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CONTENTS
Not just a book but an invitation to join the Goodwill
Revolution against an unfair, unjust and deceptive system that
keeps the world poor and without hope. Find out how you can join,
quit the rat race, and achieve a happier more meaningful life for
yourself and others through goodwill to all
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For
the Life of Laetitia
by Trinidad -born Merle Hodge
Price: $10.54a wonderful book about a young girl in the Carribean, the first of her family to go to secondary school.
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August 2010Barbados PM gravely illBarbados Prime Minister David Thompson has made public that he will be out of office for the next two months as he seeks treatment for an undisclosed medical illness, before flying to the US for major surgery. He described the situation as one of the most trying periods of his life and a very testing one for his family. The PM also called on Barbadians to rally around the causes for which he had fought throughout his career as a youth leader, lawyer and political leader. The PM added his doctors placed him on a necessary, rigorous, dietary regime that had caused him to lose weight. In his place, Deputy Prime Minister Freundel Stuart would act as Prime Minister. Since then, prayers are being regularly offered in churches and homes for his recovery.
Wyclef Jean announces candidacy for president of HaitiHaitian-born hip-hop superstar Wyclef Jean has decided to step into a hornet’s nest. He has announced his candidacy for president of Haiti. The Grammy-winning former Fugees frontman has little experience in politics but casts his insurgent bid in the November 28 election as a chance to save a country brought to its knees by poverty, mismanagement and last January's devastating earthquake. But even before competing in a race that already features 14
candidates, Jean was hitting obstacles Questions are being asked about a
pop star's suitability for pulling Haiti back from disaster or even
whether he is eligible to run.
Hundreds rehired as bauxite plant reopens in JamaicaMore than 600 people are to get direct employment while hundreds more will benefit indirectly as the Windalco bauxite plant resumes full operation in Ewarton, St Catherine, Jamaica. Approximately 500 people are already working at the plant which had its official reopening. More than 95 per cent of that number were employees who had been sent home when Windalco closed its doors over a year ago. The Windalco plant was closed last year due to the global recession which threatened the financial viability of UC RUSAL. This was compounded by the sharp fall in the price of bauxite on the world market. But since then, there have been positive trends in the global aluminium market, while the Jamaican Government has offered several concessions to RUSAL to get the plant up and running. In addition, RUSAL has taken action to ensure that the operation restarts with an enhanced structure and production process, considerably lower cash operating costs and improved efficiency. According to the company: "The cost of bauxite mining has been reduced twice and (we have) also decreased Ewarton's maintenance costs."
T&T gas reserves running lowA recent report by the US-based Ryder Scott Company has revealed Trinidad and Tobago has only 10 years of gas left in its proven reserves. The report shows that since 2000, proven natural gas reserves have declined from 19.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) to 14.4 tcf in 2009, and that probable reserves stood at 7.8 tcf and possibly were 5.9 tcf of gas. To satisfy the natural gas demand, Trinidad and Tobago had been tapping the reserves at a rate of 1.4 trillion cubic feet yearly. The reserves fell one trillion cubic feet last year alone. Senior petroleum engineer with the Texas-based company, Larry McHalffney, said that the declining reserve figures painted a "bleak picture" of the country's oil and gas future, adding, "what appears to be is not always the case." Trinidad is dealing with the low reserves by moving aggressively with exploration.
Jamaican woman is new vicar of British ParliamentThe Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin , a Jamaica-born woman has created history by being appointed the new vicar of the British Parliament. The new vicar is known for her stance against racism and has called on the Church of England to apologies for its role in slavery. She also supports arguments for the gay-rights movement in the Church. Hudson-Wilkin, 49, was born and raised in Montego Bay, St James. The Church Army, a Church of England organisation, trained her to be an evangelist and she left for England at 18 to study at the college. In 1994, she became a priest in the West Midlands. Since then, she was a member of the Broadcasting Standards Commission and was honored in 2008 by being appointed one of 36 Anglican chaplains to the queen.
Benadryl, Tylenol among drugs recalled in CaribbeanA number of over-the-counter drugs, including the popular Benadryl and Tylenol brands, have been recalled from certain Caribbean and other other countries because of a musty and moldy smell, Johnson & Johnson announced. The recall has also been activated in the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Fiji, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, said McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson's parent company. The drugs that are being recalled include Benadryl, Children's Tylenol, Motrin IB, Tylenol Extra Strength, Tylenol Day & Night and Tylenol PM. The company has already made a large recall of those drugs and over-the-counter products, saying about 70 people noticed the smell. Some of them got sick, with symptoms including nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. The odour was linked to a chemical in shipping pallets and traced to a facility in Puerto Rico.
Fake website claims France to repay HaitiIt was just too good to be true. A fake Internet website caused a stir
for at least 24 hours when it purported to be a government of France
website announcing that the government "is repaying the historic debt
of 90 million gold francs Haiti paid to France following the former’s
independence at the dawn of the 19th century". France rushed to declare the website a hoax. But, even the BBC was taken in, carrying the story on one of its official news websites before hastily withdrawing it. I wish it were true.
