Moontown

Five persons died and seven others were seriously injured, when a minibus travelling to Berbice smashed into the rear of a sand truck at Mahaica last night. The wreckage was some of the most horrific in recent memory.

The wreckage of the Route 50 minibus which was involved in a fatal crash with a truck yesterday evening on the East Coast Demerara public road at Mahaica in which five people were killed. (Photo by Melana France)

Dead are minibus driver, Gary McAlmont of No. 26 Village, West Coast Berbice; Mary Blair of Hope Village, West Coast Berbice; Patricia Munroe of Lovely Lass, West Coast Berbice; Troy Douglas of Weldaad, West Coast Berbice and Cyique Fraser of Lovely Lass, West Coast Berbice. It was reported that McAlmont, his niece Fraser and Munroe died at the scene while Douglas succumbed at the Mahaicony hospital. Blair died in an ambulance on the way to the city.

The accident, which occurred at Strangroen some time close to 7 pm, set off a massive rescue operation in the area involving residents and passers-by as they scrambled to pull the injured to safety. Police have since detained the truck driver who was identified, and who was said to have been driving under the influence. Based on reports the truck had no lights on at the time of the collision and the driver had stopped abruptly, resulting in the smash-up.

There were conflicting reports as to whether the minibus driver was speeding, but many persons who were in the vicinity of the crash reported that he was going at a “good pace.”

Among those trapped in the wreckage was eight-month-old Jonathan Bourne, who reportedly suffered serious injuries.

The passenger count in the minibus was tallied at thirteen and everyone suffered serious injuries with the exception of one man. Lakeram Samaroo escaped with a cut on his forehead and was counting his blessings last night, but he was worried about his cousin, Marvin Ramphal, who is nursing injuries.

Those pulled from the wrecked minibus included Ramphal; Bourne; Kevia Williams; Aneli Arthur; David Budram and Avinash Persaud and an unidentified person. Those rescued suffered injuries ranging from bone and neck fractures to head injuries, and all were referred to the city after being treated at the Mahaicony Hospital.

Lakeram Samaroo, the only passenger to escape with minor injuries

“I am lucky to be alive, but some people weren’t,” Samaroo told Stabroek News last night at the Mahaicony Hospital where the scene was chaotic as emotional relatives and villagers crammed the compound awaiting word about the injured. He recalled being seated in the back seat of the minibus along with three other persons, and according to him the bus was “full.” He felt the impact of the collision and remembered climbing out of the rear window to safety. Though covered in blood and hurting, Samaroo said, he rushed to save the others but to no avail as the minibus doors were jammed.

According to him, the efforts to free those trapped initially proved futile as no one could get the doors open. He said a glance inside the bus at the time revealed “painful things” as badly smashed bodies were visible from outside.

He said that they were forced to use a tractor to tear apart the minibus to get people out. Subsequently, he and the others were rushed to the Mahaicony Hospital.
Called out

Two doctors and a few nurses were on duty at the Mahaicony Hospital when the injured started showing up and within a half hour period the entire staff of around forty, including laboratory staff had reported for duty. Some of the staff told this newspaper they felt compelled to come out because those injured were not just patients, they were neighbours. But in addition to providing emergency services the staff was forced to control a swelling crowd which converged at the hospital fearing the worst.

Stabroek News arrived at the hospital to find scores of residents around the compound. Three persons were counted among the dead at that time; Munroe was still unidentified. Her relatives were among those gathered and despite viewing the bodies of those listed as dead they had difficulty recognizing her.

“We didn’t know it was her, we couldn’t know, it was so hard to tell,” a man who identified himself as her stepfather said before breaking down. He said that a young man who resides close to Munroe urged him to take a second look because he was “sure it was her” so the family went in a second time and came out crushed, after realizing that it was her.

The grief among those gathered was palpable as they wept for family, friends and neighbours. The wailing of Fraser’s mother could be heard corners away and she continued for at least an hour outside the hospital. The woman, Ann Webster, was too devastated to say anything so relatives left her to cope as she knew best. Fraser, a teacher and student at the University of Guyana Turkeyen campus was her only child.

