporal and fleetinggain that can sometimes cause us to losesight of an even greater and more lastingfreedom and exchange.What does it profita man to gain the whole world and yet losehis soul? You see, it is imperative that weunderstand the forces working against usand be cognisant of the fact that they areunseen forces and not necessarily thosewho we see and witness as havingwronged us. “For we are not fightingagainst people made of flesh and blood,but against persons without bodies-theevil rulers of the unseen world, thosemighty satanic beings and great evilprinces of darkness who rule this world;

and against huge numbers of wickedspirits in the spirit world.” (Ephesians6:12, LB). To them this appears to beerrant nonsense, the ramblings ofspineless people who have allowed fear tolull us into believing in “fairies, sky ghostsand wild imaginings”.They see our beliefas an anachronism in the twenty firstcentury, a hangover from Mediaevalsuperstition and inappropriate to theintellectual enlightenment of this modernage. They see us through the wisdomwhich depends purely on self-adulationand self-assertion. It certainly does notcome from God in Christ.

Paul met this kind of doctrine at Corinthand from the philosophical Greeks of histime, and spoke thusly concerning it: “Iknow very well how foolish it sounds tothose who are lost, when they hear thatJesus died to save them. But we who aresaved recognise this message as the verypower of God. ‘I will destroy all humanplans of salvation no matter how wisethey seem to be,and ignore the best ideasof men, even the most brilliant of them’…This so-called ‘foolish’ plan of God is farwiser than the wisest plan of the wisestman, and God in his weakness – Christdying on the cross – is far stronger thanany man.” (1 Corinthians 1:18 -19, 25,LB).

This same school of thought is prone todismiss forgiveness, even as they dismissChrist, as weak and ineffective, and theGospels as a mighty hoax; but we whoknow Christ personally know that evenwithout the Word, he is our Comforter,Friend and Deliverer into eternity.Peace!

FOR many people, the forgiveness offeredto Dylann Roof, the man charged withkilling nine black members of EmmanuelAME Church in Charleston, SouthCarolina, at his arraignment by thefamilies of his victims is impossible tounderstand – and worthy of veneration.“Iforgive you” said Nadine Gardner,daughter of slain church member EthelLance. “I will never ever hold her again.But I forgive you, and may God havemercy on your soul.”

But how could someone forgive such aheinous crime so quickly, so easily? Theanswer lies in part with Christianinterpretation of the New Testament, ahistory of radicalised violence and the civilrights movement.

Forgiveness is a spiritual practice andbiblical mandate from the New Testamentthat many American Christians engage inas a part of their faith.Familiar scriptures(such as Jesus forgiving the Romans whilehanging on a cross, or saying thatforgiveness should be given 70 timesseven) are staples of Christian teachingand theology. Forgiveness is enshrined inthe Lord’s prayer – forgive us our debts aswe forgive our debtors. These scripturespoint to the power of forgiveness not onlyas a way to absolve transgressions, but toensure that the person extendingforgiveness will be forgiven of theirs. Formany Christians these teachings form the

foundation of their Christian faith, evenwhen that forgiveness can be difficult togive.

Historically, narratives of forgivenesswere part of both the anti-slaverymovement and the civil rights movementin America. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, forinstance, was based loosely on the life ofthe Rev. Josiah Henson, who forgave hismaster that wanted to sell him and beathim after Henson begged him not to.

“I fell down and clung to his knees inentreaties. Sometimes when too closelypressed, he would curse and strike me.May God forgive him!”

These slave narratives in the 19thcentury were designed to put forthmessages of Christian love and mercy,even in the face of the masters’ violenceand cruelty. For many slaves andsubsequent free black people, forgivenesswas also a way to protect themselves fromcontinued racial violence.A well placed “Iforgive you” served as protection forvulnerable African Americans in a violentracist environment by calling out tooppressor and oppressed’s shared religiousfaith.

In the 20th Century, the non-violent“soul force” that Martin Luther King Jr.taught was a combination of Hinduismand Christianity. Forgiveness became abig part of the civil rights movement,juxtaposed against the violence of

protesters and law enforcement. Kingdescribed forgiveness in one of his earlysermons as a pardon, a process of life andthe Christian weapon of social redemption.In MLK’s words, “Forgiveness is not anoccasional act, it is a constant attitude.”

History and scripture are just thefoundations for the stunning words offorgiveness from the families of thosemurdered at Emmanuel AME,expressions apparently driven by sincerityand the Christian witness of the survivingfamily members. However, forgivenessdeployed in the context of American racerelations become part of the ritual of whatI call racial forgiveness.

Racial forgiveness is different than atheological premise; it is a cultural ritualin America which functions to atone for thepast racism (as with the apologies fromvarious denominations, such as SouthernBaptists, in the 1990s) or in an attempt toprovide African Americans a way to moveforward and acknowledge historic andrecent racial pain. These public acts ofracial forgiveness are important,but theycan also bring about ritual forgetting whenco-opted by individuals or groups withlittle interest in atonement.

This ritual forgiveness and forgettingis one of the reasons America’sconversation on race is stilted,disingenuous,and dangerous.In a cultureof ritual forgiveness and forgetfulness, no

one is called to account for historic deedsdone against others,and history is viewedas a malleable story to support theforgetting. That is why the conversationabout the Confederate Flag and itsmeaning are simply swept away as a“cultural matter” or history, when thereality is that the flag was a symbol ofresistance to the Union and, later,used asa way to continue the culture of theConfederacy and terrorise AfricansAmericans.

Forgiveness unfortunately, can birthforgetting: by the time the arraignmentended,the ritual forgetfulness had alreadybegun. Politicians like Jeb Bush claimednot to understand why the shooter wouldwant to kill black people and conservativesclaimed that the shooting “was an attackagainst Christians”.

How long will forgiveness and thesubsequent forgetting be a means to derailsustained efforts to confront racism inAmerica? For black people, there is noforgetting of the history of Americanracism, or the complicity of Christians inthat history.When a white man walks intoa black church, sits for an hour, and thenallegedly shoots nine black people dead,noamount of forgiveness given for hismurderous act by the families of the deadcan absolve America of its violent historyof racism, no matter how much thosecomplicit in that racism might hope for it.

The decision to forgive is rooted in faith

The anti-forgiveness folly

WHEN it comes to build-ing a child’s confidence,boys and girls are not nec-essarily created equal.Yes,both genders can sufferfrom low self-esteem, andthey can both benefit froma little extra praise. Butbecause boys tend to beless in touch with theiremotions, it may takesome subtler methods toraise their self-esteem.Here are a few ways tohelp turn your son into aconfident young man.1 Build His EmotionalVocabulary

Unlike girls, boys aren’toften encouraged to talkabout their feelings. Sothey keep things insideand never learn how toproperly deal with thepain. By being able to ex-press his emotions, yourson may find it easier towork through whatevertroubles him. It also gives

you a better understand-ing of his mindset,makingit easier to help him.

2 Celebrate HisNonphysical Strengths

Thanks to the media,boys think six-packs andstrength are a man’s mostimportant attributes.They’re wrong, of course,and it’s our job to tell oursons that. Teach your sonabout the traits that reallymatter – intelligence, com-passion, and goodwill, toname a few – and praisehim for embodying them.

3 Do Things He Likes toDo

By participating in yourson’s hobbies, you showthat you care about thethings that are importantto him. This makes himfeel like he matters, whichin turn boosts his self-es-teem.

4 Get Him a Job And no, this isn’t just so

he can earn some extracash.When a child is givenmore responsibilities –even something small, liketaking out the trash – itshows that the adult isconfident in his capabili-ties.This, of course,makesthem more confident inthemselves.

5 Encourage HisUniqueness

Not every boy likes torun through the dirt, playwith toy cars, or tossaround a football. Andyour son needs to knowthat that’s OK. In fact, it’sgreat! If he is happy withhimself, then it will bemuch easier to ignorethose who try to tease him.

HAVE YOU wonderedwhy you need to go toMass? Have you leftMass feeling that some-thing was missing?

Well, come to EU-CHARIST 201 onTuesday 30th June 2015,St.Patrick’s Cathedral,Jemmott’s Lane at 6.30pm, for an interactivesession with Father

Charles Dominique OPabout how to have fullyconscious and active par-ticipation in Mass. Thisis a SynodImplementation Teamfollow up to theEucharist 101 sessionheld on the 27th May.

Youth and youngadults are especially in-vited to attend.

THE local Catholic churchheld its Crop Over Festivalpanel discussion onThursday evening at theBlack Rock CulturalCentre. The event wasbilled as Crop OverConversation. The theme,Expose More Culture forCrop Over which focusedon the need to maintainand showcase aspects ofBarbados’ cultural her-itage.

Mr. Addington Forde aformer cultural officer atthe National CulturalFoundation ( NCF) deliv-ered the feature address.

In his presentation Mr.Forde drew attention tomany of the changes thathave taken place in the fes-tival over the years. Someof these changes in hisopinion were not beneficialto the development of thefestival. He admitted thatchange was inevitable butsuggested that even inchanging times the na-tional festival must main-tain core elements thatmake it a uniqueBarbadian event.

The songwriter, author,and founding member ofthe Conquerors CalypsoTent is convinced that amajor detrimental changeto Crop Over festival wasthe centralisation of eventsin and around St.Michael.He recalled when the open-ing ceremony of Crop Overwas held at various planta-tions such as Newton,Christ Church; Thickets,St.Philip,Society,St.John;Spring Hall, St. Lucy; St.Nicholas Abbey, St. Peter;The Belle, St. Michael;Bulkeley Sugar Factory,St.George.

Mr Forde noted that although the Festival hasattracted a greater num-ber of young people, thatcreativity and cultural aspects has been sacrificedfor the sake of commerce.This is reflected in thefalling standard of cos-tume bands and the reduc-tion of the calypso musicto mainly party songs.Costumes are bare andbear no resemblance to acultural theme, calypsoshave been reduced torhythms and deliver nomeaningful messages.

In response during, hiscontribution band leaderQuincy Jones of YouthExplosion Kadoomentband admitted that mar-ket forces do play a part indetermining the type ofmasquerade that is nowpopular, however withinhis band he has made aconcerted effort to main-tain creativity of designs,cultural portrayals, andstill maintain its mar-ketability. He also high-lighted that masqueradeat the Junior Kadoomentlevel is superior and muchcan be learnt.

Fr Clement Paul in ex-plaining why he felt thatthe Church has to play arole in Crop Over said thatsince Crop Over is aboutour culture and our way oflife, then it is incumbenton the Church to engageitself in Crop Over. TheChurch has a mission tomake Christ presentwithin the society and tolive up to moral andChristian behaviour inevery sphere of life. Thedesired positive changescan only be achievedthrough their participa-tion.

Dr John Hunte,NationalCultural Foundation(NCF) reassured the audi-ence that policies are inplace to ensure that cultural heritage is maintained in the Festival.Never the less there is anenvironment of entrepre-neurship, where individuals may placegreater emphasis on commerce than on culturalsignificance.

Clearly the audiencewas motivated based onthe level of their participa-tion,suggestions and ques-tion. But the most perti-nent question would haveto be the one raised byAddington Forde as to ifthe Crop Over Festival is aforum for maintaining ourheritage or is it a vehiclefor revenue collection?

Fr Paul in closing, as-sured the audience that inthe future similar CropOver and church relatedevents will have to takeplace since more stillneeds to be exposed forCrop Over.


DYLAN CLARKE, TopStudent in Maths andOverall Top Student in the2015 Barbados SecondarySchool EntranceExamination (BSSEE)from St Patricks RomanCatholic School. Dylan,who scored 92 in English,96 in Maths and an ‘A’ inComposition will be enter-ing Harrison College inSeptember.

