ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Thursday July 30, 2015 High of 92 Low of 80 Smooth to slight with wave heights less than 2 feet. 1 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JULY 30, 2015 S P ECI AL REPO R T DOCK DEBATE Yes we need it No it will harm the environment No it’s too expensive Yes it will create jobs Only if it includes SpEcIAL rEporT Dock Debate Editorial | pagE 4 Free expression, noT Freedom From consequences HomeOptions Shop around and pay less for more insurance! $250 gift certificate can be used to purchase BritCay motor insurance Home Insurance with BritCay offers convenient, interest-free monthly payments, flexible cover, fast claims, competitive premiums and deductibles. Ask for a quote. BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE CO. LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International: insurance, health, pensions, life Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky $250* CERTIFICATE WITH BUILDINGS INSURANCE *applies to new buildings policies cgigrp Websites go offline over new domain rules Several websites ‘expire’ after failing to register James WhiTTaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Several Cayman Islands websites, including the government’s Economics and Statistics Office, were taken offline after failing to renew their registrations and pay fees under a new regulatory regime. The Information and Communications Technology Authority started putting web- sites that have not confirmed their .ky domain name registrations and paid the new annual US$40 fee into “expiry mode” on Monday. The Economics and Statistics Office and Cayman Prep school were among a number of entities’ local websites that were inaccessible this week, although the ESO appeared to have rectified the oversight and was up and run- ning again Wednesday afternoon. Anyone with a .ky website has until Sept. 2 to renew their registration before those Web addresses become publicly available. The new registration process was an- nounced in March, with global domain reg- istry operator Uniregistry contracted to manage the transition. Alee Fa’Amoe, managing director of ICTA, said there was no excuse for any business or organization not to have registered. “To those folks that are down because they didn’t pay attention, get with the program,” Mr. Fa’Amoe said. “You are embarrassing ev- erybody. It is ridiculous to think you can’t keep your website up because of a simple ad- ministrative change.” Michael Ward of Uniregistry said any do- main that had not been renewed by July 22 is expired and would be inaccessible. “The original registrant still has the op- portunity to renew until Sept. 2, and during that time no one else can register the domain,” he added. After Sept. 2, unregistered domain names will be available globally. Mr. Fa’Amoe said around 6,000 of the 10,000 businesses, organizations and govern- ment entities which had .ky domain names had registered. Merren can’t pay US$75,000 fine BrenT Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A Cayman Islands businessman who re- ceived a nine-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in a U.S. federal drug-traf- ficking conspiracy case last month has in- formed the court that he does not have the ability to pay a US$75,000 fine as- sessed in the case. Gilroy Bryce Merren’s attorney, Jennie Espada, filed a request in the U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico that the case judge “re- consider” the fine assessed against Mr. Merren, who has been imprisoned since his arrest in March 2014 and, therefore, unable to work. According to Ms. Espada’s statement, the court informed Merren at sentencing that it believed the US$75,000 fine was adequate. However, the assessment of the U.S. probation officer who reviewed the case was that “he does not have the ability to pay the fine.” “Most of those assets had been sold to be able to support his daughter, pay for her uni- versity and living expenses in the mainland [U.S.],” Ms. Espada’s statement read. “The court should note that enforcing this fine will cause hardship to his family and more so to his daughter who is innocent of all wrongdoing.” The Puerto Rico-based attorney also ar- gued that there have been other cases in- volving drug conspiracies and money laun- dering allegations where fines assessed have been less than one-third of the amount charged to Merren. “We understand how the court may con- strue Mr. Merren’s behavior as inexcusable given the circumstances of his upbringing and all the opportunities he had in life to be able Dart buys Barefoot Beach property James WhiTTaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A $10 million piece of beachfront prop- erty in East End – once slated for a Mandarin Oriental Hotel – has been acquired by Dart Realty, the developer has confirmed. “Barefoot Beach has been for sale for many years and the distressed asset was recently acquired by a subsidiary of Dart Realty (Cayman) Ltd,” Mark VanDevelde, CEO of Dart Realty said Wednesday. The 20-acre site with 2,000 feet of white sand beach is already zoned for tourism use and was billed as Cayman’s most significant resort development site when it was listed for sale after the Mandarin deal collapsed. According to the listing record filed with the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association, the property sold for $10 mil- lion on Dec. 30 last year. The new owner of the property is listed in the Land Registry as SparrowHawk Ltd. Large developers, like Dart, often use subsidiary companies to purchase land. Sparrowhawk is also listed as the owner of a piece of land next to Smith Barcadere, which was offered by Dart to government during negotiations over the For Cayman Investment Alliance deal, which was never finalized. However, part of that deal was sectioned out and became known as the Barefoot Beach in East End. – pHOtO: taneOS raMSay PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL Thursday July 30, 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. PAPER TOWNS (PG13) 1:10 | 4:00 | 7:20 | 9:50 PIXELS 3D (PG13) 1:00 | 3:30 2D | 7:00 | 9:40 2D TRAINWRECK (R) 1:30 | 4:20 | 7:10 | 10:00 VATICAN TAPES (PG13) 12:45 | 3:00 | 5:15 | 7:30 | 10:10 ANT-MAN 3D (PG13) 1:40 2D | 3:40 | 7:05 2D | 9:30 MINIONS 3D (PG) 1:20 | 4:30 2D | 7:10 9:45 2D *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - THURSDAY - $8.00 Sunny South Florida is tops in fraud MIAMI (AP) – Need a phony ID? A fraudulent tax refund? Insurance money from a sham car crash? Florida may have just what you’re looking for. Since the first settlers hacked their way into the mangrove tangles and drained much of the swampland, sunny South Florida has been virtually synonymous with shady deals and scams. Over the past decade or so, the three most popu- lous South Florida counties – Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach – have become less renowned for old-school “Miami Vice”-style drug shootouts than for scammers stealing hundreds of millions from the government, banks and individuals by using lap- tops, stolen identities and fake medical procedures. The endlessly creative crooks come up with fake Jamaican lotteries, false mar- riages for immigration pur- poses, mediocre seafood marketed as better seafood, insurance rip-offs from fake accidents and fires – even foreign substandard cheese passed off as domestic top shelf. But the big money is in a trio of major fraud trends: Medicare, mortgage and identity theft-tax refunds. By almost any measure, South Florida is the nation’s organized fraud capital, al- though authorities say it’s not entirely clear why. “Is it the weather? Is it because it’s beautiful and the fraudsters want to live here? Is it because it’s such a melting pot and you have or- ganized crime from all ethnic groups?” said Kelly Jackson, top agent in the Internal Revenue Service’s crim- inal investigative division in South Florida. “Any fraud, it always seems to start here.” Take the most pop- ular current trend: identity theft coupled with income tax fraud. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Florida ranks first in identity theft complaints at about 193 per 100,000 residents in 2013. But that’s dwarfed by the greater Miami area, which had 340 complaints per 100,000 residents that year. The number of false fed- eral income tax returns, meanwhile, is 46 times the national average in South Florida, according to a Treasury Department report. George Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI’s South Florida office, said in many cases criminal organiza- tions are shifting from vio- lent crimes to those involving mostly digital data. “Identity theft, the fastest growing crime here, is as easy as one, two, three. One, criminals steal someone’s name and Social Security number. Two, they use that identity to file a fraudulent tax return online. And three, they collect the refund check. Repeat thousands of times,” Piro said. Criminal organizations have used people from all walks of life to steal identi- ties: hospital workers, prison employees, high school cafe- teria workers, people at state agencies and assistants in law offices. It’s even become dan- gerous to be a letter carrier, because mail is great way to steal identities. