iNews Briefs
Cayman’s ex-premier’s government credit card PIN was working reveals witness
On Wednesday (24) at the continuing trial of Cayman Islands ex-premier McKeeva Bush for allegedly using his government credit card to withdraw money and gamble in casinos, in Tampa, Las Vegas and also in Bahamas, a prosecution witness said his PIN to access money on his government credit card was working.
A Global Cash Access Incorporated employee gave evidence via video link from Las Vegas and confirmed Bush had used his government credit card on several occasions from the crown’s documented list of transactions at the firm’s ATM’s. He said the former premier had used a PIN to access money. Bush had told his government colleagues the PIN for the government credit card didn’t work. Bush had explained this was why he had used casino cashier services to obtain money he needed for medicines and security staff when travelling.
See also iNews Cayman story today “Cayman Islands ex-premier on trial over credit card splurges, sloppy accounting”
Cayman Islands police targeting traffic offences
From RCIPS Thu, Sep 25, 2014
Police officers of the George Town Police Station uniform branch carried out traffic checks along Huldah Ave in George Town, vicinity of the Smith Road oval yesterday September 24th 2014, where they focused on various traffic offences. As a result of the operation approximately 12 persons were prosecuted for traffic offences ranging from unlicensed vehicles, driving without insurance and failing to wear seatbelt. The offence of unsafe load is one of the key offence being targeted as well and these operations will continue. The Department of Vehicle Licensing are also partnering with the RCIPS on these traffic operations.
Charlo Greene, Anchorage TV reporter, quits on air
From Huffington Post
(AP) ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A reporter for an Alaska TV station revealed on the air that she owns a medical marijuana business and was quitting her job to advocate for the drug.
After reporting on the Alaska Cannabis Club on Sunday night’s broadcast, KTVA’s Charlo Greene identified herself as the business’s owner and said she would be devoting all her energy to fighting for “freedom and fairness.” She then used an expletive to quit her job, and walked off-camera.
In a statement on KTVA’s website, news director Bert Rudman apologized for Greene’s “inappropriate language” and said she was terminated.
Alaska voters decide Nov. 4 whether to legalize recreational pot. Measure 2 would be similar to Washington and Colorado’s legalization laws.
For more: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/22/charlo-greene-tv-reporter-quits_n_5861452.html
Speak Off brings out best in Cayman Islands’ students
The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism’s (CIDOT) 2014 Tourism Speak Off, was held last Wednesday (24) at the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman.
The objectives of the Tourism Speak-Off Competition are to help develop students’ in-depth knowledge of tourism and the issues which impact the business locally, regionally, and internationally; giving them valuable experiences through their interaction with each other.
Students took to the podium to discuss issues that impact the tourism industry. The contestants all submitted written essays in addition to their presentations to the audience.
This year’s winner was Katherine Tatum of Layman E. Scott High School from Cayman Brac. Tatum will as 2014’s tourism ambassador. It’s the second consecutive year the honour has gone to a student from the Brac.
Kayci McCarther of Grace Christian Academy was second, Max Pairaudeau of
Cayman Prep High School’s was third and Monike Buck, also of Cayman Prep was fourth.
Virgin America flight diverted after passenger masturbates, tries to open exit door
By Mary Beth Quirk From Consumerist
A Virgin America flight from Boston to Los Angeles had to stop in Nebraska on the way. Because while self-love is perfectly acceptable and healthy, it should not be attempted on a plane full of people, and followed by an attempt to exit out the emergency door. You know, planes being public and in the air and all.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the Virgin America flight landed Monday morning in Omaha, a following a “medical emergency,” reports NBC Bay Area, but the police report would beg to differ.
Police say a 26-year-old passenger was “masturbating in flight and later tried to open an exit door,” according to the report acquired by NBC Bay Area.
Law enforcement officials boarded the plane and arrested the man, who one passenger said was wearing a hospital bracelet.
Another witness said the man came back from the bathroom and fought with the woman next to him, telling a flight attendant she should move.
“He at that point was fidgeting and began to remove the plastic covering from the emergency exit door and tried to pull to open the door,” the passenger explained. “Fortunately there were a couple of Boston police officers on the flight that were there at that point to help as well.”
Cayman Islands Government prosecutor curses during McKeeva Bush trial
From Loop News Service
The Government prosecutor Duncan Penny QC reportedly used curse words in court when he could not follow through with his notes during the trial of Former Premier McKeeva Bush.
On Friday (19) morning as the state lawyer was going through the evidence, he reportedly uttered the words, ‘S*n of a b***h’ in open court.
Penny was quick to apologize while Justice Michael Mettyear ignored the matter.