An avid reader Dylan isnever without a book orcomic at hand. With aquiet confidence that sur-prised many he workeddiligently towards his goalof attending his school ofchoice, Harrison College.He had to learn the diffi-

cult but valuable lesson oftime management andfrom this he was able tobalance his work at schooland lessons with his lovefor reading, cricket andthe computer. He encour-ages his peers not to wastetime, since he realises thatif time is used wisely thereis more than enough timeto do the things you love.Simply put “Work first,TVand computer later”.

Dylan who is undecidedas to what profession hewould like to pursue, isfascinated by technology,robotics in particular andis well poised to do “some-thing to make a differencein the world”

The Church and Crop Over

Dylan Clarke

Why go to Mass?

Dylan Clarketops the class

5 ways to give your son a confidence boostIf your son is happy with himself, then it will be much easier to ignore those who try to tease him.


DOUBLE CROSSWORD No 11,7181 2 3 4 5

6

7 8

9 10

11 12 13

14

15 16 17

18 19 20

21

ACROSS

CRYPTIC CLUES

QUICK CLUES

DOWN

1 2 3 4 5

6

7 8

9 10

11 12 13

14

15 16 17

18 19 20

21

1. Break up (12)7. Establish (3,2)8. Source (5)9. Regret (3)

10. Release (9)11. Rupture (6)12. Powerful (6)15. Layered (9)17. Fire residue (3)18. Tenth (5)19. Picture (5)21. Wrongdoer (12)

1. Attractiveness(12)

2. Mesh (3)3. Uncover (6)4. Deflected (9)5. Lorry (5)6. Brace (12)7. Picture (5)

10. Indifference (9)13. Speak (5)14. Cord (6)16. Engine (5)20. Beer (3)

DOWNACROSS

QUICKAcross: 4 Console; 8 Umpire;9 Espouse; 10 Troops; 11Lagoon; 12 Contrive; 18Thespian; 20 Repair; 21 Tariff;22 Vil lage; 23 Pedlar; 24Whisper.Down: 1 Justice; 2 Appoint; 3Proper; 5 Obsolete; 6 Sponge;7 Lesson; 13 Intrigue; 14Visible; 15 Uniform; 16 Zenith;17 Callus; 19 Shared.CRYPTICAcross: 4 Asinine; 8 Redcap; 9Convict; 10 Lumber; 11 Lichen;12 Tentacle; 18 Viscount; 20Nevada; 21 Misses; 22 Prussia;23 Legate; 24 Procure.Down: 1 Prelate; 2 Adam Ant;3 Camera; 5 Spotless; 6 Novice;7 Nickel; 13 Cavalier; 14Russian; 15 Stashes; 16 Terror;17 Barsac; 19 Crimea.

SOLUTIONS TOPUZZLE 11,717 Quick Crossword answers

also fit the large grid

Central Press FeaturesTemple WayBristolBS99 7HDTel: 0117 934 3621

1 & 2Dn. Is it levied onprofitable concerns inLondon? (7,5,3)

7. An automatic saw! (5)8. Balance the Roman

pound (5)9. Get in one trap (3)

10. Confection in whichthe main coursefollows the dessert! (9)

11. Fish about half anhour, using bait (6)

12. Make it possible toconvert Ben Lea (6)

15. Shoot me in greatdisorder (9)

17. The melody thatmakes first-class startto Rigoletto ... (3)

18. ... because there’s anice variation after theend of the chorus (5)

19. Tumbler seen in thewindow (5)

21. Educated at home? (5-7)

1. Scientific time-recorder(12)

2. See 1 Across3. Flexible section of

gun-carriage (6)4. Suddenly everything

with Act One goingawry (3,2,4)

5. One who’s entitled toan old gold coin (5)

6. Place of action (12)7 & 13Dn. By which

people travel withouthaving rows (5-5)

10. Guards ordered toproceed on differentlines (9)

13. See 7 Down14. A lower class servant

collected the firewood(6)

16. A recurring theme thatwill confuse the donor(5)

20. Headache keeps thegirl inside (3)

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Exits and entrances are thetheme. It’s a skill to enter a room and make an impression,and to exit one with flair. The first step is realizing that yourpresence is a force.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). The worldis your stage. You don’t play to the audi-ence, but you have a keen awarenessthat you’re being watched. Tonight, you’llbe concerned with matters of style.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Your ideahas wings and soon will fly by itself.Before that happens, take advantage ofthis moment — the special time in whichyou are charged to protect and refineyour brainchild.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Whereveryou want to go, your social graces willget you there. Your smile is the pave-ment on your road. The special look yougive people, that’s the grease on yourwheel.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Gravitate towardthe warmth and humor. The people you like are popular for areason. You’ll be invited to join a group of people who thinklike you. You belong where there is an abundance of goodcheer.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Celebrate your wins. When yourpersonal life hums a happy melody, the other elements –like fulfilling work and enough money to cover the bills – willclick into place.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You don’t have to be wealthy tomake the world a better place. Your contribution is betterthan money. Give your smile freely, and that will do morethan dollars ever could.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You canlearn through your own experience, oryou can learn through the experience ofothers by reading or listening. The sec-ond way is more time efficient thesedays.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Aspecial relationship will influence yourthinking and impact your domestic scene.Here’s something to keep in mind: Youlearn more from criticism than you dofrom praise.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).Subtle information will strongly influenceyou. It will repeat in your head like a mu-sical refrain, keeping you up at night.Decipher the message. Break the code.Get some sleep.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). “No” isn’t always neg-ative. Often it keeps you from harm. Sometimes it’s the bestanswer you could hear. When you get a “no” today, it will becosmic grace.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You know the rightpeople. Name-dropping is, therefore, hard to avoid. Youcan’t be blamed. You must first impress people in order to in-fluence them and get them to follow you.

Horoscopes by Holiday

1. Who did the scribessay could forgive sins?A. a priestB. JesusC. GodD. a sacrificial lamb

2. Jesus said, “To whomlittle is forgiven,____________”A. the same loves littleB. little is requiredC. much is requiredD. forgiveness is foolish

3. What is described asthe unpardonable sin?A. murderB. blasphemy against theSpiritC. adulteryD. harming a child

4. How many times didJesus say that someoneshould be forgiven?A. up to 10 timesB. up to 100 timesC. up to seventy times

D. up to seventy timesseven

5. Throughout the Bibleit is clear that forgive-ness is only possiblethrough _____.A. Baptism in waterB. Believing in GodC.The shedding ofbloodD. Attending church

6. Who prayed this? ‘IfYou will, forgive theirsin - and if not, pleaseblot me out from Yourbook which You havewritten!’A. Jonah, on his way toNinevehB. Moses, when theIsraelites had made agolden calf to worship C. Joshua, when he wasreunited with his broth-ersD. Peter, when theRomans arrested Jesus

Bible Challenge!

Answers: 1. C, 2. A, 3. B, 4. D, 5. C, 6. B

SSununddaay Ay Addvvococatate Ce Comicsomics



KIM who? The realitystar’s younger sister,Khloé Kardashian, ison fire at the moment.

As the reality star turns31 on June 27, she’s look-ing better than ever, andfar from the “lonely” and“destructive” person shedescribed herself as fol-lowing her 2013 split fromhusband Lamar Odom. Infact, the youngestKardashian sister is feel-ing so confident that she’seven made a deal to writean advice book — sched-uled for a Nov. 3 release— telling others how tocreate “true strength andbeauty inside and out.”

Take a look at how she’sbounced back.

She’s gotten in the bestshape of her life.Kardashian hasn’t alwaysbeen a gym rat, but shesure is now. (Waist train-ers don’t get all thecredit.)

“My fitness journey willbe a life long journey,” sheshared on Instagram inFebruary. “Fitness is notabout being better thansomeone else. It’s aboutbeing better than youused to be. I’m not whereI want to be and whoknows if I ever will be. ButI am healthier than everand due to my consistent

workouts, I am slowly see-ing results.”

She revealed that herregular sweat sessions theprevious two years hadhelped her shed 13 poundsby spring. “When me andLamar were having is-sues, I decided to channelmy energy into workingout,” she told Cosmo Bodyin April.“If I went out withmy girlfriends I would behounded by paparazzi andmade to feel more humili-ated. The gym was myonly refuge. I could putmusic on and dancearound with my girl-friends and be silly.”

She’s kept her dating op-

tions open.For a while after her splitwith Odom, Kardashiancoupled up with rapperFrench Montana. Theysmiled for the cameras atdinners out with her sib-lings, hit the red carpet,and even vacationed to-gether. The two broke upand got back togethermore than once, but sherevealed on a Decemberepisode of Kourtney& Khloé Take theHamptons that sheneeded time to grieve hermarriage and might have“jumped into something”too soon.

However, Montana was-n’t her only date, since she

was photographed havingdinner with former NBAstar Rick Fox in May. Itshould also be noted thatlegally, she is still wed toLamar — and the two arestill in contact.

She bought JustinBieber’s house.Her love life is busy, butKardashian is more inter-ested in other things atthe moment. “I’m happy— I moved into my newhouse, which is the firsttime I’ve owned a home onmy own,” she toldCosmopolitan UK inDecember. “It’s a big stepand my brother lives withme — I’m so happy about

that.”

She’s stayed focused onher family.The Kardashians have al-ways been close, but Khloéhas been exceptionallysupportive of her relativesover the last few months.

Despite her own strug-gles with Odom, she’scome to her brother Rob’sdefense as he struggleswith depression. It wasalso Khloé who called outAmber Rose on Twitterafter Rose talked aboutKylie Jenner and her ru-mored boyfriend Tygaduring an interview.

And it was Khloé whodissed Jamie Foxx for at-

tempting to joke aboutBruce Jenner’s gendertransition. After Foxxmade a crack on the sub-ject while hosting theiHeartRadio MusicAwards in March, she toldThe Insider With Yahoothat it was “a low blow.”

“I think it’s very mean,but you know, I wish himall the best,” she said.“It iswhat it is. I just think —and I know Jamie, so Ithink that’s also whythat’s a really low blow,but hey. Guess that’s whathe felt the need to do for alittle press.”

Nobody messes withthe Kardashians onKhloé’s watch.

Khloé Kardashian has got her groove back

Tyra Banks:Modelshave pressure tobe ‘Skinnier thanskinny,’TYRA BANKS is notpleased. Not, like, yellingat Tiffany in Season 4 ofAmerica’s Next Top Modelmad, but angry enough.The star wrote a lengthypost via Instagram aboutthe expectations modelsendure in this day andage on Thursday, June 25.

“Models have so muchpressure today.They haveto look good on AND offthe set. They have to ar-rive backstage at fashionshows looking anddressed as if they are al-ready ON a runway. Theyhave to be slimmer thanslim. Skinnier thanskinny,” Banks, 41, wrote.“They have to competewith actresses, recordingartists and reality starsfor magazine covers andad campaigns. They haveto have tons of followerson social media to booktop notch jobs.”

Banks started modelingat just 15 years old whilegoing to school in L.A. Alot in the industry haschanged since then — es-pecially with socialmedia. The actress-au-thor, who made a point toshare a no-makeup photolast week, also noted thateven taking selfies cancause problems for mod-els.

“And they have to doselfies that make themlook relatable, but notTOO relatable,” she con-tinued,“because then peo-ple may comment that

they don’t understand,‘Why the heck is THATgirl a friggin’ model??!!!!’”

Before Gigi Hadid,Kendall Jenner, andBehati Prinsloo stormedthe catwalk, Banks wasmodeling around theworld with other famousfaces such as NaomiCampbell and HeidiKlum. Banks acknowl-edged that she had tothink about her weightback then, but it’s noth-ing like it is today. She ex-plained this by sharing abehind-the-scenes shotfrom one of her old-schoolshoots.

“I think I was size 6, nota size 0.And backstage atfashion shows, I lookedlike this photo you’re look-ing at. Yep, that’steenaged me right beforea YSL show was about tostart in sneakers, plaidflannel and bad jeans. Mr.Yves Saint Laurent couldcare how I looked when Iarrived to his show,” shesaid. “But when I hit hisstage, he expected excel-lence. And I made sure Idelivered that every timeI was chosen to walk hisamazing runway.”

