ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 High of 88 Low of 78 Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 AFTER 30 YEARS, THE SUN SETS ON HEMINGWAYS LOCAL | PAGE 5 ENTREPRENEUR GOES 3-D WITH RECYCLED PLASTIC PRINTING 9 PCS OF THE BEST DRESSED CHICKEN, 2 LARGE SIDES & 5 BISCUITS JET SKI COLLISION ON THE WATERFRONT A tourist needed hospital treatment after two jet skis collided on the George Town waterfront Friday afternoon. The incident happened around noon and involved two visitors, one of whom sus- tained minor injuries, according to police. The collision comes amid growing con- cern from water sports businesses about such watercraft. Last week the Cayman Compass reported that several incidents of reckless riding of Jet Skis and WaveRunners had been re- ported to police. In one case, a dive company reported that jet skis had ignored a dive flag and mowed through a group of scuba divers, almost striking one of them. Police held an initial meeting with Cayman Is- lands Tourism Association businesses in an effort to get to grips with the issue and further meetings are planned with all water sports operators in the coming months. Meanwhile, the tourism association is ad- vocating for safe boating and has redistrib- uted guidelines to all member organizations at www.cita.ky/shareourseas. DOE READY TO LAUNCH $9 MILLION IGUANA CULL Contractor sought to manage mass eradication effort JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Department of Environment is seeking a contractor to manage a full-scale, multi-year cull of green iguanas that aims to remove 1.4 million of the invasive lizards from Grand Cayman by the end of next year. The DoE is seeking bids from private compa- nies to provide management services for the ef- fort, which is likely to involve up to 100 cullers working full time. The winning bidder will be contracted to op- erate an iguana receiving, weighing and counting station at the George Town landfill. They will be responsible for ensuring cullers meet performance targets and adhere to humane culling standards, paying cullers for the iguanas they bring to the station and providing detailed accounting and re- porting to the Department of Environment. The DoE has provided a business case to gov- ernment, which has been approved by the Min- istry, and is seeking around $7 million in addi- tional funding, on top of the $2.2 million already Dart plans to reopen Seven Mile Beach hotel JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Dart group plans to re- open the Beach Suites as an unbranded “boutique hotel” be- fore the end of the year. Details of the longterm plans for the Seven Mile Beach property, acquired by the devel- oper along with the old Hyatt hotel in 2015, remain vague. But a planning application has been submitted for a $1 million renovation. If approved, the hotel would be able to re- open in time for the KAABOO Festival in early 2019. The application, which will be reviewed by the Cen- tral Planning Authority this week, coincides with the tem- porary closure of Heming- ways. The popular beachside bar and restaurant, within the Beach Suites, closed Sunday and its longterm future re- mains unclear. Paperwork submitted to the planning authority indicates that both Hemingways and the smaller restaurant SIDEbar will remain part of the Beach Suites “footprint” though it is not clear if they will re-open with the hotel. The plans include modifications to the SIDEBar PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » Dart group will be renovating the Beach Suites, which includes Hemingways and SIDEbar. - PHOTOS: TANEOS RAMSAY Hemingways, a popular beachside bar and restaurant, closed Sunday. Its future remains unclear. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS • Matinees Daily (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00, Mon-Fri Before 6pm • Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 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 - 640-FILM (640-3456) REPRISAL (R) 2:00 I 4:25 I 6:50 I 9:25 KIN (PG13) 1:35 I 4:05 I 7:15 I 9:45 CRAZY RICH ASIANS (PG13) 12:45 VIP I 4:20 I 6:35 VIP I 9:55 MISSION : IMPOSSIBLE FALLOUT (PG13) 3:50 I 9:30 SEARCHING (PG13) 2:20 I 4:50 I 7:30 I 10:00 CHRISTOPHER ROBIN (PG) 1:25 I 7:00 THE MEG (PG13) 1:35 I 3:40 VIP I 7:10 I 9:25 VIP East End residents meet with police constables SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com East End residents got to share their thoughts with their local constables on Thursday, when the Royal Cayman Islands Police Ser- vice held a community meeting at the East End Pres- byterian Church Hall. Commissioner Derek Byrne held court alongside Courtney Myles, the head of the Community Policing Department, and Winsome Prendergast, the area com- mander for the eastern dis- tricts, and they wanted to let East End residents know that they can count on the consta- bles in their neighborhood. “Do you know your po- lice officers here? Do you have their contact numbers?” asked Mr. Byrne of the resi- dents. “Do you know how to get a hold of them if you need to get a hold of them?’ “That’s the value of com- munity policing. I know my police officer and I can ring him or her. If they’re not there, I can get the next person. If they’re not avail- able, they’ll get back to me as quick as they can.” Arden McLean, the district MLA for East End, attended the meeting and shared his concerns with the police de- partment. Mr. McLean noted that there has been a re- surgence of crime around the Blowholes, and he said there’s been a problem with buses driving too fast around the local roads. Recently, Mr. McLean said, he saw a pair of buses doing at least 60 mph around the district. “Commissioner, if you don’t do something about these buses, we’re going to have a catastrophe. … We’re going to have a mass burial in this country,” he said. “It is ridiculous how these guys drive. Those are some of the most dangerous vehicles on the road and they refuse to do anything but speed.” Mr. McLean also noted an absence of constables on duty on weeknights and at the weekends, and he said he’d like to push for an expanded East End police station at some point in the future. Ms. Prendergast told the residents that she has done a walk-through of the district and that a few locations – in- cluding the Blowholes and the entrance to Health City – will have cameras installed. Mr. Byrne said he will in- crease patrols to East End on Friday and Saturday nights and he will seek to ramp up the police presence there in the future. Presently, there are four fulltime officers assigned to East End and the RCIPS hopes to double that at some point over the next year. “I would hope to put a class of 24 recruits together before the end of the year. Certainly East End and North Side will see additional re- sources from that class,” Mr. Byrne said. “If all goes well, I would hope to see another class of recruits in the second or third month of 2019. … I would expect to see additional re- sources to North Side and East End again.” The constables of East End were on hand and introduced themselves to the residents. Mr. Byrne noted that he received a shipment of radar guns that are currently being calibrated, and he hopes to distribute one to North Side and one to East End. The East End police will also be re- ceiving a new vehicle – a Ford Explorer equipped with all- wheel drive – at some point in the next six weeks. The police noted that the East End station is sometimes unstaffed due to the consta- bles being out on investiga- tion, and there’s a plan to have permanent daytime hours at some point in the future. Mr. Byrne also said that he hopes to have a community safety officer on the ground in East End in October or No- vember to give the local resi- dents an extra set of dedi- cated eyes and ears. “I don’t think it’s any se- cret that crime is a problem on the island,” Mr. Byrne said. “Thankfully, it’s a small group of people that are committing it rather than a large group of people. The problem we have is we catch them and they go into prison, crime goes down. When they come out of prison, crime goes up. We catch them again and the cycle continues. It’s like a revolving door cycle.” Emergency landing makes for unforgettable birthday JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com For Baker Dyck it was a 10th birthday he will never forget. The youngster and his family took a scenic heli- copter flight over Grand Cayman to celebrate the mile- stone on Thursday. But a fun trip had a fright- ening end when the helicopter had to make an emergency landing after experiencing me- chanical difficulties. Jerome Begot, pilot and owner of Cayman Islands He- licopters, said the incident was caused by a problem with a component in the tail rotor. He said it was a relatively minor issue and making the landing was no problem for an experienced pilot. Baker’s mom Nicola Hold- sworth, who was also on board with her husband Nathan Dyck and their six-year-old daughter