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PRESOR TED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID MIAMI, FL PERMIT NO. 7315 V ol.17 No.11 OCTOBER 2006 Tel: (305 1-800-605-7516caribtoday@earthlink.net ct_ads@bellsouth.net Jamaica: 654-7782 We cover your world INSIDECaribbean leaders, con cerned about continuingneglect of the region by theUnited States,air ed their grievances with Secr etary of State Condoleezza Rice recently inNew Y ork, page 5. Shaka Hislop, a star for Trinidad and Tobago in the WorldCup soccer finals, is in the U.S. hoping to shine for the LoneStar state as his professional career winds down,page 20. Some of the brightest literar y minds pr oduced by the Caribbean, like Deborah Jackwho gr ew up in St. Mar tin, will be working with the wor d at the upcoming MiamiInter national Book Fair , page 23. News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Viewpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Tourism/Travel . . . . . . . . .15 FYI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Ar ts/Enter tainment . . . . .17 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 ~ Yvette D. Clarke’s strong Caribbean roots and a primary election victory have propelled her to the verge of a seat in the U.S. Congress, wher e she intends to be ‘the voice’ for immigrants from the r egion, page 2 . THE MULTI AWARD-WINNING NEWS MAGAZINE CALL CARIBBEAN TODAY DIRECT FROM JAMAICA 654-7782 CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 1 

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GORDON WILLIAMS The tingling of excitement still lingers long after herhistoric election win, but Yvette D. Clarke is alreadygetting used to being a United States Congresswomanand she doesn’t even have the jobyet. “I think it’ s still sinking in mor e and more every day Clarke told Caribbean Today more than a week after she won the Democratic primary for New York’s 11th Congressional District last month, which virtually assured the Brooklyn-born daughter of Jamaican parents will be her party’s representative onCapitol Hill. Clarke, a New Y ork City councilwoman who will likelytake on Republican challenger Steve Finger in next month’sgeneral election for Congr ess, declared she will “be that voice” in Washington which highlights issues of concern forCaribbean immigrants at thefederal gover nment level. That is an oppor tunity her mother Una, who pr eserved a strong Caribbean influence on Yvette’s life and became “an inspiration” for her daughter’s political career, missed afterunsuccessful bids for the sameCongr essional seat. That the family matriar ch, a descendant of the Accompong Mar oons in Jamaica known for their fiery will against over whelming odds when opposed by their colonial rulers, did not make it to Congress did not dampen theenthusiasm of the Clarke clan. “(My victor y) makes it gratifying,” said Y vette. “ (My mother emely proud(It’s) a sense of pride (for her RISE That the daughter also r ose to political prominence has made a highly suppor tive Caribbean population in her district proud as well. And they showed it at last month’s primary. Clarke, one of three black candidates in the ethni-cally-char ged primary race, which included the son of retired Congressman Major Owens, secured just over 31per cent of the votes, beating her near est challenger Councilman David Yassky, the only white candidate, whohad 26.2 per cent. With the overwhelming voting presence of Democrats in the district, Clarke is virtually assured to win next month against Finger who, she said,she “doesn’ t know well” and t remember” meeting. Therefore, Clarke has alreadytur ned her focus on the job ahead, and while she said her duty is to represent all her constituents equally, she alsounderstands that immigrant issues, especially those affect-ing Caribbean nationals, must be at the forefront of her efforts in Washington. Accor ding to Clarke, Caribbean immigrants have made gr eat strides in the U.S., especially on the social level.The emphasis now will be on further economic and politicalempower ment. Y et she is bank ing on the str ong Caribbean influence in her background to pull it off. When asked if thereis one wor d or theme which sums up her personal and polit ical character, Clarke quicklyr eplied “tallawah”, a Jamaican term which means resilient and deter mined to succeed. WANING INTEREST She will need to be. U.S. inter ests in the Caribbean’s welfare have waned in recent years and several leaders lastmonth insisted that although America’s foreign policy is focused on anti-ter rorism campaigns elsewhere in the world, the r egion still needs attention fr om the superpower , especially assistance with development and security. Recently, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime MinisterPatrick Manning criticized the U.S. for slacking off on socio-economic assistance to theCaribbean. Dominica’ s Prime Minister Roosevelt Sker rit also called on the U.S to do mor e for the region. e continue to raise the issue of the diminishing pres-ence of the U.S. in the Caribbean,” Skerrit said. “The American government has the capacity to assistus even mor e but they have not been doing that over thelast 20 to 25 years especially in regards to regional security Caribbean leaders met U.S. Secretary of State CondoleezzaRice late last month. However, the focus of Clarke, who r ecalled visiting Jamaica many times while growing up, will also be on her own constituents in New York.She said she was not pleased with Owens’ representation of immigrants from the Caribbean and elsewhere and plans to become a stronger force onthose issues. She also noted that other immigrant groupshave long enjoyed much stronger representation. SIGNIFIC ANCE Her r ole as Congr esswoman takes on additional historic significance. Last month’s resultmeant Clarke followed the foot steps of Shirley Chisholm, whose par ents wer e also fr om the Caribbean, who