ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – MONDAY JULY 24, 2017 High of 90 Low of 79 Slight to moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 POLICE SHOULD HAVE NO ROLE IN ‘BRAWL ON THE BRAC’ SPORTS | PAGE 14 BRITAIN’S DALEY BEATS CHINESE AT FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SEVEN MILE BEACH WATERFRONT WALKERS ROAD TOWN CENTRE PLAZA RED BAY JUICY. TENDER. SEASONED. PRESELL + INSERT PRESELL + INSERT PRESELL + INSERT Bush claims ‘wrongful arrest’ BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman Islands Speaker of the House McKeeva Bush said late Friday that his arrest last week at a Florida casino was “wrongful,” but he apologized to the country for all the uproar it caused. “I regret the attention and concern that my wrongful arrest has caused to all concerned overseas, my constituents and the great citi- zens of Cayman,” Mr. Bush said. “I am certain that once my attorney and the prosecutor have an opportunity to review the evidence, the only conclusion that will be reached is that I committed no crime.” Mr. Bush returned to Cayman on Friday fol- lowing his arrest Monday night at a Coconut Creek, Florida, casino on battery charges. Sem- inole Police alleged Mr. Bush wrapped his arm around a female employee at the casino, pulled her toward him and grabbed her buttocks. Mr. Bush is now awaiting word on whether he will be formally charged with battery, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and US$1,000 fine on conviction. His attorney filed a written “not guilty” plea with the Broward County court Wednesday, and Mr. Bush was released on US$1,000 cash bond. “I expect to be completely exonerated in the near future,” Mr. Bush said. Meanwhile on Friday, some dissension ap- peared in the ranks of Cayman Islands oppo- sition members as dueling statements were made in the wake of Mr. Bush’s arrest. On Friday afternoon, Cayman’s opposition members released a statement regarding the incident: “We are saddened to hear of the ar- rest of the Hon. Speaker and the international embarrassment this has caused the Cayman Islands. We, therefore, call on the government of national unity to take the necessary action to restore dignity, honor and prestige to the position of the Speaker. “We the members of the opposition un- derstand that it is also our duty to protect PREMIER: NEW HIRES TO SPEED PR PROCESS BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Six new employees are being brought in to speed up the processing of more than 1,000 permanent residence applications, Immigra- tion Minister and Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin said Friday. The ministry staffers, described as “admin- istrators with senior management and tech- nical experience” will begin reviewing resi- dence applications this week. Five will fill full-time positions and one post is part-time, Mr. McLaughlin said. Permanent residence grants a non-Cayma- nian the right to remain in the Cayman Is- lands for their rest of their lives. The Cayman Compass reported last week that more than 1,100 applications filed since October 2013 seeking that status are still awaiting a hearing before the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board. The current rate at which the board is hearing those applications would not allow it to catch up with backlogged residence re- quests for more than three years. By that time, it is likely many more applications will have been filed. Premier McLaughlin said Friday that the residence application process should be done as quickly as possible, but he did not want immigration administrators or the board to make decisions lightly about whether someone should be able to stay in the islands throughout their life. “Our main focus is to ensure each appli- cation is thoroughly reviewed and given fair consideration,” Mr. McLaughlin said. Residency applicants are asked to provide details on a number of aspects, including their Five motorbike riders in court, five bikes returned BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Although no convictions have been recorded in Cayman Islands Traffic Court, five de- fendants are facing charges of either dangerous driving or un- qualified driving following a re- cent crackdown on non-street- legal motorbikes, police said. The five people before the court, along with a number of others, had their vehicles seized by Royal Cayman Islands Po- lice officers who were inves- tigating the cases. The RCIPS has seized 24 dirt bikes or mo- torcycles during operations since December. The police service said last week that five of the confiscated bikes have been returned to their owners. “We cannot retain the defen- dant’s property indefinitely as a given case moves through the entire court process,” a state- ment from the RCIPS Traffic Unit sent Thursday read. “We have the ability to retain the property while the case is being investigated and the property is germane to those inquiries. Once those inquiries have completed, the property is returned on the defendant’s request.” Four of the five suspects were arrested since December on al- legations of dangerous driving, as well as traffic offenses such as driving while disqualified, having no vehicle registration or expired registration, or driving without insurance. The fifth suspect was tick- eted for driving without being qualified and using an unregis- tered vehicle. One of the five suspects is facing more serious charges PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » Motorbike riders like these pictured in Bodden Town last year, have drawn public ire, but others say the riders need somewhere to use their bikes. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY2 LOCAL&REGIONAL MONDAY JULY 24, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. 640-FILM (640-3456) SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. - MONDAY - DUNKIRK (PG13) 12:35 VIP I 4:00 I 7:10 I 10:00 VIP SPIDER-MAN: HOME COMING 3D (PG13) 12:55 2D I 3:10 2D VIP I 4:05 6:30 2D I 9:30 DESPICABLE ME 3 3D (PG) 1:30 2D I 12:20 I 9:30 2D I 7:05 BABY DRIVER (R) 3:35 I 9:45 WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES 3D (PG13) 12:20 I 3:35 2D I 6:55 2D VIP I 9:55 TRANSFORMERS: LAST KNIGHT (PG13) 2:35 I 5:45 I 9:00 WONDER WOMAN (PG13) 12:30 I 6:20 Cayman Connection UK celebrates anniversary More than 60 guests at- tended an evening with Governor Helen Kilpat- rick on Thursday to cele- brate four years of Cayman Connection U.K. The event takes place in Cayman every year to bring together Caymanian students who are studying in the United Kingdom and those who are preparing to go to the U.K. for the first time. Private sector guests who are sponsoring scholarships for Cayman students abroad also attend the event, which provides a platform for stu- dents to network with po- tential employers, Cayman Connection U.K. said in a press release. Kate Kandiah, co-founder of Cayman Connection U.K., spoke to guests about the network and recent events in Britain. Updates included in- formation from the Cayman Islands Government Office in London, reports on stu- dent activity in the U.K. over the past year, social events and updates on current af- fairs, including the U.K. and Cayman Islands elec- tions and recent terror at- tacks in England. Ms. Kandiah described how these things affect Cay- manians abroad, and how the group assists through communicating with Cayma- nians in Europe. “This year we welcomed a great cross-section of stu- dents studying in all fields,” she said. “This is a great op- portunity for them to mix and chat, share experiences and to help each other. “As CCUK is now four years operational, it’s fan- tastic to welcome previous student members who have now graduated and are working back to the network to assist new students.” For more information, visit www. caymanconnection.org. Nine pounds of ganja admitted, but not for supply Trial set in September for three defendants CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A man charged with more than nine pounds of ganja pleaded guilty in Summary Court last week to simple possession, but he pleaded not guilty to possession with intent to supply the controlled drug. Gregory Bent, his wife Fe- lisha and his sister Marsha all answered “not guilty” when the charge was put to them that they were in pos- session of 8.2 pounds of ganja with intent to supply. The controlled drug was found by police on May 22 at the Savannah resi- dence they shared. The charge of simple pos- session of the same ganja was put to them and the women again answered “not guilty.” Gregory Bent said, “Guilty.” Bent, 32, also pleaded guilty to simple posses- sion of 1.1 pounds of ganja found in his car the same day. He further admitted consuming ganja and pos- sessing a utensil used in the preparation/consumption of ganja, a grinder. The women were not charged with the items found in the car. Magistrate Angelyn Her- nandez set the trial date for Sept. 20. The defendants were represented by attorney Jonathon Hughes. MAN CHARGED WITH GROWING 42 GANJA TREES CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Michael John Ramos, 37, appeared in Sum- mary Court last week, charged with cultivating a controlled drug without being authorized to do so. Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez read from the Crown’s summary of the allegations and indicated that the charge pertained to 42 ganja trees at a premises in Prospect. She said from the sum- mary that the defendant seemed to believe ganja was going to be legal soon and he would need a large amount to produce oil for his personal use. Ramos did not say anything, and the magis- trate appointed attorney Jonathon Hughes as duty counsel to assist him. Ramos is charged with cultivating the trees on April 27. He also faces charges of possession of ganja with intent to supply, simple possession and consumption. The magistrate set the matter for mention again on Aug. 8. Bail condi- tions include surrender of passport, a local surety in the sum of $1,500, and reporting to George Town Police station twice per week. Teenager hurt in stolen bike crash A 15-year-old boy suf- fered serious injuries when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car outside the Lighthouse Restaurant in Breakers Friday evening. The 450cc Kawasaki mo- torcycle was one of two dirt bikes reported stolen from Frenchman’s Drive in Bodden Town. The teenager was taken to the Cayman Islands Hos- pital where his injuries were described as serious but not life threatening. The crash happened around 8 p.m. when the green-and-white motor- cycle, heading toward East End, collided with a Suzuki Swift traveling in the oppo- site direction. The 49-year-old driver of the Suzuki Swift was not injured, police said. The green-and-white 2008 Kawasaki KLX 450cc, which was involved in Fri- day’s crash, and a green 2008 Kawasaki KLX 140cc were reported stolen on Saturday evening when the owner discovered they were missing. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Traffic Management Unit at 649-6254. Students pose with Governor Helen Kilpatrick at the fourth annual Cayman Connection U.K. event at Government House. Venezuelans protest Maduro’s plan to rewrite constitution CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – A few thousand protesters at- tempted to reach Venezuela’s Supreme Court Saturday be- fore clashing with national guardsmen and largely dis- persing by late afternoon – a disappointing turnout for op- ponents of President Nicolas Maduro eight days before he launches the rewriting of the country’s constitution. The opposition said mil- lions participated in a sym- bolic vote last week against the constitutional rewrite, and millions more in a nationwide strike on Thursday. Saturday’s showing, however, was a faint echo of the hundreds of thou- sands who once showed up for marches against Maduro, who says the remaking of the con- stitution will not be stopped. The government also ap- peared to strike back against another challenge to its au- thority, detaining one of the 33 people named to the supreme court by the country’s opposi- tion-controlled congress. Congressional leader Julio Borges said on Twitter that Saturday’s detention of Angel Zerpa was part of a “perse- cution by the dictatorship” of President Nicolas Maduro. The socialist government had not said why Zerpa was detained. Congress on Friday voted to replace the entire government-stacked supreme court with 33 new judges, in- cluding Zerpa, as part of a growing challenge to the gov- ernment’s legitimacy. The court and the govern- ment said the replacement is invalid and unconstitutional. Organizers had hoped that Saturday’s demonstration would send a forceful message to Maduro to cancel a July 30 election for delegates to an as- sembly to overhaul the con- stitution. The opposition fears Maduro and his backers will use the assembly to eliminate all checks and balances on the ruling socialist party. Several people were in- jured during the demon- stration, including violinist Wuilly Arteaga, who has be- come a symbol of nearly four months of anti-government protest. Images broadcast on local television showed emergency workers tending to the young musician as he bled from the nose and left cheek. His shirt and baseball cap with the red, yellow and blue colors of the Venezuelan flag were also stained with blood.3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY JULY 24, 2017 Saudi fraud trial ends this week after a year in Cayman court Cayman’s biggest trial cost tens of millions of dollars JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com After more than a year of evidence, the biggest trial in Cayman Islands history, a multibillion-dollar fraud case investigating the col- lapse of a Saudi business em- pire, is expected to come to an end this week. With thousands of pages of transcripts, bank documents and witness testimony to con- sider, it will still be months before Chief Justice Anthony Smellie delivers his decision. Whatever the result, lawyers in the case say Cayman’s courts have acquitted themselves well in a trial that put unprece- dented logistic and technolog- ical demands on the system. The economic impact of the trial for Cayman’s legal and financial services sector is likely to be huge. Simon Charlton, CEO of the Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi and Brothers company, estimates almost $1 billion will have been spent all over the world on lawyers, accountants and pro- fessional advisers before all the issues are resolved. The cost of the Cayman trial alone could run to tens of millions of dol- lars, he said. The trial revolves around the hotly contested claim from the Saudi family conglomerate that it was the victim of a $9.1 billion fraud. It alleges that Maan Al Sanea, who married into the family and managed its finan- cial services businesses, en- gaged in massive unauthorized borrowing, siphoning off pro- ceeds to his own companies, many of them registered in the Cayman Islands, and trig- gering the collapse of the entire business empire. The claims are contested by Al Sanea, as well as by the liquidators of the Cayman Islands-regis- tered companies. AHAB is seeking compensa- tion from Al Sanea’s network of companies to pay off its own creditors. The legal teams will complete their closing remarks on Tuesday, just over a year since the opening of the case on July 18 last year. Lawyers and executives in- volved in the litigation, which was initially expected to take seven months, say it is believed to be the longestrunning and highest value proceedings ever held in Cayman. Mr. Charlton added, “I am not aware of any other trial that has been this long or this complex. It took seven years to get to trial, and then a year for the trial. If that is not unique, it is very rare.” The courtroom was sub- stantially remodeled, fitted out with scores of computer mon- itors and lined with shelves to accommodate an unprece- dented number of documents used as exhibits. More than 40 lawyers and accountants have been in- volved in a trial that has tra- versed some of the most com- plex areas of law: fraud, forgery, proprietary tracing, unjust enrichment, conspiracy and cross-border conflicts, ac- cording to a joint statement from the legal teams involved. AHAB is represented by Mourant Ozannes, and Saad Investments Company Limited (In Official Liquidation) and 15 other defendants are rep- resented by Walkers, Harneys and HSM Chambers. In the statement, in re- sponse to questions from the Cayman Compass, lawyers on all sides praised the Cayman Islands’ courts handling of the complex case. “Whilst the world will have to wait for the written judg- ment of the Chief Justice to find out the verdict of the trial, it is clear that the case has proved, yet again, that the Cayman Islands is a first- class offshore jurisdiction for the conduct of complex, valu- able, large scale litigation,” the statement noted. “Whatever the outcome of the trial, the case demonstrates beyond doubt that the Cayman Islands remains at the fore- front of offshore jurisdictions for high value, complex, cross- border litigation.” The conclusion of the trial is far from the end of the matter. With thousands of pages of transcripts, bank docu- ments and witness testimony to parse, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie is expected to take sev- eral months to consider his judgment. After that, an ap- peal is likely. Mr. Charlton said, “There has been a lot of evidence