Isabella Auxillou ( photo location )

** Grand daughter Isabella Auxillou out in Australia somewhere.


ISABELLA AUXILLOU

Just found a photo of my granddaughter in her 30's, living in Australia someplace. Nice to see she is getting matronly looking. Life must be contented? Haven't heard from her for a couple of years?

Grandpa Ray Auxillou in Western Belize, Central America.

RETIREMENT IN BELIZE UPDATED EXPERIENCES

** When we were 20 years younger. Silvia and Ray Auxillou


UPDATE ON LIFE IN RETIREMENT IN BELIZE

We went into Belmopan to enquire about the renewal of the Agriculture Research Work Permit, my brother-in-law Gustavo has to have, while living in Belize ( it’s mandatory ) waiting for his SLOW Permanent Residency processing. Immigration raised the fee, from a $100 a year to $1200 a year for his volunteer work in vegetable experimenting in cooperation with Manuel Trujillo, Research Director at Central Farm. The research work was to lead to a commercial investment in greenhouse production of vegetables investments by our family group, as well as assisting in Development of the industry in Belize. We’ve cancelled that plan now! Everything with Immigration is just taking too long. We ran into a lot of static from Immigration bureaucrats about the Belize Development Trust volunteer research work and book we wrote, the “ Fourth Edition of the Belize Vegetable Farmers Bible”, used by the UN FAO to give grants and pay for imported experts and set new policies by the Prime Minister, and the CABINET along with Ministry of Natural Resources people. We’d pretty much closed the volunteer work down anyway. The two nurseries we own, are now producing food for our family mostly, though we still experiment on a personal basis. The Belize Development Trust no longer has any volunteer operations in the country of Belize and any slow mail enquiries should be sent to our Katy, Texas, USA address. This address has changed from Eugene, Oregon. The major sticking point was that Immigration in Belmopan, Belize, insisted we register the internet based world TRUST, out of the USA in Belize, here in Belize. We had tried to do that a year ago, but the $25 we were offered as a donation to do so at the Belmopan companies registry was not enough, as they referred us to the REGISTRY in the port Belize City. When we went there, they wanted $250 and since the Belize Development Trust is totally international volunteers, with no cash flow, bank accounts, or any money of any kind, we were unable to afford it. The sticking point seems to be they insist on registration locally. Since we cannot do that; ALL volunteer development project work activities to develop the economy of Belize have been shut down. Safer that way, before we start getting involved with FINES and such things.
This goes along with the FINE scare, we recently got from the Belize Tourist Board and the subsequent closing down of Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel. Any mail for this address should now be forwarded to Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel, c/o MV Winnie Estelle, Suzanne Marina, Rio Dulce, Guatemala. The Belize hostel we built up and were running has been closed and went out of business, since mid-August after paying the last FINE from BTB. Before the situation got too expensive and worse.
Belize as a nation, is looking at a three year period of extreme financial crisis and we expect an orgy of fines, tax raises, fuel price increases, permits and license increases, higher GST taxes. It seems to have already started? All this to pay for the National Debt of about $3 billion, for a population of 300,000, of which two thirds of the national debt were the fault of the PUP and one third the fault of the UDP. The big debt got started by the big business collusion between the political parties of Belize, for campaign financing election donations, for which the big businesses got huge write offs in taxes. Like 1500% return ( which ordinary tax payers will have to pay in more taxes ) and even more, in the case of a telecommunications company, on their investment in political favor buying. The big business collusion, tax exemptions, resulted in revenue being replaced by foreign loan borrowing, called DEBT ECONOMICS. The interest payments on these loans and other legal fees resulted in the $3 billion in national debt. Usually such debts are passed to the next generation of small taxpayer citizens. ( the masses ) That time has arrived and the ones that have to pay the national debt through the big business complex coordination, with party political campaign financing, were probably 12 or 15 years old, when most of this debt first started? The financial crisis is expected to be starting now and continue for another three years. There have been mention in the newspapers that the Prime Minister was mumbling about defaulting on some of the national debt. Recently the Guardian newspaper said he was negotiating with World Bank to take over the SUPER BOND on more favorable terms, though I cannot see how that would work? A DEFAULT is the most likely solution.
After the Belmopan Immigration ordeal, which is long from settled yet, as Gustavo is still waiting for his Immigration File to get his final police interview report. We had a bit of an argument in Immigration. Gustavo has about $120,000 invested in two real estate houses here in Belize along with us as a group, but still does not have PERMANENT RESIDENCY. The lack of citizenship security is unsettling and any further investment in Belize is permanently on hold, until that issue is resolved. It’s been about eighteen months now. Way too slow! Now we are just three retired old people living as cheap as we can in Western Belize, which is still pretty good. If boring, without anything to do that is mentally challenging. The business and economic climate is not too encouraging in Belize. Too much regulation for a small country. We are liking Guatemala much more. Over there, it is like it was in Belize 35 years ago for business investment. More casual, personal, appreciative and informal, with far better infra-structure.
At any rate we finished off the morning, by going to the Blue Hole on the Hummingbird Highway for a swim after leaving Belmopan. This wonderful stream flowing up out of the bottom of the cliff, into a cliff, tree covered, surrounded cenote atmosphere and then exiting into a creek, is a lovely place. They have a warden on duty to guard vehicles in the car park high above. $2 bz entry fee. Few mosquitos when we first got there, mid morning. Still a nice refreshing swim. The hike up the cliff steps had me breathless. First time my wife, Mrs. Silvia Auxillou and her brother Gustavo Pinzon had been to this tourist national park spot. Caves Branch and Jaguar Paw entrance was across the road. We were tempted to go tubing, or zip lining, but figured it would be too expensive? We are going to do a lot more traveling around the country now we have no Hostel business, or vegetable research work pressing on our time constraints. It feels great to be relaxed and not have to deal with bureaucracies any more.
Can’t stay totally idle. So the research into a new position trading, hedging business is ongoing. So far encouraging! Though that seems peculiar to a rising accumulation stage of a new BULL market in the USA. Registered office will be Katy, Texas, business address will be in North Carolina and operations occur on the Chicago Board of Trade. We should know by next March if this is viable and successful? The business totally relies on internet availability. We haven’t got that yet, but hoping SMART will get us an internet modem out here in the West of Belize, by end of month, their customer service promised. The wonderful thing about a USA based business, the paying of taxes and stuff is very simple. Not like anything in Belize, which is way too complicated and interfering by bureaucrats with too much idle time on their hands.. Plus you can do it anywhere in the world, that you have a laptop and the internet access. From a boat, a camper, in any country. You can travel and work at the same time. We like the idea of being able to rent a house in Panachjel, Lake Atitalan in Guatemala, or be on the boat in the Rio Dulce, marina, or here at home in Hillview and still carry on a sideline small business. The internet is a wonderful thing.

