Let’s get past the 2000 views today lovers!!!!! Thanks for staying interested…It’s getting harder and harder for us to find different ways to say the same ish LOL
Year: 2012
Pro Con List: By: Aria Lightfoot
Elections are drawing near; the propaganda machinery is in high gear. Information, money, mortgage write-off, Belizean citizenship, finger pointing and empty promises are being thrown your way from every direction. We are all weighing in on this circus for our votes. The media sources, political foot soldiers, religious organs, special interest groups and citizens are making noise. The frenzy is confusing and feels like mosquitoes irritatingly buzzing in your ear.
I guess what is bugging me is my inability to write a pro and con list. I know the importance of voting, but as a voter can I truly make a difference? If vote for PUP, do they plan to change their evil ways? I am not sure. Am I wrong? But it seems that PUP candidates are the same perpetuators of some serious corruption and flaws in judgment in the past administration. These candidates and affiliates are proudly displayed on their websites and out campaigning.
If I vote for UDP, do they plan on changing their evil ways? UDP has backtracked on most campaign promises to offset corruption and in fact celebrated the “spoil system” as PUP gave an approving nod. They have conducted some questionable activities and lately they seem more like the PUP that was voted out of office.
Mein, I feel frustrated and powerless as a voter, I don’t even think there is a third party candidate in my division and if there was, would voting for them just be wasting my vote? How can a party without the requisite seat plan to address any changes when they cannot even come up with 31 candidates?
I am not like those abused, forgiving voters…the ones who make excuses and try to justify the evil of their party. I want to know what these parties are doing for Belize. Will they change it? Will they run Belize to the ground until there is literally nowhere else to go? Do they care about my vote? Let your voices and expectations be heard clearly as they canvass for your vote. Stop treating fellow citizens from a different party like your enemy because here is the real tidbit:
Our politicians are becoming super millionaires with your vote endorsement. Their children attend the best schools worldwide and have the posh jobs. Dean Barrow and Francis Fonseca don’t really hate each other! Let me say it again! PUP and UDP politicians don’t hate each other! They all hang out together, go to the same parties, belong to the same clubs, and celebrate each other successes in life and in many instances, RELATED to each other! When we witness the argument in the House of Representatives, that is just the obligatory show time performance for the “fool fool” Belizeans. So we di fool fool ones think that these politicians are sleeping at night worried about our well being. IF they truly loved Belize, the first day in office they would begin implementing the changes to cure the deficiencies that create corruption.
Wake up my Belizean people, take off your red and blue and yellow lens and let’s start seeing where our country is broken and let’s start fixing it…! DEMAND ACCOUNTABILTY FROM THESE LEADERS WHO DEPEND ON OUR BLIND ALLEGIANCE!
Daily Dingleberry 01-24-12
People make me soooo tired *sigh*
Eribadi just yak yak yak yak…are we listening to anything?
I see lovely, passionate people but instead of debating ideas…we are debating records…as in, who duh what, when, where….we are gonna get nowhere like this. We need to establish a solid, sound framework within which our government, blue, red, pink needs to work. We have to acknowledge that the system is ROTTEN TO THE CORE. As long as our rules and laws are outdated, as long as we are operating under the same old premises and archaic ideologies, we will be third world. Third world ideas, third word behaviour, third world life. Don’t like that? Meh…sux for you.
We need to stop this ‘crab enna bucket’ mentality. We need to stop letting rich and powerful families get away with murder, literally. Nothing can get done if people are intimidated and threatened at every level. The smart people keep yaking yaking yaking (wait, would that include me? LOL) but we continuously fail to address the fact that we are fighting some pretty strong, deep seated, (no, it’s not deep seeded cause anything planted too deep doesn’t grow, hence has no roots) historical and cultural factors. ANd then it all comes back to who, how, when, where and with what the hell money?
Depressed yet?
Daily Dingleberry 01-23-12
Today I”m gonna give you a dingleberry: What would happen if ALL the Belizeans AND their families came home ALL at once?