and I can only imagine the size of the task facing the chief Jus- tice to go through it all and write a judgment. I think that, given the amounts involved, ap- peals would be likely, although obviously the parties would need to see the judgment and reasoning before making deci- sions about that.” Mr. Charlton said the cost of the collapse of AHAB could run to a billion dollars. “That is across multiple countries, obviously. We must have had in excess of 100 pieces of litigation all over the world, although this is the big- gest one by far. I know what we have spent and when we extrapolate that out to include the other parties it is certainly north of $500 million and could be as much as a billion.” Even as the litigation con- tinues and the fees mount, an out of court settlement re- mains possible. “I have for a long time said that there is a finite pool of as- sets that are being fought over and, as time and the legal pro- ceedings progress, that pool diminishes in real terms and in time value of money,” Mr. Charlton added. Whatever the result, he be- lieves Cayman’s court system has acquitted itself well. In their statement, the legal teams also praised the court and its staff. “Any member of the public who has ventured into Court- room 5 during the last year will have seen in action the use of cutting edge technology, with row upon row of desks each set up with laptops and evidence presentation screens showing transcripts of the pro- ceedings rolling in real-time and displaying, within seconds of reference, documents from a database of nearly 250,000 pages,” the statement read. “The Grand Court’s staff has been highly accommodating to all those involved in the trial. These accommodations have varied from allowing the par- ties to reconfigure the court- room structurally to meet the requirements of the plaintiff’s and defendants’ teams, to sit- ting long and irregular hours to facilitate ever changing re- quirements of the trial and in particular, at times, an eight-hour time difference be- tween the Cayman Islands and Saudi Arabia.”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. MONTGOMERY, Ala. – It is said that America’s armed forces have been stressed by 16 years of constant warfare, the longest such in the nation’s history. For the Air Force, however, the high tempo of combat oper- ations began 26 years ago, with enforcement of the no- fly zone in Iraq after Desert Storm. With an acute pilot shortage, particularly in the fighter pilot commu- nity, and with a shortfall approaching 4,000 among maintenance and staffing personnel, the service is, as Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson says, “too small for what the nation expects of it.” At the Air Univer- sity here at Maxwell Air Force Base, officers are studying what expectations are reasonable. Technological sophisti- cation – America’s and that of near-peer adversaries (Russia and China) – is changing capabilities. This, and the political and mili- tary primitivism of some adversaries (e.g., the Is- lamic State), are reshaping the environment in which airpower operates, and the purposes of this power. The traditional U.S. approach to warfare – dominance achieved by mass of force produced by the nation’s industrial might – is of lim- ited relevance. Gen. Steven L. Kwast, president of the Air Uni- versity, recalls that Gen. George Marshall, who in 1939 became Army chief of staff, asked a two-star general in the horse cav- alry how he planned to adapt to the challenges of tanks and planes. The two- star, who replied that the horses should be carried to the front in trailers so they would arrive rested, was retired in 1942. Kwast notes that in 1940 the Navy was preparing to devote most of its budget to building the sort of battle- ships that had been “kings of the sea” since Presi- dent Theodore Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet around the world. After Pearl Harbor, the Navy turned toward aircraft carriers and away from big battleships. Twenty years earlier, Gen. Billy Mitchell had used an air- plane to sink a battleship, but changing the trajectory of military thinking, and hence procurement, often requires changing a ser- vice’s viscous culture. Kwast wonders: What are the horses and bat- tleships of our age? Some say: Aircraft carriers, be- cause they are too vulner- able to long-range weapons and too expensive for the budget constraints of America’s entitlement state. Also, some say, remotely pi- loted aircraft, aka drones, flown from, say, Nevada, are many times cheaper than most manned aircraft, and are capable of loitering over a contested area to conduct “find, fix, finish” missions for up to 48 hours without refueling. When military airpower was born a century ago, just before World War I, the hope was that it would save casualties by preventing what that war quickly be- came, a slog of attrition. But in World War II, air- power was used to attack civilians in order to destroy morale and damage the en- emy’s capacity to wage in- dustrial-era war. Now, says Kwast, war is shaped by the digital networked age, where power does not flow in industrial-age channels. U.S. forces can spend mil- lions to kill one high-value target in Syria, where the enemy, for a few hundred dollars, can recruit 10 men who flow up from entry- level positions. Only the United States has the capacity to be, as retired Adm. Gary Roughead and Kori Schake say in a Brookings Institu- tion study, “guarantors of the global commons – the seaways and airways, and now the cyber conduits.” Nuclear weapons are still essentially a 70-year-old technology delivered by a 60-year-old technology, ballistic missiles. Before long there will be space- based sensors and di- rected energy (DE) weapons – war at the speed of light, 186,000 miles a second. It is preferable to shoot down an enemy’s cruise missiles, which cost a few hundred thousand dollars, with space-, ground- and sea- based DE weapons rather than with defensive missile interceptors costing up to $20 million apiece. The Air University’s mil- itary intellectuals are im- pressive enough to be for- given for using “architect” as a verb: Hitler was de- feated using great violence, but it would be better to ar- chitect responses to threats by projecting power in ways that are less expen- sive and much more ef- ficient than even today’s precision-guided weapons – never mind World War II gravity bombs, 80 percent of which fell at least 1,000 feet from their targets. Viewed from the not-too- distant future, Kwast says, today’s Air Force, although it is a century distant from the Flanders trenches, might seem to have dug into the equivalent of trench warfare by operating below the altitude of 70,000 feet. Such thoughts are consid- ered here at a university where “trigger warnings” and “safe spaces” are se- rious matters. George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2017, Washington Post Writers Group Like the magnetic attraction of a schoolyard melee, we are drawn inexorably to the ongoing brawl on the Brac. We refer, of course, to the long-standing and esca- lating battle between artist/sculptor Ronald Kynes (better known as “Foots”) and, well, nearly everyone else, including his neighbors, preachers and pastors, politicians, and, most recently, the police who arrested Mr. Kynes last week for the “obscene publication” of his artwork. We are certain the Compass would be forgiven if we ignored this entire matter – let it be aired and argued at local watering holes which, we would wager, is exactly what is happening. Tempers no doubt get hotter than mid-July temperatures whenever the subject is Foots and his purposely provocative cre- ations (which some have called offensive to the Creator himself). Perhaps it is time for some deep breaths and cooler heads, since there are actually some important principles entangled in the current kerfuffle. So let’s try to sort them out: On the most basic level, we are witnessing a colli- sion between artistic expression and community stan- dards. The former is buttressed by Cayman’s Constitu- tion, the latter by an angry, even hyperbolic, populace. For years, this confrontation has been in the making. Remember Mr. Kynes’s 15-foot-tall “Apoca- lypse Now” sculpture depicting a bloody crucifix, goat’s head and numbers 666? Or his follow up, “Mephistopheles Throne,” a 10-foot sculpture depicting a demon, painted in dark red stain, holding a pitchfork and skull? In each of those instances, residents who were offended by the works – which they considered disre- spectful to the Christian community – asked police to intervene. But in both, police declined. (However, and troublingly, police appeared to take little interest in investigating vandalism and theft of Foots’s