ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017 $ $ Brac artist alleges repeated vandalism of work KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Artist Ronald “Foots” Kynes said his art was vandalized for the eighth time in Cayman Brac on Friday Night. Mr. Kynes said he found two of his cement sculptures, “LGBT” and “Eva in Eve,” smashed against the rocks at his Brac property that he calls “Imagine.” The works, which depict nude women in sexual embraces, have been at the center of public con- troversy in recent weeks. Mr. Kynes was arrested July 18 for “obscene publications” after refusing to comply with Royal Cayman Islands Police Service orders to remove the art from public view. He has not been charged and is on police bail until Sept. 6. “I got on my bicycle and rode down there [Saturday morning]. When I got there and got out, the statue for ‘LGBT’ was pushed over against the rock and smashed up and destroyed. I’ve got to do a lot of work to try to fix it,” Mr. Kynes said. “These things weigh more than 3,000 pounds a piece. It took more than one person to do this. ‘Eva in Eve’ was pushed over against the retaining wall I have for my easel, and it was busted and smashed up.” The artist contacted local po- lice to file a report and shared the names of two residents who he said have recently threatened to destroy and throw paint on his art on social media. “Today has been rough. It re- ally has been rough. I had an issue with the police. This whole situation is getting out of hand and something has to stop,” Mr. Kynes said. FIBER NETWORK DISPUTE HEADED TO COURT KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com There are more than 15,000 utility poles on Grand Cayman, all of which serve as potential nodes for fiber-optic cables. Telecom companies are eager to use those poles to expand their fiber networks, which would improve and expand their broadband internet services. However, doing so requires negotiating with DataLink Ltd., a Carib- bean Utilities Company subsidiary created to manage the installation and maintenance of cables attached to CUC-owned poles. Those negotiations have become conten- tious in recent years, and a failure to reach timely agreements has delayed necessary up- dates to Cayman’s internet infrastructure, ac- cording to the Utility Regulation and Com- petition Office (OfReg), which regulates the territory’s utilities. One of the major bones of contention be- tween the companies stems from DataLink charging the telecom companies that want to expand their fiber networks to reserve unused space on its poles since 2012. With the companies unable to resolve their differences over that issue, OfReg stepped in to resolve the dispute. Last month, the regulator issued orders prohibiting Da- taLink from continuing to charge reserva- tion fees, and to refund fees that have been charged in the past. DataLink is challenging those orders, filing an application with the Grand Court on Wednesday to apply for judicial review. Data- Link is seeking a court order to quash OfReg’s orders, and a suspension of those orders while the case is being litigated, according to the firm’s claim form, which is posted on the financial services website OffshoreAlert. The CUC subsidiary’s claim form does not explain the grounds for its dispute, but OfReg’s orders are on a 77-page document that details a raft of legal and technical STANLEY JOHNSON (BORIS’S DAD) VISITS CAYMAN Save the ‘Blues,’ cull the ‘Greens’ KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com If Grand Cayman were de- picted in a science fiction novel, British environmen- talist and former politician Stanley Johnson imagines the title might read some- thing like, “The Invasion of the Green Iguanas.” In this tale, the island’s en- dangered blue iguana would presumably triumph as the unlikely, downtrodden hero who overcomes seemingly in- surmountable obstacles. An iguana-themed thriller remains just an idea, how- ever. For now, the blue iguana will be the focus of an up- coming feature about the Cayman Islands environ- ment for the U.K.’s Sunday Times newspaper. “I will absolutely be high- lighting the issue that these islands are really, really very exceptional in terms of nat- ural history and in terms of what they can contribute to the preservation of the world’s biodiversity,” said Mr. Johnson, a former Member of the European Parliament for the Conservative party, and father of Boris Johnson, the PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » Former British politician Stanley Johnson presents a copy of his novel, ‘Kompromat,’ to Premier Alden McLaughlin Friday while visiting the Cayman Islands. Stanley Johnson with a blue iguana during a visit to the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme center in Grand Cayman last week. - PHOTO COURTESY OF STANLEY JOHNSON Ronald ‘Foots’ Kynes’ statue ‘LGBT’ was damaged by vandals Friday. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL MONDAY AUGUST 14, 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 - ARMED RESPONSE (R) 1:25 I 5:05 I 6:35 I 9:25 EMOJI MOVIE 3D (PG) 1:35 2D I 2:50 2D I 4:20 I 7:05 2D SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 3D (PG13) 12:45 2D I 3:45 I 6:45 2D I 9:40 DARK TOWER (PG13) 12:30 VIP I 2:50 VIP I 4:00 I 7:40 VIP 9:10 I 10:00 VIP GIRLS TRIP (R) 1:25 I 4:15 I 7:00 I 9:45 DUNKIRK (PG13) 12:20 I 5:10 VIP I 7:20 I 9:50 Experts: Herd immunity outside US slows Zika spread in Florida MIAMI (AP) – The waning of Zika outbreaks in the Carib- bean and South America has helped slow the spread of the mosquito-borne virus in Florida this year, according to health officials. Herd immunity, when enough people in an area are infected with a virus and develop resistance to it, likely has contributed to Zi- ka’s decline outside the con- tinental United States, Dr. Henry Walke, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention’s incident manager for Zika response, said in a Miami Herald report. “People that were in- fected before can’t be in- fected again. That’s our un- derstanding,” Walke said. “So you don’t have as much of the virus circulating. That’s true not only in Puerto Rico but throughout the Ca- ribbean and throughout South America.” However, experts warn that herd immunity else- where will not stop the virus from re-emerging in this country. That has hap- pened in Florida with other mosquito-borne viruses in recent years. “As we’ve seen with chi- kungunya and dengue, it is not unlikely that we will ex- perience small outbreaks of Zika in the future,” Florida Department of Health spokes- woman Mara Gambineri said in a written statement. Also, herd immunity even- tually wears off, said Derek Cummings, an epidemiolo- gist with the University of Florida’s Emerging Patho- gens Institute. “As years go by, more people are born into a pop- ulation and they haven’t en- countered Zika, and so they’re going to introduce suscep- tibility into the popula- tion,” Cummings said. “Some number of years from now, those susceptible popula- tions will rise to where you’d have sufficient numbers and then maybe we’d be doing this all over again.” By the end of 2016, state health officials had con- firmed 1,456 Zika infec- tions in Florida, including 285 cases spread by mos- quitoes in Miami and Miami Beach. The infections caused the CDC to issue an unprec- edented domestic travel ad- visory warning pregnant women to avoid Miami-Dade County because the virus can cause severe birth defects. There is no vaccine or treatment for the virus, which can also spread through sexual contact. Florida health officials have reported 384 pregnant women who tested positive for Zika since Jan- uary 2016, with nine deliv- ering children with Zika-re- lated birth defects. So far this year, Florida health officials have reported a total of 135 Zika cases, but none have been linked to mosquitoes in the state. The CDC lifted its travel warning for Miami-Dade County in June. Experts warn resi- dents and visitors not feel complacent about con- tracting the virus. “The threat is still there,” Walke said. “It hasn’t gone away. It will not go away any time soon.” Frequent rainfall, which benefits breeding mosqui- toes, and the fact that many people infected with Zika do not feel any symptoms – such as fever, joint pain, red eyes or a rash – can fuel an out- break in spite of increased mosquito-control efforts, said Bill Petrie, the county’s new mosquito control director. “So it could be circu- lating and we don’t know it,” he said. A car was stolen from the parking lot of Owen Roberts International Airport Thursday, po- lice reported. The bronze-colored 2016 Kia Sorento, with a license plate of T5391, was parked after 5 a.m. and was taken some time before 7:15 