Category Archives: International

UWI backs protests against EU blacklist

Trinidad & Tobago Guardian
December 26, 2017 – guardian.co.tt

University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad Main Administration BuildingKINGSTON—The University of the West Indies (UWI) is backing Caribbean Community (Caricom) governments in protesting the European Union’s (EU) recent blacklisting of regional countries it considers tax haven.

In a statement issued, Vice-Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles said the UWI “stands with the governments of the Caribbean in protesting the recent actions by the EU and calling for a more transparent and equitable regulatory system and joins the call for the EU to enter into a process to resolve the issue.”
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Between Big Stick Policy and Dollar Diplomacy

Contesting Caribbean Subservience in the Age of Trump

By Tyehimba
December 24, 2017

Donald TrumpThere was an overwhelming vote within the United Nations general assembly against the United States’ unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. 128 members of the general assembly voted against motion, 9 nations voted for, while 35 nations including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Antigua, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Panama, Mexico and Canada, abstained. The non-binding vote came days after the United States used its veto power to overturn a UN security council resolution that called for a withdrawal of the recognition by Donald Trump of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley had threatened that the United States would be taking names of all the countries who supported the resolution, while President Trump threatened to cut foreign aid to those countries.
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Moses explains T&T’s stance on Israel

By Gail Alexander
December 23, 2017 – guardian.co.tt

Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis MosesThis country’s policy has always been to support steadfast recognition of the State of Israel with secure territorial borders as well as establishment of a Palestinian State, the Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses said yesterday.

He gave this explanation when asked about T&T’s abstention from Thursday’s vote in the United Nations General Assembly resolution on the status of Jerusalem.
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Dreaming of a Non-White Christmas

Santa, Jesus, and the Symbolism of Racial Supremacy

By Tim Wise
December 20, 2000 – trinicenter.com

Poinsettia: South American and Mexican plantWell it’s that time of year again. Time for all good Americans to focus on what really matters. Not family, community, or world peace, but that national sacrament of late-stage capitalism known as Holiday shopping. Whether you do it online, or drag yourself to the mall amidst the sea of humanity scrapping and fighting for the latest must-have gizmo, rest assured that your actions are vital to the national interest. In fact, the annual consumer bonanza unleashed in the last fiscal quarter is so central to defining life in the U.S. that the economy’s strength in the beginning of the following year is literally tied to how much stuff we buy. So get out there and do your duty: Buy American. Be American. Shop till you drop, and remember, this is what it means to be a patriot!
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Forged in the Bowels of Corruption: Pt 5

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 18, 2017

PART 1PART 2PART 3PART 4 — PART 5

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeUTT was established fourteen years ago. One estimate suggests T&T taxpayers have spent close to $2 billion on its upkeep. If an independent body has not evaluated UTT, it should do so and make its findings public. Citizens should look at UTT’s efficacy before government pours more money into its operations. Moreover, the following actions should be undertaken to make UTT a more viable institution:
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Forged in the Bowels of Corruption: Pt 4

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 11, 2017

PART 1PART 2PART 3 — PART 4 — PART 5

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThis may be a far-out comparison but it bears making if only because it allows us to measure what success looks like at serious academic institutions. Fifty years ago, Jawaharlal Nehru, the president of India, created the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) with UNESCO’s assistance and funds from the Soviet Union to train his country’s scientists and engineers. On July 25, 1958, ITT Bombay, the second ITT, opened its doors with 100 students. These students “were selected from over 3,400 applicants for admission to the first undergraduate programmes.” IIT’s motto is, “Knowledge is the Supreme Goal.”
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The Black Princess

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 05, 2017

Princess we are happy
You came our way
But unfortunately
You could not stay.

This is a welcome
That has no end
Please pay us a visit
Now and then.

— The Mighty Sparrow

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn 1955 Princess Margaret came to Trinidad to visit. Most of Her Majesty’s subjects felt elated. I attended Tacarigua AC School at the time. All of my fellow students lined the Churchill Roosevelt Highway with our flags (the Union Jack) to pay tribute to our princess. Two days later we headed down to the Queen’s Park Oval to give her a royal welcome.
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Drugs Don’t Kill People, Neoliberalism Kills People

By Brad Blankenship
November 22, 2017 – telesurtv.net

DrugsOpioids, a class of drugs chemically similar to the painkiller morphine, have been sweeping across North America since the late 1990s into the first two decades of the 2000s. These powerful sedative drugs, which include prescription painkillers like oxycodone and powerful street drugs such as heroin, are extremely deadly because their depressant effects can stop a user from breathing. Because of their widespread and ever-increasing use, drug overdose deaths “are the leading cause of injury death in the United States,” according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
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What is Behind the Military Coup in Zimbabwe?

By Gregory Elich
November 21, 2017 – gregoryelich.org

Zimbabwe WatchLong-roiling factional conflict within Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF political party exploded last week in a military coup that quickly seized control of the government and state media.

The coup was led by Commander of Zimbabwe Defense Forces Constantino Chiwenga, who is closely aligned with former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Emboldened by President Robert Mugabe’s declining mental sharpness and physical health in recent years, Mnangagwa actively maneuvered to ensure that he would succeed the president. Mnangagwa served as one of Zimbabwe’s two vice presidents. From that position, he and his supporters, known as Team Lacoste, became embroiled in a bitter struggle with younger party members who coalesced around Secretary of Women’s Affairs Grace Mugabe, wife of the president, and whose group was known as Generation 40, or G40.
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Targeting Dr. Williams

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 06, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn October (2006) I reviewed Colin Palmer’s Eric Williams and the Making of the Modern Caribbean for the Journal of British Studies. I congratulated Palmer for exposing the intrigue of Britain and the United States against Williams when he fought for the return of Chaguaramas for the federal capital of the Federation of the West Indies. I wrote: “It might come as a shock to many that the United States gave some thought to ‘eliminating’ Williams during the Chaguaramas discussion. The British sought to sabotage his efforts.”
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