ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2019 High of 90 Low of 78 Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet. SPORT | PAGE 14 CAYMAN COMES THROUGH LATE TO SEAL DRAW IN U-14 TOURNAMENT LOCAL | PAGE 5 THE CRUISE PORT DEAL: READERS’ QUESTIONS ANSWERED Divers discover ‘train wreck’ off East End Find sparks history mystery JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky Dive shop owner Steve Broadbelt thought he had seen it all. That was until he stumbled across a train wreck in the shallow waters off East End. Partially buried in sand and encrusted in coral growth, a collection of wheelsets for old- fashioned train carriages may have lay, hidden in plain sight, for more than a century. Broadbelt, the owner of Ocean Frontiers dive shop in East End, stumbled across the wreckage while doing maintenance work on the shop’s underwater web cams. “We were diving close to the south channel and I just spotted the outline of some- thing unusual in the distance. It looked man made,” he said. When he and colleague Blair Lavelle who were using underwater dive scooters, took a closer look, they found multiple sets of axles and wheels. Now he is working with the Cayman Is- lands National Museum to determine the or- igin of the mysterious fi nd. Initial inquiries revealed no known record of a ship carrying train stock going down in waters off East End. Broadbelt has surveyed the site on sev- eral occasions since making the discovery last week and has sent images and measure- ments to Peggy Leshikar-Denton, the director of the museum. RCIPS looking at building new station in West Bay MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@compassmedia.ky A section of land on Batabano Road has been cleared for the possible construction of a new police station for West Bay. The 2.7-acre parcel is just east of the current station. The swampy ground that has been exposed is being assessed to see if it is suitable for construction of a building that has, at this point, no archi- tectural plan. Few details are available about the poten- tial project. “As we are early on in this exercise, there is no estimated cost for the overall project,” a statement from the Royal Cayman Islands Po- lice Force said. “A range of building options are still being considered. The current time frame for the project is approximately two to three years.” But Police Commissioner Derek Byrne said his offi cers cannot remain in the existing sta- tion indefi nitely. “The current police station on West Church Street is in a very poor state and beyond eco- nomic repair, with a number of structural def- icits and health and safety concerns that are well documented,” Byrne said in the state- ment. “A new police station is a necessity to meet both the current and future policing needs of the district and the island.” PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » Steve Broadbelt hovers over the newly discovered wreckage. - PHOTO: ALEX MUSTARD2 LOCAL®IONAL WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS BREAKTHROUGH (PG) 1:25 I 4:10 I 7:15 I 10:00 SUN: 4:10 I 7:15 I 10:00 KALANK (PG) 3:10 I 9:00 (SAT ONLY) I 9:30 (NO SAT) SUN: 3:10 I 9:20 LITTLE (PG13) 12:30 I 3:25 (SAT ONLY) I 3:50 (NO SAT) 6:50 I 9:45 SUN: 3:50 I 6:50 I 9:35 DUMBO (PG) 10:30 (SAT ONLY) I 4:35 I 7:15 (NO SAT) (PG13) THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA (R) 1:10 VIP I 4:35 I 7:00 VIP I 10:15 HELLBOY (R) 12:35 (SAT ONLY) I 1:00 I 6:10 (SAT ONLY) I 6:45 SHAZAM! (PG13) 1:30 I 3:40 VIP I 7:15 I 9:30 VIP SUN: 3:40 VIP I 4:40 I 6:40 VIP 8:00 I 9:40 VIP KIDS CLUB: • 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. - WEDNESDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) F&F HOBBS & SHAW (PG13) 12:40 VIP | 1:05 3D | 3:45 VIP | 4:05 | 6:45 VIP | 7:10 3D | 9:35 | 9:50 VIP SPIDER-MAN FAR (PG13) FROM HOME 12:30 3D | 3:45 | 6:50 3D | 9:50 TOY STORY 4 (G) 2:35 | 5:05 A SCORE TO SETTLE (R) 1:50 | 7:35 | 10:05 STUBER (R) 12:15 | 4:30 | 10:15 THE LION KING (2019) (PG) 12:45 | 3:45 3D | 6:30 | 9:15 3D BRING THE SOUL: (PG) THE MOVIE 7:00 Pines home gets new donated vehicle The Pines Retirement Home has a new truck to help with its deliveries, col- lection of food supplies and household donations, thanks to Maples Group. The company donated the multipurpose vehicle last week to The Pines to as- sist the organisation in con- ducting its day-to-day op- erations more efficiently, including transporting med- ical equipment to and from the home, and the transporta- tion of residents to and from medical appointments. Andre Ebanks, deputy chief officer in the Ministry of Community Affairs, was instrumental in bringing this sponsorship to frui- tion, working closely with the Maples Group to iden- tify local community projects, and also with The Pines Re- tirement Home to identify funding and support require- ments, according to a Maples press release. “We are pleased to con- tinue to support The Pines Retirement Home and hope that the new vehicle will en- hance the overall care of the residents. Their continued ef- forts to provide critical care and services to our senior community members is very important to us,” said Paul Lumsden, managing partner of the Maples Group’s legal services division in the Cayman Islands. “We are so blessed to have an organisation such as Maples Group who sup- port our mission for the care of Older Persons in the Cayman Islands. We have a long-standing partnership with them and our board of directors, residents and staff are most grateful for the do- nation of this new vehicle and for their continued sup- port,” said Pines manager Lynda Mitchell. Previously, the Maples Group and its staff have pro- vided funding for the new Pines building, volunteered at the retirement home’s annual Thanksgiving Day luncheon, decorated the home during the Christmas holiday period and served as board members. The Pines Retirement Home was established in 1983. It is a 48-bed non-profit full-time residential facility that provides nursing care for older persons within the Cayman Islands commu- nity. Its services include res- idential, respite, day and as- sisted living care for older people who suffer from a va- riety of chronic conditions associated with ageing. Cur- rently, 39 seniors reside at The Pines Retirement Home. LIONS CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN HOSTS PINES PARTY The Lions Club of Grand Cayman hosted its annual birthday party for residents of The Pines on Saturday. The club has held a party at the retirement club each year for the past three decades. On Saturday, Lions Club members and Miss Teen Cayman Islands contestants attended the party, which has become a mainstay on the so- cial calendar of the retirement home. Together they celebrated birthdays while sharing sto- ries, laughter and smiles. Residents also enjoyed singing, prayers and fel- lowship, as well as some Cayman cooking. “Having the diverse age groups all uniting for this great cause is a proud ex- ample of this year’s Lions President Cordella Chollette’s theme: Proud Past, New Voices, Exciting Future,” the club said in a statement. U.S. FREEZES VENEZUELA GOV’T ASSETS IN ESCALATION WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration froze all Venezuelan gov- ernment assets Monday in a dramatic escalation of tensions with Nicolás Ma- duro that places his so- cialist administration alongside a short list of ad- versaries from Cuba, North Korea, Syria and Iran that have been targeted by such aggressive US actions. The ban blocking Amer- ican companies and in- dividuals from doing business with Maduro’s government and its top supporters, which takes ef- fect immediately, is the first of its kind in the western hemisphere in over three decades, following an asset freeze against Gen. Ma- nuel Noriega’s government in Panama and a trade em- bargo on the Sandinista leadership in Nicaragua in the 1980s. While the order falls short of an outright trade embargo – notably, it spares Venezuela’s still sizable pri- vate sector – it represents the most sweeping US ac- tion to remove Maduro since the Trump adminis- tration recognised opposi- tion leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s rightful