a.m., according to police. Later on Thursday, a motorbike was stolen from outside a home in Au- rora Drive, West Bay. The bike was last seen around 8:45 a.m. that day, and was discovered stolen shortly at 10:45 a.m. The bike is a blue, black and white 2006 Yamaha XT225, with registration plates 115215. Anyone with informa- tion regarding these vehi- cles is asked to call 911 or the George Town Police Sta- tion at 949-4222. Car stolen from airport car park This Kia Sorento was stolen from a parking lot at the airport Thursday. This Yamaha motorcycle was stolen from outside a home in Aurora Drive, West Bay, on Thursday, Aug. 10. Peru expels Venezuela ambassador as pressure on Maduro grows CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Peru expelled Venezue- la’s ambassador on Friday as regional pressure built on President Nicolas Madu- ro’s government for allegedly trampling his country’s con- stitutional order. The Venezuelan govern- ment retaliated by ordering the head of Peru’s embassy in Caracas to leave and called Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski an “enemy” of Venezuela and of Latin American unity. Peru gave Ambassador Diego Molero, a former Ven- ezuelan defense minister, five days to leave the country. As part of what it said was a firm commitment “to help re- store Venezuela’s democracy,” Peru’s administration also re- fused to accept a diplomatic protest made by Maduro over Peru’s hosting this week of foreign ministers from 17 re- gional nations who refused to recognize the new, loyalist- packed special assembly that is to rewrite the constitution. The action by Peru, which was the strongest yet from a Latin American government, came as the Trump adminis- tration weighed putting eco- nomic sanctions on Vene- zuela to punish Maduro for what Washington calls an il- legitimate power grab. A few hours later, Vene- zuela’s foreign ministry an- nounced that it was giving Peru’s top envoy in Caracas, Carlos Rossi, five days to leave the country. The state- ment also said Venezuela’s ambassador in Lima had al- ready returned to Caracas. Peru’s president has until recently been a lonely ex- ception among Latin Amer- ican leaders in openly con- demning Maduro. Kuczynski, a former Wall Street invest- ment banker who spent de- cades living in the U.S., is frequently mocked on Vene- zuelan state TV and was once referred to as the “empire’s lapdog” by an official. In the U.S., mean- while, President Donald Trump escalated the rhet- oric Friday by saying he has not ruled out military action against Venezuela. Speaking to reporters at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, Trump bemoaned the country’s growing hu- manitarian crisis and de- clared that all options remain on the table – including a po- tential military intervention. “We have many options for Venezuela and by the way, I’m not going to rule out a military option,” Trump vol- unteered, adding, “A military operation and military option is certainly something that we could pursue.” On Thursday, Trump said he discussed Venezuela along with North Korea and Afghanistan in a secu- rity briefing with top na- tional security aides and Vice President Mike Pence. Pence is traveling to Co- lombia on Sunday to begin a regional trip that is expected to include discussions on how to deal with Maduro. Maduro has tried to de- flect the pressure from Wash- ington, and on Thursday he said he wanted to meet with Trump, perhaps next month at the United Nations Gen- eral Assembly in New York. “Mr. Donald Trump, here is my hand,” the socialist president told delegates at the constitutional assembly, adding that he wants as strong a relationship with the U.S. as he has with Russia. Late Friday, the White House rejected the request to meet with Trump. A state- ment released late Friday by the White House press secre- tary said, “Trump will gladly speak with the leader of Ven- ezuela as soon as democracy is restored in that country.” A life-size cutout of Venezuela’s late President Hugo Chavez waving his nation’s flag stands on a balcony at Venezuela’s embassy in Lima, Peru, Friday. – PHOTO: AP3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017 CYBERSECURITY FUNDAMENTALS Training Course with Jay Ranade 16CPE (ISACA) Date: 26th & 27th September Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm Location: Cayman Conference Center, Elizabethan Square, George Town, Cayman Islands Spaces available: 15 on-site and 5 online Training Duration: 2 days Name _______________________ Company _________________________ Email ____________________________________________________________ Phone ______________________________ Number of seats ___________ Maintain your CPE Credits 16 ISACA Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Credits Available Who Should Attend? • IT Professionals • RiskOfficers • Graduates or College Students • Others starting out in Cyber Security About the Trainer & Speaker Jay Ranade is master Trainer for ISACA & ISC2 certifications.Jaywill be running the 2-day course and speaking at ArmourExpo2017. This course is brought to you by ARMOUR EXPO 2017 . To address the growing need for Information Security Leaders to ensure the protection of organisations’ digital assets - We have a Cyber Security Fundamental Training Course to help you do just that. Take a pic and email this form to info@armourexpo.com to reserve your place, call 946 3673 andquoteARMOURCSXF or visit bit.do/ csxfcayman. Defendant admits possession of two air pistols CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Chadwick Cameron Ebanks appeared in Grand Court on Friday when he entered pleas to an eight- count indictment that in- cluded seven charges for un- licensed firearms. Ebanks, 40, pleaded not guilty to being in posses- sion of unlicensed items at his West Bay residence on July 6, 2017: a .38-caliber re- volver, a Ruger semi-auto- matic revolver, four rounds of nine-millimeter ammu- nition and one round of .38 ammunition. He pleaded guilty to pos- session of two air pistols. When a charge of possessing a firearm “component part” was put to him, he pleaded guilty, saying that was “for the air gun.” He was further charged with possession of criminal property – $30,000 in cash. He pleaded not guilty. Crown counsel Scott Wainwright told Justice Charles Quin it was proposed to put this matter over to Aug. 25. He explained that a co-defendant was expected to appear on that date. Defense attorney Jona- thon Hughes agreed. When the matter was in Summary Court, Mr. Hughes had ques- tioned whether the air pistols were firearms within the defi- nition contained in the Fire- arms Law. It was not clear from Friday’s proceedings whether the question had been resolved. Pageant Beach hotel developer unveils plans for 5-star project JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Howard Hospi- tality Group has submitted plans for its third major Cayman Islands project – a US$285 million five-star hotel and condo develop- ment on the southern tip of Seven Mile Beach. Michael Wilkings, CEO of the group, said the devel- opment on the old Pageant Beach site would include around 250 hotel rooms and 100 two and three bedroom condominiums. An architect’s video of the proposed development shows adjoining multi-story build- ings overlooking the beach and pools. A boardwalk tra- verses the ironshore coastline of the 7.1 acre site. Mr. Wilkings said the de- velopment would include seven food and beverage out- lets, including an “interna- tionally branded restaurant.” He said the hotel itself would be a five-star brand operated by the Howard Group under a licensing agreement. The resort will also fea- ture four pools, a cinema screening room, a rooftop spa and 35,000 square feet of conference space. The plans are expected to be considered by the Cen- tral Planning Authority in the coming months. Mr. Wilk- ings said the developer was hoping to begin construction in the first quarter of next year, with opening tentatively scheduled for 2020. The Howard Group took over Treasure Island in 2015, transforming it into the Mar- garitaville resort, and is also renovating a three-story property on West Bay Road as a new 42-room business hotel, Locale. Mr. Wilkings said the com- pany was investing heavily in Grand Cayman. “We have huge confidence in the future growth of busi- ness and tourism in Grand Cayman. We think there is substantial potential for long-time growth not with- standing other new hotels coming into the market.” He said the resort at Pag- eant Beach would have more conference and meeting room space than any other de- velopment on island, and would attract new business to the Cayman Islands. “It means we will be able to attract larger group book- ings and corporate events, which