The Belize City Council partnered with the Belize Association of Planners and the Caribbean Network for Urban Land Management to host the seventh annual Caribbean Urban Forum (CUF 7) in Belize City at the Radisson Fort George Hotel, on May 17th – 19th, 2017.

The Caribbean Urban Forum (CUF) is designed to address specific policy issues within the Caribbean urban sector by bringing together land use practitioners, policy makers, academics and allied professionals interested in enhancing urban planning and management in the Region.

Students of Wesley College and Bernice Yorke Institute of Learning

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) was invited to participate in the Urban Expo, scheduled for days two and three, May 18th & 19th, of the CUF at the Memorial Park in Belize City, under the theme ‘Green Economy, Energy and Space-Pathways to Urban Sustainability.‘

(L-R) Troy Smith, Valuations Manager, Belize City Council; Michael Theus, Councilor for…

What if I told you that the Witch Trials in Early Modern Europe were 200 years of social conditioning that taught women to be obedient under the threat of a horrible death…?

We’ve all heard of the Salem Witch Trials, which resulted in the deaths of around 20 people depending on which source you read. In fact, when you Google ‘witch trials’, you get pages of references to Salem before you get any mention of the European witch trials.

The witch trials in Early Modern Europe occurred in the 16th to 18th centuries and resulted in the execution of an estimated 50,000 – 80,000 people, roughly 85% of whom were women. This wasn’t one crazy year in a particularly conservative and God-fearing American city. This was a sustained effort by the churches to eradicate certain behaviours and certain types of people from the population.

We’ve all heard of dunkings and…

Each week the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) spokesperson releases a few videos that are then posted on Twitter. They vary a bit but all have the same theme: Aren’t we just great! We (the IDF) are cool, and cute and tough and committed and good looking and serious and oh so humane. Yes they are especially so humane. But the truth is that the IDF is no more than a glorified terrorist organization that is well funded and well fed and needs to be defunded, disarmed and disbanded before its commanders and generals are dragged to The Hague for their crimes.

I admit I follow @IDFSpokesman on Twitter. Each week there is the “Shabbat Shalom” video. This is the one where a few cute, girl-soldiers all made up with green and black paint on their faces and wearing cammies and carrying big guns waive and greet us all with “Shabbat…

Advance information for accreditation for the NOVEMBER Bonn Climate Change Conference(COP 23)
6 to 17 November 2017
World Conference Center Bonn, Germany

1. The accreditation system for COP 23 will open Friday, 19 May (directly after the SBs) – deadline will be 31 August
2. Follow the steps above, choosing “COP 23” as the current meeting, uploading documents and clicking on “submit application”
3. We will accept applications for media accreditation to COP 23 until the deadline of 31 August
4. Applications will then be reviewed and applicants will be notified as of 22 September

For more information on the accreditation for the media/ press, please visit the UNFCCC’s website.

Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation TooL (CCORAL) Infographic

PRESS RELEASE – Belmopan, Belize; May 5, 2017 – The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development/ Eastern and Southern Caribbean (USAID/ESC) under the USAID Climate Change Adaptation Program (USAID CCAP) are hosting a Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation Tool (CCORAL) Training Workshop in Antigua and Barbuda on May 8^th – 12^th at the Department of Environment Conference Room.

CCORAL, is an online climate risk management tool that guides developers to include best-practises, strategies and systems into development planning that will ensure that across the region, there is a comprehensive approach to climate change risk assessment and adaptation for building climate resiliency in decision-making. It provides users a platform for identifying appropriate responses to the impacts of short and long term climate conditions by applying a risk management approach…

In the Turks and Caicos, the government is searching for new ways to manage the conch and lobster populations. Credit: Zadie Neufville/IPS

Caribbean scientists say fishermen are already seeing the effects of climate change, so for a dozen or so years they’ve been designing systems and strategies to reduce the impacts on the industry.

Writing history with water and salt – two essential items for the hunger strikers. By permission from Mohammad Sabaaneh.

As thousands of Palestinian prisoners are engaged in the painful self-sacrifice of a hunger strike, the recent draconian move by Israel’s Defense Minister declaring the Palestinian National Fund a terrorist organization deserves attention. This fund is the conduit by which financial support is provided to thousands of Palestinian families who had or have loved ones in Israeli jails. We should mention that it is estimated that more than one million Palestinians have been imprisoned by Israel since 1967 alone and Palestinians are considered the most incarcerated nation in the world. All of this a result of Israeli policy of arresting political activists, leaders, intellectuals and fighters and lumping them into a single category of “terrorists.”

There is a process by which prisoners and former prisoners are provided financial support and the…