THE RIDICULOUSNESS OF HUMAN ENGINEERED RELIGIONS TO CONTROL OTHER PEOPLE!
In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant
Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus
18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.
The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a US man,
and posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I
have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that
knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend
the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that
Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of
debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other
elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are from neighboring nations. A friend of mine
claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you
clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in
Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair
price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her
period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how
do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors.
They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus
35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated
to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than
homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there
'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I
have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading
glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room
here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.
19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes
me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two
different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments
made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also
tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go
to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them?
Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family
affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy
considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
Your adoring fan.
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus,
Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education
University of Virginia PS (It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a
Canadian)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
TAIWAN IS BIGGEST FOREIGN AID DONOR FOR TINY BELIZE
TAIWAN IS THE BIGGEST FOREIGN AID DONOR TO TINY BELIZE.
This is SCHOLARSHIP SEASON before the school year starts. Taiwan has come in with the biggest raft of FOREIGN AID SCHOLARSHIPS for Belizeans out of all the other countries in the world. Including the USA, the United Kingdom and Canada.
26 scholarships have been awarded to Belize students this year.
One of the hard parts for Taiwanese scholarships is the spending one year in learning MANDARIN so you can attend class. In Belize we have the Mandarin speakers from TAIWAN, who descend from the Manchu dynasty and also the mainlander Chinese who speak mostly Cantonese.
Scholarships offered in Tropical Agriculture, Science and Technology, Science of Philosophy, Marine Sciences and Resource Management, Sustainable Development Programs, Electric Power Engineering, Nursing Masters Degrees, Resource Development, Information Science, Health Care Administration, Mechanical Engineering, Trade and Management, Business Administration. The scholarships are offered by the Government of the Republic of Taiwan.
24 former Belize students completed their studies this year also. Right now there are 80 BELIZEAN STUDENTS STUDYING IN TAIWAN AT DIFFERENT LEVELS
AAAAhhh! If only Canada and the USA had programs as big as this? The USA unfortunately is FLAT BROKE and heavily in DEBT. CANADA is Euro-Centric and does not apparently live in and on the American Continent? They are Europeans first and foremost in outlook. Too bad, they are missing out on a lot for our continental hemisphere.
This is SCHOLARSHIP SEASON before the school year starts. Taiwan has come in with the biggest raft of FOREIGN AID SCHOLARSHIPS for Belizeans out of all the other countries in the world. Including the USA, the United Kingdom and Canada.
26 scholarships have been awarded to Belize students this year.
One of the hard parts for Taiwanese scholarships is the spending one year in learning MANDARIN so you can attend class. In Belize we have the Mandarin speakers from TAIWAN, who descend from the Manchu dynasty and also the mainlander Chinese who speak mostly Cantonese.
Scholarships offered in Tropical Agriculture, Science and Technology, Science of Philosophy, Marine Sciences and Resource Management, Sustainable Development Programs, Electric Power Engineering, Nursing Masters Degrees, Resource Development, Information Science, Health Care Administration, Mechanical Engineering, Trade and Management, Business Administration. The scholarships are offered by the Government of the Republic of Taiwan.
24 former Belize students completed their studies this year also. Right now there are 80 BELIZEAN STUDENTS STUDYING IN TAIWAN AT DIFFERENT LEVELS
AAAAhhh! If only Canada and the USA had programs as big as this? The USA unfortunately is FLAT BROKE and heavily in DEBT. CANADA is Euro-Centric and does not apparently live in and on the American Continent? They are Europeans first and foremost in outlook. Too bad, they are missing out on a lot for our continental hemisphere.
BELIZE REMOTE JUNGLE HEALTH CENTERS GET EXPANDED!
THREE CEMENT BLOCK HEALTH CENTERS HAVE BEEN INAUGURATED, SERVING 20 REMOTE JUNGLE VILLAGES IN THE TOLEDO DISTRICT
7000 people living in remote jungle farms and villages can now access preventive early medical service in their remote locations. These Health Centers existed before, but they have been renovated by the Ministry of Health and upgraded to serve local people with a doctor, a pharmacy and a nurse/midwife. Before the service was only a one room, nurse service, used mostly to stitch up cuts, or help with baby delivery and care.