Mary, said the heli- copter had aborted the landing at the downtown helipad after the pilot reported a problem with the tail rotor. Her chil- dren were in the cockpit as the aircraft attempted two more aborted landings at the Owen Roberts International Airport before making a forced landing and coming to a skidding stop on the tarmac surrounded by fire engines. The incident caused a full emergency alert at the air- port and delayed several flights Thursday. Mr. Begot said he had chosen to land at the airport as a precautionary measure. The first landing effort at the air- port was a precautionary fly by, he said. On the second occa- sion he had planned to land on the grass but decided, on ap- proach, that it was too soft. On the third occasion he landed the helicopter successfully. “For a pilot with 30 years experience it is no problem,” he said. Ms. Holdsworth said it has been a scary moment but praised the pilot for his cool handling of the situation. “We were so lucky. Jerome is a seriously skilled pilot,” she said. “I definitely was not so cool. It was scary. I’ve never been in that kind of sit- uation before. “My ten-year-old was sit- ting next to the pilot and he had a bird’s-eye view of the whole thing. He understood what was happening so he was a little bit scared. We are all a bit weary now from all the adrenaline.” Aside from the bumpy ending, she said it had been an amazing trip. “It was definitely a memo- rable birthday, that is for sure.” Mr. Begot is waiting for a replacement component and the helicopter should be back in action next week. Police commissioner Derek Byrne, inspector Courtney Myles and inspector Winsome Prendergast preside over Thursday night’s meeting. - PHOTO: SPENCER FORDIN Ten-year-old Baker Dyck and his sister Mary had a front row seat for the helicopter emergency landing on Thursday. Brazil leftist party insists on banned candidate da Silva SAO PAULO (AP) – Bra- zil’s main leftist party said Saturday it’s sticking with former President Luiz In- acio Lula da Silva as its presidential candidate even though the electoral court has thrown him off the ballot for an election just five weeks away. Da Silva’s vice presiden- tial running mate, former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad told reporters the Workers Party will continue pushing to somehow get da Silva, 72, who easily leads in the polls, back on the ballot. “The people are sover- eign regarding the party’s candidate. And that candi- date is Lula,” Haddad said. That strategy would keep da Silva in the spot- light until the absolute last minute, perhaps ral- lying support from backers that could then be trans- ferred to a stand-in, likely Haddad, who is much less popular or charismatic. The electoral court voted 6-1 early Saturday to reject da Silva’s candi- dacy because of a corrup- tion conviction that has been upheld on appeal. Da Silva and the party are appealing both the con- viction and the electoral court ruling. The ruling had been widely expected and there were no immediate street protests of the sort that occurred when the former president was ini- tially arrested. Da Silva, who was wildly popular when he left office on Jan. 1, 2011, is now a sharply polarizing figure. Many Brazilians still revere him for pulling mil- lions from poverty during his eight years in power. But he and the Workers’ Party have lost much of that appeal over the last several years due to a stumbling economy under his hand- picked successor Dilma Rousseff and a sprawling corruption probe. WORK BEGINS ON SHAMROCK Work will take place Sept. 3-4 on Shamrock Road near Countryside and Savannah to upgrade a por- tion of the road. The National Roads Au- thority said it will work alongside its subcontrac- tors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. those days to improve the rough pavement and drainage in this area. Motorists are en- couraged to avoid the area by using the East- West Arterial. The NRA expects to work on other sec- tions of the road over the next two months.3 LOCAL&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 INVEST IN EDUCATION TODAY!! Train locally to compete globally! 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Get AAT Qualified AAT Foundation Certificate in Accounting AAT Advanced Diploma in Accounting AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting Classes begin week of Sept. 3rd & 10 th Ask about our payment plans for self-sponsored students CBP® Certification Series: Featuring Business Communications & Leadership (2 of 5 available sessions) ICSA® Award in International Finance & Administration ILM® Award in Leadership & Team Skills ILM® Award in Effective Team Member Skills ACCA Accounting Certifications (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – over 100 years strong ) OFFICE TEL FAX E-MAIL WEBSITE Starting Sept. 4th Ask about our payment plans for self-sponsored students AAT Accounting Qualifications (From the Association of Accounting Technicians) Other Certifications – starting in Sept. 2018 Save 5% - 10% Contact us for further details @ 943-4678 INVEST IN EDUCATION TODAY!! Train locally to compete globally! 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Get AAT Qualified AAT Foundation Certificate in Accounting AAT Advanced Diploma in Accounting AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting Classes begin week of Sept. 3rd & 10 th Ask about our payment plans for self-sponsored students CBP® Certification Series: Featuring Business Communications & Leadership (2 of 5 available sessions) ICSA® Award in International Finance & Administration ILM® Award in Leadership & Team Skills ILM® Award in Effective Team Member Skills ACCA Accounting Certifications (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – over 100 years strong ) OFFICE TEL FAX E-MAIL WEBSITE Starting Sept. 4th Ask about our payment plans for self-sponsored students AAT Accounting Qualifications (From the Association of Accounting Technicians) Other Certifications – starting in Sept. 2018 Save 5% - 10% Contact us for further details @ 943-4678 INVEST IN EDUCATION TODAY!! Train locally to compete globally! 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Get AAT Qualified AAT Foundation Certificate in Accounting AAT Advanced Diploma in Accounting AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting Classes begin week of Sept. 3rd & 10 th Ask about our payment plans for self-sponsored students CBP® Certification Series: Featuring Business Communications & Leadership (2 of 5 available sessions) ICSA® Award in International Finance & Administration ILM® Award in Leadership & Team Skills ILM® Award in Effective Team Member Skills ACCA Accounting Certifications (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – over 100 years strong ) OFFICE TEL FAX E-MAIL WEBSITE Starting Sept. 4th Ask about our payment plans for self-sponsored students AAT Accounting Qualifications (From the Association of Accounting Technicians) Other Certifications – starting in Sept. 2018 Save 5% - 10% Contact us for further details @ 943-4678 Girl’s dreadlocks drive fight in Jamaica’s Supreme Court KINGSTON, Jamaica – Sherine Virgo was excited when her 5-year-old daughter was accepted to a prestigious public school in the Ja- maican capital. But when the mother attended an orien- tation over the summer, the principal informed her that she would have to cut off her daughter’s dreadlocks. “I said, ‘I will not be cut- ting her hair,’ “ Virgo re- counted. The principal explained that the no-dread- locks policy was a matter of hygiene and avoiding lice in the school, the mother recalled. “Here you’re thinking that this should not be a problem,” Virgo said. “We are just trying to get her an education.” Virgo’s daughter will start classes this week at Kensington Primary School with her dreadlocks intact after a legal battle that has gone all the way to the Su- preme Court of this Ca- ribbean island. Earlier this month, the court handed down an in- junction ordering that the girl – identified in court documents only as “Z,” be- cause she is a minor – be permitted to attend school. It was a first step in a con- stitutional challenge by a human-rights group, Jamai- cans for Justice, that could bring an end to the prac- tice of barring children with dreadlocks or “natural” hair from school. Jamaicans also think it could help diminish the historically discrimina- tory treatment of Rastafar- ians, who wear their hair in dreadlocks as part of their culture. The human-rights group is challenging the school’s prohibition on dreadlocks by arguing that it violates the child’s constitutional rights – including the right to an education, freedom of speech and freedom from official discrimination. The case will be heard in January. “This is an important first victory that will allow the child to attend school and receive an education which she has a constitutional right to. Without this court order, she faced the pros- pect of being denied an edu- cation