HUGO CHAVEZ INTERVIEW BY LARRY KING LIVE, TELEVISION

PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ INTERVIEWED BY LARRY KING LIVE TV, IN THE USA

There was a very interesting interview with PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ in the USA, while he was at some UN Function, by the television program LARRY KING LIVE of TV. This was very interesting. Chavez spoke in Spanish and there were a couple of things against him in the interview. One, Larry King and NBC tv are JEWISH owned it is said? There was a noticeable bias in the questions by Larry King to do with Jewish and Israeli subjects. Something most people in Latin America couldn’t care less about. The other bias, by the interpreter translating Hugo Chavez, was not completely translating the answers and opinions offered by Hugo Chavez. The translation sounded twisted and since there are a hundred million of Spanish speaking citizens of the USA, not even counting Latin America, the program came out as an unfair chance for Chavez to say his piece.
Other than that, Hugo Chavez had his chance to say his piece. The interesting choice of questions by Larry King were astounding. They were almost ALL orientated to Israel, a country nobody really cares about in the Americas. Chavez was asked about his trip to Iran and about the President of Iran’s comments on the holocaust. Chavez replied that everybody in the world is entitled to their opinion. He didn’t have to agree with Iran, but he certainly didn’t deny Iran the right to have their own opinions. Considering many European so-called civilized countries are jailing people if they DENY the holocaust ( about 2 million Jews were massacred by the Nazis prior to, and during World War 2 according to German records ), Chavez simply replied that the biggest holocaust he was concerned with, was that the 90 million people of South America were reduced to 6 million in two hundred years, by the invasion of Europeans. That was a bigger holocaust and Europeans still threaten the Americas. HUGO CHAVEZ is smart for sure! That resounded well with Spanish speaking USA citizens and those of the Americas. Asked about OIL DELIVERIES to the USA, Chavez said he was not going to cut off OIL to the USA. He said, the USA sent assassins to kill him and he never cut off the oil, why should he do it now?
The big problem with Hugo Chavez is the choice of SOCIALISM he is enthused with, from our point of view, in Belize. There are two paths to socialism! One is Communist Socialism, run by a tyrant dictator and which has failed badly in the last 85 years, wherever it has been tried. In Russia, Soviet Federation, Eastern European countries, Vietnam, North Korea, China. All these attempts to have SOCIALIST COMMUNISM applied wherever, have been converted to the second type of SOCIALISM. Which is a DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM model. In that, the EUROPEAN UNION is full of democratic socialism country models that are operating successfully for the past 50 years. In democratic socialism, you change your leaders every four years or so, by elections and law in some cases. Successful SOCIALIST countries have a mix of SOCIALISM and CAPITALISM. The older failed COMMUNIST SOCIALIST models have pretty much all converted to the DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST model of government, which is a mix of FREE MARKET CAPITALISM and SOCIALIST programs or ways of governing.
The trouble we in Belize have with Hugo Chavez, is that; he is promoting the old failed COMMUNIST SOCIALIST model. Basically this model is about a dictator, or President for Life, staying in power. The model used by CHAVEZ is more about the LUST FOR ABSOLUTE POWER over everybody in his country, ownership of all means of production, control of every aspect of life for SLAVES.
Belize is a mixed SOCIALIST and CAPITALIST model. We believe that the government should provide Universal Education from kindergarten through University. We believe that there should co-exist in parallel, a private for profit, medical system, along with a SOCIALIST universal FREE medical system for everybody, according to what you can afford, or want. We think the USA should have FREE HEALTH CLINICS about one in every 5 shopping malls. With a doctor, a nurse, some equipment tools and a receptionist bookkeeper. To us, the experiences of HOSPITALS in the USA are they are criminal enterprises using exaggerated costs, fees and extortion.
Most countries cannot afford all the advantages of SOCIALISM. They lack the productive capacity, or the wealth. VENEZUELANS ARE LUCKY, they have OIL RICHES. Nicaragua however, has wealth, but is unable to maximize the wealth, due to corrupt political systems. Countries like Nicaragua want to be COMMUNIST SOCIALIST under Daniel Ortega, but lack the organizational management abilities and thus the wealth producing aspects of associated parallel capitalism free enterprise. Our neighbor Guatemala however, is doing wonders, with new asphalt paved roads ALL OVER the country, new schools, new health clinics, in a mixed capitalist – socialist model. The driving force in Guatemala enabling SOCIALIST programs is reliance on taxing private enterprise, free market capitalist endeavors. This is a superior system to that promoted by Chavez in Venezuela. Though with OIL RICHES Venezuela is building roads, schools and health clinics. In Belize, our political party system siphon off the money needed party corruption, before they even start to bring education to our population free of charge. We are sadly mismanaged in DEBT ECONOMICS policies by our two party system in Belize. Also so far, our population has been too small to develop reasonable tax revenue sources. We could balance it, but the party politics doesn’t allow us to do so. Eisenhower in the USA talked of the military industrial complex siphoning off government revenues. In Belize, it is the big business, campaign contributions to the two political parties. Who reward them with huge profits in tax write-offs for which the common people have to pay for decades later and several generations. The nepotism and job, political party, patronage system used in Belize, defeats self reliance and self sustainability as our governing model. Until we change our governing model, Belize will always fail. This is true for many small countries that pits HUMAN GREED against the greater national good.
If HUGO CHAVEZ would change his model of SOCIALISM from the failed COMMUNIST MODEL of dictatorship, to the model used by successful European countries that are socialist, he would overwhelmingly succeed in transforming ALL the Americas. As it is right now, he is simply building a divided house, at war with each other over personal freedom and choice.

QUEEN OF WESTERN BELIZE PAGEANT WINNER

QUEEN OF WESTERN BELIZE PAGEANT HELD AT NOVELLO’S CONVENTION CENTER IN BELIZE

Santa Elena Town was the scene of the QUEEN OF THE WEST pageant for the National Day celebrations. The winner is Miss Millie Seleny Pulido, who is a student at nearby GALEN UNIVERSITY. There were six delegates vying for the prestigious title and crown.
Second place was Miss Amini Gilharry, a 4th Form student who attends Sacred Heart College ( a high school ) in San Ignacio Town across the Macal River.
Third place was Miss Minelli Romero from San Ignacio Town, who recently graduated with an Associates Degree from Sacred Heart Junior College.Q

OEX OPTION TRADING VIEWS, Sept. 2009

*** Ray Auxillou potting nuisance pigeons with a slingshot in his retirement garden, in Western Belize. ( September 2009 )


OEX OPTION TRADING VIEWS

It’s been 20 years since I did OEX index option trading. I even wrote several books on it. Mostly I wrote them as references and reminders to myself. Then I went out of the business. Some libraries have the books. I made some money in stocks. That though was too slow and the annual returns too low for me. The game is sweeter if you can do it faster. Options are attractive because there is limited risk. When you lose your capital, that’s it baby. The end of the game. Whereas in futures and commodities, you have unlimited risk. You can lose your shirt, house, car and wife. I’m in retirement and it wasn’t either by trading options, or stocks, though both helped. It was real estate that we got our family nest egg for retirement. Real estate is a very slow game. Not exciting at all.
Options are harder to trade than futures, currencies and commodities and they take a different style. The attraction is ‘limited risk’.
That said; the statistics show 90% of the people who try option trading, go bust with their account. Only 10% make a professional living at it. Of the 10% that do make it, only 2% actually make big money. The rest make mediocre earnings. I’ve known a couple of traders that regularly made $75,000 a year, off a $50,000 starting stake each year. You probably can make between $75,000 and $150,000 if you are in the top 2%. Only the top trader in OEX index options is a GOLD MEDAL OLYMPIC QUALIFIER though.
The attraction with trading OEX index options is limited risk, the challenge of going against the best. There are probably no more than a thousand active OEX option traders at any one time? Lots try it and go bust and leave.
So what is involved with trading options? There are lots of choices, lots of indicators, lots of strategies, prices galore. Options are about TIME DECAY, MARKET DIRECTION, the SPREAD between the BID and ASK and the commission costs. In a nutshell that’s it. You can forget all the strategies. I’ve tried a lot of them. There are three things in options, and this is mostly MARKET DIRECTION. Now market direction is either UP, DOWN, or SIDEWAYS. No matter which direction you guess, the ODDS are going to be TWO to ONE against you. Your BREAKEVEN COSTS alone, mean you have to get the MARKET DIRECTION guess right, and the cost is usually around 3 ½ OEX index points of a move. Lots of times the MARKET DIRECTION can be right, but the move so slow, that daily TIME DECAY eats you up, before you move enough to break even.
If you experiment and try all the strategies, it always comes down to MARKET DIRECTION. Now this is not hard to guess. What is hard to guess is the TIME DURATION of your guess. We never know how long the market will go, or how far and how fast in a given, of the three directions.
The people who make money consistently in options are the sellers. They do better than the buyers. The buyers though, can make more money IF THEY CAN GET IT RIGHT!
If you are a gambler then it behooves you to BUY options. Buying has it’s own string of problems, not the least of which is the ODDS are TWO to ONE against you before you start. To win at BUYING you have to have the TIMING correct 100% of the time. Losses will whittle down your stake in quick order among other things. You lose to the loss and contrary market direction, you lose to time decay and you lose to the spread cost between the bid and ask, you lose to a market moving too slow and shallow, and you lose the cost of commissions. LOSSES are verboten! That said; a volatility day trader friend of mine, starts off with $50,000 each year and can have drawdowns ( losses ) that can drop him as low as $15,000 before he gets himself under control and turns it around. By the end of the year, he always seems to make his $75,000 profit target though. I couldn’t do that at all. Not in my character makeup.
So, how do you BUY to get a 100% correct TIMING DIRECTIONAL GUESS? There are oodles of indicators out there, and a few hundred trading systems. Most of which will work in one fashion or another. An example would be a simple moving average. Crossovers would tell you when to enter and exit. The problem is the other variables and nuances your brain must compute. One warning about technical indicators, they are based on historical data and inaccurate, usually about half a cycle back, which can be six or seven bars, of whatever time period you are trading. The future events corrects those indicators in the past as it happens, which doesn’t do you any good, because you must trade only by price, in the present moment. Only immediate price action counts. You cannot forecast the future from indicators.
Newbies always think if they had a set of rules and a system, that some winning trader had, they could get rich. Nothing could be further from the truth. Trading is not about a system, or rules, though both items are necessary to have. The battle in trading is with yourself.
EGO is probably the biggest problem. When you win a series of trades and are feeling like a rooster, ( crowing away and patting yourself on the back ) you start to make other mistakes. You get a swelled head and the market will turn against you. You become your own worst enemy. There is also the problem of RUNS. Runs come in winning and losing streaks. The SECRET is to find just one SIGNAL, or pattern, or indicator, or something you instinctively recognize, the moment you see it. A signal that says the market is going to go in one direction, or another, then you can pile it on and trade it and make your fortune. It only takes one signal! The problem with this is; it is boring waiting for the signal. Turtle traders in futures trading will tell you, they sometimes have to wait 8 months to get a viable trend signal in the Turtle Trading system. Its worse than the army, where you have short moments of rushing around, and lots of hours and days of waiting before hand. ( HURRY UP and WAIT! ) So IMPATIENCE kills a lot of traders. They overtrade, take too many shortcuts and try dubious things in their hurry to get rich quick. What they get is going broke quick. Your private price signal should give you two things. The direction and the probable strength of the move, meaning in the amount of index points covered and in the probably time frame. Option buyers are fast traders when they trade. The time frame is usually short. How short? Can be 7 minutes for a day trader, trading a volatility signal, or ten days in a position option trader. Or somewhere in between.
There are too many variables for me to discuss them all in this short piece. Like learning to play the guitar, or type on a keyboard using all your fingers and thumbs, or do a double back flip off a swimming pool diving board, only practice will make you skilful in the top 10%. Things you have to learn to control are GREED, PANIC, FEAR and second guessing yourself in whipsaws. That is the real secret in trading, not the methodology and rules. The latter are necessary and help, but not if you don’t control your emotions.
As you can guess, I’m getting ready to dip my toe in the water once again in my old age. Retirement is boring without a challenge. Don’t need the money, but do need the mental challenge! The money is only the measure of how successful you are. I’ve been in the top 10% before, but never in the top 2% and somehow I’d like to get there. To give you an analogy, as a youngster I was a long distance marathon runner. Often got in the top half, or the top third, and even occasionally in the top 15%. In option trading that is not enough skill, or stamina. Another analogy is learning to play the guitar. Can’t remember how many times I’ve relearned to play a half dozen musical instruments. It just is not my vocation. I lay off for a year or two, then have to go back and relearn all the old chords and songs again. What you need is constant daily skill and practice in option trading. As a newbie, I recommend you do a month diddling with historical data on a daily basis, picking out your SIGNAL to enter and exit. Then spend a minimum of three months paper trading. I’m just coming near the end of my new paper trading session. Longer practice is better, if you have the patience. Your skills have to become intuitive from built up practice and confidence. Only then move into real money. The game totally changes when you go from paper trading, to real money and losses and mistakes become real money. It is not funny to start with $10,000 and lose $7000 in two or three days. Very damaging to the EGO. The emotions kick in and turn you wild with adrenaline. The enemy is NEVER the market action, it is always YOU, the control of your emotions, if you picked your signals right. In any given month you can get four to eight signals to buy. Of those, only one or two signals will be the correct ones. Then the problem becomes dealing with the trade. Can you confidently sit through an unexpected reversal, while watching your money melt away? Will you grab profits too soon, instead of maximizing, where the riches really are? Sure, anybody can tell you when to enter and exit. Or sell you a trading methodology. Only YOU developing intuitive experience on the job, hands on, can turn you into a successful trader though. Otherwise you will end up in the 90% who tried and failed. NEVER use money you cannot afford to lose!
This is my second time around at catching the brass ring. For me this is FUN! Which of course is the real goal here, when you turn 72 years old. There isn’t much you can spend money on, to have fun, when you get old.