won the same seat in 1968 and became the firstblack woman elected toCongr ess. Una Clarke, the 41year -old’s mother and a former New York City councilwomanherself, had failed to beat Owens before. But Yvette avenged thatby beating Owens’ s son Chris, who finished last in the four-can-didate race. Clarke won 14,946 votes, Y assky 12,570, Andr ews 10,983 and Owens 9,403. After she was declared the winner , Clarke shouted “We did it, everyone!” in her victory speech as suppor ters chanted vette, Y vette, Y vette”. “I will not stop fighting until all immigrants of the city,state and countr y ar e af for ded the same rights as anyone else,” she said. She appears to have already secured the ideal jobto embark on that mission. CMC and other reports contrib uted to this story. Gordon Williams is Caribbean Today’s managing editor. Beginning Nov.1,2006,you may e-mail him ateditor@caribbeantoday .com. allawah’ Clarke taking the Caribbean to Capitol Hill 2 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 Clarke NEWS NEWS www.caribbeantoday.com CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 2 

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NELSON A. KING NEW YORK Caribbean community (CARICOM diplomats described as “verycor dial” a meeting between r egional foreign ministers and United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice latelast month. “It was a very good meeting,” Gr enada’s U.S. Ambassador Dennis Antoinetold the Caribbean MediaCorporation (CMCend of the hour -long meeting at the Waldorf Astoria in New Y ork. “It was a very cordial meeting,” added the dean ofCARICOM diplomatic corps in Washington. “We empha-sized the par tnership of equal access. That is the gr owing concept of our meetings. There is growing respectbetween the United Statesand CARICOM.” NEW RELATIONSHIP Antoine’ s r emarks came on the heels of a call by St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Prime Minister Dr. RalphGonsalves for “a concept of a new relationship and lan-guage” between W ashington and the region. “Overall, I think we have to have a concept of a new relationship and, broadlyspeaking, a new language, which we can use to articulatethe issues in that r elation ship,” Gonsalves had told CMC ahead of the meeting. Ellswor th John, St. Vincent and the Grenadines ambassador to the U.S.,agr eed that the CARICOMW ashington meeting was “very cordial,” adding that itwas “a frank exchange of ideas on a range of issues.” He identified, among thoseissues, a trade and investment confer ence, slated for W ashington on Oct. 13; next year’s conference on the Caribbean to be held in Washington and U.S. support for Guatemala as a non-per-manent member of the UnitedNations Security Council. “She outlined r easons why it was good to vote for Guatemala and stated the differences with Venezuela with-out getting into details,” Johnsaid. B A CKING CHAVEZ Gonsalves had told CMC that CARICOM was unequiv ocal in supporting Venezuela, despite pressure from Washington and the on-goingr ow between the United States and V enezuela. “The fact that Pr esident Chavez made a speech at theUnited Nations, which mayhave upset the United States, would not change our support or, indeed, CARICOM, or individual CARICOMmember states, support for Venezuela,” he said. U.S. Ambassador to Guyana David Robinson had urged CARICOM to withdraw its support for Venezuelabecause “the South American country could hinder their ability to combat terrorism and nuclear proliferation.” Antoine said security, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and“the challenges facing the region’s economies,” were among other matters dis-cussed with Rice. e took a look at multidimensional issues and agreed to work collaboratively foreach other s interest,” he said. “She (Rice pressing anyone. It was an expression of mutual concerns, very frank, meaningful and respectful.” CMC CARICOM,Rice hold ‘very cordial’ meeting in New York October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 5 NEWS NEWS www .caribbeantoday.com Rice was frank and respectful,according to CARICOM leaders. St.Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves addresses the United Nations General Assembly. CARICOM has told the U.S. it will not turn its back on Cha vez and Venezuela. CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 5 

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DAMIAN P . GREGORY SUNRISE, Florida Lovers of everything “jerk” convergedon Markham Park in SouthFlorida late last month to sample food prepared by cooks from Jamaica and theUnited States. “When you come her e you feel like you home,” Jamaican-born Nicole Grayton, a resident of Fort Lauderdale who has attendedthe festival each of the pastthr ee years, told Caribbean T oday . “It is a par t of my cultur e, you know ou got a piece of Jamaica right here,” Fort Lauderdale resident Angela Clarke, told Caribbean Today . “It was all good, the chicken and lobster and thepork.” But her friend, who would only identify himself as Ricky , had a definite favorite. “The pork,” he told Caribbean Today enthusiasti cally. “It really great. I likehow they do it, the set up is the real thing, like they haveback home.” WIDE POPULARITY The annual feeding fest not only attracted those fromJamaica, but other fans of thespicy food that is becomingmor e well known outside of the islands. “I am eating jerk pork,” said first time festivalgoer Theresa Caine, a Chicago native who now lives in FortLauder dale and is a selfdescribed Jamaican by injec-tion. “I am not mad at it.” She was among an esti mated 7,500 people who, organizers said, attended thenine-hour event on Sept. 24. Some 22 vendors who offeredvariations on the popularspiced food that included thetraditional chicken, pork, fish and ribs and the non-tra-ditional jerk ice cr eam. Yet food was not the only thing that kept the cr owd enter tained. Music headliners Byron Lee and the Dragonaires werealso on hand. WINNER But one man cor nered the judges’ idea of what it meansto be the king of jerk. For the third time in the popular festival’s five-year history, the “Gold Dutch Pot Award” went to Burnet Spence.Spence, an amateur cook who hails from St. Elizabeth,Jamaica, left judges wantingmor e of his savor y jerk. “His presentation and taste were far superior to theothers,” or ganizer of the jerk cook-off contest, June Mintotold Caribbean Today . Spence’s secret?