July 29, 2010
WASHINGTON, July 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Though great strides have been made since the deadly earthquake in Haiti, immediate problems continue to confront the relief and recovery process that threaten their success, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) told a key congressional subcommittee.
“The title of today’s hearing, ‘The Crisis in Haiti: Are We Moving Fast Enough?,’ poses a question that has a simple and easy answer: ‘No,’ we are not moving fast enough,”says Jimmy Jean-Louis, the actor and spokesperson for PADF’s recovery efforts in Haiti. “Too many Haitians continue to live in despicable conditions with little hope of moving to recovery in the foreseeable future.”
Speaking before the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Jimmy Jean-Louis emphasized that more than 1.2 million Haitians live in make-shift camps that are unsafe, unsanitary and unsustainable. Indeed, many live under plastic and even bed sheets.
In addition to these camps, he urged the donors to give increased attention to the most vulnerable – children, victims of violence and trafficking in persons.
“The human rights abuses and violence against women and children have surpassed the crisis point,” he says. “Building roads and bridges are critical to Haiti’s future, but they should not be at the expense of the tens of thousands of young boys and girls who are the country’s future.”
Despite these and other immense problems, Jimmy Jean-Louis thanked the United States and other supporters who are working on solutions.
“I say we are fortunate to have a neighbor that is willing to help out the most disadvantaged during a crisis,” he told the panel. “Haitians will remember the generous support, acts of kindness and prayers on their behalf.”
Asked by the House Subcommittee as to what is working well, Jean-Louis testified that a little-known program that inspects homes to see if they are safe for occupancy to is making a difference.
During the past three months, trained engineers working with PADF have inspected more than 53,000 homes and other buildings in the capital area to determine whether they may be occupied.
Called “tagging,” the engineers place a “green” tag on a safe building; a “yellow” tag indicates it is useable but requires some repair; and a “red” tag states the building must be repaired or demolished before it can be used. PADF is working with the Haitian government and displaced communities to develop training, manuals and prototypes for safe repairs.
“This is a critical step in moving people from the deplorable conditions of the displacement camps to homes that are deemed accessible and safe,” he told the Subcommittee.
How-to help
Individual and corporate donations to PADF-OAS-HUFH’s Haiti recovery efforts are encouraged by visiting www.ImUnitedforHaiti.org.
In the United States, people may call (877) 572-4484 to donate with a Visa or MasterCard. They may also text HEAL to 50555 to donate $5.
PADF, along with its partners Hollywood Unites for Haiti (www.hufh.org) and the Organization of American States (www.oas.org), immediately responded to the survivors’ needs by providing food, water, shelter, medicine and other supplies.
Thanks to individual, corporate and multilateral cash and in-kind donations, they distributed more than 250 tons of supplies since the Jan. 12 earthquake. To learn more, visit www.ImUnitedforHaiti.org
About PADF
PADF is a non-profit organization established in 1962 to promote, facilitate, and implement social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the past year, more than 5.6 million people in 18 countries benefited from PADF’s programs.
PADF is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in Haiti. With nearly three decades of work on the ground, PADF now manages a large portfolio of activities ranging from community-driven development to protecting human rights. It works closely with all stakeholders to create sustainable solutions.
Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C., and has field offices in Haiti, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. www.padf.org
Should the proposed Marriot Hotel become a reality it will inevitably kill the hotel industry in Guyana.
This is according to Chief Executive Officer of the Pegasus Hotel, Robert Badal, who said that President Bharrat Jagdeo is upset that his friends, “one of whom is facing federal charges in the US,†did not acquire the Pegasus.
He explained that Guyana has a relatively fixed hotel occupancy rate, which averages around 30 per cent nationwide.
The occupancy rate at the Pegasus, according to Badal, averages in the vicinity of 50 to 60 per cent.
Badal explained that Guyana is not a tourist destination. The people who travel to Guyana generally conduct business and hold conferences with the few boosts such as when there was the Cricket World Cup.
The Pegasus CEO said that the advent of the Marriott Hotel would not bring any significantly new traffic to Guyana.
