WorldFailure

Builders bulldoze big Mayan pyramid in Belize
By PATRICK E. JONES and MARK STEVENSON
13 May 2013


In this image released by Jaime Awe, head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology on Monday May 13, 2013, a looks at the damaged sloping sides of the Nohmul complex, one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids on May 10, 2013 in northern Belize. A construction company has essentially destroyed one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids with backhoes and bulldozers to extract crushed rock for a road-building project, authorities announced on Monday. (AP Photo/Jaime Awe)

BELIZE CITY (AP) — A construction company has essentially destroyed one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids with backhoes and bulldozers to extract crushed rock for a road-building project, authorities announced on Monday.

The head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology, Jaime Awe, said the destruction at the Nohmul complex in northern Belize was detected late last week. The ceremonial center dates back at least 2,300 years and is the most important site in northern Belize, near the border with Mexico. "It's a feeling of Incredible disbelief because of the ignorance and the insensitivity ... they were using this for road fill," Awe said. "It's like being punched in the stomach, it's just so horrendous."

Nohmul sat in the middle of a privately owned sugar cane field, and lacked the even stone sides frequently seen in reconstructed or better-preserved pyramids. But Awe said the builders could not possibly have mistaken the pyramid mound, which is about 100 feet tall, for a natural hill because the ruins were well-known and the landscape there is naturally flat. "These guys knew that this was an ancient structure. It's just bloody laziness", Awe said.

Israeli leader under fire for costly lifestyle
11 May 2013
By ARON HELLER


In this Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013 file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands by his wife Sara as she casts her ballot at a polling station in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Uriel Sinai, File)

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's prime minister is under fire for a costly lifestyle at taxpayers' expense, just as his government is slashing welfare benefits and raising taxes to cope with a huge budget deficit.

Israeli media took aim Tuesday at a disclosure that Benjamin Netanyahu's expenses have soared nearly 80 percent since he took office in 2009, totaling about $905,000 last year. Netanyahu and his family split their time among three homes, including an official Jerusalem residence, a private apartment in Jerusalem and a villa in the upscale coastal town of Caesarea.

Netanyahu's spending on catering, housekeeping, cleaning, furniture, clothing and makeup all doubled during the four-year period. The information was released only after a civil liberties group filed a freedom of information request. The disclosure followed a TV station's report that Netanyahu spent $127,000 in public funds for a special sleeping cabin on a recent five-hour flight to London.

The uproar comes at an inconvenient time for Netanyahu, already saddled with an image of a smug cigar-smoking, cognac-drinking socialite with caviar tastes who is out of touch with the struggles of the average Israeli. The country's January election came on the heels of a protest movement against Israel's high cost of living and widening gaps between rich and poor, and the campaign focused largely on domestic economic issues. The new national budget, passed Monday, increases income, sales and real estate taxes, while cutting family subsidies and medical benefits. Additional taxes were also slapped on cigarettes, alcohol and luxury goods.