ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Monday June 8, 2015 In Memoriam Free speech in the Cayman Islands June 5, 2015 Please see Page 32 LOCAL&REGIONAL Monday June 8, 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 SPY (R) 1:00 I 3:50 I 7 :10 I 9:55 SAN ANDREAS 3D (PG13) 12:45 I 3:20 2D I 7:15 I 9:50 2D PITCH PERFECT 2 (PG13) 1:10 I 4:10 I 7:15 I 9:50 ENTOURAGE (R) 1:15 I 3:45 I 7:20 I 10:05 TOMORROWLAND (PG) 1:00 I 3:55 I 6:50 I 9:45 POLTERGEIST 3D (PG13) 12:30 I 2:50 2D I 5:10 I 7:30 2D I 10:00 SEVEN MILE BEACH WATERFRONT WALKERS ROAD TOWN CENTRE PLAZA SEVE N M I LE B EAC H WATE R FRONT WALKE RS ROAD TOWN C E NTR E PLAZA Heavy rains flood roads, threaten homes Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Another round of persis- tent rains pounded Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac Friday, closing roads and flooding some homes. Cayman Islands Hazard Management officials said the Red Cross shelter on the second floor of the agency’s Huldah Avenue building reopened on Friday night, after a few hours of the heavy rains washed out already in- undated areas of George Town and West Bay. The storm was produced by the same weather system that brought more than 10 inches of rain to Cayman early last Tuesday. Some of the flooded roads included Anthony Drive, Washington Boulevard, Smith Road and sections of West Bay. Also, several main roads between George Town and Red Bay were covered with water in Friday night’s storms and remained so through most of Saturday, even after the rain stopped. Areas of George Town dis- trict lost power at the height of the storm Friday night, but power was restored in most areas by Saturday. Scientists hunt for sea sponges that fight cancer, other diseases FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Think of it as drawing medi- cine from the sea. Florida Atlantic University scientists have developed a sophisticated device that al- lows them to inspect ocean reefs and collect sponges with chemicals to fight an array of diseases, from Alzheimer’s to cancer. Scientists have long known that plants and ani- mals from the sea produce compounds that can combat viruses, heart disease, pain, and other ailments. For the past three decades, FAU sci- entists have zeroed in on sponges, which are living ani- mals known as invertebrates. Different sponges pro- duce different chemicals. For instance, sponges off Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale were found to have chemicals that fight pancreatic cancer. Another sponge, which makes its home in deep ocean waters, has been used in the treatment of breast cancer. A third sponge that lives off Fort Pierce and in the Keys has been used to fight ovarian cancer. How and why the sponges produce the beneficial chemi- cals is largely unknown. But it’s suspected the compounds aid in their survival, either to ward off enemies or enhance their offspring. “We don’t know why they’re making the chemi- cals, we just take advan- tage of the fact they are doing it,” said Amy Wright, a research professor at Boca Raton-based FAU. FAU’s new $175,000 con- traption, basically an under- water vacuum cleaner, was used this month for the first time in the Gulf of Mexico. “It’s incredibly cool,” said Wright. “If you find something you want, you apply a strong vacuum to bring up samples, and that helps science.” Called a tool sled, the de- vice is part of a larger robotic water vehicle equipped with video to spot and document ocean reefs. The robotic ve- hicle is tethered to a 96-foot research ship. After the sled approaches a reef, scientists lower what looks like the muzzle of a vacuum cleaner to suck up a sponge and place it in a spe- cial basket. The chemicals from the sponges then are extracted, analyzed and broken down into a form they can be used to develop drugs to fight spe- cific medical problems. “It’s hard to predict which sponge has the com- ponents for the treatment you’re looking for, so we try to collect as many dif- ferent sponges as we can,” Wright said. FAU previously deployed submersibles with a person inside to collect more than 30,000 sponge samples. To make the process more efficient, the FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce de- signed and built the tool sled with help from FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and the University of North Carolina Wilmington. So far, scientists have found the sled makes it easier to spot sponges and pull them from hard-to-reach places, said Dennis Hanisak, an FAU research professor. “The sled is basically a suction pump that has vari- able speeds, so you can use a lot of pressure if you need to,” he said. “It also al- lows us to look up-close and take video.” In addition to searching for sponges, FAU is mapping and documenting deepwater coral reefs and fishing habi- tats under a program funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Jury notice Grand Court jurors who are in the April 1 to June 30 session are now to report on Tuesday, June 16, at 9:45 a.m. Please call the Jury Information line at 945-5072 for the most up-to-date information. Floodwater in some areas of George Town, pictured here on Bobby Thompson Way across from the George Town Cricket Pitch on Thursday, remained long after the rains had passed. - Photo: taneos Ramsay A scientist places a sponge in a jar to be tested. - Photo: aP Gov’t woRkeRs waRned of Potential fRaud (AP) — An immense hack of millions of gov- ernment personnel files is being treated as the work of foreign spies who could use the information to fake their way into more-secure computers and plunder U.S. secrets. Federal employees were told in a video Friday to change all their passwords, put fraud alerts on their credit reports and watch for attempts by foreign in- telligence services to ex- ploit them. That message came from Dan Payne, a senior counterintelligence official for the Director of National Intelligence. “Some of you may think that you are not of in- terest because you don’t have access to classified information,” he said. “You are mistaken.” Federal officials said Friday the cyber attack ap- peared to have originated in China, but they didn’t point fingers directly at the Chinese government. The Chinese said any such ac- cusation would be “irre- sponsible and unscientific.” “We know that the attack occurred from somewhere in China, but we don’t know whether it was an individual or a group or a nation- state attack,” said Rep. Jim Langevin, a Rhode Island Democrat and leading voice in Congress on cybersecu- rity. He added, though that it had “all the hallmarks of a nation-state attack.” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he couldn’t divulge much while the case was under investigation. Still, he noted that investigators “are aware of the threat that is emanating from China.”3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday June 8, 2015 Premier calls anti-corruption editorial ‘treasonous’ Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin on Friday accused Cayman’s oldest news- paper and its publisher, David R. Legge, of committing a “reckless … treasonous attack on the Cayman Islands and on all the people of Cayman.” Premier McLaughlin’s comments were made during the Legislative Assembly’s Finance Committee in re- sponse to an editorial pub- lished by the Cayman Compass on Wednesday, June 3. The editorial, which is an opinion piece, was in relation to the ongoing FIFA corrup- tion and bribery scandal and took a stance against various reports of corrupt acts in the country, including those that have been alleged in U.S. fed- eral court indictments against former FIFA vice president and Cayman Islands resident Jeffrey Webb. “The sad fact is that [Mr. Legge] does know what the reality is – he knows. And so, because he knows, the Compass editorial is not only reckless, it must be inter- preted as a treasonous attack on the Cayman Islands and on all the people of Cayman,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “[The editorial] is a direct attack on everyone who lives here, who works here, who invests here, who has a business here, who serves on public boards, who works in the public sector, who works in financial ser- vices, who works in tourism and it is a full frontal as- sault on the many busi- nesses which pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Cayman Compass every year in advertising fees.” Following the comments of Premier McLaughlin on Friday, Mr. Legge and his wife, Mrs. Vicki Legge, who serves as co-publisher of the Compass, were placed under 24-hour protective guard by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service and flew to a location in the United States on Saturday. “The premier must be aware of the irony of his re- marks,” Mr. Legge said. “The editorial to which he took such umbrage addresses the need to eliminate corrup- tion in the Cayman Islands (and by inference, elsewhere). Mr. McLaughlin himself cam- paigned in no small measure on the exact same theme in the run-up to his election in 2013. “Further, the editorial was in perfect harmony with re- marks to be delivered yes- terday by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to the heads of the G7 countries meeting in Germany. According to the BBC, Mr. Cameron was to urge a ‘global crackdown on the “cancer” of corruption.’ “In Mr. Cameron’s words: ‘We just don’t talk enough about corruption. This has got to change. We have to show some of the same courage that exposed FIFA and break the international taboo on pointing the finger at corrupt institutions.’ “He concluded: ‘World leaders simply cannot dodge this issue any longer.’” The Compass editorial, en- titled ‘Corruption: An insid- ious, creeping crime’ stated the following in its second paragraph: “Whether it’s se- curing a vehicular inspection sticker, an exemption to devel- opment regulations, approval for work permits, the support of a particular bloc of voters, or, allegedly, millions of dol- lars in bribes in relation to sporting events – lurking be- hind the scenes are shadows of impropriety, influence and inscrutability. Because such behavior is so commonplace, we tend to ‘normalize it,’ re- fusing even to recognize it, or neglecting to see how aber- rant it really is. In the 1990s, U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan called this ‘de- fining deviancy down.’ In Cayman, we’re more likely to attribute such behavior to ‘cultural differences.’” Mr. Legge said the pre- mier “implied” in his remarks to the House that the June 3 editorial was “accusing all Caymanians of corruption.” “He knows that is not true and was himself engaging in corruption – corruption of the language,” Mr. Legge said. “Nearly all Caymanians are hardworking law-abiding people. That has been our experience in more than 25 years of living on this island. “The issue the Compass was raising, and we stand by it, is that too often the law-abiding among us – Caymanian and other- wise – encounter corrup- tion and avert their eyes or turn their heads, accepting it as a cultural norm or ‘business as usual.’ “As does David Cameron, we reject that, as should our Premier, his government, and the Cayman people,” the publisher continued. “Unfortunately, we believe Mr. McLaughlin’s intem- perate remarks have set into motion a scenario that will result in incalculable harm to these islands.” In addition to the edi- torial, Compass staff re- porters have, over the past two weeks, revealed certain connections between the suspects in the FIFA probe and other criminal investi- gations ongoing in Cayman, and links between the fam- ilies of Webb’s close asso- ciates and Cayman’s finan- cial services regulator – the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. Editorially, the Compass has asked that the managing director of CIMA, Cindy Scotland, recuse her- self from any participation in regulatory matters regarding the FIFA scandal. It was the cultural com- ments, however, that ap- peared to anger Mr. McLaughlin on Friday. “Surely, the editor, for as long as he has been around these islands, must know and appreciate that I, as premier, and this government, and I daresay the governor and the U.K., would not stand idly by if the country was corrupt as [Mr. Legge] indicates,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “Mr. Legge must know better, and he does. And if he does know better, then one wonders why he would willingly encourage and give credence to those who do not mean us well or who care only for a sensa- tional news story today – re- gardless of whatever is true and good about these islands. “In these difficult days and in the weeks to come, when the world’s attention is trained on us, it is important for all of us in Cayman, but especially those in leadership and in the press, to main- tain our dignity and to pro- tect what we have worked so hard to build up – not by ig- noring a problem or covering up, but by standing firm in what we know to be true and resisting the cheap thrill of sensationalism. “The press has a right to speak freely, but they also have a duty to be fac- tual and to act responsibly. A free press is important to a free society, and I will de- fend at all times the need for a free press. But I will not sit by and say nothing when the Compass takes that freedom for granted and is as reck- less, disingenuous and irre- sponsible as was its editorial on Wednesday. “In the words of the great country music artist Merle Haggard: When you’re running down my country, man, you’re walking on the fighting side of me,” Mr. McLaughlin said. Mr. Legge characterized these comments by the pre- mier as “gratuitous.” “He pays homage to the principle of “free speech” and then adds a “but …,” Mr. Legge said. “Mr. McLaughlin should know, but apparently does not, that when it comes to free speech, there is no ‘but ….’ “It is true that ‘free speech’ and a ‘free press’ are governed by certain statutes, most no- tably defamation. We expect Mr. McLaughlin will become much more familiar with those statutes in coming days.” Premier: FOI ‘unproductive use of time’ Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Progressives political party, which first advocated for the creation and pas- sage of the Cayman Islands Freedom of Information Law a decade ago, may be having second thoughts, according to comments made by its leader in the Legislative Assembly. “The sheer number of Mickey Mouse FOI requests that are being submitted cre- ates such a burden on the system and on the people who have to [respond to them], what I call legitimate FOI requests are often not dealt with as expeditiously as they should be,” Premier Alden McLaughlin said Thursday during a meeting of the LA’s Finance Committee. “When the sheer volume of work and expense that is in- volved in answering ques- tions gets too great … the system starts to grind more slowly and more slowly. “There’s only so much in terms of resources that can be devoted in terms of dealing with FOI which, quite frankly and realistically from a country standpoint, is an unproductive use of time,” Premier McLaughlin said. “It’s part of the transpar- ency process, but it doesn’t achieve anything as far as the government, as delivery of services is concerned.” Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers, who was traveling out of the country at the time Mr. McLaughlin made his re- marks, said Friday that he was caught completely off-guard. “I am surprised that the premier has never shared these concerns with the infor- mation commissioner’s office,” Mr. Liebaers said. “I suppose government would like to be able to determine which re- quest is legitimate and which isn’t. Fortunately, that is not the system the FOI Law pro- vides for and it would not be a system worthy of any demo- cratic country. “There are adequate pro- tections against unreason- able requests already in place and any trained in- formation manager should know about them. If this is truly the opinion of the pre- mier towards the people’s right to open and transparent government that was voted unanimously by the LA in 2007, then that is very dis- appointing and it puts the recent considerations of the EY [consultant’s report] sug- gestions in a totally new and frightening light.” The debate During proceedings in the LA’s Finance Committee Thursday, North Side MLA Ezzard Miller asked for an update on amendments to the FOI Law which were sup- posed to have been made sometime in 2010, and whether anything could be done to speed up responses to open records requests. “The average civil servant, because the law and regula- tions says that they have to respond [to an open records request] within 30 days, you don’t normally get a reply until 29.5 days. And then they ask for an extension,” Mr. Miller said. “My concern is that there seems to be a growing resis- tance to responses in FOI and I don’t know what we can do about it.” Premier Alden McLaughlin, who via his su- pervision of the Cabinet Secretary’s