Badal said that as it relates to the hotel rooms in Guyana, there currently is far more that the demand hence he questions the reason why the President would want to invest tax-payers money into the venture that would only serve to cripple the industry.
Should local hotels be made to compete with the Marriott Hotel then they will soon be operating at, or below break-even and will have to eventually close given that they would not be sustainable.
On the argument of job creation by the Marriott, Badal explained that there would be no such thing. Rather it will just be a displacement of the personnel already in the Hotel Industry.
He said that this was the argument when the Buddy’s International Hotel was built with the President touting the creation of some 300 jobs.
Badal said that when that hotel was built some of the Pegasus’s employees went over to the now Princess Hotel.
“There will be no creation of jobs rather they would just be shuffling around workers who are already in the hotel business.â€
Badal pointed to the fact that at present the Princess Hotel has nowhere close to the level of employment that was projected by the President.
Asked his opinion as to the motive behind the President’s attack on him and the Pegasus, Badal said that it has escalated ever since he acquired the Pegasus Hotel and that President Bharrat Jagdeo was just upset because the group of his friends that were trying to acquire the Hotel failed to do so.
Badal said that they were against his acquisition of the hotel to the point that calls were made to the previous owners to persuade them not to sell to him.
The Pegasus CEO said that were that group to have acquired the hotel then there would not have been the current tirade against the Pegasus.
He said that there would not have been any talk about “red water†or “leaky air conditioners.â€
Badal pointed to the fact that he is currently investing some US$8M in the Pegasus and as the demand for more rooms increases the management will invest accordingly.
Badal said that he is confident in the reputation of the Pegasus which it has obtained over the past forty years and as such would not seek to further engage in any back and forth with the President.
Elaborating a bit on the fact that the reputation of the Pegasus is solid, Badal said that when the hotel had the Le Meridien branding, the marketing strategies under that label only attracted about five per cent of the then occupants and as such it had to be reverted back to the Pegasus.
He said that even as the President bashes the hotel, the government continues to receive its 4.96 per cent dividends as minority shareholder.
Jagdeo was recently adamantly advocating the need for a modern hotel like the Marriott and not one plagued by a multitude of problems, “like the Pegasus.â€
Jagdeo said he was not surprised at Badal’s reaction to the Marriott project. Badal had blasted the President for what he called the misuse of taxpayer’s money.
“If I were him (Badal), I’d probably try to kill every other effort for any other hotel in the country to be built, because it means I can continue to have a monopoly, charge high rates and not refurbish, and give frankly speaking, crappy service that so many foreigners have complained about,†Jagdeo said.
“And I am not blaming the staff at Pegasus, because they have very little to do with it. It is the money that they need to spend on refurbishing the place…I have travelled a lot – when they turn on the tap, the sink filled with red water and when they turn on their AC in the room, like some Prime Ministers complained to me, it is soaking wet; it drips all the time, because of the level of condensation,†he added.
He referred to criticism against the Marriott project as a reflection of what happened when the government sought to assist in the building of the Buddy’s (now Princess) hotel.
Now, Jagdeo said 300 Guyanese are employed there (Princess), a figure which Badal is adamant that the President is misrepresenting.
Source: KAIETEUR
by Oscar Ramjeet
The chief justice of Belize, Dr Abdulai Conteh, will be 65 on August 6 and, under the Constitution, he cannot continue to be the Head of the Judiciary unless the governor general offers him a contract. But this can only be done if the prime minister advises, and Mr Dean Barrow has already indicated to the chief justice that he has no intention to offer him a contract after he attains the retirement age.
The Belize Bar Association is not happy about this and wants the government to offer Dr Conteh a contract, but the prime minister is not compelled to do so. The Association is also demanding a say in the appointment of the new chief justice although, as lawyers, they are aware of the fact that, under article 97(1) of the Constitution, the chief justice shall be appointed by the governor general, acting in accordance with the advice of the prime minister given after consultation with the leader of the opposition.
