High of 78 Low of 70 Seas rough with wave heights of 4 to 6 feet. Small craft should exercise caution over the open waters EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 BUTTERFIELD BANK: A HALF-CENTURY OF SERVICE TO CAYMAN WORLD | PAGE 8 3 HURT IN NYC SUBWAY EXPLOSION ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2017 186905-Ad-Strip-MC-60th-Grammys-10.333x1.5.indd 111/9/17 5:15 PM A group of bikers took to the streets of Grand Cayman again on Sunday – this time for a good cause. While rogue riders on unli- censed bikes caused chaos for police and motorists last month, this time a different group of bikers from the Cayman Is- lands Motorcycle Riders Asso- ciation used their vehicles to help bring Christmas joy to un- derprivileged children. Around 30 bikers took part in the annual “toys for tots” motorcycle parade Sunday, touring the island on their bikes before hosting a bar- becue at Public Beach. Groups of bikers held similar parades around the world as part of a global campaign. The Cayman group teamed up with firefighters and staff at Cost-U-Less to host a toy drive on Saturday, collecting toys to be handed out to young- sters at the firefighters annual Christmas party for kids on Saturday, Dec. 16. Bikers will also accompany fire trucks as they visit different neighbor- hoods next week to deliver some of the toys. “We’ve been collecting toys for the last fortnight and so far we have about 600. It is some- thing we do every year for the community,” said Keith Keller, president of the Cayman Islands Motorcycle Riders Association. He said collection con- tainers would be at the Book Nook and Cost-U-Less until Wednesday evening for anyone who wanted to donate. Bikers collect toys for tots UK EXPERTS TO HELP SET UP CAYMAN COASTGUARD ALEXANDER HOTEL PUT UP FOR SALE JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two senior U.K. officers have been drafted to help the Cayman Islands create a new coastguard and border protection agency. The islands’ search-and-rescue capability has been under scrutiny since five boaters, in- cluding two children, went missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Grand Cayman in March, 2016. That incident sparked a pair of inquiries, including a root-and-branch examination of the islands’ ability to cope with major in- cidents at sea. That report, carried out by the U.K. Mari- time and Coastguard Agency earlier this year, recommended increased investment in boats and Jet Skis for marine patrols and advised that firefighters be seconded to support the understaffed marine police unit. Now a U.K. coastguard commander has been brought in to help implement its rec- ommendations, which also included using drones for marine searches and establishing a volunteer “dive response network” for scuba incidents. The commander, Phil Bostock, will be on JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Closed for almost four years, the Alexander Hotel on Cayman Brac had fallen into a state of disrepair. Now it has been spruced up and put on the market in the hope that an investor will see potential in the 31-room hotel. “There’s a couple of people showing in- terest,” said owner Cleveland Dilbert, who acknowledged he had given up hope of being granted permission from officials to transform a neighboring pond into a ma- rina for visiting yachts. Mr. Dilbert closed the hotel in summer 2014 amid a dispute with government over his application to dredge the pond and cut a channel through to the open water to create a safe harbor. Education in string theory British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason held a music workshop on Friday for students from John Gray High School, Clifton Hunter High School, Red Bay Primary School and Triple C School. Mr. Kanneh-Mason was in the territory with his sister, Isata Kanneh-Mason, to perform at a cello and piano concert held by the Cayman Arts Festival on Saturday at the Agape Family Worship Centre. Mr. Kanneh-Mason was the 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year, and Ms. Kanneh-Mason was in the Piano Category Final of the 2014 BBC Young Musician competition. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » Bikers, firefighters and staff from Cost-U-Less teamed up to collect toys for underprivileged kids ahead of a motorcycle parade this weekend.2 REGIONAL NEWS TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS • Daily Matinees Every Day • $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 • Additional charges will apply per 3D/VIP ticket requested 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. - TUESDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) THE STAR (PG) 12:20 I 2:40 I 5:00 I 7:20 I 9:40 COCO 3D (PG) 12:55 2D I 3:40 I 6:35 2D I 9:15 WONDER (PG) 1:05 I 4:00 JUSTICE LEAGUE 3D (PG13) 12:40 2D I 3:55 2D VIP I 6:40 2D I 9:40 DARKEST HOUR (PG13) 1:00 VIP I 3:35 I 6:40 VIP I 9:40 VIP DADDY’S HOME 2 (PG13) 1:40 I 4:20 I 7:00 I 9:40 TIL DEATH US DO PART (PG13) 7:15 I 10:00 Visiting Gynecologist will be available for consultation at Novo Clinic, Britcay House 236 Eastern Avenue from 2-19 January, 2018 For appointments please call +1 (345) 746-6082 clinic@novocayman.com Honduras electoral court finds results ‘consistent’ TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) – Honduras’ electoral court finished a hand recount of votes in nearly 5,000 ballot boxes Sunday, saying results were “extremely consistent” with original data for the presidential election two weeks earlier despite delays, irregularities and allega- tions of fraud leveled by the main opposition candidate challenging President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Court president David Matamoros said the re- count of less than one- third of the total number of boxes showed tallies done at polling stations were well- executed. He said later the court was now proceeding to the phase of considering electoral challenges, some 150 of which it had received. The court published what it called a final count Sunday night, showing 43 percent for Hernandez and 41.4 percent for challenger Salvador Nas- ralla, virtually identical to the pre-recount tally. The court still did not de- clare a winner, however. It has 30 days from the contest to do so, potentially placing an announcement during the holiday season. Nasralla has demanded a full recount and refused to recognize the results, calling them fraudulent. His alli- ance called for a nationwide strike Monday, including blockades of the country’s main highways. “The action is due to the fact that we do not ac- cept the results of the elec- tions,” party leader Juan Barahona said. Thousands of Nasralla supporters protested in multiple cities. “They have stolen the votes from us,” Nasralla said at a march in the capital that ended in a three-hour demon- stration outside the U.S. Em- bassy. “This country will be ungovernable starting now.” Nasralla accused the United States, the European Union and the Organization of American states of being “accomplices to fraud.” U.S. Charge d’Affaires Heide Fulton issued a state- ment reiterating “our call for all involved in the electoral process to support a trans- parent, impartial, timely and peaceful determination of the election result, consis- tent with Honduran law, in a manner that maximizes cit- izen participation and rep- resents the will of the Hon- duran people as expressed in the Nov. 26 election.” Observers from the EU and the OAS have said numerous irregularities have not allowed them to be certain about the re- sults’ validity. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez raises his right fist as he speaks to supporters, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Thursday. - PHOTO: AP Drake, Miguel, 50 Cent perform at Art Basel parties MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Mu- sicians, actors and fashion icons descended on Miami for a whirlwind week of glamorous parties to cel- ebrate some of the world’s best artists during Art Basel. Drake and Lil Wayne took over the 24/7 ultra-club E11EVEN MIAMI for the Bootsy Bellows pop up on Friday. Lil Wayne took center stage but Drake jumped up with him for an impromptu performance of “Jumpman” and “Fake Love.” The two did a few songs together and Drake, whose hits include “Hotline Bling” and “Passion- fruit,” gave a little bow to Lil Wayne while praising the rapper for inspiring him. Rapper 2 Chainz followed Drake and joined the two on stage. The party went into the early morning hours and NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. even joined in. Grammy nominated rapper Cardi B performed Thursday at one of the most exclusive parties of the week, TIDAL X: Moschino, hosted by famed fashion designer Jeremy Scott. She was joined by rapper and producer G- Eazy. Diplo, Joan Smalls and Paris Hilton. The following night, Cardi B hit up popular LIV nightclub for a show. At the former Versace mansion, HBO’s “Insecure” ac- tress Issa Rae hosted a party to announce the finalists of Bombay Sapphire Artisan Se- ries’ annual arts competition. Guests included Olivia Culpo, frequent Basel attendee Eva Longoria and Mark Ronson. Partygoers drank gin cocktails from neon glowing light bulb glasses and took 3-D images in a tricked out photo booth. Over at the exclusive 1 Hotel South Beach’s The Beach Club, Barry