By Franklyn W Knight:
The English-speaking population of the Caribbean represents less than 20 per cent of the conventionally defined region. That definition describes a Caribbean composed of the island chain from the Bahamas and the Dutch ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao plus the mainland enclaves of Belize, Guyana and Suriname. Sometimes Bermuda is included although its 68,000 additional souls hardly change the proportion.
In the 1980s a new political definition became popular. It added the Central American states but omitted Cuba, displaying more the political bias of the United States of America rather than the reality of Caribbean affairs and the peculiar history of the region. The driving force behind the conventional definition of the Caribbean was a certain uniformity of history. The states of the conventional Caribbean were inordinately influenced by the interrelated sugar revolutions that convulsed the region between the 17th and the 19th centuries.
These sugar revolutions radically transformed the political, social, occupational, economic, demographic, and environmental structure of most of the Caribbean islands. Sugar was the principal driving force but it was not the only one and not all the islands succumbed to those revolutions. The massive importation of Africans - more than 10 million between 1518 and 1870 - made possible the transformation of the vast region between the northeast of Brazil, the Antilles, the Magdalena-Cauca river valleys of Colombia and a huge swath of the southern part of what today is called the United States of America. But African slavery affected every country in the Americas to some degree.
Slavery, of course, existed long before Christopher Columbus and his ill-fated caravels wandered into the Caribbean. Slaves constituted an integral part of Roman expansion and colonisation of most of Western Europe. The preferred slaves of Romans came from the region that today comprises Germany. But the word itself derives from the Slavic peoples who formed the greater proportion of people who were traded in the slave markets of the Mediterranean. Europeans continued to enslave one another until the middle of the 19th century, although mostly in Russia. And Muslim states enslaved captured Europeans in the Mediterranean until the Napoleonic Wars.
African and indigenous American peoples also enslaved one another. Throughout the continent of Africa, stronger states subordinated weaker states and subjected their conquered peoples to some form of slavery. Among other occupations, male slaves were employed as warriors or protectors of harems and religious sites. In Mexico a system of slavery called Tlacotli existed until the arrival of Hernán Cortés in 1521.
Slavery in the Americas reconstructed by the Europeans and their slaves finds no precedence anywhere else in the world. Neither in Europe, Africa nor among the indigenous societies of the Americas did the practice demonstrate the rigidity and suffocating mutually reinforcing cleavages developed after 1518. Only in the European American colonies were race and colour essential aspects of enslavement. Only in the Americas did slavery perform a vitally important economic function, assets that could independently generate wealth. The American slave society and the American slave-holding society were fundamentally different.
Nevertheless, the way the history of the Caribbean is taught, especially in the British Caribbean, leaves much to be desired. It tends to be excessively centred on the British Caribbean experience and neglects the integral connection with the non-Anglophone Caribbean or with the wider Americas.
To begin, not all Africans arrived in the Americas as merchandise. Several Hispanised Africans arrived with the Iberians in the first century of conquest and colonisation. Columbus recruited travel companions such as Juan Garrido and Pedro Alonso Niño from among the large free black population that lived in Andalucía, in cities from Málaga to Huelva. Nuflo de Olano who accompanied Vasco Nuñez de Balboa across the Isthmus of Panama was probably a bought African slave. Juan Valiente who accompanied Hernán Cortés to Mexico was described as black. So was Estebanico who wandered for 10 years with Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca from Florida to Mexico by way of Louisiana and Texas.
These free blacks, like their fellow adventurers, spawned a large, free, mixed population wherever they went. There were blacks and descendants of blacks all across the Americas who were never enslaved. They formed pockets of free population in cities, especially port cities like Havana, New Orleans, Vera Cruz, Porto Bello, Cartagena, Lima, Salvador de Bahia and Buenos Aires. And the town of El Cobre in eastern Cuba had a town council of freed and semi-free residents between 1680 and 1780.
During the 19th century another group of free Africans arrived along with Chinese and Indians from the Asian subcontinent to assist in the transition from slave labour to wage labour across the Caribbean. While smaller than the imported numbers of the commercial transatlantic slave trade, these immigrants are a part of the history that should not be neglected.
The massive importation of Africans was necessary because, unlike the narratives of Bartolomé de las Casas, the population of the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean in 1492 was not as large as the friar supposed. The Caribbean islands may have had a combined population of just about one million. That population could not support the increased labour demands of export-oriented plantations. The decline of the Native American population between 1500 and about 1650 was extremely complex and not the result of the single or simplistic explanation of Spanish genocide. Indeed, genocide is an inappropriate description for the decline of the Tainos of the Antilles.
But slavery is not the only theme in which moving the boundaries beyond time and space offers rewards. Hispaniola had a relatively early sugar complex - as early as 1512. The distillation of rum has a history preceding the English arrival in Barbados. Rum was distilled in the 13th century by Benedictine monks in Lebanon. Maroons were not really instrumental in the process of disintegration of the Caribbean slave society, and their role in the Haitian revolution seems highly exaggerated. Finally, the peasant society in the Caribbean goes back to the 16th century.
July 07, 2010
jamaicaobserver
An International Caribbean Online Log about the news and opinions in the Americas and World. This Caribbean Blog of global reach and appeal is maintained by Bahamian Blogger - Dennis Dames with all readers and subscribers in mind.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Don’t abandon Caricom, fix it
jamaicaobserver editorial:
THE one thing everyone in the Caribbean agrees on is that the regional grouping, the Caribbean Community (Caricom), has been an abject failure.
The process of regional integration has stalled in most respects, notably the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) and is in reverse on many other areas such as freedom of movement of Caricom citizens. The inability to accomplish freedom of movement is a classic illustration of the failure of the grouping.