I do not understand why there is a big outcry from the Belize Bar Association because in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, which comprises Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Granada, Dominica, Montserrat, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the chief justice is appointed by the heads of government of these nine states/territories, and it must be unanimous — all must agree.
And up to 2005 the appointment of the Chief Justice of England and Wales was made by the Lord Chancellor.
Moreover, Belize is the only jurisdiction that provides that the president of the Bar Association must be a member of its Judicial and Legal Services Commission.
Unlike the Constitution of Belize, the constitution of each Caribbean jurisdiction provides that, in addition to the chief justice, the chairman of the Public Services Commissions must also consist of “appointed members”.
Jamaica and Guyana are the only jurisdictions that allow either the General Legal Council or the Bar Association to have some input in the choice of appointed members, as they are allowed to recommend attorneys-at-law not in active practice. In Trinidad and Tobago, it is within the president’s discretion to consult the Bar Association. In Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean States, the Bar Association has no input — Section 89(2) of the Constitution of Barbados and Section 18(2) of the Supreme Court Order, 1967, respectively.
In Jamaica, section 113(3)(b) of the Constitution of Jamaica provides that two of the three appointed members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) are appointed from a list of six individuals who are not practicing attorneys.
Likewise, in Guyana, the two attorneys who are chosen to serve on the JSC must not be in active practice and, in Trinidad and Tobago, two of the three appointed members of the Commission must have legal qualifications, and at least one of them must not be in active practice.
Source: Net News
By Abiola Inniss LLB, LLM, ACIarb
It is hardly debatable that the variations in copyright laws across the Caribbean are the result of the peculiarities of our various jurisdictions, compounded by the lack of a regional regulatory scheme. It is also trite knowledge that Caribbean musicians often struggle to obtain adequate protection of their productions and, where they do, it is localised within specific countries.
This means that while a Jamaican musician may have protected rights in Jamaica, this will not necessarily apply to the same work in Guyana or Antigua, and so on; though section 3 of the Jamaican Copyright Act no 5 of 1993, specifies that where a work has been first published in a specified country it shall be an offence in Jamaica to republish it without permission.
A January 2010 report of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) revealed that royalties accruing to Caribbean music and art in 2009 had dipped by 27 percent to Euros 3.3 million. CISAC reported that it had been some three years since such a marked decline had occurred in the Caribbean and suggested that, apart from the worldwide economic decline, the inability of some Caribbean governments to deal with their intellectual property issues had contributed significantly to these problems.
Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Barbados and St Lucia are members of CISAC, which is an international organisation promoting the rights of authors and composers, while others are less than interested.
While CISAC may be a useful organization, it is striking that Caribbean nationals have yet to establish a region-wide focus group that will serve to examine and promote the rights of producers of intellectual property and press CARICOM into the establishment of a region-wide regulation scheme.
This column has previously proposed and continues to insist that the Caribbean Court of Justice be given jurisdiction as a Court of First instance for intellectual property matters; a development that would see greater enforcement of copyright laws and a thrust towards the modernisation of others. The regional jurisprudence in this area would also have a significant catalyst for its advancement with the offshoot of specialisation and developing expertise among intellectuals, jurists and practitioners.
Caribbean musicians are faced with the dilemma of the artist’s urgency of creative expression, the need for just recompense and the assurance that their work will be recognised and respected. These aspirations are often compounded by lack of enforcement or outmoded laws, or both in some jurisdictions. While modern copyright laws, where they exist , go some way towards protecting copyright, as in the case of Jamaica, there is the view (supported by some evidence) that the copyright laws afford the producers greater rights than the creative minds who originated the music.
This was an argument presented at a discussion forum entitled ‘Talking Copyright: Reflecting on a 300 Year History & the Music Industry’, held at the University of Westminster in London on June 15, 2010. At this forum, several practitioners and law teachers expressed the view that the copyright laws of England were crafted in favour of the producers of music and so made it difficult for the actual artist to earn a decent living. It was argued that rights are shifted from the artist to the producing company and so the business practice and the structure of the laws must be crafted to balance the interests and create a fair regime for both producers and artists.