simply for refusing to remove her dreadlocks,” the executive director of Jamai- cans for Justice, Rodje Mal- colm, said in a statement. Rastafarians are part of a political and religious move- ment founded in the 1930s in Jamaica that drew from Revival, Christian and Af- rican faiths. The movement became popular in part as a reaction to British co- lonial rule, said Erin Ma- cLeod, a Rastafari scholar who teaches at Vanier Col- lege in Montreal. Rastafar- ians are believed to make up about 2 percent of the is- land’s population. One of the best-known advocates of the faith was the Jamaican mu- sician Bob Marley. Virgo and her daughter do not consider themselves Rastafarians, but wear dreadlocks as a way to ex- press their identity. “It is our natural hair, it is our nation’s culture and it what God has blessed us with,” Virgo said. She de- clined to provide her daugh- ter’s name, citing a desire for privacy for the girl. The ban on dreadlocks appears to be a practice ad- opted by some schools, but is not in the law. The court challenge is against both the school and the Ministry of Education. Calls and emails to the min- istry seeking comment were not answered. A spokesman at the prime minister’s office declined to comment, refer- ring the matter to the min- istry. Attempts to reach offi- cials at Kensington Primary School were unsuccessful. Since the injunction was issued, the Ministry of Edu- cation has released intricate guidelines for students’ hair- styles, including permission for females to wear dread- locks if they are neat. Carolyn Cooper, a retired professor of cultural studies at the University of the West Indies, said Rastafarians have experienced discrimi- nation for decades. “This is part of a whole prejudice that has historical antecedents,” she said. The Rastafari movement was initially regarded as a subversive anti-colonial force by the government. Suspicion of its members lingered even after Jamaica became independent in 1962. In 1963, 10 people were killed in a confrontation be- tween police and Rastafar- ians in the community of Coral Gardens in Montego Bay. Hundreds of Rasta- farians were subsequently jailed and some were forc- ibly shorn of their hair. Ja- maica’s prime minister, An- drew Holness, earlier this year issued a formal apology for the crackdown and prom- ised compensation. The dreadlocks issue has not just affected female stu- dents. In 2016, a 3-year-old Jamaican boy was expelled from school after his mother, Donna Amritt, refused to cut his hair. “This is more than a gender-related issue, it is a racial issue,” said Amritt, adding that white children with long hair faced no sim- ilar requirement. Damian Crawford is a senator from the opposi- tion party People’s National Party. He has dreadlocks and has resisted pressure to cut them. “Covertly, even people who support me said I should trim (my dread- locks) to ascend more rap- idly,” he said. © 2018, The Washington Post Virgo’s daughter will start classes this week at Kensington Primary School with her dreadlocks intact after a legal battle that has gone all the way to the Supreme Court of this Caribbean island. Group collects signatures for cruise pier petition A group of volunteers spent Saturday at Hurley’s collecting signatures for a petition calling for a people initiated referendum on the fate of the potential new cruise piers in George town harbor. Campaigners will need 5,288 signatures, and organizers estimated that they received 600 on Saturday. Seated: Kimberly Russell (left) and Monica Thompson. Standing from left: Katrina Jurn, Steff McDermott, Mario Rankin, Ruthanna Young and Yannelis Ebanks. - PHOTO: SPENCER FORDINThe islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com ADVERTISE WITH US: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS DAVID R. LEGGE AND VICKI L. LEGGE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DAVID R. LEGGE EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” After 30 years, the sun sets on Hemingways It was last call for Hemingways last evening, marking 30-plus years as a culinary and social magnet on Seven Mile Beach that attracted the rich, the famous and the rest of us – tourists and resi- dents alike. The history of Hemingways, as far as we know, has never been properly documented but exists mainly in the memories of its patrons and staff. We think this would be an appropriate time to share a few of these recollections with you . . . Hemingways holds a particularly dear place in the hearts of Compass Publishers David and Vicki Legge. In 1988, shortly after the opening of the restaurant at the Hyatt Britannia resort, the Legges were visiting Grand Cayman as tourists. The late Bert Watler, former Serjeant-At-Arms of the Legislative Assembly and head of Hibiscus Realty, helped arrange the trip, and upon learning it was Vicki’s birthday, invited the Legges to a very special lunch at, where else, Cayman’s finest, Hemingways. In the words of Alvin Sluchinski, who served on the wait staff of Hemingways almost from its inception for 11 years – he left in 2010 to pursue a real estate career and, we are pleased to report, is doing very well at Engle & Volkers – recalls that “anyone who was anyone would eventually come to Hemingways.” In the early days, Sluchinski worked alongside Marina Flynn and Alice Ring, both indelibly identified with the restaurant. “Chef Shetty” ran the kitchen at Hemingways for years and, of course, now owns Blue Cilantro just down the street on West Bay Road. Sluchinski himself became an attraction at Heming- ways. Many of Cayman’s professionals and elite would frequent the restaurant, but only if Sluchinski could oversee their service. “Table 45,” for those in the know, was THE table for the “most VIP” of the VIPs. Actors Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman dined there, as did comedian Don Rickles and, yes, mega developer Ken Dart who, in the early days, would arrive with his bodyguards in tow. Best-selling author Dick Frances regularly held court at Table 45. The preferred dish of the Hon. McKeeva Bush in the mid-90s were chicken fingers, even though they weren’t on the menu. (How do we know these things? We’ve got our sources.) Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, chose to dine outside at Hemingways (“Table 70”) for a better view of Cayman’s sea and shore. On more than one night, the “Ukrainians,” in their heyday, would party at Hemingways, drinking the restaurant and the resort dry of Cristal champagne, before heading on to one yacht or another for more late-night merriment. The restaurant in its early years became known as a gathering place for what the staff called “the cute girls.” When a contingent of “cute girls” would arrive, songster James (“Sunny Jim”) White, who enter- tained for many years from his perch in the spotlight, would play a particular riff on his guitar to signal those “in the know” or “on the prowl.” Several of “the cute girls” came to believe that one particular table always had an additional guest – a ghost (or, as ghosts were known in Cayman, a “duppy.”) Longtime staff, however, never could confirm a sighting . . . We could go on, but let’s close with an appro- priate word from Cayman’s own crooner, Barefoot Man, who in past months has been performing one or two evenings at week at Hemingways with Chuck and Barrie Quappe (aka Sea n’ B). They did their “last set” last Wednesday. “I must confess I’m a little bit sad,” said Barefoot. “I know things must move on, but I’m going to miss this place. I sure would like an encore or a rerun for another year or two.” Barefoot was speaking for all of us. MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Keeping the growth locomotive on track The Trump economy has delivered strong growth and low unemployment – now the challenge is to keep it all going. Cutting taxes and clearing out burdensome regulations offer businesses better in- centives to invest but as in Tinkerbell’s admonitions to Wendy, Americans have to believe for it to happen. Despite relentless criti- cism from Democrats on the Hill, the liberal-dominated media and barnstorming so- cialists like Bernie Sanders, the president has persuaded businesses and ordinary folks that good old fashioned capitalism and enlightened self-interest still works. It’s in the numbers. The pace of hiring is up, and Mr. Trump’s economy coming off a big second quarter is av- eraging 2.7 percent growth – that is about 40 percent better than the disappointing performances of Messrs. Bush and Obama. Mr. Trump did inherit a lot of excess capacity from his predecessors. Although the unemployment rate was already at 4.7 percent when he took office, many young people were underemployed – liberal arts majors working as baristas or in professional looking jobs like assistant manager at a bank or retailer that hardly require the skills of a college graduate. Now employers are get- ting more realistic – and practical – by abandoning for new hires requirements for