leader in January. Critically, it also exposes foreign enti- ties doing business with the Maduro government to US retaliation. “The apparent goal is to give the US the ability to apply the law beyond its borders to allies of Maduro like China, Russia, Cuba, Iran and Turkey,” said Russ Dallen, the Miami-based head of Caracas Capital Markets brokerage. “Should those foreign entities con- tinue doing business with Maduro they can have their US assets seized.” The executive order signed by President Donald Trump justified the move by citing Maduro’s “continued usurpation of power” and human rights abuses by se- curity forces loyal to him. US National Security Adviser John Bolton hinted earlier Monday that far- reaching US action was close at hand. Speaking to reporters on the eve of an international conference in Peru to show support for Guaidó, he said that the US was readying measures “that will show the deter- mination that the United States has to get a peaceful transfer of power”. The measures are likely to exacerbate suffering in already moribund economy marked by six-digit hyper- inflation and a deep, multi- year contraction that sur- passes that of the Great Depression in the US. Previous sanctions tar- geting the South American nation’s oil industry, the source of almost all of its export earnings, have al- ready accelerated a crash in oil production that started with Maduro’s election in 2013 following the death of his mentor Hugo Chavez. Exceptions will be al- lowed for the delivery of food, medicine and clothing. Transactions with Venezuela’s still sizable pri- vate sector do not appear to be affected either. From left, Andre Ebanks, deputy chief officer in the Ministry of Community Affairs, Pines manager Lynda Mitchell and Maples Group’s Paul Lumsden with The Pines’ new truck. Members of the Lions Club of Grand Cayman and Miss Cayman Universe contestants gather outside the Pines Retirement Home on Saturday. Road trip for Miss Cayman Universe contestants Motorists and pedes- trians will get to see the six young women competing to this year’s Miss Cayman Uni- verse when the contestants take to the road Saturday in an annual motorcade across Grand Cayman. The road tour of the is- land is scheduled to begin at 8:30am at the Royal Watler Cruise Terminal in George Town and travel to West Bay, making a stop at the Cayman Turtle Centre. It will then move south for a stop in central George Town in the vicinity of the Public Li- brary and Legislative As- sembly building. The motorcade will then travel towards Bodden Town, stopping at the White House, before heading towards East End and stopping at the East End Heritage Field. The procession is expected to return to the Royal Watler Cruise terminal by 4pm. Police are advising mo- torists to exercise caution on Saturday, and to expect slight delays if travelling behind the motorcade. Last year’s Miss Cayman Universe contestants take part in the annual motorcade. This year’s beauty queens will hold their own motorcade on Saturday, 10 Aug. – PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY3 LOCAL NEWS KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@compassmedia.ky Lawyers for the Caribbean Utilities Company have mo- tioned for two rebuttal ar- guments raised by Howard Industries to be dismissed by the court in ongoing lit- igation over defective elec- trical equipment. CUC is suing the Missis- sippi-based manufacturer over claims that it sold the company defective equip- ment, costing Cayman’s power provider “millions of dollars” in damages. Howard Industries has filed for a partial summary judgment in the case, which would avoid some of the pain of a full trial by the US Southern District Court of Mississippi. CUC first filed a complaint in November 2017 alleging that numerous stainless-steel distribution transformers purchased from Howard In- dustries between 2000 and 2016 were defective and eventually failed. “Such defects were la- tent, and it took time for the latent defects to manifest,” CUC stated in its November 2017 filing. The two parties failed to come to a settlement last year and now Howard has submitted evidence alleging that CUC did not practise due diligence after discovering the problem with the trans- formers in June 2011. “CUC had ongoing knowl- edge after June 2011 that the transformers continued to leak,” reads a 29 July submis- sion to the court by Howard Industries. “CUC’s internal emails in 2013 definitively show CUC continuously knew the trans- former leaks CUC identi- fied to Howard in June 2011 were an ongoing issue, and that CUC did not exercise due diligence. … “CUC could and should have hired a consultant in 2011. CUC admits it could have hired a consultant in June 2011 to do a root- cause analysis of the leaking Howard transformers, but it failed to do so.” In response, CUC’s law- yers argue that the new evi- dence was improperly sub- mitted by Howard Industries during the rebuttal stage and should be stricken. “Although Howard’s orig- inal motion relied exclusively on June 2011 as the trigger date for its statute of limi- tations arguments, Howard now raises purported CUC communications from 2013 to support a new theory about ‘ongoing knowledge’ in support of its summary judgment arguments,” CUC’s 5 Aug. response states. “Because those 2013 com- munications were not ad- dressed in Howard’s moving papers, CUC did not have a chance to oppose Howard’s arguments regarding the supposed ‘ongoing knowl- edge’ issue or to otherwise put the new out-of-context emails into perspective.” CUC has requested a second argument by Howard Industries be stricken on the same grounds. In this argument, Howard Industries states, “CUC con- templated asserting a claim against Howard years before any alleged inducement not to file a lawsuit allegedly oc- curred, and CUC had an af- firmative plan to try to get Howard to admit liability.” CUC’s lawyers say the utility company was not pro- vided an opportunity to ad- dress the assertion and that the new argument mischar- acterises the evidence. The attorneys have requested that the evidence be stricken or that the company be provided time to submit a rebuttal to Howard’s new evidence. CAYMAN COMPASS WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2019 The past is paper. The future is paperless. By using our online member portal, employers and members can manage account information anytime, anywhere. Visit www.silverthatch.org.ky for more information or email support@silverthatch.org.ky The future is secure with us. Change of address Reduce submission errors Salary change Automate processes Beneficiary change Increase efficiency Updating marital status Stay organized Police name dirt bike accident victim Police ask for witnesses Police named the deceased victim of an accident in- volving a dirt bike as 57-year- old Virgil Bush of West Bay. Bush was riding the bike along Watercourse Road on Sunday evening when he re- portedly lost control of the bike and fell into the oppo- site lane, in front of an on- coming vehicle. He was responsive at the scene and was taken to hospital, police said, but succumbed to his inju- ries overnight. Investigators are ap- pealing to anyone who was in the area on the day of the incident and may have seen what took place to come for- ward and speak to the police. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the George Town Police Station at 949-4222 or the Traffic Department at 649-6254. CUC argues against new evidence in defective equipment lawsuit Lawyers for CUC, headquartered in George Town, are opposing new evidence from Howard Industries alleging that the power company did not practise due diligence regarding defective equipment.WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 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: Compass Media Limited Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town, Cayman Islands SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman, KY1-1108 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@compassmedia.ky ADVERTISE WITH US: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@compassmedia.ky Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHER KATHLEEN CAPETTA EDITOR CATHERINE MACGILLIVRAY A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way” This trade war will get out of control DANIEL W. DREZNER I have been researching, writing and speaking about economic statecraft for more than two decades. I know some things. On occasion, people pay me to talk about what works, what does not and what is likely to happen. And when I talk about the myriad kinds of eco- nomic statecraft that could be in play, I always save the ‘deter- rence via mutual interde- pendence’ category for last. It is both the rarest and most important category. The basic argument is that if two coun- tries are mutually vulnerable to disruption of bilateral ex- change, then it this depend- ence has a deterring function. The likelihood of economic conflict escalating between two close trading partners is low. Former Treasury Sec- retary Larry Summers once described the Sino-Amer- ican relationship in this way, calling it a “balance of finan- cial terror.” There is a catch, however. Mutually assured destruction ensured geopolitical stability during the Cold War, but an- yone who lived through that era can tell you that the as- surance part of it was clear only in retrospect. At the time, it made everyone very jittery. This did not matter too much for nuclear deterrence, be- cause only the leaders of the United States and USSR had decision-making authority. In an economic conflict, there are more decision-makers, more chances for trembling hands, and less of an under- standing of the carnage that can be wreaked from an all- out economic conflict. So while deterrence from mu- tual interdependence should function as a deterrent, there is no guarantee that it will. If matters do escalate, then the speed of financial markets reacting can be as quick as that of a second-strike mis- sile launch. I raise all of this because since I warned readers last week that Donald Trump was sanctioning the US economy, things have gone from bad to worse. A meeting between US and Chinese negotia- tors in Shanghai did not go well. Trump, in response, an- nounced a new 10% tariff to be implemented by Sep- tember over the objections of his economic team. China, in turn, retaliated in two ways. First, according to CNBC’s Kate Rooney, “a spokesperson for the Chi- nese Ministry of Commerce said Chinese companies have stopped purchasing US agri- cultural products in response to President Trump’s new 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods.” Second, China stopped defending the yuan to keep it above the seven-to-one exchange rate with the dollar. Given that Xi Jinping called on Chinese cit- izens to “brace for a period of hardship,” it is possible that further moves, including cit- izen boycotts, a rare earths embargo and the targeting of US firms in China, could be on the horizon. And how has the Trump administration responded? By taking the symbolic but extraordinary step of label- ling China a currency ma- nipulator for - wait for it - not manipulating its cur- rency enough. US equity markets did not have a good day on Monday, and futures trading suggests even more bad news will be coming tomorrow. Could this escalation of tensions be reduced? I’m get- ting more and more dubious. The problem is that there is no bilateral deal that both sides can credibly commit to. Others are making this point as well. Edward Alden cor- rectly notes in Foreign Policy that by May of this year, “Chi- nese leaders became con- vinced that the Trump ad- ministration would never do a deal on terms they could accept and turned to other ways to shore up the economy.” I have little faith in Trump’s resolve to stand firm, but even he would be hard- pressed to do a 180 on this issue as tension ratchet up. A few days ago Paul Krugman characterised the Sino-American conflict as a “quagmire.” Others are using similar military analogies, likening it to a “forever war.” My fear is that these analo- gies are too optimistic. The past 24 hours alone dem- onstrates that this will not be a low-intensity conflict. This has the potential to get out of control extremely quickly. And no matter how dispassionately one tries to game this out, Cato Insti- tute trade lawyer Scott Linci- come’s point still holds: “The guy who lost money selling steaks, vodka, gambling and football may soon be piloting a global currency war, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we’ll be lucky to live through it. Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Bolsonaro’s wish to chop away Amazon is everyone’s problem One of the easiest ways to combat climate change is to stop tearing down old trees. This is why it is everyone’s problem that new Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro seems determined to chop away at the Amazon rain- forest, the world’s greatest reserve of old-growth forest. According to a recent analysis in The New York Times, “enforcement actions by Brazil’s main environ- mental agency fell by 20% during the first six months of the year, compared with the same period in 2018”. Fines, warnings and the elimination of illegal equip- ment from preservation zones are among the meas- ures Brazil’s authorities are doing less often. “The drop means that vast stretches of the rain forest can be torn down with less resistance from the nation’s authorities.” The result has been a loss of 1,330 square miles of rain- forest since January, a loss rate that is some 40 percent higher than a year previous, according to Brazilian gov- ernment records. Bolsonaro has called his own government’s information “lies,” stripped the environ- ment ministry of authorities and slashed the environmental budget. When eight former en- vironment ministers protested in May, current environment minister Ricardo Salles al- leged that there is a “perma- nent and well-orchestrated defamation campaign by [non- governmental organisations] and supposed experts, within and outside of Brazil.” In its reality denial, Bol- sonaro’s brand of right-wing populism closely resembles that of US President Donald Trump. Both leaders stoke unfounded suspicions that environmental concerns rep- resent foreign plots to under- mine the domestic economy. Both are committed to breakneck resource extrac- tion while dismissing ex- pert warnings. And both lead nations with special re- sponsibilities in the global fight against climate change. Global warming cannot be successfully addressed without the engagement of the United States, the world’s largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases and erst- while leader. The Brazilian Amazon, meanwhile, is a unique natural treasure, its abundance of plant life in- haling and storing loads of planet-warming carbon di- oxide day and night. Without ‘the world’s lungs’, life on the planet is doomed. © 2019, The Washington Post Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, centre, with United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, right, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, before holding talks at the Xijiao Conference Center in Shanghai on 31 July. - PHOTO: AP An area of deforested rainforest in the Amazon. - PHOTO: AP5 REGIONAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2019 AIRFARES NOW ON SALE *The quoted sale fares are based on roundtrip economy class purchase for travel from Grand Cayman. The following additional government and airport taxes and fees apply: up to CI$110.72 roundtrip for travel to New York, Miami, and Tampa; up to CI$159.58 roundtrip for travel to Kingston and Montego Bay; and up to CI$97.62 for travel to La Ceiba, Roatan, and Havana. Government and airport taxes and fees are subject to change without notice. No minimum or maximum stay is required. All tickets must be purchased within one day of booking or by August 10, 2019, whichever is earlier. These sale fares are valid for travel from September 6, 2019 through November 7, 2019. The Miami and Tampa sale fares are not available for travel from October 21-27, 2019. All segments must be confirmed. Seats are limited for these sale fares and may not be available on every flight at the time of booking. The following change fees apply: CI$126 plus any fare difference for travel from Grand