An examination of the laws (both of England and some Caribbean countries) reveals that this is not because the law by itself gives preference to producers but more the case that it is silent on the issue of licensing to producers. While it may make provision for licensing to be given freely by the holder of copyright, it does not restrict the business practice that sees producers requiring licensing be handed to them in totality in exchange for producing and marketing the works.
Authors are often handed royalties that are a small fraction of the profit made by the producers. There are also contractual issues attached to licensing which are often disadvantageous to the author, such as the termination clauses which may be drafted in favour of the producer, leaving the author in limbo.
While freedom of licensing is certainly to be maintained, there needs to be some recognition by the law which protects authors from unscrupulous business practices in the same manner as the law concerning unfair contractual clauses but, of course, aimed at dealing with unfair licensing practices. This is because one may not successfully argue that a contract term that requires licensing be given to a producer who will pick up the tab for production and marketing and then hand the author proceeds from it, is unfair. How much of the proceeds are actually given to the artist is a question of economics and cannot be easily or perhaps even fairly regulated by legislation, as prevailing circumstances at the time of production and sale will be the major consideration.
The Caribbean musician is faced with the serious and more immediate problem of losing significant amounts of revenue from the sale of pirated CDs and DVDs. The musician is then persuaded to make recordings in territories such as Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and St Lucia where the laws are relatively modern and in some instances regularly enforced. The problem is that there is not always reciprocity in the laws of other countries and so there may not be prosecution for the reproduction of CDs published elsewhere. Of course, where IP legislation and issues are not a priority, artists suffer greatest.
The issues, though complex, are not without the possibility of devising a better means of coexistence between authors and consumers and the laws, and it need not take forever. Caribbean artists need to organise themselves quickly at the regional level and, following the example of CISAC , establish a body that will propose the needed solutions to CARICOM. It is up to the region’s artists to make their voices heard resoundingly.
There is yet conciliation for the unsavory relationship.
Source: Net News
BRADES, Montserrat — Montserrat will assume the chairmanship of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Monetary Council in 2011. The Chief Minister and Minister of Finance Rueben Meade will take over from Grenada’s Minister of Finance Nazim Burke.
At its recent meeting in Grenada the Council noted that the economies of the ECCU suffered a general decline in economic activity over the past year brought about by the global crisis. Repercussions were particularly evident in the financial sector and in the government’s fiscal accounts.
Real output is estimated to have contracted by 7.3 per cent in 2009 and preliminary data indicate a further contraction of 4.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2010. Tourist arrivals and private capital inflows are projected to remain below the pre-crisis levels in the near-term.
Accordingly, the ECCU is expected to under-perform for a second consecutive year with a decline of 2.3 percent projected for 2010.
The Monetary Council is the highest decision-making authority of the Bank. It comprises of eight Ministers of Finance, one from each of the ECCB member countries.
Mega Directory TT Trio
For graphic designer, Stephen Braithwaite, Web site design is not something out of his realm of expertise. It was easy for him to visualise a project innovative and functional enough to fit into the local business sector. A three-man team comprising Braithwaite and computer technicians, Lennox Martin and Kwesi Stewart, decided to form the Web site, megadirectorytt.com. It is essentially an online directory that’s “better than the yellow pages,†Brathwaite said, “an out-of-the-box project to benefit the business community.†Mega Directory was born out of necessity. One member of the team wanted information online and wasn’t able to find all the data he needed in one place.
“The Web site was developed primarily to give legitimately licence businesses an online presence to give consumers the biographies and contact information of the businesses themselves,†said Braithwaite, “The Web site will be a user-friendly, smooth, effective tool to find exactly what you are searching for.†“Each registered business will have the opportunity to make their own biography to describe themselves.†The site is strictly business-oriented and only open for firms in Trinidad—“for now,†Braithwaite said. He said the search engine will bring up all key words. For example, when one types in “doctor,†businesses with a tag labelled “doctor†will show up, allowing users to select one to work with.