college degrees and highly specific experience and skill sets. That is helping self- taught software engineers get placed at Intel and high school graduates land entry level professional positions at Bank of America. To keep growth in high gear, businesses have to follow through by adding to training budgets and the many private apprenticeship programs that the Depart- ment of Labor certifies and helps young folks identify. The latter are not just in tra- ditional building trades but also in technology, manu- facturing and service indus- tries. Many pay about $15 an hour during training and average starting salaries of $60,000 for those who suc- cessfully complete programs. Beyond these, President Trump is establishing an ad- visory council comprised of corporate, nonprofit, state government and educational leaders that will work to im- plement results-oriented job training programs in class- rooms and workplaces. Too many high schools dropped traditional voca- tional programs in recent de- cades under pressures from tight budgets and to channel students to college. Mostly that resulted in lots of young people who dropped out after a year or two or graduated from a degree program that did not adequately prepare them for the jobs market. The resulting burden of debt, es- pecially for minorities, too often is overwhelming. Job one for the president’s council has to be getting more young people steered from college track and into vo-tech and apprenticeships, and incentivizing states to redirect funds now going to useless university programs back into those areas. Finally, regulation has to make sense – not just for America but for the broader world. Suspending disbelief about the missions of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the World Trade Organization, the bottom line is that American compliance does not mean much if other nations are permitted to vi- olate the rules or intent of those agreements. Handcuffing American in- dustry does little good if Chi- nese emissions are growing in leaps and bounds, and India and other developing nations are simply not ad- hering to the same standards as Western economies. Until they are, more sensible regu- lations for U.S. auto efficiency and overall emissions stan- dards are in order. President Obama rushed through higher gas-mileage standards after to his hor- rors Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election to Mr. Trump. Consequently, freezing CAFE standards at their target for 2020 – fleet averages at about 37 MPG – instead of going all the way to 50 MPG in 2025 would be prudent, and Mr. Trump has initiated the necessary public com- ment processes. While big tariffs on trade with China should not be our end goal, we simply cannot go on destroying millions of jobs and permitting Beijing’s bureaucrats to coerce Amer- ican companies to transfer valuable technology in fron- tier areas like artificial intel- ligence and robotics. If China cannot play by the rules of civilized na- tions – something even the more statist Europeans are now recognizing as a threat – then trade with China must be managed outside the WTO so that we may preserve the global body for trade among Western nations. These are radical changes in policy that will reach deeply into our schools and affect relations with partners abroad but are necessary to keep the locomotive of Amer- ican growth on track. Peter Morici is an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist. © 2018, The Washington Times, LLC PETER MORICI Too many high schools dropped traditional vocational programs in recent decades under pressures from tight budgets and to channel students to college. 5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 OCTOBER , The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman www.breastcancerfoundation.ky info@breastcancerfoundation.ky PRINT MEDIA SPONSOR Featuring Special Guest Speaker Shannen D hert THANK YOU TO OUR SPECIAL MENTION SPONSOR Local entrepreneur goes 3-D with recycled plastic printing MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com A local tavern owner envisions a future where recycling no longer involves separating various plas- tics and hauling them to dedicated dumpsters in the corner of a super- market parking lot. Instead, Douglas “JR” Cameron, thinks repurposing plastic can happen right in your home, and he thinks Cayman can lead the way. “Recycling isn’t just for big cor- porations,” said Mr. Cameron, 38. “Anyone can do it.” To that end, he has turned the front end of one of the three rooms that comprise the Lodge – formerly Whiskey Mist – into a recycling and manufacturing station. He is shred- ding used plastic, running it through an extruder that produces a fila- ment, not unlike the line you might use in a weed wacker. That filament can then be fed into a 3-D printer to create just about anything. He can also take the shaved material and, using baking molds, create flat sheets or circles of plastic. Mr. Cameron picks up two rect- angular slabs of open mesh plastic he made in an oven. “I’m going to use these as menu covers,” he says. He also plans to make serving trays, dominos, coasters and, even- tually, tableware for use in his establishment. The endeavor began when he started making sunglasses sev- eral years ago. A native of Canada’s Scugog Is- land, near Toronto, Mr. Cameron first came to Cayman in 2002 and worked in food and beverage sales. He opened District 6, a nightclub, with a partner and ran it from 2006 to 2008, when he lost everything in a bad business arrangement. Two years later, after working as a man- ager for Cayman’s skate park, he moved to Florida. There, he got involved in com- mercial real estate and met Kiristen Cousins. The couple would later marry, but not before starting a business together. Peripheral Life and Style is an ap- parel company that arranges for 50 percent of its sales to go to organi- zations or individuals with projects or goals that align with the com- pany’s philosophy. The first thing it produced was sunglasses that were manufactured in Taiwan. “From the first box of product that arrived from Asia, my busi- ness partner and I were sick to our stomachs,” Mr. Cameron said. “Plastic products, packed in plastic, surrounded by Styrofoam. We said, ‘We’ve got a major problem.’” He began looking into ways of manufacturing the sun- glasses himself. “I realized the same equipment I could make sunglasses with, I could recycle with,” he said. The idea of recycling “was a more positive project for my community.” In the meantime, he had moved back to Grand Cayman. He worked for Cayman Islands Brewery for five years before opening the Lodge in the Strand. His nights are dominated by bar- tending and running the establish- ment with his partner, Paul Lankford. During the day he works on experi- menting with his new equipment. “We created a multi-use space that, by night, makes revenue and by day becomes a productive social center,” he said. “This is an experi- mental, creative workshop.” “I believe plastic is here forever,” he said. “But the (non-biodegradable) formula for plastic doesn’t have to be here forever. Now they’ve come up with all these alternate formulas.” He’s particularly excited about polylactic acid compounds, which are made from non-petroleum, or- ganic bases such as corn, cas- sava root and sugar cane. Some Cayman supermarkets have recently shifted to the biodegradable mate- rial for their plastic containers and grocery bags. “It’s still bad, but it’s the best plastic,” Mr. Cameron said. “It doesn’t last for a million years and it doesn’t interrupt the endocrine system, at least not that we know of.” Mr. Cameron envisions such things as distributing free reusable containers to Cayman residents to replace single-use containers such as those used at supermarket salad bars. He also wants to develop a small stove with which individ- uals could recycle plastic in their homes, turning used material into keychains or costume jewelry that could be sold. He sees that later as a potential small business model that could benefit poor communities in places such as the Dominican Re- public or Haiti. But first, there’s the matter of helping to save Cayman from its own plastics problem. An increased awareness of how much plastic is generated by the islands’ consumers and how much washes up on the beaches has led to the formation of such groups as Plastic Free Cayman. But cleaning up and shipping recy- clable plastic off the island is only one solution, he said. Another is to repurpose it here. And with the af- fordability of such things as 3-D printers, he believes Cayman is in a perfect position to set an example. “Cayman,” he said, “should be a leader in recycling,” Douglas ‘JR’ Cameron shows off a plastic bowtie he made from recycled plastic. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY Mr. Cameron envisions such things as distributing free reusable containers to Cayman residents to replace single-use containers such as those used at supermarket salad bars.