‘Unbearable’
Persons who were travelling close behind the minibus involved in the accident described the scene as “unbearable.” Many referred to it as  “messy” saying that many of those pulled from the bus suffered massive injuries.  “I can’t believe wha I see here today, but it was hard to take in, real hard,” a man related.

The ruins of the minibus, ‘Zion,’ was heaped into a single bundle and loaded on a truck before being towed away, while the truck involved in the accident had only minor damage. The accident resulted in a build-up of traffic on the public road at Strangroen for some time and even two hours after the crash the road was still being cleared of broken glass and scattered materials. There were personal items tossed on the road and in the nearby parapets.

Persons at the scene who assisted reported that they used the telephones recovered from the wreck to inform relatives and call the police. One man said he was disappointed that all the numbers he personally dialled for the police rang out for some time initially before there was a response. “I am at the scene here for some time now and the police are not here yet,” he told this newspaper last night.  (Stabroek News)

RICE AND FIELD PEAS; MACARONI PIE

LASAGNA; BAKED PLANTAIN

SORTED SWEET POTATOES; MIXED VEGETABLES

BAKED CHICKEN; BAKED PORK

BBQ SPARERIBS; FRIED SNAPPER

FRIED STEAK FISH; GRILLED STEAK FISH

LAMB STEW; STEAMED SNAPPER

TOSSED SALAD; COLE SLAW

Kevin Baldeosingh

CLIMATE TESTER: This October 25 file photo shows the Mauna Loa Observatory atmospheric research facility on the island of Hawaii. The volcano of Mauna Kea is seen in the background. The station sits on the north flank of Mauna Loa volcano at an elevation of 3396 metres or 11,141 feet above sea level and has been studying atmospheric change since the 1950s. -Photo: AP ’I believe this whole human-induced climate change issue is a huge fraud and really a non-issue,’ says UWI lecturer Reynold Stone. Dr Stone, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, is not some lone kook. There are leading scientists around the world insisting that many of the common beliefs about climate change and its effects are media-fuelled hype, abetted by scientists and politicians. Stanford University climatologist Stephen Schneider, one of the leading spokesmen about global warming, admits, ’We have to get some broad base support. That, of course, entails getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified dramatic statements, and make little mention of doubts we might have.’ But money and status are also factors: climate scientist Richard Lindzen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says, ’Scientists who dissent from the alarmism have seen their grant funds disappear, their work derided, and themselves labelled as industry stooges, scientific hacks, or worse.’ Climate change will be a major topic at this week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and, in Trinidad and Tobago, politicians have suddenly jumped on the environmental bandwagon, even though the Government’s industrialisation policy goes against emissions standards. In October, the Ministry of Planning, Housing and the Environment arranged a panel discussion on climate change at which Minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde asserted: ’We are concerned as a Government that the global response is slow and well behind what is required in the light of the already damaging impacts of climate change on small islands,’ citing as an example the loss of coastal areas. She also claimed there has been a change in rainfall patterns in Trinidad, with ’heavier rains in some areas, less rain in other areas.’ But Stone observes that many people aren’t even sure what the term ’climate change’ means. ’They interpret extremes in weather as climate change but this is obviously incorrect,’ he says. ’To add to the confusion regarding this term, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) uses one definition while another definition is found in the treaty of the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change.’ The IPCC’s definition acknowledges that climate change may be caused by natural factors and not human activity, whereas the UNFCCC definition confines climate change to human factors. Climate can be simply defined as the average weather over a long period of time. On that basis, can it be said that climate change has begun to affect the Caribbean? Retired biologist Julian Kenny, who has an interest in environmental issues, in an e-mail response on this query said: ’It’s difficult to state with certainty. Coral bleaching is supposedly one indicator of climate change (rise in sea water temperatures) but coral bleaching may be caused by other factors such as disease or freshwater runoff. As to rainfall our local Met Office when queried will usually say that it is all within the long term average.’ Stone is more dismissive of climate change claims. ’I have statistically examined several claims of climate change in the Caribbean reported in the peer-reviewed literature and found that the claims are not supported by the data used. As far as I know, no one has convincingly demonstrated with accurate and reliable data that there has been any climate change in the Caribbean.’ As for the supposed changes in rainfall patterns in Trinidad mentioned by Dick-Forde, Stone says, ’The first person I know to make the claim was Prof Bhawan Singh who actually published his findings in the peer-reviewed literature in 1997. I examined his claims and found that his statistical methodology was flawed.’ He adds, ’I challenge anyone to provide the data to support the claim of climate change in the Caribbean.’ This doesn’t mean that the Caribbean in general, and Trinidad and Tobago in particular, should ignore environmental challenges. Kenny and Stone prioritise the following issues: 1. Stream and river pollution. 2. Air quality standards. 3. A national wastewater handling and recycling system. 4. Proper watershed management in view of activities such as deforestation, unplanned urbanisation, and quarrying. 5. Preserving coastal wetlands. 6. Protecting animal and plant species. 7. Dealing with toxic or hazardous wastes. Given this list, should the Government be spending money on climate change initiatives? ’Yes,’ says Kenny, ’if only to ensure that the use of the wasting resource is spread over a longer period of time so that future generations can have access to energy supplies that are necessary to continued civilisation.’ Stone, however, disagrees. ’Spending money on the non-issue of human-induced climate change is a colossal waste.’ Environmental myths Myth#1 Hurricanes have increased in frequency and intensity in the last century. The 1995 IPCC Report says: ’Overall there is no evidence that extreme weather events have increased throughout the 20th century.’ Prof Kenny observes, ’The one long term record of interest is that of Caribbean tropical storms/hurricanes for which there is good tracking records as well as frequencies over the past century. The average decadal frequencies of tropical storms/hurricanes range from lows of 9 to highs of 27 with a mean of 15.2. Curiously, the two extreme highs were 19 (1935-45) and 27 (1995-2005) but since 2005 there has been a marked reduction in frequency of annual projected and actual storms.’ Myth#2 Rising carbon dioxide levels are responsible for global warming. In Super Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner, climate scientist Ken Caldiera asserts that carbon dioxide can’t be the culprit. ’A doubling of carbon dioxide traps less than two per cent of the outgoing radiation emitted by the Earth,’ he points out. Astrophysicist Lowell Wood says water vapour is the major greenhouse gas, not carbon dioxide, but current climate models can’t handle water vapour and various types of clouds, which means that predictions about global warming are unreliable. Myth#3 Rising sea levels will drown and displace millions of human beings within the next century. Statistician Bjorn Lomborg in his book Cool It writes: ’In its 2007 report, the UN estimates that sea levels will rise about a foot over the rest of the century. While this is not a trivial amount, it is also important to realise that it is certainly not outside historical experience. Since 1860, we have experienced a sea-level rise of about a foot, yet this has clearly not caused major disruptions.’ As for Trinidad, Prof Kenny notes that ’With regard to sea level rise in T&T, projection is based largely on historical tide gauge data from Port of Spain and Point Fortin, hardly indicative of anything in a seismically active area.’ Myth#4 Most of the world’s forests are declining. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations’ most pessimistic estimate shows only a 20 per cent decline to 2100, and most of its scenarios show constant or increasing forest cover. (FAO Production Yearbook 2001.) Myth#5 Half of the world’s species will be extinct within 100 years. The best estimates arrive at a mere 0.7 per cent in 50 years, including fungi, worms, and beetles. But even this figure is problematic, since only 1.6 million species have been counted and estimates range from two million to 80 million. (Species loss revisited by Julian L Simon and Aaron Wildavsky.)(Trinidad Express)

The money you have to spend for the upcoming holiday season might be somewhat reduced, but this does not mean times spent with family during the holiday has to be any less merry.

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) warning that Christmas 2009 will be a little different from the usual celebrations for most explains that reduced remittances, and deepening job insecurity, among other factors, will have many families watching their budget this year.

Here are some things which the consumer watchdog suggests you can do to ensure that you are not stuck with massive bills come January.