The financing to do this was by a FOREIGN LOAN from the Caribbean Development Bank.
7000 people living in remote jungle farms and villages can now access preventive early medical service in their remote locations. These Health Centers existed before, but they have been renovated by the Ministry of Health and upgraded to serve local people with a doctor, a pharmacy and a nurse/midwife. Before the service was only a one room, nurse service, used mostly to stitch up cuts, or help with baby delivery and care.
The financing to do this was by a FOREIGN LOAN from the Caribbean Development Bank.
HOUSTON TO BELIZE FREIGHT SERVICE FOR MANUFACTURING ENTREPRENEURS
Western Belize has a freight service, once a month from Houston to Western Belize, Central Farm airstrip.
Sterling Freight has been in business for a few years now ( 12 yrs ). They specialize in a once a month freight service with one container from Houston, near their airport, to Western Belize.
Their website is: www.sterlingfreight.com Local phone number is: 824 2496
As part of their service they arrange all the forwarding and receiving, including customs brokerage, whether you are enjoying a DUTY EXPEMPTION, or an EPZ entry, etc. Just mail them your invoice.
You can have your stuff shipped to them c/o Salinas Forwarding Co., 6841 Fulton Street, Houston, Tx, 77022. The stuff you get sent to them, will be put in the container for Western Belize. Locally here in Belize, their address is: Central Farm Airstrip, Mile 63 Western Hwy., Cayo District and their EMAIL is: info@sterlingfreight.com . Last time I checked the minimum freight charge was $70, that was a few years ago.
If light manufacturing takes hold out here in Western Belize, we can expect Sterling Freight to enlarge their business. They also rent hanger space for airplanes, run the annual EAA FLY IN for the country and other joint stuff to do with airplanes.
Sterling Freight has been in business for a few years now ( 12 yrs ). They specialize in a once a month freight service with one container from Houston, near their airport, to Western Belize.
Their website is: www.sterlingfreight.com Local phone number is: 824 2496
As part of their service they arrange all the forwarding and receiving, including customs brokerage, whether you are enjoying a DUTY EXPEMPTION, or an EPZ entry, etc. Just mail them your invoice.
You can have your stuff shipped to them c/o Salinas Forwarding Co., 6841 Fulton Street, Houston, Tx, 77022. The stuff you get sent to them, will be put in the container for Western Belize. Locally here in Belize, their address is: Central Farm Airstrip, Mile 63 Western Hwy., Cayo District and their EMAIL is: info@sterlingfreight.com . Last time I checked the minimum freight charge was $70, that was a few years ago.
If light manufacturing takes hold out here in Western Belize, we can expect Sterling Freight to enlarge their business. They also rent hanger space for airplanes, run the annual EAA FLY IN for the country and other joint stuff to do with airplanes.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
BELIZE - PLACENTIA PENINSULAR RESIDENTS DO NOT WANT CRUISE TOURISM DISTURBING THEIR SHANGRI-LA!
PLACENTIA PENINSULAR VOTE NO AND ARE AGAINST CRUISE TOURISM DESPOILING THEIR SHANGRI-LA!
( copied from the Belize Culture Listserve)
August 23, 2010
Dear Editor,
I watch with amusement and sadness at the controversy taking place in Belize City over the handling of tours for the cruise lines…and cannot help but note the implications for what is being contemplated for the expansion of cruise tourism to southern Belize. Of course the battle between local tour operators and a foreign owned company is a fight in which both sides are right. Local companies SHOULD handle the tours, yet at the same time the cruise lines SHOULD be able to hire the most competent from amongst all operators.
The problem here is not with any individual on either side of the issue; the real culprit is structural. As long as the cruise industry operates the way it does, those people in countries like Belize trying to make a living off cruise tourism will always be fighting over the crumbs that fall off the table. Why?
The three companies that control the bulk of the world’s cruise trade are huge. Carnival Corporation alone generated gross revenues of over 13 BILLION US dollars in 2009…and this was at the height of the global economic meltdown. Compare this to the total revenue of the Belize Government during the same period of around 360 MILLION and you get some idea of the disparity of strength when these two parties sit across from each other at the negotiating table. A single cruise company is nearly forty times as large as our entire government!
