ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Monday May 25, 2015 High of 89 Low of 78 Moderate with wave heights of 3 to 5 feet. ABCDE NATIONAL WEEKLY World Ultimatum to refugees in Israel 11 Politics Whom can this county trust? 4 5 Myths Late-night television 23 THE WEEK OF SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2015 . IN COLLABORATION WITH Science The sting of losing bees 16 THE WASHINGTON POST A plan to grow on Editorial | pagE 4 CayMan’s publiC health systeM in CritiCal Condition Tourism developmenT boom highlighTed JaMes Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Citing seven new multimillion-dollar hotel and tourism projects in the works, Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell told legisla- tors “investor confidence” is returning to the Cayman Islands. Mr. Kirkconnell, in his budget address, in- dicated that developers, buoyed by record ar- rival figures, will pump significant money into new hotels over the next decade. Mr. Kirkconnell highlighted a coming con- struction boom in the tourism industry, which he said would help address a shortage of beds. He outlined a list of pending projects at var- ious stages in the development process, including: ■■ The US$70 million transformation of Treasure Island Resort, expected to begin early next year ■■ The redevelopment of the Old Hyatt hotel, currently going through the planning process ■■ Dart’s Kimpton hotel on Seven Mile Beach, which is under construction ■■ A second Dart hotel, also planned for Seven Mile Beach as part of the Camana Bay expan- sion, scheduled to begin construction in 2018 mclean: governmenT neglecTing easT end alan Markoff amarkoff@pinnaclemedialtd.com While the government brags about a sur- plus budget, it is failing to meet the needs of the people of East End, the district’s elected representative Arden McLean said during his contribution to the budget debate in Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. “A surplus budget at the expense of whom?” he asked. “I am not as optimistic or convinced as [the government members] are that a surplus budget represents value for our people because on a daily basis I am experi- encing from the people of this country how much they are hurting.” Mr. McLean said in many cases, the loss of homes or the loss of jobs can be attributed to the government’s actions or inactions, and if government has a surplus budget, the people should be seeing a benefit of that surplus. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » An award-winning weekend Top Employer award goes to Scotiabank Scotiabank and Baraud took Top Employer honors at the annual Cayman Islands Society of Human Resources Professionals awards gala at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort on Saturday. It was the third time Scotiabank has received the top award for the large employer category. Recruitment and personnel specialists Baraud earned the top spot for a small/ medium-sized business for the first time; the company came in second last year. The Top Employer awards, now in their sixth year, honor the best places to work in the Cayman Islands. Organizations are encouraged to submit ap- plications, and then their em- ployees are quizzed over what it’s really like to work at the company. Only those organi- zations that get a high score from the judges – all indepen- dent human resources profes- sionals based overseas – earn the right to call themselves a Top Employer. Five other entities were also named Top Employers in the large organization category. Last year’s winner, the Marriott Marketers award their best The creativity, innovation and talent of local marketing firms were recognized at the first Cayman Islands Marketing Professionals Association awards dinner, held at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort on Friday. The host venue’s Laura Skek was awarded Marketer of the Year, and the Marriott also won the award for Campaign of the Year with its brand repositioning effort. After a cocktail reception outside, the more than 100 attendees were shown ex- amples of the finalists’ advertising and rebranding campaigns throughout the evening, hosted by Matt Brown. Others who received awards in the various categories included BB&P, which won Digital Campaign of the Year for its “Upgrade Christmas” campaign for telecommunications company LIME, as well as the top accolade in the Service Provider of the Year category. The National Gallery won the award for Marketing on a Small Budget for its efforts on The Surrealists’ Ball, and Josh Pearl won the “Marketing New Comer” award for his work on the video hon- oring the Cayman Islands Fire Service. Massive Media earned two awards: one in the Best of Brand category for its rebranding of the Campbells law firm, and the other the People’s Choice Award, voted on by attendees at the event. Scotiabank employees show off the CISHRP Top Employer award for large businesses they received on Saturday night, the third time the bank has won. - phoTo: maggie Jackson The Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort’s Laura Skec won the Marketer of the Year award at the inaugural Cayman marketing awards event on Friday. - phoTo: maggie Jackson PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL Monday May 25, 2015 • Cayman Compass www. REGmovies.com SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any lm starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. y x *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - MONDAY - $8.00 TOMORROWLAND (PG) 1:00 I 4:00 I 7:00 I 9:55 PITCH PERFECT 2 (PG13) 1:10 I 4:10 I 7:15 I 9:50 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 3D (PG13) 12:30 I 3:35 2D I 6:40 I 9:45 2D GOOD KILL (R) 1:30 I 4:30 I 7:20 I 10:10 MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 3D (R) 1:20 I 4:20 2D I 7:10 I 10:00 2D HOT PURSUIT (PG13) 12:40 I 2:50 I 5:00 I 7:30 I 10:05 www.tonymosleylifeinsurance.com Convenience stores can legally open on Sundays James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Corner stores and gas station convenience stores can now open legally on Sundays after Cabinet offi- cially amended the Sunday Trading Law. The amendment, dated May 15, adds small conve- nience stores to the list of businesses exempt from the ban on operating on Sundays. Government decided to make the relatively minor change after rejecting the concept of turning Sunday into a regular trading day, following consul- tation with businesses and the public. The order legitimizes the Sunday opening of “re- tail businesses involved pri- marily in the sale of food items and beverages, where such an establishment is less than 4,000 square feet.” Many such businesses were opening on Sunday anyway, despite the prohibi- tion. Pharmacies, beauty sa- lons and tourism-based busi- nesses are among a long list of businesses already exempt from the ban on Sunday trading. Speaking at a Legislative luncheon in November, Premier Alden McLaughlin said the government had de- cided to “regularize trading so that the retailers currently operating in violation of the law will be made legal.” He said a wider relaxation of the laws was considered but rejected. “We heard the misgivings from the business commu- nity, church leaders and pri- vate residents who did not want a wholesale opening of Sunday sales, but we also re- alized that we must ensure that those who have been providing essential goods and services on Sunday are able to do so legally,” he added. New mosquito virus nears Caribbean Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, has potentially made its way to northeastern Brazil. Public health of- ficials in Cayman are warning people who travel to affected areas to be on the lookout for symptoms. Officials say Zika spreads through the same mosquito, Aedes aegypti, as chikungunya and dengue, and the symptoms are sim- ilar. The Pan-American Health Organization warned recently that the virus is present in north- eastern Brazil. Cayman’s chief medical officer Dr. Kiran Kumar, in a press release, said, “Whilst there have been no cases of Zika in the Caribbean, an alert is being issued as a precautionary measure. The public is urged not to be alarmed in hearing the name of another mosquito borne disease.” He noted that people should follow standard procedures for avoiding any mosquito-borne vi- ruses, such as wearing pants and long-sleeved shirts when mosquitos are active, and using bug spray with DEET. Mosquito Research and Control Unit director Dr. Bill Petrie said there’s a surefire way everyone in Cayman can help cut down on the virus-carrying mos- quitos: “This mosquito breeds only in water- holding containers in yards around houses and prem- ises, and the best way to protect yourself is to dis- card