Rapid rice expansion program underway in JamaicaJamaica's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has pledged to plant approximately 5,000 acres) of rice, expanding on the growth in the industry which has already seen plots developed in Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, Clarendon and St Catherine. China is assisting with the venture and has already presented the ministry with equipment valued at more than J$60 million. The Jamaican Government had requested the equipment through an agreement on economic and technical cooperation. Plans to redevelop the rice industry came as a result of 2008's food crisis, which forced the Government to explore new avenues to feed the nation. According to the ministry, the strategic plan outlining the development resulted in 177 acres of land being planted on with roughly 12 farmers cultivating the rice crop. There are now eight potential investors who are also interested in the rice crop and land on which to plant it. The Government's aim is to replace a quarter of the total rice imports with local produce, over a five-year period.
US company guilty of dumping cement in JamaicaThe Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission (ADSC) in April had determined that US produced Vulcan cement was being dumped on the Jamaica market at a margin of 59.7 per cent, but in a final determination published July 9, the commissioners said the product posed no threat to the local industry. "Dumping" is the term to describe the practice of large overseas companies artificially lowering the price of their imported product in order to unfairly undermine the local competition and drive them out of business. Caribbean Cement, the sole manufacturer of the cement in Jamaica, is poised to challenge that odd conclusion. They claim that waivers on "dumped products" are likely to cost taxpayers J$100 million, "Carib Cement is at a loss following the recent conclusion that although the US cement producer Vulcan Materials is exporting cement to Jamaica at less than its sales price in the US, and with a dumping margin of 59.8 per cent and in significant volumes, the ADSC has found that there is no injury or threat of injury to the Jamaican cement industry just does not make sense. The final ruling contradicts the ADSC's preliminary ruling, which found a dumping margin of 15 per cent and the threat of material injury to Carib Cement which is now almost broke.
UK ‘unfair’ travel tax due in NovUK’s previous Labour government had put in place a new travel tax, Air Passenger Duty (APD), which would have an unfair impact on Caribbean tourism. The new Tory government indicated changes in the original Labour government proposal in which it would cost more to fly to the Caribbean than to the US. The planned raise is unfair and unbalanced. The Caribbean simply should not be in a more costly tax band than the USA. In November, APD is scheduled to rise from £22 to £24 on short-haul flights, from £90 to £120 on flights between 2001 and 4000 miles, from £100 to £150 on flights between 4001 and 6000 miles, and from £110 to £170 on flights over 6000 miles, under plans put in place by the previous Labor Government. These rises will see annual revenue from APD rise to £3.8 billion. APD has already risen by up to 325 per cent since 2006, and leading figures from the aviation industry claim that further increases will hit families hardest and lead to a decline in both inbound and outbound travel. `This is such a hugely serious issue for our region that we are now planning to review the opportunity for putting the matter to the new British government`,` added a Caribbean Tourism Organisation official. `It`s clear that because our economies are so heavily reliant on tourism this tax is effectively a tax on our countries` exports. We`ll be reviewing the position with organisations such as the World Trade Organisation.`
WHO under fire for swine flu scareDo You remember the big scare about swine flu? It may have been a hoax. The Council of Europe has called for a probe into the World Health Organisation's handling of the H1N1 swine flu outbreak, which it said led to unjustified scares and waste of public money. A council parliamentary assembly identified "grave shortcomings" about WHO transparency about its position on the flu, "generating concerns about the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on decisions taken," a statement said. The session adopted a text that says there was "overwhelming evidence that the seriousness of the pandemic was vastly overrated by WHO". Paul Flynn, British author of a report endorsed by the assembly, told the session that the WHO's June 11, 2009 declaration of a H1N1 pandemic had enabled the pharmaceutical industry to reap large profits.
Unpaid traffic fines top J$3b in JamaicaIn Jamaica the outstanding fines for traffic violation top more than J$3 billion. A total of 225,843 traffic tickets were issued last year. ONE LOCAL transport operator who has accumulated at least two tickets per day within a two-year period has not been paying the fines. Transport Minister Mike Henry told Parliament that the driver has accumulated more than 1,500 tickets, which put him atop a list of traffic offenders to have been booked by the police. According to Henry, outstanding to date, 11 drivers have accumulated 301-500 tickets; 55 persons slapped with 201-300 tickets; and 393 motorists have chalked up 101-200 tickets. "This shows that the whole aspect of the point system, the whole aspect of traffic regulation, is not working," Henry said.
Trinidad PM confirms Air Jamaica/Caribbean Airlines dealPrime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has
confirmed that her government is prepared to honour the deal between Air
Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines (CAL).
Let us know what you think. Email us at hotcalaloo@yahoo.com
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