# Media ignoring uprising in Belize? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 21, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000 "2005-01-21T23:38:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/1 "2005-01-21T23:38:43Z")
Is the media ignoring this? Do they just not care, or is there more to it than that? > [@](#): > > Unrest broke out in the capital city of Belmopan in Belize during mid-January 2005, provoked by the release of a new national budget with significant tax increases and by anger at the ruling People’s United Party for the worsening fiscal condition of the Belizian government. > **[2005 Belize unrest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrest_in_Belize_in_2005)** > > The 2005 protests in Belize are two separate but related incidents of civil unrest in the Central American nation, occurring in January and April. > Civil unrest broke out in the capital city of Belmopan in Belize during mid-January 2005. The unrest was provoked by the release of a new national budget with significant tax increases. It was also guided by anger at the ruling People's United Party for the worsening fiscal condition of the Belizean government. > On January 14, 2005 Said Musa's admin... I can’t find anything on Google News about Belize. While I can find stuff about a planned general strike for the 19th and 20th, nobody seems to be covering what is at least a major riot in the national capital of a country of at least some marginal significance. And yet not a single media outlet is picking up on this; the only thing I can find on the web about is the abovelinked Wikipedia article, which is being updated frequently by someone in Belize. So, what’s the story? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/2 "2005-01-21T23:47:20Z")
Interesting, I’m a news nut and I haven’t heard a thing about that. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/3 "2005-01-22T00:12:27Z")
I haven’t seen anything either, and even BBC’s world news doesn’t have anything. I did find the web site of the [newspaper associated with the opposition party](http://www.guardian.bz/). There are stories of opposition-party protests against the proposed budget. The worst violence reported seems to be a minor scuffle between one or two police officers and one opposition party Representative. I’d hardly call it an “uprising” at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/4 "2005-01-22T00:16:37Z")
Well, I found this in the Belize Times: [http://www.belizetimes.bz/news/story/3933.shtml](http://www.belizetimes.bz/news/story/3933.shtml) > [@](#): > > …the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance today ,in a radio address to the nation, called for calm and for the preservation of democracy. > > The Prime Minister was speaking in response to the Leader of the Opposition’s veiled call for civil disobedience in protest of his government’s proposed budget which provides for modest increase in taxes, more pay for public officers, including teachers, and a package of tax exemptions for small business with no increases in income tax. And also this, which criticizes the actions of the minority leadership in a budget protest in Belompan [http://www.belizetimes.bz/news/story/3937.shtml](http://www.belizetimes.bz/news/story/3937.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/5 "2005-01-22T00:18:35Z")
Just BTW, the Belize Times seems to be a pro-Government paper. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/6 "2005-01-22T01:32:36Z")
> [@KellyM](#): > > So, what’s the story? The story is that Wikipedia isn’t necessarily a reliable news source. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/7 "2005-01-22T03:07:35Z")
If you checked the wikipedia entry it has external links at the bottom. Including one to the British Government’s Foreign & Commnonwealth Office [travel advisory for Belize](http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket%2FXcelerate%2FShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1031850318248). Looks like Google News just doesn’t have info from Belize(an?) [news](http://new.channel5belize.com) [sources](http://www.7newsbelize.com/). [sub]Can’t figure out [why](http://www.channel5belize.com/belikin/2004_calendar/welcome.html)…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/8 "2005-01-22T06:09:59Z")
GoogleNews isn’t necessarily a “breaking news” outlet–sometimes it takes a while for stories to show up there, because sometimes it takes a while for stories to show up at their sources. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin\_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Belize%20Strike](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Belize%20Strike) > [@](#): > > Friday, January 21, 2005 · Last updated 9:42 p.m. PT > > Protesters clash with police in Belize > > THE ASSOCIATED PRESS > > BELIZE CITY – Some 500 protesters clashed with police Friday in front of Belize’s House of Representatives, as lawmakers voted to approve tax hikes opposed by a majority of the country’s 250,000 people. > > Two people were slightly injured when police fired rubber bullets and pepper spray at some demonstrators who had hurled rocks at police lines… Evidently the AP stringer finally got around to filing his story late this evening. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/9 "2005-01-22T15:05:19Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > The story is that Wikipedia isn’t necessarily a reliable news source. I don’t think that’s a valid explanation in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-ignoring-uprising-in-belize/286000/10 "2005-01-22T16:36:06Z")
Weird. Nothing on the major news outlets here. :dubious: