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Jamaica: Students are are being taught to reject other cultures
I read an article posted in the West Indian News today 7/3/2009 titled “Students Encouraged to Reject Alien Culture” that spoke of Teachers in Jamaica that are urging their young students to abstain from learning or experiencing the cultural norms of other cultures other than their own. Particia Cuff who is the director of Jamaica library Services said that that Jamaicans will have to make a a conscious choice . She further noted “We can not defend our culture, unless we know enough about it. To build a nation we must first understand what the nation is about, and reject those alien cultures that are not suited for our development.” Read more »
What’s really behind Mr. Manning’s union proposal? by Caribbean Writer
Expect mass migration of desperate people to Trinidad and Tobago from the Eastern Caribbean countries looking for a better life. That was one of the dire warnings from Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister Patrick Manning of the consequences the country faces if it did not engage in an economic and political union with Eastern Caribbean countries.
Even more chilling was his next declaration that Port of Spain could “pay in blood” if it failed to enter into the union with the smaller island states.
Is he trying to scare the population into supporting his latest foray? - which by the way is not getting wholesale support if one can judge comments made by the numerous callers to a number of talk programmes on the radio stations in Trinidad. Read more »
Caricom Heads of Government meets July 2nd in Guyana. What is on the Agenda? by Andrew
July 2nd 2009, Caricom Heads of Government will meet in Guyana for their 30th annual meeting to discuss pertinent issues facing Caricom nations.
In light of the recent action by the Barbadian government towards illegal immigrants living in Barbados, Prime Minister David Thompson of Barbados will meet with the media to discuss some of the questions they may have or clarify misconceptions on the action of his government. Read more »
Guyanese caught with Cocaine again at JFK airport by Andrew
Last week a Guyanese man was caught at JFK trying to smuggle cocaine into New York disguised in baking soda. Jacob Phillips arrived at the John F Kennedy Airport on June 24 aboard a Delta flight and was selected for a customs examination after a computer matched his name and date of birth to an open warrant from Harris County, Texas for a theft offence.
Recently, I’ve been writing about the serious cocaine problem in Guyana. I am not sure why this problem has gotten out of hand. Could it be that the money is quite luring or could it be exactly what Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy noted a few day back” Most Guyanese abusing some substance.” I strongly believe the former. What ever the reason, Guyana is now on the map as the hotspot for narcotics trafficking to North America, Africa and Europe. Read more »
Democracy in Africa by Dhanpaul Narine by guest
Who killed African democracy? According to Professor Ali Mazrui, it is the angry spirits of the ancestors. He laments that the curse could very well be all-embracing. The fusion of cosmology and political realism led the ancestors to issue their oracle to Africa, “ Your roads will decay, your railways will rust, your factories will grind to a standstill, your schools will stink with overcrowding and crumble with incompetence, your soil will fight so-called desertification and your economies suffocate under your new globalization. Your democracy will smolder like a dying bush, after a drizzle of hate.” Read more »
Kids First Fund Guyana based NGO is bankrupt-government of Guyana will pick up tab by baiganchoka
The Guyana government will pay the outstanding medical bills for the ten children that was flown to India for heart surgeries by Kids First Fund, a Guyana Based NGO headed by former first lady of Guyana, Varshnie Singh.
Health Minister of Guyana, Leslie Ramsammy noted that the government will pay an undisclosed amount to Chennai’s Frontier Medical Center for the operations conducted. The government’s involvement comes in light of the recent two day hostage situation where Frontier Medical refused to release the 10 children and Singh after failure to pay for the services tendered prior to exit.
Ramsammy said that the Guyana government will be “taking steps to ensure this does not happen again,” and will arrange for the “humiliated” children to return to Guyana.
Baiganchoka
Billy Mays Dead At 50 by baiganchoka
Billy Mays, the television pitchman known for his products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean, has died. He was 50.
Tampa police said Mays was found unresponsive by his wife Sunday morning. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead at 7:45 a.m.
There were no signs of a break-in, and investigators do not suspect foul play, said Lt. Brian Dugan of the Tampa Police Department, who wouldn’t answer any more questions about how Mays’ body was found because of the ongoing investigation. The coroner’s office expects to have an autopsy done by Monday afternoon.
