sorry glimm you and your buddy Kieth from the loser network have been discredited as authorities on anything other than Colt 45 Malt liquor and homeless shelters ......his ratings say volumes they are in the toilet this order means he can roll an extra fat spliff

blutarsky is an infantryman in that very light brigade, the last angry white man's regiment. a little less than 200 years ago, at the Battle of Waterloo, the world saw a population of 1 billion people, for the very first time. today, we have in excess of 6 billion. and, since population growth is exponential, some are growing faster than others. so, all the disadvantaged people of the world, who have had to tolerate gringo's antics for centuries, are outpacing him at a rate that will soon make him an historical footnote, in terms of numbers. and, as other countries change their policies, demanding a fair price for their commodities, places like the far east and latin america will soon call the economic shots, and the islamic groups will put military hurtings on the historical terror of the earth. so, Blutarsky claims that i want to drive gringo into the sea. au contraire. it is gringo who wants to approptiate the best lands of other people's countries, and put them to live on scrubland. kinda like the indian reservations, or "nations", if you will. Trinidad, Jamaica, and other such places, will NOT allow gringo to recolonise, as they are fully aware of his toxic intentions. he is willing to visit, and do the limbo for a week or so. but not to settle in large numbers, set up gated communities, and decide who gets to swim ,where. sorry, GC, you might not like them, but that is the deal. go somewhere else, if you want to be Bwana. as miserable an oaf as Mugabe is, he is showing us what the future is going to look like. don't believe me? Watch the ass whipping the USA and Nato are going to get in Afghanistan, as the full wrath of over a billion islamists throw their weight behind an effort to right some wrongs.

I know you as a permanent victim will be cheering for them "Allahu Akbar" hoping that when the slimy deck gets reshuffled you will get a better hand but still one that requires no effort yes dread you and Farakan and Rev Weight will be able to celebrate when the chickens come home maybe Jesse and Al will join in Comrade Bob is a staunch Catholic

Jamaica balks at US request for alleged crime boss
By MIKE MELIA
Associated Press Writer

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Jamaica is resisting a U.S. request to hand over a suspected crime boss with ties to the Caribbean nation's governing party amid reports he is stockpiling weapons in his Kingston stronghold to prevent arrest.

The island's government, which received the extradition request for Christopher "Dudus" Coke in August, has so far only responded with requests for more information about the gun and drug trafficking charges against the reputed gang leader.

Coke, identified by the U.S. Justice Department as one of the world's most dangerous drug kingpins, allegedly controls a band of gunmen inside Tivoli Gardens, a barricaded neighborhood of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica and a city with one of the highest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere.

U.S. authorities are voicing frustration that Jamaica is not moving more quickly to honor a mutual extradition treaty.

"The U.S. government is looking forward to the Jamaican government respecting their obligations under the treaty," Patricia Attkisson, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, said Thursday.

The political opposition has also criticized the government for putting Jamaica into what it calls a standoff over Coke, who is known for his loyalty to the Jamaica Labor Party. Island gangs have loose affiliations with both major parties - a legacy of the 1970s, when political factions provided the guns to intimidate rivals.

"The cascading effect of international reaction to the administration's inaction could lead ultimately to Jamaica being labeled and declared a 'rogue state,' with lasting adverse implications for our people," said Peter Bunting, a lawmaker with the opposition People's National Party.

A government spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

Coke's lawyer, Tom Tavares-Finson, said his client has not been in touch with the local government and is not privy to the details of any discussions between the U.S. and Jamaica.

"We're waiting to hear what the decision is," said Tavares-Finson, who has dismissed the U.S. charges as "hype."

Coke, the alleged leader of the "Shower Posse" gang, is charged in the U.S. Southern District of New York with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana and conspiracy to illegally traffic in firearms. Coke, 40, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

Under Coke's direction, U.S. authorities allege, "Shower Posse" members have sold marijuana and crack cocaine in the New York area and elsewhere and funneled profits back to him.

An island-wide explosion of violence could result from an attempt to arrest Coke, who has extensive connections across the country, said Horace Levy, who works to reduce community violence through the government-launched Peace Management Initiative.

"The information I have, which is good information, is that he is preparing to defend himself," and is even equipped with gas masks, Levy said. "There is a serious intent on the part of Dudus not to hand himself in and defend himself."

Blutarsky offers

Rev Weight will be able to celebrate when the chickens come home

when the chickens come home, he informs. the chickens have already come home. you must be living under rocks. you must be one of the primitives who believe that the USA is going to defeat Afghanistan, then invade and defeat Iran. there are debts to be paid , Blu. the collections agency is now open for business. it is staffed by the Chinese, the Islamic peoples, and the petro nations. not to mention the Latin Americans countries, who have been bullied for so long. get the popcorn, fluff up a pillow,and enjoy the show.