• Reduce the number of Christmas lights that you hang this year.

• Buy more local produce. These are more accessible and can usually be sourced at a lower cost.

• Plan large family dinners instead of dining in small units. This way the cost can be shared and will prove to be less burdensome for any one individual.

• Offer coupons instead of gifts this season.

• Reuse your decorations and Christmas tree from last year.

• Ensure that your bills are paid before you decide to indulge.

• Focus on your needs not wants when you go shopping.

• If you are an impulsive shopper, leave your credit card behind when you go Christmas shopping.

• Try car-pooling for a night on the town. Most families like to be out on the road on Christmas Eve.

• Car-pool with a neighbour or a friend - you will save on petrol and there will be less traffic to contend with if other persons adopt this approach.

• Lower your consumption of alcohol and eat less cake this season. It will be good for both your pocket and your health.

• Plan entertainment wisely. Instead of recreation that will leave you in debt for the new year, try something a little simpler and cheaper - a family picnic, a drive to the country, a movie. (Jamaica Gleaner)

Scientists say they have made a breakthrough in their pursuit of computers that “think” like a living thing’s brain - an effort that tests the limits of technology.Even the world’s most powerful supercomputers cannot replicate basic aspects of the human mind.

The machines cannot imagine a wall painted a different colour, for instance, or picture a person’s face and connect that to an emotion.

If researchers can make computers operate more like a brain thinks - by reasoning and dealing with abstractions, among other things - they could unleash tremendous insights in such diverse fields as medicine and economics.

A computer with the power of a human brain is not yet near. But last week, researchers from IBM Corp were reporting that they have simulated a cat’s cerebral cortex, the thinking part of the brain, using a massive supercomputer.

processors

The computer has 147,456 processors (most modern PCs have just one or two processors) and 144 terabytes of main memory - 100,000 times as much as your computer has.

The scientists had previously simulated 40 per cent of a mouse’s brain in 2006, a rat’s full brain in 2007, and one per cent of a human’s cerebral cortex this year, using progressively bigger supercomputers.

The latest feat, being presented at a supercomputing conference in Portland, Oregon, does not mean the computer thinks like a cat, or that it is the progenitor of a race of robo-cats.

The simulation, which runs 100 times slower than an actual cat’s brain, is more about watching how thoughts are formed in the brain and how the roughly one billion neurons and 10 trillion synapses in a cat’s brain work together.

The researchers created a programme that told the supercomputer, which is in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, to behave how a brain is believed to behave. The computer was shown images of corporate logos, including IBM’s, and scientists watched as different parts of the simulated brain worked together to figure out what the image was.

Dharmendra Modha, manager of cognitive computing for IBM Research and senior author of the paper, called it a “truly unprecedented scale of simulation”. Researchers at Stanford University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory were also part of the project.

’structured’ data

Modha says the research could lead to computers that rely less on ’structured’ data, such as the input 2 plus 2 equals 4, and can handle ambiguity better, like identifying the corporate logo even if the image is blurry. Or such computers could incorporate senses like sight, touch and hearing into the decisions they make.

One reason that development would be significant to IBM: The company is selling “smarter planet” services that use digital sensors to monitor things like weather and traffic and feed that data into computers that are asked to do something with the information, like predicting a tsunami or detecting freeway accidents. Other companies could use “cognitive computing” to make better sense of large volumes of information. (Jamaica Gleaner)

Tyrone Reid, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

WHILE Recently released data from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) show an upward swing in Jamaica’s poverty line and a reduction in the number of people going hungry, a strong link is being made between missing children and poverty levels.

The data show that the prevalence of poverty dropped from 18.7 per cent in 2000 to 9.91 per cent in 2007. Similarly, prevalence of food poverty fell from 4.9 per cent to 2.78 per cent during the same period.

At the same time, the unit in the Department of Local Government that manages the Ananda Alert - a nationwide missing children repor-ting system - has revealed that since the start of the year, the majority of children who go missing are “driven” from home because of poor economic circumstances which deprive them of some basic needs.