office has re- sponsibility for FOI and data protection coordination, re- sponded that in his view, the FOI system was being abused, after which he made his “Mickey Mouse” com- ments detailed above. This response from the premier prompted Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush to shout from the benches across the floor: “What a dif- ference a day makes!” Mr. Bush had expressed many of the same concerns in 2010 as then-premier, stating that the FOI process was simply too much for “this little 2x4 country” and that people were using the law, which allows anyone in the world to request public Premier Alden McLaughlin PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » “[FOI is] part of the transparency process, but it doesn’t achieve anything as far as the government, as delivery of services is concerned.” Premier Alden mclAughlin Co-publishers David and Vicki Legge PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 »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. Monday June 8, 2015 • Cayman COmpass “As important as the [Freedom of Information] Bill is in the sense that it will give people real access to government information, I believe even more impor- tant is the statement that the passage of this Bill, just the passage of this Bill, will make about not just this Government and our commitment to openness and transparency; our commitment to eliminating corruption in government; our commitment to con- ducting the affairs of state honestly; our commitment to insisting on high standards of ethical conduct from Members of the Legislative Assembly and Ministers of Government; our zero tolerance for conflicts of interest between the private business of members of govern- ment and their public office; and our commitment to preventing abuse of office and authority and regarding such as unacceptable in Ministers and Members. “[T]hose are very, very important factors, factors which affect the quality of life in this jurisdiction, factors which influence the decisions of business leaders in this country. No government thus far, in the history of this country, has ever been prepared to swing wide the doors of the Glass House.” – Education Minister Alden McLaughlin, 2007 “There’s only so much in terms of resources that can be devoted in terms of dealing with FOI which, quite frankly and realistically from a country stand- point, is an unproductive use of time. It’s part of the transparency process, but it doesn’t achieve anything as far as the government, as delivery of services is concerned.” – Premier Alden McLaughlin, 2015 To quote Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush, “What a difference a day makes!” Upon passage of the legislation that created the Cayman Islands’ open records regime – a system that has been lauded by international experts as one of the Caribbean’s “greatest success stories – then-Minister Alden McLaughlin lauded it as “a signal moment in the development of this country as a progressive parlia- mentary democracy.” Now that he has been leader of a government forced to operate more in the sunlight than in the shadows, Mr. McLaughlin calls Freedom of Informa- tion a “burden.” (Perhaps … But how else would Atlas describe the weight of the entire world?) Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers, one of the primary architects, champions and exec- utors of Cayman’s FOI Law and its companion the National Archives and Public Records Law, responded to Mr. McLaughlin’s remarks most strongly: “I suppose government would like to be able to determine which request is legitimate and which isn’t. Fortu- nately, that is not the system the FOI Law provides for and it would not be a system worthy of any democratic country. “There are adequate protections against unreason- able requests already in place, and any trained infor- mation manager knows about them. If this is truly the opinion of the premier towards the people’s right to open and transparent government that was voted unanimously by the LA in 2007, then that is very dis- appointing and it puts the recent considerations of the EY [consultant’s report] suggestions in a totally new and frightening light.” Mr. Liebaers refers to the proposal, one of very few in the EY report that Mr. McLaughlin’s govern- ment has rushed to embrace, to merge (defang?) the public entities that function as government “watch- dogs” – the offices of the Information Commissioner, Complaints Commissioner, data protection (when it comes into force) and the police complaints commis- sion (when/if it comes into force). We would suggest government adopt a different approach and promote, not subordinate, transparency in the public sector. Start by removing the “Acting” that leads the title of Acting Information Commis- sioner Liebaers, who time and again has demon- strated, through word and deed, that he is the best person for the job – in the words of Mr. McLaughlin from 2007, “to tear off the shutters of the windows of the Glass House and let the sun shine in.” The premier and FOI: From ‘signal moment’ to ‘burden’ Technology is making the old gun debate moot Frank Wilkinson Bloomberg View The biggest challenge for those seeking to regulate firearms isn’t the gulf be- tween robust public support and anemic legislative sup- port for background checks. It’s not the National Rifle Association’s lobbying ma- chine or the hypocrisy of law- makers who legalize guns in bars but prohibit them from the state capitol. It’s not the conservative Supreme Court majority that divined an indi- vidual right to bear arms in a constitutional penumbra. The biggest challenge – threat, really – may just be Andy Greenberg. Greenberg writes for Wired about the Ghost Gunner, a US$1,500 com- puter-numerical-controlled mill marketed by Defense Distributed. If that name sounds familiar, it might be because a couple years back Defense Distributed produced “the Liberator,” a 3-D-printed pistol. Here’s Greenberg: “I have virtually no technical under- standing of firearms and a Cro-Magnon man’s mastery of power tools. Still, I made a fully metal, functional, and accurate AR-15. To be spe- cific, I made the rifle’s lower receiver; that’s the body of the gun, the only part that US law defines and regulates as a “firearm.” All I needed for my entirely legal DIY gun- smithing project was about six hours, a 12-year-old’s un- derstanding of computer software, an $80 chunk of aluminum, and a nearly fea- tureless black 1-cubic-foot desktop milling machine called the Ghost Gunner.” No technical skill. No background check. No iden- tifying serial number. And – no problem – a brand new AR-15. It actually wasn’t that easy. Greenberg is no gun- smith, and he ran into tech- nical trouble (and a need for parts and assistance). But be- fore long, the march of tech- nology will make it that easy, and cheap too. And it will be very, very hard to regulate – even if a polarized, dysfunc- tional Congress bothers to try. When guns can be man- ufactured at home by ama- teurs, what will prevent a felon, a domestic abuser sub- ject to a restraining order, a terrorist, or anyone with cash and “a 12-year-old’s under- standing of computer soft- ware,” from building a gun? Technology may well render our current gun de- bate moot. It will move too fast for cops or regulators or law to keep up – even if an elusive consensus should somehow emerge among con- servatives and liberals. New technology, especially 3-D printing, has the potential to expand the unregulated gun market to every garage and basement in the U.S. So, for a moment, put fed- eral and state gun laws aside and reckon with the future of guns, which may be more influenced by technology and culture than by which party controls Congress or statehouses. Even those rare Americans, such as adoles- cents, who have trouble get- ting a gun in 2015 will have a new avenue for acquiring lethal, unregulated hardware. If technology overwhelms barriers to illegal gun pos- session, cultural norms will become even more impor- tant in shaping how guns are viewed, and in policing how they’re used. If the world truly consists of good guys with guns and bad guys with guns, then it’s a simple equation: Arm more good guys. In the gray areas of the real world, of course, much gun violence stems not from bad guys with guns but from careless guys with guns and macho insecure guys with guns, drunks with guns, hair- trigger police guys with guns and clueless, curious children with guns. There is a cultural element to