Ironically, during the colonial period people were free to move from one colony to another. But immediately after the attainment of political independence, governments began instituting a system of work permits.
While welcoming tourists with only a driver's licence, immigration officials subject passport holders from other Caricom states to hostile interrogation. In the Bahamas and Barbados, citizens of Jamaica, Guyana and Haiti are treated as personas non grata.
The state of Caricom is the equivalent of a bankrupt company that has been losing money for well over a decade. But since there are still obvious benefits to be realised from regional integration and cooperation, abandoning Caricom is the option of the faint-hearted. The only viable course of action is fixing it.
A diagnosis of the cause of the malaise reveals myriad problems, some natural and some anthropogenic. The natural barriers, such as the lack of a contiguous land mass and the separation by hundreds of miles of sea can be rendered manageable by better logistics and modern communications. The several centrifugal tensions such as the lack of a genuine sense of community and petty nationalism can be mollified by leadership.
The crisis of Caricom is a crisis of leadership, the essence of which is a lack of vision and an incapacity for mobilisation of the people of the region in support of lucidly articulated strategy. This crisis of leadership exists at two levels: the political and the managerial.
The political leadership is comparable to the board of directors which sets goals and approve broad policy on the advice of management. The current heads of government are not without ability, but they lack unity without the keen intellect of Mr Owen Arthur and the calm statesmanship of Mr P J Patterson.
In addition, they have avoided addressing the unpleasant issue of not holding management responsible for its failure to implement their instructions.
The real problem of Caricom is the comprehensive failure of the management, specifically the leadership of the Secretariat. The performance of the Caricom Secretariat over the last 10 to 15 years has happened on the watch of the current secretary-general and whether it is his fault or not, the record points to the need for a change of leadership. This is what would be done in any bankrupt company or non-performing organisation.
The heads of government abhor the unpleasantness of changing a manager but, in any event, we would prefer to see the manager opting to resign. There is nothing dishonourable in resigning, especially if one has served well beyond normal retirement age. Caricom, we believe, is an indispensable cause but no one is indispensable to that cause.
This newspaper salutes the selfless work of the current secretary-general, however, his resignation now at the heads of government meeting in Montego Bay, would dramatise the need for a fresh start, without which Caricom will drift aimlessly on to certain death.
July 06, 2010
jamaicaobserver editorial
THE one thing everyone in the Caribbean agrees on is that the regional grouping, the Caribbean Community (Caricom), has been an abject failure.
The process of regional integration has stalled in most respects, notably the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) and is in reverse on many other areas such as freedom of movement of Caricom citizens. The inability to accomplish freedom of movement is a classic illustration of the failure of the grouping.
Ironically, during the colonial period people were free to move from one colony to another. But immediately after the attainment of political independence, governments began instituting a system of work permits.
While welcoming tourists with only a driver's licence, immigration officials subject passport holders from other Caricom states to hostile interrogation. In the Bahamas and Barbados, citizens of Jamaica, Guyana and Haiti are treated as personas non grata.
The state of Caricom is the equivalent of a bankrupt company that has been losing money for well over a decade. But since there are still obvious benefits to be realised from regional integration and cooperation, abandoning Caricom is the option of the faint-hearted. The only viable course of action is fixing it.
A diagnosis of the cause of the malaise reveals myriad problems, some natural and some anthropogenic. The natural barriers, such as the lack of a contiguous land mass and the separation by hundreds of miles of sea can be rendered manageable by better logistics and modern communications. The several centrifugal tensions such as the lack of a genuine sense of community and petty nationalism can be mollified by leadership.
The crisis of Caricom is a crisis of leadership, the essence of which is a lack of vision and an incapacity for mobilisation of the people of the region in support of lucidly articulated strategy. This crisis of leadership exists at two levels: the political and the managerial.
The political leadership is comparable to the board of directors which sets goals and approve broad policy on the advice of management. The current heads of government are not without ability, but they lack unity without the keen intellect of Mr Owen Arthur and the calm statesmanship of Mr P J Patterson.
In addition, they have avoided addressing the unpleasant issue of not holding management responsible for its failure to implement their instructions.
The real problem of Caricom is the comprehensive failure of the management, specifically the leadership of the Secretariat. The performance of the Caricom Secretariat over the last 10 to 15 years has happened on the watch of the current secretary-general and whether it is his fault or not, the record points to the need for a change of leadership. This is what would be done in any bankrupt company or non-performing organisation.
The heads of government abhor the unpleasantness of changing a manager but, in any event, we would prefer to see the manager opting to resign. There is nothing dishonourable in resigning, especially if one has served well beyond normal retirement age. Caricom, we believe, is an indispensable cause but no one is indispensable to that cause.
This newspaper salutes the selfless work of the current secretary-general, however, his resignation now at the heads of government meeting in Montego Bay, would dramatise the need for a fresh start, without which Caricom will drift aimlessly on to certain death.
July 06, 2010
jamaicaobserver editorial
Bahamas: The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill could impact the pristine islands of Cay Sal Bank and Bimini for years
Oil spill could affect Bimini, Cay Sal Bank for many years
By MEGAN REYNOLDS
Tribune Staff Reporter
mreynolds@tribunemedia.net:
OIL from the Gulf of Mexico spill could impact the pristine islands of Cay Sal Bank and Bimini for years to come, prompting long-term plans for ongoing environmental monitoring of the region.
With the National Oil Spill Contingency Team scheduled to meet today to discuss the requirements of future expeditions and work out how much they will cost, Bahamas National Trust (BNT) director Eric Carey said he wants British Petroleum (BP) to foot the bill in advance.