“I have a layer ed taste, when you first bite into my chicken or my pork, you get a sweet smoky (tastebite,” he told Caribbean T oday . “As you go fur ther in, it gets a little spicy, not toohot. As you go fur ther in you taste the pimento. As youbegin to digest it with the saliva the combination of all three gives you a lingeringtaste that makes you want more.” Story and photograph by Damian P.Gregory, Caribbean Today’s deputymanag ing editor . Profile of candidates in Florida counties Qualified electors ar e per mitted to vote absentee under Florida law . Ho w to vote absentee An elector , or someone desig nated by the elector, may request an absentee ballot from the supervisor of elections in person, by mail or by telephone. One request cancover all elections within a calendar year . The person r equesting an absentee ballot must disclose: the name and address of the elector forwhom the ballot is r equested; the r equester’s name and addr ess; the r equester s driver license number, if available; the requester’s relationship tothe elector; and the requester’s signature (written request only). Marked ballots must be mailed or deliver ed in person r eaching the supervisor of elections’ of fice not later than 7 p.m. on the day of the election. At all elections, a voter claiming to be pr operly r egis tered in the county and eligible to vote at the precinct in the election, but whose eligibility cannot be determined, shall be entitled to vote a pro-visional ballot. How to vote absentee ‘Jerk’ lovers savor the flavor at annual Florida fest October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 7 NEWS NEWS www .caribbeantoday.com This young lady definitely found the jerk ribs to her liking. Check the following websites to lear n about the candidates: Miami-Dade http://elections.miamidade.gov/ Bro ward http://www.browardsoe.org/electioncandidates.aspx?eid=5 P alm Beach http://www .pbcelections.or g/Electio nCandidates.aspx?eid=1 Newspaper Candidate Pr ofiles and Endorsements The Miami Herald http://www .miami.com/mld/miami herald/news/photos/15326047.htm Sun Sentinel http://www .sunsentinel.com/news/elections/ P alm Beach P ost http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opi nion/content/local_news/election/endorsements_2006.html Bar Association – Judicial Review and Endorsements Dade County Bar Association Judicial Poll http://www .dadecountybar .or g/nssfolder/2006judicialpoll/2006%20JU DICIAL%20POLL%20RESULTS.pdf W ilke D. Ferguson Bar Association Endorsements(Miami-Dade County BlackLawyers Association) Go to www .fergusonbar .org and request listing for further review and research. Election dates and voter registration information General elections in the United States will beheld on Nov.7 . The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p .m. local time. The date marks the first Tuesday after the first Mondayin November , in even numbered years, andis designated to fillnational, state and county offices, and for voting on constitution-al amendments andlocal r efer endums. Voters may cast their ballots for the candidates of any party, regardless of their ownpolitical par ty registration. At general elections, all voters receive the same ballotand may vote for any candi date or question on the ballot. Who can register to vote To register to vote in Florida, you must: Be a United States citizen, a Florida resident, at least 18 years old (you may pre-registerif you ar e 17), not now be adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting inFlorida or any other state, nothave been convicted of afelony in Florida, or any otherstate, without your civil rights having been restored, and notclaim the right to vote inanother county or state. Who can’ t r egister to v ote Persons who have been found by a cour t in any state to be mentally incapacitated with r espect to voting and who have not had their right restored. Persons who have been convicted of any felony in anycour t and who have not had their right to vote r estor ed. Any person who is not a citi zen of the U.S. How to register to vote Completely fill out a voter registration application form. Voter registration applications are available at local Supervisor of Elections’ offices, theDivision of Elections, driver license of fices, state agencies that pr ovide public assistance, libraries and many other locations. A voter’s registration application is complete if it contains: Your name, legal residence address and date of birth; an indication that you are a U.S. citizen; the last four digits of your Social Security number . An indication that you have not been convicted of afelony or that, if convicted, youhave had your civil rights restored. An indication that you have not been adjudicatedmentally incapacitated with respect to voting or that, if soadjudicated, you have hadyour right to vote r esorted. You must sign the oath printed on the for m swearing or af fir ming under the penalty for false swearing that the information contained in ther egistration application is tr ue. Note: An applicant who fails to designate a political par ty affiliation will be registered without party affiliation. The voter r egistration application is also availableonline at www.socadvote.com When to r egister to v ote You must be registered for at least 29 days befor e you can vote in an election. The date your voter registration applica-tion is postmarked or hand delivered to your county supervisor of elections will beyour r egistration date. If your application is complete and you are qualified as a voter, a registration identification cardwill be mailed to you. CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 7 