Voting Behavior – By: Hubert Pipersburgh
Honest Assessment Needed
While relying on empirical data to predict election outcomes has proven to be sound, even with
the utilization of regression analysis and the null hypothesis, the accuracy of such polling data is
reasonably inaccurate because of intangibles that cannot be quantified. In addition, it is useful
to analyze Belize’s voting patterns within the context of post independence voting behavior. It
gives us a more nuanced understanding of voting in Belize as it relates to election outcomes.
This understanding of voting patterns which contributes to the overall electoral process in Belize
is what is lacking most. It can be argued that a more inter-disciplinary approach is needed to
gain better comprehension of Belizeans’ choices in the voting booth. By that I mean sociological,
anthropological, psychological, and economical factors. They are all important in an honest
assessment and they are not mutually exclusive. Since independence, elections in Belize has
mirrored a certain pattern–of the 5 elections held there have been three landslides . The UDP
have won two and the PUP one. A closer examination of those elections showed a positive
correlation between successfully outlining the issues and the outcome of the election. Perhaps,
what needs to be examined is Belizeans’ behaviors and attitudes while casting their ballots. What
are they influenced by? What drives them to make the choices they do?
Driven By Perception
In the ‘84 cycle UDP brandished the issue of PUP being out of touch and corrupt. In the ‘98
cycle PUP’s use of the Killa Vat and the retrenchment of government workers leading up to
Christmas of ’95 resulted in UDP’s devastating loss. In the ’08 cycle the UDP highlighted PUP
corruption and largess with the Venezuelan moines and the universal hospital fiasco, along with
Mr. Musa and Mr. Fonseca as the centerpieces of that argument.
Those three cycles stand out because it shows voting in Belize is often driven by Belizeans’
perception or lack thereof as it relates to their choice of party. Often times they cast a protest
vote which leads to these landslides. In the ‘89 cycle the PUP used the Coca Cola land deal to
recapture momentum by dubbing UDP as greedy sell outs. The ’93 cycle (which UDP won by
a very close margin) is an anomaly only because PUP’s top brass mis- calculated the resolve of
the electorate. The people were still not convinced that the PUP had the answers to their issues.
Also, they were not prepared to trust any party with more than one term in power.
Of particular interest is the ‘98 and ‘03 cycle. This was the only time since independence that
either party could argue definitively that they were the true majority party. I reference this
to argue that Belizeans’ decisions in the voting booth are driven by very basic and primitive
concerns. Their choices are based on their perceived notion that the spoils system determines
their choice. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs may be helpful to explain this attitude. At the
very base of that pyramid is the need for security, survival, and physical needs. Hence,
physiological needs take precedence and dominate behavior. Rational choice theory and some
variation of standpoint theory might also explain Belizeans’ voting behavior because those are
based primarily on self-interested individuals who in this case exercised their franchise against
their own economic interest. In other words, their decision is based purely on what they can get
and not what is necessarily best for the whole. It also reflects a growing feeling that voting does
not make a difference.
The Two Party Spoil System
The spoils system recently defended by Mr.Barrow is one of the major influences in the way
Belizeans’ vote. Mr. Barrow has set out to ensure that the spoils system plays a central role in
his quest to convince Belizeans that the UDP is now the true majority party and should be given
a second term. All his major public policy initiatives and promises since the election points to
that fact. In short, Mr. Barrow knows that Belizeans respond to the beat of the spoils system
when faced with conflicting imperatives. Another possible explanation is that elite opinion
usually drives mass opinion. Thus, when presented with conduct unbecoming of a particular
party, Belizeans bypass the working through the process of resolution and summarily arrive to
public judgement. The underlying assumption being that public judgement is far more permanent
than public opinion and its implications more longterm.
This has led to the watershed electoral cycles that I have discussed so far. Political parties in
Belize are often times undone by their own actions such as corruption, nepotism, cronyism,
and disastrous machine politics. Image matters more than substance. For many Belizeans, the
major parties are superficial and unresponsive to their major concerns. The elitist character of
these parties obstruct a broader view of what democracy really is and the role that citizens must
play to make it meaningful. Thus, for the disenfranchised and marginalized masses, electoral
democracy becomes an empty charade unless accompanied by structural reforms to our system
of governance and jurisprudence. Worse still, the party apparatus is indistinguishable from the
government itself.