Thousands of gallons of oil have spilled from BP's Deepwater Horizon rig 5,000ft below the ocean surface since an explosion on April 20 and continue to gush from the rig as repeated attempts to plug the leak have failed.
Deepwater Horizon is expected to continue spewing oil into the Gulf until the drilling of a relief well has been completed next month.
But even if the leak is stopped, Mr Carey said we will have to watch out for the thousands of gallons of weathered oil which could reach the shorelines of the Cay Sal Bank and Bimini cays in the form of oil slicks and tar balls for years to come.
A report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last Friday estimates Cay Sal Bank and the Bimini Cays are 41 to 60 per cent likely to have shoreline impact from the spill, while the northwest coast of Grand Bahama is 20 per cent likely to be impacted, and Andros is less than one per cent likely to be impacted.
Although marine life is not thought to be at risk, Mr Carey said this has yet to be tested in the Bahamas.
He said: "We are fortunate, we believe we won't have what we see in the Gulf - all of that oil slushing onto beaches - but these dispersants, and the damage it could do to our ecosystem, is unknown.
"NOAA has concluded they don't really harm marine life, but I don't know if they have tested our corals and determined how sensitive they are.
"A lot of these things have to be done. This is a long- range project. Even when people think there is no more oil coming out, there is still going to be tonnes of oil still in the Gulf, and thousands and thousands of gallons of dispersants, so we are going to have to continue to monitor this thing for years to come, and we are going to have to cost that out and get that funding for continued monitoring and expeditions."
The uninhabited cays of Cay Sal Bank are home to thriving sea bird nesting sites, sea turtles and various marine species valuable to the fishing industry.
However, the scientific data documenting natural resources in the area is extremely limited.
The expeditions allow scientists to collect sediment samples from land and document the diversity and abundance of commercial fish and other marine species underwater as well as monitor impact from the spill by monitoring birds and terrestrial life.
There have been two expeditions to Cay Sal Bank and one to Bimini since last month.
Findings from the latest mission to Cay Sal Bank, which returned on June 25, found no evidence of oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon.
The next expedition should set sail in around two weeks and Mr Carey said it will be better organised than previous trips and he hopes BP will cover the costs.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating avenues for making legal claims against BP.
Mr Carey said: "The National Trust still believes we should be going to BP and we will continue to advocate for that because by the time we reach the litigation stage BP may have already filed for bankruptcy and be off-limits for any normal litigation process.
"We believe it is important to come up with a number, which we can do when we work out how much it will cost."
July 06, 2010
tribune242
By MEGAN REYNOLDS
Tribune Staff Reporter
mreynolds@tribunemedia.net:
OIL from the Gulf of Mexico spill could impact the pristine islands of Cay Sal Bank and Bimini for years to come, prompting long-term plans for ongoing environmental monitoring of the region.
With the National Oil Spill Contingency Team scheduled to meet today to discuss the requirements of future expeditions and work out how much they will cost, Bahamas National Trust (BNT) director Eric Carey said he wants British Petroleum (BP) to foot the bill in advance.
Thousands of gallons of oil have spilled from BP's Deepwater Horizon rig 5,000ft below the ocean surface since an explosion on April 20 and continue to gush from the rig as repeated attempts to plug the leak have failed.
Deepwater Horizon is expected to continue spewing oil into the Gulf until the drilling of a relief well has been completed next month.
But even if the leak is stopped, Mr Carey said we will have to watch out for the thousands of gallons of weathered oil which could reach the shorelines of the Cay Sal Bank and Bimini cays in the form of oil slicks and tar balls for years to come.
A report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last Friday estimates Cay Sal Bank and the Bimini Cays are 41 to 60 per cent likely to have shoreline impact from the spill, while the northwest coast of Grand Bahama is 20 per cent likely to be impacted, and Andros is less than one per cent likely to be impacted.
Although marine life is not thought to be at risk, Mr Carey said this has yet to be tested in the Bahamas.
He said: "We are fortunate, we believe we won't have what we see in the Gulf - all of that oil slushing onto beaches - but these dispersants, and the damage it could do to our ecosystem, is unknown.
"NOAA has concluded they don't really harm marine life, but I don't know if they have tested our corals and determined how sensitive they are.
"A lot of these things have to be done. This is a long- range project. Even when people think there is no more oil coming out, there is still going to be tonnes of oil still in the Gulf, and thousands and thousands of gallons of dispersants, so we are going to have to continue to monitor this thing for years to come, and we are going to have to cost that out and get that funding for continued monitoring and expeditions."
The uninhabited cays of Cay Sal Bank are home to thriving sea bird nesting sites, sea turtles and various marine species valuable to the fishing industry.
However, the scientific data documenting natural resources in the area is extremely limited.
The expeditions allow scientists to collect sediment samples from land and document the diversity and abundance of commercial fish and other marine species underwater as well as monitor impact from the spill by monitoring birds and terrestrial life.
There have been two expeditions to Cay Sal Bank and one to Bimini since last month.
Findings from the latest mission to Cay Sal Bank, which returned on June 25, found no evidence of oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon.
The next expedition should set sail in around two weeks and Mr Carey said it will be better organised than previous trips and he hopes BP will cover the costs.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating avenues for making legal claims against BP.
Mr Carey said: "The National Trust still believes we should be going to BP and we will continue to advocate for that because by the time we reach the litigation stage BP may have already filed for bankruptcy and be off-limits for any normal litigation process.
"We believe it is important to come up with a number, which we can do when we work out how much it will cost."