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Suriname wants U.N. to deal with poverty Suriname has called on the international com-munity to increase coop-eration “in areas of rele-vance tohumanity” so that the world’s peo-ples can enjoy a fair and decent standard of living. Pr esident Runaldo V enetiaan told the U.N. that guaranteeing the availability of the necessary infrastructure, health services and education for all is still a majorchallenge. “The world order continues to deny the vast majorityof the inter national community the oppor tunity to escape poverty and to utilize its ability and skills to achieve progress and prosperity Venetiaan said. “There is need for enhanced cooperation in ar eas of relevance to humanity if we ar e to cr eate an international community that will be able to offer all of its members a fairchance to a decent life.” He said the appeal for an enabling international environment for sustainable development and poverty eradication is still “a vivid one,” noting that the inter national community needs to suppor t the call of the vast majority of member states for fair terms of trade, increased market access for products from thedeveloping countries and for a“mor e effective and supportive” inter national financial ar chitecture. Venetiaan said Suriname is fully supportive of the implementation of the international global partnership fordevelopment, explaining thatit can obtain guidance for itsdecisions fr om commitments adopted at major UnitedNations confer ences and summits. He urged this “partnership” to aim at energizing the “political will” of all states sothat those commitments could be implemented and “genuine” opportunities for sus-tainable development and poverty eradication realized. St.Vincent calls for leadership Stating that he was speaking on behalf of the world’s “mar-ginalized,” St. V incent and the Grenadines’ Prime Minister Dr . Ralph Gonsalves called on the United Nations to pr ovide “coherent leadership” in addressing the plight of theworld’ s poor est countries. In his impassioned contribution to the 61st Session of the U.N. GeneralAssemblyDebate,Gonsalvessaid all “rightthinking per-sons want anddemand” thistype of lead ership fr om a “reformed” global body that is “true to its central mandates to servehumanity well.” Speed up aid to poorer nations ~ Barbados Barbados has called for speedier implementation ofdecisions on incr eased financial aid for the world’s poorestcountries. Senior Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Dame Billie Miller told the 61st Session of theU.N. General Assembly that these resources were neededur gently, particularly for coun-tries like herown, which have complet-ed pr eparation of comprehensive nationaldevelopmentstrategies to attain theMillennium Development Goals(MDGs na tional development goals and objectives. “While developing countries must r etain responsibility for their own development, national actions will not be sufficient to bring about their fuller participation in the global economy,” she said, alluding to promised aid madeto developing countries lastyear by the Gr oup of the W orld’s Richest Countries (G8 Gleneagles, Scotland. “These actions must be complemented by a supportive international system,essential elements of whichinclude impr ovement in global gover nance, improved coherence in the operation of the United Nations System and a greater voice for the United Nations in global developmentpolicy dialogue,” she added. At the same time, Dame Billie called for the “democra-tization” of the gover nance of the international financial andtrade systems, stating that changes in global governance have not kept pace with the growth of global interdepend-ence. In addition, she called for the adoption of “concr ete steps” to end what she regarded as the “marginalization” ofdeveloping countries andsmall economies in the policyfor mulation and decisionmaking pr ocesses in the multi lateral, financial and trade institutions. “Globalization must be made mor e inclusive and its benefits more equitably dis-tributed,” she said. The Barbados minister said improvement in global governance must be “mir-r ored” in the strengthening of the management and coor dination of the U.N.’ s operational activities at the country level, pointing out that this would ensure delivery ofdevelopment assistance in “a more coordinated way Dame Billie lamented that the “development clusterof issues,” emanating fr om the historic 2005 U.N. Summit has been “painfully slow,” stating that Barbados’s assessment is “decidedly mixed.” Leaders of many Caribbean nations were in NewYork last month to attend the 61st Session of the U.N.General Assembly.This month Caribbean Today publishes a summary,compiled from CMC and other reports,of addresses delivered by some of those leaders. 