is something I know the Department of Tourism is excited about,” Mr. Wilk- ings said. “One of the limita- tions the island has had in attracting group bookings is the limited space.” The National Conserva- tion Council has already in- dicated that the develop- ment will not be required to go through an Environmental Impact Assessment. Mr. Wilkings said archi- tects had consulted the De- partment of Environment in the planning process and tailored the development to avoid any negative impacts. “They worked closely with us to help us understand the shoreline and beach condi- tions and any touch points of concern on the sire so we were really able to under- stand what we needed to do from an environmental sus- tainability perspective.” The plans are expected to be considered by the Central Planning Authority in the coming months. An artist’s impression shows the planned hotel development at Pageant Beach. West Bay man denies firearm charges, except air guns VISITOR’S BACKPACK STOLEN FROM BEACH Thieves stole a visi- tor’s backpack from Tiki Beach on Seven Mile Beach Thursday while the man went for a swim. According to police, offi- cers responded to a report of the theft just after 1:30 p.m. The swimmer had left his red backpack on the sand, along with other be- longings. Two men were seen running toward the bushes carrying the back- pack, police said. Police are reminding beachgoers, especially vis- itors, not to leave their valuables unattended on the beach. “We can all understand how it is tempting to leave our things on the sand while we take a swim, especially if the beach is relatively empty,” said Inspector Lloyd Mar- riott, area commander for West Bay, “but theft is al- most always a crime of op- portunity, and leaving valu- ables unattended creates that opportunity. “It is far better to leave wallets and identification locked away out of sight in a vehicle than on the sand.”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. Even the geographically illiterate know that Switzer- land and Venezuela are not neighbors and yet, there they were, cheek by jowl, on the home page recently of the Wall Street Journal. Their respective headlines read: ‘Switzerland’s First-World Problem: What to Do With $750 Billion’ ‘Venezuelan Default Fears Rise With Billions in Debt Coming Due Soon’ And therein lies a lesson, not in geography but in eco- nomics, that all countries, as large as the United States and as small as the Cayman Islands, should pay heed to. How could this disparity between Switzerland’s and Venezuela’s national balance sheets possibly be so different? After all, in a side-by-side comparison, it would appear that Venezuela had the clear advantage. Venezuela’s population is nearly four times that of Switzerland. Venezuela has a tropical growing climate, a long ocean coastline and the largest known oil reserves in the world. In fact, Venezuela sits on a sea of oil so vast that to many economists (not tourists), it would appear more beautiful than our Caribbean Sea. Switzerland, while topographically has its inviting Alps, has little else in bankable natural resources. And yet, much of the world does its banking in Switzerland (and Cayman) – certainly not in Venezuela. So what explains the success of Switzerland and the disastrous plight of the people in Venezuela? Simply put, Switzerland has a free-market economy with sensible taxation and lean regulation. Venezuela has a dictatorial, socialist government that has saddled its people with untenable debt, stifling their ability to object or influence their own destinies. (Life has become so dire in Venezuela – little food in the markets, nonexistent medical supplies in the hospitals – that President Donald Trump said over the weekend the United States was considering intervening with military force in the South American nation.) As protests continue against President Nicolás Maduro and his constituent assembly – which has seized power, jailed opposition leaders and placed the country in a stranglehold – the long-term threats to the nation’s economy only continue to worsen. The cash-strapped government and its state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PdVSA) have $5 billion in debt coming due before year’s end – money the country does not have and is unlikely to raise from a global community outraged by Venezuelan leaders’ abuses of power and disregard for the rights of its citizenry. Just last week, Credit Suisse stopped trading in two Venezuelan bonds – a sovereign issue due in 2036 and PdVSA’s bond maturing in 2022 – and indicated it would not trade in bonds from any Venezuelan entity that were issued after June 1. More such informal “sanctions” are expected to follow. Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank has amassed $750 billion in stocks, bonds and cash – a surplus that was built through foreign investment and shrewd monetary policy. The central bank’s profit last year alone was 24.5 billion francs (US$25.4 billion). Here’s the caution: As the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month, the bank’s success has some Swiss lawmakers discussing the possible creation of a “sovereign-wealth fund” that would invest a portion of those profits inside the country – perhaps to upgrade infrastructure or provide strategic investments in key industries – at politicians’ discretion, of course. Apparently, the political classes dream similar dreams of what magnificent improvements they might make – if only they had access to more of the country’s wealth. Luckily, Swiss politicians are not likely to get their hands on the funds that (not coincidentally) grew so steadily and well just outside their grasp. The bank and Switzerland’s executive branch want to keep the money far away from government – as well they should. Switzerland’s people – and those of us fortunate to live in free societies – must be vigilant against government “mission creep” and interference in private enterprise. Remember, the wealth of nations – all wealth of all free nations – is generated by the private sector, not the government sector. Put another way, the business sector makes, the public sector takes. Explaining the disparity in the wealth of nations MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS New Zealand’s road map for pro-market reform I wrote last September that New Zealand is the unsung success story of the world. No, it doesn’t rank above Hong Kong and Singapore, which routinely rank as the two jurisdictions with the most economic liberty. But it deserves praise for rising so far and fast con- sidering how the country was mired in statist misery just three decades ago. That’s the story of a great video, narrated by Johan Norberg, from Free to Choose Media. It’s runs 56 minutes, but it’s very much worth your time. But just in case you don’t have a spare hour to watch the full video, I can tell you that it explains how New Zealand made a radical shift to free mar- kets in key areas such as agriculture, trade, fisheries, and industry. I wrote about New Zea- land’s shift to a prop- erty rights-based fisheries system, which is a remark- able success. But I’m even more impressed that the country, which has a very significant agricultural sector, decided to elimi- nate all subsidies. I fanta- size about similar reforms in the United States. To give you an idea of New Zealand’s overall de- regulatory success, it is now ranked first in the World Bank’s Doing Business. As a fiscal policy wonk, my one complaint is that the video doesn’t give much attention to tax and budget policy. Which is an unfortunate oversight because there’s a very positive story to tell. In the early 1990s, the gov- ernment basically imposed a nominal spending freeze. And during that five-year period, the burden of gov- ernment spending fell by more than 10 percentage points of GDP. And because policy makers dealt with the un- derlying disease of too much spending, that also meant eliminating the symptom of red ink. In other words, a big deficit became a big surplus. The same thing also has been happening this de- cade. Outlays have been in- creasing by an average of less than 2 percent annu- ally. And because this com- plies with my Golden Rule, that means a shrinking burden of spending. And there’s also a good story to tell about tax policy. The top income tax rate has been slashed from 66 percent to 33 percent, and there is only a very limited capital gains tax. Let’s close by high- lighting what should be the main lesson of the video, namely that any country can rescue itself from eco- nomic decline. As I watched, the first thing that occurred to me is that New Zealand’s re- forms are – or at least should be – a road map for Greece to follow. The Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World shows the history of economic liberty in the two nations, and you can see that they used to be very similar – in a bad way – back in the 1970s. They began to diverge between 1975 and 1985, mostly be- cause policy got even worse in Greece. Then both ad- opted better policy started in 1985, but New Zealand went much farther in the right direction. Policy has been gener- ally stable in both nations this century. That’s accept- able for New Zealand, but it’s basically a recipe for continued misery in Greece. But the good news is that Greece can simply copy New Zealand to get the same good results. P.S. Remember when Gary Johnson caught grief for being unable to list any admirable foreign leaders. I defended him by pointing out that there are not any obvious choices in office today, but I did mention that Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson – both prominently featured in the above video – would be on list if it included former politicians. P.P.S. New Zealand ranks No. 3 for total human freedom, trailing only Hong Kong and Switzerland. Daniel J. Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and chairman of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, is on the Editorial Board of the Cayman Financial Review. DANIEL J. MITCHELL DANIEL J. MITCHELL In the early 1990s, the government basically imposed a nominal spending freeze. And during that five-year period, the burden of government spending fell by more than 10 percentage points of GDP. 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 find their own way”5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017 PROMOTION ENDS AUGUST 31, 2017 199199199199 $ Available for only Youth culinary team hopes to bring Cayman flavor to Barbados KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Young chefs from the Na- tional Youth Culinary team worked through the night Friday and then rose be- fore dawn Saturday to serve Caymanian home cooking to early birds at the Cricket Grounds farmers’ market. For three weekends in a row, the team fried up fritters, plantains and omelets to raise funds to compete in the culi- nary challenge at this Thurs- day’s Caribbean arts festival, Carifesta, in Barbados. James Myles, acting head of the Youth Services Unit, said the young people’s hard work appeared to be paying off. They passed their weekly fundraising goal of $1,000 each week and were on track Saturday to raise $2,000 in donations. The team aims to raise $17,000 total to send a del- egation of 12, including four students, to the annual, 10- day Carifesta event. “I think if the efforts of the young people can do half, I’m sure others will come on board and match our efforts. So we’ll make sure the team is putting in the effort and showing the country that they are worth this invest- ment. We’ll make the country proud,” Mr. Myles said. “The team stayed up in the night. They are probably run- ning on two winks. I man- aged to get two hours of sleep. They’re still here and we’ll be here until two o’clock – seven, eight hours of community ser- vice and fundraising.” Student Ayanna Davis, 14, said the team added Cayman- style beef, stewed turtle and stewed conch to the menu due to popular demand. “People seem to enjoy ev- erything and come back for the omelets. Last week a lady came back and said that was the best omelet she ever had. They’ve loved the food. The turtle sold out really quick last week. I think it’s going really well,” Ms. Davis said. At the culinary competi- tion in Barbados, the student team will decide between preparing its signature dish, stewed conch, or its national dish, Cayman-style fish. They will face off against 18 Caribbean countries to reach the final round. “We can’t export turtle, so we decided our next bet would be stewed conch or Cayman-style fish. Both dishes the team does excep- tionally well,” Mr. Myles said. “But we aim to take it all and at least have gold medals in every round, be- cause that’s something we can control. It’s up to them to select us to the top three, and we go on to win the trophy. That’s the plan.” Student Bradley McLaughlin said the team has been training hard with practices two to three times a week. During these prac- tices, students learn culinary techniques from coaches, tackle mystery basket chal- lenges and are assessed by chefs from the island, in- cluding the team from Cracked Conch. “I’m hoping to bring our Caymanian skills and to show them what Cay- manians can do,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “This is my first time representing my island and cooking is something I am passionate about and love to do. I love competing. I think it is going to be fun, not just seeing the island but com- peting as well.” Teammate Tarec Francis, 15, said he is excited and ready to face the competi- tion. He said the team has put in the effort and is ready to take on any challenge. After the competition, culinary coach Georganne Rankine expected the stu- dents to begin holding monthly fundraisers. The government has an- nounced that all primary schools will reopen for the new school year on Thursday, Aug. 24, with orientation for new students to the schools being held the day before, on Wednesday, Aug. 23. The primary schools, in- cluding the Little Cayman Education Service, will open at 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 24. The Ministry for Education advises that all new students attending orientation must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian. The orientation times for new students at the various school are as follows: ■■ Sir John A. Cumber Primary Aug. 23: 8:30 a.m. to noon ■■ George Town Primary Aug. 23: 8-10 a.m. ■■ Red Bay Primary Aug. 23: 9 a.m. to noon ■■ Lighthouse School Aug. 23: 9-10 a.m. ■■ Savannah Primary Aug. 23: 9-10:30 a.m. ■■ Prospect Primary Aug. 23: 9-11:30 a.m. ■■ Bodden Town Primary Aug. 23: 9-11 a.m. ■■ Edna M. Moyle Primary Aug. 23: 9-10 a.m. ■■ East End Primary Aug. 23: 8:30 a.m. to noon ■■ West End Primary Aug. 23: 11 a.m. to noon ■■ Creek & Spot Bay Primary Aug. 23: 9-10:30 a.m. HIGH SCHOOLS The following is the orien- tation times for new students at Cayman’s high schools. John Gray High School Aug. 23 – Induction for Year 7 students and any new students in Years 8 to 11 will be held from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 24 – School opens for Years 7 and 11 students only: 8 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. Aug. 25 – School reopens for all students at 8 a.m. Clifton Hunter High School Aug. 23 – Induction will be held for all new students in Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, from 9 a.m. to noon. Aug. 24 – School reopens for Years 7 and 11 students only from 8 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. Aug. 25 – School reopens for all students at 8 a.m. Layman E. Scott Sr. High School Aug. 23 – Orientation will be held for transfer students only, from 9-11 a.m. Aug. 24 – School reopens for Years 7-11 at 8 a.m. Aug. 24 – Induction for Year 12 students will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Aug. 28 – Classes begin for Year 12 students at 8 a.m. Cayman Islands Further Education Centre Aug. 28 – Year 11 stu- dents collect can collect their exam results and re- ceive initial consulting from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 29 – Year 12 students can collect exam results. Aug. 31 – Class induc- tion will be held for all Year 12 students. Sept. 4 – School reopens for all students at 8:10 a.m. Note: New students must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Orientation dates for public schools announced Bradley McLaughlin and Tarec Francis prepare omelets for a National Youth Culinary team fundraiser. - PHOTOS: KAYLA YOUNG Members of the National Culinary Team pose, including Bradley McLaughlin, Ayanna Davis, Georganne Rankine, James Myles and Tarec Francis.DISTRICT DAYS 6 District Days George Town MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS 50 years ago: Cayman touted as offshore base for companies In the Aug. 16, 1967 edi- tion of the Caymanian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, the fol- lowing front page article, titled “Walker co-authors first technical paper on Cayman,” appeared: “What is perhaps the Cayman Islands’ first se- rious technical paper is to appear in the publica- tion Prentice-hall Tax Ideas, which is published twice per month in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA. “The article titled ‘The Cayman Islands – A New Base for Foreign Companies and Trusts” has been pre- pared by Mr. W.S. Walker, barrister-at-law who prac- tises in Grand Cayman and Mr. Marshall J. Langer, a Florida attorney who has done a great deal of