July 06, 2010
tribune242
Bahamas: The probability of Andros Island's shorelines being impacted by the Deepwater Horizon/ BP oil spill is less than one per cent
Projections say Andros unlikely to suffer oil spill effects
By NOELLE NICOLLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net:
THE probability of Andros' shorelines being impacted by the gulf oil spill is less than one per cent, according to the latest projections of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States.
According to a technical report released Friday by NOAA, the Cay Sal Bank and the Bimini Cays are the most vulnerable territories in the Bahamas for shoreline impact from the Deepwater Horizon/ BP oil spill. They are grouped in the 41 to 60 per cent range. The northwest coast of Grand Bahama has a one to 20 per cent chance of experiencing shoreline impact.
"I received an email indicating that NOAA advised the Bahamas and Cuba that based on their modeling in the next 120 days the oil would be substantially in loop current and the places likely to be affected are Bahamas and Cuba," said Earl Deveaux, Minister of Environment.
"Our response is going to be heightened surveillance. We will continue to update our monitoring, so we know with a high degree of certainty when any sightings occur if they occur in Cay Sal," he said.
The NOAA models assume a 90-day oil flow rate of 33,000 barrels per day. It accounts for the "daily estimated amount being skimmed, burned, and/or collected by the Top Hat mechanism".
The model also accounts for the "natural process of oil 'weathering' or breaking down, and considers oil a threat to the shoreline if there is enough to cause a dull sheen within 20 miles of the coast", states the NOAA.
The Bahamas lies just south of a high risk area with South Florida rated i61 to 80 per cent. Due to the influence of the Loop Current, the Florida Keys, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale are areas of high risk for shoreline impact.
The NOAA issued an advisory on what to Expect in South Florida that stated: "If oil were to reach South Florida, the freshest oil will have spent at least 10 days to 14 days on the water surface. It could arrive in Florida in the form of pancakes of brown oil, streamers of pudding-like emulsified oil, or very thin sheen. As oil on the water surface ages, winds and waves tear it into smaller and smaller pieces, and evaporation and dissolution of its lighter constituents makes it denser and more tar-like.
"Ultimately, floating oil becomes small tar-like balls. If the oil reaches South Florida, responders in South Florida may see a mixture of forms of oil, however, they are most likely to see tar balls," the advisory stated.
There has been no recommendation to station officials in the Cay Sal area to provide surveillance of the Bahamian waters at risk. Cay Sal is a very remote area and has no amenities.
Mr Deveaux said the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in their routine patrol of the Western Bahamas "would be in a position to tell us if they observe any tar balls". He said fishermen who regularly work in the area of the Cay Sal Bank were also providing surveillance for the area.
Based on the "long standing relationship" between the Bahamian government and the University of Miami, Mr Deveaux said the Oil Spill Contingency Team would also be alerted by its partners if oil was spotted in the Florida Cays.
"We get a lot of reports from people flying over; people boating.
"It is commendable the sense of alertness the Bahamian public have," said Mr Deveaux.
July 05, 2010
tribune242
By NOELLE NICOLLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net:
THE probability of Andros' shorelines being impacted by the gulf oil spill is less than one per cent, according to the latest projections of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States.
According to a technical report released Friday by NOAA, the Cay Sal Bank and the Bimini Cays are the most vulnerable territories in the Bahamas for shoreline impact from the Deepwater Horizon/ BP oil spill. They are grouped in the 41 to 60 per cent range. The northwest coast of Grand Bahama has a one to 20 per cent chance of experiencing shoreline impact.
"I received an email indicating that NOAA advised the Bahamas and Cuba that based on their modeling in the next 120 days the oil would be substantially in loop current and the places likely to be affected are Bahamas and Cuba," said Earl Deveaux, Minister of Environment.
"Our response is going to be heightened surveillance. We will continue to update our monitoring, so we know with a high degree of certainty when any sightings occur if they occur in Cay Sal," he said.
The NOAA models assume a 90-day oil flow rate of 33,000 barrels per day. It accounts for the "daily estimated amount being skimmed, burned, and/or collected by the Top Hat mechanism".
The model also accounts for the "natural process of oil 'weathering' or breaking down, and considers oil a threat to the shoreline if there is enough to cause a dull sheen within 20 miles of the coast", states the NOAA.
The Bahamas lies just south of a high risk area with South Florida rated i61 to 80 per cent. Due to the influence of the Loop Current, the Florida Keys, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale are areas of high risk for shoreline impact.
The NOAA issued an advisory on what to Expect in South Florida that stated: "If oil were to reach South Florida, the freshest oil will have spent at least 10 days to 14 days on the water surface. It could arrive in Florida in the form of pancakes of brown oil, streamers of pudding-like emulsified oil, or very thin sheen. As oil on the water surface ages, winds and waves tear it into smaller and smaller pieces, and evaporation and dissolution of its lighter constituents makes it denser and more tar-like.
"Ultimately, floating oil becomes small tar-like balls. If the oil reaches South Florida, responders in South Florida may see a mixture of forms of oil, however, they are most likely to see tar balls," the advisory stated.
There has been no recommendation to station officials in the Cay Sal area to provide surveillance of the Bahamian waters at risk. Cay Sal is a very remote area and has no amenities.
Mr Deveaux said the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in their routine patrol of the Western Bahamas "would be in a position to tell us if they observe any tar balls". He said fishermen who regularly work in the area of the Cay Sal Bank were also providing surveillance for the area.
Based on the "long standing relationship" between the Bahamian government and the University of Miami, Mr Deveaux said the Oil Spill Contingency Team would also be alerted by its partners if oil was spotted in the Florida Cays.
"We get a lot of reports from people flying over; people boating.