Myopic Tendencies
Historical irrefutable evidence shows that both political parties in the context of the Westminster
model that was grafted upon Belizeans take advantage of the spoil system. This pattern of
behavior perfected over the past thirty years have created and solidified a culture of voting
that perpetuate myopic tendencies and self-degradation. Both parties points out the flaws and
weaknesses of the system when they are in opposition, but quickly develops a kind of selective
amnesia towards said flaws when handed the reins of power. A classic case in point; the mass
registration of immigrants that we are now presently witnessing just before the announcement of
a major election. To this end, it illuminates the fact that our entire political structure in Belize
undoubtedly is the problem and in need of serious reforms if Belize is to ever make that great
leap forward.
The Belizean electorate isn’t sophisticated and/or informed or aware enough to absorb and
discern the complexities of the politics involved and therefore are easily swayed to support
the parties who appear to address their physiological concerns most effectively leading up to
elections rather than the party who proves to be most effective and qualified. This is evident in
their voting patterns since the country’s independence where they continue to rotate one corrupt
regime after another. They appear completely inept in how to create and maintain a successful
government. This naiveté has been the key factor in them obviously electing corrupt individuals
devoid of any moral compass ever since. Politics vs. government….government is what runs a
country and politics is what runs the government. Surely government administration should take
precedence over politicking.
Daily Dingleberry 01-22-12
OK PIPPLE!!!! This one REALLLLLLY bothers me. We are being damn hypocritical about the way we express our feelings about immigrants coming to Belize…I can hear the spit fly and bile swallow when we seh “deh pania”. But people, many of our family members are immigrants facing the same prejudice in other countries, yes? Especially, the US????? How can we show such animosity to a group many of us represent? And then, cussing how they take our jobs while we starve? Why di hell you nuh di pick fruit and calleck garbage? Why you nuh di chap cane and clean toilet? What? You tu good fi mek an honest dallah? YEAH….you much rather work the biggest industry we got in Belize right? WESTERN UNION! Well mek ah tell uno di straight up straight. YOUR relatives tyad ah you di beg fi money. YOUR relatives tyad ah heah bout deh alien whe tek uno job and das why u bruk! Cause the irony is? You di depend pan wa immigrant di tek somebadi job ret yah da states tu! And it aint no fun to feel unwelcome and unwanted and treated less than. when we are developing and contributing to the communities within which we live. Don’t be hatin’ on your neighbours, man. We are all part of one world, one human family. Show some compassion and in the meantime, stop lying to yourself about why you are in the situation you are in. Dah yuh paliticians tief! Dah yu son di sell weed! Da u nuh wa do jobs yu feel are beneath you! If you want your country to grow and become strong, you literally have to toil the soil you are so desperately fighting about and for.
Put that in your bong and smoke it!
Duh Soh, Nuh Like Duh Soh by Fayemarie Anderson Carter
It is a sunny morning in the Jewel and children all over are rushing to school. Some stop at the Chineyman shop to buy haadtimes and sweets or pencils and erasers. Others dawdle on corners waiting for their friends to catch up so they can walk the rest of the way together. On the junction of Fortification and Judgement Streets, passersby can hear the screeching of a frustrated Dodes as she hustles the children out the door.
“Marion! Marion! Get your little sister and get your bottoms out of here NOW!” screamed Dodes.
“But MOOOOM! She is so slow dis morning and she will make me late. Can’t you take her?” asked Marion.
“Marion, if you backansa mi one mo time, ah wa wahm you lee rass fi be suh rude,” responds a very visibly angry Dodes.
Bernie hails the children from her perch trying to distract them and Dodes from escalating and also to signal to Dodes that the neighbours are hearing everything.
“Morning, Marion, Lyndsey. You bettah run a little to catch up on time, girls. You only have 20 minutes. Hold her hand Lyndsey and don’t give Marion any trouble ok? See you dis evening girls. Maybe you come visit me and I’ll have some treats fuh yu ok?” said Bernie kindly.
She didn’t deal with this in the morning at all. Their driver took her children to school and she had time then to chat with Dodes over a cup of tea before she had to go to the factory. The bus passed by their street around 8:45 am. She was the last one the company driver picked up. She was close to the highway and it was only five miles to the factory. They usually made it with about six minutes to spare, just enough for a last bathroom run before she clocked in at 9:00 on the dot.