work in the Bahamas and elsewhere in the Caribbean and is one of the leading tax law- yers in the U.S. “The publication is a Tax Service which goes to law- yers, accountants, bankers, trust companies, insurance companies, investment con- sultants, real estate brokers, etc., and has 10,000 sub- scribers who pay $100 per year for this service. It cir- culates principally through the U.S. and Canada. The article about the Cayman Islands is sched- uled to be published on the 1st September and will be reprinted in booklet form, some copies of which will be available locally. “Mr. Langer told The Caymanian that the object of the paper is to explain to American businessmen and their tax advisors the ad- vantages of forming com- panies and establishing trusts and of investing in the Cayman Islands. This extensive survey includes general information about the islands; Reasons for in- creased activity, e.g., vir- tually no taxes, exchange control is very liberal, im- proved transportation and communication facilities, and statutory incentives to encourage development; In- formation on how a com- pany can be organised here; A discussion on the status of exempted companies; Tax problems of a U.S. citizen, resident or company who would like to come to the Cayman Islands; and the benefits of establishing ei- ther an ordinary or an ex- empted Caymanian Trust. “Mr. Marshall Langer first came to Cayman two months ago when he began gathering source material and met with Mr. Walker through a mutual client. Whilst here from the 2nd to 7th August, he was able to get several companies formed and he expects to make another trip toward the end of this month. “Such publicity as this article would give to the islands, should prove of benefit to us as well as to taxpayers and investors from abroad.” In the same issue, a short article titled “Traffic Lights. What Next???” also appeared on the front page. It read: “Believe it or not, Cayman is about to have its first set of traffic lights very soon. These arrived on the island last week and are of the type suspended from above. They will shortly be seen in action at the crossroads outside the Post Office in the centre of George Town.” STEM CAMP TO BE HELD AHEAD OF OCTOBER CONFERENCE The University Col- lege of the Cayman Islands will host a summer STEM camp next week. UCCI is teaming up with Cayman Enterprise City to hold the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math camp on Aug. 21-23. All students who take part will receive a free pass to the Oct. 10-13 STEM Carib 2017 conference. According to organizers, the camp next week will be for students between the ages of 14 and 16 and aims to provide them with “opportu- nities to engage in STEM-re- lated activities, connect with like-minded individuals and attend the STEM Carib 2017 conference, learn about cur- rent trends in STEM fields, as well as interact with some local and international STEM experts and explore future career possibilities.” The camp has an action- packed agenda, which in- cludes App development, coding, robotics, astronomy, math, chemistry and envi- ronmental science. Cayman Enterprise City is sponsoring the STEM Camp, as well as providing coders from the Special Economic Zone to run the coding section. “The camp is another ini- tiative that demonstrates UCCI’s and CEC’s commit- ment to work cohesively to develop a local pool of tal- ented, tech-savvy young Caymanians to fill fore- casted technology re- lated jobs in CEC,” a press release stated. UCCI President Roy Bodden said the STEM summer camp taps into a growing reservoir of talent among young Caymanians as they prepare for careers in modern society. “It gives us the opportu- nity to reach out to younger cohorts of students while they are still at the age where they can appreciate what science, technology, engineering and mathe- matics mean to modernity,” Mr. Bodden said. Charlie Kirkconnell, CEO of Cayman Enterprise City, “This is an excellent camp that UCCI has put together for teenage students inter- ested in STEM, and we are delighted to be part of it.” Tourism students and graduates attend networking event Past, current and new re- cipients of tourism scholar- ships gathered earlier this month to network and build relationships. The Ministry and De- partment of Tourism hosted the annual Tourism Scholar Networking Recep- tion at Luca restaurant on West Bay Road. As well as the students and graduates, several indi- viduals from the tourism in- dustry attended the event, in- cluding representatives from the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, Cayman Turtle Centre and the accommo- dations sector. Moses Kirkconnell, deputy premier and tourism min- ister, MLA Barbara Conolly, councilor for the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, Agriculture and Lands, and Rosa Harris, director of tourism, shared some words of advice for the students and graduates. The graduate speaker this year was Ophelia Man- derson, who shared tips with the graduating students, encouraging them to em- brace the opportunities their studies abroad allow, and to balance between school- work and personal growth opportunities. “This annual event is de- signed to bring scholars to- gether to acknowledge re- cent graduates, offer support to students just beginning their tertiary education and provide networking oppor- tunities with tourism pro- fessionals,” according to a press release. The Ministry of Tourism scholarship program started in 1996 and has awarded more than 200 scholarships since its inception. This year’s Ministry of Tourism scholarship recipi- ents are: Carlyle Bulgin, who will be studying aviation man- agement at Florida Institute of Technology; Hailey Myles, who will study culinary arts at Johnson and Wales Uni- versity; Jonassi Swaby who will study aviation mainte- nance at the National Avia- tion Academy; Karlie Loving- good who will study culinary arts at Johnson and Wales University; Shennique Seales, who will study marketing at Boston University; and Steph- anie Phillips, who will study aviation management at Le Tourneau University. The 2017 graduates this year are: Diego Smith, cu- linary art, George Brown University; Juwan Christie, aviation instrument and commercial license, Tail- wheels Flight School; Lori- Ann Whittaker, tourism and management, Univer- sity of the West Indies; Oph- elia Manderson, hospitality and tourism management, London Metropolitan Uni- versity; Ronald Mclean, com- mercial pilot, CTI profes- sional training; Shari Webb, tourism management, Man- chester Metropolitan Uni- versity; Shawn Larsen, com- mercial pilot, CAMS Flight School; Zachary Scott, sports management, FAB Academy; and Marcia Robinson-Wal- ters, public health, University of Liverpool. Ministry of Tourism graduate speaker Ophelia Manderson, left, accepts a gift bag from Councilor Barbara Conolly, Ministry of Education. Deputy Premier and Minister of Tourism Moses Kirkconnell congratulates scholarship recipient Stephanie Phillips at the annual networking event at Luca.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017 Dr. Wayne R. Porter MD F.A.A.D. Dermatologist call : 946-9020 between 9am to 5pm Dees Plaza #282 on Crewe Road, GT He will be in office from August 18th, - August 26th, 2017 disputes between DataLink, the telecom companies, and the regulator. According to that doc- ument, DataLink justifies its reservation fees on the grounds that they encourage companies to use the poles efficiently – rather than holding the space to pre- vent it from being used by a competitor, for example – and because the fees allow DataLink to recoup oppor- tunity costs incurred by re- serving space that could otherwise be leased out for different uses. C3 disputed those rea- sons in the document, ar- guing that they are dis- criminatory because some companies pay more than others, and that “there is no objective justification for these fees, and they should be removed from the C3 and Logic agreements.” C3 also disputed Data- Link’s contention that reser- vation fees encourage the ef- ficient use of the utility poles. According to the telecom company, the reservation fees actually delay the attachment of fiber cables because Data- Link could collect reservation fees while the empty spaces remained unused. “Removing the reserva- tion fee would, in [C3’s] view, ‘remove the possibility of DataLink benefiting from their own delay and incom- petence of administration,’” OfReg stated. Flow, for its part, stated that reservation fees can be appropriate in theory. “The company declined, however, to comment on the appropriateness of the magnitude of the reserva- tion fee,” OfReg’s documents states, adding that Digicel and Logic did not comment on the issue. OfReg sided