artwork, a serious abrogation of their responsibilities). Now the police have become active (activist?) players in this ongoing drama. Whether they fully appreciate it or not, it is extremely rare (and rightly so) for law enforcement officers to exercise arrest powers to snuff out artistic expression. And it is their actions which elevate this matter beyond a containable community dispute to a serious constitutional and potential international incident. In law, small cases involving democratic principles have a way of evolving into outsized precedents with unfore- seeable consequences, and that is the position that the Brac police have now placed the country in. As journalists, of course, we are advocates for freedom of expression, whether the medium is print, digital, verbal, paintings, sculpture or what have you. At the same time, we suggest there is an obliga- tion, albeit voluntary, on the part of the writer, the speaker, or the artist to work within the social and cultural norms of their communities. We certainly do not subscribe to the popular nostrum that it is a worthwhile objective of an artist to create primarily in order to shock – and most artists, of course, do not. But Foots does. Should he do so? Probably not. Does he have a right to do so? Almost certainly he does. And should the Brac police have used their blunt arrest powers to intervene in this delicate social dilemma? We think not. Police should have no role in the ‘Brawl on the Brac’ MONDAY JULY 24, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS U.S. Air Force has dug into equivalent of trench warfare GEORGE F. WILL GEORGE 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 EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” The traditional U.S. approach to warfare – dominance achieved by mass of force produced by the nation’s industrial might – is of limited relevance.District Days George Town DISTRICT DAYS 5 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY JULY 24, 2017 Movie outing for Sunrise Adult Training Centre community 50 years ago: Lady Agar moving to Grand Cayman In the July 26, 1967 edi- tion of the Caymanian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, Frances Bodden reported in the George Town Notebook: “An Air Jamaica Heron arrived from Kingston on the 18th, bringing sev- eral passengers who were on the waiting list. Among them was Lady Agar [widow of Sir Ar- thur K. Agar, Chief Justice of British Honduras] who came on a week’s visit to see about her house which is being built in George Town. She hopes to return in August to take up per- manent residence. “Mr. and Mrs. Harry Arch returned from Tampa on the 17th after at- tending their son’s wed- ding. They were accom- panied by their daughter, Mrs. Robert Jones, her hus- band and two children. It is hoped that their televi- sion set which they have brought will be successful. We welcome Mrs. Carolyn Goodman, her daughter Ann and baby who are here on a brief visit. “Mr. and Mrs. Charley Duty (Mrs. Duty for- merly Norma Creighton of Spotts) and charming family are on a brief visit with relatives Miss Star Creighton of Spotts and Mrs. Arthur Bodden. It is hoped that their stay will be most happy. “Mrs. Wm. Bodden and son Craig are on a visit to Miami. “Arrivals from North on the July 17 were: Mrs. Alfred DaCosta, for- merly Gwen Bodden, and grandson Mr. Eddie Hillary and his wife who are on a holiday with relatives. Mr. Ellington Bodden, grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Royal Bodden, Sr.; Mr. Mitch Miller; Rev. and Mrs. John Lord and Toni who enjoyed their week’s hol- iday at Ft. Myers, Florida; Miss Olive Bush of South Sound; Miss Dorothy Bush from new York; Miss Aline Merren; Mr. David Arch and Jill Bodden. “South bound passen- gers on the 17th: Mr. and Mrs. P. Forrestal and chil- dren Jonathan, Rosalind and Celia to Gloucester- shire, England. Mr. For- restal has been in charge of the installation of Cable & Wireless in the Cayman Is- lands. Mrs. John Elliott and daughter Sheila; Miss Joan Clark, teacher at the Gov- ernment Primary School, George Town, on holiday in Jamaica, who was accompa- nied by Mrs. Theoline Wel- lington; Mr. and Mrs. Victor Newman and daughter Christine; Mr. Lumsden and Mrs. Neville Williams; Master Wm. Prendergast Jr. and sister Loretta of New York who are spending their summer holiday in Cayman with relatives, were in com- pany with Mrs. Lorene Hay- wood; we wish Mr. and Mrs. M.J. Kelly and son Robert a most enjoyable holiday in England. They were accom- panied by little Miss Susan Merren, eldest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. T.H.E. Merren, who will spend four months with her aunt Mrs. Joan Philips and her family. This trip should prove most ben- eficial for her. “Miss Sandra Kings- ford from England, who was at one time secre- tary to Mr. Chas. Gordon, 4th Clerk, House of Com- mons, and Mr. and Mrs. Louis Webb and son Chris- topher are the guests of Mrs. D.V. McLaughlin of South Sound.” Interns spending summer at Immigration Sixteen young Cayma- nians, from various high schools and colleges in Cayman, are working this summer at the Department of Immigration. They were welcomed by Acting Chief Immigration Of- ficer Bruce Smith, who said, “The department must be ready to assist in the training of our young people as they will take on the responsibility of the civil service in the not too distant future. Employees will model what it is to work in a hectic and essential arm of the government, while pro- viding a positive experience for these young adults.” Interns are assigned to various sections of the de- partment, including Work Permit Administration, Pass- port and Corporate Services, Enforcement and Border Control, according to a press release from the Department of Immigration. Christopher Dixon, a Uni- versity College of the Cayman Islands student who is as- signed to the Enforcement Section, said in the release, “I hope to someday join law en- forcement and working with the Enforcement team has heightened my interest.” Second-year medical stu- dent at University of the West Indies, Janelle Taylor, said, “It has been a pleasure to work as a summer intern at the Department of Immi- gration for the past three years. I thank the Depart- ment for helping me to gain valuable work experience in different areas, specifi- cally in the Temporary Work Permit Express and Human Resource sections.”Summer interns pose with Department of Immigration officials. Volunteers from the Ca- ribbean Utilities Company and members of the Sunrise Adult Training Centre com- munity attended their an- nual summer movie outing at Regal Cinema in Camana Bay on July 13. The group saw “Wonder Woman,” and were treated to popcorn and soda by the CUC Community Involvement Team, assisted by interns and students. Philip Knowles, occupa- tional therapist at the Sun- rise Adult Training Centre for the past five years, said CUC is one of the center’s stron- gest local supporters. “Every year, both in the fall and summer, CUC reaches out and provides support to the center,” said Mr. Knowles. “CUC’s volun- teers continue to develop special relationships with the members of the Sun- rise community. We are im- pressed that this level of vol- unteerism by the company has been driven by the com- pany’s leadership over many years. It is also a good thing that each summer they in- clude their interns in the project to encourage good stewardship and interaction within the community.” CUC volunteers and members of the Sunrise Adult Training Centre community saw ‘Wonder Woman’ at Regal Cinema in Camana Bay during the groups’ annual summer movie outing.