She added:“I’m sendinglove and hugs to all work-ing, aspiring and supermodels worldwide.You allhave lots to live up to.AndI’m here cheering for youevery single day. Staystrong girls. #throwback-thursday#throwbackTyTy.”

Khloe Kardashian.


INDIA’S monsoon hascovered the entire coun-try, the weather officesaid on Friday, more thantwo weeks ahead of thenormal schedule in a yearthat is forecast to seebelow average rains.

The revival of monsoonrains in the grain bowl ofnorthwest and central re-gions should help speedup the sowing of mainsummer crops such asrice, corn, soybeans andcotton.

Over a quarter higherrainfall since the start ofthe June-September sea-son has eased concerns ofa first drought in sixyears.

Rains are vital toIndia’s farm sector, whichaccounts for about 15percent of the country’snearly $2 trillion econ-omy.

Two-thirds of its 1.2billion population live inrural areas. Last year,

monsoon rains coveredthe country two days be-

hind the schedule, hittingcrop output.

Couple sits as the monsoon coverss India.

Monsoon covers India ahead ofschedule

TWO wildfires burning inparched forestland east ofLos Angeles threatenedthousands of structures onFriday as crews battled tocontain the blazes beforeshifts in the wind pushedthem into new territory,of-ficials said.

Mandatory evacuationorders for about a half-dozen communities in theSan Bernardino moun-tains remained in effect onFriday,according to the USForest Service.Other evac-uation orders could be is-sued if the fires continuedto expand, it said.

The blazes are amonghundreds of separate wild-fires burning from Alaskato Arizona as the US Westenters a wildfire seasonthat experts fear could beespecially destructive dueto a crippling drought inCalifornia and parts of theSouthwest and low snow-pack in the PacificNorthwest.

The larger of the twoblazes in SouthernCalifornia, the Lake fire,had grown to 29,813 acreson Friday and was 19 percent contained, accordingto the fire-tracking web-site InciWeb, which gath-ers information from mul-tiple agencies.

A chance of thunder-storms in the area todayand tomorrow could helpdampen some hot spots,while lightning strikescould spark new blazesand gusts of wind could ex-pand the existing blazes,the US Forest Service said.

More than 7,300 homesand structures werethreatened and four fire-fighters have been injured,officials said.

A much smaller fire, theSterling fire, was burningnear the city of SanBernardino, the US ForestService said.

Work containing that

blaze was temporarilyhalted on Thursday be-cause of a civilian droneaircraft in the area,InciWeb reported. OnWednesday, a plane thatwas to drop retardant nearthe Lake fire had to abortthe plan due to drone ac-tivity, it said.

Firefighters warned thatit was illegal to fly dronesin restricted airspace nearwildfires.

In Alaska, about 300separate wildfires wereburning across the state,marking an unusuallyearly and busy start to itswildfire season, according

to the Alaska InteragencyCoordination Center.

The village of Aniak inthe southwestern part ofthe state asked residentsto evacuate because of theheavy layer of smoke froma nearby blaze.

“The fire is getting closeto their houses,” city man-ager Megan Leary told theAlaska Dispatch News.“It’s really scary stuff.”

Fires were also burningin Oregon, Idaho andWashington state. Nearlya dozen blazes haveerupted in the past weekin Arizona, fire officialssaid.

Wildfires threaten thousands ofhomes in Southern California

Site of wildfires.

SCIENTISTS in Indiaand Pakistan sayhigher temperatureswere just one factorbehind the recent heatwaves and othercauses have yet to beestablished.

They say low air pres-sure, high humidity andan unusually absent windplayed key roles in mak-ing the heat unbearablebut they do not know whysuch conditions prevailedat this time of the year.

The temperature fore-cast for the heat wavepeak in Karachi last weekwas 43C, according to me-teorologists in Pakistan.

The prediction was ac-curate but other factorsmade the heat feel un-bearable, they say.

More than 1,000 peoplehave died in Pakistan inthe worst heat wave inthree decades.

In neighbouring India,the official death figureexceeded 2,000, althoughreported cases were put atmore than 3,000.

“In Karachi, it felt like49C and that is what wecall the heat index,” saidMuhammad Hanif, direc-tor of Pakistan’s NationalWeather ForecastingCentre.

“The heat index washigher than the actualtemperature because airpressure was quite lowand the humidity was

very high in that area.”“The low pressure,

which is very unusual inthe month of June in thatpart of Pakistan, totallycut off the sea breeze andmade the heat unbearablyhigh.”

India investigatesIndian scientists are alsoseeing unusual meteoro-logical conditions.

“Coastal regions (ease)the heating process by set-tling in the sea breeze dur-ing late evenings whichminimises the accumu-lated stress on the humanbody,” said LS Rathore, di-rector general of theIndian MeteorologicalDepartment.

“This year, that did nothappen, and what we hadwas basically a prolongedcontinental heating.”

The climate changechief at the IndianInstitute of TropicalMeteorology, R Krishnan,said there was a limitedscientific explanation forthis.

“The sustained warm-ing persisting for severaldays is linked with atmos-pheric circulationchanges.”

“We don’t know what isdriving those circulationpatterns which are pro-ducing some kind of de-scending motion andmaintaining the warmconditions.”

Scientists inSouth Asiastruggle tounderstandheat wave

A 6.3 MAGNITUDEearthquake struck in theSouth Pacific 369 km (230miles) south southeast ofNew Zealand’s largely un-inhabited Kermadec is-lands on Thursday, the USGeological Survey re-

ported.The quake was recorded

at 1845 GMT at a depth of10km, the agency added.

The Kermadec Islandarc sits from 800-1,000kmoff the coast of NewZealand’s North Island.

6.3 quake strikesoff New Zealand’sKermadec islands


APPLE has become thelatest retailer to removeproducts featuring theConfederate flag, afterpulling a number of gamesfrom the App Store.

Symbols of theConfederacy are being de-bated in the US after theman accused of killingnine black people in SouthCarolina was picturedholding the flag.

Amazon, Wal-Mart andSears have all stopped

selling the Confederateflag.

Critics say it’s a symbolof racism in southernstates in the US.

The flag, a red rectanglemarked with a blue crossembedded with whitestars, was a symbol of thepro-slavery south duringthe American Civil War.

“Apple has removed ourgame from App Store be-cause of usage of theConfederate Flag,” Game-

Labs, the makers ofUltimate General:Gettysburg wrote on theirwebsite.

“We accept Apple’s deci-sion and understand thatthis is a sensitive issue forthe American nation.”

Game-Labs said theirgame could be put back onthe App Store, if theyagreed to remove the flag.

“We believe that all his-torical art forms: books,movies, or games such as

ours, help to learn and un-derstand history,depictingevents as they were,” theywrote.

“True stories are moreimportant to us thanmoney.”

“Therefore we are notgoing to amend the game’scontent and UltimateGeneral: Gettysburg willno longer be available onApp Store.”

In a statement toNewsbeat,Apple said:“We

have removed apps fromthe App Store that use theConfederate flag in offen-sive or mean-spiritedways, which is in violationof our guidelines.”

“We are not removingapps that display theConfederate flag for edu-cational or historical uses.”

Hunted Cow, a game de-veloper based in Scotland,confirmed that Civil War1862,Civil War 1863,CivilWar 1864 and Civil War

Gettysburg were removedfrom the App Store.

“They [the games] willbe resubmitted with anearlier confederate flag,”they said.

While some people saythe flag is a symbol ofracism, others argue it’sabout honouring theConfederate soldiers whogave their lives inAmerica’s Civil War whichtook place between 1861to 1865.

Apple removes games featuring the Confederate flag from App Store

POSTED signs andverbal warnings fromstaff members havefailed to contain theselfie stick epidemic atDisney World, so nowthe company is imple-menting a park-wideban on the smart-phone accessory.

Beginning next week,Disney’s employees willstart looking for selfiesticks during bag checks.Visitors who attempt tocarry one in will have twooptions: leave it at thepark entrance and pick itup on the way out, or justkeep it in your hotel or carto begin with.

The new policy goes intoeffect at Disney World and

California’s Disneyland onTuesday, according to theOrlando Sentinel, and willexpand to Disney’s parksin Hong Kong and Parisas of July 1st. Disney willspread word of the banthrough announcementsat its own hotels andaudio messages that canbe heard in the parkinglots.

Disney initially tried toaccommodate selfie sticks,forbidding users from tak-ing them out on rides butallowing them elsewhereon park grounds. And yetpeople kept bringing themonto popular rides like BigThunder MountainRailroad anyway, whichled the company to put up

prominent “No selfiesticks” signs at some of itsbiggest attractions.

But even that has some-how failed to halt the an-noying trend; just thisweek, a roller coaster atDisney’s California parkwas put out of commissionfor an hour because some-one decided they had tohave that killer selfie atthe ride’s highest point. Itwas just the latest, care-less delay in what has be-come a long list — too longfor Disney’s liking, itseems. Selfie sticks havealready been barred froma fair number of locationsincluding some museumsand glitzy film festivalslike Cannes.

Disney says noto selfie sticks

Disney resort in California.

VR might be the hottestnew technology ingamimg, but the man whomade Mario isn’t particu-larly impressed with whathe’s seen so far.

Game design legendShigeru Miyamoto, speak-ing with Yahoo Games atlast week’s E3 conference,said that while the technology behind VR iscertainly interesting, hehasn’t seen anything donewith it so far that fits withthe style of play he — andNintendo — prefers.

“The current types ofvirtual reality aren’t re-ally a good fit forNintendo’s philosophy oftrying to create entertain-ment that people can playtogether in the livingroom,” said Miyamoto.“We’re constantly lookingat different technologyand experimenting withdifferent elements of it,but we’re not feeling vir-tual reality is currently ina place where it’s ready tobe released - as a productthat fits with our philoso-phy of fitting in the livingroom.”

In true Miyamoto style,though, he doesn’t dismissthe tech altogether. In fact,the creator of franchiseslike Mario Bros., DonkeyKong, and The Legend ofZelda’s cryptic follow-upcomments are sure to getconspiracy theorists spec-ulating about whether thecompany has its own ver-sion of VR in the works.

“We’re here at E3 thisyear to really focus on thegames that are launchingwithin the next year orso,” he said. “We’re not

showing off or showcasinganything that’s furtherdown the road, and that’swhy you don’t see us herewith any samples of po-tential virtual reality typeexperiences.”

Nintendo declined tocomment when asked itit’s doing anything withVR.

Miyamoto’s commentslargely mirror those ofNintendo of America pres-ident Reggie Fils-Aime,who told Polygon that hetoo was unimpressed withthe current state of VR.

“I haven’t walked thefloor, so I can’t say interms of what’s on thefloor today, but at leastbased on what I’ve seen to

date, it’s not fun, and it’snot social,” he said. “It’sjust tech.”

Nintendo has a historyof bucking trends. Thecompany has been slow toembrace online multi-player gaming, whichhelped turn robust net-works built by Microsoftand Sony into lucrativepipelines. For years theywrote off smartphonegaming, though they’vesince changed their tune.Waving off VR could be an-other case of the companymissing a huge gamingmovement, though theircaution is understand-able. After all, they triedVR before,and it didn’t ex-actly pan out.

‘Mario’ creator doesn’tthink VR is a good fitfor Nintendo

‘Mario’ creator, Shigeru Miyamoto.


SPORTSSPORTS

THE Allmax fitnessExtravaganza hostedby the SurfsideWellness Centre isback once again thisyear.

However this yearthere will be a record at-tempt by the organisersduring the week-longevent which is slated tokick on October 10th.

This year theExtravaganza gets goingwith the Rocktape PMTEducational Clinic onOctober 10.

The announcementabout the return of theExtravaganza and theWorld Record attemptwas made by GeorgeGriffith owner and man-aging director ofSurfside WellnessCentre at a media con-ference held at theHilton Hotel on Friday.