their mayhem, one rooted in casual attitudes to- ward firearms that are at odds with a gun’s enormous tragic potential. The worst gun crime in recent history was a product of such an attitude. A son with obvious mental prob- lems was encouraged to fa- miliarize himself with guns and afforded casual access to an arsenal. Nancy Lanza broke no laws in leaving a buffet of firepower for her de- mented son. But her choice amounted to a lazy, lethal disregard for her commu- nity, which Adam Lanza com- pounded into mass murder. The extreme gun-rights movement is vigorously trying to overturn the cul- tural norms of American so- ciety – to integrate guns into every facet of private and public life, and to transform gun carrying from a social anomaly to a social standard. The movement’s claims are sometimes patently ridicu- lous. And it’s by no means clear that its goals will ever be achieved. But in red states, at least, the movement has been making strides. That vision of America – perpetually armed and dan- gerous – is quite new and, for most Americans, still strange. But technology has the ca- pacity to break down law, and build up the every-man- for-himself ethos that girds the extreme gun-rights move- ment. So in addition to poli- tics and law, supporters of gun regulation may need to place additional emphasis on culture. Frank Wilkinson writes on politics and domestic policy for Bloomberg View. © 2015, Bloomberg News 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 find their own way”5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday June 8, 2015 Michael Klein mklein@pinnaclemedialtd.com Jeffrey Webb and his at- taché Costas Takkas, who U.S. authorities allege solicited bribes for the CONCACAF president, both served as di- rectors for Abakan Inc., a Florida-based penny stock company that maintains a subsidiary, run by Takkas, at Cayman Enterprise City. Webb and Takkas, a British national and former longtime resident of the Cayman Islands, were ar- rested in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 27 and are fighting extradition to the U.S. Webb joined Abakan Inc. as an independent member of the board in August 2012, three months after he was appointed president of the football confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean. Takkas was the company’s chief fi- nancial officer until he was terminated following his ar- rest last week. The company develops and plans to manufacture nanocomposite coating mate- rials. It described Webb in a press release and SEC filings when he joined the company as an active business devel- opment manager for Fidelity even though he had ceased to work there months earlier. The announcement did not mention his position as pres- ident of CONCACAF. The release stated that Webb was expected to serve as a member of the com- pany’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, Compliance and Ethics Committee, Compensation Committee and Audit Committee. According to an Aug. 7, 2012, SEC filing, Webb’s com- pensation included “options to purchase 150,000 shares that vest in equal incre- ments, annually over three years with an exercise price of $1.90 per share and 10,000 restricted common shares.” Webb resigned as a di- rector of the company on May 6, 2014. Why Webb was employed by Abakan and whether he did any work is not clear. Abakan is run by Robert H. Miller, an American busi- ness associate of Takkas. Both men have pursued nu- merous business ventures to- gether over the past 25 years, at times joined by Mr. Miller’s wife Maria Camila Maz. Mr. Miller did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Special Economic Zone Abakan Inc. maintains a subsidiary, AMP Distributors SEZC, in Cayman’s spe- cial economic zone. Abakan notes in corporate filings that Takkas is the Cayman sub- sidiary’s general manager. According to Abakan’s SEC filings, AMP Distributors Inc. was formed in June 2011 as a Cayman Islands com- pany to manage the sales of its subsidiary MesoCoat’s products and acquire equip- ment and coating materials for the company’s interna- tional transactions. The company obtained a special economic zone trade certificate in May 2013 and changed its name to AMP SEZC. “Fully staffed offices have been established by AMP SEZC in the Cayman Enterprise City,” the company said. Cayman Enterprise City said it had no comment at this time. During the past two years, the MesoCoat products AMP was supposed to sell were not yet commercially avail- able. The company’s “opera- tions consisted primarily of research and development expenditures, and revenues from planned principal op- erations that have not yet been realized,” corporate re- cords show. Meanwhile, the future success of operations is sub- ject to several technical hur- dles and risk factors, in- cluding satisfactory product development, regulatory ap- proval and market accep- tance, as well as the com- pany’s ability to obtain future funding. Holding company Abakan Inc. incurred net losses of more than $24 million since the company’s inception in June 2006, and as of May 2014 it had a working capital deficit of nearly $8 million. Abakan’s latest quar- terly results note that the company must raise ad- ditional revenue to meet long-term financial com- mitments and realize con- sistent income to continue as a going concern. The company has previously de- faulted on “significant un- secured debt obligations” and has been sued by credi- tors. Although the firm says it intends to “address its obligations,” it needs addi- tional funding to do so. The company is also sub- ject to an SEC investiga- tion. In November 2014, the SEC ordered Abakan to pro- duce documents to determine whether there have been any violations of federal securi- ties laws. In December 2010, Abakan issued 90,000 shares of its common stock to extinguish a debt of $67,500 to Kosson Ventures Ltd. The indict- ment of Webb and Takkas al- leges that accounts of Kosson Ventures, a company con- trolled by Takkas, were used to channel bribe payments in a chain of wire trans- fers to Webb. However, the indictment did not establish a connec- tion to Abakan or any of its subsidiaries. On May 29, the company released a statement that it had suspended Takkas “from undertaking any further re- sponsibilities as its CFO” after he was arrested and charged “with certain activi- ties unrelated to his position with Abakan.” Business interests tie Webb, Takkas to Cayman company British auditor Costas Takkas was Jeffrey Webb’s right-hand man JaMes WhittaKer jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Costas Takkas, the second man with links to the Cayman Islands arrested in the FIFA bribery probe, was an auditor who achieved brief fame for a failed scheme to get English and Scottish professional footballers to play for the Cayman Islands in World Cup qualifiers. Takkas, a Londoner of Greek-Cypriot heritage, made world news in 2000 when he assembled a team of “foot- balling mercenaries”, using Cayman’s status as a British Overseas Territory to justify selecting British players in Cayman’s national squad. He outlined grand plans to reach the 2002 World Cup. The scheme, which caused an uproar locally and was panned internationally, was rejected by FIFA at the last minute, and Cayman lost 4-0 to Cuba in the qualifier, with a few British pros watching from the stands. Takkas lived in Cayman for nearly 20 years from the mid-1980s after coming to the island to work as an au- ditor. He was involved in amateur football and ama- teur dramatics, memorably playing the role of bum- bling Spanish waiter Manuel in a 1991 dramatization of the British comedy classic “Fawlty Towers.” He was an attacking mid- fielder for Sunset Football Club, though he was more often on the substitute’s bench. Takkas later became gen- eral secretary of the Cayman Islands Football Association. During that time he forged a close-relationship with Jeffrey Webb, acting as his right-hand man. When Webb was elected president of CONCACAF and vice president of the world governing body FIFA, he took Takkas with him as his assis- tant or “attaché.” The pair have also worked together in another business venture. Webb was a director, until May 2014, in Abakan Inc., a metal trading company, of which Takkas was chief fi- nancial officer until he was suspended from the role in the wake of his arrest in Zurich on May 27. Robert Miller, CEO of the Florida-based firm, did not respond to questions from the Cayman Compass last week about Webb’s role with the organization. Takkas is accused by U.S. prosecutors of being a mid- dleman for Webb, negoti- ating bribes on his behalf and using his accounts in the Cayman Islands to funnel il- legal payments to his boss. The 56-year-old is said to have left Cayman, where he also worked in captive insur- ance management, around a decade ago, initially to move to Brazil, where he was in- volved in a business venture. He returned to Cayman frequently to visit friends and for business meet- ings, and he was here last year for the CONCACAF Under-15 tournament. Those who know him de- scribe him as a very sociable, “wheeler-dealer” type with a high-pitched cockney accent. Robert Jenkinson, the From amateur dramatics to the world stage Takkas lived in Cayman for nearly 20 years from the mid-1980s after coming to the island to work as an auditor. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 »6 LOCAL NEWS Monday June 8, 2015 • Cayman Compass Reefs could be relocated to make way for cruise pier James WhittakeR jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A large area of coral reef that will be de- stroyed to make way for new cruise piers in George Town should be “relocated,” an Environmental Impact Assessment on the multimil- lion-dollar port construction project recommends. The report calls for coral to be moved to mitigate the economic and environmental damage caused to reefs in and around the harbor. It cautions that this would mean significant effort and cost – in excess of $13 mil- lion – without any guarantee of success. The Balboa shipwreck will be lost and neighboring reefs, including the spectac- ular Devil’s Grotto caverns off Eden Rock, a magnet for divers and underwater pho- tographers, and the wreck of the Cali, will be impacted by “lethal and sub-lethal sedi- mentation levels” caused by dredging the harbor. The total damage to ma- rine resources would cost the country between $100 mil- lion and $165 million over 20 years, principally from tourist spending on recre- ation and watersport ac- tivities in the harbor, the report estimates. It says this would be offset partially by diversion of tourists to other attrac- tions and the larger economic benefit of the project. An ear- lier report estimated the piers would bring nearly 1,000 jobs and inject $250 million into the Cayman Islands economy over 20 years through in- creased cruise tourism. Coral relocation projects have been attempted in other areas, including Jamaica’s cruise port at Falmouth. The impacted area in Grand Cayman spans 15 acres, with the same size area im- pacted by sedimentation from dredging. The report, prepared by consultants Baird and Associates based on a year of research, dismisses concerns that Seven Mile Beach could be affected by sedimenta- tion and suggests increased wave impact in George Town would be minimal. The proposed project in- cludes two piers providing berths for four cruise ships, including two Oasis class ships. The project will not eliminate the need for some ships to tender, on days when there are more than four vessels in port. The report estimates a con- struction period of around three years. Some of the dredged ma- terial will be used to create a 7.7-acre piece of reclaimed land for shoreside facilities, potentially including shops, restaurants and administra- tive buildings. The rest of the dredged material would either be dumped at sea or processed on land to be sold as fill for construction projects, though the report notes that this would be a complex process. The report suggests that the port will bring a net in- crease in cruise passengers but no overall improvement in disembarkation rates, compared with the current tendering process. “The estimated peak dis- embarkation rate with four cruise ships at berth is 5,500 - 6,500 passengers per hour; this is similar to the capacity of the existing tender opera- tion,” it notes. The principal environ- mental and economic con- cern highlighted by the re- port is the loss of reef in the harbor. “The development of the proposed project will have significant negative impacts on the marine ecology within George Town Harbour, in par- ticular the coral reefs and as- sociated habitat surrounding the project site. “In general, these impacts are directly related to the areal extent of the project and the volume of dredging, and the operation of large cruise ships in the nearshore area. “Key ecological impacts would include coral de- struction, habitat fragmen- tation and reduced biodi- versity development of the proposed project that would result in socioeconomic im- pacts associated with the loss of marine ecosystem goods and services.” The feasibility and cost of relocating coral reefs and the Balboa wreck would need to be investigated in detail by environment officials and government, the report states. “If the project proceeds, it is recommended that a significant coral relocation program be designed and implemented. The overall objective of the coral relo- cation program would be to mitigate/compensate for habitat destruction caused by the project.” But it warns, “A coral re- location program will not achieve ‘no net loss,’ and suc- cess is not guaranteed.” A public meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Mary Miller Hall in Red Bay to officially present the report, which can be viewed now at www.doe.ky. The report calls for coral to be moved to mitigate the economic and environmental damage caused to reefs in and around the harbor. Man found wearing bulletproof vest at airport fined $1,000 Crown withdraws charge for possession of slingshot CaRol WinkeR cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A four-year resident ended up spending five more days than he had planned after he attempted to de- part Cayman while wearing a bulletproof vest. Steven Bingham, 36, ap- peared in Summary Court late Thursday and pleaded guilty to possession of the vest on May 31 without the written permission of the Commissioner of Police. Magistrate Valdis Foldats pointed to local concerns about unlicensed firearms and the amendment to the Firearms Law that regulates bulletproof vests. The offense is regarded so seriously that the maximum penalty is 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $100,000 – the same as for firearms. “Bulletproof vests are used by criminals and gangs to go about their criminal activity – robbery, drug deals and so on. We take a strong view on firearm offenses …. It’s im- portant the public understand how serious this is,” he said. Crown counsel Toyin Salako said Bingham was to depart Cayman on May 31 by way of Owen Roberts International Airport. As he went through security, the alarm went off. A pat-down search revealed that he was wearing a bulletproof vest. When interviewed, he said he didn’t know it was an of- fense. He refused to answer any questions as to where he had obtained it. Defense attorney Clyde Allen explained that Bingham had lived in Cayman on work permit as a barman for four years. He was returning home to Ontario, Canada, to take over his family’s business. He had packed up all of his things and, for weight purposes, he wore the vest rather than pack it. When he went through se- curity, it was actually his belt that set off the alarm. “The court’s concern is – where did this vest come from?” the magistrate said. Mr. Allen replied that Bingham had wanted to be very careful in what he said during his interview. “That’s his right, but can he assist officials? … Was the vest obtained on island?” the magistrate asked. Mr. Allen said it was an item of memorabilia that was never worn, never used for any purpose whatsoever. The magistrate asked if the Crown had any photos of the vest. “There is body armor that is high-tech, meant to protect you from high velocity-projectiles,” he pointed out. Mr. Allen advised that the vest was bought online with a credit card. “That gave him some assurance it was legal, but ignorance of the law is no excuse,” he agreed. The attorney described Bingham as incredibly con- trite and well respected on the island. He asked that the vest be treated as the courts have been treating cases in- volving unlicensed ammuni- tion – with a fine. The magistrate agreed, but said the fine had to be stiff in order to send a message. He imposed a fine of $1,000 and ordered that the vest be for- feited and destroyed. Bingham was also charged with possession of a slingshot that was in his lug- gage. The charge was initially brought under the Customs (Prohibited