But now, thirty-three year old Jewett is making serious allegations against the FIU. Today he indicated to the court that he wanted to change his plea for Money Laundering from not guilty to guilty. But before the plea was taken, his attorneys, Dickie Bradley and Ellis Arnold, addressed the court both indicating that they were withdrawing from the case because Jewett rejected their legal advice.
According to Bradley, while remanded, Jewett had a visit from personnel of the U.S. Embassy and the F.I.U. and was allegedly threatened with eleven years in prison if he did not plead guilty. Bradley says that Jewett was also told that his wife will be charged and their two year old child would be placed in the custody of Social Services. This was confirmed by Jewett to freelance reporter, Anita Nembhard, via a telephone call from prison. The alleged threats apparently contributed to Jewett's change of heart. Although Jewett is no longer his client, Bradley gave us details of what happened.
Departure Destination Fares
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Channel Five reported today that: There have been many unusual developments in the judiciary lately, including a public war of words between the Attorney General and the Chief Justice.
Today, News Five has learnt of an application being made
by the Belize Electricity Limited seeking leave to rehear an oral
ruling by the Court of Appeal given on October twenty-seventh before a
reconstituted panel of judges, which would not include Justice Denys
Barrow. B.E.L. is also requesting the court to hear the application
before a written judgment is handed down. Justice Barrow sat as a
justice of the Court of Appeal along with Justices Mottley and Morrison
in the case between B.E.L. and the Public Utilities Commission of Belize in which
B.E.L.'s appeal was over the jurisdiction of the P.U.C. B.E.L. wants the matter reheard because Justice Barrow's son Kimano is a Commissioner on the PUC in whose favour the Court of Appeal ruled. Kimano was appointed commissioner by his uncle Prime Minister Dean Barrow, who is the brother of Justice Barrow.More Here
Lord Ashcroft has been a pivotal figure in the financing of David Cameron's revived Tory party. Without his money and his clever strategy in targeting marginal seats, the party would be nowhere.
...if the Tories win the next general election, he(Michael Ashcroft) will want Tory policies that benefit international business and they will be in a weak position to deny what he wants.
~ David Hencke - Guardian's Westminster correspondent
Although the United Kingdom has what is considered a multi-party political system, the so-called first-past-the-post or winner-take-all electoral system has allowed for the dominance of two major political parties. Though both has at some point required the help of a third party to deliver a working majority in Parliament, since as far back as 1920, political power in the UK has been in the hands of either the Labour or the Conservative Party. The Conservative Party or Tories as they are called, has maintained control of government for about two-thirds of that time but has been in opposition since losing the 1997 elections to Tony Blair's Labour Party. Current indicators suggest that another change is in the making however, and the Conservatives are poised to once again take control of Britain's parliament. Recent results show the Labour Party falling far behind in the polls and barring some miraculous turnabout, come next spring, England will once again be flying the dark blue colors of the Conservative Party. Should these polls and predictions prove correct, then this would no doubt have major implications for us here in Belize. What makes Britain's coming elections so significant to Belize is the treatment that we have given to one man in particular; a man who incidentally, holds dual citizenship to both countries.
Sir Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron of Chichester in the County of West Sussex was vested as a Knight Commander, Order of St. Michael and St. George (K.C.M.G.) in the year 2000. For two years prior to that, 1998 to 2000, Ashcroft held the office of Belize's Ambassador to the United Nations. More significantly, from 1998 to 2001, Sir Ashcroft held the post of Senior Party Treasurer to this self same Conservative Party which is set to assume governance of one of the world's most powerful countries. The truth of the matter is that the name Michael Ashcroft is practically synonymous with the Conservative Party and he remains a prominent player therein. With David Cameron occupying #10 Downing Street, Sir Ashcroft would no doubt be wielding significant influence and would be in a position to help or hurt whomever he pleases. Michael Ashcroft, for his part, is not an easy man to predict. He has often been described as rather enigmatic, prompting one British journalist to write, "Or is part of the Tory deputy chairman's delight in being a man of mystery - like his own admission that he loves his nickname of Ernst Stavro Blofeld - the specter villain in James Bond novels. He even has a toy white Persian cat which he enjoys stroking."
Michael Ashcroft has made it known publicly that he has a profound love for Belize. He stated in a recent interview, "If home is where the heart is, then Belize is home." Unfortunately, in recent times, the feeling has been far from mutual. The Zinc Fence in particular, has spent considerable air-time, ink and energy trying to convince the Belizean public that Michael Ashcroft is a demon, a "virus" or the latest, "a pulpo". Unfortunately, some supposedly intelligent and well-meaning Belizeans have swallowed the agitprop hook, line and sinker. Many, some of our current politicians in particular, have grown fat feeding at Michael Ashcroft's money trough, yet readily grab stick and stand in line to partake in Hyde's "hazing" of the man. Many believe that the UDP's recent strong-arming of BTL was little more than an attempt to pacify Hyde's deep-seated animosity toward Michael Ashcroft. Since assuming office, the UDP has bent backwards to accommodate and placate Evan Hyde's whims, fancies and his insatiable greed and ego. Someone ought to tell Dean Barrow the story of the scorpion, which was once told by Hyde himself in an apparently "sober" moment. In his editorial of last Friday's Amandala, Hyde warned that "turmoil...is coming to be visited upon Belize". Hopefully he is wrong but possibly, he doesn't know the half of it!