Cayman to any US gateway; CI$63 plus any fare difference for travel from Grand Cayman to all other international gateways. Fares are non-refundable and non-transferable. In case of no show, ticket has no value. For connecting flights to/from the Sister Islands, an additional through-fare of up to CI$65.94 roundtrip will apply, with no overnight on Grand Cayman. Let’s go BoBo! HONDURAS 121 * CI$ JAMAICA 105 * CI$ HAVANA 121 * CI$ MIAMI 71 * CI$ NEW YORK 143 * CI$ TAMPA 138 * CI$ BOOK BY AUGUST 10, 2019 *Quoted fares are roundtrip from Grand Cayman, and taxes & fees are additional. Restrictions apply. THE CRUISE PORT DEAL: Readers’ questions answered JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky Last week, the Cayman Islands government held a press conference to announce Verdant Isle Port Partners as the preferred bidder for the cruise and cargo port. The Compass featured an exten‑ sive report on the key ques‑ tions and answers about the deal that were addressed by the government. We asked readers to submit any ques‑ tions they felt were not an‑ swered in that story, and we endeavour to answer those questions here. Does Verdant Isle have the right to the revenue stream for a limited period of time or does this last indefinitely? Verdant Isle will take around US$8 per passenger for 25 years in return for de‑ signing, building, financing and maintaining the port. Based on 2 million passen‑ gers, they would take around $16 million per year. That fee has a 2.5% annual increase dialled in, so the fees would increase slightly each year to account for inflation. Government will still take around US$10 per passenger for an assortment of taxes, port fees and environmental protection fees. After 25 years, the full revenue stream re‑ verts to government. How much bigger is the cargo port going to be? Numerous options were considered for the cargo port, including a longer pier that could allow for much larger ships. Of the three options pro‑ posed by Verdant Isle, gov‑ ernment eventually opted for the least expensive, bringing in the project for CI$196.5 million. That means the redevelopment will de‑ liver 30,000 additional square feet of space on the dock for cargo and a new third berth for cargo ships. The expansion is expected to be adequate to meet Cay‑ man’s cargo needs for at least the next 10‑15 years. How exactly are Carnival and Royal Caribbean involved? The two cruise lines are partners in Verdant Isle, which is a consortium set up to bid on the port pro‑ ject. The other partners are McAlpine Cayman Ltd. and Orion Marine Construction. Verdant Isle is funding the CI$196.5 million construc‑ tion project through its own capital (40%) and a bank loan (60%). What happens if the project goes over budget? Based on what govern‑ ment has said, it appears that the risk and reward is all on Verdant Isle. If it goes over budget, it will presum‑ ably take longer for the com‑ pany to make its money back when it starts collecting rev‑ enue from the port fees. Who is responsible for maintenance? Verdant Isle is respon‑ sible for funding general up‑ keep and major repairs in the event of a storm. Presum‑ ably it would seek to insure against that eventuality, but again the risk and expense is with Verdant Isle, according to what government has said. Is there any government guarantee for the loan? Verdant Isle has taken out a loan with First Caribbean to help fund the construction. It is understood that there is no government guarantee. If and when the contract is signed, government is of‑ fering Verdant Isle a 25‑year revenue stream for the port, which presumably it can use as collateral for the loan. Will there still be tenders? The new dock has space for four cruise ships, so it is likely that tenders will be needed on days when there are more ships in port. There is space in the new dock de‑ sign for tenders, but it re‑ mains to be seen how they will operate with reduced business. There is also the possibility that some cruise ships will self‑tender. For the passengers who take tenders ashore, will the breakdown remain the same? They will still be charged the government taxes and the fee to use the tender boats. Has there been a study made on the new jobs that will be created? Will salaries equate to Cayman’s national average income? The Outline Business Case published in 2013 con‑ cluded that there would be 490 jobs created during construction and an addi‑ tional 1,000 new jobs in the long term. This was based on consultant PwCs oper‑ ating assumption that, over time, the amount of cruise visitors to the Cayman Is‑ lands would steadily decline without a port and would steadily increase if a port was built. The consultants also sug‑ gested that cruise passengers would spend longer onshore if there were a dock. There has been no spe‑ cific study on jobs, or any list of jobs and salaries. Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell said it would be the same type of jobs that the cruise industry supports now, “only more of them”. He referenced taxi drivers, tour operators, restaurants and bars among those who would benefit. If a referendum takes place, how will that work? If the Elections Office ver‑ ifies the petition calling for a referendum and finds that there are signatures from 25% of the electorate, there will be a people‑initiated referendum. According to the Consti‑ tution, government gets to set the question. It will do that by passing a bespoke port referendum law in the Legislative Assembly, which will also set out the date and terms of the vote. Based on the Constitu‑ tion, it will requires 50% plus one of the electorate to vote against the port, for the re‑ sult to be binding. A simple majority of those that turn up to the polls is not sufficient. In other words, it would take at least 10,585 Caymanian voters to show up and vote against the port for the pro‑ ject to be stopped. Once the petition target is reached, how long will it take to hold a referendum? Once the Elections Of‑ fice confirms that the target has been met, government will prepare a bill for the referendum to be debated in the Legislative Assembly. There would be a 21‑day no‑ tice period from the pub‑ lication of the bill until it can be debated and passed by legislators. Once that has taken place, the Elec‑ tions Office estimates it would take 10 weeks to or‑ ganise polling, including provisions for postal votes, ahead of ‘Decision Day’. Based on that timeline, it seems unlikely that a refer‑ endum could be held before late November. Much de‑ pends on how long it takes to verify the petition signa‑ tures. The Elections Office stated that, as of Tuesday, it had verified 80% of the sig‑ natures submitted. The new dock has space for four cruise ships, so it is likely that tenders will be needed on days when there are more ships in port. The proposed deal to build a new cruise and cargo port in Cayman is provoking plenty of questions. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 6 WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS In the 7 Aug. 1969 edition of the Caymanian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, the front page car- ried a report on the repatria- tion of a large group of Cay- manians from Cuba. It read: “One hundred and sixty- two Caymanians, some of whom have lived in Cuba over 50 years, were repatri- ated to their homeland and tears of joy flowed as they were reunited with their families at Owen Roberts airport on Monday. “The first flight by the Il- yushin 18B of Cubana Air- lines from Havana under Capt. I. Tiomno and his crew of five, including a stew- ardess, made two flights, arriving at 1:35pm with 99 passengers and at 6:35pm with a further 63. “On the passenger list were many familiar sur- names – Ebanks, Carter, Rivers, Tomlinson, Powery, Watler, McLaughlin, Crowe, Hill, Whittaker, Hydes, Parchment, Nixon, Smith, Terry, Borden, Brown, Thompson and Diaz – ap- pearing to indicate that the repatriates originate from all over Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. “To officially greet the homecomers were His Honour the Administrator (2nd flight), the Asst. Admin. Mr. Dennis Foster, the Hons. B.O. Ebanks Jr. and W.W. Conolly, Members of the Legislative Council, and In- spector Roy Archer. “Freemasons and their wives provided much needed and greatly appreci- ated refreshments in the re- ceiving area. Most of the re- turnees had been in Havana and without food from the previous day. One lady just did not manage to gain her freedom – Mrs. Donie McKenzie is re- ported to have died at Ha- vana Airport on Sunday while waiting for the flight to bring her home. “Many of those returning have lived in the Isle of Pines and all appeared to have enjoyed life in Cuba until 10 years ago when the Com- munists took over, and from then ‘Cuba was finished’, in the words of Mr. Watler who had previously spent only one month in Cayman in 67 years. ‘I’m just glad I got out alive,’ said Mrs. Alice Watler who had been in Cuba 64 years. Another lady was heard to remark, ‘I’ve lived in hell for 10 years and I don’t want to even think about it any more.’ “‘Do you know what it is like to live without being able to get anything to eat, or to wear, or to put on your feet?’ asked another lady. ‘Well, it’s terrible, I can tell you,’ she added. “The many children are, of course, Spanish speaking and it will perhaps be more dif- ficult for them to adjust to a new life in Cayman, but we rejoice that they will know what freedom means in their tender years. “All those returning were vaccinated at the airport by nurses from our hospital. “Our Government had to pay about $1,650 for the two flights but much of this will eventually be repaid by the repatriates as it becomes fi- nancially possible for them to do this. “Both flights were han- dled by the staff of BWIA. “Monday, 4th August, 1969, was certainly a ‘Gala Day’ for many in the Cayman Islands and the sight of the huge welcoming party at the airport must have been heartwarming to those who came home at last and a surprise to the Cuban crew of CU-T832.” Denton specialises in un- derwater archaeology and it is hoped she can help iden- tify the wreck. Broadbelt said there were 13 wheelsets at the site. Cayman never had a railroad, so he speculates they were most likely cargo on a ship bound for Jamaica. He said the spoke de- sign appears to date the wheels to the days of steam engines. The wreck is in shallow water, close to the Old Isaac’s dive site, which is a regular stopping point for charters and lies on the south-east corner of Grand Cayman, less than a mile from Ocean Fron- tiers’ dock. “We must have gone past it every day without ever knowing it was there,” he said. He said it was probably too shallow to be a dive site but might make an inter- esting stop for snorkelling between dives. 50 YEARS AGO 162 home from Cuba The front page of the 7 Aug. 1969 Caymanian Weekly shows a photo of Caymanian repatriates making their way down the steps of the Cuban plane that brought them home. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Another delay in Champion House case SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@compassmedia.ky The final disposition of the Champion House pen- sions case was delayed again on Monday. The case, which first entered the court system in 2008, includes charges covering a period span- ning between January 1999 and August 2008. The de- fendant pleaded guilty in 2010 for failing with rea- sonable cause to con- tribute to a pension plan for an employee. Champion House com- menced payments according to an agreement with the court and plaintiffs, but the case came back after the pen- sion plan administrator indi- cated no payments had been made since May 2014. The Crown counsel and defence attorneys are trying to en- sure that they have the exact principal and interest agreed to before the case reaches its final disposition in court. The case will be back in court on 9 Sept. to ascertain the progress made between the two sides, and Magis- trate Valdis Foldats said he hoped to have the case fi- nalised by late September or early October. Divers discover ‘train wreck’ off East End Divers found 13 train wheelsets encrusted in coral in the shallow water off East End. - PHOTO: ALEX MUSTARD HONDURAN PRESIDENT ACCUSES GROUPS OF ‘ASSAULT ON POWER’ TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) – The president of Hon- duras says that political opposition groups con- nected to criminal net- works are trying to over- throw his government. President Juan Or- lando Hernández also said Monday that ex-Pres- ident Manuel Zelaya and former presidential can- didate Salvador Nasralla are involved in “a con- spiracy” with gangs to usurp him. He said: “Without a doubt, we are con- fronting an assault on power by gangs and drug traffickers.” The president spoke two days after US prosecu- tors alleged that his gov- ernment received $1.5 mil- lion in drug trafficking proceeds to help secure power in 2013. Hernández has denied the accusations. The allegations were revealed over the weekend in documents related to an upcoming case against the presi- dent’s brother, Juan An- tonio ‘Tony’ Hernández, who was arrested last year in Miami on charges of smuggling cocaine into the US. “ Without a doubt, we are confronting an assault on power by gangs and drug traffickers.” HONDURAS PRESIDENT JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ Honduras President Juan Orlando HernándezThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2019 UK’s Tesco supermarket cuts 4,500 jobs Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, said Monday it is cutting 4,500 jobs, in an attempt to be more flexible in an evolving retail environment. The jobs are in addition to 9,000 reductions announced earlier this year. D ON’T M ISS O UT O N T HE D REAM. Deadline for inclusion: 15 August 2019 www.visitcaymanislands.com/signup For more information: I F Y OU A RE I N T HE T OURISM B USINESS As UK-EU relations cool, battle looms to stop no-deal Brexit LONDON (AP) – In Brussels and London, one question is growing louder: Can Boris Johnson be stopped? Britain’s prime minister says the UK is leaving the European Union in less than 90 days, either with a di- vorce deal, or – it seems in- creasingly likely – without one. With Britain and the bloc each accusing the other of torpedoing an agreement, pro-EU. British lawmakers are gearing up for a last- ditch effort to prevent a no- deal Brexit. But it’s not clear whether Parliament can halt a prime minister who insists the UK will leave on 31 Oct. “come what may”. “In theory it can,” said British constitutional expert Vernon Bogdanor told the BBC. “In practice, it is very, very difficult.” By law, Britain will leave the EU on 31 Oct. when the official countdown period set by EU treaty expires. The original deadline of March 29 was extended twice as British politicians wrangled over departure terms and re- peatedly rejected then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s di- vorce deal with the bloc. Johnson says he will “strain every sinew” to get a new and improved deal. But he has held no talks with EU leaders, and has made de- mands the bloc is almost certain to reject. Britain in- sists the EU must reopen the withdrawal agreement and remove an Irish border pro- vision that is opposed by Brexit-backing British law- makers. The EU says it will not renegotiate the deal. The two sides are ac- cusing each other of torpe- doing talks. Michael Gove, the British minister in charge of no-deal preparations, said Tuesday he was “deeply sad- dened” that the EU was “re- fusing to negotiate with the UK”. But EU Commission spokeswoman Annika Brei- dthardt said the bloc’s door was open “should the United Kingdom wish to hold talks and clarify its position in more detail”. As tensions rise, Johnson has ordered British officials to “turbo-charge” prepara- tions for a no-deal exit, set- ting aside more than 2 bil- lion pounds (US$2.4 billion) to hire border officials, stockpile medicines and pre- pare for backlogs of trucks around the major Channel port of Dover. Many economists say a no-deal Brexit will trigger a recession and cause eco- nomic mayhem, with short- ages of fresh food and other goods likely as customs checks snarl Britain’s ports. Pro-EU members of Par- liament are vowing to put up a fight once Parliament re- turns from its summer break on 3 Sept. They have two pos- sible strategies: pass a law ruling out a no-deal Brexit, or topple the government and replace it with a new one that will abandon Johnson’s intransigent approach. “The odds of an election are rising as backbench MPs contemplate ways in which they can frustrate John- son’s plans,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. “We’re moving to a situation where there is unlikely to be much progress in August. September and October are going to be frantic. And that’s an understatement.” Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Monday that he would call a no-confidence vote in the government once Parliament returns, to “make sure this government is not allowed to take this country out of the union [EU] with no deal”. A no-confidence vote has a good chance of success, since Johnson’s Conservatives have a working majority of just one vote, and some Conserv- ative lawmakers are deeply opposed to a no-deal Brexit. If the government lost, it would have 14 days to over- turn the result by winning a new vote. If it could not, an election would be held. But the Fixed-Term Par- liaments Act – an election- regulating law introduced in 2011 – leaves questions about what happens during that crucial 14 days. The op- position says Johnson would have to resign, and see if an- yone else could form a gov- ernment. Opponents of Brexit believe they could cobble to- gether a national unity ad- ministration whose only pur- pose would be to ask the EU to delay Brexit while an elec- tion or a new referendum, or both, was held. But Johnson’s allies say he could hang on for the two weeks, running down the clock, and then call an elec- tion for after 31 Oct. Britain would automatically leave the EU on Halloween, during the campaign period. That would be contro- versial, though it’s unclear whether it would be illegal. British lawmakers are gearing up for a last-ditch effort to prevent a no-deal Brexit. But it’s not clear whether Parliament can halt a prime minister who insists the UK will leave on 31 Oct. “come what may”. Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, north east England, Monday. TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PARTY SUE OVER CALIFORNIA TAX RETURN LAW SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – The Trump campaign and Re- publican Party sued Cali- fornia on Tuesday over a new law requiring presiden- tial candidates to release their tax returns to run in the state’s primary. One of the suits contends California’s law is “a naked po- litical attack against the sitting President of the United States”. The law signed last week by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is aimed at prying loose President Donald Trump’s tax returns, which he has refused to release, saying they are under audit. California’s law requires can- didates for president and governor to release five years of tax returns to appear on the state’s primary ballot. It does not include a sim- ilar requirement for the gen- eral election. California holds its 2020 presidential primary on 3 March. The lawsuits argue the law violates the US Constitu- tion by creating an extra re- quirement to run for presi- dent and deprives citizens the right to vote for their chosen candidates. The Constitution puts just three requirements on presidential candidates: That they are natural born citizens, 35 or older and a US resident for at least 14 years. Trump counsel Jay Sekulow called the law “fla- grantly illegal”, and said voters already spoke in 2016 on whether Trump should re- lease his tax returns.8 WORLD®IONAL WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS China warns Hong Kong protesters that punishment is coming UK joins US Strait of Hormuz mission; Iran slams sanctions TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Britain said Monday that it would join a US-led naval secu- rity mission in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s sei- zure of merchant vessels has raised tensions with the West. Earlier, Iran’s for- eign minister lambasted re- cent US financial sanctions against him, calling the move a “failure” for diplomacy. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in Tehran that “im- posing sanctions against a foreign minister means failure” for any efforts at ne- gotiations, and means the side imposing the measures is “opposing talks”. The US administration last week announced sanc- tions on Zarif, a month after President Donald Trump had imposed similar sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader, Aya- tollah Ali Khamenei. The moves are seen as part of Washington’s es- calating campaign in what Trump calls “max- imum pressure” on the Is- lamic Republic. The US has increasingly deployed military reinforce- ments to the region amid un- specified threats from Iran in the wake of Trump’s with- drawal last year from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Britain’s Ministry of De- fense said it “will draw largely on assets already in the region”. It said the Royal Navy will work alongside the US Navy to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, which sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, a shipping channel for one-fifth of all global crude exports. Two Royal Navy war- ships are currently in the re- gion, the frigate HMS Mon- trose and the destroyer HMS Duncan. The Montrose is due to leave for planned repairs later this month. Britain has been giving UK-flagged vessels in the re- gion a naval escort since the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a British-flagged oil tanker last month. Some Ira- nian officials suggested the seizure of the Stena Impero was retaliation for the sei- zure of an Iranian oil tanker off the British overseas terri- tory of Gibraltar. European nations have been reluctant to take part in the US naval mission, and Germany has said it will not be involved. Last month, then-UK For- eign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the UK would join with European al- lies to form a “maritime pro- tection mission” in the strait. Hunt has since lost his job, and that effort appears to have foundered. Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the US and the UK hoped other countries will join the new mission. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, said Britain was still seeking an international coa- lition, though he did not say who would be in it. Zarif had stressed Monday that Washington’s policy of “talking about war as an option that remains on the table cannot stand”. Zarif’s press confer- ence came a day after Iran announced its forces had seized a foreign ship in the Persian Gulf suspected of carrying smuggled fuel, but provided no details on the vessel or the nationality of the crew. It was the Revo- lutionary Guard’s third sei- zure of a vessel in recent weeks and the latest show of strength by the paramil- itary force amid the spike in tensions. Six oil tankers have also been targeted in the Gulf of Oman in unclaimed acts of sabotage that the US blames on Iran. Iran has denied any involvement in those attacks. In June, Iran shot down an American surveil- lance drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump came close to retaliating, but called off an air strike at the last moment. Maritime security in the region was further jolted in mid-July, when the Revolu- tionary Guard’s naval forces confirmed they had seized a United Arab Emirates-based oil tanker, the Panamanian- flagged MT Riah, for alleg- edly smuggling fuel from Iranian smugglers to for- eign customers. Britain and other Euro- pean nations have distanced themselves from the Amer- ican “maximum pressure” strategy. Unlike the US, Eu- ropean countries still ad- here to the international nuclear deal. Iran recently began sur- passing uranium enrichment limits set in the 2015 deal, but says these moves can be reversed if given enough eco- nomic incentives to offset US sanctions. Referring to the seizure of the British tanker, Zarif said Monday that it was not a re- ciprocal action for Gibraltar. He also told reporters he had received an invitation from Washington for a meeting during his New York trip in July, along