Goods) Order of 2003. A section dealing with weapons specifically pro- hibits importation of “bows, catapults or other manu- ally operated weapons which are capable of projecting ar- rows or other missiles” un- less the item is accompanied by a permit signed by the Commissioner of Police. The magistrate asked what the penalty was, since the order itself does not con- tain a penalty section. Ms. Salako pointed out that the Customs Law deals with all goods of which the import or export is restricted or pro- hibited by any other law. The Penal Code defines “prohibited weapon” and “re- stricted weapon” by listing specific items – from ma- chine guns to flick knives. The magistrate noted that nei- ther catapult nor slingshot was on either list. “The Penal Code is very specific,” he said. “If it’s not listed there, it’s not prohibited.” Ms. Salako withdrew the charge. Mr. Allen advised that his client was handing over the slingshot voluntarily. “Bullet-proof vests are used by criminals and gangs to go about their criminal activity …” VALDIS FOLDATS, magistrate Illustration of proposed cruise berthing facility in George Town.7 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday June 8, 2015 AD SPACE DEADLINE: Tuesday, June 9th For Information: 949-5111 or sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Complimentary spot BLUE color on ads** **Any additional spot color or full color will be charged at regular rates. Please note that any existing newspaper contract rates will be applicable. DAD WE LOVE FATHER’S DAY IS COMING IN JUNE Father’s Day is Sunday, June 21st. The Cayman Compass special Father’s Day feature is the place to showcase all the items at your company that dad would like to receive as a token of appreciation from his loved ones. Promote your gift ideas, outdoor activities, special events and brunches. Product pages will include a photograph submitted by each advertiser as a bonus to their display ads. Book early for best placement! Online POll Daylight Savings unwelcome Tad SToner tstoner@pinnaclemedialtd.com The question was about Daylight Savings Time: The answers were resounding; people either hated it or embraced it, and for various reasons. Like the entire hundred- year international contro- versy about “DST,” clear an- swers have never emerged, splitting along lines of en- ergy use, public safety, health, economic effects and inconvenience. The most recent Cayman Compass online poll asked about support for govern- ment’s decision to move Cayman clocks forward one hour in mid-March next year, then back one hour in early November. The query drew 639 votes and 58 comments, and probably reasonably re- flect wider public sentiment. Precisely 43 percent of voters, 276, said “absolutely not” to the proposition. Reasons offered ranged from: “a complete waste of time – the reasons given simply do not justify the hassle or the inevitable in- crease in power bills” to “Jamaica tried and abandoned it. It is unnecessary. I will NOT be changing my watch,” to “It will serve no useful pur- pose in Cayman. Even all the states in the USA don’t use it,” to “[I]t no longer fulfils any meaningful purpose except to match New York’s time for fi- nance. Cayman finance has done very well thank you – on Cayman time.” Another poll respon- dent said: “Don’t mention Australia. Their’s is a very confusing system. Some states use it, some don’t.” A solid 35 percent of re- spondents – 224 votes – sup- ported adoption of DST, calling it, for example: “A simple, easy ‘win’ for everyone. [It] makes good business sense for business – local, interna- tional and hybrid e.g. cruise tourism. Separate and apart from ‘mighty mammon,’ I, for one, will enjoy that extra hour of daylight in the eve- nings with my family for quality downtime …” One voter observed that the closer to the equator, the less daylight is actually pre- served: “Tropical locations sub-20 degrees latitude do not benefit by any daylight time adjustment.” Another, however, saw good business sense in the move: “[L]onger daylight after work enables businesses [to] deal overseas in the same US East Coast time zone.” And finally, while calling into question any energy sav- ings, one voter said it would boost the economy for a va- riety of indigenous reasons: “Because it is logical and makes sense to be on the same time as the eastern US. “While it is unclear if it saves energy, especially in regions with heavy air-con- ditioning usage, more day- light hours at the end of the day boost the economy by in- creasing outdoor activities like sporting events, enter- tainment, recreational activi- ties, etc. One study also sug- gests that traffic fatalities are reduced when there are more daylight hours at the end of the day to drive home in.” The response marked “I don’t care one way or the other” garnered 53 votes, 8 percent of the total. “Leaning towards agree- ment” attracted 49 votes, a statistical tie, at 8 percent, with those who didn’t care, while 37 voters, or 6 percent, declared themselves “leaning toward disagreeing.” COMPASS ONLINE POLL Source: CaymanCompass.com Online Poll Question: The government says it has decided to implement daylight savings time by moving the clocks ahead one hour between mid-March and early-November starting in 2016. Do you support that decision? Total respondents: 639 Absolutely not 276 Votes 43% I don't care one way or the other 53 Votes 8% Absolutely 224 Votes 35% I'm leaning toward disagreeing 37 Votes 6% I'm leaning toward agreeing 49 Votes 8% Hit-and-run injures cyclist BrenT Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Police arrested a hit-and- run driver over the weekend after a bicyclist was struck and injured in George Town early Saturday. The 23-year-old male driver was arrested Saturday on sus- picion of drunk driving and leaving the scene of an acci- dent. The crash happened at about 6 a.m. near the Blue Marlin bar on Eastern Avenue. By the time police arrived at the scene, the driver had fled. The cyclist survived, but doctors at the Cayman Islands Hospital were forced to amputate his left foot, authorities said. Home invasion Last Wednesday, three masked, armed men burst into a West Bay home in the middle of the afternoon, de- manding money from a 67-year-old woman who was inside with her 5-year-old granddaughter. The woman was grabbed by the neck and forced to the ground, police said. When the men were told there was no money in the house, they left on foot. Neither the woman nor the child received serious injuries.8 LOCAL&REGIONAL Monday June 8, 2015 • Cayman Compass YOU DESERVE FIVE STAR TREATMENT. YOU DESERVE FIVE TREA Due to increment weather… Season of Dance has been rescheduled from June 5th & 7th to June 12th at 7:30 pm June 13th at 10am & 7:30pm June 14th at 5pm We regret any inconvenience caused as a result of the weather. Tickets that have already been purchased are good for corresponding days. We look forward to seeing everyone! Decision ‘imminent’ on solar farm Tad SToner tstoner@pinnaclemedialtd.com A decision to authorize a 5 megawatt solar farm out- side of Bodden Town is “im- minent,” according to Charles Farrington, managing di- rector of the Electricity Regulatory Authority, which has been studying the pro- posal since Christmas. Speaking at a Thursday night “Energy Summit 2015” in the Town Hall in George Town, Mr. Farrington joined speakers from the Caribbean Utilities Company, the Cayman Renewable Energy Association, the Department of the Environment and vis- iting Barbados-based alterna- tive-energy entrepreneur David Staples to explore renewable- energy plans for Cayman. Mr. Farrington briefed a standing-room audience of more than 100 on the progress of – and obsta- cles to – commercial use of solar and wind power in Grand Cayman, describing pricing complexities, and revealing sharp disagree- ments with CREA Chairman James Whittaker. However, Mr. Farrington said a decision on the solar farm would be announced soon, while he and CUC Manager for Engineering Services Sacha Tibbetts spoke of the project as part of broader plans for use of renewables. Mr. Farrington said once the decision is made, the ERA will issue a request for pro- posals for 5MW or perhaps more, of power. “We would like to include wind,” he said. By mid-2017, he said, “we could have 15 percent of peak demand” supplied by renewables.” In late December, CUC sent the ERA an outline 20-year agreement with Pittsburgh’s International Electric Power, describing terms for purchasing 5MW of power