Ray Auxillou, email: hillviewhacienda@yahoo.com

BELIZE and the Caribbean complain about Financial market share wars by the OECD.

*** OECD declares war on competitors for financial market services share.
*** OECD members on this map are out to eliminate Financial services competition by third world countries. They control the SWIFT money transfer system and the satellites, associate banks and transfers and can monitor, or screw over anybody they can't squash!




Posted: 18/09/2009 - 10:18 AM


THE MOST CORRUPT CROOKED TAX HAVEN SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD ARE FOUND IN THE USA AND THE U.K. say most knowledgeable people.

Author: Emil Arguelles ( published in the AMANDALA newspaper of Belize )

The recent onslaught against “Tax Havens” has inevitably included Belize. The definition of a tax haven is internationally recognized (the OECD) as “…a country characterized by low or zero taxation, a lack of transparency and a refusal to provide information to foreign tax authorities.” The crusade was revived during the recession whilst “advanced” countries saw their financial system wither and shrink. In fact, many first world politicos have blamed tax havens for their role in the global crisis. The irony of it all is that these “Offshore Financial Centers” were a product of first world countries, and are today better regulated, more transparent, and in comparison, the largest scandals and frauds have occurred largely “onshore”.


Historical Genesis

The Channel Islands, Jersey and Guernsey, physically closer to France than the UK, are remnants of the historical effects of William the Conqueror, who acquired the British Isles in 1066. A substantial measure of self-government and certain privileges (tax and otherwise) were their “reward” for their loyalty to the UK Crown in 1204. They were thus referred to as “offshore,” i.e. not part of larger land areas. As such, it is a fact that the European nations that created the concept which has proven successful at leveling the playing field now require an excuse to contain and suppress international efficiency. The State of Delaware initially entered the arena after they realized the greater corporate registration revenues available by providing more flexible corporate laws. They now sneakily strive to distinguish themselves as a “Corporate Haven” and not a “Tax Haven”, but a rose by any other name smells just as sweet. Concurrently, the European microcenters of Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra, and larger Switzerland and Austria had already served cross border industrialists, nobles and intertwined sovereigns for centuries. These started giving way to similar but more efficient centers like Panama, Bahamas, the Caymans, BVI, Bermuda and eventually Belize among others.

Nothing was said until each of these former colonies started clamouring for and achieving Independence and then the first world countries’ sources started giving way to global scattering of income. Competition had arrived and thus an excuse was needed. The same way September 11, 2001 afforded the US a highway to enact the Patriot Act and further civil liberty indiscretions, the recent financial turmoil and Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme came as a miracle that could not be thought up had they tried.


First World Sized Scandals

Bernie Madoff is accused of swindling rich, sophisticated and professionally advised first world citizens around $65 billion US. His operations were based not “offshore”, but right in New York and London. He was supposed to be regulated by the SEC and even the famous and various departments did not raise an eyebrow. These include the IRS, the FBI and the CIA who were all supposed at the time to be tracking “suspicious” banking activity and money laundering activity based on the previously rammed down Patriot Act. It can be said that at least $65 billion of illegally obtained funds, were thus “laundered” right under the watchdogs’ noses.

Sir Allen Stanford, a US citizen, has been the poster child for “offshore” scams. However, only his bank was based in Antigua and his main Stanford Financial Group was actually based in Houston. Further, being a US citizen, the US authorities had extra territorial jurisdiction over him anywhere in the world he went. He still operated with impunity right under, from and with, the US, US citizens and foreign investors. His bank associates were even in Belize soliciting clients at one point in time, but luckily, the few Belizeans were a bit more financially savvy due to their offshore exposure.

Also Houston-based, was the giant Enron that was the model of how to falsify accounting records. Some other examples of creative accounting include now reputable companies like Xerox, AOL, Bristol Myers Squibb, Duke Energy (once an investor in BECOL/BEL), Freddie Mac, Halliburton (of Iraq/Afghan war fame), Kmart, Merck, Merril Lynch, Qwest, Tyco International, Worldcom, Chiquita and AIG. These were all perpetrated to a large extent by one of the following accounting firms: PWC, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Arthur Andersen, Deloitte & Touche (though some are no longer existent in their former states due to the scams they participated or rather, structurally advised).

Then there was the European trader Jerome Kerviel that caused equal loss to Societe Generale, Nick Leeson at Barings, the Russian Mafia laundering billions through the (then) respected Bank of New York. Bear Sterns, Lehman Bros., BCCI (that was used by the CIA to finance Osama bin Laden), Northern Rock, WAMU are just a few of the more well known fiascoes. Their products included subprime mortgages, reverse mortgages, derivatives, swaps and options and the list goes on.


Empirical Comparison

In the US, more details are required to obtain a driver’s license than to form a corporation. In Belize, a licensed practitioner at the minimum must secure a passport copy, utility bill as proof of address and two bank references on a person wishing to incorporate an International Business Company (IBC). They are bound by Know Your Customer principles and a Code of Conduct. The US Department of Commerce has estimated that approximately $2 trillion US is held in US banks deposited by foreign persons. It is there because of US exemptions on interest income. This is exceedingly far more than the approximately $250 Million US on deposit in Belize from foreign persons. This local amount is insignificant compared to the rationale for the US onslaught targeting the $12 trillion that they claim is deposited in tax havens. It is less than 1% of the $100 billion Senator Carl Levin, one of the proposers of the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, states is “lost” each year by the IRS. Which country as a whole then really benefits by the exploitation and use of those same deposits that circulate in its local economy?