with C3, ruling that DataLink’s reser- vation fees did not enhance the efficiency of the pole usage, and that they were discriminatory in practice. “C3 and Logic experience higher costs relative to Data- Link and Flow in relation to the attachment of their com- munication cables to CUC’s electricity poles, thereby placing them at a competi- tive disadvantage vis-à-vis DataLink and Flow,” OfReg states in its July 11 decision, quoting an earlier conclusion by the Communication Tech- nology Authority, which was consolidated with other reg- ulators into OfReg last year. “This further translates into slimmer profit margins for C3 and Logic as a main con- sequence of certain cost fac- tors being applied to C3 and Logic and not to Data- Link and Flow.” It’s not clear how Data- Link’s finances could be im- pacted if OfReg’s orders stand. CUC stated in its latest quarterly report, which it filed on July 31, that the company is in the process of “quantifying the maximum refund allowed if the deter- mination is upheld.” DataLink declined to com- ment on the matter. He listed eight cases, including the week- end’s, in which his art has been smashed, burned and otherwise destroyed in Cayman Brac. “One time, they put gas- oline all over [a sculp- ture] and tried to set it on fire. The second time, they knocked down the ‘Anti- Christ,’ which was a cross with a goat’s head. The third time, they snatched it down again and [dragged] it down the highway with a piece of rope,” Mr. Kynes said. “The fourth time, it dis- appeared and I offered a $5,000 award. Then, the next time, one of my paintings that I put out was ripped down and cut in half. I filed a report on that. I went to the police. “Then the ‘Rapture,’ they threw paint all over it. Then we go back to ‘Apoca- lypse Now,’ they threw and sprayed paint all over it. That was the seventh time. This would be the eighth time they’ve done this.” Mr. Kynes alleges the RCIPS has turned a blind eye to vandalism and harass- ment directed at his work. He said a pyramid sculp- ture, intended for his under- water “Atlantis” installment, was set on fire. Mr. Kynes said police never filed a re- port of his complaint from the incident. An RCIPS spokesperson said she was not able to locate information on the complaint but told Mr. Kynes he could return to the Cayman Brac Police Station to search for the file. In correspondence with Mr. Kynes in October 2014, Chief Inspector Frank Owens said no police report of the Dec. 31, 2009 incident was available but that the fire department had deter- mined the cause of the fire to be “unknown.” The Cayman Compass was unable to reach anyone at the RCIPS over the weekend to comment on Mr. Kynes’s report of vandalism. The artist said he last went to his “Imagine” prop- erty with a friend Friday afternoon, so he suspected the vandalism occurred that evening. British Secretary of State for Foreign and Common- wealth Affairs. “[Cayman has] got a lot more than just classic tourism and financial as- pects,” said Mr. Johnson. “There is something in there for people who re- ally do want to see some- thing unusual in natural history terms. Obviously, the blue iguana is just in- comparable because you’ll never get to see blue iguanas anywhere else.” After recently hitting it off with Premier Alden McLaughlin in London, the politician turned writer vis- ited the islands for the first time last week on a fact- finding mission of sorts about Grand Cayman’s en- demic blue iguana. The pressure this species faces from the invasive green iguana population will be one of several environmental concerns Mr. Johnson high- lights in the Times. A 2016 Department of En- vironment survey showed the green iguana population dou- bled in a year, reaching more than 400,000. “We now have hundreds of blue iguanas and let me tell you, they are magnificent beasts. I’m not sure if I’m al- lowed to say this, but I actu- ally picked up one and I’ve got a photograph of me car- rying this great, wonderful specimen,” Mr. Johnson said. “Well, that’s half the story because having brought it back from extinction, the main thing now is making sure you can maintain that population. That of course, is the tricky side because you’ve got all of the pressures.” Mr. Johnson, an active en- vironmentalist and an am- bassador for the U.N. Con- vention on Migratory Species, identified several other areas of concern for the blue iguana, including develop- ment pressure on habitat, threats from wild dogs and infections from helicobacter. To address the ever- growing green iguana pop- ulation, Mr. Johnson sug- gested Cayman take a cue from Isabela in the Gala- pagos Islands. “How did they get rid of goats in Isabela, one of the main islands in the Gala- pagos chain? Well, they called in the New Zealanders and the New Zealanders came with their helicopters and did sharp shooting,” he said. “My view really is that what they probably need to do is put it out to tender. And say, we have to have bids in from competent, conserva- tion organizations around the world on how to deal with the invasion of the green iguanas.” Leading up to the EU ref- erendum, Mr. Johnson cam- paigned against Brexit with a group called Environmen- talists for Europe. While Mr. Johnson’s son Boris ran a successful countercampaign in support of Brexit, he hopes Britain will continue to sup- port conservation measures. “Britain is coming out of the EU. That is the reality. What matters is to make sure we don’t throw away the baby with the bathwater, that we do keep all of the won- derful environmental mea- sures which we did bring in,” Mr. Johnson said. “We need to make sure those regulations stay in place one way or another. We need to be sure we can continue to develop the envi- ronmental policy. There are also some opportunities.” As Britain leaves the EU, he sees an opportunity to build stronger bonds with the British overseas territo- ries like the Cayman Islands. “I have a feeling these overseas territories will sud- denly loom much larger in our national consciousness. Instead of thinking our hin- terland is Europe, now we’re going to have to say to our- selves, actually our hinter- land is those 17 territories around the world, which really do have so much to offer,” Mr. Johnson said. While in Grand Cayman, Mr. Johnson presented a copy of his new fiction book, “Kompromat,” to Pre- mier McLaughlin. “‘Kompromat’ has just come out in London and tries to imagine how we really got to the Brexit situation in Britain. Who was involved? Was it … Russia? How did we really get to the United States presidential election? Were the Russians involved there? It’s a thriller,” he said. Feeling inspired by his trip to the Caribbean, he said his next novel may focus on Grand Cayman and the story of the blue iguana. STANLEY JOHNSON (BORIS’S DAD) VISITS CAYMAN Save the ‘Blues,’ cull the ‘Greens’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Stanley Johnson, left, visits with Stuart Mailer and Karen Ford at the blue iguana conservation center. - PHOTO COURTESY OF STANLEY JOHNSON Brac artist alleges repeated vandalism of work Fiber network dispute headed to court CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 One of the major bones of contention between the companies stems from DataLink charging the telecom companies that want to expand their fiber networks to reserve unused space on its poles since 2012. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Ronald ‘Foots’ Kynes has erected these signs outside his home on Cayman Brac.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS American beaten for Nazi salute in Germany A drunken American man was punched Sunday by a passer-by as he gave a stiff-armed Nazi salute multiple times in downtown Dresden. Police say the 41-year-old American is under investigation for violating Germany’s laws against the display of Nazi symbols or slogans. 3 dead, dozens injured, amid violent white nationalist rally CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – A car rammed into a crowd of protesters and a state po- lice helicopter crashed into the woods Saturday as ten- sion boiled over at a white supremacist rally. The violent day left three dead, dozens injured and this usually quiet college town a bloodied symbol of the nation’s roiling racial and political divisions. The chaos erupted around what is believed to be the largest group of white na- tionalists to come together in a decade – including neo- Nazis, skinheads, members of the Ku Klux Klan – who descended on the city to “take America back” by ral- lying against plans to remove a Confederate statue. Hun- dreds came to protest against the racism. There were street brawls and violent clashes; the governor declared a state of emergency, police in riot gear ordered people out and helicopters circled overhead. Peaceful protesters were marching downtown, car- rying signs that read “black lives matter” and “love.” A silver Dodge Challenger sud- denly came barreling through “a sea of people” and smashed into another car, said Matt Korbon, a 22-year-old Univer- sity of Virginia student. The impact hurled people into the air and blew off their shoes. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed as she crossed the street. “It was a wave of people flying at me,” said Sam Becker, 24, sitting in the emergency room to be treated for leg and hand injuries. Those left standing scat- tered, screaming and run- ning for safety. Video caught the car reversing, hitting more people, its windshield splintered from the collision and bumper dragging on the pavement. Medics carried the injured, bloodied and crying, away as a police tank rolled down the street. The driver, James Alex Fields Jr., a 20-year-old who recently moved to Ohio from where he grew up in Ken- tucky, was charged with second-degree murder and other counts. Field’s mother, Samantha Bloom, told The Associated Press on Saturday night that she knew her son was attending a rally in Vir- ginia but did not know it was a white supremacist rally. “I thought it had some- thing to do with Trump. Trump’s not a white suprem- acist,” said Bloom, who be- came visibly upset as she learned of the injuries and deaths at the rally. “He had an African-Amer- ican friend so …,” she said before her voice trailed off. She added that she’d be sur- prised if her son’s views were that far right. His arrest capped off hours of unrest. Hundreds of people threw punches, hurled water bottles and un- leashed chemical sprays. Some came prepared for a fight, with body armor and helmets. Videos that rico- cheted around the world on social media showed people beating each other with sticks and shields. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Charlottes- ville Mayor Michael Signer, both Democrats, lumped the blame squarely on the rancor that has seeped into Amer- ican politics and the white supremacists who came from out of town into their city, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, home to Monticello, Thomas Jeffer- son’s plantation. “There is a very sad and regrettable coarseness in our politics that we’ve all seen too much of today,” Signer said at a press conference. “Our opponents have become our enemies, debate has be- come intimidation.” Some of the white nation- alists at Saturday’s rally cited President Donald Trump’s victory after a campaign of racially charged rhetoric as validation for their beliefs. Trump criticized the vio- lence in a tweet Saturday, fol- lowed by a press conference and a call for “a swift resto- ration of law and order.” “We condemn in the stron- gest possible terms this egre- gious display of hatred, big- otry and violence on many sides,” he said. The “on many sides” ending of his statement drew the ire of his critics, who said he failed to specifically de- nounce white supremacy and equated those who came to protest racism with the white supremacists. The Rev. Jesse Jackson noted that Trump for years questioned Presi- dent Barack Obama’s citi- zenship and his legitimacy as the first black president, and has fanned the flames of white resentment. “We are in a very dan- gerous place right now,” Jackson said. McAuliffe said at Saturday’s press confer- ence that he spoke to Trump on the phone, and insisted that the president must work to combat hate. Trump said he agreed with McAuliffe “that the hate and the division must stop and must stop right now.” Attorney General Jeff Ses- sions announced late Sat- urday that federal author- ities will pursue a civil rights investigation into the circumstances sur- rounding the crash. The violence and deaths in Charlottesville strike at the heart of American law and justice,” Sessions wrote. “When such actions arise from racial bigotry and hatred, they betray our core values and cannot be tolerated.” Oren Segal, who directs the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, said multiple white power groups gathered in Charlottesville, including members of neo- Nazi organizations, racist skinheads and KKK factions. The white nationalist orga- nizations Vanguard America and Identity Evropa; the Southern nationalist League of the South; the National Socialist Movement; the Tra- ditionalist Workers Party; and the Fraternal Order of Alt Knights also were on hand, he said. “We anticipated this event being the largest white su- premacist gathering in over a decade,” Segal said. “Un- fortunately, it appears to have become the most vio- lent as well.” On the other side, anti- fascist demonstrators also gathered, but they generally aren’t organized like white nationalist factions, said Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center. In addition to Fields, at least three more men were arrested in connection to the protests. The Virginia State Po- lice announced late Saturday that Troy Dunigan, a 21-year- old from Chattanooga, Ten- nessee, was charged with disorderly conduct; Jacob L. Smith, a 21-year-old from Louisa, Virginia, was charged with assault and battery; and James M. O’Brien, 44, of Gainesville, Florida, was charged with carrying a con- cealed handgun. Just as the city seemed like to be quieting down, black smoke billowed out from the tree tops just out- side of town as a Vir- ginia State Police helicopter crashed into the woods. Robby E. Noll, who lives in the county just outside Charlottesville, heard the he- licopter sputtering. “I turned my head to the sky. You could tell he was struggling to try to get con- trol of it,” he said. He said pieces of the heli- copter started to break off as it fell from the sky. Both troopers onboard, Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen, 48, and Berke M.M. Bates, one day shy of his 41st birthday, were killed. Police said the helicopter had been deployed to the violent protests in the city, which has been caught in the middle of the nation’s culture wars since it decided earlier this year to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, enshrined in bronze on horseback in the city’s Emancipation Park. In May, a torch-wielding group that included prom- inent white nationalist Richard Spencer gath- ered around the statue for a nighttime protest, and in July, about 50 mem- bers of a North Carolina- based KKK group traveled there for a rally. Spencer re- turned for Saturday’s pro- test, and denied all respon- sibility for the violence. He blamed the police. Signer said the white supremacist groups who came into his city to spread hate “are on the losing side of history.” “Tomorrow will come and we will emerge,” he said, “I can promise you, stronger than ever.” Four-hundred miles away, the mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, hinted that the white supremacists might get the opposite of what they’d hoped for. Mayor Jim Gray an- nounced on Twitter that he would work to remove the confederate monument at his county’s courthouse. “Today’s events in Vir- ginia remind us that we must bring our country together by condemning violence, white supremacists and Nazi hate groups,” he wrote. “We cannot let them define our future.” The chaos erupted around what is believed to be the largest group of white nationalists to come together in a decade – including neo-Nazis, skinheads, members of the Ku Klux Klan. James Alex Fields Jr. Hundreds protest in Oakland over deadly Virginia rally OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Pro- testers marched in California cities to decry racism in the wake of deadly violence that erupted at a white nationalist demonstration in Virginia. In Oakland, hundreds of protesters gathered Sat- urday night to hear speakers and then marched peace- fully downtown, chanting and waving signs and ban- ners. Some of the protesters blocked Interstate 580 be- fore being dispersed, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. One of the downtown marchers carried a hand- crafted sign reading, “Call it what it is. White supremacy.” The hastily arranged gathering was a response to events earlier Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia. A car plowed into a crowd that was peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally, killing one person and injuring 19. Authorities say the driver of the car, 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio, was charged with second- degree murder. A smaller rally held in Los Angeles Saturday eve- ning was peaceful. Candle- light vigils were held in San Francisco and El Cajon in San Diego County. Several hundred protesters walk past Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., Saturday, to