from IEP’s proposed 21-acre, $1.4 million “util- ity-scale” solar farm east of Bodden Town. ERA consultants have been scrutinizing the pro- posed pact for six months; Mr. Tibbetts appeared to have incorporated the agreement into CUC plans. “We want reliability and safety,” in power generation and transmission, he said, as well as considerations of “cost and the environment.” “We probably won’t do as much as 50MW,” he said, citing an extreme example, but starting with “5MW is plausible. “We will do 5MW of solar photovoltaic on a utility scale,” he said, apologizing for nearly four years of delay regarding the IEP project, which went to tender in 2011, seeking 13MW of renewable- energy generation. The Pittsburgh company – and two additional bidders – won the ERA nod in 2013 after a 26-month selection process, dogged by financial questions and the ultimate withdrawal of both compet- itive bidders. A further year was lost in protracted negoti- ations for the IEP-CUC power purchase agreement. “Future bids,” Mr. Tibbetts pledged, “will be substan- tially faster. This is the first time, and we want to get it right.” Mr. Farrington included the IEP contract in an ac- count of plans for alterna- tive energies, which will ul- timately comprise 15MW on the national electricity grid. “We have a capacity of 15MW of renewable energy on the grid,” he said. “We have 5MW of solar, and an- other 4MW for CORE, and that leaves 6MW more.” “CORE” is CUC’s “Consumer Owned Renewable Energy” program, which licenses small-scale power generation systems for individual residential and commercial properties. The program limits any single residential system to 20 kilowatts and any single commercial installa- tion to 100kW. It also caps at 4MW the aggregate con- tribution to the grid of all CORE networks. It also requires partici- pants to maintain connec- tions to the national grid, but reimburses them for the power they contribute, using a complex formula bal- ancing input and any out- takes if their own resources prove insufficient. Mr. Farrington said CORE “was a competing mandate” in the ERA remit, which re- quires the authority to keep “rate structures as low as can reasonably be achieved,” yet “to oversee CORE, to permit and promote the use of re- newables by consumers so as to reduce the load.” CUC payments to CORE customers constitute a net outflow of funds from CUC, forcing electricity prices to rise, in effect creating a sub- sidy paid by CUC’s 27,600 consumers in Grand Cayman to approximately 65 CORE members, he said. “Utility-scale renewable energy, however,” he said, “does not increase costs.” Mr. Whittaker, the CREA chairman, argued that CUC and the ERA had deliberately delayed adoption of renew- able energy, seeking to pre- serve profitability and share- holder value. “The ERA has set an adoption rate of 13 percent of renewables by 2030,” he said. “We cannot find a country in the world with a lower rate. Cayman is now at 1 percent renewables,” he said, pointing to a 21-entry list created by CREA of 13 Caribbean na- tions, CARICOM, the U.S., U.K. and the European Union. Topping the roster is Aruba, which he said has set a goal of 100 percent renew- ables between 2030 and 2040, and “is 60 percent of the way there already,” having in- vested $300 million in 2011. Hawaii’s Kauai Island wants 50 percent renew- ables by 2013, he said, and has invested $100 million. It is ahead of schedule and has vowed never to invest again in fossil fuel. The island has the same 28,000 electricity consumers as Cayman. Mr. Whittaker said re- cent reductions of CORE pay- ments to its 65 participants, based on the falling price of oil and solar power, had de- layed return on investment in a solar system from five years to seven years. He said Cayman could leave CUC’s national elec- tricity grid by installing 1.3 million solar panels on 900 acres in East End, and while he did not suggest the cost, any price would fall dramatically with rapidly improving technology. “And we would save the $153 million dollars we spent last year on importing diesel fuel,” he said. Finally, he argued, CUC subsidies to CORE customers amounted to two cents per person per day, while Cayman’s nascent renewable- energy industry created em- ployment and a multiplier ef- fect of $10 million per year. “If we spent $1 billion on renewables,” Mr. Whittaker said, “we would earn it back in 6.3 years.” “Future bids will be substantially faster. This is the first time, and we want to get it right.” Sacha TibbeTTS, CUC manager for engineering services Dominican lawmakers tentatively approve re-election bill SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Legislators in the Dominican Republic tentatively approved a bill Saturday that would allow presidents to seek re-elec- tion for a consecutive second term. A special assembly de- bated the issue for about two hours before voting 183-38 in favor of the pro- posal, which requires two- thirds approval and has drawn strong public oppo- sition. Legislators are sched- uled to meet again on Friday for a final vote. The majority of the more than 200 legis- lators that make up the as- sembly favor the change. The proposal could allow President Danilo Medina to run for re-election next year, and it has split the ruling party. Party officials pushed for the measure after opinion polls suggested Medina had a better chance of winning the 2016 presi- dential election than his pre- decessor, Leonel Fernandez. Medina has not said yet whether he will seek re- election, while it is unclear whether Fernandez will run next year in what would be his fourth term as president. Opponents say it’s an un- fair move that does not take public opinion into account. “It might be legal, but it’s not legitimate,” legislator Guadalupe Valdez said. One senator also pro- posed that if presidents are granted a consecu- tive re-election, that they be barred from running for vice president in the future. Legislators approved that additional measure. Mexico MidterM elections open aMid fears of violence MEXICO CITY (AP) — Thousands of soldiers and fed- eral police were deployed to guard polling stations in res- tive southern states as voting began Sunday for what could be Mexico’s most violent elec- tions in years, seen as a litmus test for President Enrique Pena Nieto’s government. Midterm elections like Sunday’s, which will choose all 500 seats in the lower house of Congress, nine of 31 governor- ships and hundreds of mayor- ships and local posts, usually don’t draw much turnout or attention. But a loose coalition of radical teachers’ unions and activists has vowed to block the elections. In the weeks leading up to the vote, they attacked the of- fices of political parties in Chiapas and Guerrero, and burned ballots in Oaxaca. Those three states are expected to be the focus of unrest Sunday.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Cayman Compass • Monday June 8, 2015 Advertising motion The Legislative Assembly chamber burst into an uproar after Mr. McLaughlin’s speech, with lawmakers pounding tables and shouting what generally seemed to be support for the premier’s commentary. “I think all members join with you in the words you have just spoken,” Finance Minister Marco Archer said. Following Mr. Archer’s comments, East End MLA Arden McLean moved a motion in the committee which he stated as fol- lows: “Instead of enriching someone who has come to these shores with our poor people’s dollars, I move that no monies be spent out of the people’s money with the [Cayman] Compass for any advertisement from government.” Mr. Archer, as chairman of the finance committee, then put the motion to the committee for a vote. However, he seemed to state the opposite intent of Mr. McLean’s motion in doing so. “The question is whether we continue to allow the Cayman Islands government to spend its advertising or to adver- tise jobs and other ten- ders, whatever the case may be, with the Cayman Compass,” Mr. Archer said. The minister later clari- fied with the Compass that the intent of the motion was as Mr. McLean had initially stated. Assembled lawmakers voted “yes” on the question. founder of Sunset FC, said, “He was a very so- cial guy; everybody knew Costas. I am as surprised as everyone by what I am reading in the newspapers. “I am not surprised that there is corruption in FIFA, but I am surprised that those individuals [Takkas and Webb] are said to be involved.” Another former teammate, Paul Anderton, said Takkas left the island