Offshore Rationale

While privacy and tax minimization are major reasons investors go offshore, it is not a preponderance of persons who do so for illicit activity. One is entitled to arrange his affairs in the most efficient and economical manner. In fact, offshore is not illegal as the propaganda asserts. Not to report/pay due taxes back home (“onshore”) is illegal, but most people using offshore structures in fact do so. If properly arranged with cross-border professional advice, the structures work in resourceful harmony. Because this has worked so well and because even UK and US courts recognize the legality, is the reason for the attempt to find other moral reasons not to allow offshore centers to continue. We have become a victim of our own success. Further, there are various reasons people wish for anonymity. Kidnapping or the targeting of affluent persons has become an industry in many countries. Tax reports are sold to criminal gangs and some countries have over- zealous investigative branches of government (some governments spy on their citizens and others utilize this information for extortion and repression). People guarding against economic espionage to protect the success of their patented business models seek out confidentiality and trust. In the US now, one can purchase almost anyone’s Social Security number and address or it can be stolen from garbage, obtained online or wirelessly extracted from large store computers. It can be said that it is a by-product of advanced nations’ increasing lack of regulations and penalties to prevent identity theft, technological espionage and usurious penalties for even the slightest breach of any regulation that has scared its own citizens into the arms of foreign lands. Now the US is swiftly turning its own citizens into international pariahs akin to citizens of North Korea, Cuba and Iran, so that many providers, some countries and some banks now hesitate if not outright reject having any US citizen as a client in any form. But then again, that may indeed be the intention.


Local Consequences

The International Financial Services Commission (IFSC) of Belize licenses and regulates among other tasks, all local practitioners. There are 66 IBC agents, 36 Trust agents, 14 International Insurance Service Providers and about 20 more licensed agents for less known offshore activities (though a few of the aforesaid offices overlap) for a total of 136 separate fee entities. Their annual fees average $5,000.00 and most are required to place capital requirements in local banks. The services and products sold pay to the government a minimum of 100.00 USD with a similar sum annually (for IBC’s). At last week, there were about 86,000 IBCs on record (though some have since been struck off the register). Trusts are harder to number, having only recently been required to register and even then, the actual figure is private. As stated, there are also emerging areas that are not accounted for in the following conservative estimate (that does not take into account capital deposits and are based on minimum government charges).


86000 X 100 USD 8.6 Million USD since commencement

(Rounded)

Conservative Estimate of 5000 Incorporations for this year
5000 X 100 500,000.00 USD

If 50% (conservatively) are still active, annual fees are
43000 IBCs X 100USD 4.3 Million USD

IFSC Annual fees (not initial charges) for 136 providers
136 X 2500USD 340,000.00 USD

Number of Staff at conservative employment of 4 per
service provider 136 X 4 = 544 persons @ the minimum
salary of 200 USD per week 136X4X52X200 USD 5.7 Million USD

Per week per Provider (X 136):
Average of 5 Notarizations (@ 15 USD to Notaries)
136X5X52X15USD= 530,000.00 USD

Average of 5 Apostilles (@ 25 USD to GOB alone)
136X5X52X25USD = 884,000.00 USD

Courier Service (on average for each of the aforesaid
at an average of 30 USD per Fed Ex, DHL, & TNT)
(Notarizations)136X5X52X30+ (Apostilles) 136X5X52X30
=1060800USD+1060800USD= 2,121,000.00 USD

Most Conservative ANNUAL Estimate 14,375,560.00 USD

The above does not take into account professional formation fees ranging from USD 300.00-1000.00 per IBC/Trust that each provider charges to stay in business, all the bank accounts opened, (that usually require a minimum of 1000 USD to activate), the corresponding offshore bank employment, not only service provider staff, advertising, BEL and BTL charges, rent expenses, certified copies of any document from the registry, searches, legal opinions, or any other service and all other consequential charges, staff and activity fees.

In sum, it can safely and conservatively be said that at minimum, the offshore industry pumps over 14,000,000.00 USD annually into the Belize economy that is not repatriated.

Instead of lowering their own taxes to stimulate more economic activity and to have more disposable income at the end of the day for their own citizens, OECD countries demand that small jurisdictions change their own tax systems or face sanctions. The hypocritical irony is that they have achieved that high level of development precisely because they also enticed foreign direct investment into their economies with tax breaks and concessions and until competition emerged, sought to crush and monopolize it.

The State of Delaware alone has 850,000 incorporations. 50% of all NYSE companies and 60% of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware. This is 10 times more incorporations than Belize. While most states require a for-profit corporation to have at least one director and two officers, Delaware laws do not have this restriction. All offices may be held by a single person who also can be the sole shareholder. The person, who does not need to be US citizen or resident, may also operate anonymously. In most US states one can form a company online, without visiting the US and with no actual signatures at all. Delaware offers “1-hour service”. So does Nevada, whose official site offers “limited reporting and disclosure requirements”. Nevada incorporates in one year more than all Belize has so far incorporated since its inception in the industry. How can any due diligence be performed under those circumstances? How can those states or their agents truly know their customers? It is routinely stated by persons in the industry that the US is the world’s largest tax haven.

Yet, after enacting further pieces of legislation that strengthened/widened the Money Laundering and Prevention of Terrorism Act, they still wish to negate our modest gains. Belize is not a target or harbour for terrorists, but we join their fight inter alia, against that global scourge — and this is our reward? This is their appreciation? They cannot curb their drug appetite, we fight and die on our streets here with less resources, funds or manpower while at the same time they do not control their firearm exports into our small states. Where is the reciprocity? Instead of dwelling or stressing that it is G20 financial products, “professional” advisors and firms, lack of updated regulations or worse, G20 government departments asleep at the wheel that are the cause of the global financial meltdown, we should demand that they restore their institutions before seeking to intrude in the internal affairs of other countries — another once inviolable international law principle.

But, the reality is, if international treaties or sanctions do not achieve the desired end, and by chance a small state is the rare victor in the international mechanisms set up by G20 states, they are simply ignored with no enforcement. The recent case of Antigua VS the United States over Online Gaming and Antigua’s success at WTO is a clear example. As with this recent onslaught, it again is contrary to the long established international law principle that countries are not only free to design their own tax systems, but that one state cannot enforce the tax laws of another. What we see occurring is international blackmail and terrorism as they themselves define it that cannot be deemed legal or moral and for which Belize should strenuously resist any inevitable G20 badgering.

INTERNET WARS IN WESTERN BELIZE

wireless antenna repeaters from block to block.
** House attic wireless internet repeaters.



INTERNET WARS IN BELIZE

Latest word in the newspapers since PM Barrow announced the takeover of Ashcroft controlling shares in the telecommunications company, is that the company ( BTL )financial coffers were cleaned out of $70 million in cash and there is no money left to do anything. Issued out as dividends before the takeover. The new Government appointed BOARD has appointed a technical team to figure out what can be done with the company. In the meantime ASHCROFT has gone to the UK Court with the Investors Protection Treaty Belize signed back from 1987 with the UK. Ashcroft wants $300 million USA as compensation, but the assets are probably only worth about $12 million and the customer base and good will is most of the value, as an asset of the company. Total value probably not even $20 million USA? Much will depend on the valuations given the company, by a tribunal, BTL which has obsolete equipment and is not competitive. All that BTL has right now worth any asset money is the customer base and the fiber optic NAP connection to the outside world down in Belize City.
In the meantime a BENQUE investor is bringing CLARO Guatemalan internet via small home based repeater attic stations using wireless, through Succotz, to several other places like Black Rock, Maya mountain and Cahel Pech in a computer network system. Rumor mill has it the PUC, or the government closed them down for some reason, others say no, they do have a temporary permit and have a signal in San Ignacio town for sale using Guatemalan CLARO.
Lizarraga of Red Creek Check Point address and owner of a number of CABLE TV stations from Belize City running all the way out West, through Ladyville, Boom, and now Belmopan is busy laying new TV cable of the correct impedance to carry internet traffic as well. He is expected to reach the TWIN TOWNS in about a year. CASH flow is his problem. He currently delivers CABLE TV all over the TWIN TOWNS areas better than BTL phone service, but locally the cable wires are not the right type to include internet.
Currently only in the downtown San Ignacio area and Santa Elena on the copper wires BTL supplies the fastest speed in Belize which is 2 megabytes. We probably need 2 gigabytes in Belize?
SMART, after a year of crying on the shoulders of the two customer service girls in their SMART office, FINALLY got me the SMART TECHNICIANS from the coast to pop by my vandalized DFC house on the ridge in HILLVIEW day before yesterday. We got a signal and I was able to use their laptop. So I'm pleased and now just waiting for the local Western SMART office to get some modems to sell with the 3 inch antenna, that plugs in the USB port. Will be able to get internet, albeit very slow 128 K, which is just one grade above the worst you can get for speed and bandwidth. I'd settle for the 2 megabytes of BTL if I could get it, but 2 gigabytes would be better for modern internet software operations. I've rearranged our trading system to use END OF DAY data, so hopefully by next month we shall be able to start pilot project trials out of North Carolina into the Chicago Pits by October 1st? At least thats the plan. ( grin! ) We await only the modem to arrive at the San Ignacio SMART office. Currently still working on trial and error experimentation with my trading. Looking good so far. One never knows until one moves into CASH operations and that is planned for January 1st, 2010. ( The best laid plans of mice and men oft times go astray! )
The only fly in the ointment with internet competition out here in Western Belize is that BARROW was quoted as making noises in the newspapers this weekend about protectionism for BTL now majority controlled by the government and hinting at a new MONOPOLY FOR THE COMPANY. Dread the thought!
In the meantime, presuming SMART actually get the modem out to San Ignacio, we shall be doing something anyway at the pace of a turtle with 128 K. That is so slow, I can't believe I'm saying this. Last time I had that speed was around 1991 in Miami by a phone line, when public internet was just starting in the USA. So Belize is currently still about 20 years behind the times. Can't complain so long as I get something.
In the meantime,looks like we will be going with SMART for now, as the only game in town.