However sure to hitamong the fast risingsport of Mixed MartialArts on the island is theMMA camp which willbe hosted by the UFCfighter and Strike forcechampion Nick Diaz onOctober 16th.

The three hour campwill precede theSupligen Allmax Fitness

Challenge also slated forthe same date as well asthe following day.

The challenge will beheld at the Usain BoltSports Complex at theUniversity of the WestIndies.

The fitness challengeis set to testCardiovascular condi-tioning, power, speed,agility and muscularstrength with the topprize in both the maleand female categories $3000.

During the test ofstrength, power andspeed, the athletes willknow the range of poten-tial challenges in eachfitness category , how-ever the actual chal-lenges will be chosen onthe day of competition.

Second place in eachcategory will receive $2000 and third $1 000.

There will also begroup prizes as well asother prizes availablethroughout the event.

There is the GuinnessWorld Record attemptslated for the Usain BoltSports Complex whichwill see them trying tohave the greatest num-ber of persons to attend

and commence a burpeeat one time in one space.

This year KentagaFitness has joined forceswith the event and is

slated to bring at least20 fitness instructorsand enthusiast to theevent.

The extravaganza willalso be supporting some

local charities which arethe Breast CancerScreening Fund, theDiabetes Association ofBarbados Educationfund and some Local

Children’s Home.Registration can be

done online at allmaxfit-nesschallenge.com or atthe Surfside Wellnesscentre.

BARBADOS footballteam’s chances of ad-vancing to the nextround of the CaribbeanFootball Union’s OlympicQualifiers are lookinggrim after they lost thesecond of three games inGroup 1 over the pastfew days. Playing inHaiti, the Under-23 teamare currently third in thegroup after going downto the hosts and St. Kittsand Nevis.

In the opening gameon Wednesday night,Haiti took the game attwo goals to none to sendthe visitors reeling.Looking to regroup and

get themselves into thecompetition, the Bajanlads failed to get it rightin Game 2 on Friday andwent down by one to St.Kitts and Nevis.Although they were cred-ited a goal in the two-oneexchange, it was an own-goal.

Barbados will be hop-ing to salvage somethingfrom the campaign whenthey take on the bottom-placed Cayman Islandstonight. Barbados areahead on goal-differenceas they have -3 whileCayman Islands have 10goals against them andnone of their own. (MP)

By Michael Phillips

THE Barbados FootballAssociation’s DigicelPremier League has beenblown wide open as stand-ings-leaders RendezvousFC were held to their sec-ond loss on the trot in thelatest set of games.Playing at the WildeyAstro Turf, MackesonBrittons Hill shocked thetop-tier debutantes witha two-one result to see theformer moving up to sec-ond place on the ladder.

The action started latein the first half asTerrance Coppin putBrittons Hill ahead in the41st minute. Antone Ellismade it two in the 70thminute to see Rendezvousin a world of trouble in thecrucial fixture as the lastmatches of the rounddwindle away.

Rendezvous would beginto fight back, startingwith Keon Atkins’ 79th-minute goal. However,that would be all theycould muster before theend of the exchange.

A single goal decidedthe outcome of the night’searlier match-up whichsaw Silver Sands FCpulling Pride of Gall Hilldeeper into the throes ofrelegation. Jamal Pinderfound the nets in the 11thminute to bring SilverSands up on level groundwith Gall Hill on 10points.

Rendezvous are still ontop of things with 29points in 14 games afternine wins and two draws.However, Brittons Hill’swin have made things atthe top extremely volatileas they have 29 points aswell in 15 games. They

racked up the points fromnine wins and two drawsas well with the separa-tion coming from fourlosses compared toRendezvous’ three.

Weymouth Wales alsohave a game in-hand andare on 27 off seven winsand six draws anddropped their first pointsonly recently.The defend-ing champions BarbadosDefence Force SportsProgramme are still inthe running as they arefourth on 26 points. Eightwins and two draws in 14games account for theirpoints. University of theWest Indies Blackbirdsclose out the top-half with24 points but have roomto make up ground asthey have played just 13games. The are up toseven wins and threedraws.

Direct TV Paradise areon 20 points after pickingup six wins and two drawsin 14 games. Clayton’sKola Tonic Notre Dameare 15 games in but havejust 16 points to showfrom six wins and a draw.Solaris Pinelands are thelast team in the greenwith 14 points in 14games. Gall Hill andSilver Sands round thingsout with 10 points each.Gall Hill have played 16games while Silver Sandsare on 15.

The league continuestonight with two games atthe Wildey venue.Thursday night’s winnersSilver Sands and BrittonsHill meet up first at 6:00PM while Rendezvouswill be looking to breaktheir losing streak at 8:00PM when they take onPinelands.

Open race in Digicel PremierLeague football

Allmax Fitness Extravaganza returns

Barbados falterin CFU OlympicQualifiers

– Burpees Guinness WorldRecord Attempt

CEO of the BHTA Sue Springer (centre) speaking to the audience about bringing people to the island duringthe slow period in October as (from left) Frank St. Hill brand manager from Nestle Supligen, George GriffithOwner of Surfside Wellness Centre, Anderson King from Sagicor Life and Amanda Reifer director of theSports Academy at the UWI look on.


THE BarbadosOlympic AssociationInc. (BOA) this weekhosted a High-PerformanceWorkshop at theBarbados Beach Clubfor local athletes head-ing to this year’s PanAmerican Games inToronto, and YouthCommonwealth Gamesin Samoa. The goal ofthe workshop was tohelp prepare the ath-letes mentally for therigors of these games.

The lead facilitators,sports physician and ChiefMedical Officer of the PanAm Games, Dr JuliaAlleyne and sports psy-chologist, Dr DougMisener of Canadabrought a wealth of inter-national experience insports medicine and per-formance psychology tothe interactive two-dayworkshop. They sought toequip local athletes withthe techniques required tobuild their mental re-silience and well-beingboth in the lead-up andthroughout the Games.

BOA General ManagerGlyne Clarke said theBOA recognised thatwhile local athletes werebeing prepared well phys-ically for high-level com-petitions, they, however,lacked in their mentalpreparation. “We’re proudto be able to offer this op-portunity for the first timeto our athletes.This work-

shop is our first step increating a continuous pro-gram to support mentallyand prepare our athletesfor multi-sport games –now, and into the future,”he said.

Athletes were coun-selled on how to manageanxiety and emotions,dealwith pressure and themedia, set performancegoals and the importanceof sleep and nutrition.They also received coach-ing on relaxation andbreathing techniques. Anutritionist and two teamdoctors were also on handto give advice on manag-ing injuries and propernutrition.

Facilitator Dr Julia

Alleyne said she waspleased with the level ofsophistication of theBarbadian athletes “theyare very knowledgeable,and it’s made the work-shop very interactive”, shesaid.“They’ve been so hon-est and really put in the ef-fort to make this work-shop a success.”

Barbados’ 400m hurdlesCommonwealth Gamesgold medalist, AndreaBlackett, was also a spe-cial guest presenter. Shespoke to the athletesabout positive mentalhealth and visualisation.“Becoming an elite athletefirst begins with a passionand intense desire to bethe best you can be. This

decision has to be made byyou and no one can influ-ence you or convince youto be great. This has to besomething you want. Andyou have to want it morethan you want anythingelse in life,” she said.

Nadia Cummins, 400mtrack, and field athlete isattending her first PanAm Games. She said, "I’mhappy to have the chanceto work on my mentalpreparation, and to haveeveryone together to cre-ate a positive team en-ergy.”

Ramon Gittens, 100mand 200m track and fieldathlete and BarbadianOlympian, echoed thesesentiments. “Being based

overseas, I have access toworkshops like these butI’m very happy to seethese kinds of opportuni-ties now becoming avail-able locally to Barbadianathletes,” he said.

The highlight of the sec-ond day was a surprisespecial guest performanceby Soca legend Biggie Irieand singer Imani. Theirsong ‘Get Over’ was usedto inspire the athletes andto highlight the relation-ship between music andmotivation. Biggie was de-lighted to have the chanceto meet the workshop par-ticipants. “It’s a pleasureto come and perform thissong for our athletes.Life’sall about overcoming chal-

lenges and staying posi-tive, and if the lyrics of oursong can help inspirethem to do their best, it’s agreat thing to me”,he said.

A total of 40 athleteswill represent Barbados atupcoming Games – 32 atPan Am and eight at theYouth CommonwealthGames. Ten sports will berepresented at the PanAm Games including ath-letics, swimming, boxing,golf, badminton, triathlon,tennis, equestrian (jump-ing), shooting, weightlift-ing; and six sports will berepresented at the YouthCommonwealth Games –athletics, swimming,archery, tennis, boxing,and weightlifting.

TYSON Gay won the100m at the US trials as19-year-old TrayvonBromell became the firstteenager to qualify for anAmerican WorldChampionships team.

Gay, 32, clocked 9.87seconds and will return tothe Worlds in Beijing inAugust for the first timesince 2009.

Bromell ran 9.84 in theheats, making him the10th-fastest man in his-tory, and was second inthe final with 9.96.

Diamond League cham-pion Justin Gatlin has a

bye for the 100m inBeijing but will still racein the 200m trials.

Gatlin, 33, has run2015’s fastest 100m and200m - 9.75 and 19.68seconds respectively -while double-Olympicchampion Usain Bolt hasposted 10.12 in the 100mso far in 2015 after com-ing back from injury.

Bromell, who ran awind-assisted 9.76 sec-onds in his semi-final,had the advantage overGay early in the trialsfinal but the 2007 worldchampion powered

through in the final 30mand won by almost atenth of a second.

"That kid - he’s tough,”Gay said of Bromell. “Hegot out good. It was justone of those 10 years ofexperience, dig-down mo-ments I had to get him. Itfelt good though.

“This win right heremay be my most impor-tant win. I feel like it wasthe toughest.”

Mike Rodgers claimedthird in 9.97 seconds andalso qualified for Beijing.

In Thursday’s heats, 10Americans ran the 100m

in under 10 seconds.Though all of those sub-10 performances werewind assisted - half ofthem beyond the permit-ted two metres per second- the obvious depth inAmerican sprinting willfuel their hopes of threat-ening Jamaica’s recentdominance.

Meanwhile at theJamaican trials inKingston, former world-record holder AsafaPowell surged to the100m title but 2011 worldchampion Yohan Blakefailed to make the final.

Powell, 32, pulled awayfrom the field in the last20m to equal his season

best of 9.84.However Blake, 25, was

sixth in Powell’s semi-final in a time of 10.36.The 2012 Olympic 100and 200m silver medal-list won the world title in2011 when Bolt was dis-qualified for a false start.

Bolt withdrew from thetrials on Thursday.

Barbados Olympic Association preparesathletes for upcoming Games

US 100m trials: TrayvonBromell makes historyas Tyson Gay wins

Facilitator Dr Doug Misener keeping the athletes entertained and engaged.

Tyson Gay and 19-year-old Trayvon Bromell in their 100m race.


THE Hero CaribbeanPremier League (CPL)yesterday announcedan all-star charity T20game to take place atWarner Park, St Kittson Thursday, July 2ndat 6pm (EST).

The match will bring to-gether a host of cricketinglegends and current starsto mark what promises tobe an exhilarating twoweeks in St. Kitts andNevis where Warner Parkwill host ten Hero CPLmatches from 30th June -11th July.

The game between thePrime Minister of St Kittsand Nevis XI and cricket-ing legend Sir VivianRichards XI, will boast animpressive list of all-starnames including; formerEngland fast-bowlerDarren Gough; Indianspin legend, MuraliKartik; former WestIndies batsman, DarenGanga; Ashes winningAustralian, Damian

Martyn; former NewZealand cricketer andsports commentator,Danny Morrison and hisfellow commentator andformer West Indies pace-man, Ian Bishop. Theplayers will also be joinedby three current CPLcoaches; Simon Helmot,Eric Simons and StuartWilliams, alongside one ofthe best West Indieswomen’s cricketers in theregion, Stefanie Taylor.