Dodes looked especially flustered as she sidled next to Bernie. “Aye, gial. Sumtimes, deya pickney just tek it outta mi. My day staat at 5 in the mawning. By di time da damn bus come? Ah ready fi lay down again.” Dodes sighed heavily.
“Come Dodes. Ah have yu tea ready fi yu. Ah cud call Maisy and have her bring us some fresh tortillas if you want, with some dutch cheese? guava jelly?”
“Thanks, Bernie. Ah mek breakfast fi di pickney but den dey staat fight and of course, ah nevah finish mines.” Bernie calls to her housekeeper, Maisy and instructs her to bring Dodes some breakfast.
“Now Dodes. Tell mi whe happen. All ah heah da lata railin up and screamin. Who do what now?”
“Well da Marion and Darnell again. Ah nevah know what wa set off Marion these days. Shi so quiet and moody and her mouth di staat to sting.” Dodes looks up at her friend with tears glistening in her eyes. “Sometimes, I wonder if ah mek a mistake kicking her daddy out. Ah mean at least he would be here now fi help me.”
“Dodes. Nuh duh dat tuh yuself gial. You did what you felt was best at the time. He was cheating on you and withholding money and spending it on the other women. How you know anything would be better or even different now? 10 years later? Maybe you guys would be fighting so much, it would be worse. And then he has five more children pan top. What if he mi have dey while he mideh wid u still? How u miwa deal wid dat? And what bout Melanie and Lyndsey? They wouldn’t be here now, would they?
Dodes smiled weakly and shook her head. “Anyways, suh Darnell have dis habit fuh nuh duh his chores and den po Marion end up di hafi do dem bc by di time I get home, da time fi Darnell duh ih homework. You know he nuh as smaat as di girls and so he tek twice as long fi duh anyting. Suh Marion decide dat she wa staat get back afta Darnell and stop wash ih clothes and shi di hide dey anda di bed stuck up all in between di bodes dem. I di look fi days everywhere befo ah finally find dey. Darnell di wear di same unifahm fi neahly a week now. Ah haftu di wash it da nite and heng it inna di bathroom. Suh dis mawnin, Marion squirt tootpaste pan di shirt and po Darnell had to goh da school wid a wet shirt cause ah had to rinse out di spot. And we use Close Up cause da di cheapest and da rass red. So po Darnell shut gat dis pink lookin stain crass and crass it. Aye.”
Bernie is laughing now as she imagines Marion doing this to her brother. “But Dodes, gial. Why yu nuh mek Darnell wash ih own cothes fi tru? He di get big unuh? Even lee Melanie wash clothes with Marion pan Saturday.’
“Really? Ah nevah know she midi actually wash di clothes. Ah know dey go dungstayz tugeddah but ah mi tink shi just di kip Marion company,’ said Dodes. “Ah feel like sumtimes my life jus outta control Bernie. Ah feel like day in and day out, ah just work and work and work and fi what? Ah di lose mi pickney. Sumtimes di look whe Marion give me, ah wah slap ah but den ah jus wah dissapear eena wah hole. Dah like shi hate mi. Anyway,” Dodes chewed a piece of her tortilla and swallowed before continuing,” Ah di try explain tuh Marion dat even doh Darnell wrong fi nuh duh ih chores and ih nuh wash ih own clothes and she hafi end up di duh it, shi just as wrong for hiding his clothes and ruining his shirt. Shi tell me how whe she do nuh as bad as whe hi duh and plus top, he get everything fuh duh absolutely nutting and shi get nutting fi duh absolutely everything. When dey wah lawn dat in di meantime, di two ah dey di mek it haad pan me! Ah just di try mek a life fuh all a wi you know? and ih feel like nuh mattah whe ah try duh, ah ciant get head and all dey duh dah fight di mek it woss!”
Dodes starts to smile. “Sound like friggin UDP and PUP huh? ‘you tief’ ‘no yu tief!’ Dodes moves from side to side changing her voice to represent each side.
“well, at least ah nuh as teifah as u!”
“Who seh so? wi still nuh know how much yu tief! At least when we tief, we pass it on to the people! Ask evibadi whe get turkey and ham fi krismus. At least dat da sumting!”