decry racism in the wake of deadly violence that erupted at a white nationalist demonstration in Virginia. – PHOTO: AP9 WORLD&REGIONAL NEW ORLEANS (AP) – With debris from last weekend’s flash flood still piled up on sidewalks and their city under a state of emergency, New Orleans residents looked ahead warily on Friday to the prospect of more rain to tax the city’s malfunc- tioning pump system. The city scrambled to re- pair fire-damaged equipment at a power plant and shore up its drainage system less than a week after a flash flood from torrential rain over- whelmed the city’s pumping system and inundated many neighborhoods. A control panel on one of two working turbines had been fixed by Friday morning, but the system remains well below full power, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a morning news confer- ence. The turbine powers some of the city’s pumps. “We remain at risk until additional turbines are back up,” Landrieu said, adding that he hopes that will happen by the end of the month. Still, he said, “Panic is not where we need to be right now.” He said the latest to go offline will be powered up over 24 hours. Meanwhile, Landrieu said, 26 generators have been ordered and will remain through hurricane season. He also said a loca- tion was being set up Friday for residents to get sandbags should they want to take the extra precaution of sandbag- ging their homes. Schools closed for the week, and the mayor urged residents to park their cars on high ground. Gov. John Bel Edwards de- scribed his emergency decla- ration Thursday as a precau- tionary measure. The National Weather Service forecast a 60 per- cent chance of rain Friday, primarily during the late morning and afternoon, with a chance that heavy rainfall could lead to more flooding. The city’s infrastruc- ture had been crumbling for years before the devastation unleashed in 2005 by levee breaches in Hurricane Ka- trina’s aftermath. The federal government earmarked bil- lions of dollars for repairs and upgrades after the hur- ricane, but the problems have persisted. CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017 Trump open to military intervention in Venezuela WASHINGTON (AP) – Presi- dent Donald Trump has said he would not rule out mili- tary action against Venezuela in response to the country’s descent into political chaos following President Nicolas Maduro’s power grab. Ven- ezuela’s government re- sponded by accusing Trump of seeking to destabilize Latin America. Speaking to reporters Friday at his Bedmin- ster, New Jersey, golf club, Trump bemoaned Venezu- ela’s growing humanitarian crisis and declared that all options remain on the table – including a potential military intervention. “We have many options for Venezuela and by the way, I’m not going to rule out a military option,” Trump vol- unteered, adding, “A military operation and military option is certainly something that we could pursue.” Trump’s comment mark a serious escalation in rhetoric for the U.S., which has up until now stressed a regional approach that encourages Latin American allies to esca- late pressure on the Maduro regime. Hours before Trump’s comments, a senior admin- istration official speaking on condition of anonymity stressed that approach while briefing reporters on Vice President Mike Pence’s up- coming trip to the region. Venezuela’s government responded Saturday in a statement read by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza that called Trump’s talk of a po- tential military option an act of belligerence and a threat to Latin America’s stability. The White House released a statement Friday eve- ning saying it had rejected a request from Maduro to speak by phone with Trump. The statement said, “Trump will gladly speak with the leader of Venezuela as soon as democracy is restored in that country.” The Trump administration has slapped a series of sanc- tions against Maduro and more than two dozen current and former Venezuelan offi- cials in response to a crack- down on opposition leaders and the recent election of a constitutional assembly charged with rewriting the country’s constitution. But even as the list of tar- geted individuals has grown longer, promised economic sanctions have yet to materi- alize amid an outcry by U.S. oil companies over the like- lihood that a potential ban on petroleum imports from Venezuela – the third-largest supplier to the U.S. – would hurt U.S. jobs and drive up gas costs. Trump’s comments are sure to focus new attention on Pence’s upcoming six-day tour of the region, which will include stops in Cartagena, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Ar- gentina; Santiago, Chile; and Panama City. Pence is set to arrive in Colombia on Sunday and is expected to meet with each of the countries’ leaders, deliver a major speech on U.S.-Latin American relations and tour the newly expanded Panama Canal. The trip was already sure to be dominated by dis- cussion of Venezuela, with Pence expected to call on the leaders to continue to pres- sure the Maduro government and encourage others in the region to do the same. But Trump’s comments are likely to upend the con- versations, with leaders po- tentially pressing Pence for reassurance that Trump will not go through with his military threat. Trump’s threat of military intervention in Venezuela also seems to contradict the ad- vice of his top national secu- rity adviser. Citing the resent- ment stirred in Latin America by the long U.S. history of military interventions in the region, General H.R. Mc- Master said he did not want to give Maduro any ammu- nition to blame the “Yankees” for the “tragedy” that has be- fallen the oil-rich nation. Rather than send in the Marines, McMaster said it was important for the U.S. and its neighbors to speak with a single voice in defense of Venezuela’s democracy. “It’s important for us to place responsibility for this catastrophe on Mad- uro’s shoulders. He is the one who has caused it, and he’s the one who’s perpetu- ating it,” McMaster said in an interview that aired last weekend on MSNBC. President Donald Trump gestures while speaking following his Friday meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. – PHOTO: AP (AP) – If an attack warning is issued, Guam residents should take cover quickly – in a concrete structure, preferably un- derground – and stay there until instructed otherwise, according to a fact sheet ti- tled “Preparing for an Im- minent Missile Threat.” Guam’s Office of Civil Defense began dissemi- nating fact sheets Friday to help residents prepare for a missile attack from North Korea. The guid- ance includes tips on building an emergency kit, advice on staying put in concrete or brick struc- tures, and reminders about keeping calm. “Do not look at the flash or fireball – it can blind you,” the missile threat prep fact sheet advises those who are caught out- side. “Lie flat on the ground and cover your head.” The flier also offers guidance on removing ra- dioactive material: “When possible, take a shower with lots of soap and water to help remove radioactive contamination.” But don’t scratch or scrub skin and “do not use conditioner in your hair because it will bind radioactive material to your hair.” Officials haven’t raised the U.S. territory’s threat level even after Pyongyang laid out plans to strike near the island in the coming weeks, Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo said. He noted that Guam has many buildings made to withstand pow- erful typhoons, yet he ac- knowledged that nothing can protect against a ther- monuclear attack. President Donald Trump assured Calvo that Guam is safe during a phone call. “We are with you a thou- sand percent,” Trump said, according to video of the call posted on Calvo’s Face- book page. “You are safe.” Calvo responded by saying he feels safe and confident with Trump’s leadership: “I’m glad you’re holding the helm, sir.” The fact sheets did not seem to cause any wide- spread anxiety or affect day-to-day Guam life. Some people wondered about finding plastic sheeting, as one of the fliers recom- mends using duct tape and plastic sheeting “to seal all cracks around the door and any vents into the room.” GUAM FLIERS OFFER EMERGENCY TIPS FOR THREAT FROM NORTH KOREA Watch Room staff monitor news and updates and coordinate with agencies on local in an event of emergency, Saturday, in Guam. – PHOTO: AP A street is seen engulfed in floodwaters in New Orleans. With more rain forecast and city water pumps malfunctioning after weekend floods, New Orleans’ mayor is urging residents of some neighborhoods to move their vehicles to higher ground. – PHOTO: AP Soggy New Orleans looks warily at more rain, possible floodsNext >