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in 13 recent robberies of letter carriers in South Florida. One was slain in 2010 for his mailbox key. Nationally, the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration estimated in April that in 2012 more than 787,000 potentially unde- tected fraudulent tax returns were filed totaling more than $2.1 billion in refunds. “The number of stolen identities and the dollar amount of the tax fraud in- volved in these cases is stag- gering,” said Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer. The lure of stealing huge amounts of government money also drives fraud in the Medicare program, which provides services to America’s elderly. Since 2007, nine re- gional “strike forces” of the Justice, Treasury and Health and Human Services depart- ments have charged about 2,300 people who had falsely billed Medicare for $7 billion. The South Florida unit’s share of that? More than 1,500 defendants through last September. Stealing from Medicare can require a large organiza- tion: crooked doctors, people to handle the billing, patients willing to accept kickbacks, and so on. Among those recently charged is Dr. Salomon Melgen, a prominent Palm Beach County eye doctor also accused in a corruption in- dictment with his friend, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez. Melgen, who has pleaded not guilty in both cases, stands accused of falsely diagnosing patients with eye conditions and per- forming unnecessary proce- dures to bilk Medicare out of as much as $105 million. Campers learn right from wrong Jewel levy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Some of Cayman’s chil- dren now have better ideas of determining right from wrong after attending the Fearless Xtreme summer camp, hosted by the Youth Development Consortium. The Consortium hosted the team of camp counselors and professionals to assist the youngsters, ages 7 to 14, in making right choices at the Mary Miller Memorial Hall during June and July. Utilizing Josh McDowell’s “Setting you free to make right choices” workbook and leaders guide, the team of volunteer missionary camp counselors guided campers through the sessions. In addition to the ses- sions, Simon Miller, a preven- tion officer at the National Drug Council, spoke with the youngsters on issues such as teen pregnancy, violence and substance abuse. Other guests lending their expertise included Rotaract members, presenting on “ser- vice to others,” and musi- cian Eden Hurlston who pre- sented on the importance of “following your passion.” Campers also engaged in team building exercises where they produced posters and took part in drama and dance. According to the Youth Development Consortium’s Sylvia Wilks, peer leaders who attended camp last year also assisted this year. “One camper took the ini- tiative to create an inspira- tional drawing after the ses- sion on the support asset category and presented it to the other campers the fol- lowing day, another wrote a rap for his team and one even composed music in- spired by Fearless Xtreme, which he played on the piano during the closing program,” she said. Campers also took part in field trips, which included visits to the National Trust, Mission House, the National Museum and Pedro Castle, as well as Dolphin Cove. There was a beach activity day and a church service held over the first weekend of the camp. “The camp was enriching for both campers and coun- selors, and parents were pleased with the prog- ress of their children,” said Ms. Wilks. TV depicTion of colombia’s only sainT angers her deVoTees BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) – For weeks, billboards on buses and television spots have been announcing what promises to be Colombia’s next big prime- time sensation. But the planned debut Wednesday of a TV soap opera dramatizing the life of Colombia’s only Roman Catholic saint was shrouded in controversy after devo- tees of the missionary nun known universally as Madre Laura filed a lawsuit seeking to correct what they say is an unseemly depiction. Born in Colombia’s coffee- growing region in 1874, Laura Montoya was a nun and teacher who devoted her life to protecting indigenous tribes from discrimination and sometimes outright vio- lence by the country’s white elite. Her work on their be- half was emulated in poor, mostly black and indige- nous communities across Colombia and today hun- dreds of missionaries from her order are in 21 countries, from Angola to Haiti. Montoya was canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI and her sainthood con- firmed by Pope Francis a year later in a ceremony that saw Colombia, one of Latin America’s most fer- vently Catholic nations, re- joice with pride. Bogota-based Caracol, which is producing the 24-episode mega-produc- tion “Laura, the Colombian Saint,” is known as one of the most-thriving tele- novela factories in Latin America. But most of the network’s productions, with names like “Without Breasts There’s No Paradise” and “Cartel of the Snitches,” tend to follow more sinful story lines that are popular with audiences but often criti- cized as inappropriate. Given the anything-goes reputation of Colombia’s air- waves, often in conflict with the country’s deep faith, some sort of combustion over the series’ premiere was probably unavoidable. The Congregation of Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and St. Catherine of Sienna, the order founded by Montoya, says that despite repeated requests it was never con- sulted by Caracol about the script. The group questions the network’s right to use Montoya’s name and image, whose copyright it claims. The order also has de- nounced the telenovela over fears that it will de- pict romantic relationships it says never existed and over tasteless dialogue by men criticizing Montoya’s physical appearance. Fearless Xtreme campers celebrate at the Mary Miller Hall.3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday July 30, 2015 Greater protection for children to come into effect By Kelsey JuKam kjukam@pinnaclemedialtd.com Changes to the Children Law rules, designed to pro- tect children in family dis- putes from being removed without authorization from Cayman, will go into effect on Aug. 3. The Children Law, which came into force in 2012, pro- vides protections for all chil- dren in the Cayman Islands. The rules of the law were last amended in 2012, to en- sure that the best interests of the child are taken into account during domestic disputes before a court. According to Conor Fee, who practices family law with experience in child-re- lated contact and residence disputes, the law currently gives the court the power to make four different types of orders concerning children. The courts can issue a res- idence order, which deter- mines where and with what parent a child lives; a contact order determining when a child sees a parent he or she does not live with; a specific issue order, which determines certain aspects of the child’s life like where they might go to school; and, finally a pro- hibited steps order. Mr. Fee, an associate at Samson & McGrath Attorneys-at-Law, describes the prohibited steps order as “prohibiting a parent from doing something he or she might ordinarily be allowed to do with a child,” like taking the child abroad. Fee says it is often used in an emergency order to prevent an abduction. The new amendments to the rules deal exclusively with the prohibited steps order. Mr. Fee says that when such an order is made, it is typically good prac- tice for attorneys to provide a copy of the order to the Immigration Department, so that if a prohibited person tries to remove a child from Cayman, that attempt is flagged. The changes to the rules will make that filing a requirement. “This will increase the protection afforded to chil- dren here because it is now automatic that immi- gration will be notified of any restrictions on a child being removed from the is- lands, and will not allow that child to travel abroad,” Mr. Fee said. The new rules will also allow the court the op- tion of making a further six possible orders in cases that the court finds addi- tional safeguards are neces- sary. For example, the court would now be able to make an order requiring a person that the court has deemed a “prohibited person” (the person the prohibited steps order has been made against) to take an oath to state whether he or she has the child’s passport and can require that person to sur- render the passport to the court. The court can also order a prohibited person to state whether they know of anyone else who has that child’s passport. The court can also order the “prohibited person” to state whether they know of any pending passport ap- plications for the child. Fee says this “could be useful where a child has dual na- tionality and so the sur- render of one passport may not prevent the child travel- ling on another passport.” The new powers are added to both the grand court and summary court rules, so the new powers will apply equally in both courts. “This will increase the protection afforded to children here because it is now automatic that immigration will be notified of any restrictions on a child being removed from the islands, and will not allow that child to travel abroad.” Conor Fee, Samson & McGrath Attorneys-at-Law Workshop set for divorced or separated parents Jewel levy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Family Resource Centre is hosting a co-par- enting workshop to as- sist parents who are sepa- rated or divorced. Organizers say the focus of the workshop is to support parents and partners in their efforts to provide a nurturing home environment for their children following a period of family change. Charmaine Miller, pro- gram facilitator at the Family Resource Centre, said, “The workshop helps parents re- duce the negative effects sep- aration has on children [who] are living in separated homes but still have that shared in- terest in raising their chil- dren together.” The two-part workshop, called “Children First,” takes place twice a month on the first and second Wednesday, starting Aug. 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Family Resource Centre on the ground floor of the Compass Centre. The workshop is free and participants can choose to attend either the same or separate sessions from their partners. The parenting class will be conducted by Miriam Foster, the center’s program coordinator, along with an- other worker. Topics for discussion will focus on self awareness and children’s needs: A video will show the impact that di- vorce has on children; dem- onstrations on how to avoid triggers that ignite conflict; understanding financial re- sponsibilities; the dynamics of violence, abuse and ne- glect; and grieving the loss of a parent. “What we are trying to do is focus a lot on maintaining some form of parental in- volvement … that’s what the workshops stress a lot,” said Ms. Miller. She added, “It’s not just because a relation- ship ended between [the] mother and father that it means that the relationship has to stop with the child. Oftentimes, that is what we are seeing with the children. Unfortunately, the children tend to be in the middle of the broken relationship and they tend to suffer the con- sequences of that.” In most cases, co-par- enting refers to raising chil- dren in separate homes be- cause the parents have separated or divorced, and though no longer living to- gether, they continue to be involved in parenting their children. Co-parenting can also involve grandpar- ents or others who have as- sumed parenting responsibil- ities, according to the Family Resource Centre. A light dinner and childcare will be provided for those attending the workshop. The Family Resource Centre’s workshop is free and participants can choose to attend either the same or separate sessions from their partners. – Photo: Jewel levy man jailed for abusive texts Defendant had previous convictions for similar offenses using ICT services CaROl wINKeR cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A man who sent threat- ening text messages to his ex- girlfriend was sentenced to 13 months in prison Monday. Sven Connor, 34, ad- mitted using an Information Communication Technology service to abuse, threaten and harass a woman with whom he had been in a relationship. Justice Malcolm Swift pointed out that Connor had three previous offenses in- volving misuse of an ICT net- work to harass someone in 2010. He had been fined $500 for each offense. The latest offending oc- curred Dec. 23-30, 2014. Crown counsel Candia James presented photos of various text messages Connor had sent to the woman. These included threats to inject her with HIV blood, to dis- figure her for life, and to send others “to f–- her up.” The judge said it was dif- ficult to think of a more se- rious example of abuse, threat and harassment using an ICT network. “This was persistent and repeated, and the threats were to use ex- treme violence, including a gun, acid, and to act against the complainant’s family,” he noted. He quoted several of the messages that caused the woman to fear for her safety: “Look what you’re doing or die … . Answer the phone before I come there in this rage I have stored up in me … I dying bust my gun in your face …” The messages did not stop until Connor was arrested on some other allegation. Defense attorney Amelia Fosuhene advised that the charge need not have come to Grand Court except that Connor was originally charged with abduction of the same woman on Dec. 24, as well as two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm. Abduction can be tried only in the higher court, she noted, but in the end that charge was not proceeded with. Ms. Fosuhene explained that Connor had received messages from the woman as well. If those were avail- able, they would have given a clearer picture of the re- lationship between the two, she said. Connor had asked for full telephone records, but she understood that po- lice never obtained them. Connor had said that the woman was abusive to him also. He now pleaded guilty and accepted that his mes- sages would have caused her fear and great con- cern. He apologized to the court and to the woman for sending the messages, Ms. Fosuhene stated. Justice Swift referred to the penalty section of the ICT Law. It provides for a maximum fine of $20,000 or two years’ imprisonment plus an order to restrain the defendant from using the ICT service or network as the court sees fit. The judge considered the persistent nature of this of- fense and Connor’s pre- vious convictions, which in- cluded the other three ICT offenses. He noted that the guilty plea came after a trial date was set. He was there- fore unable to give a full dis- count for the plea. The appropriate sentence, he said, was 18 months’ im- prisonment, but with 25 per- cent discount that was re- duced to 13 months, rounded off. Time in custody for this indictment will count to- ward the sentence. The officer in the case had applied for an order for protection against do- mestic violence, Justice Swift continued. The order he made was for Connor to stay away from the woman’s residence and any premises frequented by her, not approach within 100 meters of her, and not engage in any direct or indi- rect communication with her for two years. As to restraining Connor from using an ICT service, the judge said he had made a finding that the defen- dant had a propensity to ha- rass and abuse women with whom he consorts. “I think it would be ap- propriate to order that the defendant be restrained from using ICT services or ICT networks on this island for a period of two years from today; however, be- cause and only because I can find no provision detailing how such a restraint order would be enforced, and so could not today warn the de- fendant of the consequences of such a breach, I make no order in respect of that.” The Crown accepted a plea to common as- sault on one of the other charges and the judge im- posed no separate penalty. The Crown offered no evi- dence on the second assault charge and a verdict of not guilty was handed down. A charge of threats to kill was left on file.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” Internet stalkers, trolls and other online miscreants, beware: The veil of anonymity presented by keyboards and computer screens offers no legal protection what- soever for misbehavior in the Cayman Islands. Under our laws, what a person says or does online, or via text message, can basically be considered in the same light as what one says or does in the public square in broad daylight. Indeed, many times the most salient practical difference is that the electronic records of misdeeds persist more indelibly than typical physical evidence, and are more conclusive than verbal witness testimony. As we report in today’s Compass, a Caymanian man discovered the punitive powers under our Infor- mation and Communications Authority Technology the hard way, as he was sentenced to 13 months in prison for unleashing upon an ex-girlfriend an avalanche of vile and threatening text messages. For our readers’ edification, here’s the relevant section of the ICTA Law: “A person who knowingly uses an ICT network or ICT service to defraud, abuse, annoy, threaten or harass any other person is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of ten thousand dollars and to imprisonment for one year, or, on conviction on indictment, to a fine of twenty thousand dollars and to imprisonment for two years.” But the ICTA Law isn’t the only legal statute demarcating the boundaries of free speech in our juris- diction. Other offenses, such as libel and defamation, apply equally to electronic communications as well as print or broadcast, depending on what the particular case may be. Some of our readers on the CaymanCompass.com website send us occasional messages, inquiring (sometimes politely, sometimes not) why a particular comment of theirs wasn’t published. Sometimes they accuse us of restricting their freedom of speech. Well, the truth is, in many such instances, we were doing that person a favor — and protecting ourselves in the process — by not publishing that comment because we deemed it to be patently untrue, factually unsubstan- tiated, accusatory or downright hurtful … and, thus, potentially legally actionable. We take similar steps to monitor and moderate comments on the Compass’s Facebook feed. Apart from concerns over libel and defamation, we want the Compass, in print and online, to be a public forum for positive and constructive discussion — a means by which people can become better informed, not insulted. In furtherance of this aspect of our company’s mission, we have included in today’s newspaper a special 16-page report on the ongoing debate over whether or not Cayman should pursue a cruise berthing project in George Town harbor. Because of the impor- tance of the issue, and the magnitude of the proposal on the table, the conversation about cruise berthing has become quite heated, with the two most vocal groups being construed as the “environmentalists” against the dock, versus the “merchants” who are for it. We have given each of those sides the opportunity to explain their positions, in their own words, but the bulk of this special section has been constructed by our team of reporters and editors, under the mandate of being even- handed and utterly objective. We believe the special report, in sum, will be — not the final word on the cruise dock — but certainly the most definitive to date. We hope our readers appreciate and enjoy the fruits of our journalistic labors. We invite you to submit your own thoughts, comments and opinions to us, on the cruise dock or any other topic relevant to Cayman, either by writing directly to the Editor, posting on our website or picking up the telephone and giving us a call. We’re always glad to hear from you. Free expression, not freedom from consequences Thursday JuLy 30, 2015 • Cayman COmpass Beijing’s efforts to en- gineer a strong stock rally and the recent Shanghai market collapse have had quite limited effects on western markets, but going forward the fallout from Chinese market meddling will likely be less benign. Unlike western corpora- tions, Chinese businesses are much more dependent on bank financing than selling stock to raise capital. And ordinary Chinese workers have more of their savings in banks and less in equities than Americans. Chinese banks are pre- dominantly state owned, and funding for projects too often reflects the goals of the State Council – a political body, analog to a western govern- ment’s cabinet, that also sets broad monetary, fiscal and industrial policy goals. Hence, a lot Chinese sav- ings are badly invested. For example, the hundreds of billions of yuan financing joint ventures between Chinese and western auto- makers – yet, indigenous Chinese manufacturers still have not learned how to produce a vehicle