"It is commendable the sense of alertness the Bahamian public have," said Mr Deveaux.
July 05, 2010
tribune242
Monday, July 5, 2010
Gleaner newspaper suggests disbanding CARICOM
by Oscar Ramjeet:
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders are now meeting in Montego Bay in Jamaica, and the Gleaner, the leading and most widely read newspaper in the region, has come out in a blistering attack against the regional group.
The editorial was published only days after former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Sir Shridath Ramphal, who is a well known advocate for regional integration, spoke of the non-performance of the Georgetown-based CARICOM Secretariat.
And St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, also voiced his disapproval when he said that CARICOM lacks leadership.
The Gleaner said that the leaders at their Montego Bay meeting should be honest with themselves and declare their inability to provide "serious leadership" to the integration process.
The editorial added, "Should they so decide, the next step is obvious: disband the community and allow its 15 members to find their own way in the world. Or, if they desire, form alliances with alternative trade and economic organisation."
It added, "This is not a position that this newspaper has arrived at lightly, like the conceptualisers of CARICOM, and the millions of people who have invested much hope in the institution understand the logic of integration. But the logic is one thing, its application is another. It is on the latter front, for nearly four decades we have failed.
“As a concept and treaty, CARICOM was and remains an excellent idea -- as a single market, to be transported into a seamless economy and as a functional cooperation and economic grouping. It has had some successes, mainly on the political front."
It also stated that, in 36 years, CARICOM has failed to plan, contrive, or achieve an economic breakthrough and "In those countries that have enjoyed relative success, it has had little to do with their membership of CARICOM.”
I recall Sir Shridath, in a passionate presentation, told a graduating class at the University of the West Indies at St Augustine in 1977, 33 years ago, the importance of regional integration and questioned that this region with a population of five million has the most prime ministers and overseas missions with ambassadors and high commissioners than any other country in the planet.
I have time and time again criticised the slow pace of the regional movement and one time referred to it as CARIGONE instead of CARICOM.
The Gleaner stated that if the heads of government who are gathered in Montego Bay are serious about CARICOM and wish the region's support, they must provide bankable assurances that they will mend their ways.
It also referred to Trinidad and Tobago being unfair in denying national treatment to its partners with regard to energy supplies, thus giving its own manufacturers an unfair advantage in this seamless market
It also called for leaders to finally agree on a system that gives executive authority to a supranational body to ensure implementation of decisions taken by heads. It also suggested that there should be an accommodation of shared sovereignty.
It is felt that the organisation has no effective implementation mechanism, nor are they penalties for reneging on undertakings. So, leaders attend summits, talk a lot, arrive at decisions and give undertakings which, for the most part, are never fulfilled.
This in my view should be corrected as soon as possible and I sincerely hope that the Montego Bay summit will iron out the differences of the various leaders and they work together towards a unified movement -- they should remember unity is strength.
July 5, 2010
caribbeannetnews
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders are now meeting in Montego Bay in Jamaica, and the Gleaner, the leading and most widely read newspaper in the region, has come out in a blistering attack against the regional group.
The editorial was published only days after former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Sir Shridath Ramphal, who is a well known advocate for regional integration, spoke of the non-performance of the Georgetown-based CARICOM Secretariat. And St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, also voiced his disapproval when he said that CARICOM lacks leadership.
The Gleaner said that the leaders at their Montego Bay meeting should be honest with themselves and declare their inability to provide "serious leadership" to the integration process.
The editorial added, "Should they so decide, the next step is obvious: disband the community and allow its 15 members to find their own way in the world. Or, if they desire, form alliances with alternative trade and economic organisation."
It added, "This is not a position that this newspaper has arrived at lightly, like the conceptualisers of CARICOM, and the millions of people who have invested much hope in the institution understand the logic of integration. But the logic is one thing, its application is another. It is on the latter front, for nearly four decades we have failed.
“As a concept and treaty, CARICOM was and remains an excellent idea -- as a single market, to be transported into a seamless economy and as a functional cooperation and economic grouping. It has had some successes, mainly on the political front."
It also stated that, in 36 years, CARICOM has failed to plan, contrive, or achieve an economic breakthrough and "In those countries that have enjoyed relative success, it has had little to do with their membership of CARICOM.”
I recall Sir Shridath, in a passionate presentation, told a graduating class at the University of the West Indies at St Augustine in 1977, 33 years ago, the importance of regional integration and questioned that this region with a population of five million has the most prime ministers and overseas missions with ambassadors and high commissioners than any other country in the planet.
I have time and time again criticised the slow pace of the regional movement and one time referred to it as CARIGONE instead of CARICOM.
The Gleaner stated that if the heads of government who are gathered in Montego Bay are serious about CARICOM and wish the region's support, they must provide bankable assurances that they will mend their ways.
It also referred to Trinidad and Tobago being unfair in denying national treatment to its partners with regard to energy supplies, thus giving its own manufacturers an unfair advantage in this seamless market
It also called for leaders to finally agree on a system that gives executive authority to a supranational body to ensure implementation of decisions taken by heads. It also suggested that there should be an accommodation of shared sovereignty.
It is felt that the organisation has no effective implementation mechanism, nor are they penalties for reneging on undertakings. So, leaders attend summits, talk a lot, arrive at decisions and give undertakings which, for the most part, are never fulfilled.
This in my view should be corrected as soon as possible and I sincerely hope that the Montego Bay summit will iron out the differences of the various leaders and they work together towards a unified movement -- they should remember unity is strength.