Domestic violence epidemic shaking the family foundation by guest
I have been reading the newspaper daily about domestic violence in our country that I found to be very disturbing. To know how many of our mothers, sisters and daughters are losing their lives at the hands of their husbands and living-in boy friends, etc. For the past few weeks, several women have lost their lives and have left behind innocent children who are thrown into the poverty pool.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has called on the nation, as well as, its religious leaders and NGOs to help fight and to put an end to this act of brutality that is presently destroying the moral fabric in our society. Are we ready to stamp out domestic violence? Read more »
More and more cocaine found at Cheddi Jagan airport in Guyana by Andrew
Today 6/26/2009, Officials located over two kilos of Cocaine at Cheddi Jagan International Airport that was postmarked for Canada. The substance was found on routine scan by airport officials. The sender name on the package was a woman and the address was a location in Kitty but no one by the name on the package lived there.
Over the past couple of weeks I been talking about Guyana and the stigma now attached to Guyana as the hotspot for narcotics that it has now become. Guyana according to Al Jazeera is now a global hotspot for cocaine trafficking. The cocaine that leaves Guyana more often than not is headed to North America as in the case above or Africa. Read more »
BlindianNetwork.com, one of my new favorite places to be by Pady
Blindiannetwork.com is a social website founded by Nathan Thompson and Sue Ellen Chohan, who are a Blindian couple. Blindian is basically Black and Indian, the words merged together. In this case, Nathan is of Jamaican Black decent and Sue Ellen is of East Indian origin; they both reside in the UK. Basically, the site is opening up the world of mixed couples and people of mixed races. As a West Indian, this notion is nothing new. We are all mixed and Blindian plus a few more races. I guess in our culture, we would associate Blindian as being “dougla”. Read more »
Breaking News: Michael Jackson American Pop-star dies. by baiganchoka
American icon entertainer Michael Jackson died on Thursday June 25th 2009 after suffering cardiac arrest according to Los Angeles Times and the Associated press. Jackson was rushed to the hospital after a 911 call was made from his home. Jackson apparently collapsed at his home early Thursday morning according to Brian Oxman who is a Jackson family attorney. Jackson was known for this global influence of Pop music and his number one selling album of all time “Thriller.” Jackson was scheduled to perform 10 concerts in London starting this July. The theme of the tour was ironically known as a ‘final curtain call.” Read more »
Freedom to travel in the Caribbean? by Andrew
Two days ago 6/23/2009, I came across an article written by Prime Minister Stephenson King in which king advocated for CARICOM leaders to step up and take urgent action to facilitate the free movement of people living in the Caribbean. He noted that the idea of “One Caribbean” needs to be realized hinting on the fact that such is not the current case. He went on to say that lip service is all is is currently in place and the reason for that could be that individual countries may be focused on protecting job opportunities at home for their national. Read more »
Cocaine and Guyana by Andrew
Last week I wrote an article titled “Drugs and Guyana.” In the article I eluded to the fact that Guyana has become the central trading post for the movement of narcotics to Africa and North America. Yesterday morning 6/23/2009, two Canadian women were held up at Cheddi Jagan International Airport with large quantities of cocaine cleverly hidden in their baggage. These two women went as far as to swallowing 70 pellets filled with the substance for the purpose of trafficking. Read more »
Caribbean men’s relationship to Caribbean feminist practice, or the hearts of men by guest
By now we wonder if the “male marginalization” theories, which first appeared in the Caribbean in the 1980s, can be considered discredited. Subjected to a searching critique by Caribbean scholars, it seems evident that the idea of male marginalization ironically ignores an obvious male privileging by Caribbean societies and their political and economic leaders, and is based on the denial of full equality and citizenship for Caribbean women.
Further, because it accepts as natural both the old colonial idea of a gendered order and the suggestion that conflicts between men and women, as we continue to transform gendered relations in the Caribbean, are normal the male marginalization theory stands in the way of what C.L.R. James once called the battle for fully human relations between men and women. Read more »
Medical Technology Training in Guyana by Andrew
Today I read in the news that Guyana’s Ministry of Health trained 40 current medial personals in the department of Information Technology. Yes!. Indeed this this is leap forward in advancing education in the technology sector. Dr Bheri Ramsarran noted during his address at Ramphal House, that the program started “humbly” as a basic provision for health workers when the Health Ministry noticed that many had not been given the option to become computer literate. It is good to know that some of the short comings are being recognized and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Pan American Helath Organization aided with the project. Read more »
Cookies and E coli by guest
With the news that 65 people in many states across the country have been afflicted with E coli 0157 H7, our attention had once again turned to a very common organism that most healthy people walk around with in their gastrointestinal tract.
According the the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there is strong link between the sick individuals and the consumption of raw Nestle Toll House cookie dough. O157 H7 just happens to be a particular stain or genetic combination that affects us differently than the good old E coli as we know it. Read more »