reliable enough to export and com- pete in global markets. To expand the pool of eq- uity capital and wean busi- nesses from bank financing, Beijing initiated a big push to get Chinese savers to buy stocks, including with bor- rowed money – what we call margin trading. The Shanghai stock market soared 60 percent in the first half of this year. In June, authorities, worried things had gone too far, tried to deflate the bubble a bit by tightening credit but the market collapsed. Now regulators have thrown in the kitchen sink to reflate the market – for ex- ample, massive loans to large brokerages and letting ordi- nary folks pledge real estate to maintain stock positions – and have had some success. Stock prices are still up 17 percent since Dec. 31. If the State Council chooses, the People’s Bank of China can push up prices again by simply printing enough money and facili- tating state bank and bro- kerage house purchases of enough stocks – importantly, the Shanghai exchange is still up 70 percent from a year ago. Just about nothing in China’s financial sector is legitimate. Unlike western central banks, the People’s Bank of China does not in- dependently set monetary policy or regulate banks. It takes its orders from politi- cians on the State Council, state banks carry loans that will never be repaid by oth- erwise insolvent enterprises, and the yuan does not trade freely against the dollar and other currencies in foreign exchange markets. Yet, the London Metal Exchange recently an- nounced it will accept yuan – along with the dollar, British pound, euro and Japanese yen – as collateral from banks and brokers that trade gold and other precious metals on its platform. Later this year, the IMF may add the yuan to those four currencies as the assets that back Special Drawing Rights – the IMF’s own in- ternational currency. That would pave the way for cen- tral banks around the world to hold large amounts of yuan as a reserve currency, and make China’s politically controlled state banks as le- gitimate and potentially pow- erful in global markets as J.P. Morgan or Deutsche Bank. Right now, the State Council, through the People’s Bank, can print as much money as it likes to hold the line and push up stock prices, and set the value of the yuan against the dollar and other currencies as it likes. With China’s state banks legitimatized and the yuan enjoying reserve currency status – unchecked and un- challenged – Beijing will be able to blunder and plunder markets globally and un- wittingly or with pernicious purpose destabilize markets for gold, currency, equities and bonds. The immediate effects on western markets of the recent upheavals in the Chinese stock market may be limited but if left un- checked, Chinese economic power is a genuine threat to global financial stability. Peter Morici is a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He served as chief economist of the U.S. International Trade Commission from 1993-1995. He tweets @pmorici1. China’s rigged markets will destabilize global capitalism Peter Morici Help Central America help itself BloomBerg View editorial Board Their numbers may have declined, but the violence they are trying to escape per- sists. As Congress considers the plight of the thousands of people from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras who still head north every month, it should keep this fact in mind. The best – and most cost- effective – policy for the U.S. is to help address the pov- erty and crime that still plague the so-called Northern Triangle. This requires the cooperation of the countries themselves, of course, and there are signs that their leaders – pressured by a res- tive public – may be up to the task. Congress should not let this opportunity pass. Public outrage over cor- ruption and impunity has reached a political tipping point, unseating the vice president, central bank chief and several other minis- ters in Guatemala. There and in Honduras, governments have responded to protests without resorting to out- right repression. And there is evidence, especially in Guatemala, that prosecutors (with help from the United Nations) are more willing and able to hold corrupt of- ficials to account. It helps, too that the re- gion’s economies have recov- ered from the 2008-09 reces- sion and are benefiting from global tailwinds. The U.S. re- covery is boosting their ex- ports; a strong dollar is raising the value of remit- tances that account for big chunks of their gross do- mestic products. Lower oil prices have reduced fuel import bills. Steps to- ward greater regional inte- gration, such as a customs union between Honduras and Guatemala, have the potential to spur trade and investment. Here’s where the U.S. comes in. It cannot end the violence in Central America, but it bears some respon- sibility for it and stands to gain from its decline. The U.S. appetite for drugs sustains Central American gangs, whose members were often incubated in U.S. prisons. Until this violence slackens – and there is a reduction in the “unorganized” crime that affects even more citizens – the river of migrants, many of them unaccompanied chil- dren, will continue running north to the U.S. border. Tighter controls on the border between Guatemala and Mexico have tempo- rarily stanched the flow from last summer’s highs. Stopping it at the source will take the kind of sus- tained assistance, totaling about US$1 billion, which President Barack Obama proposed last January. Most of the money would go to- ward civil-society programs and economic development. Many in Congress worry that this money would be wasted. Or they want to ap- propriate a much smaller amount – in the House bill, it is US$300 million – to be spent mostly on fighting crime and tightening border controls. (The Senate’s broader approach, though still funding only about two-thirds of Obama’s re- quest, makes more sense.) They don’t particularly want to make it easier for people and goods to move among the countries of the Northern Triangle. Yet there’s evidence that just beefing up the police and military cannot reduce the vi- olence. To restore public con- fidence in their governments, these countries need stronger judiciaries, better mecha- nisms for fighting corruption, and measures to strengthen political accountability. Moreover, people who live on US$4 or less a day will always be drawn north in search of better opportunity. The governments of the Northern Triangle are hardly models of efficiency or ac- countability. But public pres- sure is a powerful force, and continued economic growth is a strong incentive. It’s in the U.S. interest to give them the help they need. © 2015, Bloomberg View5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday July 30, 2015 Overseas Territories leaders prepare for UK meeting Kelsey JUKam kjukam@pinnaclemedialtd.com Economic challenges, tourism and financial and reg- ulatory issues were among the topics addressed by leaders of British Overseas Territories at a meeting last week in Bermuda, the group said in a statement Wednesday. The pre-Joint Ministerial Council meeting aimed to outline issues the officials plan to bring to the atten- tion of British ministers when they meet with them in London in December. Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin was among those who attended. Mr. McLaughlin told media in Bermuda, “Even when the issues do not nec- essarily affect our territory, we are there to provide sol- idarity that is necessary to ensure that the U.K. pays at- tention to whatever issues are affecting the territory in question.” Among the topics dis- cussed last week was benefi- cial ownership. At last year’s Joint Ministerial Council meeting, the U.K. urged its overseas territories to create a pub- licly searchable central reg- ister of beneficial ownership of legal entities. The Cayman Islands and other overseas territories have resisted doing so, citing privacy concerns and a lack of universal application. The Cayman Islands maintains a beneficial ownership register, but it is not public and court action is typically required to retrieve the information. Mr. McLaughlin said in Bermuda that now that U.K. elections are over, the pres- sure won’t be as great, but that there is still “no question that the overseas territories are going to be required to establish some kind of plat- form by which U.K. law en- forcement and tax regulatory authorities have access to beneficial ownership.” Also on the topic of finan- cial regulation, leaders dis- cussed how to continue the fight against financial crime and to “continue to be re- sponsible international fi- nancial centers that facilitate global trade and investment in line with the emerging global consensus,” ac- cording to a statement from the attendees. Other financial topics touched upon were ways to build sustainable economies, with “stable banking sectors where relevant that are more resilient and capitalize on changing global trends and to seek innovative solutions.” Other topics discussed re- lated to environmental sus- tainability, social security and healthcare, including mental health services and the creation of an overseas territories sports council. The group also stated its intent “to implement the principles espoused in the 2012 White Paper on Security, Success and Sustainability and to agree at the minis- terial level on collective is- sues between Overseas Territories Governments and the U.K. Government.” The goals set out in the white paper include strength- ening good governance, public financial management and economic planning, and improving the quality and range of support available to the territories. Addressing the media on the first day of the meeting, Bermuda Premier Michael Dunkley said that the terri- tories had faced a number of challenges since leaders last met, including “economic headwinds which continue to slow the pace of our re- covery,” complex tourism dy- namics, and social issues including gangs and health- care costs. But he said that there is “cause for much hope within the territories” and they must keep in mind that there is “strength in unity.” Mr. Dunkley also pledged that the December meeting in London would not be a repeat of last year, and that they would push to have ac- cess to the right people, “right up to the prime minister.” “Even when the issues do not necessarily affect our territory, we are there to provide solidarity that is necessary to ensure that the U.K. pays attention to whatever issues are affecting the territory in question .” PREMIER ALDEN MCLAUGHLIN Bermuda Premier Michael Dunkley, fourth from left, in Bermuda shorts, with Overseas Territories leaders, including Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin, second from right, at the pre-Joint Ministerial Council meeting held last week. - PHOTO: BernewsThe islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Community Calendar ■ Community Calendar is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. Thursday July 30, 2015 • Cayman Compass THURSDAY, JULY 30 NCVO BINGO: Play Bingo at Craft from 6:30 p.m. to support programs of the National Council of Voluntary Organizations. $10 entrance. More than $4,000 worth of prizes to be won. Raffle tickets also available, to be drawn during the evening. FRIDAY, JULY 31 IMMIGRATION OffICe CLOSeD: The Department of Immigration headquarters, including Passport & Corporate Services, Visa Office and front counter is closed to the public for all but essential services today. Only work permit and permanent residence applications, including applications for permission to continue to work that must be submitted prior to Aug. 1 in order to allow continued employment, will be accepted. Time- sensitive applications for visitor extensions will also be accepted. The Passport & Corporate Services Office will not accept any applications, but passports and visa waivers may be collected at the Immigration main counter location. The department will remain open until 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 30, resuming normal operations on Monday, Aug. 3. HARBOUR NIGHTS: A free George Town revitalization music and entertainment event, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Harbour Drive, South Church Street (street closure from Bayshore Mall to Guy Harvey’s). Performances by local musicians, teen disco, fire eaters, acrobats and street dancers and food vendors. SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 fAMILY fUN DAY: AAVIC (All Against Violence in Cayman) invites everyone to Jeremiah’s 5th Annual Memorial Family Fun Day at Seven Mile Public Beach from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free admission, food and drinks, games, face-painting and activities for everyone. CAR BOOT SALe: At the NCVO Bargain Shop, 90A Anthony Drive. $25 per spot. Proceeds for National Council of Voluntary Organisations projects. To reserve a space, contact Alta Solomon at 949- 2124 or ncvocoordinator@ ncvo.org.ky. BRAC CAMP DAY: The National Gallery holds Brac Summer Day Camp 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Children work with visiting artist. Lecture and children’s exhibit 7 p.m. SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 JAMAICAN INDePeNDeNCe: A church service in celebration of the 53rd anniversary of Jamaica’s independence takes place at 8 a.m., St. George’s Anglican Church, Courts Road, off Eastern Avenue. The office of the Honorary Jamaican Government representative invites the public to attend. MONDAY, AUGUST 3 NATIONAL PeNSIONS: The public is invited to a discussion of the National Pensions (Amendment) Bill at the North Side Civic Centre, 8 p.m. TUESDAY, AUGUST 4 MOONLIGHT & MOVIeS: Tonight’s free film at 7 p.m. is “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” (PG). Families are invited to Gardenia Court in Camana Bay to set up a picnic on the grass, or just bring a blanket, relax and enjoy the show on the outdoor big screen. THURSDAY, AUGUST 6 GALLeRY COLLeCTIONS: Lecture by Natalie Urquhart, National Gallery curator and director, 6-7:30 p.m. She will discuss the history of the National Gallery collections and how the current collection was acquired over the years. Other topics include collections policy, future plans, conditions and requirements for long-term care. For more information or to RSVP, email info@ nationalgallery.org.ky or call 945-8111. NATIONAL PeNSIONS: The public is invited to a discussion of the National Pensions (Amendment) Bill in the Bodden Town district, at the Savannah Primary School Hall, 7:30 p.m. MONDAY, AUGUST 10 NATIONAL PeNSIONS: The public is invited to a discussion of the National Pensions (Amendment) Bill at the East End Civic Centre at 8 p.m. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12 NATIONAL PeNSIONS: The public is invited to a discussion of the National Pensions (Amendment) Bill in West Bay at the Shirley Kidd Memorial Hall at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School, 7:30 p.m. THURSDAY, AUGUST 13 NATIONAL PeNSIONS BILL: The public is invited to the final meeting to discuss the National Pensions (Amendment) Bill. It takes place in George Town at the Town Hall, 7:30 p.m. SUMMER CAMPS VACATION BIBLe SCHOOL: The Church of God Chapel – George Town extends an invitation to all children ages 3 to 13 to attend Vacation Bible School, “Scavenger Hunt,” 6-8 p.m., Aug. 3-7, at the Family Life Centre. There is no charge. Call 949-9393 to register. CAMP JAM: All youth ages 13 to 17 are invited to attend Camp JAM, a creative Christian Arts Camp at the Family Life Centre, 6-9 p.m., Aug. 10-14. Activities include, singing, dancing, instruments, and drama. Call 949-9393 to register. Cost is $35. A team from Anderson University is coming to work with the children and youth.” NATIONAL GALLeRY SeSSIONS: Summer sessions of art-related activities for kids every Thursday till Aug. 20, 2-4 p.m. Free, but space is limited. Register at education@nationalgallery. org or 945-8111. CReATIVe CAMPeRS: In session through Aug. 28, for ages 3-13. Runs 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Elmslie Memorial Church Hall. $80 per week includes camp fee, field trips, snacks and lunch. Activities include arts and crafts, sports, science, talent show, Bible study. Contact 324-8707 or creativecampers@live.com. ART AND CRAfT: Organized by the Visual Arts Society. Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, until Aug. 12, 8 a.m. to noon. $45 per session or $120 per week, or $485 for the month. Camp takes place on the grounds of Pedro Castle at the Watler House Art Studio. Visit visualartcayman@ yahoo.com. GENERAL INTEREST NCVO SCHOOL YeAR: Miss Nadine’s Preschool and Jack and Jill Nursery are now registering for the new school year, which starts August 31. Both facilities are under the auspices of the National Council of Voluntary Organizations. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Contact Heather Lopez, Director, at 945-1078 or ncvopreschool@ncvo. org.ky. Cost includes breakfast, lunch and one snack daily. AL-ANON GROUP MeeTING: Are you troubled by someone’s drinking? Al-Anon Family Groups can help. Call 928-8843 or email caymanalanon@gmail. com for meeting times. NCVO VOLUNTeeRS NeeDeD: Volunteers are needed for various activities within the National Council of Voluntary Organisations’ Children Services programmes. Contact Alta Solomon at 949- 2124 or ncvocoordinator@ ncvo.org.ky SUMMeR BOOK SWAP: Every Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. until the end of August, at the Learning Tree, Cassia Court in Camana Bay. Book lovers can find titles for all ages and interests. Browse the selection, take your pick and replace it with one of your favorites to help spread the joy of reading. Reef ReSTORATION: Certified divers are invited to work on the Cayman Magic Reef restoration in George Town. A schedule of work dates and times is posted on Facebook under Cayman Magic Reef Recovery. Dates, times and places are listed under Events, for volunteers to check and sign up. NATIONAL GALLeRY: The gallery has extended hours for the summer: Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the exhibition halls is free and open to the public. Current exhibition is the gallery’s permanent collection. A 20-minute documentary film, “Caymanian Art – A New Frontier,” by Jacob Olde VI will be screened on a loop throughout the exhibition “All Access.” HIV TeSTING: Free HIV testing is available every Tuesday year-round at the Cayman Islands Red Cross on Thomas Russell Way. Anyone wishing to get tested should arrive by 9 a.m. Testing will be available every Tuesday, 9:10 a.m. Contact HIV/AIDS Coordinator Laura Whitfield at 244-2631. PUBLIC feeDBACK: The Ministry of Education, Employment & Gender Affairs and the Department of Labour & Pensions has released the Labour Relations Bill, 2015 and the National Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2015 for public consultation. These bills can be accessed on the Ministry’s website, www.education.gov.ky/ labourpensions. In addition to participation at district meetings, the public can email their feedback on the bills to the Ministry and Department at lpl@gov.ky. THRIfT SHOP SeeKS CLOTHING: The Humane Society Thrift Shop is desperately low on stock. Clothing, accessories, toys, small appliances, shoes, bric-a-brac and pictures are needed. Please bring donations to the Humane Society building on North Sound Road. BeTHeSDA COUNSeLING CeNTeR: At 68 Mary St. Caters to all who seek help. Call 946-6575. Open Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Center is owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. ARTISANS MARKeT: Camana Bay Artisans Market every Wednesday. Visual Arts Society has artists displaying arts, crafts, paintings, prints, hand-crafted jewelry and ceramics for sale between noon and 8 p.m. near KARoo. For more information about being a displaying artist, contact info@visualartcayman.com. DeMeNTIA/ALZHeIMeR’S SUPPORT GROUP: This group meets on the last Wednesday of each month at the Catboat Club clubhouse, North Church Street. All are invited to attend. For more information, call 924-4170 or email info@adacayman.com. SPeCIAL