Braithwaite distinguished his project from other search engines by stating it’s not like traditional directories; the Web site has two additional facets:
• Mega Directory is partnering with governmental and non-governmental organisations to get everyone on the same page.
• Consumer-based articles will be posted informing users of new businesses available.
The Web site’s launch, July 8, was ahead of its scheduled debut—1 August. The team wants to make sure everything is in place, running smoothly and have articles posted before August 1. The team has held talks with the Bureau of Standards and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to have links on their Web sites to Mega Directory. “We want to spread the word, to get things rolling,†Braithwaite said.
Yearly registration is $300
“You can pay online or print a registration form and send it via mail,†said Braithwaite, “However, once filled in online, your business is uploaded immediately.†Businesses that come on board between August 1 to September 30, 2010, will be billed on October 1, 2010. Businesses that come on board between October 1 to December 31 will be billed on January 1, 2011. Thereafter, business will be put on one of two payment cycles: January to December or June to July the following year. However, that’s only if the site succeeds in reeling in at least 600 businesses. Braithwaite isn’t even considering the alternative, quoting Robert Mayers, deputy political leader of the Congress of the People, during the 2010 general election campaign, he said, “Losing is not an option.â€
Source: Guardian
NADALEEN SINGH
Published: 29 Jul 2010
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered to pay $160,000 in penalties after it contravened several rules in the Securities Industry Act and the Securities Industry by-laws. The contraventions are: Sections 64(3), 66(1)(a) and 66(2) of the Securities Industry Act and Sections 55(1) and 56(1) of the by-laws. In its judgement handed down on July 20, 2010, the SEC said Angostura failed to file a copy of its interim financial statements with the SEC for 2006, 2007 and 2009, and was fined a total of $30,000.
Another violation was Angostura’s failure to file a copy of its annual report with the SEC on or before April 30, 2005, to 2007, and was ordered to pay a total $30,000 in total. For not filing its annual report in 2008, Angostura was fined a further $20,000.
Angostura also failed to file its audited comparative financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2005, 2007 and was ordered to pay $20,000. For not filing its 2008 comparative financial statements, the SEC ordered it to pay a further $20,000. The company did not file for 2006 and was fined $10,000. A registration statement is a carefully prepared set of documents, including a prospectus that is filed with the SEC prior to an initial public offering.
Angostura did not file its amended registration statement with SEC on July 20, 2007 and 2008 and was fined $20,000. For not filing the 2006 amended registration statement on time, Angostura was fined $10,000. It filed the statement on October 30, 2007, past the due date of July 20, 2007. The SEC said two penalties were waived after a proposed settlement agreement was approved by the settlement panel these were:
1. Angostura’s failure to file its annual report with SEC on or before April 30, 2004. 2. Failure to file its interim financial statement with SEC on or before August 29, 2004.
Home Mortgage Bank
The SEC in its judgement on July 20, 2010, ordered Home Mortgage Bank (HMB) to pay $30,000 in fines for contravening by-law 56(1) and Section 66(1)(a) of the Securities Industry Act, 1995. The SEC said the HMB did not file its 2008 audited comparative financial statement with SEC on or before March 31, 2009 in accordance with by-law 56(1). HMB also did not file a copy of its 2008 Annual Report with SEC on or before April 30, 2009 in accordance with Section 66(1)(a) of the Securities Industry Act, 1995.
NEW YORK, USA (AFP) — Haitian hip hop star and humanitarian activist Wyclef Jean did not rule out running for president amid rumours on Tuesday that he may stand in this year’s elections in the quake-hit Caribbean nation.
“Wyclef’s commitment to his homeland and its youth is boundless and he will remain its greatest supporter regardless of whether he is part of the government moving forward,” his family said in a statement.
“At this time, Wyclef Jean has not announced his intent to run for Haitian president. If and when a decision is made, media will be alerted immediately.”
The statement responded to a report in Canada’s French-language Le Droit newspaper and rumors in Haiti that the former Fugees frontman is preparing paperwork for a bid in the upcoming election.