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 MONDAY JULY 24, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS and uphold the dignity of, and respect for, our high offices and we therefore feel compelled to recom- mend this course of action to the government.” It was not clear pre- cisely what “course of ac- tion” opposition members had recommended, but George Town Central MLA Kenneth Bryan said Friday that he had not supported, as a member of the opposi- tion, any call for Mr. Bush to step down as Speaker, though he said some other opposition mem- bers had done so. Mr. Bryan said Mr. Bush, who was not formally charged with any offenses in Florida as of Friday, had the same presumption of innocence afforded to a de- fendant in any court case. The George Town MLA said he was also con- cerned about the “insta- bility removing Mr. Bush would possibly create” in the fledgling national unity government, which was formed in late May after a week of intense bargaining. Mr. Bryan said he pre- sumed that if Mr. Bush were to be removed as Speaker, the veteran West Bay MLA and his two Cayman Demo- cratic Party colleagues from West Bay, MLAs Bernie Bush and Capt. Eugene Ebanks, would depart the government benches. That means Premier Alden McLaughlin’s coali- tion government would be left with just 10 members, the slimmest possible ma- jority in the 19-member Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly. At best, the gov- ernment’s grip on power would be tenuous and de- pendent on the cooperation of three independent MLAs to prop up Mr. McLaugh- lin’s Progressives Party. Mr. Bryan said he did not like that equation since it would weaken the cur- rent ruling coalition, but would not put a nine- member opposition in con- trol of government. “The uncertainty caused by that would impact busi- ness, investment, confi- dence in the Cayman Is- lands and everything else,” Mr. Bryan said. The opposition state- ment released Friday sought to put the onus for a decision on whether Mr. Bush should remain as Speaker of the House on Premier Alden McLaughlin, who spent the last 15 years as Mr. Bush’s political archenemy in parliament. Mr. McLaughlin has re- mained silent on the matter. His office said the premier would not be commenting on Mr. Bush’s arrest. in criminal court, so his Traffic Court matters are awaiting the outcome of the other cases. RCIPS spokesperson Jackie Carpenter said the police service is still storing the remainder of the seized bikes and said the department believes its enforcement strategies are leading to fewer illegal ve- hicles on the streets. She said the depart- ment has recorded “sub- stantially fewer” com- plaints about rowdy or non-street-legal motorbikes since December. The police enforcement effort was stepped up after a number of residents com- plained late last year when a Sunday afternoon “ride of the century” turned into chaos with more than 100 motorcycles, dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles – some street legal, some not – took to the streets around Grand Cayman, blowing through stop lights and en- dangering other drivers. On the other hand, the RCIPS Traffic Unit is also aware of some residents’ requests for a “safe place” to use dirt bikes off-road. During police opera- tions earlier in the year, traffic unit Inspector Ian Yearwood noted that of- ficers spoke with some individuals who had hitched their motorbikes to trailers and were taking them to the “marl pit” in George Town for some off- road riding. Inspector Yearwood said police have no problem with that as long as the ve- hicles are operated on pri- vate land with the permis- sion of the land owner. Police also spoke to par- ents of the motorbike riders and discussed the possi- bility of opening some sort of public space off-road where bike riders can use their unregistered vehicles. However, discussions to this effect have so far not borne fruit. “Nobody wants to give up the land, nobody wants the liability,” said Keith Keller from the Cayman Islands Motorcycle Riders Association. jobs, education, training, earnings, investments in Cayman, community service and personal fi- nancial details. An ap- plication and supporting documentation filed by one person can often ex- ceed 200 pages. Acting Chief Immigra- tion Officer Bruce Smith said Friday that while a number of residence ap- plications are being “de- ferred” – delayed by the board until another meeting – that is often to the applicant’s benefit. “The … board doesn’t want to refuse an applica- tion just because the infor- mation needed to process it is no longer valid,” Mr. Smith said. “They are de- ferring in the interests of the applicant by allowing them to provide up-to-date information before a final decision is made.” The Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board started hearing backlogged residence ap- plications in mid-June and has had five meet- ings since then. According to gov- ernment records, 13 ap- plications have been granted and another 16 were refused. A total of 17 applications were de- ferred until a later board meeting. Four others were withdrawn, and three were not heard be- cause they were filed late and could not legally be considered. Assuming that hearing rate is maintained, the Compass calculated that it would take approxi- mately 163 weeks (three years, seven weeks) for the board to get through the backlogged applica- tions if it holds hearings once a week for all 52 weeks of the year. Premier McLaughlin said the new administra- tors were being brought in to ensure it does not take that long, but he urged the public’s pa- tience and cooperation in the meantime. “We expect to see an in- crease in productivity, but we are aware such drastic change will not happen overnight,” he said. “This is a top priority for gov- ernment and it will con- tinue to be so until this matter is resolved.” Five motorbike riders in court, five bikes returned CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Premier: New hires to speed PR process CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Bush claims ‘wrongful arrest’ INDONESIAN LEADER: SHOOT DRUG TRAFFICKERS WHO RESIST ARREST JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo says po- lice should shoot drug traf- fickers who resist arrest be- cause of a narcotics crisis facing the country. Presidential spokesman Johan Budi said Sunday that Jokowi made the com- ments at a recent meeting of an Indonesian po- litical party. “We have to take firm action. If drug dealers who operate in Indonesia fight back when arrested, offi- cers can shoot them, be- cause we are in a narcotics emergency position now,” Jokowi said, according to his spokesman. Local media reported last week that police shot dead a Taiwanese man for resisting arrest during a seizure of 1 ton of crystal methamphetamine, Indo- nesia’s largest-ever sei- zure of the drug. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte launched an anti-drug crusade last year in which thousands of alleged drug dealers and users have been killed, often in circumstances akin to lawless summary ex- ecutions. The crackdown has been condemned by rights groups and govern- ments around the world. Indonesia has tough anti- drug laws and traffickers can receive the death pen- alty. Four people, one In- donesian and three Nige- rians, were executed by firing squad last year, and dozens are on death row for trafficking. Budi said Jokowi’s com- ment is not a shoot to kill order and police actions should be measured and in accordance with the law. It’s a message to all In- donesians to show the commitment of the gov- ernment to fighting nar- cotics, he said. Russian ambassador to US concludes assignment WASHINGTON (AP) – Rus- sian ambassador to the United States Sergei Kis- lyak – a high-profile figure in the controversy over Rus- sian meddling in the 2016 presidential election– has concluded his assignment in Washington. The Russian Embassy in Washington announced on Twitter that Kislyak’s tenure ended on Saturday. Kislyak’s successor has not been announced, al- though it is widely expected to be Anatoly Antonov, a deputy foreign minister and former deputy defense min- ister seen as a hardliner re- garding the United States. A Washington fixture with a sprawling network, Kislyak has emerged as a central figure in the inves- tigations into Russian in- terference in the election and whether any Trump associates were involved. President Donald Trump has repeatedly dismissed the story as “fake news,” but the investigations have shown no signs of stop- ping, with a focus on top aides heightening. Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was fired after the White House concluded he had not been truthful about conversations he had with Kislyak. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused him- self from the Russia investi- gation after acknowledging two previously undisclosed contacts with Kislyak. On Friday, the Wash- ington Post reported that Kislyak said he discussed election-related issues with Sessions when the men met last year. The Post cited anonymous U.S. officials who described U.S. intelli- gence intercepts of Kislyak’s descriptions of his meetings with Sessions. The Justice Department said Sessions stands by his previous as- sertion that he never had conversations with Rus- sian officials about any type of interference with the election. The president’s son- in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has also been criticized for failing to immediately disclose a meeting with Kislyak on his security clearance ques- tionnaire. In that December meeting, he proposed a se- cret back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team. During a long diplo- matic career, Kislyak has led the life of a fairly typ- ical global envoy, making himself a reliable pres- ence on the circuit of recep- tions, teas and forums that make up the calendar of any ambassador. Kislyak, who was ap- pointed to his post in 2008, is regularly spotted walking around town, heading to and from meetings. Early in his tenure, he often opened the doors of the Russian Embassy, hosting dinners for foreign policy profes- sionals, Pentagon officials, journalists and Capitol Hill staffers. His first foreign posting was to New York where he worked at the Soviet del- egation at the United Na- tions in the early 1980s. He spent the following years as the first secretary and then councilor at the Soviet Em- bassy in Washington be- fore returning to Moscow in 1989, where he took a suc- cession of senior jobs at the Foreign Ministry. Kislyak’s successor has not been announced, although it is widely expected to be Anatoly Antonov, a deputy foreign minister and former deputy defense minister seen as a hardliner regarding the United States. Indonesian President Joko WidodoThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY JULY 24, 2017 Uber controversy at Madrid airport The city of Madrid has asked Spain’s anti-trust watchdog to investigate whether Uber’s new airport transport service violates fair competition laws. Madrid’s city hall says “(Uber’s) tariffs may violate several articles of the Law of Unfair Competition and consumer rights if they are below the cost of providing the service.” Philippine Congress extends martial law in south amid siege MANILA, Philippines (AP) – The Philippine Congress has overwhelmingly approved the president’s appeal for mar- tial law in the south to be ex- tended to the end of the year to help troops quell a two- month siege by Islamic State group-linked militants and stamp out similar extremist plots in the volatile region. House of Representatives Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez announced that senators and House members voted 261-18 Saturday in favor of granting President Rodrigo Duterte’s request in a special joint ses- sion. The 60-day martial law was to expire late Saturday. The military chief of staff, Gen. Eduardo Ano, warned during the session that aside from the uprising in Marawi, extremist groups have plotted similar insurrections in other southern cities and that mar- tial law has helped troops stop attacks, including bomb- ings, elsewhere. “There was an order for them to do their own version of Marawi in other areas, but we were able to stop this be- cause of martial law,” Ano told the legislators. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana played down con- cerns of military abuses, saying no major human rights violations have been reported since Duterte de- clared martial law to deal with the Marawi violence, the worst crisis in his year- long presidency. Some opponents argued that government forces could deal with the attack in lake- side Marawi, a center of Is- lamic faith in the southern third of the largely Roman Catholic nation, without re- sorting to martial law. Others worried that the extension was too long and that the rest of the country may eventually be placed under martial rule. Left-wing activists op- posed to Duterte’s decla- ration rallied outside Con- gress. Some unfurled protest posters in the plenary hall but were forced out by secu- rity officers. Sen. Risa Hontiveros re- called how civil liberties were curtailed and Congress was padlocked when dictator Fer- dinand Marcos imposed mar- tial law in the Philippines in 1972. Marcos was ousted in a “people power” revolt in 1986. Since the Marawi fighting broke out on May 23, at least 428 militants, 105 soldiers and policemen, and 45 civil- ians have been killed. Half a million residents have been displaced, according to the military. During the daylong spe- cial session of Congress, a wounded army officer, 1st Lt. Kent Fagyan, told how troops smashed concrete walls of houses and buildings with sledgehammers to advance slowly toward militant po- sitions away from sniper fire. Troops dealt with booby traps and had to wrest back control of Marawi communi- ties room by room, he said, adding that the militants had powerful machine guns, drones and “seemingly un- limited ammunition.” “Inside, you can’t eat on time, you can’t sleep be- cause you’ll be awakened by explosions here and there starting in the morning up to evening for almost 24 hours,” Fagyan said. “On behalf of my col- leagues, who are still fighting in Marawi, we thank you for your continued support,” he said. “We feel that we’re not alone fighting them with the clothes and water that you sent over.” The siege on Marawi started when more than 600 heavily armed fighters, waving Islamic State group- style black flags, stormed into the city, occupying build- ings, houses and mosques and taking hostages. Several foreign fighters, including 20 Indonesians and a Ma- laysian financier known as Mahmud bin Ahmad, joined the insurrection, Duterte said in a letter to Congress this past week. Duterte wrote in his letter that the leadership of the Marawi siege “largely re- mains intact despite the considerable decline in the number of rebels fighting in the main battle area.” Other radical armed bands “are ready to reinforce Isnilon Hapilon’s group or launch di- versionary attacks and sim- ilar uprisings elsewhere,” he said, referring to the leader of the attackers. Intelligence reports that Hapilon sent funds and or- dered allied militants to launch attacks in key cities across the south have been validated, Duterte said. The attackers’ lasting power and large arsenal of weapons have surprised Duterte and his top security officials, who acknowledged they underestimated the combat strength of the mili- tants and their preparations, including the stockpiling of assault firearms in Marawi. Troops long used to fighting insurgents in the jungles have struggled to rout the gunmen from Marawi’s dense urban sprawl. The crisis has sparked alarm that the Islamic State group may be gaining a foothold in Southeast Asia through allied local mili- tants, as it faces major set- backs in Syria and Iraq. The United States and Aus- tralia have deployed surveil- lance planes to Marawi, and China has provided weapons for Filipino troops, in- cluding those fighting in the besieged city. Philippines lawmakers gather for a special joint session on Saturday. - PHOTO: AP Strong aftershocks test nerves on Greek island after quake KOS, Greece (AP) – Crews of experts began examining the damage to cultural monu- ments and infrastructure on the eastern Greek island of Kos on Saturday, a day after a powerful earthquake killed two tourists and injured nearly 500 others in the Ae- gean Sea region that stretches to Turkey’s sprawling coast. Residents and tourists were still jittery as a series of aftershocks Saturday night continued to rock the island. A tremor measuring a prelim- inary 4.4 magnitude struck at 8:09 p.m. Saturday, sending residents and restaurant cus- tomers scurrying toward the middle of the town’s main square, as far away as pos- sible from buildings. Sixteen minutes later, a second 4.6-magnitude tremor struck, the Athens Geodynamics Institute re- ported. The first tremor had its epicenter only 12.5 miles northeast of Kos at a depth of 6.2 miles. Hundreds of residents and tourists spent Friday night sleeping outdoors on the island, too afraid to re- turn to their homes or ho- tels after the quake that struck early Friday. Many camped out in parks and olive groves, or slept in their cars or on beach and swim- ming pool lounge chairs. The aftershocks Sat- urday night meant that many would spend a second night outdoors. During the day in Kos, churches, an old mosque, the port’s 14th- century castle and other old buildings that suffered in the quake were being checked by archaeologists and experts from Greece’s Culture Ministry. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake Friday at magni- tude 6.7, with Greek and Turkish estimates a frac- tion lower. Two men, a Turk and a Swede, were killed when a wall collapsed into a popular bar in the Old Town of Kos. The most seriously in- jured in Greece were air- lifted to hospitals on the mainland and the southern island of Crete, and at least two were still in critical condition Saturday. The Turkish man’s parents were on the island making arrangements to repatriate his body home by boat, pos- sibly on Sunday. Panagiotis Bekali, a 30-year-old resident, spent the night sleeping in an olive grove with relatives while his 5-year-old son and 16-year-old nephew slept in the family car. “There were cracks in the house (from the earthquake) so we went straight out,” he said. “We were afraid to stay indoors, so the whole family slept outside.” Dozens of aftershocks have shaken the island. John Grant, a 60-year-old tourist from Britain, said he felt safer sleeping outside. “Coming from some- where that doesn’t have earthquakes, you don’t un- derstand,” he said from his makeshift bed on a lounge chair. “So to me it was very frightening being in the building. But being outside, I know I’m safe.” About 350 of the injuries occurred in Turkey, in Bo- drum and other beach re- sorts, as people fled build- ings and as a sea swell flung cars off the road and pushed boats ashore. Seis- mologists said the shallow depth of the undersea quake Friday was to blame for the damage. In Kos, the quake dam- aged the island’s main port, so ferries were being di- verted to the smaller port of Kefalos on the island’s southwestern coast. A woman feeds puppies next to rubble after an earthquake at the port of Kos island, Greece, on Saturday. - PHOTO: AP8 WORLD&REGIONAL MONDAY JULY 24, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Divided UK, inconclusive election could put brakes on Brexit LONDON (AP) – Lucy Harris thinks Britain’s de- cision to leave the Euro- pean Union is a dream come true. Nick Hopkinson thinks it’s a nightmare. The two Britons – a “leave” supporter and a “remainer” – represent the great divide in a country that stepped into the unknown just over a year ago, when British voters de- cided by 52 percent to 48 per- cent to end more than four decades of EU membership. They are also as uncer- tain as the rest of the country about what Brexit will look like, and even when it will happen. Since the shock ref- erendum result, work on ne- gotiating the divorce from the EU has slowed to a crawl as the scale and com- plexity of the challenge be- comes clearer. Harris, founder of the pro-Brexit group Leavers of London, says she is hopeful, rather than confident, that Britain will really cut its ties with the EU. “If we haven’t finalized it, then anything’s still up for grabs,” she said. “Everything is still to play for.” She’s not the only Brexi- teer, as those who support leaving the EU are called, to be concerned. After an elec- tion last month clipped the wings of Britain’s Conserva- tive government, remainers are gaining in confidence. “Since the general elec- tion I’ve been more optimistic that at least we’re headed to- ward soft Brexit, and hope- fully we can reverse Brexit altogether,” said Hopkinson, chairman of pro-EU group London4Europe. “Obviously the government is toughing it out, showing a brave face. But I think its brittle at- titude toward Brexit will break and snap.” Many on both sides of the divide had assumed the pic- ture would be clearer by now. But the road to Brexit has not run smoothly. First the British govern- ment lost a Supreme Court battle over whether a vote in Parliament was needed to begin the Brexit process. Once the vote was held, and won, Prime Minister The- resa May’s Conservative gov- ernment officially triggered the two-year countdown to exit, starting a race to un- tangle four decades of inter- twined laws and regulations by March 2019. Then, May called an early election in a bid to strengthen her hand in EU negotiations. Instead, voters stripped May’s Conservatives of their parliamentary ma- jority, severely denting May’s authority – and her ability to hold together a party split between its pro-and anti-EU wings. Since the June 8 elec- tion, government ministers have been at war, providing the media with a string of disparaging, anonymously sourced stories about one an- other. Much of the sniping has targeted Treasury chief Philip Hammond, the most senior minister in favor of a compromise “soft Brexit” to cushion the economic shock of leaving the bloc. The result is a disunited British government and an increasingly impatient EU. EU officials have slammed British proposals so far as vague and inad- equate. The first substan- tive round of divorce talks in Brussels last week failed to produce a breakthrough, as the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said Britain must clarify its positions in key areas. Barnier said “funda- mental” differences remain on one of the biggest issues – the status of 3 million EU cit- izens living in Britain and 1 million U.K. nationals who re- side in other European coun- tries. A British proposal to grant permanent residency to Europeans in the U.K. was dismissed by the European Parliament as insufficient and burdensome. There’s also a fight looming over the multibillion- euro bill that Britain must pay to meet previous com- mitments it made as an EU member. British Foreign Sec- retary Boris Johnson recently asserted the bloc could “go whistle” if it thought Britain would settle a big exit tab. “I am not hearing any whistling. Just the clock ticking,” Barnier replied. EU officials insist there can be no discussion of a fu- ture trade deal with Britain until “sufficient progress” has been made on citizens’ rights, the exit bill and the status of the Irish border. “We don’t seem to be much further on now than we were just after the refer- endum,” said Tim Bale, pro- fessor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “I’m not sure anybody knows just how this is going to go. I’m not sure the government has got its negotiating goals sorted. I’m not sure the EU really knows what (Britain’s goals) are either. “I think we are going to find it very, very hard to meet this two-year deadline before we crash out.” The prospect of tumbling out of the bloc – with its frictionless single market in goods and services – and into a world of tariffs and trade barriers has given Britain’s economy the jit- ters. The pound has lost more than 10 percent of its value against the dollar in the last year, economic growth has slowed and manufacturing output has begun to fall. Employers’ organization the Confederation of British Industry says the uncertainty is threatening jobs. The group says to ease the pain, Britain should remain in the EU’s single market and customs union during a transitional period after Brexit. That idea has support from many lawmakers, both Conservative and Labour, but could bring the wrath of pro- Brexit Conservatives down on the already shaky May gov- ernment. That could trigger a party leadership challenge or even a new election – and more delays and chaos. In the meantime, there is little sign the country has heeded May’s repeated calls to unite. A post-referendum spike in hate crimes against Europeans and others has subsided, but across the country families have fought and friendships have been strained over Brexit. “It has created divisions that just weren’t there,” said Hopkinson, who calls the forces unleashed by Brexit a “nightmare.” On that, he and Harris agree. Harris set up Leavers of London as a support group after finding her views out of synch with many others in her 20-something age group. “I was fed up with being called a xenophobe,” she said. “You start this conver- sation and it gets really bad very quickly.” She strongly believes Britain will be better off out- side the EU. But, she pre- dicts: “We’re in for a bumpy ride, both sides.” Trump commissions state-of-the-art aircraft carrier NORFOLK, Va. (AP) – With praise and a blessing for the military, President Donald Trump helped hand over the USS Gerald R. Ford to the Navy on Saturday and said the state-of-the-art air- craft carrier will send a “100,000-ton message to the world” about America’s mil- itary might when it is ulti- mately deployed. U.S. allies will rest easy, Trump said, but America’s enemies will “shake with fear” when they see the Ford cutting across the horizon. The president and com- mander in chief of the U.S. armed forces likened the $12.9 billion warship to “an incredible work of art” and boasted about the American labor that went into building a vessel that eventually will house thousands of sailors and crew members. “American steel and Amer- ican hands have constructed this 100,000-ton message to the world,” Trump said of the Ford during a speech that praised the bravery and spirit of U.S. service mem- bers and referenced his de- sire for a buildup after years of spending restrictions. “American might is second to none and we’re get- ting bigger and better and stronger every day of my ad- ministration. That I can tell you,” Trump told thousands of service members and guests, including former de- fense secretaries Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, all packed into the steamy hangar bay on the main deck. “Wherever this vessel cuts through the horizon, our al- lies will rest easy and our enemies will shake with fear because everyone will know that America is coming, and America is coming strong,” Trump said. After the speech, he put the Ford into commission and asked God to “bless and guide this warship and all who shall sail in her.” He was followed by Susan Ford