Sternlicht and Richard LeFrak hosted a poolside party attended by Will and Jaden Smith and Owen Wilson. Guests dined on ceviche jars, poke rolls and mini matcha cakes. The late night crowd headed to nightclub Rock- well, which teamed up with 1OAK for a three-night pop- up that included perfor- mances by hometown rapper Rick Ross, 2 Chainz and a party toast Miguel’s new album “War & Leisure.” Ross ended his performance by or- dering a bottle of champagne to be delivered to every table in the nightclub. Guests in- cluded Major League Base- ball’s National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, actor and former basketball star Rick Fox, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Over at the nightclub ORA, 50 Cent took the stage be- fore a raucous crowd that in- cluded boxers Danny Garcia and Jean Pasquale. The rapper performed 12 songs from the DJ booth including hits “Candy Shop” and “In Da Club” and his own rendition of Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow.” In Wynwood, music pro- ducer Swizz Beatz who founded The Dean Collection, hosted a three day event with Bacardi giving artists free space to exhibit their work, along with a rare deal that gives 100 percent of sales di- rectly to the artists as part of his No Commission theme. The art aficionado, who is mar- ried to Alicia Keys, has talked about the plight of struggling artists and his desire to pro- mote them. His wife has said art brought them closer when they first started dating. “It’s a good time to be on the fighting side of cre- ative freedom. Fearless voices linking together to create a movement. It takes courage, risk and a view of the future others cannot see. This is what new frontiers are made of, this is why No Commission was born,” said Swizz Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Dean. The three-day party was one of the most popular of the week with hundreds lined up outside to hear Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, Busta Rhymes, Maxwell and Chro- nixx. Leikeli47 performed her hit “Money,” and Swizz per- formed a special DJ set. Celeb attendees included Michael B. Jordan, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Major Lazer’s Jillionaire. Also in Wynwood, actor Gerard Butler checked out artist’s Peter Tunney’s Gallery and took a tour of the iconic muraled Wynwood Walls. He was also spotted riding around town with Tunney in his Lady Bug golf cart. On Tuesday, the Wynwood Walls hosted an exclusive dinner and after party to un- veil 12 new art installations created for Art Basel while Jermaine Dupri performed. Drake and Lil Wayne took over the 24/7 ultra-club E11EVEN MIAMI for the Bootsy Bellows pop up on Friday. STRUGGLING FLORIDA CITRUS GROWERS FACE TOUGH DECISIONS WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) — Although the 2017-18 citrus harvest has barely begun, growers are already planning for the 2018-19 season, and they have critical decisions to make in the coming months that will affect next season’s crop and perhaps others in years to come. Growers say all but the luckiest among them will profit in 2017-18. Because hurricane-force winds hit the state’s entire citrus-pro- ducing area south of Inter- state 4, there aren’t many growers who escaped major damage. Irma destroyed more than 50 percent of this sea- son’s oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos. Be- fore Irma, Florida’s citrus in- dustry battled greening, a devastating disease. The latest official U.S. Department of Agriculture survey released Nov. 9 shows 50 million boxes of oranges, a 27 percent drop from the 2016-17 season, and 4.65 mil- lion boxes of grapefruit, a 40 percent decline from last season. Growers expect those numbers to decrease through the end of the harvest in May as storm-damaged trees drop fruit before harvest. “If I had to take a guess, I would say we’ll end this season with 40 million boxes of oranges,” said Allen Morris, an agriculture econ- omist and consultant with decades of experience in Florida citrus. That would mean a drop in U.S. supply of or- ange juice, most of which in past seasons has come from Florida oranges, Morris said. Each year, about 95 percent of the state’s orange crop goes to juice. “We will survive, but im- ports will play a critical role in our survival,” he said. The Ledger reports that when Florida will recover as the major supplier of or- ange juice to the U.S. market depends on when the state’s citrus trees will return to pre-Irma production. There’s little question that damage caused by Irma to most of Florida’s 62 million citrus trees will affect fu- ture crop production at least through the 2018-19 season. That was growers’ experi- ence following the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes. The court published what it called a final count Sunday night, showing 43 percent for Hernandez and 41.4 percent for challenger Salvador Nasralla, virtually identical to the pre-recount tally.3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2017 Fidelity Pension Plan Fidelity Financial Centre on West Bay Road Wednesday, December 13th, 2017 6:00pm - 7:00pm Fidelity Financial Centre, West Bay Road & Esterley Tibbetts Highway Cayman Financial Centre, Dr. Roy’s Drive, George Town info@fidelitycayman.com RSVP: Carolee.Crowley@fidelitycayman.com Phone: 914-2179 Light refreshments 2017 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING [] Fresh meat a holiday tradition MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com It just would not be Christmas in the Cayman Is- lands without the beef. “This is what Christmas is all about,” said Jay Ebanks, 34, as he prepared to assist in dressing a bull for the holi- days. “Every year we come here and butcher a cow and have fresh beef for Christmas.” Ebanks was standing near a well-beaten roadside stand next to the Over the Edge res- taurant on the North Side’s Old Man Bay last Friday. Down a short slope the ani- mal’s skinned carcass was hanging from a high cross- beam set on two posts above a concrete slab. Several men with knives and a ladder were busily at work. As gruesome as it may sound, this is a popular tra- dition for many Caymanians. Beginning in early December, cattle and pigs are slaugh- tered for their meat, which is often served at large hol- iday gatherings. The event brings families and friends together. About 20 people were on hand to witness or help with the pro- cess. It also creates extra work for health inspectors. Mark Robson, an in- spector with the Department of Environmental Health, was at the site. He said he and his colleagues put in long hours around the holidays, doing hundreds of inspections. Al- though the department was unable to provide specific figures for the volume of meat processed in December, “Christmas is the busiest time,” Mr. Robson said. He expects to be working right through Christmas Eve. “We’ll be all over the is- land,” he said, noting that slaughtering activity takes place from early morning into the evening hours and through the weekends. Field work takes a lot of his time, but many people process their animals at the department’s abattoir, or slaughterhouse, which he said is “extremely busy” this time of year. Mr. Robson said it is im- portant for people to look for the DEH stamp on the meat that they buy, to make sure that it is safe for con- sumption. Inspectors, he said, look for signs of infec- tion and abnormalities. Typ- ically, if there is a problem, it might be something like an infected wound or an ab- scess. But sometimes there is a bigger problem. “Occasionally, we have to condemn a carcass,” he said. The bull he was inspecting Friday morning got a clean certificate and a stamp, which meant Allen McLean, 55, the owner of the bull, could proceed with his team. Mr. McLean said he raises cows, pigs and chickens, mainly for enjoyment. “I love to go to work, come home and feed my an- imals and look at them,” Mr. McLean said. Each December, a couple of animals get turned into holiday meals. He raised the 5-year-old bull being slaugh- tered Friday from a calf. “Next week, I’m going to do a pig,” he said. He sells most of the meat. His wife, Carol, had a note- book with a page and a half of names and order infor- mation and he estimated he would make $5,000 to $6,000 from the bull. But some of it he keeps and some gets cooked almost as soon as it is cut. Dowrel McLean, 75, was waiting patiently nearby, next to a wooden table where the bull’s hooves had been stacked along with some or- gans. Dowrel said he has been the chef for these events for at least 20 years. This year, he said, will be his last. It is getting too hard for him to stand on his feet for the 2½ to three hours it takes to boil the beef and prepare the things that go with it. “Somebody young should take over,” Dowrel said. “I’m trying to train one of my grandsons.” He cooks the beef “old Cayman style,” he said, on a slow fire with onions and peppers – both sweet and hot – thrown in. Cassava, rice and beans, yams, bread- fruit and even turtle might be served as traditional side dishes. But the focus is on the meat and lots of it. Mr. Ebanks said the 50 pounds of beef he planned to buy from Mr. McLean would go quickly. “Probably two cooks,” he said, referring to gatherings like the one on Friday, “maybe one, depending on how many people