“It is very frightening,” said Wayne Robertson, senior director of strategic policy, planning and reform at the Department of Local Government in the Office of the Prime Minister, referring to the trend. He also pointed out that authorities had noticed this pattern years prior to 2009.

Up to press time, the last three notifications issued through the Ananda Alert were of children who lived in working-class communities of Newlands in Portmore, St Catherine, Dumfries Crescent in St Thomas, and the Cross Roads area in St Andrew.

Up to September this year, 1,206 children were reported missing. Of that figure, 676 have returned home, while three have died. The frightening figures for this nine-month period far outstrip the 960 children reported missing during 2008.

“Many of these children run away from home because they are not comfortable,” Robertson told The Sunday Gleaner.

family life breakdown

He argued that the children from working-class homes are the most vulnerable in society because of the breakdown in family life. Many of the homes, he said, are single-parent households (mostly mothers only) that, unlike their upper middle-class and upper-class counterparts, lack the financial means to implement security mechanisms, such as dropping off or picking up their children from school.

Robertson also pointed out that the needs brought on by the dire financial straits buffeting the coffers of these lower middle-class homes often result in parents sending the children out on the streets to sell quick-cash items in a desperate bid to supplement the family’s already thin disposable income.

“These children are very much at risk. The vulnerability is further advanced with their exposure out there in the public domain,” said Robertson.

leave voluntarily

At the same time, Betty-Ann Blaine, convenor of children’s advocacy group, Hear the Children’s Cry, told The Sunday Gleaner that her team contacted more than 950 of the families who had reported a child missing since the beginning of 2009, and the results showed that most of the children who go missing are not abducted, but leave home voluntarily. “But the parents don’t know where they are so they report them missing.

“They (children) are unhappy at home for a variety of reasons, including physical and sexual abuse … Quite a number of them are (also) being lured by older men,” she said.

Blaine blames a breakdown in family life and the prevalence of poverty for the staggering statistics on missing children. “Many children are going missing because they don’t have certain material things. They are leaving home because they are hungry and in need of material things like clothes, books.”

Blaine, an ardent advocate for children’s welfare, insists that missing children in Jamaica is a “phenomenon” that does not affect the upper classes. “It is the children of the poor and the children of the working class who go missing. It’s one hundred per cent a problem of the poor and working class,” she said.

She is recommending that the police increase their presence in the vicinity of schools during the hours that children travel to and from school, with specifically marked vehicles being used for the the patrols. Blaine also urges students to walk in groups and encourage parents to form volunteer patrols that meet the children who go to school within or near to their communities and ensure that they make it home safely.

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com

Children from the lower-income strata of society are more likely to go missing because of the poor circumstances under which they live. (Jamaica Gleaner)

Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer
Shanka Watson (left), final-year nursing student at Kingston School of Nursing, and Tameka Nelson give children a lesson in proper hygiene, at a health fair staged at 59 Mountain View Avenue yesterday. The fair was organised jointly by Faith Chapel United Pentecostal Church and Life Tabernacle United Pentecostal Church as part of their community outreach progamme.- Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

THE ANNUAL commemoration of Civil Service Week culminated yesterday with Prime Minister Bruce Golding reiterating his commitment to reforming the public sector as part of cost-cutting measures.

The weeklong celebration which ran from November 15-21 ended with a church service at North Street Seventh-day Adventist Church in central Kingston.

Civil Service Week is dedicated to highlighting the contribution of civil servants to Jamaica, as well as to review the work of the civil service.

The prime minister, in a letter which was read by education officer in the Ministry of Education, Carol Hunter, said this year’s observance of Civil Service Week saw the Government wrestling with challenges “never before experienced”.

Golding added that it is now critical that the country “demonstrates fiscal discipline, increased productivity and manages its out-of-control debt burden”.

address concerns

He continued: “The Government’s public-sector reform programme will seek to address these concerns. Some crucial components of the programme will involve the rationalisation of public bodies and entities in order to streamline operations, remove waste and duplication, as well as reducing the public-sector wage bill which takes out a considerable chunk of the national budget.”