8 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 Venetiaan Miller Gonsalves NEWS NEWS U U . . N N . . ROUND ROUND UP UP www.caribbeantoday.com Street Address: 9020 SW 152nd Street, Miami, FL33157 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6010 Miami, FL 331 16-6010. T elephone: (305 (305305 1-800-605-7516 Jamaica: 654-7728 E-mail: caribtoday@earthlink.net Send ads to: ct_ads@bellsouth.net V ol.17,Number 11 OCT.2006 PETER AWEBLEY Publisher GORDON WILLIAMS Managing Editor MANUELMOREL Director of Advertising DAMIAN P. GREGORY Deputy Managing Editor SABRINAFENNELL Graphic Artist DOROTHYCHIN Account Executive SUNDA Y SELLERS Account Executive AMANDAECHEVERRI Accounting ManagerCaribbean Media Source Media Representatives TOM JONAS 353 St. Nicolas Street, Suite 200 Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y2P1 Tel: (514514 E-mail: tom@cmsworldmedia.com Jamaica Bureau MARIE GREGORY (876 P.O. Box 127, Constant Spring Kingston 8, JamaicaOpinions expressed by editors and writers are not necessarily those of the publisher . Caribbean T oday , an independent news magazine, is published every month by Caribbean Publishing Services, Inc. Subscription rates are: US$20 per year (Bulk . Caribbean Today is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photos. Toguarantee return, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Articles appearing in Caribbean Today may not be reproduced without written permission of the editor . ISSUES OF INTEREST Photograph by UN PhotoSenator Anthony Hylton,left,Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade,is greeted by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan at U.N.Headquaters in New Y ork City . The men met for 15 minutes la te last month at Annan’s office to discuss matters of interest to Jamaica and the world body.Hylton,along with several Caribbean leaders, were in New Y ork to attend the U.N.’s General Assembly. CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 8 

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GORDON WILLIAMS The powerful force that is the will of people root-ed in Caribbean her itage was on display again lastmonth in the United States. New York City Councilwoman Yvette D.Clarke, a daughter of Jamaican parents who has always shownher str ong connection to the region, won the Democraticprimar y for the state’s 11th Congressional District. Because of the over whelming presence of registered Democrats in the district, that means Clarke is a virtual shoo-in for a seat inthe U.S. Congr ess after the general elections next month. The Caribbean diaspora should hail Clarke’ s accom plishment as a significant milestone in how far ther egion’s people have come in the U.S. She succeeded her mother Una, a former citycouncilwoman herself who had come up short in the same race years before but she repeated the achievement ofShirley Chisholm, anotherAmerican bor n to Caribbean parents, who decades ago became the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. DIFFERENT CHALLENGE Y et Y vette D. Clarke faces a slightly different challenge than Chisholm. While shevows to ser ve all her con stituents in New York, she has also promised to be “thatvoice” for Caribbean people in Washington. That promise should be most comforting foranyone with Caribbean con nections. See, there is a major concern brewing over the attention the U.S. has beenpaying to the Caribbean.Some of the r egion’ s leaders, most notably Dominica’s Roosevelt Skeritt and T rinidad and Tobago’s Patrick Manning, have openly challenged the U.S. to become more active in the welfare of the region. They are demanding help, specifical-ly in the ar eas of development and security . The region feels it is being ignored by the U.S.,has been for years now , and it doesn’t like it at all, especially because the leaders believethat the U.S. can always count on their support. NEGLECT Yvette D. Clarke says she understands the concer ns of the r egion’ s leaders. She even goes further to suggest that her pr edecessor, retired Congressman Major Owens, neglected the inter ests of Caribbean immigrants, espe cially in New York’s 11th District. That trend has got to stop, she argues, and she will be at the forefront of efforts to reform U.S. policy in thatar ea when she gets to Capitol Hill. Caribbean people, and not just those in the New York area, may do well to mark her words. If the 41-year-old Brooklyn-born Clarke succeeds in carrying out herintentions, then all of theCaribbean’ s people stand to benefit. However, she has already made it clear that for far toolong, the lobby ef forts of other immigrant groups, theHispanics, Italians, Chinese,Kor eans, for example, have outstripped those of Caribbeanimmigrants. While huge strides have been made towards socialadvancement, economic andpolitical push still lag waybehind. That should serve as a wake-up call to Caribbeanpeople in the U.S. When oneof your own is telling you that you are not doing enough tohelp yourself as a gr oup, then it’ s time to r e-evaluate what you doand how you do it. AP A THY It was not long ago that at least one major U.S. mainstream newspaper reported onthe apathy amongst Caribbean nationals in the country whenit comes to getting involved inpolitical issues, especially immigration reform. Thepoint is, if you don’ t look out for your own interests, then you cannot expect others todo it for you. Right before our eyes, in the form of Yvette D. Clarke,Caribbean people can see that the great promise of the “American Dream” can actu-ally come tr ue. In a country where they tell you that you can achieve anything you want, it’s nice to know thatther e could be some r eal tr uth to it. Clarke’s victory at last month’ s primar y of fers a glimpse of that. When asked recently if she would consider running forhigher of fice in the U.S. – let’ s say , ah, president – in the future, she coyly suggested thatit’ s best to focus on her new assignment first. Yet it was nice to know she did not r eject the idea outright. Imagine that, aCaribbean person in the White House. Wouldn’t that be the“American Dr eam”. It can come true. Gordon Williams is Caribbean Today’s managingeditor .Beginning Nov.1, 2006 you may e-mail him at editor@caribbeantoday .com Is clear that most of the world’s problems stem from sex, so perhapswe should adopt someof the principles ofEaster n countries who have strict sexual r ules. Imagine, adulterers are stoned todeath, or beheaded. Perhaps we shouldadopt that principleand save us some of the myriad problems that stem from that activity. And believe me, there are benefits to be derived from nothaving sex. This youngman who e-mailed mecomplained bitterlythat his wife stopped makinglove with him because he lost his job and couldn’t give hermoney to spend on herselfanymor e, even