News from SVG:
Commentary: Preservation of the Garifuna intangible cultural heritage
May 22, 2013
The Garifuna communities, spread over Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, have kept alive their common language, oral traditions, music and dances. Although still practiced on various occasions, these are changing considerably, as the Garifuna language is less often spoken. On May 18, 2001, the...
Letter: In recognition of Matthew 'Dada' Culzac's 100th birthday
May 21, 2013
The bible says it is allotted to a man to live three score and ten years, but by reason of strength eighty years. In today’s fast paced world, in particular because of the behaviour of recent generations, who choose to live dangerously, spending their days on the edge.
Letter: Another fine mess you have got us in, Stanley
May 20, 2013
Is this the prime airline that Gonsalves referred to when he told us that some great airlines would be flying into Argyle? Will this be our ‘flag carrier’ airline? Will this be as good as it gets? This is a new airline established in 2004, but several bad records have held it back from being a success.
St Vincent PM to deliver lecture on reparations in Antigua
May 18, 2013
ST JOHN’S, Antigua -- Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines will deliver a public lecture in Antigua on May 23, 2013 in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the African Unity/African Union and the commencement of Africa Year.
Letter: The study of a Vincentian narcissist
May 17, 2013
How to recognize a narcissist. Here are some ways: Their motto is me first! Everything's all about them. They have a grandiose sense of self-importance and entitlement, crave admiration and attention. A legend in their own mind, the world is reflected in their image.
Cuba to host ALBA ministerial meeting on social issues
May 16, 2013
HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Cuba will host the fourth meeting of the ministerial council on social issues of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America (ALBA) on Friday. The forum will focus particularly on education, health, culture and sports. The meeting of the regional integration bloc...
Letter: Retribution cannot be bribed
May 16, 2013
Most people cannot seem to understand the concept that a leader sets the tone of the country and a corrupt leader will cause that corruption to flow down like a waterfall and infect the people he leads. As I explained with the examples of ancient Israel, Jamaica, Haiti and Uganda...
LIAT to replace ageing fleet
May 15, 2013
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) -- Regional carrier LIAT, is currently negotiating a US$60 million loan with the Caribbean Development Bank, to assist with the replacement of its ageing Dash 8 fleet with modern ATR72 aircraft from July. Chairman of the LIAT shareholder governments and...
Commentary: School improvement and effectiveness: Addressing educational underachievement
May 15, 2013
Lack on planning, vision, guidance and support, and zero involvement of students often cripple an education system! In my opinion, every education system should embark on a diverse curriculum design for effective learning. The drawback that exists within most education systems is the fact that the authoritative...
Letter: Cubans no longer require visas to come to SVG
May 15, 2013
There are already 30 private Cuban persons residing here [300 more to come] who are somehow eking out a living here in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). How does a private Cuban citizen, who previously earned US$30 a month in Cuba, afford to get to SVG and pay a rent when here?
Trinidad airline fuel subsidy 'subversive', says new legal opinion
May 14, 2013
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) -- A new legal opinion says that the fuel subsidy paid by the Trinidad government to Caribbean Airlines is not only "subversive of several provisions" of the Revised Treaty of Chaguramas, but also the CARICOM...
Canadian foreign affairs minister to meet with regional leaders
May 14, 2013
BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- Canada’s minister of state for foreign affairs (Americas and Consular Services) Diane Ablonczy will meet with regional leaders as part of a seven-day, seven nation tour that will take her to The Bahamas (May 12-13), St Kitts and Nevis (May 14-15)...
Letter: Argyle Airport, who fooling who, who deceiving who?
May 13, 2013
“De Man Age” aka Mr Age has been one of the most conscious social commentary calypsonian in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and the world as a whole. He once asked the government in SVG a damming question...
Letter: St Vincent - it's time to stop the murders
May 11, 2013
There has been an unprecedented rise in murders in St Vincent and the Grenadines over the past few months. In all of the incidents we have seen the nation’s youths mercilessly killing each other in many inhumane ways.
Letter: Saint Vincent's Caribbean puppet show
May 10, 2013
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings...
Letter: Nashwa Youth Development
May 9, 2013
I am pleased to announce the formation and the establishment of the US based nonprofit corporation: Nashwa Youth Development Inc. (NYDI). This corporation is designed and was established to prepare the community's youths to be respectable...
Letter: It's time to stop all this Marxist rubbish about national heroes in St Vincent
May 7, 2013
We need to understand what heroism really is, and what it really isn't. What it isn't is a politician doing a job that he was elected to do. Politicians should not even be considered as heroes. They are elected by their electorate to do whatever is good for their...
Letter: Emotional airport game play
May 6, 2013
I know some Vincentians get upset when anyone raises issues with the building of the Argyle International Airport Project in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). Some seem to think that because the neighbouring islands around SVG have...
Letter: Clear evidence of tyrannical and despotic behaviour
May 4, 2013
The great Indian proponent of peace in a time of heavy and widespread colonial exploitation Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, aka Mahatma Gandhi, said, “All through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible."
Letter: Beach and dune sand mining in St Vincent will result in loss of land and flooding
May 3, 2013
Sand mining in Saint Vincent at Diamond beach by the government will sooner than later result in the flooding of adjacent land, some of which is below sea level. Taking of sand from this area is little more than a criminal act.