BELIZE DOES NOT HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET LAW!

Belize Flag



BELIZE DOES NOT HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET LAW

Belize has been in debt constantly throughout the history of the country, since independence was granted from the U.K., by the United Nations in 1982.

The nepotistic, robber baron type of party patronage politics has always spent the FUTURE tax revenues any new government expects to collect in advance, by borrowing abroad. Currently Belize owes all it's revenues going out about 30 years.

It is interesting to read of BALANCED BUDGET STATES in the USA, that MUST only spend what they take in.

CRAZY HUGO CHAVEZ of Venezuela.

*** CRAZY HUGO CHAVEZ of Venezuela.



CRAZY HUGO CHAVEZ OF VENEZUELA

Crazy Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is touring the world, telling everybody that the best government model in the world is that of the CASTRO BROTHERS DICTATORSHIP of the PRISON ISLAND of Cuba.
He says they give them food ( by ration cards- limited supply ), a place to sleep, a job ( they pretend to pay people and people pretend to work ), free education, free medical.
The only trouble with this scenario is that it smacks of SLAVERY, BONDAGE, serf status in which a person is owned by the STATE under the tyrant dictator. Sort of like a KING, or Feudal Lord, or like an Iranian Mullah.
They put people in jail for three years, for being suspected of THINKING outside the tyrannical line of thought. You can't move anywhere else on your own hook. You would lose your place to live and sleep, and your food ration card.
Nope! President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is one strange CRAZY hombre!

BENQUE VIEJO TOWN, YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS NEED MENTORING

** motorcycle taxi in nearby Guatemala across the frontier.



ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITY IN BENQUE VIEJO TOWN

There is an excellent opportunity for some young person to go into business in Benque Viejo Town, with a motorcycle TUK TUK cheap taxi between the FRONTIER IMMIGRATION and the bus stop at the park in Benque Viejo Town. This park was a bus stop that started when the only way to get to the frontier point was by truck, on a trail, or by walking. Even though today there is a double lane boulevard, asphalt paved, there has been no catching up with transportation improvements to the frontier with Guatemala.
It is doubtful that Benque Viejo Town young people, know about how to get the financing to start such a cheap needed taxi business. With a capacity of a few persons in a motorcyle taxi TUK TUK, like used across the border in Guatemala, a guy could make a decent living, charging $2 bz a head, for the short two mile trip. So who we wonder is the AREA REPRESENTATIVE that could point them to the Development Finance Corporation in Belmopan now back in business, to help them and mentor a small business loan? Or perhaps show them how to get a character loan from their local CREDIT UNION? Somebody is missing the boat here in starting a new business.

BELIZE UDP GOVERNMENT report card goes down from 71% to 56% approval rating

UDP REPORT CARD GOES DOWN 15 POINTS TO RATING OF 56%

This weeks UDP CABINET score for the UDP has dropped 15 points from the last score of 71%. The approval rating is now 56%

The euphoric boost a couple of weeks ago, to the nationalization of the SHARES of BTL by the UDP government, with the expectation we would now ACTUALLY get internet and telephone service in Santa Elena Town in Western Belize, that raised them the UDP, from a mediocre report card approval rating, of a heady 71% has been revised downward again this weekend, to 56%.

The primary reason, was for political administrative management negligence! This was composed of a loss of 10 points for not yet, enabling that cross border visitors at the Benque / Melchor border in Western Belize, received different transportation options to choose from when visiting Belize. While the UDP inherited the badly administrated transportation options for cross border visitors and tourists, ( a year and a half ago ) they were warned in public disclosures and articles, as far back as May of this year. They were also requested to fix the problem for the July – August, Summer Tourist season. This the UDP failed to do! It is now September, and my wife and I just this weekend returned from a sailing trip on Lake Izabal, in Guatemala, near the Southern border of Belize. When we cleared the border on our side, coming home at our Benque Immigration station, we were faced with only the TAXI MONOPOLY again. There were no buses, and no TUK TUK $1 per person taxis to travel the 2 ½ miles to the Benque bus stop at the town park. The TAXI ASSOCIATION asking price is $30 Bz to leave the Belize border point. It was mid-afternoon hot sun, we were much too exhausted to walk the 2 ½ miles in the hot sun, with our traveling back packs, to the nearest bus stop in Benque the nearby town about 2 ½ miles away. The taxi association were successful in extorting $30 from us.
Now compare this: We had just traveled from Rio Dulce, Puerto Barrios area in an AIR CONDITIONED BUS, with soft seats and a fast trip of 4 hours, to the crossroads at the point where the road leads a mile into Santa Elena, Peten, and then after getting off, promptly five minutes later, caught the next passing collectivo small van mini- bus, for the frontier immigration in Melchor de Menchos, on our Western border. This whole trip costs $25 Belize currency. The taxi drivers on the Belize side of the border who have a MONOPOLY, with the apparent blessing of the UDP government, extorted MORE MONEY for the 12 mile trip to Santa Elena Town, at $30 Belize currency, than we had paid for several hundred miles in Guatemala. Prices in Guatemala for Belizean tourists otherwise, are pretty much the same as found on Caye Caulker otherwise. Though you can find better cheaper rates if you have the time to shop around, for restaurants where locals eat and shop, for example. Then prices were the same as in our Western Twin TOWNS, perhaps a shade higher.
Another sore point was the taxi driver figured we were suckers, and we got in an argument about he wanted an extra $20 because he had to deliver us to our Hillview suburb house, of OUR Santa Elena Town, behind La Loma Luz hospital. When we were in the Tourist backpacker student bus traveler business, this was always a sore point for all our TOURIST GUESTS, as they got extorted, EACH TIME by this TAXI ASSOCIATION MONOPOLY for extra money, over and above agreed upon prices, at the Western border frontier. This does us much damage for TOURISM on the INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL CHAT FORUMS. The galling part is neither our UDP CABINET government who are supposed to be managing our economy in partnership with the private sector, only seem to meet such situations with complete indifference. So long as they get theirs as politicians, they don’t seem to give a damn about building our economy is our impression?
The lack of transportation solutions at the Western border, by the UDP CABINET after a suitable time of months, we can only subscribe to POLITICAL NEGLIGENT ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT INCOMPETENCE, in their stewardship of our national economy. Particularly TOURISM. That costs the UDP 10 points on our SCORE CARD. A further 5 points is deleted for the ability of the fairly new TAXI ASSOCIATION at this Western border crossing, to have a transportation MONOPOLY, without any regulation, controls, or fare statutes. Taxi fares to the Benque bus stop from the border, should be $2 per person and to the TWIN TOWNS about $10 per person. ( 5 point deduction on the report card for the UDP Cabinet )
The SCORE FOR THE UDP CABINET MISMANAGEMENT drops from 71% to a total of 56%. ( A failing grade, - passing grade is 75% ) To pass, the UDP are going to have to quit with the excuses and start with the results in working. ) This managerial negligent incompetence by our UDP CABINET costs the economy of Belize, much losses in Guatemalan Tourism, not even counting European bus travelers.
Regional Tourism impressions will be covered in a separate article.

BELIZEANS HOLIDAY IN GUATEMALA, at RIO DULCE

** The Winnie Estelle, former 100 year old Chesapeake cargo boat, a historical US vessel still in work.
** Our temporary home in the Rio Dulce, on the WINNIE ESTELLE, a 65 foot boat.
Hot springs off Lake Izabal, Guatemala.
*** The HOT water falls pouring into the very cold mountain creek. Your bottom is cold, but the head and shoulders get inundated with hot water. The minnows in the cold creek bite like heck, taking off your dead skin. VERY NICE SPOT THOUGH! You can reach it by collectivo mini-van from Rio Dulce and enter at the gate, paying a small fee to walk up the shaded jungle trail to the hot springs.