though he still managed to pay the householdbills. Now you see what some women reduce themselves to? I have been addressing this foryears, how women use sex as aweapon, a tool, as leverage, and here it rears its ugly headonce again. Her sexual output diminish es in the same proportion that his income falls. Now when hegoes astray , you’ll hear how man bad and doggish. NO SEX So, take sex out of the equation and problems will beless, at least that’ s the theor y . The Catholic Church has tried it with their priests, damningthem to a celibate life, forbid ding them from indulging, so that they could be mor e focused on their other duties. Like I said, that’s the theory,but the practice is anotherthing. Many a father and nunwer e forced to kick the habit, as the urge was greater than the Word and the mind waswilling but the flesh was weak,so weak. But it is true that sex interferes with genuine rela-tionships andputs a dif ferent spin onthings. Manytimes youmay havemale andfemale friendswho havebeen bestfriends foryears, sharing all their secr ets, triumphs, trials and tribula tions. He has no interest in her, nor she in him. Suddenly oneday , or night, they discover that there is more than just a fraternal platonic bond, and thelibido incr eases as the chemistry kicks in. Wham bam, sparks star t to fly and the clothes follow . Well, for all intents and purposes that friendship isover as it has taken on a new dimension. Now other elements come into play, with the chief one being jealousy. Yes, this sex thing awakens the gr een-eyed monster, and believe me, it doth mock the meat it feeds on. Problems that never existed before are nowswirling ar ound and that beau tiful bond that was shared for years is now shatter ed. “Is what happen to Sheila and Robbie,look how many years they were friends,but nowsince dem step it up to a newlevel is pure crosses?” “Guess why ,nuh sex mash it up. PANDORA’S BOX They wer e better off chaste, as they could focus on the real friendship, but take those away and the Pandora’sBox flies open, letting out allthe demons. Because of this, it’s often difficult for members of the opposite sex to be truefriends, not impossible, but dif ficult. It usually works the other way around, if they werephysically involved first, br oke up, then became friends. Y es, many people find that exes make the best friends after all the initial hurt after the breakup heals. It alsoworks if one par ty is ugly as hell. It’s so easy for a man to be platonic friends with anugly woman or vice versa, but it would be extremely difficultfor me to sustain a platonicfriendship with Beyonce, or Halle Berry or someone wholooks like them. One daysomething would crack. Be chaste, and there’s no Caribbean clout in N.Y. Chastity has its place October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 9 VIEWPOINT VIEWPOINT www .caribbeantoday.com TONY ROBINSON (CONTINUED ON P AGE 10) CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 9 

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seduction. Just r ecently I r ead wher e in one of the states in the U.S. they passed this seduction law,wher e a man can actually be charged for seduction. There would be no need for that lawif people lived a life of chastity and saw people for their other qualities. People should be ableto sleep in the same bed andhave enough discipline to bechaste, instead of being chased.At this point many people will chime in and say, “But that’s easy, just get married and you’llachieve that state.” Hey , it’ s s fact, mistresses get more sex than wives, and wives get more from their lovers than from their husbands. There is a theory that women who have sex with a lot of men really suffer from low self-esteem and are thereforealways seeking acceptance andlove. The same goes for menwho sleep with a lot of women. The theory is that wanton sexis a r esult of low self-esteem. I know this young lady who told me that, “Every problem I hadin life is sex cause it.” Y OUTH SUFFER It does af fect our young people, distracting them from their schoolwork, divertingtheir ener gies in the wr ong direction. A teenage pregnancy in a young 14-year -old changes her life forever, and even at age 40 or more, she doesn’ t r eally get over it. Many feel robbed of their youth, many are still bitter atthe experience, and some find it difficult to speak about it, even after 20 years or more. But are the kids being educat-ed? Recently a doctor friend ofmine gave a talk at a highschool and was shocked to dis cover that not even one student knew what the uterus was. So instead of sweeping it under the carpet or allowing kids to learn it from theirpeers, we should educate them more. I always found it strangehow par ents would expose kids to violence, bombings, shoot ings, murder and mayhem on T.V. shows or movies, even thenightly news, but just mention the word sex and it’s hell andpowder puf f. People will say, “How can you write about sex, this is afamily paper .” Yet the same paper is full of news of mur der , international strife, corruption, robbery, bodies blown to bitsand such gor e. It’ s our daily fare, but just brush the topic of sex and you’r e disgusting and damned to hellfire. I wonder how we all got here anyway,must have been immaculateconception?! Still, it’s easier said than done, and if we all stop andthink, a lot of our pr oblems in life were caused through sex.And as another young lady told me, “The Lord really has a great sense of humor, where he gave us this tremendous urge, then expects us to practice self r estraint.” Because of not being chaste, it leads many people into the throes and complications of adultery. But, the irony is, those so called virtues are unnatural, and that’s why they are so difficult, nigh impossibleto achieve. The priests whotook vows and wer e instr ucted to be celibate ar e a pr ominent group that proved that theory to be unworkable. And ifpriests, steeped in