What, one wonders, is the balance of power when Carnival sits down with a single Belizean tour operator? To use an analogy that many Belizeans can relate to, it’s like the relationship between the man driving an Escalade and the crack head who wants to wash his car…and just to be clear: we’re not the guy in the Escalade.
By the way, in case you are wondering, for all its global operations in 2009 Carnival paid a total of only US$16 million in income tax on profits of $1.7 billion. This is roughly the same amount of business tax paid by our own BTL, a company around two hundred times smaller than Carnival. It should be obvious that the cruise companies did not get where they are by being stupid. Their guiding principal is the same as that followed by the meatpacking industry.
When asked to list the parts of the pig his company made use of, the slaughterhouse manager replied “everything but the oink”. So too the cruise lines seek to squeeze every last cent out of their passengers leaving little or nothing to go to “waste.”
Having calculated exactly how much the average passenger will spend on any given cruise both on and off the ship, it is the aim of the cruise company to make sure that as large a portion as possible of that total spent winds up in the corporate pocket. If a passenger books a cave tubing tour for a hundred dollars the cruise line keeps fifty as a “booking fee”. That leaves the local tour operator with only fifty to run the tour and make a little profit.
And while trying to scratch a few cents out of that fifty after paying guides, bus, food and administration, our hard pressed tour operator needs to keep pushing down his own costs because next year his desperate competitor may offer to do the tours for forty-five. For most local businesses, getting involved with cruise tourism is a lot like stepping into the Princess casino: for every winner there are a hundred losers.
In cultural terms the imbalance is just as great. Look at overnight tourism. For over two decades it has been the country’s largest single engine of economic growth. Beginning from next to nothing in the mid 80’s, this initially foreign-dominated sector has grown impressively in both size and local involvement to the point where Belizean resorts have come to consistently dominate the top spots in annual polls of Latin America’s best travel destinations.
Speak to any resort-based tour guide working with birdwatchers, fly fishermen or divers and virtually every one will tell you that they regularly correspond with favorite visitors who come back year after year. I know many guides who have established such close friendships with their clients that they and their families go to the States for regular visits and even form productive business partnerships.
What does this have to do with cruise ships? Only that I know few cruise guides who establish meaningful relationships with their tourist clients. How could they when they are shepherding 40 impatient day trippers on a mad dash up and down a Mayan temple so they can make it back to the boat in time for free ice cream and salsa lessons?
Tourism, at its heart, is a cultural encounter. Long, relaxed, unhurried stays by visitors who have time to meet, interact with and understand Belizeans and Belize not only means more money in our pockets for beds, food, drinks and tours; it produces the kind of relationships that small countries in a highly competitive world find increasingly necessary.
In short, Belize needs all the friends it can get: the richer and more powerful, the better. Overnight tourism promotes these valuable international personal relationships. Cruise tourism at best produces a few pennies for a few people; at worst a negative impression born of an impersonal encounter that puts us in the same category along with a dozen other forgettable destinations characterized by the slogan - “Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt”.
At this point you might agree that OK, it’s obvious that big predatory companies exploit small poor countries. That is hardly major news. You might also admit that locals don’t have much to gain from cruise tourism beyond some chump change. But hell, chump change is still change and even the shilling the guy in the Escalade flips to the crack head is still a shilling more than he had before. So what’s the harm?
The real harm is not in what we see, but in what we don’t see. It’s the cruise tourist who spends an hour walking around the Tourist Village in Belize City and thinks he has seen Belize. Having paid $279 for a five-day cruise to the Western Caribbean he is now on a statistical par with the overnight tourist who spent ten days in the rainforest and cayes and left $5,000 in the hands of local hoteliers, restaurants tour guides and transportation companies.
Both of these visitors go home saying that they have seen Belize. The overnight tourist probably had a great experience and could quite possibly come back and repeat the process or at least will tell his friends good things about his Belize Adventure. The cruise tourist, however, has now checked Belize off his “places to visit before I die” list and will not return. Multiply this fellow by 600,000 cruise visitors a year, and pretty soon you wind up with a hell of a lot of people who are not coming back to Belize.