come.” The community, the cele- bration and the fresh meat is what it is all about, he said. “This is the original Cayman Christmas.” Hanukkah celebrations to be held at Camana Bay Menorah lighting will be one of many held around the world Hanukkah starts on Tuesday, and the Chabad Cayman Jewish Community will celebrate the beginning of the eight-day holiday with a festival at Camana Bay. The event, “Chanukah Wonderland,” is scheduled from 4-6:30 p.m., and will feature music by the Cayman Hebrew School, a photo booth, latkes and donuts, and the lighting of a giant me- norah. Attendees will also have the chance to make their own “fidget spinner dreidel.” The menorah lighting at Camana Bay is one of the many public lightings taking place around the world, in lo- cations ranging from other Caribbean islands to famous landmarks and sports arenas. According to the Associated Press, vacationers in destina- tions like Cancun, Mexico, and Aruba will have menorah light- ings to attend, along with one in Curacao, home to the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, dating to 1732. The world’s largest me- norah, standing 36 feet high, will be lit just outside Cen- tral Park in New York City across from the Plaza Hotel at Grand Army Plaza. That menorah lighting began in 1977 and marks its 40th con- secutive year this month, the AP reported. Sports arenas are also hosting Hanukkah events, including the NBA arenas of the Brooklyn Nets, Or- lando Magic, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State War- riors, Phoenix Suns and At- lanta Hawks; the NHL arenas of the Arizona Coyotes, New York Islanders, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Light- ning, New Jersey Devils and Columbus Blue Jackets; and the NFL stadium of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ac- cording to the AP. Alfred Dixon prepares to clean the bull slaughtered for the Christmas holidays.Roger McLaughlin, Jay Ebanks and Allen McLean butcher a bull at Old Man Bay on Friday. – PHOTOS: MARK MUCKENFUSS As gruesome as it may sound, this is a popular tradition for many Caymanians. Beginning in early December, cattle and pigs are slaughtered for their meat, which is often served at large holiday gatherings.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. TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Butterfield Bank may deal in dollars and cents, but its impact on Cayman has been immeasurable. As part of the pioneering group of banks, financial services and law firms that created Cayman’s finan- cial services industry, the bank and its leaders have made an indelible mark on our “community, its people, the economy and the financial services industry as a whole,” as former head of private banking Chris Duggan told the Compass this week. In the 50 years since the bank first opened its doors in George Town’s West Wind building in November of 1967, it has grown to become the largest – and among the most highly-regarded – of Cayman’s six retail banks. Butterfield played a significant role in transforming Cayman from the islands that time forgot and into a global economic player. Mr. Duggan, who now is vice president for community development at Dart Enter- prises, had a front-row seat to that transformation. He is the son of the late Nick Duggan, who, as Managing Director and later as a member of the bank’s board of directors, helped shepherd the bank (and our commu- nity) through more than three decades of growth. Many Cayman residents would recognize Chris Duggan’s description of his father as a “fiercely loyal” and “passionate banker” who valued relationships above all and felt a deep responsibility to provide opportunities for small businesses to develop and grow. Even today, he says, business leaders approach him to say it was Nick Duggan who gave them the support they needed to start their businesses. Today, Butterfield employs hundreds of people on island, serves thousands of retail and corporate clients and supports countless causes in Cayman. Last year, the Butterfield Group, which also operates in Bermuda, The Bahamas, Guernsey, Swit- zerland and the U.K., went public on the New York Stock Exchange, giving them a new platform for con- tinued growth. But essentially, Butterfield’s Cayman operations will stay rooted in the community, Mike McWatt, Managing Director of the Cayman bank, told our editorial board this week. “We view ourselves as a community bank, serving, first and foremost, the Cayman community,” he said. In addition to its large corporate banking depart- ment, the bank’s retail operations have flourished since Butterfield’s 1989 merger with Washington Inter- national Bank, Mr. McWatt said. In recent years, Butter- field Bank (Cayman) Ltd. has repeatedly been named Cayman’s “bank of the year” by The Banker magazine, which is a Financial Times publication. Butterfield earned the distinction, yet again, this year. It would be impossible to list all the causes, organizations and individuals that have benefitted from Butterfield’s generosity. Their beneficiaries include groups in every domain from athletics to education, from health to arts and culture. Butterfield supports public and private schools, young leaders, excellent students at all levels, and elderly residents. They give back to the community by sponsoring events such as the Butterfield 800m Sea Swim and St. Patrick’s Day 5K Irish Jog. The annual Christmas decoration of the Butterfield Roundabout is one of the season’s most anticipated displays. “We view one of our main responsibilities as giving back to the community,” Mr. McWatt said. That com- mitment is as clear as it has been consistent. In addition to their regular philanthropic efforts, this year Butterfield Bank donated an additional $50,000 to Meals on Wheels as part of their 50th anniversary celebration. Throughout the decades, under such distinguished leaders as Nick Duggan, Conor O’Dea and Mike McWatt, the bank has been a steadfast model of cor- porate responsibility and philanthropy. So, again, congratulations to Butterfield on its “golden” anniversary in the Cayman Islands. Here’s to your next 50 years … Butterfield Bank: A half-century of service to Cayman How not to improve government schools Whenever I discuss edu- cation policy with one of my leftist friends, it usually fol- lows the same script. They’ll ask whether I want good education for kids. I’ll say yes. They’ll then say we should de- vote more money to gov- ernment schools. I then point out that we’ve been following their ap- proach for 40-plus years and that it hasn’t worked. None of them has ever had an effective or co- herent response. I then point out that the United States spends far more than other developed nations, on a per-pupil basis. Yet our national test scores are dismal compared to other developed nations. Once again, none of them has ever had an effective or coherent response. The simple reality is that giving more money to government schools is a foolish gesture. Today, we’re going to look at some additional evidence. Research from the World Bank pours cold water on the notion that more money for teachers leads to better out- comes for students. Researchers looked at the effects of a policy change in Indonesia, which dou- bled the base pay of eli- gible civil-service teachers, moving them from the 50th to the 90th percentile of the college-graduate salary distribution. The good news, as you might expect, is that teachers were quite happy. But for those of us who actually want better education for children, the results were not very satisfactory. Re- searchers found that despite the improvement in teach- er’s pay, and the resuling in- crease in teacher satisfaction, the policy did not motivate teachers to work harder, nor did it increase student learning. They write, “Teachers in treated schools did not score better on tests of teacher subject knowledge, and we find no consistent pattern of impact on self-reported measures of teacher attendance. Most im- portantly, we find no differ- ence in student test scores in language, mathematics, or science across treatment and control schools.” ... “Fi- nally, we use the school- level random assignment as an instrumental variable for being taught by a certified teacher in a given year, and find no improvement in stu- dent test scores from being taught by a certified teacher (relative to students in con- trol schools taught by similar “target” teachers). That is consistent with other studies that have found no correlation be- tween public-sector teachers’ salaries and teaching effectiveness. If giving teachers more money doesn’t work, is it possible that spending more money on facilities will help? Let’s look at another ac- ademic study, published in the Journal of Public Eco- nomics, for some insight. Here, scholars compared the test scores of students af- fected by nearly 1,400 cap- ital campaigns initiated by 748 Texas school districts over a 14-year period with scores of students not ben- efiting from the increased spending. Even when con- trolling for changes in stu- dent populations, they found “no evidence of achievement effects of major campus renovations, even for ren- ovations that appear to have generated large im- provements in school fa- cility conditions.” I’m not arguing that pay and facilities are irrelevant. I think