r eligion, clos er to God (they’d like to think than you and I, can’t cope, howcan us mer e mortals? You can’t live without sex, it’ s unnatural. Okay , you can live, but is it r eally living? So the struggle continues, and even as I write this I knowthat it is nigh impossible to live up to the ideals of chastity. Forsome people, it’ s not by choice, as nobody will sleep with them. Still, it’s just not in ournatur e, as temptation is all ar ound us. And you know what is true, people look on virgins, those chaste, practicingcelibacy as almost fr eaks. “Say wha, yu nah do nutten, sumpting must be wr ong wid yu.” But still, we must be responsible and talk to our children early, as times have changed drastically and it has r eached life and death proportions. As this man said, “Chastity, has it’s place, but not with me.” Later. seido1@hotmail.com Chastity has its place 10 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 VIEWPOINT VIEWPOINT www.caribbeantoday.com “This is the importation of foreigntribalism” Christopher Tufton,presi-dent of the JamaicaLabourP arty’ s young professional arm – “Generation 2000” expressing his disgust lastmonth after St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime MinisterRalph Gonsalves endorsed theruling P eople’s National Party, accusing him of attempting toimport divisiveness into Jamaica’s politics. “It is good that the con stitution hasbecome aliving instru ment and ordinary citizens are talking about it.I think it is progr ess” Guyana’ s Health Minister Dr .Leslie Ramsammy last month discussing the renewednational interest in theconstitution. “It is hard to look outand see thebeauty out side the window andthink that it can happenher e,but it can ha ppen here and I think these countries know it” Mary Kramer,United Statesambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean,lastmonth commenting on the Caribbean’s response to terror-ist attac ks. “I cannot put it in mor e definitive terms,we have not agr eed and w e have no intention of proceeding down the path of registering or licensing prostitutes.The govern-ment of Barbados does notsee the trading in flesh as something which w e want to pro mote” Reverend Joseph Atherley, Barbados’sminister ofstate in thePrime Minister s Office,making the go vernment’s intention clear ahead of Cric ket World Cup 2007. At the moment wear e in no man’ s land...and we are not prepared to walkblindfolded into any situ-ation” Leader of Guyana’ s main Opposition P eople’s National Congress Reform (PNC/RRobert Corbin arguing lastmonth that no pro vision has been envisaged in the constitution for convening Parliament.Guyana held elections in late August. s deplora ble” Bermuda’ s Minister ofHomeAffairs andPublic Safety DerrickBurgess last month bash-ing burglars who targetedproperties while HurricaneFlorence battered the island. “Election date don’tbelong to me,it don’ t belong to PortiaSimpson Miller, itbelongs tothe people of Jamaica and must be revisit-ed in the constitution of thepeople of Jamaica” Opposition Leader BruceGolding last month calling fora fix ed date for elections in Jamaica. “It is absolute nonsense to suggest that a printer or publisher or newspaper can print whatever the y want whether libelous ordefamatoryunder thedishonestdisguise of freedom of expression” – Dominica’s Prime Minister RooseveltSkerrit last month denyingnewspaper reports that he wasseeking to muzzle the media. “Cuba gives freely andasks for noth ing in r eturn” St.Lucia’s PrimeMinister Dr.KennyAnthony last month hop-ing member -states of the Non Aligned Mo vement(NAM) will take a leaf from Cuba’ s books when it comes to offering aid to smaller Carib bean states . 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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC The region’s leaders are taking a different look at thepr oblem of HIV/AIDS and its impact on the Caribbean, according to Barbados’s juniorfor eign affairs minister. raditionally, our definition of security was shaped by histor y and by traditional geopolitical paradigms which reflected military and nationalsecurity considerations,” saidKer rie Symmonds, while addressing Caribbean-based United States ambassadorsgather ed for a two-day meeting in Barbados to discuss the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the region. oday, however, that definition has evolved to include non-traditional threats such asthat posed by HIV/AIDS to thestability of our economies, our labor forces and our economies. “Indeed, this vir us poses the single greatest threat to the region’s security, as we seek todevelop a civilization that can proudly enter the portals of the 21st century,” he added. PLEA Making a plea for further financial assistance fr om the U.S., Minister Symmonds told the ambassadors that the realityof the situation in theCaribbean is that limited resources have been strained by the need todeal with newchallengesposed by anundiscriminat ing global envir onment. But responding to the minis-ter s plea, Mary Kramer, U.S. ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, saidshe cannot pr omise additional funding at this time. Instead she’s promising more effectiveuse of available funds. ith the people who are here from Washington we canbe assur ed that we who are working here in the region, know all of the areas that ar e available to us from Washington,” Kramer said. SUZYCOHEN QUESTION:My husband has a pr escription that says “take on an empty stomach”,but he refuses to,saying it’s inconvenient and it doesn’t matter.We are arguing about this.Whatwill ha ppen if he doesn’ t follow directions? ANSWER: His medicine may not work as well. The caution“on an empty stomach” isther e to alert patients that food will interfere with the amount of drug that ultimately gets intothe bloodstr eam or possibly slow down the ef fectiveness. This is the case with many medications, including thyroidhor