All proceeds from thegame will go to a localcharity. Last year, threecharities including,Special Olympics St Kittsand Nevis, St Kitts andNevis Association OfPersons with Disabilitiesand the Creative YouthAcademy, benefitted fromthe proceeds.

This year’s chosen char-ity will be the St Kitts-Nevis National EducationFoundation (SKNNEF),which is a non-profit or-ganisation that seeks to

provide deserving disad-vantaged students withan opportunity to receivean excellent education.

The Foundation’s goal isto award 30 scholarshipsto disadvantaged studentsin the Federation.

TEAMS will be jostlingfor top spots as the racefor the 2015 J24 NationalChampionship continuestoday. Getting startedyesterday, the eventwhich is in associationwith Blakey’s Bar andRestaurant, BanksBreweries, ArmstrongAgencies and Mount GatRum, marks the penulti-mate competition for the2015 season.

Eleven vessels will beplying the waters of theSouth Coast and CarlisleBay as they contestLeeward to Windwardcourses. Defending cham-pions William IndustriesHawkeye, which is skip-pered by Robert Povey,will be looking to do thedouble as they have beenin fine form this year.They however will havetheir work cut out forthem as they will be get-ting stiff competitionfrom all and sundry.

With the 2015 champi-onship looming on thehorizon, the race is stillopen as last year’s win-ners Banks Esperanza,Republic Bank Impulse,College Fund$ are all inwith a chance to take thetitle as only two regattaremain.

Die Hard of Grenada,Paddington of Trinidadand Tobago and BadAttitude out of St. Luciaare the regional teamscontesting the two-day re-gatta, which will see fourraces on each day. This

year’s Open Regatta wasformally launched duringa media conference at theBarbados Yacht Club onFriday where sponsorsand organisers outlinedplans for the major yacht-ing event. Manager ofBlakey’s Bar andRestaurant, FabianGittens said his organisa-tion was happy to partnerwith the J24 Club in stag-ing the regatta. Hastings,the South Coast and allof Barbados are going tobenefit from having J24racing, and the SouthCoast Boardwalk is a fan-tastic viewing platform torelax and watch the ex-citing racing as the ves-sels usually come veryclose in shore.

President of the J24Club, Kwame Hinds, whois also the tactician onShakin OBTW, thankedthe sponsors for theirsupport of yachting andother events over theyears and promised thatthis weekend’s regattawould produce some ex-citing sailing. “The coursewill give sailors tacticaloptions and those withthe best skills, and thosemaking the right deci-sions, will be in themoney.” Hinds said.Windconditions are expected tovary greatly from 17knots gusting to 23 knotsthroughout the weekendadding to the challengingconditions.The event con-tinues at 10:00 AM today.(PR/MP)

LEIGH achieved thisgoal over the weekend atthe St. Michael school ashe swept all and sundrybefore him to win all sixof his games and to finishatop of the 46 playerfield. The reigning Under12 Carifta Chess champwas in good form andwas always in the leadthroughout the event.

Going into the finalround last Saturday,Leigh was a half pointahead of AzariahJohnson who sat in sec-ond on four and a halfpoints. In the gamewhich was for all themarbles Azariah triedvaliantly to secure thevictory that would seeher claim the covetedtitle, but it was to noavail, as Leigh played ac-curately to win the gameand take the crown.

This then left five play-ers who were on fourpoints to scramble for therest of the spots on thepodium. Out of these 5players, three ended upsharing 2nd to 4th posi-tion all on five points.These were Azari Gittens2nd who won againstJoshua Millar, AaronHaynes 3rd on tiebreak

who won from Jadyn Gilland Tyson Holder 4thwho defeated formerunder 10 national cham-pion PritikaKhandamaran.

This was an extremelypleasing result for TysonHolder who has only re-cently entered competi-tive chess.

Following the top fourwere Azariah Johnsonand Alan Lynch who bothfinished on four and ahalf points. Azariah wonthe prize for best per-

formance by a girl.A large bunch of play-

ers followed these on fourpoints and includedJadyn Gill, TyrellBrathwaite, Yeshua Hill,Joshua Millar, EricLashley, Nathan Russel-Griffith, GaybriannaMoore and VanessaGreenidge.

The winner of theUnder 8 championshipwhich was incorporatedin the Under 12 wasJaydn Gill (1st under 8)on 4 points ahead of

Daniel Lashley (2ndunder 8 )on 3 points andSkye Brito (3rd under 8)on 2 points.

The overall Under 12champ Leigh Sandifordwill be joining the Under16 Carifta champion YuTien Poon and the Under20 Carifta champOrlando Husbands inColombia over the com-ing week as they carrythe national flag at the2015 Pan Americanyouth chess champi-onship.

Leigh Sandiford 2015 Massy United Insurance U-12national chess champion

Hero CPL to host all star charity match

J24 racingcontinues today

Allan Lynch at top right versus Aaron Haynes and below Leigh Sandiford versusGabrianna Moore.

Daren Ganga Darren Gough Murali Kartik


THE feud between theSpanish tennis federationand top players over GalaLeon’s appointment as thenation’s first female DavisCup captain is damagingfor the sport and coulddeter sponsors, RafaNadal said yesterday.

Nadal and compatriotslike David Ferrer,Feliciano Lopez andTommy Robredo reactedwith disbelief when thefederation (RFET) an-nounced Leon’s appoint-ment in September,

prompting accusationsthey objected to her be-cause she is a woman.

Leon, who had a career-high ranking of 27 as aplayer, was a surprisechoice to replace CarlosMoya, who stood downafter the five-times DavisCup winners were rele-gated from the WorldGroup following defeatagainst Brazil in a playoff.

The spat, which haslargely been conductedthrough the media, hasput the players’ participa-

tion in next month’sGroup I second roundmatch against Russia indoubt, when Spain need awin to secure a place inthe playoffs for the eliteWorld Group.

“The situation is terri-ble,” Nadal told a newsconference ahead of nextweek’s Wimbledon tour-nament.

“All these things thatare happening cause dam-age to tennis, to the desiresponsors might have to in-vest in our sport, to the

excitement that kidsmight have in continuingto play,” added the 14-times grand slam cham-pion.

Finding a solution tothe standoff has beencomplicated by a conflictbetween the governmentsports council (CSD),which has also questionedLeon’s appointment, andRFET president, JoseLuis Escanuela.

Spain’s disciplinarycommittee for sports(TAD) last week sus-

pended Escanuela for onemonth over an auditingdispute. The CSD says itis attempting to trackdown what happened toat least 700,000 euros($781,550) the RFET paidout in transactions linkedto the Spanish TennisFoundation and theSpanish TennisObservatory.

Nadal did not saywhether he would makehimself available for theJuly 17-19 match againstRussia in Vladivostok but

hinted that his participa-tion was unlikely.

“A country with manyplayers in the top 100should not be in the sec-ond division and be expe-riencing the situation thatprobably will happen withthe Russia tie,” he told re-porters.

“Personally, I find it ashame and frustratingthat it is like this.

“The Spanish tennisfederation for us is noth-ing, we don’t depend onthe federation.”

SUCH has been SerenaWilliams’ iron-fisted dom-inance of women’s tennisthat the American is oneWimbledon title awayfrom achieving a ‘SerenaSlam’ and halfway to-ward completing a rarecalendar Grand Slam.

While Wimbledon wasabuzz yesterday at theprospect of the worldnumber one winning herfourth major in a row,Williams did not want tostress out at the prospectof pulling off a feat shelast achieved as a 21-year-old in 2003.

“I don’t feel any pres-sure to win all four,” saidthe 33-year-old U.S.,Australian and FrenchOpen champion.

“It doesn’t make it feelany different, which Ithink is a good thing,”added the world numberone, who is being tippedto become the first playersince Steffi Graf in 1988to pull off the calendarslam.

“Maybe if I would hap-pen to win here, thenmaybe I might start feel-ing it after that.

“Ultimately, I’m takingit one day at a time andI’m not thinking that far.”

Dressed in a psyche-delic hot-pink and blueskinny tight pants andwith her mass of longcrimped hair fallingloosely over her shoul-ders, Williams certainlylooked relaxed for awoman marked out as theoverwhelming favouritefor this year’s Wimbledontitle.

While rival MariaSharapova picked her outas “the one to beat” andcalled her achievements“incredible”, men’s cham-

pions Roger Federer andAndy Murray were morecautious.

“She’s a phenomenalathlete across all sports.The stuff that she’s doneis obviously incredible,”said Murray.

“In terms of what she’strying to achieve thisyear, I think the easiestthing to do is to kind ofget ahead of yourself.

“I’m getting askedquestions about her win-ning four slams in oneyear. She still hasn’tplayed her first roundhere.

“Grass is a very, verytough surface to win on,especially over three sets.Because you play badlyfor 30 minutes and amatch can be over.”

Federer added: “She’s agreat talent. But thebiggest mistake would beto think being in the finalof the U.S. Open already.

“To be mentally readyfor the challenge whenshe wants to be up for it,I think that’s what’s soadmirable about her.”

Williams certainlyagreed with her peers.

“Being mentally toughis my biggest strength,”said the top seed, whorather than playing anycompetitive tennis pre-pared for her pursuit of a21st major on the mani-cured grass courts ownedby golfing great JackNicklaus.

“My dad always saidgrowing up, ‘Tennis is somental, you have to be re-ally mentally tough’.

“I guess I really tookthat to heart. Also beingthe youngest of five reallymade me have to scrapand be tougher. All thosethings played into action.”

ROGER Federer hasnot won a grand slamtitle since 2012; he isat that age when hekeeps getting askedabout his retirementplans, and he is aboutto bid farewell to an-other one of his con-temporaries.

Rather than lookingback on a stellar careerthat has earned him arecord 17 grand slam ti-tles, the 33-year-oldSwiss declared yester-day he has never feltbetter coming intoWimbledon.

“It’s probably been thebest preparation I’veever had for Wimbledonbecause we have a weekmore on the grass,”Federer told reportersabout the extendedthree-week grasscourtswing ahead ofWimbledon.

“Winning Halle hasgiven me the extra confi-dence I guess it’s goingto take me to win thistitle here.”

Twelve months ago hishopes of hoisting thegilded Challenge Cup fora record eighth timewere dashed in a heart-breaking five-set loss toworld number oneNovak Djokovic.

Rather than dwellingon what he failed toachieve as a result ofthat defeat, Federer wasmore focused on whatthe run to the final 12months ago taught him.

“Last year’s final... ifit does something, it goesto show that I was play-ing well. I wasn’t play-ing great and I [still]made the finals,” saidthe second seed, whotuned up for Wimbledon

by winning his eighthtitle in Halle.

“I didn’t expect myselfto right away make thefinals. To be honest, Iwas still somewhat onthe way back [after in-jury niggles in 2013].But things went fasterthan I thought theywould.”

His relationship withhis co-coach, six-timesgrand slam champion,Stefan Edberg, was alsoin its infancy, but afterworking together for 18months, Federer feels heis on the verge of reap-ing the rewards of thatunion.

“This year I feel my

game is better,” saidFederer, who alsoswitched to a bigger-framed racquet.

“I’ve gotten used to theracquet. This is not thefirst time I ’m atWimbledon with StefanEdberg. The work I’veput in ... I feel I could re-ally aim for Wimbledonthis year. Whereas lastyear, it was all about get-ting back.”

This year’s event willalso mark the final hur-rah for 2002 championLleyton Hewitt, the lastman to win here beforethe sport’s Big Four ofFederer, Rafa Nadal,Novak Djokovic and

Andy Murray begantheir Wimbledon dicta-torship.

While Hewitt is thelatest of his grand slamfinal victims to hang uptheir rackets, followingin the footsteps of MarkPhilippoussis, MaratSafin, Andy Roddick andAndre Agassi, Federer isin no hurry to slip on theslippers just yet.