Caribbean resort investors fear for their homes
April 30, 2013
LONDON, England -- British investors in the financially troubled multi-million dollar Caribbean investment firm Harlequin Property are afraid they could lose tens of thousands of dollars and even their own homes after Harlequin’s sales division...
Letter: The Unity Liars Party
April 30, 2013
All ULP politicians should be assumed guilty until proven innocent. When the leader is a self confessed liar ["I sometimes tell lies," said in parliament], there must be an assumption by his followers and colleagues that telling lies is okay.
St Vincent PM addresses diaspora in Britain
April 29, 2013
HIGH WYCOMBE, England -- Following the Commonwealth high level conference on governance for small island states in London, the prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Dr Ralph Gonsalves led a delegation to the...
Letter: Analysing the prime minister
April 27, 2013
A man whose life is governed and controlled by fear is a man who will forever reside in a prison of his own insecurities. In the same manner, a man who is afraid to die will never truly live, but he will be forever restrained from experiencing...
Letter: Ian Francis - Vincentian or Grenadian
April 26, 2013
I read with interest the letter written by Hudson George titled: Ian Francis will be missed as a Grenadian writer. I was shocked by this title because I was of the sincere opinion that Ian Francis was a fellow Vincentian. But Ian’s nationality is neither here nor there.
Letter: Who owns the businesses in Kingstown used as laundries for dirty money?
April 25, 2013
We all know it's happening, many of us know who is doing it, and some of us know where it's being done. If we know, then the police also know, perhaps politics is stopping them from acting. For many years lawyers have traditionally represented...
Troubled Caribbean resort firm applies for administration
April 24, 2013
LONDON, England -- The financially troubled multi-million dollar Caribbean investment firm Harlequin Property has applied for its sales arm to go into administration. The business, run by the Ames family in Britain, blames negative publicity.
St Vincent: Trained teachers plus more classrooms equals better secondary education
April 24, 2013
KINGSTOWN, St Vincent -- Since 2004, St Vincent and the Grenadines, supported by the World Bank, has undertaken the construction and rehabilitation of secondary schools to create an additional 750 school places, increase secondary enrollment...
Commentary: Singing Eustace's Hymnal: Reparations can wait
April 23, 2013
It was easy to say “here we go again” as another sweet sounding quest of righting historical wrongs is on the agenda in St Vincent and the Grenadines. For sure, it is of an origin that does not begin or will end across the idyllic shores of the country but is a movement.
Letter: A mighty man or a mite of a man?
April 23, 2013
I will never be convinced that Ralph E. Gonsalves is, was, or ever will be, a mighty man. But I do believe it's time for a mighty man to arise in Saint Vincent, someone who is honest and a letter of morality in personal and civil life.
Letter: Unions vasectomy in SVG
April 22, 2013
While it is said that unions are supposed to protect the rights of workers, I am wondering if such is the case in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). Are the unions protecting the rights of workers or are the unions protecting the rights of the...
Letter: The origin of modern homosexuality
April 20, 2013
I know this is not going to be a popular piece, because of the nature of the topic I am about to address. As a matter of fact, some may even consider this piece to be offensive, for it is a very sensitive topic as well to the extremists that are found on both...
Commentary: Mainstreaming adaptation to climate change: Utilising best practices
April 18, 2013
The aftermath of climate change often fuels optimism! Continuously, climate change and global warming reminisce to create ecological and social variations – championing environmental degradation, changes in the cryosphere, geological events and extreme weather.
Letter: I only work obeah for the Lord
April 15, 2013
These words were recorded as spoken by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves in parliament, "I only work Obeah for the Lord". What an insult to the Vincentian Christian society. How on earth can a prime minister in a Christian country say such a thing?
St Vincent continues to address illegal drug trafficking
April 13, 2013
KINGSTOWN, St Vincent -- St Vincent and the Grenadines is continuing to work with countries in the region and the hemisphere to address the issue of illegal drug trafficking. Towards this end, this country hosted a mission from the Inter-American...
Letter: My few encounters with PM Gonsalves fanning the flames
April 12, 2013
Many people may not know this but my mother was terminally ill and she died when I was only seven years old; however, because of the nature of her illness, when she was alerted of her diagnosis she knew her time with her family was limited.
Letter: Free your mind!
April 11, 2013
The “Caribbean Civilization” thinking, integration, and regionalism purported by the comrade of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is hypocritical nonsense. Too often in our “Caribbean Civilization” today, people are afraid to call a spade, a spade!
Investors putting faith in Caribbean resort development firm left in a vacuum
April 10, 2013
LONDON, England -- Investors clamouring for answers from Harlequin Property, the beleaguered British-based overseas property company with several planned resorts in the Caribbean, say the silence from the company is conspicuous.
British resort company closes down Barbados developments
April 9, 2013
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- British company Harlequin Property has halted work on its two multi-million dollar resorts in Barbados, owing employees two months’ salary, the Barbados National Insurance Scheme (NIS) about $80 000 (US$40,000) and...
CARIFORUM states and European Union sign joint declaration
April 6, 2013
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- The second meeting of the CARIFORUM-EU Parliamentary Committee took place on Wednesday in Port of Spain, Trinidad, co-chaired by Senator Vasant Bharath, minister of trade, industry and investment.