During the same day, West Bay MLA Bernie Bush was told that he could not continue using his mobile device.
A court officer called the honourable member of the legislative assembly aside and told him to stop using the device.
Meanwhile, during the trial, it was suggested that a figure of $990 that showed Bush owed money to government was erroneous because it had been paid according to page 145 of the bundles of evidence given to the court.
The Former Premier is accused of using his government credit card to withdraw money and gamble in casinos, in Tampa, Las Vegas and also in Bahamas.
Penny has alleged that of the monies owed to the government, $10,000 was unpaid.
For more: http://loopcayman.com/2014/09/19/government-prosecutor-curses-during-mckeeva-bush-trial/
The first four-seater, solar-powered vehicle hits the U.S. road
From Tech Crunch
Stella, the first ever family sized road vehicle that runs on the sun has made its U.S. debut. The car took first place in the World Solar Challenge and won the Michelin Cruiser Class for completing a 3,000 kilometer journey from Darwin to Adelaide in Australia last fall.
While other solar-powered vehicles have been made for racing, the solar-powered Stella is the first vehicle made for road travel. A large solar panel sits atop the roof to power the car up to 500 miles on a single charge. Compare that to a Tesla Roadster, which can run on an electric charge for 245-300 miles.
The Netherlands team that designed the vehicle took Stella for a U.S. tour to help kick off National Drive Electric Week. They recently traveled up Highway 1 from L.A. to San Francisco, and I met up with them in SF to check out Stella.
Cayman police use of Tasers revealed
According to the latest statistics released by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, trained police officers have fired Tasers and hit suspects nine times. Police officers have also drawn the Tasers a further 25 times as a threat and on six occasions the weapon has been ‘arced’. This means the Taser cartridge was removed and fired at another target and not the subject, showing an ‘arc’. This was used as a negotiating tactic to demonstrate that 50,000 volts could be fired at the person who is resisting arrest or law enforcement instructions.
Students allegedly being forced to work in Chinese tech factories
By Edgar Alvarez From engadget
Despite the efforts of major technology corporations, such as Apple and Samsung, to improve labor conditions in China, major problems are still slipping through the cracks. Now, as The Wall Street Journal writes, some Chinese students in their teenage years are reportedly being forced by their schools to work about 12 hours per day, six days a week, on factory assembly lines in that country. It gets worse, though. According to a 16-year-old student who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, she was told to either “spend summer making computers” for an HP supplier or wave goodbye to the chance of graduating from her vocational school. She’s only one of thousands of teenagers going through this situation, per the report.
Of course, this only adds more fuel to the fire. Last year, a number of factories in China (and in other parts of the world) came under pressure after findings of child labor violations, unreasonable hours and extremely poor working conditions, so much so that companies like Apple went as far as dropping suppliers. Back then, tech firms promised to monitor the situation closely, along with the China Labor Watch, but it clearly hasn’t been close enough to keep these factories from violating the rules.
Guy leaves his iPad on a plane, gets it back 10 days later with airline staff selfies included
By Mary Beth Quirk From Consumerist
Usually when you leave an expensive piece of electronic equipment on an airplane, that’s usual the moment where you bid your device goodbye. But one guy traveling to Iceland on IcelandAir had the pleasant surprise of not only getting his iPad back after it hung out at the Reykjavik Airport for 10 days, but also got a few bonus photos.
Redditor EarlySpaceCowboy writes that he left his iPad on the plane, and came back 10 days later to find that not only would he be reuniting with his device, but he found some fun bonus photos from the staff as well.
It turns out the cleaning crew found his iPad, then apparently passed in to the flight attendants, who gave it to airport police (who did not take a selfie, alas):
“I assume the cleaning staff passed it to the flight attendants who passed it to the airport police. We drove around Iceland for 10 days, so I reclaimed it when flying out,” he writes in the comments.
And if anyone is tempted to diss the selfie takers, he doesn’t want that.
“Just to reiterate: This was a great customer experience, I am very happy I got my iPad back and I hope no one gets silly and tries to give these nice employees s*** for it.”
Mike Tyson aids motorcyclist after Las Vegas crash
By Michelle Rindels, From The Huffington Post
(AP) LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Retired boxer Mike Tyson may be famous for his aggressiveness, but he showed his compassionate side last week when he came to the rescue of an injured motorcyclist who had crashed on a Las Vegas interstate.
Attorney Stephen Stubbs said his client, 29-year-old Ryan Chesley, was on Interstate 15 in Las Vegas at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when a taxi cut him off and he went down.
Stubbs said Chesley was lying on the ground when he looked up and recognized Tyson, who was yelling at people not to touch Chesley.