“I don’t want to gothere with my thoughtsbecause the more I thinkabout it, the closer I amto retirement,” he said.

“Clearly I need tothink about it eventu-ally, but not for the mo-ment.”

Feud over female Davis Cup captain damaging, Nadal says

Serena under nopressure to completeGrand Slam

I’ve never felt better beforeWimbledon, says Federer

Roger Federer of Switzerland.


YAMAHA’S ValentinoRossi won MotoGP’sDutch TT race from poleposition yesterday aftera thrilling duel withworld champion, MarcMarquez, in which thepair clashed at the finalcorner.

Rossi extended hischampionship lead to 10points, with closest rivaland team mate JorgeLorenzo finishing inthird place after qualify-ing eighth for Yamaha’sfifth double podium ofthe season.

The Italian great, whocelebrated the 111th vic-tory of his career andthird win of the season,had led until seven lapsfrom the end, whenMarquez squeezed pastat the first corner.

But Rossi kept on theHonda’s tail and retookthe lead with three lapsto go.

Marquez then madeanother move, with thetwo bikes making lightcontact at the final cor-ner and Rossi skimmingacross the gravel with afront wheel in the air be-fore cutting the cornerand rejoining the track totake the chequered flag.

Rossi has 163 points toLorenzo’s 153.

While Rossi celebrated,rolling on the grass in

front of his cheering fans,Marquez was unhappyabout the Italian winningafter cutting the corner.

“I feel that we won therace,” the angry Spaniardtold reporters. “I don’tthink anybody wantedthe contact, but I thinkwhat I did was the per-fect last chicane.

“What I know is I did[it] the correct way be-

cause I didn’t go outsidethe track.”

Rossi maintained hehad been in front, how-ever, and had been left nochoice.

“I wanted to make thechicane and I was on theline. Unfortunately histouch put me on the out-side and I didn’t have achance to stay on theline,” he said.

“When I went into thegravel my first reactionwas to open the throttlebecause I didn’t know if itwas deep. I was lucky tocontrol the bike.”

The two riders werecalled to race direction af-terwards to review videofootage, with stewardsdeciding it was a racingincident. No appeal waslodged.

ELECTRIC racing willovertake Formula Onein popularity withinfive years, British en-trepreneur RichardBranson predicted yes-terday at the finalround of the newFormula E series.

Announcing a partner-ship between his VirginRacing Formula E teamand Citroen’s DS brand,the billionaire also saidhe was willing to bet allnew cars would be batterydriven in 20 years’ time.

“I think there’s stillgoing to be room forFormula One for anotherfew more years,” Bransontold reporters ahead ofthe London ePrix inBattersea Park, south ofthe River Thames.

“But there will come atime when Formula E willovertake Formula One.

“I think four or five

years from now you’ll findFormula E overtakingFormula One as far asnumber of people,” addedBranson. “As time goeson, the clean energy-typeof businesses are going topower ahead of otherbusinesses.”

Branson has experienceof both series, with the 64-year-old sponsoringFormula One title-win-ners Brawn GP in 2009and in 2010 entering withthe Virgin Racing teamwhich is now ManorMarussia.

His prediction is likelyto be met with scorn inthe Formula One commu-nity, however, with theglamor sport measuring aglobal television audienceof hundreds of millionsand top drivers rankingamong the best-knownand wealthiest sportingsuperstars.

Formula E cars makelittle noise and are farslower than Formula Oneand cannot currentlycomplete a race distancedue to the limitations ofbattery technology, withdrivers having to changecars.

The arrival of DS, how-ever, brings anothermajor manufacturer intoa series that is evolvingand next year will allowteams to develop theirown powertrains.

Renault and Audi arealready involved whileBMW electric vehicles areused as safety cars.

“The future is going tobe fascinating and I’mtaking my pills so I canlive to see it,” saidBranson.

“I personally thinkthings are going to movethat rapidly now,” headded. “What goes on in a

petrol-driven engined isreally complicated andantiquated and out ofdate and polluting.”

Jean Todt, the presidentof the InternationalAutomobile Federationthat governs bothFormula One andFormula E as well asother conventional series,said, however, that com-parisons should not bemade between the series.

“I think it is a big mis-take to compare,” theFrenchman, who was inthe audience to hearBranson, told the media.“It’s two different things.

“It’s like comparingLondon to a city on thebeach... I really feel youneed Formula One, whichremains the pinnacle ofmotorsport, and you needFormula E, sportscar rac-ing and rallying, touringcars and Formula Three.”

SONOMA, Calif. –Calling the Confederateflag an “insensitive sym-bol” he personally findsoffensive, NASCAR chair-man, Brian France, saidthe sport will be aggres-sive in disassociating thesymbol from its events.

“We want to go as faras we can to eliminate thepresence of that flag,”France told the mediayesterday. “I personallyfind it an offensive sym-bol, so there is no daylighthow we feel about it andour sensitivity to otherswho feel the same way.

“We’re working withthe industry to see howfar we can go to get thatflag to be disassociatedentirely from our events.”

Earlier this week,NASCAR said it backedSouth Carolina Gov.Nikki Haley’s call to re-move the Confederateflag from state capitolgrounds, and noted that itbars the flag symbol inany official NASCAR ca-pacity.

But banning it on racetrack property is a muchlarger task for NASCAR,which began as aSouthern sport and manyof its fans still embracethe flag. It flies atopcampers and at campsites at many races asfans spend entire week-ends in either the infieldor surrounding areas oftrack property.

The size of the crowd,and NASCAR’s own ac-knowledgement that fanshave a right to freedomof expression, wouldmake it difficult to policethe presence of the flag.

But France insistedNASCAR is exploring itsoptions.

“That’s what we’reworking on – working onhow far can we go,” hesaid. “If there’s more wecan do to disassociateourselves with that flagat our events than we’vealready done, then wewant to do it. We aregoing to be as aggressiveas we can to disassociate

ourselves with that flag.”The flag issue was

heightened last weekafter nine black church-goers were slain inCharleston, SouthCarolina. The suspect inthe case, Dylann Roof,embraced Confederatesymbols before the at-tack, posing with therebel battle flag.That rev-elation prompted a reap-praisal of the role suchsymbols play in theSouth.

In 2012, NASCARbanned pro golfer BubbaWatson’s plan to drive the“General Lee”, the carfrom the television series“The Dukes of Hazzard”,at Phoenix InternationalRaceway over concernsabout a negative reactionto an image of theConfederate flag on itsroof.

France admitted theCharleston church shoot-ing has pushed the sportto find a way to take atougher stance. DaleEarnhardt Jr. and JeffGordon, two of NASCAR’sbiggest stars, on Fridaybacked NASCAR’s ef-forts.

Brad Daugherty, thelone black Sprint CupSeries team owner inNASCAR, told a radiostation this week thatseeing the Confederateflag at races “does makemy skin crawl”.Yesterday, JTGDaugherty Racing wonthe first pole in team his-tory when AJAllmendinger qualifiedfirst for today’s race atSonoma Raceway.

“Obviously, we have ourroots in the South, thereare events in the South,it’s part of our history likeit is for the country,”France said. “But it needsto be just that, part of ourhistory. It isn’t part of ourfuture.

“We want everybody inthis country to be aNASCAR fan and youcan’t do that by being in-sensitive in any onearea.”

Formula E will overtake F1in five years, says Branson

NASCARchairman wantsConfederateflag eliminatedat races

Rossi wins last-lap thriller at Assen

Yamaha MotoGP rider, Valentino Rossi of Italy, celebrates on the podium afterwinning the MotoGP race at the TT Assen Grand Prix at Assen, the NetherlandsJune 27, 2015.


THE United Statesmaintained theirrecord of havingreached every semi-final of the women’sWorld Cup after their 1-0 win over China onFriday set up a last fourencounter withGermany.

The Americans cameinto the quarter-final inOttawa missing two keyplayers through suspen-sion but proved far toostrong for a young, defen-sively-minded Chineseside, who seemed moreand more intimidated asthe game went on.

Captain Carli Lloyd

scored the winner in the51st minute, jumping highto head home a long loop-ing cross from defenderJulie Johnston.

Ali Krieger also hit thepost with a drive in the73rd minute.

The win earned theAmericans a semi-finalslot next Tuesday inMontreal againstGermany,who earlier beatFrance on penalties aftertheir game finished 1-1after extra time.

“I think it was a verygood performance tonight... the players have a goodfeeling leaving the fieldand that will help buoy us

going into the Germanygame,”said coach Jill Ellis.

After being criticized forsluggish play earlier in thetournament, the UnitedStates looked muchsharper and pressured theChinese from the start,with only some waywardfinishing preventing themfrom scoring several goals.

World Cup winners in1991 and 1999, theAmericans showed nosigns of being hamperedby the suspensions of first-choice midfielders LaurenHoliday and MeganRapinoe.

“We wanted to come outhard and strong from the

start... the more pressurewe put China under themore they coughed the ballup,” said Lloyd.

“I think we’re going tobe flying next game.”

Tuesday’s match will bea repeat of the 2003 semi-final,which Germany won

3-0.Ellis dismissed the sug-

gestion her team might befresher than Germany,who had to play 120 min-utes on Friday.

“I don’t think it impactsthe players at this level,”she said, noting her sidehad had two days fewerthan China to prepare forthe quarter-final.

The extra rest did nothelp a Chinese team with

an average age of 24.Theyhad scored four goals com-ing into the game andnever troubled U.S. goal-keeper Hope Solo.

Chinese coach Hao Weiblamed himself, saying hehad chosen the wrong tac-tics.

“We lost the game be-cause of me,” he said,adding that he had set histeam the goal of reachingthe semi-finals.

TWO-time winnersGermany beat France onpenalties in Montreal toset up a Women’s WorldCup semi-final against theUnited States.

Louisa Necib put Franceahead in the second halfwith a deflected shot butCelia Sasic converted acontroversial penalty sixminutes from time.

In extra time Frenchsubstitute GaetaneThiney missed a sitterfrom close range as the

match went to penalties.Claire Lavogez missed

the deciding kick asGermany won theshootout 5-4.

It was the first time aWomen’s World Cup gameinvolving Germany hadgone to penalties.

But like their malecounterparts, who havemade a habit of winningshootouts, they appearednerveless as they con-verted all five of their spot-kicks to advance.

Germany are the reign-ing European championsand, as the top-rankedside in the world, werefavourites to beat thethird-ranked French.

But it was France whodominated early on, al-most scoring after 49 sec-onds through Necib, whostabbed her shot wide.

She went close again be-fore the break, but herhooked effort was pushedbehind by Germany goal-keeper Nadine Angerer.

German substituteDzsenifer Marozsan wentclose in he second half buther free-kick was wellsaved by Sarah Bouhaddi.

France’s dominanceeventually paid dividendswhen they took the leadthrough Necib’s right-footed shot from the edgeof the box, which took adecisive deflection offAnnike Krahn and spunpast Angerer.

They looked set to holdon to a surprise victory

until, with six minutes re-maining, Leonie Maier’scross struck the arm ofleft-back Amel Majri.

Sasic was typically com-posed from 12 yards toscore her sixth goal of thetournament.

France would have onemore glorious chance towin the match when, withfive minutes remaining inextra time,Jessica Houaracrossed to the unmarkedThiney.

But with the goal gap-

ing, she somehow man-aged to prod wide from sixyards.

That miss meant penal-ties, and nine were scoredbefore Angerer saved fromLavogez to send Germanyinto their first semi-finalsince winning the tourna-ment in 2007.

They will meet theUnited States, whoreached their seventh con-secutive World Cup semi-final with a 1-0 win overChina.