A HOLIDAY TIME IN GUATEMALA AND BELIZE

We spent the weekend down in Susana Marina sleeping on the 68 ft., Chesapeake refurbished cargo boat, the WINNIE ESTELLE, skippered by Robert Smith , retired from Tourism in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye in Rio Dulce, Guatemala. I used to run this 30 ton cargo boat, buying lumber in Puerto Cortez, Honduras and selling the lumber in Belize some forty years ago when a young man, sea captain. This Rio DULCE area has dozens of marinas for world traveling yachts along the Rio Dulce river banks, in fresh water. Must be 500 yachts, most of which cost more money than my previously owned HOSTEL. Huge yachts and lots of big ocean going catamarans, which seem to be in favor, by the person living aboard and traveling the world by water. The MARINA was full, due to the Hurricane Season and yacht people were sitting out the Hurricane season here, some 26 miles up river at the mouth of Lake Izabal. My daughter Tina Auxillou of Caye Caulker, TINA’s beachfront HOSTEL fame, was due to arrive, as she was crewing a big catamaran delivery from San Pedro in Northern Belize, down there also, to sit out the Hurricane Season. Tina was to park across the dock from the WINNIE ESTELLE. We didn’t meet, as we arrived some days before she even left San Pedro and she probably would not arrive until a couple of days after we left, coming under sail alone. Rio Dulce was packed with Guatemalan tourists. It is a small village stretched along the highway before the high span bridge across the river, near the Lake entrance. There are a lot more Mayan villages accessible by water along the river banks. It’s hard to tell the tourists from the locals, as they are all dressed up in Indian costume mostly.
The TOUR BUSES, SPECIAL EXCURSIONS and BUS CHARTERS were coming in from all over Guatemala. From as far away as the Pacific Coast and Mexican border on the Pacific. Nearly all of them Mayan Indians in their colorful costumes, blouses and skirts. One of our planned things to do, was the trip down the Rio Dulce gorge to Livingston and back by public water taxi. About 26 miles each way, with a stop at the old Spanish Fort on the river. Unfortunately, the water taxies were packed like sardines with Guatemalan tourists ( different Mayan Indian language groupings , in colorful costumes, from all over Guatemala ). We abandoned the idea of that excursion, jam packed in the hot sun like that for this trip. I think it was a National holiday weekend? Prices were more or less the same as in Caye Caulker for tourists. Pretty high, compared to how we travel and eat in Western Belize TWIN TOWNS where we live. Though we found food and prices more to our local appetites and customs in cuisine when we got away from the tourist centers, and ate where the ordinary farm people eat in the Rio Dulce. Mostly we cooked aboard. Roberto had a neat grill, sort of like a hub cap, that he could place on his butane burner and grill chicken, or fish. Great food mon! I want one, said he bought it at Simon Quan hardware in Belize City. Next trip to the city will look for one. I want one of those small portable ovens too, you place on a one burner stove. Haven’t seen those in Belize for baking, since kerosene cooking went out of style some decades ago in favor of Butane gas.
We spent a lovely day sailing on Lake Izabal, the first time for me on that lake. I was surprised to find average depth was only 45 feet with a mud shrimping bottom. The boat was a sailing boat, 32 ft, trawler configuration, recently bought by Marcos who has the MOPAN HOTEL on the Melchor, Guatemalan side of the frontier, between Guatemalan Immigration and the MOPAN river. The entrance is to the side of the new river bridge, the Guatemalans are building at our frontier in the WEST. Marcos used to live in CALLA CREEK in Western Belize, but believe the story is; that he and his wife divorced and she went off with Fairweather the surveyor. Marcos a SWISS by birth, tall lanky fella, moved across the frontier and got married again. His helper on the yacht for the weekend was Sergio, a cheerful OAS diplomat from Belize duty, who is from Paraguay. Then there was my wife Silvia and I. Anyway, Marcos is now the proud new owner of a yacht in a Rio Dulce marina. ( with help he sailed it down from Texas - lot of cheap yachts for sale these days ) ( Marina dockage in Isla Mujeres, Mexico was quoted at $800 usa / month. Average in Rio Dulce is $150 to $200 usa per month with electricity, water, laundry facility, toilets and hammocks in the marina, with restaurant. ) We eventually got dropped off half way down the lake at FINCA PARAISO and spent the night there in a lakeside cabin with two bedrooms and bath for $50 Bze. Marcos and Sergio went off learning to sail and handle the boat alone and got caught by a storm building up over the mountain range dividing Guatemala and Honduras. The storm move over the Southern side of the Lake and they got the fringes of it, with dark falling, we watched them drop sails, then lightening bolts started hitting the water all around them, as dark fell over the scene. That had to be a thrilling introduction to ownership of your first yacht solo trip. Especially since your mast and boat is the highest conductor around over the Lake water. We also got to see and swim in the very cold mountain creek, under the very hot volcanic hot springs waterfall on the FINCA PARAISO, which has become a tourist destination on the North side of Lake Izabal. You can get to the hot springs waterfall by collective passenger vans along the lake road. Lovely spot shaded by trees in flavor similar to the Hummingbird Highway Blue Hole cenote swimming spot in Belize. Most of the tourists were Guatemalan and a sprinkling of Europeans. We returned to the Rio Dulce by local collectivo mini-van bus on the lakeside road, ( about 22 miles - $6 Bz ) which is NEW and being paved as I write. We slept two nights on the boat WINNIE ESTELLE and one at Finca Paraiso on the lake shore. Did a lot of swimming in the fresh water Rio Dulce, where our boat was docked in the marina. Just jumped over the side every time it got hot and swam around to cool off. Since the MACAL RIVER here in Belize is now polluted by the hydro dam, muddy discharge and killed off the fish and river bed, you can’t find any place to swim anymore in OUR, Santa Elena Town. You can’t even see the bottom, the mud is so thick. They tell us; take the mud, or the electricity, but you can’t have both. Goodbye pristine Macal River!
We found the best bus from Rio Dulce to the capital of the Peten, Santa Elena on lake Flores, was one called RAPIDO del SUR. It runs from Guatemala City to the capital of the Department of the Peten via the Puerto Barrios main highway, during the daytime and then dog legs up into the Department of the Peten. There is an agriculture check point on the dogleg. All roads are paved. The highway from Santa Elena, Peten to the Melchor de Menchos frontier is being paved with asphalt and has reached within 28 miles of Melchor on our Western border. The road is much improved and faster now. A lot happens in Guatemala in six months, since the last time we came this way. The same bus returns during the night to Guatemala City from Santa Elena - PETEN, then turns around and comes back South during the day.
What amazed me was the INTERNAL Guatemalan tourism, which we are missing in Belize. Due partly to the Melchor road, but which should be finished by Christmas and partly to the impression given Guatemalan tourists by our rip off, overcharging taxi drivers at the Western Border. Nor does there seem any particular interest in regional tourism by our institutional agency the Belize Tourist Board? A coastal Creole bias from our port town, who control our Belize Government, against our wealthier neighbors? The plane flights were full of Guatemalan tourists to TIKAL, mostly Mayan Indians seeing their country and heritage. Our port town folk, and the bureaucrats seem to think Guatemalans are all poor folks. Whoooosh! Not at all! Ordinary folk have cell phones, and computers. Most very remote FINCAS and ranches we found had satellite dishes, but these do not operate the same as the favored USA HUGHES satellite systems imported into Belize. They are sold by CLARO, one of the Guatemalan telecommunications companies. The satellite dishes seem to be using the VENEZUELAN satellite over Caracas? That is my guess from the angle and direction they are pointing? I plan to check this out more. In Banco Rural in Guatemala, ( Santa Elena – Department of PETEN branch ) we found brochures for computers, laptops and desktops at the same prices you would buy in the USA, from discount places like Tiger Direct, or Wal Mart. Banco Rural was financing them, or you got them cheaper if you paid cash. We plan to get our next computer from over the border. Why fly to the USA, when you can get USA cheap prices next door? Somebody must be importing from CHINA direct into Guatemala?
We had a good vacation though. Delightful indeed. The swimming off the boat we were staying on, was the best thing, several times a day. Loved it and the exercise at my old age. The camaradie of the marina was excellent too, with aboard drinking parties and food. Most of the huge yachts owners were absent though. Not many people in the marina, just lots of huge expensive yachts. I counted about 50 yachts in our marina where we were staying in the Rio Dulce.

Belize, Caye Caulker, Pelicans die off, signal catastrophe of environment at Caye Caulker.