such containers and remove any garbage, and to cover drums which may be used for holding water.” AviAn flu in n. AmericA Affects egg prices A widespread outbreak of avian influenza in the United States and Canada, with more than 40 million birds affected, is causing an increase in egg prices in Cayman and could mean a short supply of chicken and turkey soon, according to Foster’s Food Fair. In a press release on Friday, a Foster’s represen- tative said, “Unfortunately, we have seen price in- creases in eggs at all of our Foster’s Food Fair-IGA, Priced Right and Bay Market locations. We ex- pect to see another price in- crease next week.” Significant impact Foster’s said the price im- pact will be “significant” but did not say how much the cost for a dozen eggs is ex- pected to rise. Other stores in Cayman sourcing eggs from North America will likely see similar price increases. The U.S. media is widely reporting an 80 percent in- crease there in the wholesale price for eggs. The local grocery store chain said it could see an impact on the chicken and turkey supply as well in the coming weeks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that farms in the Midwest have been hardest hit, leading to fewer laying hens and a shortage of eggs. Recent press releases from the U.S. Department of Agriculture state that prop- erly prepared chicken and eggs are safe to eat. Salvadorans rejoice as slain archbishop beatified SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Archbishop Oscar Romero was beatified by Roman Catholic officials Saturday in an emotional ceremony el- evating the once-controver- sial cleric to the ranks of the blessed 35 years after his assassination. Underneath a rainbow halo ringing the sun, Cardinal Angelo Amato, the prefect of the Vatican’s saint-making of- fice, called on the crowd of some 260,000-plus to rejoice in a “feast of peace, fraternity and forgiveness.” “Romero’s spirit remains alive and gives comfort to the marginalized people of the world,” Cardinal Amato said. “His preference for the poor was not ideological, but evan- gelical. His charity extended to his persecutors.” Beatification is the first step toward possible can- onization, although many of those who packed the Salvadoran capital’s Savior of the World Plaza and the surrounding streets already credit Romero with miracles and refer to him as “Saint Romero of the Americas.” Worshippers from across the nation, many of them bused in from the country- side, held up poster-size im- ages of Romero and carried white and yellow flags of the Vatican. “They can kill the prophet, but not the voice of justice,” intoned pilgrims from the Our Lady of the Assumption parish in a San Salvador suburb. “His words will remain for eternity,” said Marlene Sanchez, 26. In life, Romero was loved by the poor, whom he de- fended passionately, and loathed by conservatives who considered him too close to left-leaning movements in the tumultuous years ahead of El Salvador’s 1980-92 civil war. The archbishop was shot through the heart by a sniper while celebrating Mass in a cancer hospital chapel on March 24, 1980. The day be- fore, he had delivered a strongly worded admonition to the U.S.-backed military to stop abusing civilians. The triggerman has never been identified, and no one has been prosecuted for the killing. Alleged paramilitary death squad leader Roberto d’Aubuisson, who was named by a U.N. truth commission after the war’s end as the mastermind of the assassi- nation, died in 1992 having maintained his innocence to the end. Romero’s beatification was held up for years by church politics until then- Pope Benedict XVI “un- blocked” the case in late 2012, after it was determined he had not been an adherent of revolutionary liberation theology as many claimed. Earlier this year, Pope Francis declared that Romero was martyred out of hatred of his faith, clearing the way for beatification. Although Romero still has critics in El Salvador and the church, Saturday’s ceremony constitutes official approval of his legacy. Representatives of the conservative Arena political party founded by d’Aubuisson were in atten- dance, as was his son, an Arena congressman also named Roberto. CorreCtioNs A story on page 2 of Friday’s Compass used an incorrect name given to a hurricane in an emergency exercise at the George Town Fire Station. In the pre- paredness exercise sce- nario, the storm was called “Hurricane Near.” A story on page 5 of Thursday’s paper incor- rectly described the ac- crediting body for nursing and teaching programs at the University College of the Cayman Islands. The nursing program is accred- ited through the Nursing Council of Jamaica (NCJ) and the education program through the Joint Board of Teacher Education (JBTE). the Cayman Compass strives for accuracy and is committed to correcting errors that appear in the newspaper. those interested in contacting the paper for that purpose can email the editor at newsdesk@ pinnaclemedialtd.com. JUrY NotiCe Grand Court jurors who are in the April 1 to June 30 session are asked to report on Thursday, May 28, at 9:45 a.m. Call Jury Information at 945-5072 for the most up-to- date information. “Whilst there have been no cases of Zika in the Caribbean, an alert is being issued as a precautionary measure.” Dr. Kiran Kumar3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday May 25, 2015 Miller calls EY report ‘a waste of money’ Says privatization won’t normally save money AlAn MArkoff amarkoff@pinnaclemedialtd.com Speaking in the Legislative Assembly last week, North Side legislator Ezzard Miller said priva- tizing government services will not offer any financial savings and that the gov- ernment should make policy decisions prior to engaging consultants to write re- ports recommending things the government would never agree to do. Mr. Miller, who made his remarks as part of his con- tribution to the budget de- bate, was referring spe- cifically to the EY report commissioned by the govern- ment in 2014. That report, ti- tled “Project Future: Creating a sustainable future of the Cayman Islands” recom- mended, among other things, that government privatize a number of government ser- vices. Very few of the rec- ommendations in the report have been adopted since its release last September. Mr. Miller said his po- sition remains what it was from the beginning. “The deputy governor … invited me to a meeting and I told him, in front of E and Y [sic], ‘This is an exercise in futility; this is a waste of money.’” Instead of asking EY to make recommendations on ways of reducing govern- ment costs without telling them what the govern- ment was willing to do, Mr. Miller argued the govern- ment should first decide what services it was willing to privatize. “Once the government has made that policy deci- sion, then you hire someone like E and Y to tell you how to privatize it and get the maximum return from it. Because we can tell E & Y we [weren’t] going to sell Radio Cayman. They recommended to sell Radio Cayman. We didn’t tell them we wasn’t going to sell the Water Authority, but they recom- mended we sell it.” Privatization Although Mr. Miller be- lieves there are some govern- ment services that could be privatized, he does not think it will lead to big savings for the government. “Don’t fool yourself,” he said. “It is not possible, or it’s going to be very rare and few instances that you are going to be able to privatize a service that government currently provides and provide that ser- vice cheaper by the private sector – very few, if any.” Recalling when he was the executive council member with responsi- bility for waste manage- ment in 1989, Mr. Miller said he tried to privatize garbage collection. “At that time, we were charging $25 a year or something like that,” he said. “If I remember, the lowest bid I got back was $50 a month. So, while the Chamber of Commerce and the media likes to bad- mouth the civil service about how they’re ineffi- cient and they’re ineffective … well, that ain’t true, you know; ignore that.” The North Side MLA then defended the capabili- ties of the civil service. “There are many ser- vices in the civil service that are being delivered ef- ficiently and effectively and I’m telling you here today, without fear of successful contradiction, that the pri- vate sector cannot do it cheaper or more effectively or more efficiently.” To illustrate his dis- trust for the private sector, Mr. Miller then took aim at the Chamber of Commerce, which he blames for changes made to the Pensions Law. “It was the Chamber of Commerce that hijacked that, you know, and made it the rubbish we have today,” he said. “The only people who have made money out of it are the fund managers and themselves.” Because of what