US too strong forChina, reachesanother World Cupsemi-finals

Germany into semi-finals after shootout win

United States midfielder Carli Lloyd (10) celebrates her goal with teammatesagainst China

United States midfielder Carli Lloyd (10) heads in a goal against China forward Zhao Rong (14) United States forward Amy Rodriguez (8) dribblesagainst China defender Liu Shanshan (2)


CARLOS Tevez scoredthe winning spot-kickas Argentina beatColombia on penaltiesto reach the CopaAmerica semi-finals.

Argentina dominatedthroughout but foundArsenal keeper DavidOspina in fine form as hedenied Sergio Aguero,Lionel Messi and NicolasOtamendi.

That meant penaltieswere needed and, afterColombia’s Jeison Murillomissed,Tevez converted toseal a 5-4 victory.

Argentina face eitherBrazil or Paraguay inTuesday’s semi-final.

It capped a memorableday for Tevez, who cameoff the bench to score mo-ments after a move fromJuventus to his hometownclub Boca Juniors wasconfirmed.

It was also a deservedwin for Argentina who,having scored just fourgoals in their three previ-ous games at the tourna-ment, displayed their at-tacking intent from theoutset.

They embarked on waveafter wave of attacks butfound themselves upagainst a Colombia sidethat had set up to frus-trate their opponents.

And when Argentinadid find their way throughthe Colombia defence,Ospina was there to denythem.

The goalkeeper, whosefuture at Arsenal is indoubt with the imminentarrival of Petr Cech fromChelsea, produced a stun-ning double save to keepout Aguero’s shot fromclose range and thensomehow get back up to

fling himself at LionelMessi’s header on the fol-low-up.

That gave Colombiaconfidence, and they fi-nally managed to mustera shot on target in the sec-ond half when JacksonMartinez powered aheader towards goal, butSergio Romero got downto make the save.

However, it was left toOspina to keep Colombiain the game as he madeanother crucial save, thistime denying Otamendiwhen the defendervolleyed a corner at goaland Ospina pushed theball onto his post.

With no extra-time inthe Copa America quar-ter-finals or semi-finals,the game went to penal-ties and, after five weremissed, Tevez stepped upto seal victory.

Argentina into Copasemis after penalties

VINA DEL MAR, Chile– Colombia striker,Jackson Martinez, isjoining Atletico Madridfrom Porto.

“It’s done, I can con-firm that everything’sready,” Martinez told re-porters after Colombialost on penalties toArgentina in the CopaAmerica quarter-finalson Friday.

“For now I’ll go andenjoy time with my fam-ily, then I’ll travel toSpain to join my newclub,” the 28-year-oldsaid.

“I ’m really excitedabout this move toAtletico Madrid. I takeit as a new challenge inmy career and hopethings work out well forme there.”

Coach DiegoSimeone’s Atletico sidewere short of a strikerafter Croatian MarioMandzukic moved toJuventus.

“I’ve evolved a lot as aforward,” Martinez said.“I’m still growing andlearning and will surelybe able to improve a lotof things in my game ina league like Spain’s.”

Martinez had signed acontract with Porto untilthe end of the 2016-17

season but Spanishsports daily As reportedthis week that Atleticohad agreed to pay hisbuyout clause worth 35million euros ($39.1 mil-lion).

Martinez graduatedfrom the IndependienteMedellin youth academyto the first team beforejoining Mexico’s Chiapas

in January 2010 andmoving to Porto in 2012.

A versatile player whois adept at shooting witheither foot and is strongin the air, he has beenthe leading scorer inPortugal’s top flight ineach of his three sea-sons, netting 26 goals in2012-13, 20 in 2013-14and 21 in 2014-15.

Jackson Martinez.

Colombia strikerMartinez to join Atletico

FOR RENT1 - 3 Bedroom 2 bathroom

Bottom ApartmentCrane Haven, St. Philip

$1,500 monthly.

Tel:245-1258

FOR SALESheetrock $12 & $17 per sheet

Tel:266-8956

REAL ESTATE

FOR SALE

LOTS

Lowthers, Christ Church4,712 sq. ft. $105,000.00

Tichbourne, St. Michael7,455 sq. ft. $151,000.00

Connelltown, St. Lucy9,768 sq. ft. $150,000.00

Durants, Christ Church5,250 sq. ft. $145,000.00

Bagatelle, St. James11,215 sq. ft. $280,000.00

Clermont, St. Michael10,500 sq. ft. $275,000.00

Drax Hall, St. George14,349 sq. ft. $375,000.00

PROPERTIES

Boarded Hall Greens (Town houses) From $228,800.00 to $461,900.00

Hopewell, Christ Church3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms6,630 sq. ft. $350,000.00

Fairfield Cross Road, St. MichaelBuilding 1 - 3 Bedrooms 1 Bath-room Building 2 - 2 Bedrooms 1 Bathroom 4,736 sq. ft.$300,000.00

Apes Hill, St. James4 Bedroom 3 Bathroom 2 storey building 4,367 sq. ft.$350,000.00

Husbands, St. James3 Bedroom 2 Bathroom two sto-rey building 5,783sq. ft.$600,000.00

Bournes Village, St. George4 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms two storey building 3,191 sq. ft.$471,000.00

Grazettes Court, St. Michael3 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms build-ing10,842sq.ft. $550,000.00

FOR RENT

Sea Grape Drive, St. Philip 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom Apart-ment $1,600.00 monthly

Contact: Telephone (246) 432-7191

Website: www.creis.com

AUCTION SALES

WE WILL SELL BY AUCTION ON WEDNESDAY 01/07/15 THE FOLLOWING DAMAGED AND WORKING VEHICLES:

2005 NISSAN SUNNY at Cour-tesy Garage at 1:15 pm

2006 KIA CERATO,1998 NISSAN SENTRA at Dow-nes Autobody at 1:30 pm

2008 SUZUKI SX4 at Simpson Motors at 2:00 pm

Terms Cash. Paul A. Edwards.Tel: 245-2994

TEAM PLATINUM AUCTION SERVICES

WE WILL SELL BY AUCTION ON TUESDAY 30/06/2015 THE FOLLOWING WORKING & DAMAGED VEHICLES:

2007 NISSAN ALMERA at Wa-terman’s Garage at 1:30pm

2003 MITSUBISHI PAJERO, 1999 NISSAN WINGROAD, 2002 MAZDA 6 00063005(DAM-AGED), 2003 FORD FOCUS atDownes Auto at 1:50pm

HOWARD262-0452/282-3809

CARL HOLLIGAN GRADUATE OF THE OHIO SCHOOL OF AUCTIONEERING

WE WILL SELL BY AUCTION ON THURSDAY 2/07/2015 THE FOLLOWING WORKING & DAMAGED VEHICLES :-

ONE 2005 NISSAN TIIDA atCourtesy garage at 1:15pm

ONE 2000 BMW 525 at ICBLcrash Lot at 1:35pm

ONE 2007 HONDA CRV atKeith Jones Garage at 1:55pm

ONE 2008 CHEVROLET SPARK 2014 SUZUKI GRANDVITARA at Simspon Motors at2:20pm

ONE 2001 NZE TOYOTA CO-ROLLA at Champion Auto at 2:40pm

ONE 2006 MITSUBISHIFLATBED/HI AB TRUCK atCrane and Equipment at 2:55pm

ONE 2011 TOYOTA VITZ, ONE 2007 SUZUKI SWIFT, ONE 1998 MITSUBISHI LANCER atGabriel Downes Garage at 3:15pm

Terms Draft/ Certified ChequeCarl/ Trevor Holligan

Tel: 233-1818/ 247-2906

JOB SEEKERSCaricom national lady in 40’s seeks position of cleaner/house-keeper one or two days a week/flexitime

Call:242-5646

JOB SEEKERSExperienced lady seeks employ-ment cleaning one day a week or once a month. Single person

or couple

Tel: 831-7748

OBITUARIES

BROOKS – BARBARAELAINE, aged 84, of “Brook-haven”, Rockley, Christ Church, passed away peacefully at home on June 24, 2015.Wife of Louis Brooks. Mother of David. Grandmother of Richard and Justin. Mother-in-law of Wendy.The funeral leaves Lyndhurst Funeral Home, Passage Road, St. Michael on Friday, July 03, 2015 for St. Matthias Anglican Church, where relatives and friends are asked to meet at 10:00 a.m. for the service. The cortege will then proceed to Westbury Cemetery for the inter-ment. The organist and mem-bers of the church choir are kindly asked to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations made to the St. Matthias Benevolent Fund, used for persons in need of as-sistance in the parish, would be graciously accepted.Condolences may be sent to www.lyndhurstfuneralhome.com

NOTICES NOTICES

CONSTRUCTIONSERVICES

CAPSTONE CONSTRUCTIONINCORPORATED

Construct Wood & Wall Houses

House & Roof Repairs

Renovations & Extensions

Tree Trimming & Cutting

Tel:(246)267-1600

NOTICES


GALEN RUPP cappeda tumultuous monthof accusations he hadbeen involved indoping by winning hisseventh consecutivenational title at 10 000meters at the USworld championshipstrials on Thursday.

The London Olympics10 000m silver medallist,whose coach AlbertoSalazar is accused ofdoping violationsinvolving Rupp andothers, pulled away overthe final three laps to winin 28:11.61 and qualifyfor August’s worldchampionships in Beijing.

He gave a thumb’s upas he crossed the finishline.

“It’s been hard I’m notgoing to lie. It’s beendifficult to focus,” the 29-year-old Rupp toldreporters.

“I’m real happy thatour report came outyesterday. I stand behindit 100 per cent,” he addedof a lengthy report issuedby Salazar rebuttingaccusations by the BBCtelevision programPanorama in associationwith American websiteProPublica.

"I believe in clean sportand I think the truth willprevail.”

Rupp said he stood “100percent” beside his coach,who watched the racefrom a corner of theUniversity of Oregon’sHayward Field.

All of the allegationshave been denied bySalazar, Rupp andtraining partner MoFarah, the British doubleOlympic champion.

Farah has not beenaccused of anywrongdoing.

Rupp, who also plans torun the 5 000 in Eugenetoday, said he and Farahhad talked since theallegations.

He did not answerdirectly whether hewould urge Farah tocontinue working withSalazar.

“I can’t speak for him,obviously, but I thinkwe’ve got a great thinggoing and he’s had greatsuccess,” Rupp said.

“We know we do thingsthe right way so reallythat’s all I’ve got to say tohim.”

A source told ReutersSalazar is beinginvestigated by the US

Anti-Doping Agency(USADA) to determine ifanti-doping rules mayhave been violated.

NOTICES


Rupp pushes asidedoping accusationsto win 10 000

Cricket legend SirGarfield Sobers hadyoungsters captivatedas he visited SouthWoodham FerrersCricket Club last week.

The 78-year-oldBarbadian, consideredpossibly the game’s great-est all-rounder, metadults and colts from theclub, based in SaltcoatsPark, Creekview Road.

Sir Garfield, alsoknown as Garry, is visit-ing the country to pro-mote his InternationalSchools CricketTournament for U18s,held in Barbados everyyear.

The West Indian, whoscored 8032 Test runs atan average of 57.78 andtook 235 wickets at an av-

erage of 34.03, spoke tothe club’s youngsters,posed for photographsand signed anythingthrust his way at the clubon Thursday.

Peter Blackman, theclub’s Sunday XI captain,who helped organise theevent said: “It’s not veryoften you get to meet a liv-ing legend.

“We had to tell the coltswhat he had achieved, butwhen he started talkingto them they were spell-bound.” He had themhanging on every word hesaid.

“The colts were a creditto the club, they were bril-liant, we were so proud ofthem.”

Blackman revealed thevisit had inspired the club

to enter their current U15team into the 2017 tour-nament.

“It’s an opportunity forthem to go out there andlearn from Sir Garry andhis coaches,” saidBlackman. “They alsolearn how to play on dif-ferent types of pitches

and meet people from dif-ferent countries.”

Blackman says he ex-pects the club will need toraise £18,000 for the trip.Anyone wishing to helpfund this journey of a life-time can contact him byemail at [email protected].

