I lost the only woman

CARICOM Privy Council issue

Jack, those were my sentiments. These guys cannot be trusted with our rights and freedom. I would like them to leave the Privy Council as the final court of appeal, until we can have a system where these judges can be impeached for looking the other way, or for deliberately ignoring the rules as set out in new constitutions. Folks in the Caribbean and worldwide don’t trust lawyers and these are the same guys that may have to sit on the Privy Council. You can end up with a bunch of dishonest criminal to perform a function that they are clearly not capable of doing. I would like to see the court have the power and authority over the governments in every territory. I won’t mind if the GG also comes under the council umbrella. It is also important that the police are not controlled by the government. I think of cases like Gary in Grenada, where he abused the citizen with the police backing. Ralph in SVG is also doing something similar and this has opened the country to an increase of unsolved murders. In other words the government and the judiciary should be independent arms in the territories. I must confess I am no lawyer and have no knowledge of the legal system. I suspect the laws in most countries were laid out by legal minds tailored to suit them. I’d like to see laws tailored to suit the entire nations.

The Downing Street hand-shake

Barack Obama and Gordon Brown walk into 10 Downing Street, where the US leader shakes the policeman's hand, but Mr Brown declines the offer.

There is nothing new here. Some British (English) are a snotty-nosed bunch. I came across this on my EU trip last year. Many think they are high and mighty. You won’t believe these people use the bathroom like every body else. I also found some resentment toward many British returnees in SVG. It appears that the British attitude has rubbed of on many, and they brought it back to their home country. My brother is right up there with them, so I know what I am talking about.
Look at the Queen’s reaction to a warm embrace by Michelle Obama. Is it any wonder Diana could not fit into this mold?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7976868.stm

Green energy for SVG

The following is a letter I penned in March 2008 to send to the SVG newspapers. I don't believe I got around to sending it. I recently came across it and decided to publish it. May be some one would relay this info to the SVG government. There is something else SVG nationals can do. We can all invest in a company that would supply solar or wind power to the island.
This is a great way to create employment for many people and at the same time generate some funds. You can make an investment for your children/grand-children, so that they would still have some connection to the island. This venture will reduce the electricity cost to all home owners on the island. It will also save the government a bundle because of the reduction of oil for the electrical generator.

The editor:
I have tried to get Vincentians involved in solar energy for a several years now. All I hear from them - including my brother - is electricity is expensive. Yet they do nothing about it, except to complain. I don’t think they have any reason to complaint now. It’s time to act. All it takes is a few neighbours to get together and raise the money to generate electricity for their homes.
I am sure the bank will give them the fund based on the loans to enhance their properties. They would never have to worry about the price of oil, and the money they pay to the government will go towards something they own.
Eggy Richards was the first to seriously look at solar energy some years ago. I hope some one else will pick up the torch and carry it. The resources are there, all that’s needed is to harness the product.
As a matter of fact the government should seriously start looking at wind power. There is enough wind on the Windward side to generate electricity for the entire island.
I hope to see your editorials doing just what this document wants to accomplish: Enlightening the population and the government.