“Ha! what people? fi u people? O wait! da nuh even fi we people! Da di bloody alien whe uno just hurry friggin give citizenship!”
“Well when election time cum, u always drag out alla your votahs dem, even di one whe dead fuh 20 yeahs! At least ah nevah tek money fram Ashcroft fu mi campaign! Go google da shit! Ih deh ret deh pan wikipedia! And a bet dah only di million whe uno cop tu! Who knows how much ih reaaaaaalllly give uno!”
“Well look pan kettle di cuss pat! Who u fi seh jack shit? You represent di man den tun rung and sue ah??? Conflict of interest much? u lucky u nuh dead! You sure hitman nuh deh afta u?”
At this Dodes looked squarely at her friend,” Meanwhile me and you di get busup like pinata, right Bernie? Ah mean really? Put puss eena bag which one cum out fus? And dey one pa tv! O my lord!” Dodes puts her hands on her hips and imitates the tv personalities they all knew so well. ” I know my party nuh perfect but that is in the past! We are talking about this government today! They promise to do bettah and they haven’t! They are just as corrupt so out they must go!'” At this, Dodes cut her eye and sucked her teeth. “Da stupid di tawk but nuh stupid di listen. Ah mean who dey di fool? How I supposed to vote dem back in when demi worse and dey di actually agree da demi worse?? Soh dis govament tief tuh suh let’s vote een di one whe tiefarah! My goodness!”
By this time Bernie is laughing heartily. She loved it when Dodes got funny. “Aye, Dodes. Stop! U wah mek ah drop off ah disya wiyah. Hmmmmm.” She catches her breath. “Dodes. Dodes! Di bus di cum! Go lock u doh hurry!”
Dodes flies off to lock her door before the bus stops on her street.
“See you latah, Berns! whooohooo!” waved Dodes.
“Bye Dodes! See u latah fi tea!” waved back Bernie.
Dodes seemed in much higher spirits as she made her way to work. Another day, another win against unemployment and poverty. She made a silent promise that she wouldn’t lose her focus and determination even when her children questioned her actions. She needed to talk to Marion. She couldn’t stand the thought of losing her best ally, her best friend in this world. If she only knew that is exactly why Marion resents her.
Daily Dingleberry 01-21-12
Is it really the 21st already???? Sheesh! Time is whizzing by! Pet peeve today IS: people causing hysteria on these here blogs/Facebook pages about EVERYTHING the government does…remember di likkle boy who cried wolf??? One day, when there really was a wolf, nobody listened. My point? You lose credibility when everything you say is biased. This type of halarism will lose my interest quick because it just sung like sour grapes, ovah and ovah again. People, even the ones you think are stupid, quickly tire of constantly being yelled at “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!” It’s a natural human response to just tune yo ass out. We can’t take it, ok? It takes too much energy to worry and stress out that much. And common sense intervenes to tell us, “hey, we nuh dead yet, let’s go bathe sea”. I love all my people, blue or red or just green with envy. Look around and just for a second, truly evaluate this situation. I’m not asking you to ignore corruption and blatant disregard for the law, BUT LOOK RUNG!!!! We have been chosen as a top tourist destination. Join forces together with other lovers and clean up this place. Do fu yuhself and cash in on the good publicity we are getting. Bank that lovers!
New Addition to The Aviary!!! Dode’s Four Children: Marion, Darnell, Melanie and Lyndsey by Fayemarie Anderson Carter
Marion Enid Chickadee She is Doo Doo’s oldest child. She is 12 years old and about to go to high school. She, like so many other first born girls in Belizean society, is the second mother to her younger siblings. Dodes leans on her even more so because she s a single parent and this is going to lead to some conflict as Marion gets older. Not only is she a daughter but she is a de facto partner with responsibilities who helps her mother to make decisions about family finances and the other children.This creates confusion as she is held to higher standards than other girls her age, while still being expected to “mind” her mother and as such, is subject to spankings and punishments. Marion is developing a resentment towards her mother and her siblings because she feels burdened by having to take care of them as well as being her mother’s confidant. She wants to be able to chat on the phone with her friends or hang out at the park. Instead, she is washing dishes, washing the laundry and helping her siblings with homework. She often makes the evening meal and then has to do her homework and study. She has to make sure that her siblings do their chores too or else her mother is displeased with her and accuses her of not being at home taking care of the children. She often ends up doing their chores just to avoid the confrontation. As a result, she is withdrawing and becoming a very introverted person, engaging more and more in the fantasy world of her books. Late at night, after everyone is sleeping, she turns on a flashlight and reads books cover to cover.