Golding sought to assure persons who might be affected by the looming cuts that the reform process is necessary for the betterment of the country.

“While we understand that many civil servants are apprehensive about the impending reform programme and the impact it will have on their own jobs, at the end of the reform process there will be a leaner, more efficient government service that will augur well for the future of Jamaica,” he said.

The highlights of the week’s celebration included the civil service long service awards which was held at King’s House last Wednesday, and brain games at Eden Gardens in St Andrew on Friday.

Judith Maloney of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries was the recipient of this year’s Civil Servant of the Year award. (Jamaica Gleaner)

Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter

Monsignor Father Kenneth Richards

The Roman Catholic Church and the State could be on a collision course over the laws regarding reporting suspected incidents of child abuse.

Under the law, everyone is mandated to report cases of child abuse, even if the information is delivered in a confessional booth.

But the rules of the Roman Catholic Church say that is a no-no.

Roman Catholic priest, Monsignor Kenneth Richards, told The Sunday Gleaner that the seal of confession supersedes the law. He said under this seal, priests are bound to keep information they receive during a confession private, even under threat of their own death or that of others.

Roman Catholic canon considers the sacramental seal unbreakable, making it forbidden for a person who hears confessions - given in words or other means - to betray in any way a penitent. This is so even if the confessor admits to committing criminal acts involving a child or any other person.

Canon 983.1 of the Code of Canon Law, the Catechism states, “It is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason.”

A priest, therefore, cannot break the seal to save his own life, to protect his good name, to refute a false accusation, to save the life of another, to aid the course of justice (like reporting a crime), or to avert a public calamity. He cannot be compelled by law to disclose a person’s confession or be bound by any oath he takes, for example, as a witness in a court trial.

A priest faces excommunication if he, breaks this seal.

Monsignor Richards, therefore, admitted that if the information is revealed to him during confession, there is nothing he can do.

He, however, said he could deny the individual absolution and ask him or her to see him in another context, such as counselling. In that situation, the seal of confession no longer binds him. “And it is then I can act,” he said.

But the law is not dictated to by the Church.

Pastors, doctors, lawyers, teachers and even neighbours could go to prison or face hefty fines if they fail to report incidents of child abuse to the relevant authorities.

pastors obligated

Children’s registrar, Carla Francis-Edie, reiterated that though persons associated with some professions, including pastors and doctors, are compelled to keep certain information private, they are still obligated by law to pass on information that might endanger the life or well-being of a minor.

According to Francis-Edie, the law supersedes the confidentiality agreements under which doctors and religious leaders operate.

She said under Section 16 (1) of the Child Care and Protection Act they could be imprisoned for six months, or face a fine of up to $500,000 if they fail to come forward with this information.

This appears to be less of a problem for other Christian denominations.

General Secretary for the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC), Gary Harriott, said more churches are becoming aware of what is required under the law in terms of information received during counselling sessions.

He said although the JCC does not have a policy, which speaks directly to the matter, he is aware that pastors, as well as church members and staff, are being sensitised to what the law requires and are being encouraged to follow the law.

“I know that there are situations where when that comes to the attention of clergy, the necessary action is taken in terms of reporting the matter to the authorities.”

He said in certain counselling settings, a client would be informed that it is a relationship of confidentiality, but there are certain situations in which confidentiality will not be guaranteed, and child abuse is one such case.

Harriott said the Church has also tried to relay this message to members of the congregation.

“So whether you’re a pastor, Sunday school teacher, whomever, even if you just suspect that the child is being abused, you have an obligation to report it,” he said.

Over the years, the policies governing some professions have also been amended to make provisions for the disclosure of information of a criminal nature that may be confessed in a confidential setting.

Dr Wendel Abel, head of psychiatry at the University of the West Indies, Mona, said everything that is said to a therapist during a counselling session must be kept confidential, except if the person expresses an intent to kill someone.

He said under the Tarasoff Rule, the counsellor has a duty to report this information to the authorities. Dr Abel said in relation to child abuse cases, the law has also been amended to give the therapist permission to disclose this information.(Jamaica Gleaner)