Hyde, as he does with every problem that Belize faces, tried to tie the recent UB problems to Michael Ashcroft. Was Ashcroft ever the Chairman of UB? Was Ashcroft ever the Minister of Education? I for one do not believe that Michael Ashcroft is the monster that he is being made out to be. Michael Ashcroft is a businessman and a very astute and successful one at that. What Belizeans should realize is that Michael Ashcroft did not come to Belize and "dead-raise." Ashcroft brought money and was investing in Belize when no one else was. Ashcroft took a fledging Royal Bank of Canada and turned it into a robust, internationally-acclaimed and hugely successful financial institution. He did the same for BTL and a number of other Belizean businesses. Yes he makes money, but that's what business people do! To suggest that Michael Ashcroft does not pay any taxes is an outright lie. He does and so do the thousands individuals employed by his various business enterprises. He also donates generously to a number of charitable organizations, in particular to education, and yes, to UB.
Now my objective here is not to try and defend Michael Ashcroft, I do not know him and have never ever met the man. It would be most presumptuous of me to believe that I can help Michael Ashcroft in any way; about as presumptuous as Hyde believing that he can hurt Michael Ashcroft in anyway. The point of my essay is to suggest that maybe we should be more careful about picking up picket and falling in line behind every two-bit pied piper that blows a flute. The story is told of the little sparrow that was late flying south and got caught in a deep freeze. Lying on the ground practically frozen, a cow comes by and drops dung on his head. He gets warm and is so happy, he starts to sing. A cat hears him and comes by and promptly pulls him out and has the sparrow for lunch. The moral of the story of course; not everyone one who is accused of shitting on you is your enemy and not everyone who purports to help is your friend. Beware of the real wolf, Mr. Red riding hood.-- G. Michael Reid
The magician's assistants worked feverishly behind the scenes to prepare him for the second part of the show. The second part would be more difficult to perform, especially since there was no script for it. It would have to be played out in real time with unknown actors and no script.
And Now For My Next Trick
A political magician confidently takes center stage before a national audience of 300,000.
He is staking his reputation and maybe also his career on this trick.
Carefully but with poise, he draped his black magician's cloth over the cash rich, $30 million-a-year private phone company and before Belizeans could say "Badass Barrow!" he deftly yanked it away.
Voila! The private phone company was government owned.
The magician he bowed deeply from the waist in appreciation for the spontaneous standing ovation of deafening applause ripping across the nation.
He had outdone himself. Not only had he magically converted a real, live private company into a government-owned one, but he had made its mighty, larger-than-life, feared and ruthless billionaire owner, Lord Ashcroft, actually disappear.
His name, to be sure, would go down as one of the most dazzling political magicians in the country, if not the region.
Belmopan, Belize 17 August (BelizeBlog.com) One of the founding fathers of modern day Belize and key architect of the Belize Constitution, Hon. Vernon Harrison Courtenay died on Saturday August 15. V.J. as he was affectionately known, was a key player along with the Hon. C.L.B. Rogers, Rt. Hon. George Price and Hon. Assad Shoman in the quest for Belizean independence from the British colonial masters.
Hon. V.H. Courtenay was an outstanding Belizean patriot. An attorney-at-law by profession, he was a partner in Belize's largest and best known law firm W.H. Courtney and Company.
V.H. Courtenay won three General Elections to the Belize House of Representatives. He was Belize's first Attorney General and served in the Belize Cabinet as Minister of Works, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
An accomplished orator and Senior Counsel, he was feared by political adversaries during debates in the House of Representatives. A memorial service for the late V.H. Courtenay will be held this Wednesday at St. Mary's Church in Belize City. A biographical summary of this Belize son of the soil follows:
VERNON HARRISON COURTENAY, S, C. born Belize, 1932; admitted, 1960, England and Belize. Education: Belize and Lincoln's Inn, London. PRACTICE AREAS: Administrative Law; Business Law; Chancery Practice; Civil Law; Commercial Law; Company Law; Constitutional Law.
Baby Jayden's tragic death resulting from his chocking on a bean has exposed gross deficiencies in Belize's medical care. The failure of two medical institutions to timely treat baby Jayden in a manner so as to save his life is both shocking and alarming. Adding the request for $15,000 to be paid up front before treating his life-threatening emergency indicates an insidious situation. A situation that can place the health care and lives of all Belizeans in jeopardy. Neither medical facility attempted the Heimlich procedure.

Belmopan, Belize 8 August (BelizeBlog.com) The Belize Costa Maya Festival is in full swing in its 18th year.
The festival held at top tourism spot San Pedro, Ambergris Caye provides a welcome respite from the slow summmer tourism season.
It features a varity of activities including a Beauty Contest, international music stars, all night parties, sports events and model shoots.
This year's singing star is Mexico's Christian Castro.
The winner of the Miss Belize Reina de la Costa Maya is Miss Nicaraqua Maritza Rivas.
The move has created a firestorm of opposition within Belize and a bellicose debate as to the rational for this action, Many Belizeans believe it is an attempt to allow non-resident Belizean-Americans who form a strong plank of supporters of the U.D.P., to run for office.
Prominent Belize Activist and University of Belize Founding Lecturer Sylvana Woods summed up this debate in the following essay:
"I object to the proposed amendment and strongly urge the Government of Belize to rethink this devastating blow to nationhood. Below, I detail four concrete reasons why I strongly renounce such an amendment:
