Belize

Constitutional Convention – by: Aria Lightfoot on Saturday, 27 August 2011 at 11:59(repost)

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Recently, the idea of a constitutional convention was suggested, I give credit to Mr. Hubert Pipersburg, who is quickly igniting a necessary debate about the effectiveness or lack there of, of our system of governance!

This was something that should have been done back in the early 70s when the writing on the wall indicated that England was ready to kick us out the proverbial nest! If I recall the debate of the time, one party supported it and the other party boycotted the formulation of our constitution in a shortsighted protest that has Belize in this conundrum today!

Today in Belize, one party makes a suggestion and the other party outrightly rejects the idea. Policies are written with no intent to implement, but rather to win elections,  promote political party agendas,  as opposed to national agendas. Boycotting has been the opposition response to controversial legislation and as a result, 30 years of our history is marred with stagnation and an ineffective system of governance.

I love the idea of Mr. Pipersburg’s  convention with one reservation; he called for the convention to be  “the brightest minds in Belize!” Unfortunately for Belize, many of our brightest minds also represent the elites in Belize,  who many times are detached from the struggles of the country;  are themselves the perpetrators of the abuse in the system;  and too politically entrenched to make the convention a worthwhile effort.  I call on suggestions to be induced from all organizations in Belize and a consensus of the masses solicited.  If we are rewriting our constitution we need inclusion.  We need to limit the power of government and empower the masses. We need oversight of the public coffers and give our politicians a mandate, with serious reperccusions for unethical deviation. We need a “bill of rights” to ensure fundamental rights are cemented into our legal framework. We need to remove the “discretion of ministers” and replace it with laws mandating the office they hold. We need representative government and we need to  have equal access and strong protection of our citizenship!

Take heed to the call politicians who shape the divide  our country. The people in Belize are voting for a change in the system! They cannot articulate it, so they keep voting parties in  or out on promises of change! Recognize that the populace wants equality and access and an opportunity to enjoy the spoils of the country.  Recognize it before our change is shaped by the people calling for violent revolution! Get off your tax payers’ educated butts, tax payers’ financed lifestyles and do something meaningful for the country of Belize!  Let’s create a Belize for all Belizeans…

Is it a calling or just in it for the money by: Hubert Pipersberg

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Is it a calling or just in it for the money

This underscores the point that we have been discussing on social media for awhile now. The
system is in need of serious structural reforms. Insanity is define as doing the same thing over
and over and expects to get different results. Public service is a choice that one makes and it
comes with certain sacrifices. It’s a given that one’s compensation will not reflect that of the
private sector, The public sector and the so called third sector(non-profit) will never be able
to compete compensation wise with the private sector. The reason is that in public service the
compensation is under-written by taxpayers the government gets its money from tax collection
unlike a business that operates for profit. One enters public service with the assumption that you
are serving the public good. You are doing so strictly for altruistic reasons. It is suppose to be
a calling to service higher than yourself. What better way to make a meaningful contribution to
society via public service? The goal becomes blurred when we expect more out of public service
than what the stated results can give. Having said that, how do we determine compensation?
Aligning it with the cost of living would be a start. Offer civil service protection with built in due
process to protect from arbitrary dismissal. In addition, appointed positions such as the CEO
of a ministry who essentially serve at the whim of the minister is still a bureaucrat working in
public service as such they cannot be expected to receive CEO type private sector compensation.
Granted they signed a contract. However, their compensation should commensurate with
scholarship and experience. They should also be evaluated based strictly on performance. Since
they are in fact public servants, they should be compensated enough to do their job for the
public good without compromise or any under-hand dealings. They should be able to serve with
integrity. This is where ethics in government plays a significant role. Bear in mind morality
cannot be legislated. In short, they must still be held accountable to the public trust. I can think
of interventions such as the integrity commission as a start.

As for these powerful elected government ministers with mandates to intimidate bureaucrats,
they operate under a different banner the spoils system. Suffice to say again it boils down to
sacrifice for the public good. I believe that they should be compensated. I am not prepared to
suggest a number. However, it should be aligned with the cost of living. This is an example of
where the Westminster model exposes its short comings. An ongoing discourse or framework
is what is needed to determine the most effective reform to our system of governance and
jurisprudence. What is the most effective model if so how will it be implemented? I am not
prepared to suggest one only because I believe that input will be required from all the stake
holders (the people). I will say this; the stated goal should be for proportional representation. In
addition, I have argued consistently, in this space, that I believe that it should in fact begin with
s sober look at our carbon copy constitution; a constitutional conference/convention would be
my preference. Since the constitution is the highest law of the land we should fashion one that
mirrors our struggle as a people.

Daily Dingleberry 01-25-12

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English: Barack Obama delivers a speech at the...

Image via Wikipedia

I think we are all getting a little exhausted bc now we are starting to turn on each other…so let’s look elsewhere for today while we gather ourselves and our thoughts. Can we say OBAMA!!! Wow! He left his opposition basically stuttering. It was awesome! Even if you won’t vote for him, that was so admirable last night. He was  eloquent and confident. But what I liked even more was, he addressed accusations made against him. He addressed less than popular issues and he made a stand. I loved how he called out the Congress and I hope they felt ashamed because basically they are just cock blocking. That is never acceptable. At this point, I think the Republicans are their worse enemy and has been for a while but if that’s what it took to get our first bi-racial president elected? Then so be it. I hope they get over their outdated views and get with what is best for the country. We all need representation. We are all important. It takes all kinds. Sounds just like Belize doesn’t it? Maybe Belize will finally get a female president…but under what banner? Which party will be brave enough, forward thinking enough to accept a female leader?????

Daily Dingleberry 01-24-12

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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 01-22-12

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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

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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

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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!

Daily Dingleberry 01-20-12

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Belizeans taking this “we are a nation of pirates” LITERALLY as they host website accused of piracy.If you haven’t heard of SOPA then you have been under a rock 😛 The US is trying to get laws passed that basically attacks the freedom of the internet and it’s pissing off a lot of people including my 10 year old. So, this group Anonymous does things to retaliate or just grief government agencies in protest. Yesterday, the FBI shut down the website http://www.megaupload.com bc it accuses it of being an entity that engages in illegal file sharing SO Anonymous shut down the FBI’s computer system. You with me so far? THIS MORNING ABC reports that megaupload is back online using a BELIZE web address. I’m not sure what that means for Belize but it  sure doesn’t help our case days after being reported as being poor cause we tu corrupt and tief???!!! Remember that likkle article that pissed everybody off? Weeeeellllll….may be now we can accept that the whole world is watching us EAT CROW. BAWK!!!!

 

 

For a full and more detailed explanation: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/justice-fbi-crack-megauploadcom-hackers-hit-feds-entertainment/story?id=15396526&page=2#.TxmDQG9PvBs

Daily Dingleberry 01-19-12

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Miss me???? I took a break yesterday for BLACKOUT day in support of Wikipedia 🙂 So back to business!

People! Why are we still aligning with any party? I see people fervently accuse both parties of the same crime/misconduct while acknowledging that they “know” that their party isn’t perfect and that they do it too blah blah blah. OMG really??? So, do as I say but not as I do??? Scratching my head. Reminds me of those commercials where the kids are in a room and one gets a toy car and the other gets  one gets a real car for no good reason, just because, even though they both opened the same account at the same bank. This is just beyond ridiculous. We all make deposits into the same bank. We all try to follow the rules and provide for our children. We are all concerned about the same future: OUR FUTURE. YOU who got the fancy car, don’t shut your mouth because you got something from the government. You will get the same shitty end of the stick as the one who didn’t get the fancy car. Fire the bank. Don’t put your money there. Want for you neighbour what you would like for yourself because one day, you will be the kid getting the toy car. Don’t give ANYBODY the power to play with your money, your citizenship, your laws, your FUTURE.

OWN YOURSELF.

You deserve all that is fair and good and LAWFUL. It is the friggin LEAST we can expect from the people we hired. YES WE HIRE OUR POLITICIANS. So if they are breaking the law, being unethical, FIRE THEY ASS. Red and Blue mek purple….who like get bruise up? You like da black eye? how bout da bruk hand? Cripple foot? Before you get brain damage too, pull your head out of your ass! Make peace with my piece, lovers 😉