the takeaway from these studies is that more money doesn’t help when the underlying structure of the education system is faulty. So long as we have a centralized monopoly, more money isn’t going to help. Unfortunately, Amer- ican politicians are part of the problem. Under President George W. Bush, the federal govern- ment spent more money on education and grabbed more control of the sector as part of the so-called No Child Left Behind initiative. That didn’t yield good results. Under President Barack Obama, the same thing hap- pened. Thanks to Common Core, the federal government spent more money on educa- tion and grabbed more con- trol of the sector. That didn’t yield good results. Indeed, a report last year for the National Center for Policy Analysis notes the dismal impact of the fed- eral government: “Over the years, federal funding of primary and sec- ondary education has in- creased, while students’ ac- ademic performance has flatlined. For instance, the high school reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress show that student performance has remained flat for the past 20 years... education reform initiatives by several administrations produced, at best, minimal improvements in student performance at a high price to taxpayers. Given its track record, the federal govern- ment should get out of the education business. Fed- eral education reforms have failed to achieve their goals and failed to have a posi- tive impact on education performance.” Amen. The Department of Education in Washington should be eliminated. It’s part of the problem. Daniel J. Mitchell, chairman of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, is on the Editorial Board of the Cayman Financial Review. 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” DANIEL J. MITCHELL DANIEL J. MITCHELL The simple reality is that giving more money to government schools is a foolish gesture.5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2017 187002-Ad-QuarterPg-Compass.indd1 112/4/17 4:53:38 PM Son follows dad’s footsteps, one brush stroke at a time JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com A young, upcoming artist with a passion for architec- ture and abstract painting is creating waves in Cayman’s art industry. Andrew Christian, 18, was the featured artist at The Ritz- Carlton’s “Land and Sea” art exhibition last Tuesday. At the event, Mr. Christian was happy to talk about his parents, his paintings and his artistic in- spirations, alongside 42 other local artists and guests. Since the age of two, An- drew had been exposed to the art world through his fa- ther’s involvement and has developed a keen eye for in- terpretation and expression. His father, Chris Chris- tian, is a well-known local artist with an impressionist style. He was self-taught and then trained at an art school in Canada. He draws inspi- ration from his memories of Cayman. He is proud to say that his son has developed his own style over the years. The younger Mr. Christian feels that a great piece of art intrigues the mind and insin- uates thoughts; it leaves the mind forever pondering the true message behind it. “Clearly my dad was my biggest inspiration – but one thing that really got me in- spired was when my dad’s friend, Al Ebanks, an abstract artist, came by and pur- chased a small painting I had done for $250,” he said. Mr. Christian was only 5 when the abstract painting, “Egg Yolks,” was purchased by Mr. Ebanks. “He saw what I had done and wanted to inspire me to do more painting like it, so he purchased it. For me, that was a lot of money for a small painting,” Mr. Christian said. After that Mr. Christian said he started taking art a bit more seriously but got out of it for a while. It was not until the first children’s art show happened at The Ritz- Carlton that he would head back to the drawing board to work hard and create something new. “It was really inter- esting putting art in the art show,” he said. At age seven Mr. Christian painted eagle rays. He was offered $3,000 by a buyer but his parents, Chris Christian and Trina Savage, would not allow him to sell it. They encouraged him to hold on to it because it was the first painting that he had put up in the gallery. At the time, Mr. Chris- tian said the money seemed like the best thing that could happen – but now he thinks it is kind of cool that he has something to look back on to see how far he has come. He said he choose the me- dium of eagle rays because he was interested in painting realistic scenes and he loved the colors of the water – of turquoise, greens and blues. His favorite color is blue. “I wanted something that I could paint that would capture all the colors of the water found by Cayman reefs and being that Cayman sea- water is one of my favorite subjects,” Mr. Christian said. Mr. Christian’s most re- cent painting, a 48 by 60- inch abstract of a sub- liminal image – a face on a black background – re- cently sold for $6,000 at The Ritz-Carlton. Mr. Christian has sold more than $20,000 worth of paintings, which he said will go toward college. “I always saw painting as a hobby and pastime. Then again, I always thought that if I could make a ca- reer doing art it would feel like retirement to have a ca- reer out of just doing art,” Mr. Christian said. If you have a goal, he added the best thing you can do is start to pursue it, even if it seems like something is out of reach or impossible. “The more you work cre- ating it, the more opportu- nities fall into place, it has given me opportunities to meet many people, clientele and connections that can help make my dream become a full time career.” Mr. Christian said his main goal is to be- come internationally recog- nized for his art. In 2012, his art was do- nated to make holiday cards, with all proceeds going to the Cayman Cancer Society charity. In 2013, he won the prestigious Walkers Art Com- petition, raising $5,000 for his school’s art department. During his last year of high school, he won the “Artist of the Year” award given by the National Gallery. Since graduating high school this year, he has built an art studio with his dad in West Bay and is making painting his full- time job for now. During his last year of high school, he said he was stressed at times, but it calmed his mind to think – “If only I can be painting right now.” 18 FORUM LANE, ‘LINGER LONGER’ TAKE HOME GOVERNOR’S AWARDS KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com The 2017 Governor’s Awards for Design and Con- struction Excellence ceremony was held on Thursday at the Governor’s Residence, with 18 Forum Lane at Camana Bay Town Center and the “Linger Longer” Silverman Residence winning this year’s awards in the commercial and residen- tial categories, respectively. The Governor’s Award website said the commercial and hospitality winner, 18 Forum Lane, won in part for being “outstanding in its sus- tainable design but retains a familiar language with its louvres, roofing, breezeways and courtyards that articu- lates the New Urbanism in the Cayman Islands.” The project’s architect was the Texas-based firm Lake|Flato; its local archi- tect of record was John Doak; its engineer was the Colo- rado-based CH2M Hill; its local structural engineer was APEC Consulting Engineers; its mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer was MCW Consultants with Decco (Dart Development); and its general contractor was Decco. The residential winner, Linger Longer, “exemplifies traditional Caymanian archi- tecture, but its modern twists juxtaposes rough plank with glossy tech, a domestic place with crisp exteriors,” the Gov- ernor’s Award website states. That property’s architect was Next Design & Develop- ment; its structural engineer was AMR Consulting Engi- neers; its mechanical, elec- trical and plumbing engineer was Corporate Electric Ltd.; and its residential contractor was Joe’s Construction. Other nominated prop- erties included the Kimpton Seafire Resort, the Lindsay Residence, the Murphy Residence, and the “Sun Serenity” home. Past winners include the “Rum Point House” and the “Beach House” in 2015, the Barcadere Marina in 2013, the “Seagrape House” and the Lighthouse Point in 2011, and the Camana Bay Town Center and the Elmslie Memorial Church in 2010. The Governor’s Award for Design and Construction Ex- cellence in the Cayman Is- lands is a joint venture be- tween Cayman Society of Architects, Surveyors and En- gineers and the Cayman Con- tractors Association. Andrew Christian with dad Chris and grandmother Blonde Uzzel 18 Forum Lane at Camana Bay won the commercial and hospitality category of the 2017 Governor’s Awards for Design and Construction Excellence.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 He had complained that the smell from the pond was impacting the hotel. Government agreed to pump the pond to deal with the smell but indi- cated an environmental im- pact assessment would be required for the marina. Mr. Dilbert said he had given up hope of realizing his vision for the property. “It is definitely disap- pointing and the truth is I’m sorry I did it,” he said of the opening the hotel in 2009. “I invested money into Cayman Brac, it didn’t work out and I am hoping to recoup some of it.” He believes there is still a market for someone to make a success of the hotel, particularly with arrivals into the Cayman Islands in- creasing year on year. But he said too much water had passed under the bridge for him to reopen and revive the hotel himself. “I am 74, my boys are doing their own thing, I decided the better thing to do was to move on,” Mr. Dilbert said. Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell said tourism arrivals into the Brac were at record levels and insisted he was working to help in- crease the number of rooms available on the island. “Cayman Brac continues to enjoy the highest arrivals ever. From 2014, stayover ar- rivals have increased by ap- proximately 20 percent due to increased airlift coupled with the expanded Cayman Brac Beach Resort and Pri- vate Villas which added more rooms to the market,” he said. There are currently a total of 258 rooms available to tourists on Cayman Brac, including hotels, villas and tourism rentals. TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Alexander Hotel put up for sale CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 island from January on a one-year contract to oversee the creation of the Cayman Islands Coastguard. Colin Brown, head of Border Force U.K.’s Na- tional Targeting Centre, will also arrive in early January for six months to oversee the modernization of immi- gration and customs pro- cedures at Cayman’s bor- ders and to advise on the creation of an integrated “Cayman Islands Border Protection Service.” Premier Alden McLaughlin said equipping and funding a new border protection service and coastguard is a priority and government has partnered with the governor’s office to bring in the necessary ex- pertise to get it done. He said, “It is a vital step forward in our work to counter illegal immigra- tion and organized crime, including the smuggling of weapons and drugs. Im- provements to the coor- dination of search-and- rescue services will also make it safer for everyone to enjoy our amazing nat- ural marine resources.” Governor Helen Kilpat- rick added, “The Premier and I are committed to the modernisation and im- provement of the Cayman Islands security including the safety of people at sea. These projects mark the start of this journey and we are grateful to Border Force and the MCA for pro- viding us with experienced officers to help guide and shape the structures that we intend to develop. We also have an experienced and dedicated local team that will oversee this work and I would like to thank them for their commitment and work so far.” A steering committee, chaired by Wesley Howell, chief officer in the Ministry of Human Resources and Immigration, and including the Commissioner of Police, the head of the governor’s office and the heads of customs and immigration, has been set up to oversee both initiatives. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Op- position parties in Venezuela will not be bullied out of participating in future elec- tions, a leading anti-govern- ment politician said Monday, rejecting threats a day ear- lier by socialist President Nicolas Maduro. As the ruling socialists captured a majority of may- oral seats across Venezuela on Sunday, Maduro said that opposition parties would be banned from future elections as punishment for boycot- ting the races. But Juan Mejia, a leader of opposition party Vol- untad Popular, called the vote an “electoral farce,” saying that his party would not be eliminated by a presi- dential decree. “This party does not kneel,” he said. “This party does not back down and does not give up on its principles.” Three of the four biggest opposition parties refused to take part in Sunday’s con- tests, protesting what they called an electoral system rigged by a “dictator.” The tense exchange stems from Sunday’s voting, which marked the last nationwide elections before next year’s presidential race, in which Maduro is expected to seek another term despite his steep unpopularity. At a rally held Sunday in the colonial center of Ca- racas, Maduro announced that pro-government candi- dates swept the mayoral of- fices as hundreds of sup- porters shouted “Go Home, Donald Trump!” Communications minister Jorge Rodriguez said Monday that government candidates won 308 of 335 mayor seats. “The imperialists have tried to set fire to Venezuela to take our riches,” Maduro told the crowd. “We’ve defeated the American imperialists with our votes, our ideas, truths, reason and popular will.” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert condemned Madu- ro’s threat in a tweet as “yet another extreme measure to close the democratic space” in Venezuela and consolidate power in an “authoritarian dictatorship.” “We stand with the Ven- ezuelan people as they seek to restore their democ- racy,” she said. Julio Borges, presi- dent of the opposition-con- trolled National Assembly, took his case Monday to the Vatican, meeting with Car- dinal Pietro Parolin, who is the Vatican’s Secretary of State and the former papal nuncio in Caracas. Borges said on Twitter that the two men talked about opening a humanitarian channel in the country and about ongoing negotiations with Maduro’s government. He also said that Vat- ican officials, including Pope Francis, are closely watching developments in Venezuela. “We agree that humanitarian cooperation and a free vote are the priorities at this mo- ment,” Borges said. Despite being an oil-rich country, Venezuelans strug- gles with triple-digit infla- tion, shortages of food and medicine, and charges that Maduro’s government has undermined democracy by imprisoning dissidents and usurping the powers of the National Assembly. Maduro made his threats against opposition parties after dropping his vote into a cardboard ballot box. “A party that has not par- ticipated today cannot par- ticipate anymore,” Maduro said in televised comments Sunday. “They will disappear from the political map.” This has been a turbu- lent year for Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest oil reserves but has been bat- tered by low crude prices and a crash in production. The country saw months of protests that left more than 120 dead earlier this year, and it is now facing U.S. eco- nomic sanctions as it seeks to refinance a huge inter- national debt. The struggles have caused the president’s approval rating to plunge, although the opposition has been largely unable to capitalize on Mad- uro’s unpopularity. The mayoral elections follow a crushing defeat of opposition candidates in Oc- tober’s gubernatorial elec- tions, where anti-Maduro candidates won just five of 23 races amid allegations of of- ficial vote-buying and other irregularities. Maduro said the third electoral victory for the ruling party in little more than four months signaled that the socialist “Chavista” revolution begun by the late President Hugo Chavez had defeated opponents who are intent on sowing violence in the country. In a country of 30 mil- lion people, 9 million cast ballots – about half of eli- gible voters. Maduro’s oppo- nents on social media ques- tioned the figures. John Magdaleno, a Vene- zuelan political scientist, said recent triumphs may give the government a political edge, but it does not erase the un- derlying economic and social crisis plaguing the country – and Maduro’s low ap- proval ratings. Soaring inflation and the scarcity of basic prod- ucts still threatens to ramp up tensions in the coming months, he said. “Neither the political nor the social tension are calming down,” Magdaleno said. Venezuela president’s threat to ban opposition draws rebuff Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gives a press conference in October at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. - PHOTO: AP UK experts to help set up Cayman coastguard The Department of En- vironmental Health and the George Town landfill will close at 11 a.m. on Friday to facili- tate a staff function, according to a department advisory. However, the 24-hour public drop-off site at the landfill’s entrance will remain open to facilitate the disposal of small amounts of waste from residential customers. The landfill will resume regular operations on Sat- urday, and the Department of Environmental Health offices will reopen on Monday. For more information, call the Department of Environmental Health at 949-6696. LANDFILL TO CLOSE EARLY ON FRIDAY BALI, Indonesia (AP) – Indo- nesian police are hunting for an American citizen who escaped Monday from an overcrowded and under- staffed prison on the Indo- nesian resort island of Bali. Head of Kerobokan prison Tonny Nainggolan said Chrishan Beasley, 32, is believed to have escaped at around 4 a.m. by sawing through a ceiling and then climbing over a 20-foot-high wall behind the prison. Beasley was arrested in August at a post office in the Kuta tourist area of Bali with a package containing 5.7 grams of hashish. Nainggolan said another American inmate, Paul An- thony Hoffman, 57, who has been serving a 20-month prison sentence since July for robbery, was captured while trying to escape. An investigation was under way to determine if prison guards were involved in the escape, said Surung Pasaribu of the local of- fice of the Law and Human Rights Ministry. He also said there is a shortage of guards for the prison, which was built to accommodate about 300 people but has nearly 1,600 inmates. It was the second escape from the prison in Bali’s capital, Denpasar, since June, when four foreign in- mates escaped through a drainage tunnel. Two of them, Bulgarian Dimitar Nikolov Iliev and Indian Sayed Mohammed Said, were recaptured in East Timor days later and were returned to Bali. The two others, Shaun Ed- ward Davidson of Australia and Tee Koko King bin Tee Kim Sai of Malaysia, are still at large. Jailbreaks are common in Indonesia, where prisons are overcrowded with people convicted of drug crimes. In May, more than 440 prisoners escaped from an overcrowded prison on Su- matra island when they were let out of their cells to per- form Friday Muslim prayers. US man escapes from Indonesian prison Cayman Brac’s Alexander Hotel closed in summer 2014.