General T&T, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

Nothing glamourous about Racism, Colorism

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The glamorization of Racism and Colorism makes these social plagues difficult to eradicate. The article linked below is another example of this stark reality.

“Rosetta Smith, Lady Governor of Trinidad“
By Angelo Bissessarsingh – Trinidad Guardian – Sunday, March 10, 2013
www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2013-03-10/rosetta-smith-lady-governor-trinidad
SlaveryIt is no secret that the immensely diverse ethnic potpourri of Trinidad’s history has produced the most beautiful women in the world. Almost every white man of substance had his coloured mistress in days of yore. The fabled attraction of the mulatto woman had its effect on the fearsome Sir Thomas Picton, who ruled with an iron hand as the first British governor from 1797-1803. Picton sent forth pimps to search out a mistress.
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CARICOM, General T&T, International, Latin America, Politics, Venezuela

Chavez – Catalyst for Change

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By Raffique Shah
March 09, 2013

Raffique ShahHUGO Chavez cast a giant shadow over the Western Hemisphere during his relatively short life. Few world leaders can claim to have influenced the course of history and geopolitics the way he did. For more than half-a-century, visionaries formulated and articulated ideas for the creation of a new power centre that resided outside of North America and Europe. Chavez transformed those dreams into reality, however limited, and upon his untimely death he left behind the legacy of a new world order that seems set to redefine Latin America and influence global affairs in the 21st Century.
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General T&T, International, Latin America, Passed on, Venezuela

Venezuela: Adiós Presidente

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By Clifton Ross
March 8th 2013 – Upside Down World

Mourners pay their respects to Hugo Chávez (Efrain Gonzalez / Prensa Miraflores)
Mourners pay their respects to Hugo Chávez (Efrain Gonzalez / Prensa Miraflores)
It may be difficult for North Americans to grasp the loss Venezuelans are feeling over the death of President Hugo Chávez since we have no comparable experience in our entire history. I called a friend in Venezuela today to check in with her and find out how she was doing the day after Chávez’s death. She was obviously shaken. “It’s a blow (golpe) and you feel it everywhere. After all, Chávez is a man we’ve lived with for the past fourteen years.”

Chávez, whatever one may think of him or how his legacy will be judged, was a warm, charismatic, down-to-earth, entertaining, larger-than-life figure, part politician, part entertainer. He was from the llano, the land of the cowboys and that was so much of his appeal. When he looked into the camera on his weekly, Alo Presidente, there was a sense of physical contact with him among viewers. I know my friend Juan seemed to feel Chávez was there with us on those Sunday mornings as he laughed with him and even hummed along when Chávez sang.
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Caribbean, General T&T, International, Latin America, Politics, Venezuela

The Life and Legacy of Hugo Chávez

By Gregory Wilpert
March 7th 2013 – The Real News

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, or Comandante Chávez, as he was affectionately known by his supporters and followers, passed away on March 5, at 4:25 p.m. local time, following a 21-month battle against cancer.

When he died, at 58 years of age, he had become one of Venezuela’s and perhaps even the world’s most important contemporary leaders, having launched what he and his movement called the “Bolivarian Revolution,” named after Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century independence hero who had liberated Venezuela and four other countries from Spanish colonial rule. Chávez was a devotee of Simón Bolívar, and his vice president, Nicolás Maduro, recently referred to Chávez as “the new liberator of the 21st century.” Whether this is a fair assessment only history will tell, but what is certain is that Chávez changed the face of Venezuela during his 14 years as president.
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General T&T, International, Latin America, Media, Passed on, Venezuela

What kind of monster has priorities like this? Placing healthcare, education and nutrition before skyscrapers!

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Hugo Chavez at The Fifth Summit of the Americas 2009 held in Trinidad and Tobago

Below is the actual view of Pamela Sampson, writer for the Associated Press:
Little Reaction In Oil Market To Chavez Death (March 05, 2013)
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=173521347

Chavez invested Venezuela’s oil wealth into social programs including state-run food markets, cash benefits for poor families, free health clinics and education programs. But those gains were meager compared with the spectacular construction projects that oil riches spurred in glittering Middle Eastern cities, including the world’s tallest building in Dubai and plans for branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums in Abu Dhabi.

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General T&T, International, Latin America, Passed on, People's Partnership, Politics, Venezuela

PM extends condolences on the passing of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez

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Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar signs the Condolence book at the Venezuelan Embassy
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar signs the Condolence book at the Venezuelan Embassy

From the Office of the Prime Minister
March 06, 2013

On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, it is with great sadness that I extend deepest condolences to the Government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and to his family on the passing of Comandante Hugo Chávez Frías, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Our prayers accompany them in their time of grief.
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General T&T, International, Latin America, Politics, USA, Venezuela

Chavismo Lives!

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Hundreds of thousands have gathered in Caracas to pay homage to Hugo Chavez (AVN)
Hundreds of thousands have gathered in Caracas to pay homage to Hugo Chavez (AVN)

By Stephen Lendman
March 06, 2013

Hugo Chavez (1954 — 2013) at The 5th Summit of the Americas[/caption]Venezuelans mourn. Chavismo lives! Bolivarianism is institutionalized.

Venezuelans expect no less. They want no part of their ugly past. They’ll put their bodies on the line to prevent it. They did before. They’ll do it again.
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5th Summit, General T&T, International, Latin America, Passed on, Venezuela

Hugo Chavez dies after battle with cancer

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Hugo Chavez at The Fifth Summit of the Americas 2009 held in Trinidad and Tobago
Hugo Chavez during The Fifth Summit of the Americas 2009 held in T&T

Trinicenter Reporters
March 05, 2013

Vice President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro announced on Venezuela’s television that Hugo Chavez passed away on Tuesday afternoon at around 4:25 p.m. after a two year battle with cancer. He was 58.

Since coming into power 14 years ago, Chavez embarked on a socialistic revolution that saw sweeping changes across Venezuela.
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