*** Pelicans nearly extinct on Caye Caulker.




CAYE CAULKER HAS ENVIRONMENTAL ECOLOGICAL DISASTER!

by Ray Auxillou, September, 7, 2009

Just spent a weekend at my home island of Caye Caulker, a mile inside the Great Barrier Reef of Belize. During my lifetime and mostly during the period of the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s I had the job of counting PELICANS all along the Great Barrier Reef chain of islands and offshore in the three ATOLLS. My business in those younger days, carried me widely in my boats around the reefs and islands. The PELICAN COUNT was sent to Dr. Henry Hildebrand of the University of Corpus Christi, Texas. Since that time, the annual visit of new marine biology students to Caye Caulker and my six week logistics supply for them and guiding came to an end, when the private University was sold to the State of Texas and the Marine Biology program was closed. I helped train a lot of future parks and game professionals for the State of Texas.
Part of the volunteer work I was asked to perform over several decades, were the PELICAN count. The Pelican is the top of the food chain for the Great Barrier Reef islands in Belize. You tell the health of the islands and shallows and nurseries by the PELICAN COUNT.
This weekend the PELICAN count for Caye Caulker was one old solitary bird, cruising all by itself on the North side of the Split. Pelicans are social birds and usually travel in flocks of a dozen or more.
The ordinary count for Caye Caulker village ran around 50 PELICANS sitting on piers and posts in front of the village. They feed off SPRAT a sort of sardine, that grows up in the mangrove roots.
The fact that PELICANS are distressed into almost extinction at Caye Caulker should set off alarm bells, as one step up the food chain are humans. If PELICANS are disappearing from some disastrous change in the ecological environment, then humans will soon follow.
I do not know the problem here. Some other generation will have to find out. Though I do remember that the Gulf of Mexico around thirty years ago had a similar PELICAN die off. Which was traced eventually to pesticides in the Gulf waters, running off the land. The pesticides made the new born in their eggs, have very thin shells and the birds did not reach to the point of hatching in a proper time limit and died by their thousands. The Gulf of Mexico did eventually rebuild their PELICAN populations.
I never did counts of FRIGATE BIRDS, but normally about a hundred birds would be flying back and forth along the barrier islands, on either side of Caye Caulker. This weekend, I only counted TEN FRIGATE BIRDS in total.
My only hope by this article is to sound the ALARM, as this development has serious implications for HUMANS as well.

Belize Home photos of the Auxillou family in Belize

*** Three generations of Auxillou's. Grandpa Ray Auxillou ( 72 years ), Diane Auxillou, 3rd youngest daughter and grandson 11 year old Dillon Kuylen.




*** Photo of Grandpa Ray Auxillou ( 72 years of age ) visiting with daughter Diane Auxillou on their home island village of Caye Caulker, inside the Great Barrier Reef off Belize, Central America. The wife Mrs. Silvia Auxillou is on the left, Grandpa Ray Auxillou in the middle and his daughter Diane Auxillou on the right.

BELIZE UDP DEBT ECONOMICS POLICY DURING RECESSION

*** Pensive Finance Minister, Dean Barrow. Is it LADY LUCK? Or shrewd foresight and planning?


THE BELIZE DEBT ECONOMICS POLICY IS SO FAR WORKING! (2009)
By Ray Auxillou ( September 2009 )

So far the performance of the UDP Government DEBT ECONOMICS policy seems to be working? Here in Western Belize, the middle class continue to do well. Construction is still ongoing at a steady pace. There is the occasional lull, but often you have a back order of cement blocks running on a waiting list of 50 customers for two weeks. New block makers are starting up. Hardware stores continue to replace stock on a weekly, or twice a week basis.
Nice cars are being driven, despite vehicle fuel prices rising. The middle class seem to be broad based. Western Belize is blessed with a mixed economy. Agriculture, tourism, and such. The Tourism sector has suffered this past season and is expected to really hurt marginal tour operators and hotels in the next three months during our dead season. I would not be surprised to see many of them close up shop. I had one favorite tour operator the other day asking me for alternative business ideas. Most tourist hotels and resorts are for sale. Many are not seriously for sale, only if you pay their price. Otherwise the owners are quite content to sit out the hard times. They have no intention of selling out cheap, they like the life style. Next tourist season is expected to be the SAME, or very slightly better, but not enough to change the dynamics much. Many tourist businesses will not be able to carry the cost of losing another season. We don’t expect to see much improvement until 2012 and 2013.
It is on the national scene that any stress is occurring. Mostly in the government bureaucracies. The system of political patronage party allocated jobs is giving us BAD GOVERNMENT. Overall in a general sense, the political party practice of nepotism and party hack hiring, is a ruinous system for the nation using patronage party politics, versus the needs of the nation, to hire only civil servants who are the brightest and smartest. It is a common complaint among citizens that in many government offices, only one or two people are doing the work, while four others are chatting, socializing, or on the government phone with their friends all day. My brother-in-law has had to go through the police interview routine twice in the past year and he just got told this week, they have lost his file again. Another third round of police interviews again, I guess? This makes his PERMANENT RESIDENCY process stretch into years. With PM BARROW retiring at the end of this term, I have HOPES that he will professionalize the Belize Civil Service through a Human Resources Department and a variety of Civil Service Exams, done anonymously and with the highest test candidate offered the job. This would go a long way to bringing up the professional level of how we are governed and our bureaucracies perform. The current system is terrible as a working model. It only serves the interests of the political gang or party being elected, as a vote catcher. For the nation it is a ruinous method of doing things efficiently with professionalism. Belize needs the best people we can find and hire. Not the leavings of party patronage, low quality people.
Mostly, the effects of the WORLD DEPRESSION seem to be felt in government tax revenues, which are dropping. If the numbers being reported in the AMANDALA newspaper are anywhere near accurate, then the government bureaucracy set up and expanded during the PUP boom years are going to contract fiercely soon. Government tax revenues seem to be about back to what they were around 14 years ago.
That said, subjectively, the feel in Western Belize outside of the tourism sector, is that things are bright and the local economy strong. A lot of that is supported by the FOREIGN LOAN borrowing for specific projects, along with a lot of GRANTS. So money is circulating.
PM Barrow who is also the Finance Minister seems to be in luck. At least as far as the West here. He might argue with that and we don’t know if it is good foresight on his part, or blind luck? Still, give credit where it is due! For me to acknowledge that opinion, as an avowed opponent against borrowing, means I’m impressed at how the Belize Recession and revenue retraction is working in the economic private sector, by slowly feeding in loan development infra-structure projects. BARROW seems to be borrowing and feeding slowly into the system, FOREIGN LOAN financed projects on a small but steady slow basis. If he can keep this up through the remaining three years of his term, the whole nation of Belize may come out of this WORLD DEPRESSION with nothing more than a shrinkage in government workers in the bureaucracies, and the elimination of a lot of government jobs, that were created in BOOM times and are no longer self sustainable. We can expect an exodus of the salaried government worker types in the port town, to migrate abroad to Europe, Canada and the USA for greener pastures in their desires. This should be balanced with an inflow of immigrants seeking the climate and business entrepreneurial atmosphere of a well managed economy in a depression, if the UDP can achieve it? The government dependence on tourist tax revenues seems to have been replaced by oil tax revenues, or dividends? Eventually tourism will come back in three to six years from now and will be a useful addition to our economy again. Though of less importance as in times past, as we diversify our economy. I think the Agriculture Department are on the right track teaching world trade, exporting, entrepreneurial skills to a new generation of youngsters. That is the future for Belize, in my opinion. The necessary shrinkage in government size and increased efficient performance will be the crux of the matter over the remainder of the UDP term. Can BARROW slowly feed the work paid for, by LOANS and GRANTS into the system, slowly enough, not to let our economy slide downhill? The art is to keep the private sector vibrant and producing for good national health. The verdict is out on that and it is a little early to judge. As far as this year, it can be said his DEBT ECONOMICS policy is working. The national government is being forced to shrink though. That seems unavoidable, as that is a direct function of tax revenues and those are falling, due to external conditions, not from local conditions. We don’t seem to be as bad off as the USA though, or England? The next two years are going to be the toughest for this UDP Administration. 2010 and 2011.
There are at least 15 States in the USA reporting 25% unemployment since the last 1930’s DEPRESSION. An unheard of situation. Doubtful if anybody is still alive remembering that DEPRESSION? In the U.K. they are going to cut the military defense budget by 2/3 rds. CHINA is reviewing their overseas investment policies for all that cash they have in their foreign reserves. Wonder if there isn’t some mechanism we can attract Chinese Foreign Reserves for safety here in Belize? Our financial experts need to ponder those challenges and opportunities. Risks and rewards and how to set it up, so it will work. I can smell the opportunity here, but it will take a more experienced mixed task force of professionals, to explore how to diddle with international currencies and end up making money off it in Belize, as a haven for trillions of Chinese foreign reserves. Lichenstein, Luxemburg, Switzerland and other small places seem to be able to do it, why not Belize? We would need some invited speakers to present papers at a forum on the HOW? Some BOND TRADERS, CURRENCY TRADERS and BANKERS, perhaps Goldman Sachs people. Give them a free holiday here in Belize, in return for presenting suggestion papers at a private financial forum, on how we as a country can go about this opportunity?
If we don’t get a hurricane strike in the next month and a half, we can count that as BARROW LUCK also, and it will mean an extra $150 million in disaster work, that can be more effectively used.

Cayo District Junior Miss Universe is Shanty Zetina, 10 years old.