Founder of Jamaica's infamous Shower Posse dead He was really a nice guy when you got to know him
BY HOWARD CAMPBELL

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- The founder of a cocaine-smuggling gang blamed for about 1,400 slayings has died of illnesses at a Jamaica hospital, a year after returning to his native island following a prison term in the United States.
Vivian Blake, 53, died Sunday at University Hospital of the West Indies, where he had been admitted a day earlier after suffering a heart attack, according to attorney George Soutar. The lawyer said Blake also had kidney disease and had been receiving dialysis treatment.
In the days before his death, Blake was his "usual effervescent self" and had been working on a screenplay about the Shower Posse, the gang he founded in Brooklyn in the 1970s, Soutar told The Associated Press.
U.S. prosecutors alleged that the Shower Posse - the name came from their alleged practice of showering their enemies with bullets - was responsible for some 1,400 killings in several states during cocaine wars of the 1980s.
Authorities alleged that Blake, who was living in the Fort Lauderdale area at the time, was responsible for smuggling more than 1,000 tons of the drug into the United States.
Blake fled the U.S. in 1988 on a cruise ship and slipped back into his native Jamaica, where he spent five years in an eventually unsuccessful fight against extradition. He pleaded guilty in 2000 to racketeering, conspiracy and cocaine possession and admitted a leadership role in a gang. He received a 28-year sentence as part of a plea bargain.
He was released on parole after eight years and returned to Jamaica in January 2009. He had been apparently living quietly since then, though the Shower Posse gang remains active.
The U.S. has been seeking the extradition of the gang's current alleged leader, Christopher "Dudus" Coke, to face arms and drug trafficking charges in New York.
The government of Jamaica, where gangs have long enjoyed a degree of political protection for their ability to get out the vote in rough neighborhoods, has resisted the request, saying the U.S. has failed to provide sufficient evidence against him.
U.S. authorities allege that under Coke's leadership, Shower Posse members have sold marijuana and crack cocaine in the New York area and elsewhere and funneled profits back to him.
Blake's son, Duane Blake, is author of the 2003 book "The Shower Posse: The Most Notorious Jamaican Crime Organization." Vivian Blake's brother, Paul, was slain at his home in St. Andrew parish in November and no arrests have been made in the case.


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/22/1541568/founder-of-jamaicas-infamous-shower.html#ixzz0izriAapp

CARICOM Is Not Viable
Published: Saturday | July 10, 20103 Comments and 0 Reactions
The Editor, Sir:

For too long a movement that was dealt its death blow way back in 1962 - when 'one from 10 left zero' - was allowed to live on the life support of historical romanticism. CARICOM served its purpose with the establishment of a regional university and cricket team. While the former is an institution of which all peoples of the Caribbean can be proud, West Indies cricket is slowly driving the final nails into the coffin of Caribbean integration.

While regional integration sounds good in principle and on paper, the insular nature of Caribbean people, the historical antagonisms, the handicaps of the member states and relatively low utilitarian value of CARICOM have retarded the movement.

Caribbean integration has failed because Caribbean people have not accepted it as being essential to their development, or that it is even viable. The Caribbean integration movement has been a reality only in the minds Caribbean leaders, many of whom studied together at UWI. There is absolutely no buy-in from the Caribbean masses and it is thus seen as an old boys' club. Caribbean leaders and people continue to cling to their outmoded notions of sovereignty, unwilling to relinquish any of their independence in an increasingly interdependent world.

CARICOM in its present form is not economically viable, Caribbean markets are small and weak, with over 30 states in the US having at least five times the total population and abundantly greater resources than the total region combined. A Caribbean movement without Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and the Dominican Republic is of little economic value and significance. Caribbean leaders must find the political will to bring democracy to Cuba, fix Haiti and get the Dominican Republic on board.

Forge partnerships

Outside of that, Jamaica must look to forging partnerships with the larger economies - China, India, the EU and NAFTA. Globalisation has given efficient producers in small developing countries access to vast markets. At present, Jamaica accounts for nearly 50 per cent of CARICOM's population; Venezuela has been more beneficial to the Caribbean region than oil-rich Trinidad, the site of the Treaty of Chaguaramas; it is easier and in some cases less expensive to import oil from the Middle East than Trinidad.

The people of the Caribbean were attempting integration before the European Union was even conceived, and 48 years after we have not even finalised the free movement of labour and, capital in a region noted for its homogeneity. For too long we have romanticised the idea of a Caribbean Community to our detriment; for, until the philosophy which artificially divides Caribbean people into opposing territories (a feature of the colonial Caribbean) is abandoned, Caribbean integration will be a fleeting illusion to be pursued but never attained.

I am, etc.,

PHILLIP A. CHAMBERS

Caricom’s private sector should look to the Dominican Republic
By David Jessop | August 1, 2010 in Features, Sunday


Is it possible to bridge the gulf in the understanding that exists between the Dominican Republic and the English speaking Caribbean?