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 cording to Robert Klepper, law- enforcement media spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wild- life Commission. There is no prohibition on who can buy an iguana, Klepper said. Brian Wood, owner of All American Gator, an alligator- processing and iguana-trapping company in Hollywood, is avidly searching for a market for his trapped iguanas. Wood said he captures more than a thousand of the creatures a month. “I feel bad just killing them and wasting it, so I started keeping them,” he said. Now, more than a thousand of the lizards live on his iguana farm in LaBelle, in Hendry County. Because he captures so many, Wood said he feeds some to his alligators and turns others into wallets. “With the number of iguanas I catch, I could make a fortune off selling them if I could find a market,” Wood said. “When I first started selling alligator, people asked, ‘Who would eat alligator?’ Now, I sell 80,000 pounds of it a year.” Florida is not the only place where the lizards run rampant. Green iguanas began to take over Puerto Rico in the early 2000s, undermining road- ways, chomping on native plants and harassing islanders. It was when they started obliterating the island’s crops that residents asked the government for help. A bounty of up to $6 per pound was placed on the crea- tures’ heads. Similar to Florida’s python hunt, the Puerto Rican government issued permits in 2012 for private companies to le- gally hunt iguanas, said Daniel Galan-Kercado, who was secre- tary of Natural Resources for Puerto Rico at the time. “It was very effective in the first two years. They were cap- turing maybe 200 to 300 per week,” Galan-Kercado said. Pri- vate entities paid hunters for iguanas and then processed and exported the meat to the United States, Central America and Asia, he said. Some Puerto Ricans also started farming iguana, and it became a significant industry. Commercializing iguana pro- vided an answer for Puerto Rico, but so far, no iguana-export in- dustry operates in Florida. Moreover, the reptile is far from appearing on most Floridians’ dinner tables. “You just have to try it, though,” said Brittany Peters, who during a recent trip to South Florida made an iguana- inspired meal for the first time. With no experience cooking the beasties, Peters went with a simpler route than roasting the meat over an open flame – she made burritos. Peters shot two green iguanas in the Keys, then skinned, boiled and sau- teed the meat at her relatives’ home in Fort Lauderdale. She boiled the skinned body for about an hour, then picked off the tender meat. She added a chili-lime seasoning from Trader Joe’s before sauteing it with onions. Peters paired the white meat with sour cream, cilantro, avo- cado and lime for a “delicious” reptile burrito. (A note of caution to vet- eran and would-be iguana eaters: Although it is illegal to do so, nuisance iguanas are occasionally poisoned. Be- fore biting into iguana meat, make sure it does not con- tain any poisons or other harmful substances.) As an avid hunter, Peters lets none of the animals she kills go to waste. “If you’re going to par- ticipate in killing them, (iguana) is good enough, healthy enough and tasty enough that you should absolutely take the time to cook it, too,” Peters said. Overall, she gives her recipe three stars, but only because she’s not a chef. “With some classes, I think I could get it to taste even better,” she said. MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS allocated, to finance the cull through the end of 2019. Cullers will be paid $5-a- head for iguanas in a struc- tured payment system that incentivizes them to meet monthly and annual targets. Fred Burton, the man- ager of the DoE’s terrestrial resources unit, said the re- sponse to an initial request for information from Cay- man’s culling community had been strong enough to sug- gest the ambitious 1.4 million target was reachable. The DoE will be respon- sible for licensing cullers but they will report to and be paid by the private cull manager. Individuals or private com- panies can register but must commit to cull a minimum of 5,000 iguanas each year. “We have a mix of com- panies prepared to cull very large numbers of iguanas and some individuals who may be down around that minimum threshold,” Mr. Burton said. He said he was confi- dent that the capacity did exist in Grand Cayman to hit the target. “There are companies that have indicated they will be setting up operations with significant numbers of staff and culling really large num- bers,” he added. He emphasized that regis- tration for cullers would not begin until later in the year and that the current request for proposals is for manage- ment services. It is hoped the cull can begin by mid-October. The cost of the project is estimated at $2.4 million through to the end of this year and $6.9 million for next year, or $9.3 million in total. Mr. Burton said a similar expense would likely be nec- essary in 2020. “Once we start to get the population down, the iguanas are going to be harder to find. The cull target will be smaller (in 2020) but the ef- fort to reach it will be higher. It might need a similar level of effort and expenditure.” If the cull hits its 1.4 mil- lion target, he said it would “overwhelm” the iguana pop- ulation and achieve a signifi- cant reduction in numbers. There are an estimated 1.6 million green iguanas in Grand Cayman currently, though the population ex- pands rapidly each year and a certain number need to be killed simply to keep up with the rate of reproduction. Mr. Burton said performance management would be an important part of the cull manager’s job. “It is very important that we reach the specific targets we are after. If we don’t kill a certain number of iguanas over the coming months, the project won’t be successful.” Gina Ebanks-Petrie said funding for the cull had been discussed with Minister for Environment Dwayne Sey- mour, who was taking the proposal to his colleagues. She acknowledged that disposing of more than a mil- lion iguanas at the landfill site was not an ideal situa- tion but said it was the only viable option. “It’s a matter of the best choice in a situation where there may not be very many good choices,” she added. A Project Steering Com- mittee involving DoE, the Ministry and the cull man- ager will set monthly targets agreed upon with the cullers, address any issues that arise and ensure the project is moving forward efficiently. Companies who are interested in bidding for the cull manager contract should download the RFP from https:// cayman.bonfirehub.com/opportunities. restaurant, removing the pool bar and installing a new bar to the west of the building, enlarging the re- tail area adjacent to West Bay Road and alterations to the back of house and ad- ministrative areas. The submission to the CPA states that the changes are all within the existing envelope of the property and the buildings will re- main largely intact. “Our client’s intention is to complete the renova- tion works to support re- opening of the beach suites as an unbranded Boutique Hotel in late 2018 / early 2019,” it states. Dart has not commented in detail on its plans for the site. A spokeswoman confirmed the closure of Hemingways and referred to an earlier statement, which indicated the long- term future of the restau- rant would be considered as part of a wider hospi- tality project. “Dart is in discussions with a team of real estate and hospitality experts with global experience in creating innovative, immer- sive properties. “The goal is to attract a new generation of cus- tomers to the Cayman Is- lands, diversifying the tourism product and growing market share among the region.” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Dart plans to reopen Seven Mile Beach hotel DoE ready to launch $9 million iguana cull CHICKEN OF THE TREES: Eating South Florida’s iguanas FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – While many people view South Florida’s inva- sive iguana population as an annoyance at best and a pandemic at worst, Ish- meal Asson sees some- thing else: lunch. The Fort Lauderdale resi- dent and native Trinidadian considers eating iguanas to be a way of life. Growing up, Asson learned to roast the is- land critters at roadside and backyard gatherings. Iguana is a staple in the Caribbean, where the reptiles are a na- tive species and are known as “pollo de los árboles,” or chicken of the trees. Their meat contains more protein than chicken, and members of some cultures believe it has medicinal properties. In South Florida, Asson is hardly alone in his taste for cooked iguana. He has more than a dozen friends who eat the animal, and they frequently hunt them using nets, snares and traps. “We are having a cookout this weekend,” he said. Asson said he and his friends use a traditional method of preparing iguana. “First, we cut off the head, then roast (the body) on the fire. You have to roast it with the skin on because it’s easier to take the skin off once it’s roasted,” he said. “Then, we cut it up into pieces and season it with a lot of fresh produce like chives and on- ions. I love to season it with curry and hot pepper, too. It tastes like chicken.” As someone who has eaten iguanas his entire life, Asson still finds humor in eating the prehistoric-looking reptiles. “I prefer to eat it with the skin on,” he said, “because then I know what I’m eating. It kind of gives you a sense of humor, like, ‘This is iguana,’ you know?” While Asson and other South Florida iguana lovers can nab the lizards for free and with little difficulty, their peers in other states order iguana meat from companies such as Exotic Meat Mar- kets. Anshu Pathak, owner of the California-based com- pany, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he imports 10,000 pounds of iguana a month from Florida trappers. He said that his company, which sells such items as lion steak and raccoon sau- sage, is helping to control the iguana population. “I am making iguana sausages, hot dogs, iguana burgers,” Pathak said. “I am trying to do anything and ev- erything to make them pal- atable to the public. The in- dustry is only growing.” He said he sells the meat to customers and restaurants across the United States, of- fering boneless meat for $59.99 per pound and whole, skin-on iguana for $49.99. Pathak said he used to import iguanas from Puerto Rico, but now gets them from trappers in Florida. He said that trappers sometimes send the reptiles frozen, but mostly transport them alive and by airplane. “A lot of my customers want them whole, with guts in,” he said. Pathak said his facility has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Admin- istration. When he receives live iguanas, he said, he puts them in a freezer to kill them. The FDA did not respond to inquiries about the con- sumption and commercial- ization of iguana meat. Selling iguanas re- quires a Florida wildlife li- cense, though a permit is not needed to possess one, ac- Iguanas gather on the seawall in the Three Islands neighborhood of Hallandale Beach. Invasive black and green iguanas are infesting South Florida, knocking out power, wrecking gardens and weakening sea walls. - PHOTO: AP Under a Department of Environment plan, cullers will be paid $5-a-head for iguanas. - PHOTO: MATT LAMERSThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 Libya announces state of emergency Libya’s U.N.-backed government has announced a state of emergency in Tripoli as ongoing fighting has killed some 39 people and wounded 96 others. Fighting erupted between groups from Tripoli against others from a town to the south vying for power. Peppers is closed for expansion and renovations so that we may serve you better. Sorry for the inconvenience. We will keep you posted..... McCain ends 81-year journey with burial at Naval Academy WASHINGTON (AP) – John McCain is being laid to rest at the U.S. Naval Academy after a five-day procession that served as a final call to arms for a nation he warned could lose its civility and sense of shared purpose. The private ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland, was as carefully planned as the rest of McCain’s farewell tour, which began in Arizona after he died Aug. 25 from brain cancer and stretched to Washington. On Saturday, speeches by his daughter Meghan and two former presidents – Re- publican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama – remembered McCain as a patriot who could bridge painful rivalries. But even as their remarks made clear their admiration for him, they represented a repudiation of President Donald Trump’s brand of tough-talking, divi- sive politics. “So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty, traf- ficking in bombast and in- sult and phony controver- sies and manufactured outrage,” Obama said. “It’s a politics that pretends to be brave and tough but in fact is born in fear. John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that.” Bush said one of the great gifts in his life was becoming friends with his former White House rival. He said they would in later years re- call their political battles like former football players re- membering the big game. But mostly Bush recalled a champion for the “for- gotten people” at home and abroad whose legacy will serve as a reminder, even in times of doubt, of the power of America as more than a physical place but a “carrier of human aspirations.” “John’s voice will always come as a whisper over our shoulder — we are better than this, America is better than this,” Bush said. But it was Meghan Mc- Cain’s emotional remarks that most bluntly rebuked Trump, who had mocked her father for getting captured in Vietnam. At the pulpit of the spectacular cathe- dral, with Trump’s daughter Ivanka in the audience, Mc- Cain’s daughter delivered a broadside against the unin- vited president without men- tioning his name. “We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness — the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportu- nistic appropriation of those who lived lives of comfort and privilege while he suf- fered and served,” she said, her voice first choking back tears. “The America of John McCain,” she added, with a reference to Trump’s trade- mark phrase, “has no need to be made great again because America was always great.” The audience of Wash- ington power players erupted in applause. Trump chose to head to his Virginia golf course during Saturday’s service and tweeted his grievances against the FBI and NAFTA throughout the day. Trump sent Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, De- fense Secretary James Mattis and others to the service to represent the administration. The casket of Sen. John McCain arrives at the Washington National Cathedral. - PHOTOS: AP Former President Barack Obama speaks at a memorial service for Sen. John McCain. TRUMP VISITS GOLF COURSE WHILE WASHINGTON MOURNS MCCAIN STERLING, Va. (AP) – For Pres- ident Donald Trump, it was just like any other Saturday. As political dignitaries gathered in Washington to memorialize Sen. John Mc- Cain, the president tweeted familiar grievances and headed to the golf course. McCain’s family had made clear the president was not welcome at the fu- neral for the six-term sen- ator and decorated war vet- eran at the Washington National Cathedral. Seated in the pews were three former presi- dents, a host of lawmakers, and top officials from around the world. The White House did not answer questions about whether Trump played golf or if he watched the service from afar. Dressed in a white polo shirt and baseball hat, Trump left the White House in the morning as the late senator’s daughter, Meghan McCain, delivered an emo- tional address that served as a direct rebuke of Trump. The tributes under way, the presidential motorcade whisked him to Trump Na- tional Golf Club in Virginia. Throughout the day, Trump tweeted gripes about trade talks with Canada and the Justice Department. By midafternoon he had not named McCain. A long-run- ning feud did not end with the senator’s illness and death. Earlier in the week, Trump drew sharp rebukes for of- fering a terse statement about McCain’s death under pres- sure following two days of near-silence.8 WORLD&REGIONAL MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Key players in Kavanaugh hearings, and what’s at stake O’Rourke bets national attention lifts him in Texas race AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – If elec- tions were decided by viral videos and fawning media profiles, Democrat Beto O’Rourke would win Texas’ Senate race in a landslide. Video of the candidate de- fending NFL players’ right to protest during the national anthem had been viewed by millions even before NBA star LeBron James called it a “must-watch.” Another of him thrashing through a Whata- burger parking lot on a skateboard is almost as pop- ular, increasing the onetime punk rocker’s already consid- erable street cred. National magazines are suggesting he could be a Democratic vice presiden- tial pick in 2020 – or even a White House contender, ala a young Barack Obama. Sure, O’Rourke may lose to incum- bent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the argument goes, but just staying competitive in Texas, which has not elected a Democrat to statewide of- fice in nearly a quarter cen- tury, would still further boost his political star. The White House is taking notice. President Donald Trump tweeted that he plans to stage “a major rally” for Cruz in October. Help from the president was long un- thinkable in a race that for months looked like a Cruz cakewalk. The hype machine pow- ering O’Rourke has brought in piles of campaign cash and generated excitement nationally. But it also risks eventual backlash. Voters have often punished candi- dates for getting too big for their political britches – es- pecially if they have not won anything yet. O’Rourke need only look to his opponent for an example of a politi- cian whose ambitions irked voters he needed. Still, the Democrat seems eager to test a Trump-era theory that, with such an outsized personality in the White House, voters may no longer want their politicians to stay humble. O’Rourke has largely welcomed the spotlight. His stance on anthem pro- tests landed him an appear- ance on Ellen DeGeneres’ TV show this week. O’Rourke also has not disavowed de- scriptions of himself as “Ken- nedy-esque,” given his boyish good looks. He livestreams constantly and, in March, when he appeared on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the crowd in Los Angeles cheered so much that the host crowed, “It’s like when the Beatles came to America.” “You can’t control it,” O’Rourke spokesman Chris Evans said of the attention. He disputed the idea that na- tional praise could hurt back home, saying it’s “hard to say we’re not focused on Texas” since O’Rourke just spent 34 days of the congressional summer recess campaigning without leaving the state. O’Rourke himself has shrugged off questions about whether too much attention could create unrealistic ex- pectations. “The whole thing is not something he’s talked about, really,” Evans said. Some Texans think the campaign might want to, though. Ironically, O’Rourke could ask Cruz about this problem. He arrived in the Senate and immediately laid the ground- work for a presidential cam- paign that saw him finish second to Trump in the 2016 primary. Cruz then alienated much of his base by refusing to endorse Trump at that year’s Republican National Convention, and though he’s since embraced the presi- dent, some Texas conserva- tives say they are still wary, seeing what happened at the convention as putting per- sonal ambition over party. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio has also run into issues with political ambition clashing with his day job, and just ask former North Carolina Democratic Sen. John Edwards, who was already fading before word of his affair and a child with his mistress broke, about how well-being dubbed the second coming of Bill Clinton went. Texas Democrats, mean- while, have been down this road before. Wendy Davis staged a marathon state Leg- islature filibuster in the name of abortion rights, rocketed to national stardom and launched a 2014 gubernato- rial bid. Like O’Rourke, Davis was a strong fundraiser and the toast of liberals from Hollywood to Brooklyn. Largely unable to define her- self beyond abortion, which resonated nationally but not at home, Davis eventually lost by 20-plus points to Re- publican Gov. Greg Abbott. Cruz’s internal polling is starting to show a much tighter race, those close to his campaign say. Supreme Court nomi- nation hearings are osten- sibly one of the few moments when senators set aside poli- tics and review a president’s pick for one of the most con- sequential jobs in the land on his or her merits. But that is so not the case here. The Senate’s hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh start Tuesday, in a uniquely hyperpartisan political mo- ment, just two months before congressional elections and two years before another re- ally big election for president. In other words, it’s a safe assumption that most ev- eryone in that room will be driven by their own polit- ical narratives. Aides on both sides of the aisle say to ex- pect fireworks. So let’s break down some of the big players and their motives to understand what to expect in the Kava- naugh hearings. Kavanaugh Let’s start with the most obvious player, who perhaps has the most obvious mo- tive. Kavanaugh wants this job, and he is fully aware that nearly half the room does not want him to get it. He’s also possibly aware of how thin is the ice he stands on. If all Senate Democrats vote against him, Republicans can afford only one or two “no” votes, depending on when the vote happens and when John McCain’s replacement arrives in the Senate. Ka- vanaugh knows he has no room for error. Expect that caution to manifest in an avoidance of any questions about how he would decide certain cases, especially on hot-button is- sues like abortion, terrorism and presidential powers. Jus- tice Neil Gorsuch perfected this say-nothing strategy in his confirmation hearings last year, when he would not even give his opinion on something like the Second Amendment, saying it would be improper for him to come to a case with a publicly stated prede- termined opinion. Potential 2020-ers Perhaps no committee is as chock-full of rumored Democratic presidential can- didates as the Senate Ju- diciary Committee. Sena- tors Cory Booker, D-N.J., Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., are all potential 2020 candi- dates who will have a mo- ment in the spotlight ques- tioning Kavanaugh. There are any number of ways these senators can le- verage this moment, but a big one will be by trying to pin Kavanaugh on his views about presidential powers as they pertain to Trump. Once downright angry about Presi- dent Bill Clinton’s misdoings, Kavanaugh has since written that criminal investigations of sitting presidents aren’t in the public interest. These Democrats can juxtapose any sympathy Ka- vanaugh might express for the president with just how little of it they themselves feel for Trump. Given that there are factions of the Democratic base that want Trump impeached, that might be a smart strategy to get noticed. The never-Trump Republicans There are two to four Republicans on the com- mittee who could be classi- fied as antagonists to Trump to some degree. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has introduced a bill to stop Trump from firing special counsel Robert Mueller III. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska is a reliable critic when Trump steps outside Repub- lican orthodoxy. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is an enemy turned golf buddy of Trump who is not afraid to criticize the presi- dent on occasion. But it’s Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona who may have the most to get off his chest in this hearing, points out Cor- nell law professor and consti- tutional expert Josh Chafetz. The hearings come a little more than a week after Flake’s friend and colleague, McCain, died – and Trump showed zero interest in hon- oring McCain as the rest of Washington saw fit. Senate Democratic leaders There are very few un- decided votes on the Kava- naugh nomination. But if Democratic leaders on this committee, like Senate Democrats’ No. 2, Richard Durbin, think there is an opening to pick off a couple of Republican votes, expect them to hit hard on how Ka- vanaugh feels about abortion, Chafetz predicted. Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have said they want a justice who will respect that abor- tion is legal. That might be a lost cause, though. Collins and Murkowski have both given indications they will sup- port Kavanaugh. Or plan B: Set the stage for good midterm elections. Senate Democratic leaders could ditch any real effort to keep Kavanaugh off the court and instead focus on rallying their base by talking about future nomination battles. Kavanaugh will maintain the court’s current 5-to-4 conser- vative lean, but another Su- preme Court opening during Trump’s presidency could cement a strong conserva- tive majority on the court for a generation. If you hear Democrats talk about future Supreme Court vacancies during the Kava- naugh hearings, what you are really hearing is: Help Senate Democrats get the majority in 2018 to avoid this doomsday scenario, liberal voters. The clock: Run it out, or speed it up? Republicans want Kava- naugh on the court as soon as possible – like within the next month. That would allow them to campaign for Novem- ber’s elections on the fact that they put not one but two con- servative Supreme Court jus- tices on the bench, which would be a useful palate- cleanser after their failure last summer to repeal Obamacare. Democrats do not mind if the Kavanaugh confirmation process takes a while. They have already accused Repub- licans of moving too quickly. © 2018, The Washington Post President Bush watches the swearing-in of Brett Kavanaugh as judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2006 at the White House by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. - PHOTO: AP U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke speaks at a town hall event Aug. 30 in Midland, Texas. - PHOTO: AP9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 German police end anti-migrant march CHEMNITZ, Germany (AP) – Police in eastern Germany brought an early close Sat- urday to an anti-migrant march that far-right activ- ists hoped would launch a nationwide movement to challenge the political es- tablishment, with the fatal stabbing of a German citizen as the catalyst. A trio of nationalist groups held separate rallies in the city of Chemnitz