OLYMPICS: Volunteers are needed on Tuesdays from 5:30-6:45 p.m. to assist with training athletes in track and field, bocce and football. Truman Bodden Sports Complex. Contact Penny McDowall, 516-2578, soci@candw.ky or pjmcdowall@gmail.com. PReSCHOOL fUNDING: The Ministry of Education offers funding to assist eligible young Caymanian children to attend an early childhood center (preschool). Application forms are available at the Government Administration Building on Elgin Avenue, at the Department of Education Services on Thomas Russell Way, and from early childhood center directors/ operators. For further information, call 244- 5735 or contact turnette. stewart@gov.ky or renee. barnes@gov.ky. MUSeUM TOURS: The National Museum provides guided tours for students and school groups free of cost. Students will gain an understanding of Cayman’s geological formation, flora and fauna, seafaring and rope-making heritage, political history and more. Contact the museum to book a tour in advance at 949-8368 or email info@ museum.ky. PINK LADIeS: Coffee Shop at Cayman Islands Hospital is open Monday- Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast, lunch, drinks, snacks. Takeout orders welcome, call 244- 2661. Funds are donated back to the community. Contact pinkladiescayman@ gmail.com. HUMANe SOCIeTY BOOK LOfT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30-4 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also, Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Volunteers needed for front desk a few hours per week. Contact humanesocietybookloft@ candw.ky or 946-8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, DVDs, cards etc. in good condition always needed. OPeN CANVAS: Wednesdays from 7 p.m. at KARoo restaurant in Camana Bay. No fee, easels provided. Artists of all levels invited. KARoo offers two complimentary tickets for wine or beer. For more information contact visualartcayman@ yahoo.com or jr@cib.ky or 546-9422. LOST DOGS: The Department of Agriculture and veterinary students of St. Matthew’s University provide an online list of dogs housed at the Department of Agriculture Animal Rescue Shelter in Lower Valley. Anyone missing a dog can check www.smustudents.webs.com. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.compasscayman. com/caycompass/portal/ community-calendar.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Thursday July 30, 2015 He said his office had fielded a few complaints this week from organiza- tions whose sites had been taken offline. He said ICTA had been publicizing the changes since March and had been in direct contact with ev- eryone who had a .ky do- main name. He said putting the sites into expiry served as a final warning to get reg- istered or risk losing the domain name. Of the 4,000 entities that have not renewed their reg- istrations, he said, only a fraction are functioning websites. The others could have been registered and not developed into sites. Around 1,000 domain names were registered overseas and were there- fore not able to be renewed, he said. After Sept. 2, all unreg- istered .ky domain names will be available on the global open market and could be bought and resold. Certain site names have been held back as a fraud protection measure at the request of official enti- ties, while other potentially commercially lucrative do- main names are being held by ICTA for auction. Mr. Fa’Amoe said reg- istration fees would help fund the proper manage- ment of the .ky domain. “We are no longer the island that time forgot. We can no longer ignore tech- nology and expect to com- pete as the fifth largest financial center in the world,” he said. to make the right choices,” the attorney’s statement read. “We do not dispute that, however, to err is human and Mr. Merren will redeem himself over time. “The fact that he is not a hardened criminal and he has been incarcerated … for over one year amongst people who have nothing in common with him and he has seen what a life of crime entails, threats to his safety, deprivation of lib- erty and even the most basic needs, we guarantee this court that the time imposed is a proportionate and ad- equate deterrent for him never to incur this type of behavior again.” Merren was arrested on allegations that he was at- tempting to set up a money laundering operation to cover for planned cocaine shipments through Puerto Rico. Records from the U.S. District Court indicate that Merren revealed at least one other man – an employee at his Cayman Islands trucking business – was involved in negotiations during 2013 and 2014 for cocaine shipments with two undercover federal agents. That man has not been charged, as far as the Cayman Compass is aware. Merren pleaded guilty in December 2014 to one count in an indictment al- leging he conspired with other individuals to pos- sess cocaine. It was one of the three charges ini- tially filed against him. The other two, alleging money laundering and drug pos- session, were dropped as part of the plea deal with federal prosecutors. “This is a difficult time for our family, particularly for our mother and Bryce’s daughter,” read a statement by Merren’s brother Randy, who attended the sentencing last month in San Juan. “In his statement to the court, Bryce expressed re- morse to his family, his friends and his country for his actions and took respon- sibility for the choices that led to this outcome.” In the initial probable cause affidavit filed just after Merren’s arrest, U.S. Homeland Security agents provided details of several meetings in Puerto Rico be- tween Merren, his asso- ciate and the two under- cover federal agents. In one of those meetings, on Nov. 6, 2013, between Merren and the two undercover agents, court records stated that details of the alleged money laundering scheme were discussed. “Merren explained to [un- dercover agent #2] that he has legitimate businesses in the Cayman Islands and Curacao where he receives funds from customers from all over the world that con- duct credit card transac- tions utilizing his busi- nesses’ merchant machines in order to convert foreign currency into U.S. currency,” the probable cause affidavit states. “Merren charges a percentage for the ex- change and then wire trans- fers the bulk amount of the currency back to its corre- spondent owner. “Merren also pre- pares purchase receipts for the customers in order to make it seem as if they are purchasing or paying for services,” the court records stated. The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has refused to comment on any aspect of the Puerto Rico investigation in- volving Merren. National Roads Authority agreement, which paved the way for the construc- tion of the Kimpton Hotel on Seven Mile Beach. So far, the developer has not indicated any concrete plans for developments in the eastern districts, but the government has indicated it wants to see an eastward expansion of the island’s tourism product. Dart has already revealed plans for another hotel on Seven Mile Beach and has discussed plans for a business hotel within Camana Bay, so it could be well down the road before the Barefoot Beach site is developed. “While we have no im- mediate plans for the site, with the continued growth of Health City and devel- opment in the Eastern Districts, it presents a great opportunity for a fu- ture coastal resort,” Mr. VanDevelde said. In a recent interview with the Cayman Islands Journal, Mr. VanDevelde said the developer had enough land holdings to react to demand, depending on how Cayman developed. “I think to some degree [development] will be re- actionary in nature,” Mr. VanDevelde said. “As the economy continues to grow out east, if Shetty’s [Health City Cayman Islands] grows as anticipated, it’s going to throw a lot of op- portunity in the eastern districts for future develop- ment, whether that takes a form of residential or com- mercial or lodging type of development. I think our looking at land banking some lands … is a measure of providing future oppor- tunities if you’ve got a suc- cessful Shetty development, if you have a successful Ironwood development, be- cause you will have more activity out there and more people living out there.” The Barefoot Beach property was the site of a previous plan for a 114- room luxury resort and spa. Mandarin Oriental an- nounced in 2005 that it would manage the exclu- sive resort, also featuring 37 condominiums, but the plans were abandoned in the wake of the global fi- nancial crisis. Dart buys Barefoot Beach property Websites go offline over new domain rules CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The 20-acre site with 2,000 feet of white sand beach is already zoned for tourism use and was billed as Cayman’s most significant resort development site when it was listed for sale in 2014. “It is ridiculous to think you can’t keep your website up because of a simple administrative change.” Alee FA’Amoe, managing director, ICTA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Merren can’t pay US$75,000 fine Teens’ 6 days adrift verge on limits for survival at sea TEQUESTA, Fla. (AP) – Crews pushed the limits of an ever-expanding search zone Wednesday for two teens missing at sea and poten- tially nearing the boundaries of human survival. The Coast Guard’s relent- less hunt for the 14-year-old fishermen, Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, persisted for a sixth day as questions grew over how long it could go on for. Decision-makers were juggling a mix of “art and science,” Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss said, trying to balance the knowledge of how long people can survive adrift with the unknowns on whether the boys had flota- tion devices and drinking water and what their phys- ical condition is. Still, authorities insisted their search would continue throughout the day. “There’s been a lot of ru- mors that the search has been suspended. I just want to refute that,” Capt. Mark Fedor said, speaking on the street where both boys live. “The search has not been suspended. It is still active and open.” Earlier Wednesday, a