And what of the overnight visitor to Cayo who makes the mistake of visiting Xunantunich on a cruise day? Chances are, she’s not coming back either.
What this boils down to is that by embracing cruise tourism we are selling Belize cheap. Way too cheap. If you want to hear the local band in Placencia, chances are you can head down to Barefoot Bar, have a drink and dance the night away for free. But if you want to experience a performance by the Black Eyed Peas in a New York City club you might pay $200 - if you could get in. Different attractions, different prices.
So, is Belize the local house band or the Black Eyed Peas? For me it’s a no brainer. Having had the good fortune to travel to almost every tourism destination in the Caribbean (business, not pleasure), I can objectively report that there is no place I have ever been that even comes close to having the combined world class attractions that Belize has. Sure, on an individual basis the white sand beaches of Anguilla are nicer than Placencia, diving in Bonaire may be slightly better than San Pedro, Tikal may be a bit more awe-inspiring than Caracol, the bonefish six ounces bigger in Key West and Mount Kilimanjaro may tower over Victoria Peak.
But I defy you to find ANY PLACE ON EARTH where you can catch a permit, tarpon or bonefish before breakfast, dive a barrier reef before lunch, climb a jungle-covered mountain in the afternoon and kayak down a rushing river in time to watch a sunset from the top of a two thousand-year-old Mayan Temple…ALL IN ONE DAY. And with the new Placencia road you can do it in comfort and safety.
The fact is that in the world of great places to visit, Belize is Bob Marley, Frank Sinatra, Tina Turner and the Beatles all rolled into one unequalled show. So why do we let so many people enjoy the concert for free? It’s because as a nation we suffer from what psychologists would call a case of low self-esteem. We are the beautiful intelligent loving woman whose abusive boyfriend has her convinced she is worthless. It’s a common affliction, but in our individual lives, there are professionals who help us overcome such obstacles.
Fortunately in national life there are also professionals who can help us understand and overcome these problems, but despite their repeated advice our leaders do not always listen. Expert after expert has told us that Belize’s future lies in eco and high end tourism. We know that cruise tourism is the opposite of high end ecotourism. So why is our government trying to foist the curse of cruise tourism on us?
For Belize City it’s probably too late. The ships are already too entrenched in that struggling economy. The various players now at war will make their peace and muddle through as best they can. But as a resident of the Placencia Peninsula who has invested heavily in overnight tourism I can only plead with the Ministry of Tourism, the Prime Minister and Cabinet to look at the facts, think long term, stop selling the country short and realize that by promoting cruise tourism in the South they are - like our friend the crack head - grabbing the shilling and thinking it’s a bag of gold.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stewart Krohn
Cocoplum
Seine Bight Village
( copied from the Belize Culture Listserve)
August 23, 2010
Dear Editor,
I watch with amusement and sadness at the controversy taking place in Belize City over the handling of tours for the cruise lines…and cannot help but note the implications for what is being contemplated for the expansion of cruise tourism to southern Belize. Of course the battle between local tour operators and a foreign owned company is a fight in which both sides are right. Local companies SHOULD handle the tours, yet at the same time the cruise lines SHOULD be able to hire the most competent from amongst all operators.
The problem here is not with any individual on either side of the issue; the real culprit is structural. As long as the cruise industry operates the way it does, those people in countries like Belize trying to make a living off cruise tourism will always be fighting over the crumbs that fall off the table. Why?
The three companies that control the bulk of the world’s cruise trade are huge. Carnival Corporation alone generated gross revenues of over 13 BILLION US dollars in 2009…and this was at the height of the global economic meltdown. Compare this to the total revenue of the Belize Government during the same period of around 360 MILLION and you get some idea of the disparity of strength when these two parties sit across from each other at the negotiating table. A single cruise company is nearly forty times as large as our entire government!
What, one wonders, is the balance of power when Carnival sits down with a single Belizean tour operator? To use an analogy that many Belizeans can relate to, it’s like the relationship between the man driving an Escalade and the crack head who wants to wash his car…and just to be clear: we’re not the guy in the Escalade.
By the way, in case you are wondering, for all its global operations in 2009 Carnival paid a total of only US$16 million in income tax on profits of $1.7 billion. This is roughly the same amount of business tax paid by our own BTL, a company around two hundred times smaller than Carnival. It should be obvious that the cruise companies did not get where they are by being stupid. Their guiding principal is the same as that followed by the meatpacking industry.