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. TUESDAY, DEC. 12 BT ROADWORK: The National Roads Authority asks motorists to take extra care and watch for the roadwork on Condor Road in Bodden Town until Friday, Dec. 15 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The road will be reinstated following pipeline works that were done this past summer. Anyone with questions or comments may call 946-7780 or email nra@nra.ky. BULK WASTE: Residents are asked to place their bulk waste on the kerbside during the dates specified. Collection will commence thereafter. George Town/ West Bay District, Dec. 11-18; Cayman Brac East, Dec. 13 only; Cayman Brac West, Dec. 18; Cayman Brac South, Dec. 20. Bulk waste must be placed on the kerbside where it is easily accessible to DEH crews but will not obstruct the roadway. Bulk items put out after scheduled dates will not be collected. Metals and vegetative waste must be separated from other bulk waste items. CUSTOMS HOURS: The Customs Department is open for longer hours at its Collections Office to allow pick-up of packages before Christmas. Today through Friday, Dec. 22, the Collections Office will operate 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. instead of the usual closing at 4 p.m. However, it will close at noon on Saturday, Dec. 16. The Customs Courier Office will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and remain closed on Saturdays. Both offices will be closed on Saturday, Dec. 23 and reopen on Wednesday, Dec. 27 TRADE AND BUSINESS: The Trade and Business Licensing Board holds its last meeting of the year. Persons seeking renewals and grants of licenses before the end of the year have until Friday, Dec. 8 to submit applications via the Department of Commerce and Investment. Applications received by DCI as of Monday, Dec. 11 will not be processed until January. However, DCI staff will continue accepting applications and collecting all associated payments. Applications can be submitted at the Business Licensing Counter, Government Administration Building, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. NATIONAL CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA: The Cayman National Choir and Cayman National Orchestra present their traditional Christmas carol concert 7:30 p.m. at Elmslie Memorial Church tonight and Thursday. CHAMBER COURSE: Immigration, Permanent Residence, Work Permits & Status. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Chamber of Commerce, Governors Square. $350 for members, $400 for future members. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13 CONCERT AND FUNDRAISER: The St. Ignatius Band Concert and Christmas Fundraiser starts at 7 p.m. at the school. Grand prize is $25,000 with lots of other prizes. Tickets are $25 and are available at St. Ignatius and from local supermarkets and other businesses. THURSDAY, DEC. 14 SCUBALUMINATIONS: Santa and scuba-diving reindeer visit Rackam’s on the waterfront, George Town, 6:30 p.m. A fundraiser for One Dog at a Time. Everyone is invited and encouraged to bring items of dog food, toys and treats; have photos with Santa and his elves; enjoy live music, Christmas carols and a raffle. BRAC SCHOOLS: Cayman Brac Primary Schools present a combined Christmas musical. 7 p.m. Aston Rutty Centre. All are invited. VAS CHRISTMAS SOCIAL: All are invited to the annual Christmas Cocktail Party, a fundraiser for the Visual Arts Society. $35, includes drinks and canapes. At Le Vele restaurant in George Town. Prizes for best dressed Christmas, white, silver and gold theme. Email info@ visualartcayman.com. FRIDAY, DEC. 15 ARTISANS FAIR: The National Gallery invites everyone to shop for handmade gifts 3-9 p.m. Many of the sellers will be using cash only. Art activities for kids 3-6 p.m. Members’ Christmas party, 6-9 p.m. DVDL CLOSED: The Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing will be closed all day at all locations to facilitate a staff function and meeting. SATURDAY, DEC. 16 DEALS ON WHEELS: The Red Cross mobile thrift shop will be in East End 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., close to the Pirate’s Cove Bar. Items available include linens, household items, clothing and shoes for men, women and children, ladies’ bags and accessories. CHRISTMAS DINNER: The North Side Community hosts its annual Christmas dinner at 6 p.m. at the Craddock Ebanks Civic Center. For more details contact Alex Johnson, 916-8232. NCVO CHRISTMAS SALE: 6-10 a.m. in the NCVO parking lot. New to You Bargain Shop, 90 Anthony Drive (off Smith Road). Clothing, shoes, books, toys, baby and household supplies. MONDAY, DEC. 18 VENDORS SOUGHT: National Heroes Day organizers are seeking independent “small-man” food vendors to provide samples of Caymanian food items at the ceremony in Heroes Square on Monday, Jan. 22. Today is the deadline to submit a proposal and completed menu form to the Protocol Office in the Government Administration Building on Elgin Avenue. Vendors can provide quotes on any menu item. Bidding instructions and the menu form can be obtained from the Government Administration Building, first floor, or by emailing nationalevents@gov.ky. For more information, call 916-2913. GENERAL INTEREST USED BOOKS: The Red Cross Thrift Shop on Huldah Avenue holds a five- dollar bag book sale until Dec. 22 at noon. Customers can get all the books they can fit in a single bag for only $5. CARGO COLLECTION: Cayman Port reminds customers that all cargo collections from the warehouse must be done in a timely manner, so as to not impact safe and efficient operations. Persons importing vehicles should collect them without delay. Additional storage charges will be applied to all cargo not collected within five working days. LOBSTER SEASON: The open season for lobster runs from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28. Bag limit is three per person per day or six per boat per day, whichever is less. Minimum size is a six-inch tail length. No taking lobsters from Marine Protected Areas. Only spiny lobster may be taken. No wearing gloves while snorkeling. No take of lobster (or any marine life other than lionfish) while scuba diving. CONCH AND WHELK SEASON: The open season for conch and whelk runs from Nov. 1 to April 30. The legal limit for conch is five per person per day or 10 per boat, whichever is less. The limit for whelk catches is two-and-a-half gallons in the shell, or two-and-a-half pounds of processed whelks, per person, per day. DVDL EXTRA HOURS: The Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing on Crewe Road will be open longer in December. On Wednesdays and Fridays, the office will open as usual at 8:30 a.m. but close later at 7 p.m. All other days the office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. SHAPED BY THE SEA: New exhibition at National Museum, Harbour Drive, celebrating Charles O. “Captain Chuckie” Ebanks. BUY A BAG SALE: The NCVO New to You Thrift Shop hosts a sale now through Dec. 15. Buy a bag for $5 and whatever it holds inside is yours. 90 Anthony Drive, off Smith Road, next to Miss Nadine’s Pre-School. CAYMAN CRAFT: The exhibition, “Revive!” – Celebrating contemporary and traditional craft from the Cayman Islands, is open at the National Gallery. OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIPS: The Ministry of Education is receiving applications for overseas scholarships for the 2018/2019 academic year. The application period is open until Jan. 31. Anyone planning to apply for a government scholarship for 2018/2019 is invited to complete the Overseas Scholarship Application at www.education.gov.ky. Contact the Scholarships Secretariat for any further information at scholarships@ gov.ky or 244-2482. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events. CAYMAN COMPASS • TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2017 HOLIDAY HOURS: 23rd – 26th December – Closed 27th – 29th December – Opened 30th Dec. – 1st Jan. – Closed 2nd January – Open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. For Emergencies please call: 946-8697 or 326-8795 Email: service@tonystoys.net Wishing you a & A HAPPY NEW YEAR The National Gallery is hosting an artisans fair Friday.