U.S. official in Washington had said the Coast Guard was suspending the search. Fedor was part of a Coast Guard contingent that met with the boys’ families for an hour Wednesday afternoon. Afterward, he declined to elaborate on the search or to answer reporters’ questions, but even a day earlier he ac- knowledged that with each passing hour, the prospects were more dire. The saga of the two boys from Tequesta, Florida, began Friday. Their parents believed their fishing outing would take them to a local river and waterway, as was the rule in previous solo trips, not the deep waters of the Atlantic. A line of summer storms moved through the area that afternoon, and when the teens didn’t return on time, the Coast Guard was alerted and began their day-and- night search. The Coast Guard has cov- ered a mammoth search area stretching 32,000 square nautical miles, from the wa- ters off South Florida up through South Carolina. It has proven a frustrating or- deal, with no new clues since the teens’ capsized boat was located Sunday. Sightings of floating objects occasionally spurred hope before being found irrelevant. Dr. Claude Piantadosi, a Duke University medical pro- fessor who authored “The Biology of Human Survival: Life and Death in Extreme Environments,” said finding individuals outside of a boat, simply bobbing in the water, is intensely difficult. The former Navy officer said sailors lost at sea might run an orange streamer 30 to 40 feet behind them to aid being located by air. “Single people in the ocean are the hardest to pick up,” he said. Piantadosi, an avid boater and diver, has frequently visited the Atlantic waters where the teens disappeared, and says they are remarkably empty expanses, largely free of anything the boys might be able to grab unto. “There’s just not that much debris out there,” he said. “Occasionally you’ll find a log or buoy, something like that drifting along, but not very often.” But the lengthening in- terval since the boys disap- peared does not dispel all hope for them. In 2005, two South Carolina teens were swept out to sea on their small sailboat during a storm. After searching for them for several days, the Coast Guard and state offi- cials searched began referring to their effort as a recovery op- eration not a rescue. Yet the teens were found alive after almost a week at sea. A key difference from the Florida teens, though: They were still aboard their boat. Nick Korniloff, second from right, the stepfather of Perry Cohen, talks with police officers outside of his home Wednesday in Tequesta, Florida. – Photo: APThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Thursday July 30, 2015 • Cayman Compass UK man tries to buy deadly ricin online A British software programmer has been convicted of trying to obtain a chemical weapon after he attempted to buy enough ricin over the Internet to kill hundreds of people. Mohammed Ali contacted a U.S. seller about buying 500 mg of the poison for $500. Migrants rush en masse to reach England through Chunnel CALAIS, France (AP) – Migrants rushed the tunnel linking France and England repeatedly for a second night on Wednesday and one man was crushed by a truck in the chaos, deepening tensions surrounding the thousands of people camped in this northern French port city. Eurotunnel said it had blocked more than 37,000 such attempts by migrants to reach Britain since January. There were conflicting numbers of people involved Wednesday, ranging from 150 to as many as 1,200. But French authorities and the company agreed there had been about 2,000 at- tempts on each of two successive nights. The numbers have been growing as has the sense of crisis in recent weeks, spurred by new barriers around the Eurotunnel site, labor strife that turned the rails into protest sites for striking workers, and an in- flux of desperate migrants. Many British officials have expressed growing alarm at what they see as a potential influx of foreigners, although it’s not clear how many people have success- fully made the passage. Nine migrants have died in the attempt since June, said France’s interior minister. “This exceptional mi- grant situation has dramatic human consequences,” said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. “Calais is a mirror of conflicts tearing up re- gions of the world.” About 25 migrants were seen getting off a public bus in Calais on Wednesday with a police officer who left them by the side of the road. Several said they were re- turning from a night of trying to cross the Channel. “[We] come from train here and tomorrow, in- shallah, try again in the train,” said an Eritrean who would not give his name as he planned further attempts to reach England. Natacha Bouchart, mayor of Calais, said about 150 to 250 migrants tried repeat- edly overnight to reach the Eurotunnel. French officials said it was the second night of mass attempts on the tunnel. Gilles Debove, a police union official, counted about 2,000 attempts for a second night running. Debove said officers pushing back the mi- grants counted between 750 and 1,200 people. Bouchart told France Info radio migrants are trying to reach England from France “at all costs” – first crossing a busy highway and then trying to stow away on trucks waiting to board trains. She says Britain, France and the Eurotunnel need to work to- gether on the issue. The man killed overnight, believed to be a Sudanese man in his mid-20s, was crushed by a truck as he tried to stow away, Debove told The Associated Press. Cargo trucks were lined up overnight for several miles leading to the Eurotunnel freight loading zone, some of them stuck on a highway overpass above one of the many makeshift migrant camps. In a tweet, Eurotunnel said passenger trains were delayed an hour because of the overnight activity. The company called for help from both the French and British governments. “It’s become a phenom- enon which is beyond our means,” said spokesman John Keefe. “We’re just a small transport company operating in a little corner of Europe.” Keefe said attacks on the fences are organized. “This is very clearly criminal gangs or human traffickers who coor- dinate attacks on the fences,” he said. British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking during his visit to Singapore, described the crisis as “very concerning,” but that there was no point in “pointing fin- gers of blame.” Other British officials blamed the govern- ment in France, where offi- cials said Eurotunnel also needed to do more. A car of the Eurotunnel security services follows a group of migrants in Calais, northern France, as they head to the Eurotunnel, seeking to make their way to England. - Photo: AP Michel Platini confirms he will run for FIFA president GENEVA (AP) – Michel Platini has launched his campaign to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president, aiming to give the scandal- hit governing body “the dignity and the position it deserves.” Platini, the UEFA presi- dent and a FIFA vice pres- ident, wrote to member federations in Europe on Wednesday saying he will stand in the election and is counting on their support. The FIFA election is on Feb. 26 and would-be candi- dates must apply by Oct. 26. “There are times in life when you have to take your destiny into your own hands,” wrote Platini, who turned 60 last month. “I am at one of those decisive mo- ments, at a juncture in my life and in events that are shaping the future of FIFA.” Platini has for years been the obvious candidate to succeed Blatter, his mentor in FIFA politics. But a rift between the long-time al- lies deepened when Blatter broke a promise to leave office in 2015. The former France great chose last year not to op- pose Blatter, who won a fifth presidential term on May 29. Four days later, Blatter announced his resignation plans under pressure from American and Swiss investi- gations of corruption impli- cating FIFA. “However, recent events force the supreme governing body of world football to turn over a new leaf and re- think its governance,” said Platini, who has not been linked to any wrongdoing in the two federal cases. Still, Platini has been crit- icized for voting for Qatar as 2022 World Cup host, after seeming to be pressured by then-president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, ahead of the December 2010 ballot. In his letter Wednesday, Platini said he wanted a FIFA that is “exemplary … that is respected, liked and of the people.” Platini chose to run after getting encouragement from some of his fellow FIFA vice presidents last week in St. Petersburg, Russia. Five of the six confed- eration leaders, including Platini, were there for the 2018 World Cup qualifying draw with only the North American regional body missing. Platini then trav- eled to Philadelphia for the Gold Cup final on Sunday, and briefed CONCACAF leaders on his plans. They included FIFA execu- tive committee colleague Sunil Gulati, the U.S. Soccer Federation president. The U.S. body was among the five FIFA members which nominated Prince Ali bin al-Hussein to challenge Blatter two months ago. The Jordanian prince was pub- licly supported by Platini but Blatter had pockets of support across Europe in a 133-73 victory. Platini met the prince in the south of France last week and discussed the FIFA election. On Wednesday, Prince Ali said Platini was “not good for FIFA.” “FIFA is engulfed in scandal,” the prince said in a statement. “We must stop doing business as usual. The practice of back-room, under- the-table deals must end.” Prince Ali, whose FIFA vice presidency expired on May 29, said he would talk with FIFA member federa- tions “in the coming week.” “What is clear is that FIFA needs new, indepen- dent leadership, untainted by the practices of the past,” said Prince Ali, who was ma- neuvered out of his FIFA seat by Asian soccer leaders after a single four-year term. AfghAn intelligence: tAlibAn leAder MullAh oMAr deAd KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Afghanistan’s main in- telligence agency said Wednesday that the re- clusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been