he feels are deficiencies in the ex- isting Pension Law, Mr. Miller said some people are going to suffer in their twi- light years unless the gov- ernment finds alternative ways of looking after them. “And that’s the disgrace in the whole thing,” he said. “That was solely done by the private sector. It was a deliberate act on their part to make money.” Mr. Miller argued the government should first decide what services it was willing to privatize. Mr. Miller teen arrested over imitation firearm on school bus Student had a toy gun, police said A 15-year-old stu- dent at John Gray High School has been ar- rested for alleged pos- session of an imita- tion firearm, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has confirmed. The imitation firearm was a toy gun, police said in a press release. The teen was ar- rested on Friday, May 23, and he is cur- rently on police bail, according to the press release. The Ministry of Education last week confirmed there had been a report that a pupil on one of the John Gray High School buses on Tuesday “may have been in posses- sion of a firearm or something resembling a firearm.” Chief Inspector Brad Ebanks, of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, said the matter is under investigation.The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. Printed and Published by: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town send us yOur VieWs Or neWs: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com adVertise With us: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS daVid r. legge and Vicki l. legge EdITOR-In-CHIEf daVid r. legge A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” It is said that the difference between doers and dabblers is deadlines. The government has pushed back an important one, delaying the enactment of much-needed reforms to public healthcare — namely, making Cayman Islands civil servants pay for some of what they receive — until well after the May 2017 general election. In other words, the Progressives kicked the can down the road for some future administration to deal with. In doing so, this government has signaled that, when it comes to addressing serious structural problems with public finances, they are content to dabble at the margins. For those who may wonder what qualifies as a “serious structural problem,” consider consultants’ estimates that, if the Cayman Islands National Insur- ance Company continues with its current healthcare coverage policies, it will cause the Cayman govern- ment to accrue $1.18 billion in liabilities over 20 years — working out to $59 million per year. To put this in perspective, the $59 million per year required to maintain CINICO’s status quo is more than central government’s combined appropri- ations, subsidies and “equity injections” (according to the proposed 2015/16 budget) to the following public entities: Cayman Airways, Cayman Turtle Farm, National Housing and Development Trust, Cayman Islands Development Bank, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, University College of the Cayman Islands, National Roads Authority, Cayman Maritime Authority, CAYS Foundation, ICTA, Electricity Regulatory Authority, Cayman Islands National Museum, Cayman Islands National Gallery, Cayman National Cultural Foundation, Auditors Oversight Authority, National Drug Council, Sister Islands Affordable Housing Corpo- ration and Tourism Attraction Board — in short, all of government’s authorities and companies that are not related to healthcare. The issue of civil servants, their families, pen- sioners, indigents and others not having to pay for their CINICO plans is only one single tentacle of the healthcare monstrosity that government has created. Other arms include the rapid accumulation of “bad debts” owed to the Health Service Authority (now approaching $80 million), the multiple lawsuits filed against CINICO for failing to make payments owed to U.S. hospitals, as well as the scandal involving the gov- ernment’s CarePay contract, which, though simmering silently for some time now, possesses the most poten- tial to boil over, messily, onto the international stage. If someone were to conduct a study of political entities that have “failed,” be they countries or large municipalities, a familiar pattern would emerge: Empow- ered by organization and sheer numbers, public sector employees are able to negotiate concessions and benefits from government leaders that have no parallel in the private sector. Wary of challenging the might and muscle of a united civil service voting bloc, transitory elected officials, in turn, delay the enactment of mean- ingful (and painful) reforms, leaving it to some future government to clean up the mounting fiscal detritus. We are seeing a version of this play out in Cayman, particularly in regard to public healthcare and public pensions, which are a class apart from other fiscal concerns, such as subsidies (to ensure an adequate supply of turtle meat, for example), pressing capital projects (i.e., the dump), or even massive, but sched- uled, debt payments (for the more than half-a-billion dollars in outstanding central government loans). Make no mistake, those matters are troubling, but unfunded pension and public healthcare costs are the proven country killers. Cayman’s public health system in critical condition Megan Mcardle So Los Angeles is raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, and then indexes the wage to inflation, so that it will never fall below this level in real terms. The politicians who have passed this law are understandably very excited that many low-wage workers – perhaps almost half of the city’s labor force – will be get- ting raises, some from the cur- rent minimum of $9. I’m sure the workers themselves are pretty excited about having more money in their pockets. What’s less clear is what hap- pens next. As I’ve written before, the existence of studies that seem to show minimal eco- nomic impact from minimum wage increases has caused many policy advocates to act as if we can assume that very high increases, like this one, can transfer money from the pockets of the affluent into the pockets of the poor without causing big disrup- tions. This is wildly beyond what that evidence shows, or could show. The studies in question covered small increases in the minimum wage, over short time frames. They cannot tell us what will happen with big increases over longer time frames (and neither can flat international comparisons, which get in- fluenced by local economic conditions – for example Australia, frequently cited by proponents of the minimum wage, has been having a de- cades-long commodity boom that is now ending). This mat- ters. It is over longer periods that a minimum wage hike is likely to be most disruptive. When the minimum wage goes up, owners do not en masse shut down their res- taurants or lay off their staff. What is more likely to happen is that prices will rise, sales will fall off somewhat, and owner profits will be some- what reduced. People who were looking at opening a fast food or retail or low-wage manufacturing concern will run the numbers and decide that the potential profits can’t justify the risk of some oper- ations. Some folks who have been in the business for a while will conclude that with reduced profits, it’s no longer worth putting their hours into the business, so they’ll close the business and retire or do something else. Businesses that were not very profitable with the earlier minimum wage will slip into the red, and they will miss their fran- chise payments or loan in- stallments and be forced out of business. Many owners who stay in business will look to invest in labor saving tech- nology that can reduce their headcount, like touch-screen ordering or soda stations that let you fill your own drinks. These sorts of decisions take a while to make. They still add up, in the end, to deadweight loss – that is, along with a net transfer of money from owners and cus- tomers to employees, there will also simply be fewer employees in some busi- nesses. The workers who are dropped have effectively gone from $9 an hour to $0 an hour. This hardly benefits those employees. Or the em- ployee’s landlord, grocer, etc. There are secondary ef- fects beyond the employment market too. Proponents of a higher wage are claiming that this will boost the local economy by putting more money into the pockets of workers. This is the same sort of argument you frequently hear for the construction of massive new sports com- plexes. But of course, the money has to come from someone else’s pocket – the customer and the employer. What were those people doing with it? If the answer is “buying stuff from Amazon,” then maybe diverting more money to wages