Sir Garry visits South Woodham CC


Sir Garry visits South Woodham CC.

SRI Lanka batsmanKumar Sangakkara willretire from Test cricketthis summer.

The 37-year-old, whohad already quit one-dayand Twenty20 cricket,willfinish his international ca-reer on home soil, in thesecond of the three-matchTest series against Indiain August.

He announced his deci-sion during the secondTest match againstPakistan in Colombo andconfirmed he has optedout of the third and finalmatch.

“This is my time to callit a day,” he said yester-day.

Left-hander

Sangakkara is Sri Lanka’shighest run scorer and isthe fifth-highest Testscorer of all time.

Since his Test debut in2000, he has amassed12,305 runs from 132matches, with 38 cen-turies,52 fifties and an av-erage of 58.31.

Sangakkara played hisfinal T20 international inSri Lanka’s World T20-winning campaign lastyear and his last ODI inthis year’s World Cup.

He signed for Surrey ona two-year contract inJanuary, having previ-ously played countycricket in England forWarwickshire andDurham.

Kumar Sangakkara:Sri Lanka batsmanset to retire

LONDON – ChrisRogers has been frus-trated by a furore overhis securing ticketsfor the second Ashestest at Lord’s and thenoffering them as partof an unofficial hospi-tality package.

The 37-year-old Rogersobtained the tickets fromcounty side Middlesex,who he has played exten-sively for, and then of-

fered them as part of hos-pitality packagesthrough a company hehad set up with a friend.

The practice is abreach of the ticketingpolicy.

“It has been frustrat-ing,” Rogers told re-porters in Canterbury,where Australia arepreparing for their tourmatch against Kent.

"I’m not trying to do

anything wrong and itwas something that hop-ing I would be able to de-velop after cricket whichis coming soon.

“It has been a distrac-tion.”

Rogers added he hadcontacted officials at bothCricket Australia andMiddlesex as to whetherhe would be able to offerthe packages with tick-ets he received for theJuly 16-20 match.

The idea was to givepeople a London experi-ence centred around thetest, he said.

“I went about it inwhat I thought was theright way and turned outit probably wasn’t,”Rogers added.

“I probably learned alesson but there was nointent to deceive or any-thing like that. I think Iwas open and honest ineverything I did.

“Everybody I spoke to,and I spoke to everyone,and told them what I wasdoing and no one sug-gested to me that I do itany other way.”

Re-sale of tickets tosporting events is a seri-ous issue in Britain, withlegislation introduced be-fore the London 2012Olympics to clamp downon the practice.

Rogers, who missed thetwo-test series againstWest Indies after being

struck in the head in thenets and suffering con-cussion, was also sched-uled to spend time withthe people who boughtthe packages after theday’s play during thetest.

“I told CricketAustralia I’d be involvedvery briefly (in terms ofmaking public appear-ances),” he said.

“They knew every-thing. I was open andhonest with them fromthe word dot.”

Rogers will open thebatting with ShaunMarsh against Kent withthe pair vying for the top-order spot alongsideDavid Warner for thefirst test in Cardiff fromJuly 8.

Warner has beenrested for the Kent game,with the Australians alsomeeting Essex inChelmsford in a matchfrom July 1-4 before thefirst test.


SYDNEY – England coachTrevor Bayliss was en-couraged by the perform-ance of his new charges intheir recent encounterswith New Zealand andthinks they have everychance of winning theAshes if they can keep pro-ducing good cricket.

Australian Bayliss, ap-pointed coach last month,left his homeland onWednesday but has clearlybeen keeping tabs onEngland from Sydney,even if he has not yetswapped the “they” for“we” when referring to theteam.

England split a test se-ries 1-1 with the BlackCaps before recoveringfrom a 2-1 deficit to win athrilling one-day series,finishing with a flourishwith a win in the soleTwenty20 match.

“It’s been quite exciting,the series against NewZealand, the tests and theone-dayers...got some new,young players in therewith plenty of skill, plenty

of enthusiasm,”he told FoxSports TV at Sydney air-port.

"So it sounds like they’rein a good place, looks likethey’re enjoying them-selves out in the field andthat’s the main thing.”

Bayliss, the formercoach of New South Wales,said his first task in thepre-Ashes training campin Spain would be to get toknow the players and thenput together some plansfor the series againstAustralia,which begins inCardiff on July 8.

“Looking forward to it,to be involved in an Ashesseries will be some goodfun, I think,” he added.

“I will be just doing thethings I normally do withany of the cricket teamsI’ve been involved with,and hopefully that meansEngland will be playingsome good cricket.

“I’m confident of puttingup a good show and if theyplay some good cricketthey’ll be a chance of win-ning.”

Rogers regrets ticket furore,had kept officials informed

Bayliss believesin-form Eng cantarget Ashes win

Trevor BaylissChris Rogers


ANDONG Song made his-tory on Saturday when hebecame the first Chinese-born player chosen in aNational Hockey Leaguedraft.

The New York Islanderstook the defenseman inthe sixth round, with the172nd overall pick.

“I am the first,” said the18-year-old Song.“Hopefully, what I want todo is rally people behindme, not focus on myself

but do something good forChinese hockey.”

Born in Beijing, Songbegan playing hockey inChina before his familymoved to Canada at age10 to continue his develop-ment in Oakville, Ontarioin the Rangers minorhockey system.

Song captained the var-sity team at LawrencevilleSchool in New Jersey lastseason. He plans to playat Philips Academy in

Andover, Massachusettsin the fall in the hopes ofearning a hockey scholar-ship to an NCAA school.

Song, who most admiresfuture Hockey Hall ofFame defenseman NicklasLidstrom, also captainedChina at the IHF DivisionII-B World Under-18Championship in March,in which his country’s lonewin in five games was overAustralia.

Over the two-day NHL

draft, which concluded inSunrise, Florida, onSaturday, 211 playerswere selected.Canada hadthe most picks selected at79, followed by UnitedStates (55), Sweden (19),Russia (17), Finland (13),Czech Republic (11),Slovakia (5), Switzerland(4), Latvia (3) and oneeach for Belarus, China,Germany, Netherlandsand Ukraine.

PARIS – The prospectof the fantastic fourlining up to contestwhat could be the mostexciting Tour deFrance in years haswhet the appetite ofcycling fans sinceVincenzo Nibali’s dom-inant victory last year.

That too was supposedto produce a battle royalebetween three strong pre-tenders.

But Nibali’s tour deforce on the cobbles to takethe Tour by the scruff ofthe neck, coupled withcrashes that deprived theGrand Boucle of its twobiggest stars, ChrisFroome and AlbertoContador, resulted in arace that was devoid ofsuspense long before theItalian rode into Paris inyellow.

Twelve months ago,Nibali was consideredmore of a strong outsiderthan an absolutefavourite.

But the nature of his

victory, and some of thetactical acumen he’sshown this season, sug-gest that there is no rea-son to consider him any-thing other than on anequal footing with hispeers.

Froome, due to the dom-inance of his Team Sky in2012, when BradleyWiggins won, and his own2013 triumph, is perhapsalways going to be seen asa slight notch ahead of hisrivals.

His victories in summitfinishes at Ax 3 Domainesand Mont Ventoux, wherehe rode away from the op-position in his ungainlyand un-aerodynamic style,with elbows and kneesseemingly dancing aroundoutside the line of his bikeas if being tugged by apuppeteer, left manystunned.

On his day, Froome, 30,is considered unbeatable,but he showed weaknesslast year, not least in hisslow recovery from

crashes.The cobbles are back

this year and Froome hadclimbed off his bike evenbefore reaching them 12months ago.

He was nervous aboutthem then, and his nerveswill not have calmed inthe intervening period.

Lolling styleYet, even though

Froome has a slight auramore than the others,there can be no doubt thatContador is the most dec-orated contender.

Twice a former Tourwinner, he won his secondGiro d’Italia last monthand back in September oflast year he took his thirdVuelta a Espana crownafter a thrilling battlewith Froome.

Contador’s lolling styleallows him to acceleratequicker than Froome andit was by stealing a marchon the Briton in the finalkilometre of a pair ofVuelta stages, havinggrimly hung on to

Froome’s initial attacklower down the slopes,that the Spaniard man-aged to make the race-winning difference.

Froome’s major advan-tage has always been thetimetrials but there is onlya 13.8km opening stagerace against the clock thistime around in which toput some time into his ri-vals.

The Tour will likely bewon in the mountains,where it is the fourthmember of the elite club,Nairo Quintana, who isperhaps the strongest –going up at least.

Nibali, 30, and 32-year-old Contador are far betterdescenders and they willhave their chances to at-tack on fast downhill sec-tions, but the waif that isQuintana is imperiouswhen the gradients in-crease.

Second on the Tour twoyears ago and Giro win-ner last year, this isQuintana’s chance toprove that he is ready towin the most prestigiousprize of all.

He’s also made a habit ofstarting slowly in the firstweek of Grand Tours be-fore coming on strong inthe last seven days.

And with four moun-tains stages in the finalfive days, Quintana willlikely be coming into peakcondition right when theTour is being won and lost.

African history-makersOutside of the race for

the overall title it will bean historic Tour for thefact that Eritrean pairDaniel Teklehaimanotand Merhawi Kudus willbecome the first blackAfricans to race the GrandBoucle while their MTN-Qhubeka team becomesthe first African outfit toride the Tour.

Then there are the in-evitable controversies asdisgraced former starLance Armstong’s inten-tion to ride a charity bikeevent which will covereach stage of the Tour theday before the real eventarrives.

As ever, there is thethreat of strike actionhalting the race, such asDutch police planning ondisrupting the secondstage on July 5.

And, of course, theminor jerseys are up forgrabs, with AlexanderKristoff and JohnDegenkolb most likely togive Peter Sagan a run forhis green jersey moneywhile sprint king MarkCavendish will look to addto his 25 stage victories.

Fantastic Four hype providing Tour deFrance excitement

History made as Chinese-bornplayer drafted by Islanders

Andong Song reacts after being selected 172ndoverall by the New York Islanders

Spanish rider Alberto Contador celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the Giro d’Italia, Tour of Italy

Vincenzo Nibali

Printed and published by Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc. Fontabelle, St. Michael. Telephone 467-2000, Fax 434-2020/434-1000

Sunday June 28, 2015

THE Queen Elizabeth Hospital(QEH) will be seeking to align itselfunder Government’s performancemanagement framework, to ensuregreater efficiency, accountabilityand transparency, and that it canmeet government’s objectives for thestate owned institution.

Louise Bobb, Director of Support Ser-vices at the QEH, pointed out the above,as she spoke on Friday at the QEH’s 2015Employee Recognition and Rewards Pro-gramme, held in the QEH’s Auditorium.

“It is proposed for the financial years2015 to 2018, that the Government willadopt a phased approach in implement-ing the performance management frame-work, and during this first financial year2015/2016, five state owned enterpriseshave been selected in terms of risk andsize, and they will be asked to adoptguidelines to prove the concept and allowfor the development that is necessary…And those five enterprises are, the Trans-port Board, the Barbados AgriculturalManagement Company Ltd., The Natio-nal Housing Corporation, the Queen Eli-zabeth Hospital and the Barbados PortInc.,” Bobb stated.

“What will happen is that (there will bea) document that will clarify and defineGovernment’s policy directives and theexpectations and the roles and responsi-bilities of these SOEs (state owned enter-prises), and the Government’s commit-ment to hold SOEs accountable for theirperformance.

“It will also address the areas of trans-parency, accountability and operationalmatters. Then there will be performancemonitoring guidelines. An MOU ofExpectations for Performance Monitoringwill specify the roles and key tasks and

FRAMEWORK on Page 5

QEH TARGET

Louise Bobb, Director of Support Services at the QEH.

Institution seeks tomeet government’s

expectations

Allmax FitnessExtravaganza

returns– Page 43 –

never forget your past!

Documents