Massacre in Gaza and the world fiddles

I am amazed how little the world has done, to save women and children, from the Israeli bombs falling on innocent people in Gaza. Today the figures are 800 Palestinians killed, close to 2000 in hospitals, and only 7 Israelis dead and half of that number was killed by Israel itself. This is no war: It a massacre and the world has not seen the end of this kind of behaviour. The Axis of Evil America can now add another name to the axis of evil nations. Israel has joined the group because of its recent attack on Gaza. Israel believes it can wipe out Hamas and silence a people fighting for their very life and survival. This will never happen, because the Palestinians are willing to give their life, using the suicide vehicle, to achieve their aims. The problem has to do with lands: Lands that Israel has stolen from the Palestinians. The world has been silent while Israel kept taking more of the Palestinians lands. Joe Biden Joseph Biden prediction that Obama will be tested in his early presidency was correct. The irony is that no US enemies are involved, just its friend – Israel. Israel has used Obama’s words about protecting his little girls to invade Gaza. It has used that pretext to invade Gaza for political reasons. The same pretext several former US presidents used to get re-elected for a second term. I hope Obama’s change include a move away from this farce. People’s political ambitions cannot give way to fair and democratic treatment for all people and nations on this planet. Hillary Clinton Obama’s problem is Hilary. She has her eyes on the presidency in 2016 and will try to keep the New York Israeli backers on her side. She would not reign-in Israel aggression towards it poor neighbours. Justice in the US and around the world takes second place to democracy, accountability, and partiality. This has caused leaders like Ben Laden to step forward and seek justice by any means necessary. He is no different from the leaders of Israel who killed Palestinians children to satisfy their greed for more Palestinians lands. Until the world become a fairer place for all people and nations to co-exist: there will be no peace. As a matter of fact Israel has just created another set of suicide bombers with its invasion of Gaza. The children who live through this terrible episode will grow up with revenge on their minds. I may not live to see it, but there will be a blood bath in the Middle East before long. Nuclear Iran Iran will be a nuclear power in the Middle East. Israel latest killing spree has given Iran the green light to defend itself. How can the world ask Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions? There is no way the world can ask Iran to do that now – and why should they? There must be a strong nation to counter-balance Israel’s aggression towards it weak neighbours. The poor excuses used by the US and other countries to deter Iran from its nuclear ambition have lost its steam. Pakistan and India are enemies with nuclear power and yet they avoid starting a war, no matter what disturbances are created on their borders. The world has seen what Israel can do to a poor country and there has to be a deterrent to stop its aggressions. Barak Obama Israel realizes that Barak Obama may look at the Israel/Palestinian conflict in a different light. He knows the suffering the Palestinians have endured for over fifty years. He cannot shut his eyes to the suffering caused by Israel’s aggressive and dishonest behaviour. The world looks to Obama to create a peaceful world during his presidency. He has a reputation as a peace maker. Israel has drawn a line in the sand for Obama. His job is to draw another line and stick with it. If he plays his cards straight and pressure Israel to release the lands it has stolen, then there can be a few years of peace. There will never be full peace, because Israel will never give up all the lands it has stolen, and the Palestinians will keep fighting to the last man to regain its stolen lands. Who win? It may take several generations before Israel is driven completely out of Palestine, but it’s inevitable. America will lose it hold as the most powerful nation, and China will step in to help the Palestinians. Israeli will find itself on the receiving end when the tide changes. They would be wiped out, because most of the Arab nations would have achieved nuclear technology. This would change the equation and the balance of power will shift into the hands of Israel’s enemies.

I recently saw an article indicating the Ontario Government will recognize Aug 1 as emancipation day. So what’s next?
We should seize the moment to rekindle out past, and keep our history current for generations to come.
I believe this is an opportunity for black folks to get together to celebrate this event. Slavery had and still has its effect on black folks in Canada, the US, the UK, France and anywhere you find black folks residing.
We started some thing here in Toronto to celebrate that event. It is called Caribana. Of course most of you know what happened to that. We did not even have a chance to honour the 200 years celebration at Caribana.
However all is not lost. We can do something to correct the errors we made, when some in our community, believe their ancestors alone were slaves. The “we thing” attitude has to go. All black folks are in this boat together. Many people celebrating Caribana today are not reading from the same sheet as laid out by the pioneers of this event.
There are carnivals all over the world, but the celebration means different things to different people. However to black folks it’s a celebration of freedom, and the drums beat louder wherever there are black folks. No one has a monopoly on carnival.
This recognition of emancipation day in Ontario has give Caribana a new lease on life. Let us join with people in Cambridge and areas populated by the descendants of slaves from U.S and create a real black people celebration.
If it means moving the celebration to Cambridge or the surrounding areas, so be it. We must take this opportunity to build the bridges we destroyed when we lost our way.
Before some people throw the idea in the garbage, please give it some thought. We can unite black folks throughout all Ontario with one swoop. I noticed some of our black politicians have finally awakened to the idea of uniting black voters to a common cause. I hope they put the community first, before their own ambitions.
The celebration can take many forms. We can still have our street festival as well as picnics, church services, dance competition, steel competitions, arts and craft show and many more events.
It is an opportunity to make emancipation stand out in the black communities in Ontario. I hope the black community media will pick up on this issue and get involved. They could put some resources together to ensure we get the right people to steer this ship in the right direction. It is an opportunity for the folks at Pride, Share and Camera to work together for a common community cause. Get rid of the hand-ups about each other and put their differences aside for just this time. I hope some one will take the lead and invite the others to a meeting and ask, “What can we do to utilize this emancipation window that has opened in front of us.

Some results from famous quotes

Here are a few replies from my email list of famous quotes. It's amazing what selection many people selected as their favourite. You can click on the link below and still participate in the process. See some examples below: Vere, the quotes are all great, Henry Ford's about failure being the opportunity to start over smarter probably really applies to many of us since we've all failed at something at some time. If, like Thomas Edison, we adopt this attitude, many of us will be much more successful. Edison failed many times before he invented the light bulb. Walt Disney's: Dream it; you can do it. Very timely now on the heels of electing our first black president. You can check it out here:  My favourite is "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission". Eleanor Roosevelt. That is so so true and so many time we allow others to knock us down, what we need to do is stop them before they get the first punch in. Have a great day. By the way I do not know if you heard my cousin Marcia McIntosh died. Rosie