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Iran to consider releasing British national Following a visit by British foreign secretary Boris Johnson, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday it will raise the case of detained British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with the judiciary. She is serving a five-year sentence for allegedly plotting to overthrow Iran’s government. UK’s May: There is new optimism in Brexit talks LONDON (AP) – Prime Min- ister Theresa May is stressing her optimism about negotia- tions over Britain’s departure from the European Union, insisting that a preliminary deal has given fresh impetus to the talks. May met with her Cabinet on Monday morning before a scheduled address to the House of Commons, where she will update lawmakers on the agreement reached Friday that covers questions about citizens’ rights, Britain’s finan- cial obligations and the Irish border. Leaders of the other 27 EU members are expected to ratify the agreement later this week, allowing Brexit talks to move on to trade and security cooperation. “Of course, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” May said in a state- ment. “But there is, I believe, a new sense of optimism now in the talks and I fully hope and expect that we will con- firm the arrangements I have set out today in the European Council later this week.” But weekend comments by the official in charge of the talks have threatened to spoil May’s triumphant mo- ment. In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Brexit chief David Davis suggested that last week’s agreement was a “statement of intent” that wasn’t legally binding. The comments caused un- ease in Ireland, where leaders demanded provisions in the agreement to ensure Brexit will not restrict travel and trade between the Republic of Ireland and the U.K.’s Northern Ireland. Officials in both parts of the island say the border must remain open to protect the Irish peace process. The Irish govern- ment branded Davis’ com- ments “bizarre” and in- sisted that Britain must live up to the commitments it made last week. Davis on Monday tried to mitigate the fallout, insisting his words had been “com- pletely twisted.” “What I actually said yes- terday … was we want to protect the peace process, want to protect Ireland from the impact of Brexit for them, and I said this was a state- ment of intent which was much more than just le- gally enforceable,” Davis told LBC Radio. “In the event that the withdrawal agreement doesn’t happen then we would still be seeking to maintain an invisible border between Northern Ireland and Ireland,” he added. “I was making the point that it was much more than just in the treaty, it’s what we want to do anyway.” Leaders of the other 27 EU members are expected to ratify the agreement later this week, allowing Brexit talks to move on to trade and security cooperation. British Prime Minister Theresa May 3 hurt when bomb strapped to man explodes in NY subway NEW YORK (AP) – A man in- spired by the Islamic State group set off a crude pipe bomb strapped to his body Monday in a crowded subway corridor near Times Square, injuring the man, slightly wounding three others and sending New York commuters fleeing in terror through the smoky passageway. Surveillance cameras cap- tured the man walking casu- ally through the crowded pas- sage when the bomb went off at 7:20 a.m. amid a plume of white smoke, which cleared to show the man sprawled on the ground and commuters scattering to get away. Inves- tigators said it was not clear if he set the bomb off inten- tionally or prematurely. “This was an attempted terrorist attack,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters. “Thank God the perpe- trator did not achieve his ul- timate goals.” The suspect, who was identified as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah, was being treated at a hospital for burns to his hands and ab- domen. The others who were injured suffered ringing in the ears and headaches. Law enforcement officials said Ullah was inspired by the Islamic State group but apparently did not have any direct contact with the group and probably acted alone. Gov. Andrew Cuomo later told the NY1 cable channel that the suspect went online to learn how to make a bomb. “We have no evidence at this time that there were any secondary devices or it was part of a larger plan,” Cuomo said. Ullah, who lives in Brooklyn, came to the U.S. from Bangladesh about seven years ago and had been li- censed to drive a livery cab between 2012 and 2015, ac- cording to law enforcement officials and NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission. He was speaking with inves- tigators from his hospital bed, police said. A person briefed on the investigation said Ullah ar- rived in the United States on an F-4 visa, a preferential visa available for those with family in the U.S. who are cit- izens, and that he made the bomb in his home. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the blast. Investigators were searching Ullah’s apartment, interviewing witnesses and relatives and looking for sur- veillance footage that may show his movements in the moments before the attack. Ullah lived with his father, mother and brother in a resi- dential area of Brooklyn with a large Bangladeshi com- munity, neighbors said. The home was just off a shop- ping strip – a red two-story brick building. Alan Butrico owns the house next door and a locksmith business two doors down. “It’s very weird,” he said. “You never know who your neighbors are.” The Bangladesh Embassy in Washington condemned the attack. The deputy chief of mission, Mahbub Hassan Saleh, said the embassy had not received any information from authorities about the suspect’s identity. The explosion, which hap- pened in an underground passageway under 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, triggered a massive emergency response by police and firefighters both above and below ground, tan- gling subway and bus service at the nearby Port Authority bus terminal. It’s the city’s busiest subway station and a major transit hub, with 64 mil- lion subway riders passing through every year. In 2016, daily ridership on the subway was 5.7 million, a record high. Everything around Times Square was shut down, halting what would ordi- narily be a bustling rush hour at the “Crossroads of the World.” But streets quickly began returning to normal, and traffic around the area was expected to be operational by the evening rush. Authorities said the bomb was a low-tech explo- sive device attached to the man with Velcro and plastic ties. They were investigating how it was made. Port Authority police said officers found the man in- jured on the ground, with wires protruding from his jacket to his pants and the device strapped to his torso under his coat. They said he was reaching for a cellphone and they grabbed his hands. A photo published by the New York Post showed a bearded man crumpled on the ground with his shirt apparently blown off and black soot covering his bare midriff. A police officer was holding the man’s hands be- hind his back. Another photo shown on NY1 showed the bearded suspect, wide-eyed, on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance. Elrana Peralta, a cus- tomer-service worker for Greyhound, said she works in the Port Authority ter- minal near where the blast happened but did not hear the explosion. “All we could hear was the chaos,” she said. “We could hear people yelling, ‘Get out! Get out! Get out!’” John Miles, who is from Vermont, was waiting for a bus to Massachusetts. He did not hear the blast either, but saw police react. “I didn’t know what was going on. Officers were run- ning around. I was freaking out,” he said. There was an announcement that people should take their bags and leave. “They didn’t incite panic. It was fairly orderly.” White House press sec- retary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted that Pres- ident Donald Trump had been briefed on the explo- sion. Instead of commenting on the suspected terror at- tack, Trump sent a tweet at 9:17 a.m. criticizing a Sunday story in The New York Times that said he watched cable news television for at least four hours a day. The blast came just weeks after eight people died in New York when another man, also said to be inspired by the Islamic State, drove a rented truck onto a bike path near the World Trade Center. Cuomo said at a news con- ference following the attack that New Yorkers should be alert but go about their lives. “Let’s go back to work,” he said. “”We’re not going to allow them to disrupt us.” “This was an attempted terrorist attack. Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals.” NEW YORK CITY MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO Police block off a sidewalk while responding to a report of an explosion near Times Square on Monday in New York. – PHOTO: AP9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2017 Netanyahu urges EU to follow US on Mideast peace moves BRUSSELS (AP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne- tanyahu urged the European Union on Monday to back a new U.S. peace initiative in the Middle East, after Pres- ident Donald Trump’s uni- lateral decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s cap- ital met with widespread condemnation and trig- gered clashes in the Pales- tinian territories. Netanyahu, on a first offi- cial visit to the EU by an Is- raeli premier in 22 years, told reporters in Brussels that recognizing Jerusalem was merely stating the reality on the ground. He said he ex- pected many European coun- tries to follow Trump’s lead in the future. But European officials say they have heard no de- tails about the U.S. plan to relaunch moribund Mideast peace efforts. “We should give peace a chance. I think we should see what is presented and see if we can advance this peace,” Netanyahu said, be- fore a meeting with EU for- eign ministers, chaired by the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the Europeans are impatient to hear details of any new U.S. peace move. None were forth- coming when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in Brussels last week. “They’ve announced to us some kind of American initia- tive. We’ve been waiting for several months. If it’s not the case, then perhaps the Euro- pean Union should take the initiative, but it’s too early to say,” Le Drian said. “Everyone knows that the resolution of the Middle East crisis goes through negotia- tions and the recognition of two states,” he said. “(Jerusalem) could be the capital of Israel and a fu- ture Palestinian state but that has to be negotiated be- tween the two parties,” said Belgian Foreign Minister Di- dier Reynders. Reynders said that as the biggest aid donor to the Palestinians and a major partner of Israel, the EU has “a particular role to play” in the dispute. Netanyahu insisted, how- ever, that “what President Trump has done is put facts squarely on the table. Peace is based on reality.” “Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, no one can deny it. It doesn’t obviate peace it makes peace possible,” he said, adding that he be- lieved most European coun- tries will now “move their embassies to Jerusalem, rec- ognize Jerusalem as Isra- el’s capital.” Netanyahu was also due Monday to discuss Israel’s relations with the EU, which have been tense, particu- larly over the EU’s insistence on labeling Israeli products made in Jewish settlements. European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini, right, reaches out to shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after participating in a media conference at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday. - PHOTO: AP Putin visits Egypt in sign of closer ties CAIRO (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Egypt on Monday, where he signed a deal to advance plans for a nuclear reactor but disappointed his hosts by delaying the re- sumption of direct flights that were suspended after the 2015 bombing of a Rus- sian passenger plane. During Putin’s second visit to Egypt in as many years, he and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el- Sissi appeared keen to ce- ment their countries’ ties, which have deepened in recent years as Moscow has expanded its reach across the region. “Russia always paid a special attention to ex- panding friendly and mu- tually beneficial ties with Egypt, our longtime reli- able partner in the Middle East and North Africa,” Putin said. El-Sissi said the two countries had “a relation- ship with a long history,” characterized by “strength and durability.” El-Sissi, who has visited Russia twice since taking office in 2014, has signed deals to buy billions of dollars’ worth of Russian weapons, including fighter jets and assault helicop- ters. Last month, Russia ap- proved a draft agreement with Egypt to allow Russian warplanes to use Egyptian military bases. The United States re- mains Egypt’s main inter- national backer, providing an estimated $1.3 billion in military and economic aid each year. But ties suffered a blow in 2013, when the Obama administration criti- cized the military overthrow of Egypt’s first freely elected leader amid mass protests against his rule. Relations have improved under Pres- ident Donald Trump, who has also sought better rela- tions with Moscow. Neither Putin nor el-Sissi referred to the use of the air bases when they read pre- pared statements after their talks, a possible indicator of the sensitivity of the issue in Egypt, which has long re- jected the basing of foreign forces on its territory. With Putin and el-Sissi looking on, officials from both countries signed the deal on the nuclear reactor. Egypt has reached an agree- ment in principle to borrow $25 billion, or roughly 80 percent of the reactor’s cost, from Russia. The signing of the agreement ends months of wrangling between the two sides over technical and financial details. Putin flew to Cairo after a brief and previously unan- nounced visit to a Russian military air base in Syria. The air base has served as the main foothold for the air campaign Russia has waged since September 2015 in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Egypt’s increasingly close ties with Russia harken back to the 1950s and 1960s, when Cairo became a close Russian ally at the height of the Cold War. Egypt changed sides in the 1970s under the late President Anwar Sadat, who replaced Moscow with Washington as his country’s chief economic and military backer following the signing of a U.S.-sponsored peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Egypt has since become a major recipient of U.S. aid. Under el-Sissi, Egypt has been able to maintain close ties with both Russia and the United States. But the question of re- suming flights between Egypt and Russia re- mains unsolved after Pu- tin’s visit, a significant set- back for Egypt. The flights were sus- pended when the Islamic State group downed a Rus- sian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula two years ago, killing all 224 people on board. Egypt has since spent millions of dollars to up- grade security at its airports and undergone numerous checks by Russian experts. The suspension of Rus- sian flights has dealt a dev- astating blow to Egypt’s vital tourism industry. Britain, another major source of vis- itors, suspended flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort in Sinai from which the doomed Russian airliner took off. On Monday, Putin praised Egypt’s efforts to beef up security at its air- ports, saying the two coun- tries have come close to a deal to resume flights, but did not give a timeline. “Security agencies re- ported to me that we are gen- erally ready to restore a direct air link between Moscow and Cairo,” Putin said, adding that an agreement could be signed “in the nearest time.” Russian Transport Min- ister Maxi Sokolov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying flights between Moscow and Cairo could be restored by early February. There was no im- mediate mention of re- storing an air link to Sharm el-Sheikh. Underlining the impor- tance of the flights, a pro- government Cairo daily on Monday ran banner head- lines in both Russian and Arabic, saying: “Your Excel- lency: When will Russian tourism return to Egypt?” 8 ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTERS HELD AFTER CAIRO RALLY Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi, during their meeting in Cairo, Egypt, Monday. - PHOTO: AP CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has de- tained eight protesters and accused them of “association with a terrorist organiza- tion” after they took part in a small demonstration against President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jeru- salem as the capital of Israel, a rights lawyer said Monday. Khaled Ali said in a Face- book post that the protesters were arrested on Friday in front of the Egyptian Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo. Ali said those detained, including a female activist, are accused of links to the Muslim Brotherhood group, which was officially branded a terrorist organization after the military overthrew an elected Islamist pres- ident in 2013. The detainees also face charges of inciting protests and violence, and will be held for 15 days pending in- vestigation, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement, without elaborating. Trump’s decision upended decades of U.S. foreign policy and went against an inter- national consensus that Je- rusalem’s status should be decided in negotiations be- tween Israel and the Pales- tinians, who claim east Jeru- salem as the capital of their future state. The move ignited pro- tests in several Arab and Muslim nations, including Egypt, where the country’s leading Muslim and Chris- tian clerics have refused to meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on his upcoming visit to the region. Egypt’s President Abdel- Fattah el-Sissi, a close ally of Trump, has presided over an unprecedented crack- down on dissent over the past four years. The govern- ment outlaws all unauthor- ized protests. INDONESIANS PROTEST U.S. JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Ac- tivists burned U.S. and Israeli flags in front of the Amer- ican embassy in Jakarta on Monday in a fourth day of protests in Indonesia against President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Several hundred protesters from an Islamic youth group rallied outside the embassy, burning flags and images of Trump and Israeli Prime Min- ister Benyamin Netanyahu. Wearing white robes, the protesters unfurled ban- ners reading “U.S. Embassy, Get Out from Al-Quds” and “We are with the Palestin- ians.” Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, the his- toric Middle East city that is a holy site for Jews, Chris- tians and Muslims. A weekend protest at the embassy attracted several thousand people and similar protests have been held in other cities around Indonesia.Next >