When asked to list the parts of the pig his company made use of, the slaughterhouse manager replied “everything but the oink”. So too the cruise lines seek to squeeze every last cent out of their passengers leaving little or nothing to go to “waste.”
Having calculated exactly how much the average passenger will spend on any given cruise both on and off the ship, it is the aim of the cruise company to make sure that as large a portion as possible of that total spent winds up in the corporate pocket. If a passenger books a cave tubing tour for a hundred dollars the cruise line keeps fifty as a “booking fee”. That leaves the local tour operator with only fifty to run the tour and make a little profit.
And while trying to scratch a few cents out of that fifty after paying guides, bus, food and administration, our hard pressed tour operator needs to keep pushing down his own costs because next year his desperate competitor may offer to do the tours for forty-five. For most local businesses, getting involved with cruise tourism is a lot like stepping into the Princess casino: for every winner there are a hundred losers.
In cultural terms the imbalance is just as great. Look at overnight tourism. For over two decades it has been the country’s largest single engine of economic growth. Beginning from next to nothing in the mid 80’s, this initially foreign-dominated sector has grown impressively in both size and local involvement to the point where Belizean resorts have come to consistently dominate the top spots in annual polls of Latin America’s best travel destinations.
Speak to any resort-based tour guide working with birdwatchers, fly fishermen or divers and virtually every one will tell you that they regularly correspond with favorite visitors who come back year after year. I know many guides who have established such close friendships with their clients that they and their families go to the States for regular visits and even form productive business partnerships.
What does this have to do with cruise ships? Only that I know few cruise guides who establish meaningful relationships with their tourist clients. How could they when they are shepherding 40 impatient day trippers on a mad dash up and down a Mayan temple so they can make it back to the boat in time for free ice cream and salsa lessons?
Tourism, at its heart, is a cultural encounter. Long, relaxed, unhurried stays by visitors who have time to meet, interact with and understand Belizeans and Belize not only means more money in our pockets for beds, food, drinks and tours; it produces the kind of relationships that small countries in a highly competitive world find increasingly necessary.
In short, Belize needs all the friends it can get: the richer and more powerful, the better. Overnight tourism promotes these valuable international personal relationships. Cruise tourism at best produces a few pennies for a few people; at worst a negative impression born of an impersonal encounter that puts us in the same category along with a dozen other forgettable destinations characterized by the slogan - “Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt”.
At this point you might agree that OK, it’s obvious that big predatory companies exploit small poor countries. That is hardly major news. You might also admit that locals don’t have much to gain from cruise tourism beyond some chump change. But hell, chump change is still change and even the shilling the guy in the Escalade flips to the crack head is still a shilling more than he had before. So what’s the harm?
The real harm is not in what we see, but in what we don’t see. It’s the cruise tourist who spends an hour walking around the Tourist Village in Belize City and thinks he has seen Belize. Having paid $279 for a five-day cruise to the Western Caribbean he is now on a statistical par with the overnight tourist who spent ten days in the rainforest and cayes and left $5,000 in the hands of local hoteliers, restaurants tour guides and transportation companies.
Both of these visitors go home saying that they have seen Belize. The overnight tourist probably had a great experience and could quite possibly come back and repeat the process or at least will tell his friends good things about his Belize Adventure. The cruise tourist, however, has now checked Belize off his “places to visit before I die” list and will not return. Multiply this fellow by 600,000 cruise visitors a year, and pretty soon you wind up with a hell of a lot of people who are not coming back to Belize.
And what of the overnight visitor to Cayo who makes the mistake of visiting Xunantunich on a cruise day? Chances are, she’s not coming back either.
What this boils down to is that by embracing cruise tourism we are selling Belize cheap. Way too cheap. If you want to hear the local band in Placencia, chances are you can head down to Barefoot Bar, have a drink and dance the night away for free. But if you want to experience a performance by the Black Eyed Peas in a New York City club you might pay $200 - if you could get in. Different attractions, different prices.