July 5, 2010
caribbeannetnews
Sunday, July 4, 2010
War and Peace in Venezuela
By Luis Britto Garcia:
WAR
I don’t get tired of quoting Clausewitz, who says that war is a continuation of politics by other means. The United States has failed so completely and successively in its policies that it always has the temptation of war.
PEACE
Venezuela doesn’t represent the slightest risk to the safety of anyone, it hasn’t assaulted anyone nor perpetuated a hostile act against any country, it has a smaller than average army with conventional weapons that don’t threaten its neighbours.
WAR
Venezuela is besieged by seven U.S bases in Colombia, two in Curazao and Aruba, four more in Panama, one in Honduras, and by the IV Float that patrols the Caribbean after military occupying defenceless Haiti.
PEACE
Because of its population of fifty million habitants, because of its agricultural and industrial production, because of the expansion of its capital, Colombia can easily obtain immense benefits from peaceful commercial relations with its neighbours, and enjoy a subregional hegemony without firing a single shot or scattering blood in an ocean or playing its destiny and that of its leaders in the casino of war.
WAR
But with the Plan Puebla-Panama, that consists of a strategic corridor through Central America up to the Sister Republic, and Plan Colombia, that aims to convert [Colombia] into the Hawk Country of the Hired Killer Country, the United States is planning to drive a wedge into the heart of Brazil, its true competitor in Latin America, and carry out Project New American Century.
PEACE
According to Dilip Hiro, the foreign policy of Obama combines overbearing threat with withdrawal in the face of firmness (TomDispatch.com). Obama rejects the Honduras coup as a “terrible precedent”, the coup leaders racially insulted him and he ended up supporting them. After threatening to remove Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan, he backed him when he offered to go over the Taliban and declared Iran “our friend, our ally”. After pressuring China to revalue its yuan, threatening it with reports from the treasury department and approving the sale of 6.4 billion dollars in arms to Taiwan, Obama accepted Hu Jintao’s measures against companies who sold said arms and held back the announced reports.
WAR
The 700 billion dollars of Plan Paulson and the 750 billlion euros of financial relief in Europe have sunk into the bottomless well of the crisis. Workers refuse to pay with higher taxes, decreased workers’ rights and pensions. Bankers clash with the social rebellion in Greece and Portugal, Spain confronts 25% unemployment and the United States gives in to the temptation to activate its economy with military spending, with a military budget announced for 2011 of over 726 billion dollars.
PEACE
Brazil is clear about the United States’ intentions and is also clearing the way for independent agreements with Iran and Turkey, countries that are moving further and further away from the United States’ orbit.
Venezuela, apart from its integration in Mercosur and its close relations with Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicharagua, Uruguay and the Caribbean countries, has began multi-polar relations with Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, African countries, the Third World. United States dominance will find it difficult to directly confront a bloc with noticeable multi-polar links and that covers almost two thirds of South America.
WAR
The incoming president in Colombia will be subject to the devastating pressure of almost a decade of United States intervention and a military occupation that guarantees the invaders immunity and impunity from the law and local tribunals. His predecessor sent Colombians to fight the U.S war in Afghanistan. The new president will have little hesitation to sacrifice them as canon fodder in any conflict in the interest of the Empire.
PEACE
In 2007 Colombia had 459,687 civil servants working in security and defence and in that year spent 6.5% of its GDP on internal conflict, some $22 billion annually. Statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPRI) fix the number at 3.7% of the GDP in 2009 ($10.06 billion), which places Colombia as the Latin American country which spends most on arms.
El Espectador on 25 November 2009 announced that Colombia has established a war tax that expects to raise 3.3 billion pesos annually (according to the Real Academia Espanola, a billion is a million million, and one dollar is worth almost two thousand pesos). Such burdens go strongly against its economy and the precarious conditions of life of its people, of which seven million have been forced to emigrate and 4.3 million have been displaced from their land due to military operations.
Despite this, the Colombian government hasn’t been able to eradicate an insurgency that consists of some ten thousand rebels. Before involving itself in other countries, it would be better that Colombia sort out its own backyard. It wouldn’t be wise to invade other countries to confront the rebellion of thirty million Venezuelans and two hundred million Brazilians.
WAR
The possible future president [Translator’s note: since the original publication of this article, that possible president, Juan Santos, has since won the presidential elections] of Colombia has threatened with kidnapping the Venezuelan mayor Di Martino; has supported the invasion against Ecuador, has explicitly stated that his government would assault any country in order to exterminate the insurgency that it can’t even control within its own borders. As vicepresident he supported the military occupation of his country by the United States and tried to unite his electorate using a war against Venezuela discourse at every opportunity.
PEACE
Venezuela faces the possibility of this declared war with an alarming lack of preparation. Severe deficiencies in education on history, geography and civics make it hard to deepen the national consciousness.
Some 4.3 million Colombians live in Venezuela and almost no Venezuelans live in Colombia. A fifth column of paramilitaries occupies us without any resistance and legalises capital with bingos, casinos, and gambling dens. Part of the opposition and its media call out loudly for Venezuela to be invasive. There’s no norms in Venezuela to exclude people with loyalty, obedience and military defence towards other countries from strategic responsibilities.
Venezuela barely spends 1.5% of its GDP on defence these days, a reduction of 25% compared to previous years ($3.254 billion dollars).
WAR
Noriega collaborated with the United States and it overthrew him and kidnapped him. Fujimori carried out genocide in the interest of the northerners [U.S] and ended up in jail. Carlos Andres massacred in defence of the IMF and paid with his imprisonment. Saddam Hussein fought against Iran supported by the Yankees and was executed by them. The Taliban, trained, financed, and armed by the Gringos [U.S] today are being reduced to ashes by bombs Made in the USA. He who initiates conflict in the name of the empire ends up unhappy. Whoever serves the United States commits suicide.