“He thought he was hallucinating,” Stubbs said. “He thought he was in some other world.”
Chesley, who had broken bones and torn ligaments, could still use his right hand and snapped a cellphone picture of the heavyweight boxer. As soon as paramedics arrived, Tyson “just left, like some kind of superhero,” Stubbs said.
Tyson’s assistant, Steve Lott, said the fighter received a fruit basket a handwritten thank-you note from Chesley on Friday.
“Thank you so much for looking over me after my accident,” said the note, which Lott provided to The Associated Press. “It has to be the most reassuring thing in the world to have Mike Tyson telling people not to touch me.”
Half the fruit in the basket had been consumed by Monday, Lott said, and the pistachios were a particularly popular item.
Chesley will need surgery but has since been released from the hospital, Stubbs said.
Cayman Islands on track for second year of record visitors
From ITCM
Demonstrating the strength of the destination amongst travellers, early indications show that the Cayman Islands are on track for a second year of a record-breaking number of visitors, according to visitor arrival statistics released by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.
In 2013 the Cayman Islands recorded a total of 345,387 visitor air arrivals, the best stay-over visitor arrival figure recorded in over 10 years. Every market plays its part, however visitor air arrivals from the UK and Ireland from January to June 2014 already show a 4.1% per cent like-for-like increase on last year’s record breaking figures; giving an early indication of a second year of growth.
UK and Irish holiday makers have made Cayman their destination of choice as the islands, which are easily accessible with direct British Airways flights from London, combine a thriving heritage and culture with world-class facilities and unparalleled natural beauty. Cayman’s cosmopolitan and vibrant spirit offers a plethora of activities for all to enjoy and visitors can freely explore the islands and all that they have to offer.
Don McDougall, Regional Manager, Europe of the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, commented “We are delighted that the success of 2013 looks set to repeat itself. It is still early days but the indicators are there and we’re optimistic that the growth of visitor figures will continue through 2014 and beyond.”
“For the UK and Irish markets the Cayman Islands are considered a luxury, long-haul destination. By marketing the islands as the archetypal Caribbean destination for the discerning and adventurous traveller, we’ve successfully encouraged a wide range of visitors to make the trip and enjoy our world-class diving, incredible scenery, internationally renowned resorts and spectacular culinary offering.”
Multitasking may be affecting the density of your grey-matter
From engadget
Reading this article on a laptop while watching TV and idly scrolling through tweets on your phone? You’re a multitasker, and it may be changing the structure of your brain. New research from the University of Sussex suggests that people who simultaneously use multiple media devices on a regular basis seem to have less grey-matter density in a particular region of the brain than folks who use just one device at a time. That isn’t to say that media consumption is rotting your brain, however — researchers say it’s more of a link than a cause: it’s not clear if multitasking causes less-dense grey matter or if people with certain brain structures are simply more prone to multitasking.
“Media multitasking is becoming more prevalent in our lives today and there is increasing concern about its impacts on our cognition and social-emotional well-being,” Sussex neuroscientist Kep lee Loh said. “Our study was the first to reveal links between media multitasking and brain structure.” Loh says that more study is required to determine if the brain is changing behavior or if behavior is changing the brain — but if it’s the latter, the work could support previous studies that suggest that heavy media multitasking can make users more susceptible to depression, anxiety and distraction. Care to read the research for yourself? You can find it at Plos One at the source link below.
Prominent St Lucia hotelier dead at 78
From Caribbean360
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Wednesday September 24, 2014, CMC – St. Lucia Wednesday paid tribute to tourism icon, Edward “Chef Harry” Joseph, who died Tuesday after a brief illness. He was 78.
“The whole tourism industry will mourn the loss of Chef who was an icon in the sector and in many ways helped to shape and transform what St Lucia’s tourism is about,” said Tourism, Heritage and Creative Industries Minister, Lorne Theophilus.
He said that Joseph, who operated the “Green Parrot” Inn and Restaurant on the Morne overlooking the capital for many years, was in many ways a cultural icon and a philanthropist who should never be forgotten.
Joseph was the recipient of many awards including the “Hall of Fame” award from the Ministry of Tourism and a cultural doctorate in the category of tourism development from the World University Round table.
He was also a Member of the British Empire (MBE).
For more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/prominent-st-lucia-hotelier-dead-at-78#ixzz3ELOKxagy
US Attorney Gen. Eric Holder to resign
From Newsmax
(AP) Attorney General Eric Holder is resigning after heading the Justice Department for six years. A White House official says President Barack Obama will announce Holder’s departure later Thursday. Holder is the first black attorney general, and his tenure is the fourth longest on the job.
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