So, is Belize the local house band or the Black Eyed Peas? For me it’s a no brainer. Having had the good fortune to travel to almost every tourism destination in the Caribbean (business, not pleasure), I can objectively report that there is no place I have ever been that even comes close to having the combined world class attractions that Belize has. Sure, on an individual basis the white sand beaches of Anguilla are nicer than Placencia, diving in Bonaire may be slightly better than San Pedro, Tikal may be a bit more awe-inspiring than Caracol, the bonefish six ounces bigger in Key West and Mount Kilimanjaro may tower over Victoria Peak.
But I defy you to find ANY PLACE ON EARTH where you can catch a permit, tarpon or bonefish before breakfast, dive a barrier reef before lunch, climb a jungle-covered mountain in the afternoon and kayak down a rushing river in time to watch a sunset from the top of a two thousand-year-old Mayan Temple…ALL IN ONE DAY. And with the new Placencia road you can do it in comfort and safety.
The fact is that in the world of great places to visit, Belize is Bob Marley, Frank Sinatra, Tina Turner and the Beatles all rolled into one unequalled show. So why do we let so many people enjoy the concert for free? It’s because as a nation we suffer from what psychologists would call a case of low self-esteem. We are the beautiful intelligent loving woman whose abusive boyfriend has her convinced she is worthless. It’s a common affliction, but in our individual lives, there are professionals who help us overcome such obstacles.
Fortunately in national life there are also professionals who can help us understand and overcome these problems, but despite their repeated advice our leaders do not always listen. Expert after expert has told us that Belize’s future lies in eco and high end tourism. We know that cruise tourism is the opposite of high end ecotourism. So why is our government trying to foist the curse of cruise tourism on us?
For Belize City it’s probably too late. The ships are already too entrenched in that struggling economy. The various players now at war will make their peace and muddle through as best they can. But as a resident of the Placencia Peninsula who has invested heavily in overnight tourism I can only plead with the Ministry of Tourism, the Prime Minister and Cabinet to look at the facts, think long term, stop selling the country short and realize that by promoting cruise tourism in the South they are - like our friend the crack head - grabbing the shilling and thinking it’s a bag of gold.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stewart Krohn
Cocoplum
Seine Bight Village
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
BELIZE STRUGGLES WITH ECONOMIC DIRECTION!
BELIZE STRUGGLES WITH ECONOMIC DIRECTION!
By Ray Auxillou, August, 2010
When the country is broke and running on debt, loans, grants and volunteer gifts, it is hard to find a political and pragmatic investment direction for the future population growth. Until now, for the most part, the population of Belize has been too small and scattered in small communities over wide land areas. With only 350,000 people, most under 15 years of age and around 6000 square miles of land, including 26% that is in some sort of protected area status, the ability to generate the kind of tax revenues needed is severely limited. The biggest earners are the 14,000 member government paid civil service people and it is their spending clout that drives the economy of Belize such as it is.
It is rather amazing that Belize has done as well as it has, considering the financial constraints and limited werewithall. There is a huge proportion of the population that are middle class, with cars, televisions, refrigerators and washing machines. We have our poor segment, but generally speaking the standard of living of Belizeans is much higher than it was 50 years ago.
SKILLS TRAINING is probably the biggest current obstacle to improving the economy and it is surely apparent that the current crop of civil servants and politicians, do not understand how to direct the future growth of the economy. The current pillars of the economy are agriculture, oil and tourism. We are just starting with the private sector going into food processing and packaging for the export market. Indeed, the future of the economy totally revolves around the ability to export things to earn foreign exchange and provide local jobs.
The next major step in establishing a solid economic model is light manufacturing of specialist goods, for niche markets. With the internet, sales around the world can be enjoyed. When we talk about light manufacturing, we are talking things like solar panels, ethanol stills, budget telescopes and other things that require some simple machinery, some tooling and the ability to import the raw materials and put them together to make something to sell on the world export market. We cannot compete with mass produced products from CHINA, but we can cater to specialist small niche markets and here it is important to go for low price, coupled with quality workmanship.