Bales, the ship’s sponsor and daughter of the 38th presi- dent, whom the ship honors. “There is no one, abso- lutely no one, who would be prouder of the commis- sioning of this mighty ship than the president of the United States, Gerald R. Ford,” she said. “I am honored to give the command: ‘Officers and crew of the United States Gerald R. Ford, man our ship and bring her to life.’” “Anchors Aweigh” played as row after row of sailors in crisp, white uniforms who had been standing in forma- tion began filing off to man their stations. Sirens and bells sounded, horns blared and the U.S. flag was hoisted high above the deck. Soon after, the captain was informed that the “ship is manned and ready and re- ports for duty to the fleet.” Construction started in 2009 and was to be com- pleted by September 2015 at a cost of $10.5 billion. The Navy has blamed the delays and budget overruns on the ship’s advanced systems and technology, including electro- magnetic launch systems for jets and drones that will re- place steam catapults. The warship also has a smaller island that sits far- ther back on the ship to make it quicker to refuel, re- arm and relaunch planes, and a nuclear power plant designed to allow cruising speeds of more than 30 knots and operation for 20 years without refueling. The vessel completed sea trials in April but still will go through a battery of tests and workups at sea before becoming ready for deployment. In this June 25 file photo, the front pages of Britain’s newspapers report on the EU referendum result. - PHOTO: AP In this April 8 file photo, the USS Gerald R. Ford embarks on the first of its sea trials to test various state-of- the-art systems on its own power for the first time. - PHOTO: APThe islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY JULY 24, 2017 Rosa Eiriksdottir Ramsay died peacefully on Monday the 17th July 2017 in St. Andrew, Jamaica. She is pre-deceased by her beloved husband of 50 years, Ian Ramsay QC and her son, Ian Ramsay jr. She leaves behind children, Dr. Eric Ramsay (USA) and the Hon. Margaret Ramsay-Hale (Turks and Caicos Islands) daughter-in-law Marcie, grandchildren Ben, Alex, Sam, Matthew, Sarah and Lauren, nieces and nephews, family and friends. A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at St. Jude’s Anglican Church, Stony Hill, St. Andrew at 11 o’clock in the forenoon on Thursday, the 10th August, 2017. The family would like to thank all who have expressed sympathy and have shown so much love and support during this time. Death Announcement Good Manufacturing Practices Preserves Preservation Jams Jellies Chutney Sauces & Pickles Food Microbiology Introduction to Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Product Development & Display AGRO Processing *REGISTRATION ON A FIRST COME BASIS TOPICS TO BE COVERED VENUE: Clifton Hunter High School Aug. 8 - 11 9am - 4:30pm $50* Frank Sound, North Side TRAINER: Debbie Ann Kennedy Scientific Research Council ISO9000:2015 Certification For more information contact: 345-947-3090 DEADLINE: Friday 28th July 2017 W ORK SHOP US lawmakers herald agreement on broad Russia sanctions bill WASHINGTON (AP) – Congres- sional Republicans and Dem- ocrats announced Saturday they had reached an agree- ment on a sweeping Russia sanctions package to punish Moscow for meddling in the presidential election and its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria. Rep. Steny Hoyer of Mary- land, the No. 2 House Demo- crat, said lawmakers had set- tled lingering issues with the bill, which also includes stiff economic penalties against Iran and North Korea. The sanctions targeting Russia, however, have drawn the most attention due to Presi- dent Donald Trump’s persis- tent push for warmer rela- tions with President Vladimir Putin and ongoing investiga- tions into Russia’s interfer- ence in the 2016 campaign. Collision course with the president Passage of the bill, which could occur before Congress breaks for the August recess, puts Capitol Hill on possible collision course with Trump. The White House had objected to a key section of the bill that would mandate a con- gressional review if Trump attempted to ease or end the sanctions against Moscow. But if Trump were to veto the bill, he risks sparking an outcry from Republicans and Democrats and having his de- cision overturned. The sanc- tions review was included in the bill because of wari- ness among lawmakers from both parties over Trump’s af- finity for Putin. The precise mechanics of how involved House Dem- ocrats would be in the re- view process had been a key sticking point, but Hoyer said he’s satisfied with the outcome. “The legislation ensures that both the majority and mi- nority are able to exercise our oversight role over the admin- istration’s implementation of sanctions,” Hoyer said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the sanctions legisla- tion “strong” and he ex- pected the legislation to be passed promptly. “Given the many transgres- sions of Russia, and President Trump’s seeming inability to deal with them, a strong sanctions bill such as the one Democrats and Republi- cans have just agreed to is es- sential,” said Schumer, Demo- cratic senator for New York. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy posted a leg- islative business schedule that shows the sanctions bill will be voted on Tuesday. Mc- Carthy, a Republican con- gressman for California, had pushed to add the North Korea sanctions to the package. The House had over- whelmingly passed legisla- tion in May to hit Pyongyang with additional economic sanctions, but the Senate had yet to take up the bill. Penalties on N. Korea not included The Senate last month passed sanctions legislation that targeted only Russia and Iran. Congressional aides said there may be resistance among Senate Republicans to adding the North Korea pen- alties, but it remained un- clear whether those concerns would further stall the legis- lation. The aides were not au- thorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity to dis- cuss internal deliberations. “North Korea, Iran and Russia have in different ways all threatened their neighbors and actively sought to un- dermine American interests,” McCarthy and Rep. Ed Royce of California, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Af- fairs Committee, said in a joint statement. “The bill the House will vote on next week will now exclusively focus on these nations and hold them accountable for their dan- gerous actions.” The House and Senate ne- gotiators addressed concerns voiced by American oil and natural gas companies that sanctions specific to Russia’s energy sector could backfire on them to Moscow’s benefit. The bill raises the threshold for when U.S. firms would be prohibited from being part of energy projects that also in- cluded Russian businesses. Although there is wide- spread support for the legis- lation, the bill stalled after it cleared the Senate over consti- tutional questions and bick- ering over technical details. In particular, House Democrats charged that GOP leaders had cut them out of the congres- sional review that would be triggered if Trump proposed to terminate or suspend the Russia sanctions. But Repub- licans rejected the complaint and blamed Democrats for holding the bill up. The review require- ment in the sanctions bill is styled after 2015 legisla- tion pushed by Republicans and approved in the Senate that gave Congress a vote on whether then-President Barack Obama could lift sanc- tions against Iran. That mea- sure reflected Republican complaints that Obama had overstepped the power of the presidency and needed to be checked by Congress. According to the bill, Trump is required to send Congress a report explaining why he wants to suspend or terminate a particular set of sanctions. Lawmakers would then have 30 days to decide whether to allow the move or reject it. The North Korea sanctions bill included in the package bill cleared the House by a 419-1 vote and House Repub- licans became frustrated the Senate did not move quickly on the measure given the vast bipartisan support it re- ceived. The measure bars ships owned by North Korea or by countries that refuse to comply with U.N. resolutions against it from operating in American waters or docking at U.S. ports. Goods produced by North Korea’s forced labor would be prohibited from en- tering the United States. The sanctions package im- poses mandatory penalties on people involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program and anyone who does busi- ness with them. The measure would apply terrorism sanc- tions to the country’s Revo- lutionary Guards and enforce an arms embargo. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck SchumerNext >