is a net gain for the Los Angeles economy. But if the answer is mostly “buying stuff produced in LA” – for example, paying rent, or buying services performed by low-wage workers – then this is like trying to get rich by picking your own pocket. There’s no question that the wage increase will transfer money around within the economy – out of the pockets of commercial landlords, for example, and into the pockets of folks who own real estate in low-rent districts. But little evidence has so far been of- fered that any boost in local spending will cancel out the deadweight loss, much less exceed it. This is not a predic- tion that the new minimum wage will turn Los Angeles into a howling commer- cial wasteland where survi- vors pick over the corpses of the fallen because there’s no- where to buy gas or groceries. Economists tell us we have to think on the margin – not ask whether everyone who cur- rently makes minimum wage will become unemployed, but to ask whether some jobs will be forced out of existence, and if so, how many. There’s no way to say until the new wage is fully phased in and we have years of data. But it seems unlikely that you can increase the minimum wage by 65 percent, man- dating higher wages for al- most half of your workforce, and be confident that the other effects will be small. If I had to lay money, I’d put it the other way: The effects will be significant. The long-term re- sult will be higher wages for many low-wage workers, but the desperation of unemploy- ment, or a forced relocation, for many others. Megan McArdle is a Bloomberg View columnist who writes on economics, business and public policy. © 2015, Bloomberg News Monday May 25, 2015 • Cayman COmpass a $15 minimum wage will hurt workers When the minimum wage goes up, owners do not en masse shut down their restaurants or lay off their staff. What is more likely to happen is that prices will rise, sales will fall off somewhat, and owner profits will be somewhat reduced. CAYMAN ISLANDS HOSPITAL EMERGENCY WAITING AREA5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday May 25, 2015 Road User BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE CO. LTD. 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Authorised Repairer programme *Policy conditions apply- ask for details **Applies to new private buildings insurance policies only. Certificate can be used with home/motor insurance purchase. Men sentenced to three years for credit card fraud Judge says police in this case deserve special commendation Carol Winker cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two men who pleaded guilty to a credit card fraud conspiracy were each sen- tenced on Thursday to three years’ imprisonment. A third man’s sentencing was postponed. A woman who pleaded not guilty re- ceived a 15-month term for money laundering. All are Romanian citi- zens who came to Cayman as visitors in December 2014. Details of the charge of con- spiracy to defraud were that Roland Pop, Ianacu Vlismas, Florin Roata and Mariana Oprinoiu conspired together with persons unknown, be- tween Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, to defraud local retail banks by dishonestly with- drawing cash from ATM ma- chines with the use of cloned credit cards. In passing sentence, Justice Michael Mettyear said sentencing guidelines were concerned not only with the amount of money taken, but also with the amount intended to be taken. He pointed out that two banks had reported a min- imum loss of $59,000. That clearly was not the amount obtained, because more than US$100,000 and CI$10,000 had been recovered. Even that was not the true total, he noted, because money had been wired out of the country and another man – named as Ovidiu Milalache – may have taken money with him when he left Cayman be- fore the others were arrested. “I have no doubt more would have been taken if not for the excellent work of the banks and the police,” he commented. The men had obtained a lot of money in a very short time and their aim was to get as much as possible. The judge said it seemed to him that a figure of $250,000 was realistic. Pop and Vlismas, who pleaded guilty to the con- spiracy, also admitted money laundering; specifically, that they had in their possession criminal property, namely approximately US$101,698, on Dec. 17. That is when the men were arrested; po- lice officers searching their hotel accommodations recov- ered the cash, a large quan- tity of gift cards and a card swipe device. Roata and Oprinoiu had traveled as a couple on an “early honeymoon,” ex- plaining that they intended to be married after Roata’s di- vorce was expected to be fi- nalized in February 2015. All four defendants pleaded not guilty to various charges of theft from local banks. In addition, Roata de- nied money laundering, but pleaded guilty to the con- spiracy charge. Authorities are checking into possible previous convictions and his case is expected to be brought back within three weeks. Oprinoiu was found not guilty of conspiracy after a judge-alone, weeklong trial that ended on May 1. Justice Mettyear said he was satis- fied that she knew what the men were doing, but there was no direct evidence that she played any active role in the conspiracy. There was no fingerprint evidence, no CCTV, no observation evi- dence, no forensic evidence and no admissions. He did find her guilty of money laundering – pos- session of approximately US$19,511 that was criminal property, on Dec. 16. That money was recovered when police searched the room Roata and Oprinoiu had shared. In the leg of a pair of jeans belonging to Oprinoiu, officers found US$9,300 and CI$1,700. In her red wallet they found US$6,000 and 1,685 euros. Oprinoiu had said she brought the money in her wallet with her for shopping. The judge rejected this evidence, pointing out that she herself had said she spent her time between the room and the beach. “She never showed a moment’s in- terest in shopping, even in Grand Cayman where the opportunities are plentiful,” he said. Oprinoiu maintained she did not know about the money in her jeans. She also stated she did not know about paper with credit card information plus memory cards hidden in one of her bras, nor did she know about 23 gift cards found in a mesh bag containing her under- wear. Twenty of those cards had genuine credit card in- formation imported into their magnetic strips. Roata had given evidence in the woman’s trial. He said she did not know about the items and he had hidden them in clothing he knew she would not be wearing. Justice Mettyear rejected this evi- dence. “It is difficult to think of a worse place to hide things from a woman than her own jeans, her bra and a mesh bag holding her used underwear,” he commented. He said the items were placed where they would be less likely to be observed by someone tidying the room. The judge concluded that Oprinoiu either put the items where they were found or else knew that Roata put them there and was content with the situation. Before passing sentence on Thursday, Justice Mettyear heard a summary of the of- fenses from Crown counsel Toyin Salako, who had also conducted the prosecution’s case in Oprinoiu’s trial. The judge heard from attorney Amelia Fosuhene about the personal circumstances of Oprinoiu, 34; and from at- torney Laurence Aiolfi for Pop, 40, and Vlismas, 39. He rejected Mr. Aiolfi’s de- scription of the men as “foot soldiers,” saying their con- duct was sophisticated and that all three had been enthu- siastic in attacking the ATMs. Activities like this had an impact on the banks and the individuals whose personal information had been stolen, he pointed out. For this category of con- spiracy to defraud, the sen- tencing range was three to six years, the judge explained. He chose four-and-a half years as his starting point and said Pop and Vlismas were enti- tled to a significant discount for their guilty pleas. He sen- tenced both to three years’ imprisonment; sentences for money laundering were made concurrent. For Oprinoiu, the sen- tencing range for money laundering was six months to two years, with a starting point of one year. But this was not a starting point case, he said, arriving at a sentence of 15 months. All will receive credit for time in custody since their ar- rest. Justice Mettyear recom- mended that they be deported after serving their time. He concluded by of- fering special commenda- tion to the police officers who had worked on the case and he thanked the interpreter of the Romanian language, without whom proceed- ings would have taken much longer, he said. Brackers clean Beaches, reefs Charles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Volunteers with the Sustainable Sister Islands GREEN Team have been busy cleaning up the beaches this spring, and members continue their monthly underwater cleanups in the cuts and reefs around several boat ramps. Eight volunteers have been working to clear Long Beach of litter, and they say the northeast and southeast coasts are now trash-free. In a press release, the group called for divers and other volunteers to help with the underwater cleanup on June 9. Nina Banks, who or- ganizes the underwater cleanups each month, said fishermen frequently leave bottles, cans, fishing line and other trash on the sea floor near the docks. “Divers and snorkelers from all over the world don’t want to see our trash,” she said. The next cleanup is scheduled for 11 a.m. on June 9. Volunteers may call Ms. Banks for details at 928-0507. In addition to divers, the group is looking for shoreline as- sistance, snorkelers and boaters to help divers move the trash to shore.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Monday May 25, 2015 • Cayman Compass The Camelot Auction Sponsored by: Friday 29th May 2015 @ The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Cocktail hour from 6:30pm – 7:30pm Dress code Black Tie or Theme Oriented RSVP: krissieford@gmail.com With an array of international entertainers, from all over the globe, you don’t want to miss this. Be there to experience an amazing and incredible fun event. For more information call 928-9723. The Rotary Club Of Grand Cayman Presents Grand Cayman’s number one premier charity auction and dinner He said all the legislators were well aware of the many people who were finding it difficult to survive. “People are knocking on our doors every day because living is out of reach for them,” he said, noting that the roughly $8 million earmarked for various forms of poor re- lief in the budget was a clear indication of the needs of the Caymanian people. He said the government often spoke about many ini- tiatives to support busi- nesses but didn’t talk about supporting people. Mr. McLean said the gov- ernment needed fortitude to stand fast with proposed amendments to the Labour Law, which among other things would create a min- imum wage in the Cayman Islands for the first time. He said that two times be- fore, the members of the Legislative Assembly had agreed that significant changes affecting employees were needed, but the gov- ernment backed down when pressured by businesses. He warned that “lobbyists” will approach government again. “They will come out of the woodwork like lice … like dragons breathing fire,” he said. “They’re coming. I’ve seen it happen twice. They come in the middle of the night cloaked in black. Sometimes they come bearing gifts, too.” East End Pursuant to section 47(3) of the Cayman Islands Constitution, which allows for a member or members of an electoral district not rep- resented in Cabinet to attend a Cabinet meeting every three months to make representa- tions with respect to mat- ters affecting their district, Mr. McLean said that he has attended Cabinet five times since the Progressives-led government came to power. He said that each time he has asked for some basic up- grades to two public facilities in particular, but as of yet, the government hasn’t acted to address the items. One thing he believes needs to be done is deep- ening the area around the boat ramp at East End Heritage Park so that bigger boats can use the ramp. Now, Mr. McLean explained when later asked for clarifica- tion, the area is too shallow to be useful and even some of smaller boats are dam- aged when they try to use it. The problem has been known for many years, Mr. McLean said, and the gov- ernment has gone so far as to put a project to rectify the problem out to tender, with the lowest bid coming in just under $30,000. However, even with government finances improving and a surplus budget forecast, the govern- ment won’t fund the project. “You can’t find $30,000 to deepen the ramp at East End? Is that fair to the people of East End?” he asked. Other than budgeting money to maintain the ex- isting public buildings in East End, the government is spending nothing in East End, Mr. McLean said. “There are no capital works going on in my con- stituency,” he said. Another point of con- tention for Mr. McLean is the government’s failure to construct changing rooms and toilets at the Donovan Rankine Play Field in East End, despite years of re- quests. Later responding to a request for further infor- mation, Mr. McLean said it was unacceptable for the sports facility, which is sanc- tioned for tournament foot- ball, not to have any toilets or a changing room. “Yet they can spend $100,000 on public bath- rooms in Bodden Town,” he said, adding that the sports facilities in Cayman Brac all have changing rooms as well. During his budget de- bate, Mr. McLean said the minister of sports [Osbourne Bodden] had told him, hand on heart, that funding for construction of the changing room was in this year’s budget. However, the funding was later “chopped” from the budget. “What kind of people are you anyway?” he asked of the government. “You must practice what you preach. You’re worse than the [United Democratic Party]. That’s the kind of government we have; a government that brags about a surplus.” McLean: Government neglecting East End HospiceCare names new director of operations Cayman HospiceCare has named Danielle Coleman as its new director of operations and development. Ms. Coleman will be working with the board of di- rectors to ensure successful day-to-day management of HospiceCare and will oversee fundraising efforts to sup- port the organization, an on- going activity, according to a press release. Ms. Coleman has exten- sive experience working in the humanitarian sector in the Cayman Islands and overseas, specifically in areas relating to disaster response and risk reduction, human rights, gender equality, dis- abilities and sexual violence, HospiceCare said in the press release. She holds master’s de- grees in law and in under- standing and securing human rights. She qualified as an at- torney in 2003, but left the legal profession to assist in a dive recovery program in post-tsunami Thailand. Since then, she has worked for the Human Rights Committee, the British Red Cross, the Cayman Islands Red Cross and the Red Cross’s inter- national, regional and na- tional emergency response teams. She is also a Rotary International Peace Fellow. Ms. Coleman’s other community involvement has included serving as di- rector of the Estella Scott Roberts Foundation and No Strings puppet charity, and as a volunteer for the Legal Befrienders’ clinic for more than 10 years. She is a qualified yoga instructor and currently co-teaches at Fairbanks Women’s Prison. On behalf of the HospiceCare board, Christopher Duggan, board chairman, said he is delighted to have Ms. Coleman onboard. “Danielle’s expertise and experience will help to grow our organization and will move it forward as we con- tinue to provide invalu- able and much-needed hos- pice and palliative care to the people of the Cayman Islands. We … wish her well in her new role.” Ms. Coleman said, “It is a real honor to be joining such an extraordinary team and being part of the work that Cayman HospiceCare does for our community. I have seen firsthand the pas- sion and care that Cayman HospiceCare gives when nurses cared for my own family members a few years ago. I am forever grateful for the service provided and for the nurses who work tire- lessly to ensure that pa- tients and their families are supported during such a difficult time.” Ms. Coleman acknowl- edged her predecessor, Jennifer Grant-McCarthy, saying, “There is no de- nying that I have big shoes to fill. Cayman HospiceCare has come a very long way over the last decade, thanks to Jennifer [and others]. I look forward to carrying on their good work and taking HospiceCare to the next step with our new multipur- pose building that will be breaking ground in the near future.” Cayman HospiceCare, a not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to providing dig- nified, quality comfort care, free of charge, to everyone in the Cayman Islands living with end-stage diseases. Presently the organiza- tion is focusing on the launch of the Watercolours cal- endar on May 26 and Voices for Hospice – “A Night on Broadway,” a musical cel- ebration of life scheduled for Oct. 9 and 10 at the Prospect Playhouse. Mr. McLean “A surplus budget at the expense of whom?” MLA ArdEn McLEAn CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 PiPeline that leaked did not have auto shut-off LOS ANGELES (AP) — The pipeline that leaked thou- sands of gallons of oil on the California coast was the only pipe of its kind in the county not required to have an automatic shut-off valve because of a court