A recent study in home industry light manufacturing, Galileo cardboard tube telescopes in Western Belize found out that if such telescopes could be retailed for $14.95 USA on the internet the market is solid for this price range. There is an outfit that exports from the USA, about 20,000 such cheap telescopes a month through the internet. There is also lots of competition in the $30 usa to $500 usa telescope range. This particular outfit from which I had tried to buy one, as a sample, refused my order because they were enjoying such success ( over 100,000 telescopes shipped ) and had decided to double the price from $14.95 to $30 usa. I canceled my order of course. For a few dollars more you can get a really much better telescope. The point being, it was the price that was attracting sales! Galileo telescopes are alright, if you can disregard the money spent. The vision is blurry for land use, but they are excellent for studying the stars, moon, Venus, Jupiter and Mars. They tend to shake. I owned one of these on Caye Caulker 30 years ago. I could watch couples make love a mile away on a boat by the barrier reef, from the window of my shack on the beach in Caye Caulker. For the price, though not perfect, they were a fair bargain for the buyer and only have two lenses.
I point this out, as an example of niche markets and the effect PRICE has on marketing by the INTERNET to a world wide market, using the postal service.
Our educational system is not teaching the SKILLS necessary to build this needed extra leg of our light manufacturing economic need. Local ITVET community colleges are teaching how to service machinery of imported manufacture, like automobiles and air conditioners, but they are not teaching the SKILLS, how to make things. To manufacture, to search and find the small tools and machinery needed to do small production lines of making cardboard tubes, convex and concave lenses. A phone call to the port spectacle eye glass manufacturer found that the machine used to produce lenses for eye glasses would not make the lenses for telescopes. The SKILLS TRAINING needed is different than standard education currently employed in Belize. With 11,000 children unable to even attend primary school because of the lack of such schools in the country is a case in point. The majority of schools are built and run by religious cults. It is obvious some SKILLS TRAINING should start at the senior grades of the primary school level. Then increase in Junior High School grades. The majority of citizens of Belize do not ever get any further in education, All the higher tertiary stuff in College and University is only producing middle level business managers, or bureaucratic clerks working for a salary, coming from an elite class. So far, the educational establishment have been unable to put a practical direction on such ideas.
The thing is; SKILLS TRAINING for the missing other LEG OF OUR ECONOMY, light manufacturing, has no current leadership, no direction, no educational skills being taught. Cabinet policy is totally absent and most of our elected representatives do not have enough smarts to even understand the problem. We need a new generation of thinkers to tackle this, our very existence as a viable country relies on our ability to export light manufactured goods to specialist niche markets.
By Ray Auxillou, August, 2010
When the country is broke and running on debt, loans, grants and volunteer gifts, it is hard to find a political and pragmatic investment direction for the future population growth. Until now, for the most part, the population of Belize has been too small and scattered in small communities over wide land areas. With only 350,000 people, most under 15 years of age and around 6000 square miles of land, including 26% that is in some sort of protected area status, the ability to generate the kind of tax revenues needed is severely limited. The biggest earners are the 14,000 member government paid civil service people and it is their spending clout that drives the economy of Belize such as it is.
It is rather amazing that Belize has done as well as it has, considering the financial constraints and limited werewithall. There is a huge proportion of the population that are middle class, with cars, televisions, refrigerators and washing machines. We have our poor segment, but generally speaking the standard of living of Belizeans is much higher than it was 50 years ago.
SKILLS TRAINING is probably the biggest current obstacle to improving the economy and it is surely apparent that the current crop of civil servants and politicians, do not understand how to direct the future growth of the economy. The current pillars of the economy are agriculture, oil and tourism. We are just starting with the private sector going into food processing and packaging for the export market. Indeed, the future of the economy totally revolves around the ability to export things to earn foreign exchange and provide local jobs.
The next major step in establishing a solid economic model is light manufacturing of specialist goods, for niche markets. With the internet, sales around the world can be enjoyed. When we talk about light manufacturing, we are talking things like solar panels, ethanol stills, budget telescopes and other things that require some simple machinery, some tooling and the ability to import the raw materials and put them together to make something to sell on the world export market. We cannot compete with mass produced products from CHINA, but we can cater to specialist small niche markets and here it is important to go for low price, coupled with quality workmanship.