PS: The third edition of my book ‘Peace with Colombia” is in circulation and can be downloaded [in Spanish] from www.minci.gob.ve
Translated by Tamara Pearson for Venezuelanalysis.com
July 3rd 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Apocalypse and oil
Franklin Johnston
Earth is the Lord's but a deep well opens Pandora's box!
April 20, 2010 is a date mankind may not forget. The day earth fought back! We had abused her; ravished forests, polluted waters, darkened her skies and on this day we pierced her mantle and oil gushed! She cried, "This is my blood, all the oil you desire!" BP replied, "No problem", but as it gushed even more, no man could staunch the flow and panic set it!
The earth confounded men of Congress, of business and science. But the men of oil had a solution - garbage! Let's plug the well with garbage! Garbage? "Yes, when in doubt try garbage!" This was Big Oil's best solution! And garbage it proved! The US was angry, the UK was miffed and said Obama should not blame them as BP was not British; shareholders bawled at lost dividends and we watched aghast as the world's wise men scurried about like headless cocks. We trusted them to dig a proper well; they did not! But, as this will not be the last deep well, can we trust them with the next one? God only knows!
The Macondo well is not the beginning of the end, but it may be the beginning of wisdom. Deepwater Horizon, a semi-submersible drill rig leased by BP Plc (a UK-registered company with offices in London) until 2013, at some US$500k a day, bored a hole six miles into the earth's crust - almost to the mantle, to find oil to feed our lust and their greed. The wreck now lies a mile down on the ocean floor. The insurance claim was settled, owners are happy, but three million gallons of crude oil still gush into the ocean each day and they can't stop it. Mother Earth is taking revenge! What will deeper wells bring?
For millennia man lived in harmony with earth and respected it as the sustainer of life. Jewish stories in the Bible say, "Be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth..." The result? There are now seven billion mouths to feed! We multiply but we do not replenish, replant or restore; we harvest, but do not rest or restock the species and now we drill this bleeding wound in the Gulf of Mexico! When did we lose respect for Mother Earth?
In the last three centuries man has been an arrogant know-it-all! We know a bit about earth, gravity, our body; split the atom, went to the moon and mapped the human genome. We now have a cocky certainty about things where the ancients were cautious and respectful; we will soon programme our Sat Nav to locate God! Will Armageddon come from the sea? Not by demons, evil men, nuclear bombs, global warming, Bin Laden or poverty, but by simple businessmen. BP opened Pandora's box and a haemorrhage of oil can end life as we know it! Scary! It is so like God to confound prophets and priests. What if hell is our own earth saturated with oil and ignited by the spontaneous combustion of the sun? "No more water - the fire next time?" And why not? Who knows God's mind? God is God, consults no one, gives or destroys life at will! Those "not chosen" are also His and He used them to destroy His son, Jerusalem His city, and enslave His "chosen people". God makes rules and is not bound by them! You pray and expect God's help. Guess what? God answered your prayer, but not as you wished it; you are not in the picture or even part of the solution - tough! Do we limit God's end time to a Jewish story about beasts with four heads? Can the issue of oil be His Armageddon? Only God knows God's mind; this is why God is God! As humans, we must care for the earth and get on with living!
Some time ago, a small Australian undersea well gushed for two months and polluted waters as far as East Timor, so when the massive Macondo well blew I encouraged Jamaica to get involved. Why? We are all joined at the hip! Consider this scenario:
*The oceans are one body of water, given various names by Europe's explorers; if you urinate at Whitehouse beach it eventually reaches Europe, Africa and Asia thanks to the Gulf Stream, Benguela, Agulhas and Humboldt currents.
*Mankind is one, and Europe's proto scientists labelled people by phenotype (mainly colour) as so-called races, after characters (Ham, Shem) in Bible stories. Conclusion? One people breathe one air, live on one earth, beside one sea. If Apocalypse by oil continues, progressive pollution of the Caribbean, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans means marine life will die. Pollution from the coast inland means as crops and potable water fail we all die! Extreme and not pretty, but species have died out before! So what are the less atavistic implications of Macondo and other deep wells to come?
* If oil gushes to year end the damage may be US$1t and life as we know it will not return to some areas. Who heard the last dinosaur scream? The full is hard to bear!
*The impact on land and marine ecosystems may mean loss of use, plant, animal, sealife, birds and micro-organisms we know so little about - all priceless!
* First, the economy, quality of life, tourism, etc, of Gulf states will be hard hit. In stage 2, Central, South America and the Caribbean will suffer, and stage 3 will kick in when the ocean currents circulate the crude oil globally - possible global disaster! The earth lived with Krakatoa, tsunami, earthquake, storm, Eyjafjoll, all natural disasters and it recovered. Bhopal was man-made, and thousands were killed and maimed with little global impact. BP's incision in the earth's mantle is different. It may affect all on earth!
But we are not yet at worst case; so what can we learn from Macondo?
*We do not know as much as we think we do; so we should respect earth and be cautious.
*God - however you conceive Him - may intervene in the world, but we can't predict the outcome for man as our agenda is not His and we may not be part of His solution.
*The environment must be our priority. We must apply pressure on ourselves, business and government to do right by our earth. We came, it was here and it's all we have!
*Truly "no man is an island". If the US and China pollute the air it is our air; if men dynamite fish and cut down our forests to burn coal, if Caricom accepts "payola" and votes to destroy whales, they threaten our earth! Let's oppose them all! The Gulf gusher may not be the Apocalypse, but "take sleep and mark death", my friend.