fight nearly three decades ago, a county official said. The original owner of the pipeline skirted the Santa Barbara County require- ment by successfully ar- guing in court in the late 1980s that it should be sub- ject to federal oversight be- cause the pipeline is part of an interstate network, said Kevin Drude, deputy di- rector of the county’s Energy and Minerals Division. Auto shut-off valves are not re- quired by federal regulators. “It’s the only major pipe- line that doesn’t have auto shut-off,” Drude said. “For us, it’s routine.” Federal reg- ulators are investigating the cause of Tuesday’s leak that spilled up to 105,000 gal- lons of crude oil from an un- derground pipe into a cul- vert and as much as 21,000 gallons into the ocean at Refugio State Beach. The spill killed untold numbers of fish, at least five pelicans and a sea lion. It also mired other wildlife, in- cluding an elephant seal, in the muck. Plains All American Pipeline was still draining the pipe and trying to locate the leak Saturday. Federal regulators ordered the com- pany to remove the dam- aged section and send it to a lab for tests on the metal, along with a series of other steps before it could resume pumping oil through the pipe to inland refineries. Plains said the pipe- line had one valve to shut it down if oil flowed in the op- posite direction and three valves controlled by opera- tors in its Midland, Texas, control room. Plains defended its people approach to manually shut- ting down the system, saying it’s the standard across the country for liquid pipelines. “It is much safer for op- erators who understand the operations of the pipeline to shut it down following a planned sequence of steps than for a computer to au- tomatically close a valve on oil that is traveling in con- fined space at high pres- sure,” Patrick Hodgins, the company’s senior director of safety, said Saturday. “This is all standard operating proce- dures within our industry.”The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Monday May 25, 2015 IN CASH AND RANDOM PRIZES! $100,000 2015 REGISTER ONLINE: flowersseaswim.com Entry Fee CI$30 or US$37.50 ALL REGISTRATION PROCEEDS TO SPECIAL OLYMPICS CAYMAN ISLANDS Swim and win! June 13, 2015 23rd Annual Flowers One Mile Sea Swim June 15, 2015 Flowers International 5k & 10k Swims • Over 40 airline tickets to 23 destinations including Europe, North America and The Caribbean • Weekend stays at The Reef resort, Hemingways Vouchers and weekend rentals by National Car Rentals • Gift certificates from Red Sail Sports, Dolphin Discovery and Anytime Fitness • Blackberries, Smart Phones and Digicel Tablets • Special prizes from Flowers Group and more... Beach Resort, came in second for 2015, with KPMG third, dms fourth, Conyers, Dill & Pearman were awarded fifth place and Elian, sixth. In the small/medium organiza- tion category, CML Offshore Recruitment was second, BDO came third, the Ministry of Home Affairs was fourth and the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, fifth. Recipients in both categories received a trophy in addition to the right to call themselves a Top Employer. This year, the society in- troduced a new award called CAHRE (CISHRP Awards for Human Resources Excellence) in order to honor companies and individuals in the human resources industry, splitting these awards into five cat- egories. The Best Training Program award went to the National Gallery; the Best Community and Corporate Responsibility Initiative went to KPMG; dms was awarded for Best Wellness Program; and Walkers took the top spot for Excellence in Talent Management and Retention. Talent Specialist with dms, Janelle Muttoo, won the HR Young Talent of the Year award and was particularly praised for her leadership skills. In addition to the excite- ment of the award presenta- tions, the audience enjoyed an uplifting keynote ad- dress from Darrell “Coach D” Andrews, an internation- ally acclaimed motivational strategist, speaker, account- ability coach and author. He presented some items from his soon-to-be-re- leased book, “Teamwork that Makes the Dreamwork (The Power of Organizational Core Values).” ■■ The Health City hotel, slated for construction to begin this year ■■ A proposed hotel for Beach Bay in Bodden Town, cur- rently in the discussion phase. ■■ The proposed Ironwood golf resort in the eastern districts, still in the dis- cussion phase. The minister also high- lighted the rebranding of the Reef Resort as a Wyndham property, bringing a new global brand to the islands. “Investments on this scale are encouraging news and should be construed as a re- alistic indication of the level of confidence investors have in our jurisdiction,” he said. Outside of the Kimpton, the Treasure Island recon- struction, the Health City hotel and the old Hyatt de- velopment were highlighted as the most imminent of the planned developments. The minister again cau- tioned that the rise in tourist arrivals would start to pla- teau over the next two years, until new hotels and condos could be built. He forecast growth of 3 percent to 4 per- cent in 2015. “While this is not the double-digit increase we have aimed for and achieved in previous years, it is still a re- spectable target, and there is a very good reason for it. We have reached the saturation point and are experiencing the first signs of limitations in capacity,” he added. He said new properties would significantly contribute to adding to the 5,200 rooms currently available across the islands. “They will also add a healthy mix of three-, four- and five-star brands to attract a wider cross-section of visi- tors. But it will take two years for these to start coming on stream and before we begin to see any significant measur- able benefits.” In the interim, the minister said focus is on improving marketing in secondary des- tinations, opening up ac- cess from the West Coast of the U.S. and improving slow season numbers through weddings and sports events. Baraud won the CISHRP Top Employer award for a small- or medium-sized business. - Photos: Maggie Jackson An award-winning weekend: Top Employer award goes to Scotiabank Janelle Muttoo was awarded HR Young Talent of the Year. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Tourism development boom highlighted CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Mr. KirkconnellThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Monday May 25, 2015 • Cayman Compass Local elections in Spain Spaniards were voting Sunday in local elections that could see two upstart parties end nearly four decades of dominance by the ruling conservative Popular Party and its rival, the center-left Socialists. Gays wake up to changed Ireland, let ‘new normal’ sink in DUBLIN (AP) — The gay couples of Ireland woke up Sunday in what felt like a nation reborn – some with dreams of wedding plans dancing in their heads. Many weren’t rising too early, however, after cele- brating the history-making outcome of Ireland’s refer- endum enshrining gay mar- riage in the constitution. The festivities began when the final result – 62 percent approval – was announced Saturday night, and ran until sunrise in some corners of Dublin, with tens of thousands of revelers of all sexual identities pouring onto the streets. The unexpectedly strong willingness of Irish voters to change their conservative 1937 constitution is expected to lead to a wave of gay wed- dings in Ireland in the fall. The Justice Department con- firmed Sunday it plans to publish a marriage bill this week, and with the support of all political parties, it should be passed by parliament and signed into law by June. For Ireland’s most prom- inent gay couple, Sen. Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan, this victory is emotionally overwhelming. Since 2003 they have fought for legal recognition of their Canadian marriage. They took their case all the way to the Supreme Court, but suffered only setbacks and delays. Now, their day has come. “For so long, I’ve been having to dig in my heels and say … Well, we ARE mar- ried. I’m a married woman!” said Zappone, a Seattle na- tive who resettled with her Irish spouse in Dublin three decades ago. “Now that it has happened, at a personal level, it’s just going to take a long time to let that acceptance sink in.” Zappone and Gilligan thrilled a crowd of thou- sands packed into the results center at Dublin Castle with a playful promise to renew their vows. Zappone dramat- ically broke off from a live TV interview, stared directly into the camera and asked Gilligan to marry her all over again. Gilligan declared to the rainbow flag-waving rev- elers: “I said yes to Katherine 12 years ago at our marriage in Canada. And now we are bringing the ‘yes’ back home to Ireland, our country of Ireland! Yes, yes, yes!” In a more sober mood Sunday, the couple reflected on their long road to so- cial acceptance, the unprece- dented joy of the “yes” victory – and the legal work that re- mains to be done before they can get officially hitched in Ireland later this year. “It took us hours to get a taxi [Saturday night] because so many people came up to us in tears, wanting to talk to us. They now felt so much freer, and proud,” said Zappone, who became Ireland’s first openly lesbian lawmaker when Prime Minister Enda Kenny appointed her to the Senate in 2011. “There aren’t that many moments in life where you are surrounded with an exu- berance of joy. These are rare moments. … We are now en- tering a new Ireland,” said Gilligan, a former Loreto nun who left the order in her mid- 20s to pursue social justice projects as a lay Catholic. She wasn’t sure about her sexu- ality until Zappone walked into their first doctoral the- ology class together at Boston College in 1981. “The door opened, and this gorgeous woman came in. I didn’t know I was lesbian. I’m a late learner,” Gilligan recalled with a laugh. “I fell in love with Katherine, and I went for it. I simply adored her, and I wanted to be with her forever and ever, and here we are!” They married in Vancouver and sued Ireland in hopes of winning legal recognition, but in 2006 the High Court ruled that Irish law – while never explicit in defining marriage as solely between a man and woman – universally understood this to be the case. The Supreme Court sidestepped their ap- peal in 2012. Months later Gilligan, who is in her late 60s, suf- fered a brain hemorrhage and was hospitalized. Zappone, yet again, faced bureaucratic presumptions when trying to see her wife, since hospital admissions didn’t recognize her as a spouse or family member. She could have lied and said they had an Irish- recognized civil partner- ship, a weaker form of mar- riage-style contract enacted into Irish law in 2010, but Zappone insisted on stating uncomfortable reality: “In those moments, I am married to her, and you have to recog- nize that,” she recalled. The medical staff under- stood and, after Zappone had spent five weeks at Gilligan’s bedside, one of their Chinese doctors wrote them a long note of appreciation, wishing he had what they had. What they won’t have, for many months to come, is an Irish-recognized marriage. Article 41 of the family section of Ireland’s consti- tution now reads, “Marriage may be contracted in accor- dance with law by two per- sons without distinction as to their sex.” But Zappone and her par- liamentary colleagues must pass a same-sex marriage bill. Unlike in many other countries, the change faces no significant parliamentary opposition. Potentially thorny issues such as divorce – nar- rowly legalized in a 1995 referendum – and adoption shouldn’t pose roadblocks. Parliament recently passed another bill permitting cou- ples and single people to adopt regardless of gender, reflecting the reality that more than a third of Irish children are being raised out of wedlock. “Technically and legally we’ll probably have to wait until towards the end of the year,” Zappone said. “Then we’ll head towards the big day.” By then, several com- mentators have noted, a new generation of Irish people should already be ac- cepting the sight of a gay couple holding hands in the street, or exchanging their vows and kissing in front of their families. “We’ve made it clear to the world that there is a new normal – that ‘ordinary’ is a big, capacious word that em- braces and rejoices in the nat- ural diversity of humanity. LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people are now a fully acknowledged part of the wonderful ordinariness of Irish life,” wrote Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole. “LGBT people are us: our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and sis- ters, neighbors and friends. We were given the chance to say that. We were asked to replace tolerance with the equality of citizen- ship,” O’Toole wrote. “And we took it in both arms and hugged it close.” Yes supporters celebrate after the final result at Dublin castle on Saturday. Ireland voted resoundingly to Dutch prime minister thanks American liberators MARGRATEN, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte paid tribute Sunday at a Memorial Day ceremony to U.S. troops who fought and died liberating the Netherlands from Nazi occu- pation in World War II, while NATO’s supreme commander said the fight to defend freedom continues to this day. Thousands of people sat under blue skies and wispy white clouds for Sunday’s ceremony at the American cemetery in Margraten, a manicured patch of 65.5 acres in the rolling hills of the southern province of Limburg that contains 8,301 headstones. The cemetery is on land close to the Dutch border with Germany that was liber- ated from Nazi occupation on Sept. 13, 1944, by the U.S. 30th Infantry Division. “We say thank you to our liberators,” Rutte said. “Thank you for enabling us to stand here today in freedom, and we bow our heads in memory of the fallen.” Among the thousands of people attending the solemn ceremony were orphans of soldiers who were buried or are listed as missing at Margraten. Arthur Chotin, whose fa- ther was killed in a jeep ac- cident in the aftermath of the war and is buried at Margraten, thanked Dutch families who have adopted all of the graves at the ceme- tery, helping to keep alive the memory of the dead. “Even though I didn’t know him, I think of him al- most every day. What he missed and what my mother and I missed,” Chotin said. “So here I am. 70 years old, more than twice the age of the father I never played catch with, never argued with, never even hugged. And the single thought in my mind today is that I hope he would be proud of me. “Oh, the power these dead have over those they left be- hind.” NATO’s supreme com- mander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, reminded the crowd that the freedom Allied soldiers died defending in World War II cannot be taken for granted. “Recent world events have shown us the concept of armed conflict in Europe remains possible,” he said. “We must be vigilant if we are going to preserve democ- racy and freedom,” Breedlove said. “It is important that we celebrate the courage of the youth of yesterday but we must also support the youth of today as our service members continue to defend the values forever enshrined here.” “We say thank you to our liberators. Thank you for enabling us to stand here today in freedom, and we bow our heads in memory of the fallen.” Mark rutte, Dutch prime minister Canadian World War II veteran Stanley Fields salutes during another Memorial Day ceremony at the Holten, Netherlands, Canadian War Cemetery. - Photo: AP/SeAn KilPAtricK,the cAnAdiAn PreSS9 WORLD&REGIONAL Cayman Compass • Monday May 25, 2015 Streets calm after 71 arrested in Cleveland protests CLEVELAND (AP) — The streets returned to calm Sunday after police ar- rested dozens of demonstra- tors overnight when protests grew increasingly aggressive in the wake of a patrolman’s acquittal in the deaths of two unarmed black suspects. In total, 71 people were ar- rested, including several who turned their anger toward bystanders in downtown Cleveland, Police Chief Calvin Williams said. Someone picked up a restaurant sign and hit a patron in the head, and other protesters used pepper spray on passers-by and restaurant patrons sitting at outdoor cafes. But Mayor Frank Jackson thanked the vast majority of protesters who remained peaceful and respectful as they voiced their frustration with Saturday’s verdict. Officer Michael Brelo, 31, faces administrative charges while remaining suspended without pay after he was found not guilty on two counts of voluntary man- slaughter, but he no longer faces the prospect of prison. The anxious city now awaits a decision on criminal charges against a white of- ficer in the fatal shooting of a black 12-year-old boy with a pellet gun. Brelo and 12 other offi- cers fired 137 shots at a car with Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams inside it on Nov. 29, 2012. The shooting occurred at the end of a 22- mile chase involving more than 100 Cleveland police of- ficers and 60 cruisers after Russell’s Chevy Malibu back- fired while speeding past po- lice headquarters. During the chase, an officer reported that he thought he’d seen Williams with a gun. At the end, police mistook police gunfire for shots from Russell’s car. Brelo fired 49 of those shots that night, but it was the final 15 fired into the windshield while he stood on the hood of Russell’s car that led to his indictment and a four-week trial. He faced up to 22 years in prison