A recent study in home industry light manufacturing, Galileo cardboard tube telescopes in Western Belize found out that if such telescopes could be retailed for $14.95 USA on the internet the market is solid for this price range. There is an outfit that exports from the USA, about 20,000 such cheap telescopes a month through the internet. There is also lots of competition in the $30 usa to $500 usa telescope range. This particular outfit from which I had tried to buy one, as a sample, refused my order because they were enjoying such success ( over 100,000 telescopes shipped ) and had decided to double the price from $14.95 to $30 usa. I canceled my order of course. For a few dollars more you can get a really much better telescope. The point being, it was the price that was attracting sales! Galileo telescopes are alright, if you can disregard the money spent. The vision is blurry for land use, but they are excellent for studying the stars, moon, Venus, Jupiter and Mars. They tend to shake. I owned one of these on Caye Caulker 30 years ago. I could watch couples make love a mile away on a boat by the barrier reef, from the window of my shack on the beach in Caye Caulker. For the price, though not perfect, they were a fair bargain for the buyer and only have two lenses.
I point this out, as an example of niche markets and the effect PRICE has on marketing by the INTERNET to a world wide market, using the postal service.
Our educational system is not teaching the SKILLS necessary to build this needed extra leg of our light manufacturing economic need. Local ITVET community colleges are teaching how to service machinery of imported manufacture, like automobiles and air conditioners, but they are not teaching the SKILLS, how to make things. To manufacture, to search and find the small tools and machinery needed to do small production lines of making cardboard tubes, convex and concave lenses. A phone call to the port spectacle eye glass manufacturer found that the machine used to produce lenses for eye glasses would not make the lenses for telescopes. The SKILLS TRAINING needed is different than standard education currently employed in Belize. With 11,000 children unable to even attend primary school because of the lack of such schools in the country is a case in point. The majority of schools are built and run by religious cults. It is obvious some SKILLS TRAINING should start at the senior grades of the primary school level. Then increase in Junior High School grades. The majority of citizens of Belize do not ever get any further in education, All the higher tertiary stuff in College and University is only producing middle level business managers, or bureaucratic clerks working for a salary, coming from an elite class. So far, the educational establishment have been unable to put a practical direction on such ideas.
The thing is; SKILLS TRAINING for the missing other LEG OF OUR ECONOMY, light manufacturing, has no current leadership, no direction, no educational skills being taught. Cabinet policy is totally absent and most of our elected representatives do not have enough smarts to even understand the problem. We need a new generation of thinkers to tackle this, our very existence as a viable country relies on our ability to export light manufactured goods to specialist niche markets.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
SANTA ELENA RC SCHOOL HAS TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM FROM TAMPA, FLORIDA.
SANTA ELENA R.C. SCHOOL CONDUCTS TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM THIS SUMMER.
Santa Elena R.C. School has an enrollment of 1013 children, with a staff of 38 teachers. A teacher training program is being conducted on Research based instructional methods. Brain based instruction, Multiple Intelligences and Cooperative Learning models are just a few of the unique techniques being taught.
Teacher training in Belize is woefully short due to budget shortfalls and lack of money. The program is being facilitated by Mrs. Abigail Wade for the Cayo District under the management of District Education Center Manager, Mr. Luis Carballo.. In collaboration is Dr. Jennifer Morrow, a dynamic and creative educator and support of the development of education in our country. The so called M.O.R.E. approach is being taught by Dr. Joyce Swarzman, headmaster of Independent Day School in Tampa, Florida.
A self contained classroom is to be opened to deal with children having SPECIAL NEEDS.
Santa Elena R.C. School has an enrollment of 1013 children, with a staff of 38 teachers. A teacher training program is being conducted on Research based instructional methods. Brain based instruction, Multiple Intelligences and Cooperative Learning models are just a few of the unique techniques being taught.
Teacher training in Belize is woefully short due to budget shortfalls and lack of money. The program is being facilitated by Mrs. Abigail Wade for the Cayo District under the management of District Education Center Manager, Mr. Luis Carballo.. In collaboration is Dr. Jennifer Morrow, a dynamic and creative educator and support of the development of education in our country. The so called M.O.R.E. approach is being taught by Dr. Joyce Swarzman, headmaster of Independent Day School in Tampa, Florida.
A self contained classroom is to be opened to deal with children having SPECIAL NEEDS.
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