Dr Franklin Johnston is an international project manager with Teape-Johnston Consultants, currently on assignment in the UK.
franklinjohnston@hotmail.com
July 02, 2010
jamaicaobserver
Earth is the Lord's but a deep well opens Pandora's box!
April 20, 2010 is a date mankind may not forget. The day earth fought back! We had abused her; ravished forests, polluted waters, darkened her skies and on this day we pierced her mantle and oil gushed! She cried, "This is my blood, all the oil you desire!" BP replied, "No problem", but as it gushed even more, no man could staunch the flow and panic set it!
The earth confounded men of Congress, of business and science. But the men of oil had a solution - garbage! Let's plug the well with garbage! Garbage? "Yes, when in doubt try garbage!" This was Big Oil's best solution! And garbage it proved! The US was angry, the UK was miffed and said Obama should not blame them as BP was not British; shareholders bawled at lost dividends and we watched aghast as the world's wise men scurried about like headless cocks. We trusted them to dig a proper well; they did not! But, as this will not be the last deep well, can we trust them with the next one? God only knows!
The Macondo well is not the beginning of the end, but it may be the beginning of wisdom. Deepwater Horizon, a semi-submersible drill rig leased by BP Plc (a UK-registered company with offices in London) until 2013, at some US$500k a day, bored a hole six miles into the earth's crust - almost to the mantle, to find oil to feed our lust and their greed. The wreck now lies a mile down on the ocean floor. The insurance claim was settled, owners are happy, but three million gallons of crude oil still gush into the ocean each day and they can't stop it. Mother Earth is taking revenge! What will deeper wells bring?
For millennia man lived in harmony with earth and respected it as the sustainer of life. Jewish stories in the Bible say, "Be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth..." The result? There are now seven billion mouths to feed! We multiply but we do not replenish, replant or restore; we harvest, but do not rest or restock the species and now we drill this bleeding wound in the Gulf of Mexico! When did we lose respect for Mother Earth?
In the last three centuries man has been an arrogant know-it-all! We know a bit about earth, gravity, our body; split the atom, went to the moon and mapped the human genome. We now have a cocky certainty about things where the ancients were cautious and respectful; we will soon programme our Sat Nav to locate God! Will Armageddon come from the sea? Not by demons, evil men, nuclear bombs, global warming, Bin Laden or poverty, but by simple businessmen. BP opened Pandora's box and a haemorrhage of oil can end life as we know it! Scary! It is so like God to confound prophets and priests. What if hell is our own earth saturated with oil and ignited by the spontaneous combustion of the sun? "No more water - the fire next time?" And why not? Who knows God's mind? God is God, consults no one, gives or destroys life at will! Those "not chosen" are also His and He used them to destroy His son, Jerusalem His city, and enslave His "chosen people". God makes rules and is not bound by them! You pray and expect God's help. Guess what? God answered your prayer, but not as you wished it; you are not in the picture or even part of the solution - tough! Do we limit God's end time to a Jewish story about beasts with four heads? Can the issue of oil be His Armageddon? Only God knows God's mind; this is why God is God! As humans, we must care for the earth and get on with living!
Some time ago, a small Australian undersea well gushed for two months and polluted waters as far as East Timor, so when the massive Macondo well blew I encouraged Jamaica to get involved. Why? We are all joined at the hip! Consider this scenario:
*The oceans are one body of water, given various names by Europe's explorers; if you urinate at Whitehouse beach it eventually reaches Europe, Africa and Asia thanks to the Gulf Stream, Benguela, Agulhas and Humboldt currents.
*Mankind is one, and Europe's proto scientists labelled people by phenotype (mainly colour) as so-called races, after characters (Ham, Shem) in Bible stories. Conclusion? One people breathe one air, live on one earth, beside one sea. If Apocalypse by oil continues, progressive pollution of the Caribbean, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans means marine life will die. Pollution from the coast inland means as crops and potable water fail we all die! Extreme and not pretty, but species have died out before! So what are the less atavistic implications of Macondo and other deep wells to come?
* If oil gushes to year end the damage may be US$1t and life as we know it will not return to some areas. Who heard the last dinosaur scream? The full is hard to bear!
*The impact on land and marine ecosystems may mean loss of use, plant, animal, sealife, birds and micro-organisms we know so little about - all priceless!
* First, the economy, quality of life, tourism, etc, of Gulf states will be hard hit. In stage 2, Central, South America and the Caribbean will suffer, and stage 3 will kick in when the ocean currents circulate the crude oil globally - possible global disaster! The earth lived with Krakatoa, tsunami, earthquake, storm, Eyjafjoll, all natural disasters and it recovered. Bhopal was man-made, and thousands were killed and maimed with little global impact. BP's incision in the earth's mantle is different. It may affect all on earth!
But we are not yet at worst case; so what can we learn from Macondo?
*We do not know as much as we think we do; so we should respect earth and be cautious.
*God - however you conceive Him - may intervene in the world, but we can't predict the outcome for man as our agenda is not His and we may not be part of His solution.
*The environment must be our priority. We must apply pressure on ourselves, business and government to do right by our earth. We came, it was here and it's all we have!
*Truly "no man is an island". If the US and China pollute the air it is our air; if men dynamite fish and cut down our forests to burn coal, if Caricom accepts "payola" and votes to destroy whales, they threaten our earth! Let's oppose them all! The Gulf gusher may not be the Apocalypse, but "take sleep and mark death", my friend.
Dr Franklin Johnston is an international project manager with Teape-Johnston Consultants, currently on assignment in the UK.
franklinjohnston@hotmail.com
July 02, 2010
jamaicaobserver
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