if con- victed on both counts. The shooting helped prompt an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice that concluded Cleveland po- lice had engaged in a pat- tern and practice of excessive use of force and violations of people’s civil rights. Jackson said protesters were encouraged to con- tinue expressing their opin- ions as long as they stayed peaceful. Williams said police only moved in Saturday when things got violent and people refused to disperse. “We want to make sure that people understand we’re going to help you in this pro- cess but if things turn vio- lent, as we stated in the be- ginning, we will take action to preserve safety in the city,” Williams said. The protests erupted as authorities work to complete an investigation into the Tamir Rice shooting, the find- ings of which will be given to the prosecutor’s office to de- cide whether to pursue crim- inal charges. Alicia Kirkman, 47, of Cleveland, said she joined the march in honor of her son, killed in a police shooting eight years ago. “I’m just so mad we never get justice from any of the police killings,” said Kirkman, who said she settled with the city after her son’s death but no charges were filed. The judge said in his ruling that he wouldn’t “sac- rifice” Brelo to the wave of anti-police sentiment that has swept across the nation in the wake of other police related deaths. While pro- tests in cities like Baltimore, New York City and Ferguson, Missouri, have erupted into violence, the demonstrations in Cleveland didn’t escalate. The judge’s decision to ac- quit Brelo focused on which shots killed Russell, 43, and Williams, 30, two homeless drug addicts with a long his- tory of mental illness. Four of the 23 gunshot wounds to Russell and seven of Williams’s 24 wounds were believed to have been fatal. Judge John P. O’Donnell said in his 35-page verdict that while testimony showed Brelo fired some of the fatal shots, other officers fired kill shots as well. A grand jury charged five police supervisors with mis- demeanor dereliction of duty for failing to control the chase. All five have pleaded not guilty and no trial date has been set. Prosecutors had argued that when Brelo stood on the hood of the Malibu that he meant to kill Russell and Williams instead of con- taining a threat to his and other officers’ lives. O’Donnell ruled that even the last 15 shots were justified based on Brelo’s belief that someone inside the car had fired at po- lice at the beginning, middle and end of the chase. “Officer Brelo risked his life on that night,” Brelo’s lead attorney, Patrick D’Angelo, said after the verdict. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty said he respected O’Donnell’s decision, and added that the case would prevent police violence. In addition to the Tamir Rice case, the county prose- cutor’s office is looking into the death of a black woman who died in police custody while lying face first on the ground in handcuffs. The family of Tanisha Anderson, 37, has sued the city of Cleveland and the two po- lice officers who subdued her. They say she panicked Nov. 12 when officers put her in the back of a patrol car after they’d responded to a call about Anderson having a mental health crisis. Russell’s sister, Michelle, said Brelo would ultimately face justice, despite the judge’s decision. The city of Cleveland has paid the fam- ilies of Russell and Williams a total of $3 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit. “He’s not going to dodge this just because he was ac- quitted,” Michelle Russell said. “God will have the final say.” Mayor Frank Jackson thanked the vast majority of protesters who remained peaceful and respectful as they voiced their frustration with Saturday’s verdict. Demonstrators pause at the entrance to the Cuyahoga County Justice Center as police stand guard during a protest against the acquittal of Michael Brelo. - Photo: AP US defense chief: Iraq’s ‘will to fight’ at issue WASHINGTON (AP) — The Islamic State group’s take- over of the provincial cap- ital Ramadi is stark evidence that Iraqi forces lack the “will to fight,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter acknowl- edged, a harsh assessment that raised new questions about the Obama administra- tion’s strategy to defeat the ex- tremist group that has seized a strategically important swath of the Middle East. Although Iraqi soldiers “vastly outnumbered” their op- position in the capital of Anbar province, they quickly with- drew last Sunday without put- ting up much resistance from the city in Iraq’s Sunni heart- land, Carter said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” The inter- view aired on Sunday. The Iraqis left behind large numbers of U.S.-supplied ve- hicles, including several tanks, now presumed to be in Islamic State hands. “What apparently hap- pened is the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight,” Carter said. “They were not outnum- bered; in fact, they vastly outnumbered the opposing force. That says to me, and I think to most of us, that we have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and defend themselves.” The White House declined to comment on Sunday. Iraqi lawmaker Hakim al- Zamili, the head of the par- liamentary defense and secu- rity committee, called Carter’s comments “unrealistic and baseless,” in an interview with The Associated Press. “The Iraqi army and po- lice did have the will to fight IS group in Ramadi, but these forces lack good equipment, weapons and aerial support,” he said. American officials say they are sending anti-tank weapons to the Iraqi mili- tary. But they also noted that Iraqi forces were not routed from Ramadi – they left of their own accord, frightened in part by a powerful wave of Islamic State group suicide truck bombs, some the size of the one that destroyed the federal building in Oklahoma City two decades ago, said a senior State Department of- ficial who spoke to reporters last week under ground rules he not be named. “The ISF was not driven out of Ramadi,” Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week. “They drove out of Ramadi.” A senior defense of- ficial noted that the troops who fled Ramadi had not been trained by the U.S. or its coali- tion partners. The official was not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Still, the fall of Ramadi has sparked renewed questions about the effectiveness of the Obama administration’s ap- proach in Iraq, a blend of re- training and rebuilding the Iraqi army, prodding Baghdad to reconcile with the nation’s Sunnis and bombing Islamic State group targets from the air without committing American ground combat troops. Obama’s approach is predi- cated on the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad granting political concessions to the country’s alienated Sunnis, who are a source of personnel and money for the Islamic State group. But there has been little visible prog- ress on that front. Baghdad has continued to work closely with Shiite-dominated mili- tias backed by Iran, which have been accused of atrocities against Sunnis, a religious mi- nority that ruled Iraq for cen- turies until Saddam Hussein. The U.S. has sought to reach out on its own to Sunni tribes and is training some Sunni fighters, but those ef- forts have been limited by the small number of American troops on the ground. Carter defended the use of U.S. airstrikes, but he said they are not a replacement for Iraqi ground forces willing to de- fend their country. “We can participate in the defeat of ISIL,” he said. “But we can’t make Iraq … a decent place for people to live – we can’t sustain the victory, only the Iraqis can do that and, in particular in this case, the Sunni tribes to the West.” American intelligence offi- cials have assessed for some time that Iraq is unlikely ever again to function as the multi- ethnic nation-state it once was, and that any future po- litical arrangement would have to grant significant local autonomy to the three main groups – Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. But the Obama administration has con- tinued to pursue a “one Iraq” policy, routing all assistance through Baghdad. Over the past year defeated Iraq security forces have re- peatedly left U.S.-supplied mil- itary equipment on the bat- tlefield, which the U.S. has targeted in subsequent air- strikes against Islamic State forces. The Pentagon this past week estimated that when Iraqi troops abandoned Ramadi, they left behind a half-dozen tanks, a similar number of artillery pieces, a larger number of armored per- sonnel carriers and about 100 wheeled vehicles like Humvees. “What apparently happened is the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight.” Ash CArter, U.S. Secretary of DefenseNext >