more than a decade ago but frequently re- turned on business, to visit friends and more recently for CONCACAF events. Ivan Burges, who also played football with Takkas, remembers him as a “larger than life” character, who was well-known around the is- land. He said he last saw him on the sidelines at the CONCACAF Under-15 tourna- ment last year. Colin Wilson, of the Cayman Drama Society, said he directed Takkas in the production of “Fawlty Towers” as well as a 1986 production of “Alice in Wonderland.” “He played the March Hare. He was actually very good,” Mr. Wilson recalled. No one from the Cayman Islands Football Association was willing to comment pub- licly about Takkas or his as- sociation with Mr. Webb. information from govern- ment, in attempts to be “slan- derous, vindictive and dirty.” Freedom of Information laws In the Caribbean, FOI laws have largely struggled through years of delay, po- litical resistance and govern- ment bureaucracy. However, during a first- of-its-kind FOI conference in Kingston in 2013, Laura Neuman of the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center – a nonprofit public policy development initiative – said the Caribbean region had “come a long way” since the start of the 21st cen- tury on open records laws. Ms. Neuman considered the Cayman Islands’ open re- cords regime to be one of the Caribbean’s “greatest success stories.” In the first four years of FOI in Cayman, from January 2009 to January 2013, more than 3,000 re- quests for information were made for government re- cords. By way of comparison, Belize has had an FOI law since 1994, but only a small number of open records re- quests have been made over the past two decades. In the Bahamas, ef- forts to pass an open re- cords law flopped, while in Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Kitts proposed laws have been drafted but not yet con- sidered by the various gov- erning bodies. Premier calls anti-corruption editorial ‘treasonous’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 From amateur dramatics to the world stage Premier: FOI ‘unproductive use of time’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 IsraelI premIer crItIcIzes world’s ‘sIlence’ on Gaza rockets JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criti- cized what he described as the world’s “silence” over re- cent rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, drawing a quick response from his country’s closest ally, the U.S. Netanyahu, speaking at his weekly Cabinet meeting, said he hadn’t heard anyone condemn three rocket attacks from Gaza over the past two weeks. The rockets caused no damage, nor any injuries. “It will be interesting to see if this silence continues when we use all our strength in exercising our right to de- fend ourselves,” Netanyahu said. “It should be clear: the hypocrisy that is sweeping the world will not chain our hands from defending the citizens of Israel.” In Germany, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said U.S. officials had spent “a lot of time talking about this” during Israel’s recent war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “This is not the first time that I’ve stood at a podium like this and strongly con- demned rocket attacks by extremists in Gaza against innocent Israeli citizens,” Earnest said. “Clearly, the United States stands with the nation of Israel as they defend their nation and their people from these attacks.” Turkish ruling party seen losing majority in Parliament ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — In a stunning blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pre- liminary election results in Turkey’s parliamentary election on Sunday sug- gested that his party could lose its simple majority in Parliament. With about 97 per- cent of the vote counted, Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, the AKP, was well ahead of other par- ties with the support of just over 41 percent, according to state-run TRT television. But the projections had it around 260 seats – 16 below the min- imum to keep its majority. In an indication of how precipitously Erdogan’s for- tunes have fallen in the campaign, he had begun the campaign asking voters for 400 seats, a massive ma- jority that would have al- lowed the party to change the constitution to give the presidency extraordi- nary powers. AKP needed a majority of 330 seats of the total 550 to call for a national referendum to change the constitution. With 367 seats, it would be able vote in a change without a referendum. In the biggest setback to the ruling party’s chances, the main Kurdish party was running at about 12 percent – above the 10 percent min- imum threshold for represen- tation in Parliament. The main secular oppo- sition Republican Peoples Party, or CHP was at about 25 percent of the vote, while the nationalist MHP was just under 17 percent. AKP received around 49 percent of the vote in gen- eral elections in 2011. The setback would be first time that the party is faced with falling short of a majority to rule alone since it swept into power in 2002. As the tally came into focus, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu gave a nod to democracy. “The people’s decision is the most correct decision,” he said, while boarding a bus to the airport. He was set to fly from his hometown of Konya to the capital, Ankara. Erdogan himself was not on the ballot. Still, the elec- tion was effectively a refer- endum on whether to endow his office with powers that would significantly change Turkey’s democracy and pro- long his reign as the country’s most powerful politician. HDP’s apparent leap above the 10 percent threshold, would vault it into a significant position in the Parliament, winning seats greatly at the cost of the ruling party’s current majority and making con- stitutional change on AKP’s terms unlikely. Sirri Sureyya Onder, a se- nior HDP official, who won a seat in Ankara said the party would not celebrate its breakthrough in order to avoid provoking opponents, but he took an apparent shot at the ruling party. “This is the victory of de- mocracy over loutishness, of freedom over oppression, of modesty over conceit, of peace over war,” he said. The HDP seemed to have made considerable gains in southeast Turkey, suggesting that religious Kurds had turned away from AKP in favor of HDP. AKP also appeared to have lost votes in Sanliurfa and Gaziantep where there are large numbers of Syrian refugees. The vote came amid high tensions after bombings Friday during a HDP rally killed 2 people and wounded scores. On Sunday, Davutoglu said a suspect had been de- tained in the case, but pro- vided no other details. After casting his vote, HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas called for peace after what he saw as an “onerous and a troubled campaign.” Aside from the consti- tutional issues, the election could have a major impact on the peace process to end decades of insurgency by Kurdish militants in Turkey. Scuffles between rival party supporters were re- ported in at least two prov- inces Sunday, including one in Sanliurfa which in- jured 15 people. Erdogan has been Turkey’s dominant politician since his party swept into power in 2002 – becoming prime min- ister in 2003 and leading his party to two overwhelming parliamentary election victo- ries. In a gamble last year, he decided to run for president, banking that his party could later bolster his powers. Under the current consti- tution, Erdogan is meant to stay above the political fray as president. But he has been campaigning vociferously, drawing complaints from the opposition that he is ignoring the constitution. As he cast his vote Sunday, Erdogan praised the election as an indica- tion of the strength of de- mocracy in Turkey. “This strong democracy will be confirmed with the will of our people and extend the trust we have in our fu- ture,” Erdogan said. His party appears to have fallen well short of what it expected – a development that could leave Erdogan stranded in the presidential palace without the powers he has long sought. A narrow win by the AKP, however, could be a good result for Davutoglu, who would lose power if Erdogan has his way. After the final official re- sults are confirmed there is a 45-day period in which a new government needs to be formed, or new elections are called. A voter at a polling station in a primary school in Ankara, Turkey on Sunday, during the country’s parliamentary election. - photo: apNext >