Darnell Oliver Chickadee He is Doo Doo’s second child and only son. He is 10 and a half and hasn’t quite taken the role as “man of the house”. He is allowed to be very childlike and spends much of his time making kites, playing marbles and trying to get out of doing his chores. While he and Marion are closest in age, she is actually closer to their younger sister, Melanie. Darnell seems oblivious to the heavy responsibilities Marion has, while Melanie often helps her out and scolds the other children for making things harder for Marion. The girls have take to calling Darnell “King” because their mother never seems to punish him for not doing his chores and often gives them to someone else to do. Their mother gives him the choicest bits to eat as well, which annoys everybody and causes disagreements at the table. He gets seconds when no one else is allowed because their mother says “he is a growing boy” and the girls have to “keep their figure if they want to catch a good man”. His grades are mediocre so that while the girls work and study hard to get A’s and B’s, their mother celebrates when Darnell gets a C plus. Darnell has done poorly enough that he is only in Std IV instead of Std V where he should be. When Marion tries to tell her mother that she is showing preferential treatment to Darnell, her mother responds by saying that Darnell has it worst of all the children because he has no father figure. This makes Marion’s blood boil because she wants to scream at her mother that none of them does. The result is Darnell has taken to ordering his sisters around, threatening to tell their mother some lie or the other, if they don’t do what he wants.
Melanie Annette Chickadee She is the third child, only 8 and a half and in Std III. She is like Marion in a lot of ways. She is smart and responsible beyond her years and often shares the majority of the chores with her big sister. They wash clothes together on Saturday morning while Darnell watches cartoons. Marion scrubs and Melanie rinses. While this chore is hard and sometimes made even harder when it rains or it is still and the mosquitoes are out, this is Melanie’s favourite time with her sister. They put on the radio real loud and sing at the tops of their voices. Sometimes friends, on their way to the market, stop by and chat. Part of Melanie feels proud that she can do such a grown up chore and do it well. She takes pride in squeezing every drop of water out and hanging the clothes like little soldiers, lined off at attention. The towels are the hardest and sometimes Marion grabs one end and she the other and they giggle as the wring out the water. Melanie doesn’t like what she sees going on in her home and she has started to vocalize her disapproval. Her father didn’t even stick around long enough for her birth, so she has little respect for men and little tolerance for her mother’s indulgence of her brother. She gets back at him by stealing his biscuits and his snack money. When she bites into a piece of fudge bought with the money she steals from him, she closes her eyes with secret pleasure at having gotten one over him.
Lindsey Lynnette Chickadee She is the fourth child, the baby, and has a special place in everyone’s hearts. She has blue eyes and a big smile. Her father is a limey soldier long gone back to England. This is the only sister Darnell doesn’t tease or hit. He has a soft spot for her and she is the only sister he shares his things with. Darnell takes her for walks by the sea and they look at tadpoles in the drains together. More than once, Marion has had to quickly wash her clothes because she slipped into the nasty black drain water. Once, Marion had to turn Lindsey upside down to dislodge a marble Darnell had lovingly given her. Darnell got really upset because he almost killed his favourite sister with his favourite shooter. After that, he only gave her biggies to play with because she couldn’t swallow those. At five years old, she is only in Infant I. School lets out an hour earlier than it does for her older siblings and she has to wait outside of Marion’s class for her to walk her home. This makes Marion nervous everyday because when she can’t see the top of her sister’s head through the classroom window, she panics. She lives in constant fear that someone will snatch her sister. This anxiety is fed with the constant news of little girls being abducted, raped and murdered just these past few months. Marion frets when she thinks of what will happen when she has to go to high school. Lindsey’s father is the only one who regularly writes and sends packages from England. Sometimes, Marion fantasizes that he will come back and marry their mother and take them all back to England with him but every time she mentions it to her mother, her mother sucks her teeth and changes the subject.
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