with a warning about the sanctions. US officials have not con- firmed either of Zarif’s claims – neither the one about him being warned about the sanc- tions nor the one about the alleged invitation for talks. HONG KONG (AP) – China warned Tuesday that it will be “only a matter of time” before it punishes those be - hind two months of pro-de- mocracy protests in Hong Kong that have increasingly devolved into violent clashes with law enforcement. The comments by Yang Guang, spokesman for the Chinese Cabinet’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, are a further indication that Beijing will take a hard line against the demonstrators and has no plans to negotiate over their demands for polit- ical reforms. “We would like to make it clear to the very small group of unscrupulous and violent criminals and the dirty forces behind them: Those who play with fire will perish by it,” Yang said. “Don’t ever misjudge the situation and mistake our restraint for weakness.” Singling out “brazen, vi- olent and criminal actors” and the “meddling hands be- hind the scenes” as the focus law enforcement efforts, Yang said, “As for their punishment, it’s only a matter of time.” China so far has not vis- ibly intervened in the situa- tion, though it has published a series of strongly worded editorials in state media con- demning “violent radicals” and “foreign forces” allegedly inflaming them. Speculation has grown that the Commu- nist Party-led central govern- ment will deploy the military to quell demonstrators after Chinese officials pointed to an article in Hong Kong law that allows troops already stationed in the city to help with “public order mainte- nance” at the Hong Kong gov- ernment’s request. While Hong Kong authori- ties have said they do not an- ticipate any need to bring in troops or police from China to help impose order, the Hong Kong army garrison and police in the city of Shen- zhen across the border have both released videos recently of their officers training to disperse groups of people dressed in black and wearing masks and construction hel- mets like many of the Hong Kong protesters. A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 under the framework of “one country, two systems”, which prom- ised the city certain dem- ocratic freedoms not af- forded to the mainland. But some Hong Kong residents feel that Beijing has been in- creasingly encroaching on their freedoms. A string of demonstra- tions began in June against proposed extradition legisla- tion that would have allowed some suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial. While the government has since suspended the bill, pro- testers have pressed on with broader calls for democratic reforms, an investigation into allegations of police bru- tality and for the city’s leader to step down. Pro-democracy legislator Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung told reporters Tuesday that Beijing should not make the demonstrations a national security issue because the movement is not targeting the central government, but rather the administration of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. During a ‘People’s Press Conference’ held earlier in the day, a protester using the pseudonym Jerry Chan in- dicated that demonstrators would not attempt to con- front the military if it made an appearance. “I believe the protesters and Hong Kong citizens will ‘be water’ and know what to do,” Chan said, referring to the protesters’ philosophy of taking a fluid approach to their demonstrations. “We will go home and sleep.” The three protesters who spoke to reporters said the briefing was intended to counter regular govern- ment and police news con- ferences in which authori- ties have repeatedly decried violent acts by some pro- democracy demonstrators. They also apologised for in- conveniences caused by a general strike Monday that paralysed regular workday operations in the city. Major roads and public transit lines were blocked, and at least 77 flights at the airport were cancelled. Protesters challenged law enforcement in at least eight districts on Monday, responding to continuous rounds of tear gas with prac- ticed swiftness. Some started fires outside police stations and hurled bricks and eggs at officers. Hong Kong secu- rity secretary John Lee said the damage and violence was “unprecedented” since 1997, with more than 15 police sta- tions or facilities attacked and surrounded. Echoing language used by officials to criticise their ac- tions, protesters said they “strongly condemn the law- lessness and the inhuman ac- tions done by police”. Some police officers have shown “total lack of self-discipline”, Chan said, adding that some tear gas was fired on res- idential buildings during clashes across several dis- tricts Monday. Many rally participants have chosen to hide their identities because they fear official retribution. Yang and other Chinese officials repeatedly accused protesters and organisers of seeking to wreck Hong Kong’s society and economy and of lacking patriotism. Hong Kong police say they have arrested 568 demonstra- tors aged 13-76 since June, and charged them with a va- riety of crimes, including ri- oting, which can carry a sen- tence of up to 10 years. During an earlier 79-day round of protests in 2014 de- manding direct elections for Hong Kong’s chief executive, police announced around 1,000 arrests. Eight leaders of the 2014 movement were sentenced this year to up to 16 months in prison on charges of public nuisance offences, in what critics called an apparent effort to intimidate other activists. Speculation has grown that the Communist Party-led central government will deploy the military to quell demonstrators. Britain has been giving UK-flagged vessels in the region a naval escort since the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a British-flagged oil tanker last month. Protesters from right, Jerry Chan, Linus Kim and Mary Tsang attend a press conference Tuesday in Hong Kong.9 WORLD®IONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2019 Nobel laureate Toni Morrison dead at 88 Judge sentences man who sent pipe bombs to Democrats to 20 years FORD SHOWS MOST POWERFUL STREET-LEGAL MUSTANG NEW YORK (AP) – A Florida amateur body builder who admitted sending pipe bombs to prominent Dem- ocrats and CNN was sen- tenced to 20 years in prison Monday by a judge who con- cluded the bombs purposely were not designed to explode. Cesar Sayoc, 57, wept and crossed himself, appearing relieved, when US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff an- nounced the sentence. Prosecutors had urged a life prison term for Sayoc, who pleaded guilty earlier this year after mailing 16 pipe bombs days before the midterm elections last fall. “He hated his victims, he wished them no good, but he was not so lost as to wish them dead, at least not by his own hand,” the judge said. The one-time stripper and pizza delivery man from Aventura, Florida, apologised to his victims, saying he was “so very sorry for what I did”. His targets included Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden, several members of Congress, former President Barack Obama and actor Robert De Niro. Devices were also mailed to CNN of- fices in New York and Atlanta. Assistant Federal De- fender Marcus Amelkin said Sayoc was obsessed with President Donald Trump and grew to believe Democrats were to blame for damage to his van, which was plastered with Trump stickers and im- ages of crosshairs superim- posed over the faces of Trump opponents. Sayoc “looked up to the president as a father figure”, the lawyer said. Assistant US Attorney Jane Kim said Sayoc “set out to terrorize people” and had not sufficiently shown remorse. “Politics cannot jus- tify a terrorist attack,” she said, while the judge dis- missed talk of Trump as a “side show”. Assistant Attorney Gen- eral John Demers, the head of the Justice Department’s national security division, said in a statement that “time and again, we have seen in- dividuals attempt to ex- press political views and re- solve political disagreements through violence. “Cesar Sayoc has now been sentenced for acts of domestic terrorism that are repulsive