dead for more than two years. The one-eyed, secre- tive head of the Taliban hosted Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaida in the years leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks and then waged a decade-long insurgency against U.S. troops after the 2001 invasion that ended Taliban rule. He has not been seen in public since fleeing the invasion over the border into Pakistan. Abdul Hassib Sediqi, the spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, said Mullah Omar died in a hospital in the Pakistani city of Karachi in April 2013. “We confirm officially that he is dead,” he told The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear why his death was only being announced now. Neither the Taliban nor Pakistani officials could immediately be reached for comment. A Pakistani security official, speaking on con- dition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to brief journalists, had ear- lier dismissed rumors of Mullah Omar’s death as “speculation” designed to disrupt peace talks. Representatives of the Afghan govern- ment and the Taliban are due to meet on Friday in Pakistan for a second round of of- ficial talks aimed at ending the war that is nearing its 14th year.9 WORLD&REGIONAL Cayman Compass • Thursday July 30, 2015 Zimbabweans linked to illegal lion hunt appear in court HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – Two Zimbabweans arrested for il- legally hunting a protected lion named Cecil were in court on Wednesday as anger at the kill by an American dentist escalated. “If, as has been re- ported, this dentist and his guides lured Cecil out of the park with food so as to shoot him on private prop- erty … he needs to be ex- tradited, charged, and, pref- erably, hanged,” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said in a statement Wednesday. The statement, emailed to The Associated Press, came from Ingrid Newkirk, president of the an- imal rights organization. Social media – for ex- ample on Twitter under #ce- cilthelion – were also filled with condemnation of the killing of the black-maned lion just outside Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean men – a professional hunter and a farm owner – are accused of helping Walter James Palmer hunt the lion. Zimbabwean police said they are looking for Palmer, who reportedly paid $50,000 to track and kill the animal. During a nighttime hunt, the men tied a dead animal to their car to lure the lion out of a national park, said Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force. The American is be- lieved to have shot it with a crossbow, injuring the animal. The wounded lion was found 40 hours later, and Palmer shot it dead with a gun, Rodrigues said. Palmer, a dentist living in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, said in a state- ment that he was unaware the lion was protected, re- lying on local guides to en- sure a legal hunt. “I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local pro- fessional guides to ensure a legal hunt,” Palmer said in statement through a public relations firm. The two Zimbabwean men appeared at the Hwange magistrate’s court, about 435 miles west of the cap- ital Harare, to face poaching charges. Defense lawyer Givemore Muvhiringi says the proceedings have been delayed by several hours because prosecutors are “making their assessments.” If convicted, the men face up to 15 years in prison in Zimbabwe. The professional hunter who allegedly acted as Palmer’s guide has been stripped of his license while he faces criminal charges, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority and the Safari Operators Association said in a joint statement. The farm owner also facing crim- inal charges did not have a hunting permit, the joint statement said. Palmer has several hunts on record with the Pope and Young Club, where archers register big game taken in North America for posterity, said Glenn Hisey, the club’s director of records. Hisey said he didn’t have immediate ac- cess to records showing the types and number of animals killed by Palmer, but noted that club records involve legal hunts “taken under our rules of fair chase.” According to U.S. court re- cords, Palmer pleaded guilty in 2008 to making false state- ments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about a black bear he fatally shot in western Wisconsin. Palmer had a permit to hunt but shot the animal outside the autho- rized zone in 2006, then tried to pass it off as being killed elsewhere, according to court documents. He was given one year probation and fined nearly $3,000. Although African game wouldn’t be eligible, Hisey said he alerted the group’s board that Palmer’s ethics were being called into question. He said Palmer’s domestic records could be jeopardized if he’s found to have done something illegal abroad. Cecil was being studied by an Oxford University re- search program. He is be- lieved to have been killed on July 1 in western Zimbabwe’s wildlife-rich Hwange region, his carcass discovered days later by trackers. Nigerian president visits Cameroon to discuss militant threat IsraelI bulldozers start demolIshIng West bank settlement YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) – The president of Nigeria made his first official state visit to neighboring Cameroon on Wednesday, as the two former ene- mies struggle to contain the mutual threat posed by Islamic militants car- rying out suicide bombings across the region. New Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari came to Cameroon’s capital to bolster support for a mul- tinational army to fight the Boko Haram uprising that has claimed at least 60 lives in recent days in Cameroon alone. The violence has dis- placed nearly 2 million people and killed 20,000 across the region where the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad meet in the course of the six- year uprising. Attacks have mounted over the past year in Cameroon’s far north and in Chad’s capital as the mil- itants seek retaliation for those countries’ military aid in the Nigerian army’s fight against Boko Haram. The group drew interna- tional prominence when it abducted nearly 300 girls from Chibok, sparking an international campaign for their return that has stalled. Girls and young women have increasingly been used as suicide bombers in at- tacks on civilians. Also complicating the fight has been the long- tense relations between Cameroon and Nigeria, and concerns over the role of Chad’s military might on Nigerian soil. The U.N. Security Council has issued a statement calling for “increased re- gional cooperation.” Hard feelings between Nigeria and Cameroon date back to a 1980s land dis- pute. More recently, Nigeria accused Cameroon of doing little to prevent Boko Haram from using their territory as a refuge. JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli bulldozers began demol- ishing a contested housing complex in a West Bank settlement on Wednesday as the prime minister’s of- fice announced the “imme- diate construction” of some 300 new units at another location in the same settle- ment and advanced plans for about 500 new units in east Jerusalem. The move, which is likely to draw international re- buke, comes amid a standoff in the Beit El settlement, to the north of Jerusalem in the West Bank. The standoff escalated sharply Wednesday, after the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a petition to over- turn its initial ruling to de- molish a complex in Beit El and ordered the destruc- tion completed no later than Thursday. The com- plex was deemed illegal be- cause it was under construc- tion without prior Israeli authorization. The military moved in and removed protesters holed up inside, but hundreds of Jewish settlers gathered at the scene and some fought with Israeli forces, who re- sponded by firing water can- nons at the protesters. Tempers are high among some in the settler commu- nity as it marks a decade since Israel’s “disengagement” from the Gaza Strip, when Israel in the summer of 2005 withdrew all its civilians and soldiers from all of the set- tlements there and also from two in the West Bank. Israel initially promised to build the 300 housing units in Beit El three years ago, when it ordered the removal of other build- ings constructed on private Palestinian land. The new units announced by Benjamin Netanyahu’s of- fice are both in Beit El and elsewhere, including areas in east Jerusalem, which Israeli leaders say are inseparable neighborhoods of Jerusalem. They say these neighbor- hoods will remain a part of Israel under any future peace agreement, but the Palestinians consider them settlements and say con- struction there is illegal, a position backed by the inter- national community. At the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon condemned the an- nouncement of the construc- tion of the new units, “as well as the planning and construction of nearly 500 housing units in a number of settlements in East Jerusalem,” his spokesman’s office said. Ban urged Israel’s government to halt and re- verse such decisions “in the interest of peace and a just final status agreement.” Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967, and annexed east Jerusalem in a move that is not recognized internationally. Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of a pro-settler party, welcomed the announcement of the new units even as he criticized the top court’s decision. “The court’s role is to judge; the government’s role is to build,” he said in a written statement. “We will build up the land of Israel, but in a legal and appro- priate way.” Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari In this frame grab taken from a November 2012 video, Cecil, a well-known, protected lion, is pictured in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Cecil is believed to have been killed on July 1. - Photo: Paula French vIa aP At the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the announcement of the construction of the new units.Next >