Despite the Dominican Republic having a strong and growing economy, its companies looking outwards for new investment opportunities; and with a government that is playing an ever more significant role in the Hemisphere and the wider world, many Anglophone nations and Caricom are cautious or even suspicious about its intentions.

The reasons for this are many. At its most obvious there is a disparity in size. The Dominican Republic has some 9.9 million people compared with around 6.5 million in the whole Anglophone Caribbean. Its economy is growing more rapidly than that of the English speaking Caribbean, with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) forecasting an increase of 3.5 per cent in 2010 compared to an average of 1.8 per cent for the region. There is a fear that the Anglophone Caribbean’s incomplete integration process makes it and its economies particularly vulnerable. And at another level still, there is a deeply seated and often mutually negative perception caused by cultural stereotyping, linguistic and historic differences and dissimilar aspirations.

More particularly in recent months these suspicions have been reinforced in relation to the Economic Partnership Agree-ment (EPA) implementation over two still to be resolved issues with Caricom. These relate to how the EPA will be co-ordinated in a way that ensures full Dominican involvement, and the failure of many Anglophone Caribbean customs regimes to implement the tariff reductions associated with regional preference, despite the EPA’s requirement that all signatories are granted no worse treatment on tariffs than they extend to European Union (EU).

These concerns are felt particularly strongly in Santo Domingo where the public and private sector are open to trade agreements and the advantages they offer and where campaigns are underway to take advantage of EPA opportunities involving government, business and advisers from other Latin American nations.

Until relatively recently, the Dominican Republic with its strongly US-oriented thinking, powerful but relatively close family elites and a legacy of negative thinking about the Anglophone Caribbean – in part derived from the late President Joaquin Balaguer – the Dominican Republic had not sought an improved relationship with its English speaking neighbours. However, the election of President Leonel Fernandez in 1996 changed this. He recognised then and does today the need to make the Dominican Republic more open to the world if its economy was to grow. He also saw that its businesses needed to become transparent and accountable if there was to be external investment and they were to seek opportunity outside its borders.

The consequence of this is that many Dominican companies have changed and are now becoming active investors and joint-venture partners in the region, the Dominican Republic and beyond.

For example, the Dominican Republic’s leading brewer, the conglomerate Leon Jimenes has an eighty per cent share of the Dominican market for beer, acquired for around US$30 million in mid 2009, a majority share in breweries in St Vincent, Antigua and Dominica as well as interests in Europe as part of its strategy of regional growth.

Importantly, and after experiencing some difficulties, the company is beginning to cross the cultural divide between the Anglophone and Hispanic Caribbean. This was evidenced in recent comments by St Vincent’s Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, speaking to the media in relation to the company’s decision to invest in a canning and waste water treatment plant and to brew Presidente beer locally.

“When the policy makers and investors can work (together), it means that when the issue of incentives arises for continuation or extension, the government is much better disposed to give favourable consideration than if the investors simply want to do their own thing and don’t want to have a partnership,” ….. “I want to assure them their investment is safe”.

What this seems to suggest is that the way forward in improving relations between the Dominican Republic and the Anglophone Caribbean may first be through developing much stronger business to business relationships.

As larger Dominican companies begin to look outwards to lessen their exposure to the domestic market and to find new opportunities for investment, what is missing at a pan-Caribbean level is the kind of dialogue on joint investment opportunities that occurs informally and frequently among the senior executives of the region’s larger Anglophone companies.

If proof were needed of the value of such exchanges it can be seen in the regional private sector associations that look after the interests of rum: the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association Inc (WIRSPA) and tourism: the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) where Dominican business interests have been beneficially integrated into the decision making and advocacy structures of the two bodies for many years.

Earlier this month, Dr Fernandez, met US President Barack Obama. Photographs of the two men and a clip of the two President’s words to the press were widely circulated. They appeared relaxed in each other’s company. They had spoken about Haiti, Hon-duras, Cuba, making the Dominican Republic a centre for the production of clean energy, and developing a more collaborative regional environment in relations to narcotics interdiction and security.

This clearly annoyed some in the Anglophone Caribbean who observed that there had been no prior consultation and in private observed tartly on the bilateral nature of the encounter without asking why it is that President Fernandez is received in the White House or for instance by the German Chancellor or French President.

Caricom governments may for the most part continue to look inwards, but there is no reason why the leaders of larger Caricom private sector enterprises should not be thinking creatively about how to relate to their economically dynamic counterparts in the Dominican Republic.

If regional economic integration is ever to become a reality the relationship between Caricom and the Dominican Republic has to improve. In this there is a central role for the private sector. Large companies from Europe and further afield are investing in the Dominican Republic and its companies are moving out into the region and the wider world. If Caricom is not to be left behind there needs to be more dialogue, better media coverage, stronger diplomatic relations and an emphasis on addressing outstanding problems in a manner that creates trust.
David Jessop is the Director of the Caribbean Council and can be contacted at david.jessop@caribbean-council.org