Current President Rene Preval is barred by the constitution from seeking a new term in the elections scheduled for November 28.
Preval’s mandate expires in February 2011, but several parties have accused him of seeking to stay in office, adding political tensions to the economic and humanitarian troubles afflicting the impoverished country.
WYCLEF FOR PRESIDENT OF HAITI
Jean, who lives in New York, is founder of the humanitarian Yele Haiti Foundation and has played a prominent role in securing aid after the January 12 earthquake leveled much of the capital city Port-au-Prince.
Widespread allegations of financial mismanagement were leveled at the organization during the crisis.
The quake killed 250,000 people and has left 1.5 million homeless, causing a huge humanitarian disaster in the poorest country in the Americas.
Apple iphone 4
July 29, 2010
Copyright Office of the U.S. Library of Congress had introduced two critical exceptions to the DMCA, which makes it legal for users to jailbreak and unlock their iPhone in the US. However, Apple is singing another tune. Although Jailbreaking of the iphone is legal, you may void the original warranty to your iphone. I advise my readers to proceed with caution. However for those of whom are fearless, there are many sites that offer step-by-step instructions on how to jailbreak your iphone. Because we love our iphone that way it is we will not provide instructions. You may google “jailbreak iphone”.
Dr Arturo A. Valenzuela, US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said Washington was anticipating the processing of the requests.
“There is a series of extraditions that the United States still has requested and we look forward to those being processed,” he said yesterday morning at a press briefing at the US Embassy in St Andrew.
The Gleaner understands that the list includes law-enforcement officers, politicians and other high-profile individuals. According to sources, some of the extradition requests are related to the investigation of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, the alleged crime overlord who is in New York facing drug and gun charges.
When quizzed about the extradition requests, Valenzuela asked Isiah Parnell, the chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy, to respond.
Not a public spectacle
Parnell stonewalled reporters on whether the new requests involved elected Jamaican officials, stating that the US Embassy was “discreet and circumspect” in how it handled such diplomatic matters.
“… We have an extradition treaty that has worked well between the US government and the Government of Jamaica … . It has not been our practice to talk about individual extradition requests. We don’t expect that to change,” he told journalists.
Parnell stressed that Washington would continue to work through the normal diplomatic channels to handle any extradition requests deemed difficult.
The chargé d’affaires pointed out that there was nosignificant change in the number of extradition requests made by the US, adding that the range was between 10 and 20 per annum.
“As issues come up … we will process them through the DPP (director of public prosecutions) as we normally do, and the attorney general’s office, and we just look forward to that process running smoothly,” he said.
Dr Paul Gardner, president of the Jamaica Council of Churches – one of the major critics of the Jamaican Government’s handling of the Coke saga – has cautioned that the Golding administration should return to the established extradition procedures, “assuming that we bungled the last one”.
According to Gardner, the level of secrecy should be maintained in terms of information shared between the US and Jamaican governments.
“There is a point when it becomes public knowledge, and I would hope that this is adhered to in terms of those that are pending,” he added.
The fresh extradition requests come on the heels of the June 24 transfer of Coke, the deposed Tivoli Gardens strongman, following a nine-month stalemate between Washington
and Kingston over the request.
Under intense pressure to resign in May, Golding softened his earlier stance on the request for Coke and gave the green light for his extradition.
Last week, news surfaced that US prosecutors had filed a new sealed document with the courts.
Prosecutors gave no indication of what is contained in the document filed on June 20 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York where Dudus is to be tried.
Valenzuela met with Golding yesterday as part of a three-nation tour of the Caribbean. He visited The Bahamas and is to make his final stop in Trinidad and Tobago.
During their meeting, Golding and Valenzuela discussed how the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) could be more effective.
The CBSI, announced by US President Barack Obama during the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago early last year, focuses on three main objectives. The initiative is aimed at substantially reducing illicit drug trafficking, increasing public safety and security and promoting social justice.
Source: Star
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GFBC WORLD NEWS