SHANTY ZETINA, only 10 years old, won the Junior Miss Universe Contest held in Belize City the port town down on the coast of Belize. She is MISS CAYO in the Junior contest and the pageant was to raise funds for school feeding programs for poor children.

Belize middle class couple cry, because they didn't plan properly?

** job loss protesters Hiriam and Charles Good of Belize City




THE SAGA OF HIRIAM AND CHARLES GOOD

Belize City Port Town folks are strange people! A long drawn out saga, because Hiriam Good lost her job as a School Warden, due to political patronage job allocations is a running serial, in port town newspapers. The thing that is strange about it, in a land such as Belize, is that this middle class couple even think they are entitled to salaried government jobs and that the Prime Minister has an obligation to them to give them a salaried job. One wonders what happened to personal responsibility?

Anyone with a salaried job, knows that the job is temporary? Dependent on variable factors. While you have a salaried job, it behooves you to plan and provide for what happens after the salaried job stops. We have been inundated with the cry that they have four children in paid high school. Well tough tiddy! I have thousands of neighbors in Western Belize that cannot even put their children in High School, because they do not have the money. In fact, there are hundreds around this immediate area of Western Belize that will not finish PRIMARY SCHOOL, because they do not have enough money. Many of them do not have shoes!

Charles Good has his PENSION and his SOCIAL SECURITY and while his younger wife Hiriam does not, they are middle class, with or without a government salaried job. They should come out of the PORT TOWN and see how real people in the nation of Belize have to live. Visit anywhere in the rural districts of Belize .

Nobody owes the GOOD family a salaried job in the government. They have to deal with the hard knocks of life just like any other family here in rural districts. People on a salary with the government, or in the private sector, should be preparing and planning for how they will live when they lose that job. That is THEIR RESPONSIBILITY. Not that of a PRIME MINISTER. We the nation do not OWE the GOOD FAMILY a salaried job. They can always come out into the rural areas and grow their own food. This is a tropical country and you can grow food year round.

Don Quixote in Belize needs a new lance and mule!

*** Every era has it's heros. In Belize City the port of Belize, it is Jules Vasquez here that is the hero of this era in Belizean history.
** Don Quixote tilting at windmills and helping the poor.
*** The famous story of Don Quixote tilting at windmills.


JULES VASQUES the ONLY MEDIA REPORTER IN BELIZE ASKING THE HARD QUESTIONS ON OUR GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT MODEL

By Ray Auxillou ( September 2009 )

Belize only has one media reporter asking the hard questions of our politicians and concerned about where our economy and nation is going. In a democracy it is the role of the investigative media to keep the politicians as honest as possible. It is also the only counter balance against autocracy and dictatorship.

In Belize , we only have one reporter over the previous administration and this current political administration, that is asking the hard questions. You could call Jules Vasquez a NATIONAL TREASURE.

In the eighteen years of self government under the British Colonial authorities, George Price rose as the leader of then British Honduras . The United Nations wanted to kick all ex-colonies out of the fold and into independence. It was the end of the military EUROPEAN IMPERIALIST ERA. George Price implemented the role of autocrat/dictator on the style of Governor Huey Long of Louisiana of that time. POLITICAL PATRONAGE was the methodology chosen. George Price was ruthless in suppressing, penalizing, destroying, his perceived enemies and often the brutal party controlled police and trappings of government departments, forced perceived opponents into exile. After the 1982 INDEPENDENCE VOTE in the United Nations, unanimous almost, except for the one exception of Guatemala , this small country of Belize , with a smaller population, dominated by a black port town and black civil service went into, two party political rule. It is now 2009 and we now have as a small country, named BELIZE with forty five years of experience of self rule, in a two party system. We have also become secular and ethnically diversified, a true melting pot.

How is it working? It is not working well! The best that could be said is that; it is working mediocre. The worst that can be said, is that it is hardly democratic, the government is bankrupt, and governed by a two party system, that are no more than organized banditry. They, each major party enter the political race in a system of gang membership to plunder and loot the government resources, a system taught to us by George Price the founder of our independent nation of Belize . ALL political aspirants enter for SELF ENRICHMENT. ( Modern day piracy. ) About 25% of those candidates are outright crooks, or criminals with no remorse, or pity on anyone who get in their way into making money off the government workings. From bribes, to embezzlement, to government contracts ( false and real ), to nepotism, to political patronage government jobs ( several thousands ) introduced by George Price ( as taught by Huey Long of Louisiana ) the government of Belize , is primarily run to enrich the winning political party members, at the expense of the masses tax revenues. Some sociological, political and anthropological studies and books were written and published in the local press around 1993 ( eleven years after Independence ) covering the shortcomings of the way our political government system worked until then. Only the odd democratic change has been adopted in the sixteen years since then,, when it didn’t interfere with the depredations of political area representatives, money making opportunities, while in their term in office. These democratic developments were in the privatization field and de-centralization area.

The two party looting, plundering model of governing continues, forty five years later, embedded into the two party political system.

This leads us to a fast approaching era of ECONOMIC CRISIS, exacerbated by a WORLD RECESSION/DEPRESSION. We have no idea of our total BELIZE NATIONAL DEBT? The latest figure bandied about is $3 billion for total debt. The GDP number of $1.2 BILLION also bandied about, but is old and based on the BOOM, borrowing debt economics years of the previous administration. Since then, the WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS has shrunk our GDP, 31% to around $800 MILLION in our guess estimate. Have no idea of our TOTAL NATIONAL DEBT?

We expect Jules Vasquez the nation’s only defender of democracy in the media, to hold the Prime Minister, Finance Minister’s feet to the fire with some hard questions, on where our economy is, and where it is going? If you use the NEW estimated numbers our National Debt to GDP ratio in these shrinking economic times, our ratio is 63% of GDP. If you use the old numbers of GDP and DEBT, our Debt to GDP ratio is around 250%. A lot depends on those numbers for future policy during this UDP administration. This policy of FINANCIAL SECRECY by the bandit political party gang, running our nation has to stop.

JULES VASQUEZ ( local media investigative star ) is our DON QUIXOTE, our knight in shining armor, destined to do battle with the forces of evil in our government. He needs to take our leader of this gang ruling the nation to task and put the Finance Minister’s feet to the fire and get us some answers, if they have any at all? Which is a questionable assumption? Observers and critics only see governing, by crisis knee jerk reactions. Not true longer range planning. If there is mid term and longer term planning it seems to be coming from Rene Montero ( agriculture ) and Patrick Faber ( education ). They do have support in the involvement of the CABINET of their party, so in that sense perhaps we could say there is a political party sense of SOME longer range planning?

We the public know that hard times are coming over the remainder of the UDP term. We should be sharing the policy discussions on how to handle the problems we face as a citizenry. Indeed, these hard times may have arrived already, and if not, will arrive by the end of next month. We expect a shortage of foreign exchange. This is alleviated somewhat by all the FOREIGN LOANS coming into the government.

The coming economic crisis is centered on our ability to maintain financially the size of our government. The salaried non-producers. The government expanded during the BOOM times of the previous PUP Debt Economics and now it must shrink. How many low quality, political patronage, free loaders, can we support from diminishing tax revenues? Many of our decentralized departments and regulatory agencies are no long self sustainable. This situation is going to get worse for the next three years. This is going to mean a severe contraction in certain types of government jobs. Human nature will pit, a frightened government civil service bureaucracy against the private sector business community in an economic civil war. The war is over personal survival. The civil service bureaucrats, mostly from the port of Belize City , are expected to go into an orgy of new taxes, tax increases, increased fines and permit and license fees to preserve their salaried government jobs. They are fighting for personal survival in the government salaried mode. The private sector in rural districts, will fight to keep taxation and predations reasonable, to enable the private sector to survive also, and stop any further contraction of the business economy, that can only make a projected difficult economic situation even worse. The politicians in our gang of ruling thieves ( a common public opinion ) will decide, who or what wins over the next three years. They are supposed to manage the situation for the good of the whole nation and economy. Their own self enrichment schemes, perks, gratuities, pensions, salaries, travel allowances, per diems are more or less guaranteed, no matter how bad things get for the civil service, or the private business sector producers and service industries.

There are some changes we can make to our governing model. Certainly one is a HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT and anonymous civil service exams explained in Belizean sociological recommendations and studies of 16 years ago and published. Much of which was not done. This to get rid of the ruinous POLITICAL PARTY PATRONAGE, government job system, which is losing us our skilled civil service administrators and replacing them with worthless relatives and party hacks, who are unable to give us affordable, efficient work performance. If your civil service is run by unskilled people, chosen by political party patronage, then you get what you expect. It may serve the political party gang in power, but destroys both our economy and our nation. Neither the police, lands, or immigration departments are doing well.

We look for DON QUIXOTE ( Jules Vasquez –grin!- ) to ride to the rescue and keep our government honest, open and transparent! Light the fire Jules. We in the rural districts are cheering you on! “Viva Belice!”