to all Americans who cherish a society built on respectful and non-vio- lent political discourse,” De- mers said. “Our democracy depends on our debating our strongly held views peace- fully and respectfully, and when someone does not, on our prosecuting and pun- ishing those who do not abide by these values.” Sayoc read from a hand- written statement shortly before he was sentenced, saying he blamed a life of mental illness, a child- hood sexual assault he suf- fered from a boarding school teacher, excessive use of steroids and his failure to listen to his mother, “the love of my life”. In all, 16 rudimentary pipe bombs were mailed to addresses in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, California, Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Georgia. None exploded. In letters to the judge, Sayoc has said he abused steroids for more than four decades and was using 274 different supplements and vitamins along with “heavy amounts of steroids” before his arrest. DETROIT (AP) – The most powerful street-legal Ford Mustang ever built will go on sale this fall. A 5.2-litre supercharged V-8 will crank out 760 horsepower in the 2020 Shelby GT500. The new version has a beefed-up suspension and brakes. It also has a seven- speed automatic transmis- sion that Ford promises will shift smoothly on com- mutes and quickly on the track. The engine is hand- built at a Michigan factory and comes with unique pis- tons and other parts. It can crank out 625 foot-pounds of torque, a measure of ro- tational force. The Shelby GT500 can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in around 3.5 sec- onds, although Ford did not release a precise number. That is slightly slower than the mid-engine 2020 Chev- rolet Corvette, which Gen- eral Motors says will do it in under three seconds. Performance powertrain engineering manager Pat- rick Morgan says the new version is aimed at Mus- tang enthusiasts who also want track performance. He said the car can go from zero to 100 mph and back to zero again in 10.6 seconds. NEW YORK (AP) – Nobel lau- reate Toni Morrison, a pio- neer and reigning giant of modern literature whose im- aginative power in ‘Beloved,’ ‘Sula’ and other works trans- formed American letters by dramatizing the pursuit of freedom within the bound- aries of race, has died at age 88. Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced that Morrison died Monday night at Monte- fiore Medical Center in New York after a brief illness. “Toni Morrison passed away peacefully last night surrounded by family and friends,” Morrison’s family said in a statement through the publisher. “She was an extremely devoted mother, grandmother, and aunt who reveled in being with her family and friends. The con- summate writer who treas- ured the written word, whether her own, her stu- dents or others, she read vo- raciously and was most at home when writing.” Few authors rose in such rapid, spectacular style. She was nearly 40 when her first novel, ‘The Bluest Eye,’ was published. By her early 60s, after just six novels, she had become the first black woman to receive the Nobel literature prize, praised in 1993 by the Swedish academy for her “visionary force” and for delving into “language it- self, a language she wants to liberate” from categories of black and white. Morrison helped educate her country and the world about the private lives of the unknown and unwanted. In her novels, history – black history – was a hidden trove of poetry, tragedy and good old gossip, whether in small- town Ohio in ‘Sula’ or big- city Harlem in ‘Jazz.’ She regarded race as a social con- struct, and through language founded the better world her characters suffered to attain, weaving in everything from African literature and slave folklore to the Bible and Ga- briel Garcia Marquez. “Narrative has never been merely entertainment for me,” she said in her Nobel lecture. “It is, I believe, one of the principal ways in which we absorb knowledge.” Winner of the 1988 Pu- litzer Prize for ‘Beloved,’ she was one of the book world’s most regal presences, with her expanse of graying braids; her dark, discerning eyes; and her warm, theat- rical voice, which could lower to a mysterious growl or rise to a humorous falsetto. “That handsome and per- ceptive lady,” James Baldwin called her. Her admirers ranged from college students and house- wives to Barack Obama, who awarded her a Presi- dential Medal of Honor; Bill Clinton, whom the author called “our first black pres- ident”; and Oprah Winfrey, who helped expand Morri- son’s readership. Morrison shared those high opinions, repeatedly labelling one of her novels, ‘Love’, as “perfect” and rejecting the idea that ar- tistic achievement called for quiet modesty. “Maya Angelou helped me without her knowing it,” Mor- rison told The Associated Press during a 1998 inter- view. “When she was writing her first book, ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,’ I was an editor at Random House. She was having such a good time, and she never said, ‘Who me? My little book?’ “I decided that … winning the [Nobel] prize was fabu- lous,” Morrison added. “No- body was going to take that and make it into something else. I felt representational. I felt American. I felt Ohioan. I felt blacker than ever. I felt more woman than ever. I felt all of that, and put all of that together and went out and had a good time.” Morrison was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio, a steel town outside of Cleveland. She attended Howard University, where she spent much of her free time in the theatre, and met and married a Jamaican ar- chitect, Harold Morrison, whom she divorced in 1964. They had two children, Harold and Slade. Even when she was growing up, she believed she was smarter than the white kids and took it for granted she was wiser. She was an honours student and at- tended Howard because she dreamed of life spent among black intellectuals. But although she went on to teach there, Howard dis- appointed her. Campus life seemed closer to a finishing school than to an institution of learning. Protesters, among them her former student Stokely Carmichael, were de- manding equality. Morrison wanted that, too, but won- dered what kind. “I thought they wanted to integrate for nefarious pur- poses,” she said. “I thought they should demand money in those black schools. That was the problem – the re- sources, the better equip- ment, the better teachers, the buildings that were falling apart – not being in some high school next to some white kids.” In 1964, she became an editor at Random House and one of the few black women in publishing. Over the next 20 years, she would work with emerging fiction authors such as Gayl Jones and Toni Cade Bambara, on a memoir by Muhammad Ali and books by such activists as Angela Davis and Black Panther Huey Newton. A special pro- ject was editing ‘The Black Book,’ a collection of every- thing from newspaper adver- tisements to song lyrics that anticipated her immersion in the everyday lives of the past. By the late ‘60s, she was a single mother and deter- mined writer who had been pushed by her future editor, Robert Gottlieb, into deciding whether she’d write or edit. Seated at her kitchen table, she fleshed out a story based on a childhood memory of a black girl in Lorain who de- sired blue eyes. She called the novel ‘The Bluest Eye.’ She had no agent and was re- jected by several publishers before reaching a deal with Holt, which released the novel in 1969. Sales were modest, but critics liked it and Morrison soon signed up with Gottlieb and Knopf, which became her long- time publisher. By her early 60s, after just six novels, she had become the first black woman to receive the Nobel literature prize. His targets included Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden, several members of Congress, former President Barack Obama and actor Robert De Niro. The 2020 Shelby GT500 is displayed during a press conference in the Detroit suburb of Clawson, Michigan. – PHOTO: AP Pipe bomber Cesar Sayoc Author Toni Morrison receives her Medal of Freedom award during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, 29 May, 2012. – PHOTO: APNext >