over the Aug. 26 slaying for which a Syrian and an Iraqi citizen were arrested. The two largest groups also organized their first joint march, a display of unity meant to build on other protests since the killing and a potent force to take hold. Saxony state police cited security concerns for halting the march after more than an hour, producing screams and whistles from demon- strators as officers moved in to clear the streets but no vi- olence or vandalism as the crowd dispersed. The progress of the far- right march had been inter- rupted several times before then as counter-protesters blocked the route and the sizeable police contingent on hand rushed to keep them and the marchers apart. Saxony police estimated the event had 4,500 partici- pants and 4,000 counter-pro- testers. If attendance is any gauge, the numbers revealed a movement in an early embry- onic stage at best rather than approaching a mainstream arrival that could be hastened by well-timed pushes. The emboldened far-right activists had reason to be op- timistic and local authori- ties to be worried after the opposing camps clashed in Chemnitz on Monday, the day after the 35-year-old German man’s death. Scenes of vigi- lantes chasing foreigners in the city’s streets have shocked people in others parts of Ger- many since then. Police, at times, were un- able to control the earlier protests and clashes. Leaders of the two groups that combined forces on Saturday night culti- vated a different image for the “mourning march,” wearing dark suits and car- rying white roses. However, the mood at the event bringing together previ- ously isolated clusters of na- tionalists – from lawmakers to Hitler-saluting skinheads – darkened as the sun set. People from both ends of the political spectrum could be seen drinking beer and shouting slurs at police. The tension in the air re- flected the polarization over Germany’s ongoing effort to come to terms with an influx of more than 1 million refu- gees and migrants seeking jobs since 2015. The right blames Chan- cellor Angela Merkel’s deci- sion to allow in hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers from war-torn countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan for multiple problems. Some far-right supporters argued before the killing in Chem- nitz that migrants are re- sponsible for an increase in serious crimes, especially at- tacks on women. The anti-migrant sen- timent has been particu- larly strong in Saxony state, traditional strongholds of groups that sought to in- spire a nationwide move- ment on Saturday night: the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or PEGIDA, and the far- right Alternative for Ger- many party, which has won seats in federal and state parliaments with an anti- Muslim platform. While the share of for- eigners residing in Saxony re- mains below Germany’s na- tional average and displays of Nazi symbols are outlawed across the shame-marked country, far-right sympa- thizers mobilized with ex- ceptional speed on the night of the Chemnitz slaying and the days after. German Justice Minister Katarina Barley said Sat- urday that authorities should investigate the role of net- works from the radical far right in spearheading the week’s protests. “We do not tolerate that right-wing extremists infil- trate our society,” Barley told weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag. “It’s about finding out who’s behind the mobili- zation of far-right criminals.” Local police appeared to have been caught unprepared when the slaying triggered the protests, which attracted crowds openly engaging in Nazi veneration and devolved into violence. The protests were sparked by a fatal stabbing early Sunday morning of a 35-year- old German man, Daniel Hillig. Two asylum-seekers, a 22-year-old Iraqi and a 23-year-old Syrian, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. German Interior Min- ister Horst Seehofer, known for his anti-migrant stance, said Saturday that he un- derstood why “the people in Chemnitz and elsewhere are upset about the brutal killing” but added “there’s no excuse for violence,” Funke Media Group reported. “We need a strong state and we have to do everything politically to overcome the po- larization and division of our society,” Seehofer stressed. Police separate leftist and nationalist demonstrators in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, Saturday. - PHOTO: DPA VIA AP Foreign minister to Germans: Get off the couch, fight racism CHEMNITZ, Germany (AP) – Germany’s foreign min- ister told his fellow coun- trymen Sunday they are too lazy when it comes to bat- tling racism and fighting for democracy. “We have to get off the couch and open the mouth,” Heiko Maas said in an in- terview with weekly Bild am Sonntag. “Our genera- tion was given freedom, rule of law and democracy as a present. We didn’t have to fight for it; (now) we’re taking it too much for granted.” Maas’ comments fol- lowed Saturday’s demonstra- tions by about 4,500 far-right protesters in Chemnitz, who were rallying against migra- tion a week after a German was killed in the eastern city, allegedly by two migrants from Iraq and Syria. Around 4,000 leftist protesters also marched through the city in a counter-protest, and 1,800 police officers were deployed to keep the groups apart. Eighteen people, in- cluding three police officers, were injured during the ral- lies, which at times were very tense, especially after police ended a march of the far right groups early. After the rallies were over, small groups clashed with each other, police reported. Soeren Bartol, a lawmaker with the Social Democrats, tweeted that after the end of the protests he and his group “were attacked by Nazis” who destroyed their party flags and physically attacked some of them. Far-right activists and leftist groups had already clashed in Chemnitz on Monday, a day after the 35-year-old German man’s death. Scenes of vigilantes chasing foreigners in the city’s streets have shocked people in others parts of Ger- many since then. The tension that has built up over the past week in Chemnitz, reflects the growing polarization over Germany’s ongoing effort to come to terms with an in- flux of more than 1 mil- lion refugees and migrants seeking jobs since 2015. The far right has con- stantly criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow in hundreds of thou- sands of asylum-seekers from war-torn countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. On Monday, thousands of people are expected to travel to Chemnitz again, this time, however, to visit a free open air concert that has been quickly organized by some of the country’s most popular bands, including the rock group Tote Hosen, as a stand against far-right nationalism and anti-migrant prejudice. DUTCH AUTHORITIES: STABBING SUSPECT HAD ‘TERRORIST MOTIVE’ THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – The U.S. State Department of- fered help Sunday to inves- tigators in the Netherlands who are treating the stab- bings of two American tour- ists at Amsterdam’s main railway station as a possible extremist attack. At a hospital on Sunday, detectives questioned the 19-year-old Afghan citizen who is a suspect in the Friday stabbings. Amsterdam police shot and wounded him. Am- sterdam Police spokesman Ruben Sprong said the sus- pect was scheduled to appear at a closed hearing with an in- vestigating judge on Monday. The Americans also remained hospitalized with “serious but non-life threat- ening injuries,” Sprong said. Their identities haven’t been made public. Dutch authorities said the suspect has a German residency permit and that his home in Germany was searched for the stabbing in- vestigation. The city govern- ment in Amsterdam said Saturday that, based on the suspect’s first statements, “he had a terrorist motive.” UK prime minister says no, again, to second Brexit vote Heiko Maas LONDON (AP) – Britain’s prime minister has again spoken out against calls for a second referendum on Britain’s decision to split with the European Union. Theresa May wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that it would be a “gross betrayal of our democracy” to have another vote. She said “millions came out to have their say” in the June 2016 vote that set Brexit in motion. Her embattled govern- ment has faced increasingly strident calls for another vote once the terms of Brit- ain’s future relations with the EU are known. The prime minister used the column to defend her “Chequers pro- posal” that would maintain some ties with the EU, and said she won’t be pushed around by EU negotiators. Britain is expected to leave the EU in March and enter a transition phase. “Our generation was given freedom, rule of law and democracy as a present. We didn’t have to fight for it; (now) we’re taking it too much for granted.” HEIKO MAAS, Germany’s foreign minister “We do not tolerate that right-wing extremists infiltrate our society.” KATARINA BARLEY, German justice minister Next >