mones, tetracycline, fluoroquinolone antibiotics and some antihistamines. Say you have a serious prostate infection and you’re on an antibiotic with a label warning you to “take on an empty stomach”. It’s 1:30 andyou decide to eat lunch andtake your medication with themeal. In this case, you might lose between five percent and 30 percent of the drug (maybe mor e if you have eaten calci um-rich foods, which interfere with fluor oquinolone antibi otics like Cipro and Levaquin). As a r esult, less medicine gets to your prostate to fight the bacteria that has invaded and,if you do this all the time, youcould suf fer longer and need mor e medicine. With some drugs e.g. osteoporosis drugs (bisphosphonate drugs) like Fosamax, Actonel and Boniva even thetiniest amount of food gets in the way. They have to be taken with water only; you can’t evennosh on a cracker . I know , it’ s distressing. These drugs upset the stomach and a little foodwould help, but again, your absorption goes down dramati cally. Therefore, they should be taken without food. Here’s a good rule of thumb for a pr escription that says “take on an empty stomach”: Y ou can take it either one hour before or two hours after a meal. QUESTION:I’ve just begun taking the antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine).It’s beena bout a week and a half.It doesn’t seem to be helping at this point.Should I stop it? ANSWER: As a general rule, I don’t think people should suddenly stop medications. There can be negative consequences to doing so without your doctor’s approval especially with antidepressants. For most people, Prozac may take thr ee to four weeks to give you the full effect. Take the medicine in the morning and be aware that typical side effectsinclude nausea, taste changes, painful urination, insomnia, agitation and even sexual problems. If you experience uncom fortable side effects, ask your doctor to lower your dose orswitch your medication. T his information is not intended to treat,cure or diagnose your condition.Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist.To contact her, visit www.dearpharmacist.com. 2006 Dear Pharmacist, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Media Ser vices,Inc. Caribbean looks at fresh AIDS plan KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC Dr. Kwame Boafo, newlyappointed dir ector of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO Caribbean, has said that the agency would sustain itsHIV/AIDS initiative in Jamaica. Dr. Boafo said that the project, which primarily sought to r educe the spread of HIV/AIDS thr ough education, was primarily funded by the Japanese government, theUnited Nations Childr en’ s Fund (UNICEF orld Bank, and the Global Fund. He said the initiative would be undertaken fr om 2006 to 2008 and would focus on ar eas such as, strategic planning, pr ofessional development, and the design and production of educational materials. “UNESCO and the Japanese government will continue to support the Ministry of Education and Youth in strengthening the sector’s r esponse to HIV and AIDS under the initiative that is referred to as ‘EDUCAIDS’, that is, education in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” Dr . Boafo said. He also said that the sup por t fr om UNESCO and Japan formed part of a larger international assistance framework on pr eventive education pr ograms, and that Jamaica is cur r ently one of several countries, and the only island in the Caribbeanr egion, that is involved in the pr oject. UNESCO continues AIDS fight in Jamaica October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 11 HEALTH HEALTH www .caribbeantoday.com Eating beforehand reduces the effect of medications Symmonds CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 11 

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U.S. Education Secretary Mar garet Spellings has announced the final regulations for Limited English Proficient (LEP The new Title I regulation is intended to help r ecently arrived LEP students learnEnglish and other subjectswhile giving states and local school districts greater flexi-bility on assessment whilecontinuing to hold themaccountable under the “No Child Left Behind” program. “Our schools must be pr epared to measure what English language learners know and to teach them effec-tively , with pr oven instructional methods,” Spellings said. “No Child Left Behind has put the needs of Englishlanguage lear ners (ELLs front and center and we must continue that momentum of success. These r egulations will ensure states and schools are held accountable for helping children learn English but will also provide them with flexi-bility in meeting the goal of every child reading and doingmath at grade level by 2014.” The new r egulations have been welcomed by theHispanic community in theU.S. “Getting the No Child Left Behind law right is criti-cal for Latino students, nearlyhalf of whom ar e ELLs,” said Janet Murgu’a, president and chief executive officer of theNational Council of La Raza,the lar gest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. INGREDIENTS 2 pounds gr ound beef 1 (1 1/4-ounce taco seasoning mix 1 (4.5-ounce green chiles, divided 2 (10 3/4-ounce chicken soup 1 (16-ounce cream 8 (8-inch 2 cups (8 ounces cheddar cheese Garnishes: homemade salsa, sour cream, green onion curls, chopped fresh cilantro METHOD Brown ground beef in a large skillet, stirring until it crumblesand is no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix and half of chopped green chiles; set aside. Stir together remaining green chiles, soup, and sour cream. Pour half of soup mixture into a lightly greased 13x 9-inch baking dish. Spoon beef mixture evenly down centers of tortillas; roll up. Place, seam sides down, oversoup mixtur e in baking dish; top evenly with remaining soup mixture and cheese. Bake at 350for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired. Yield: Makes eight servings. Edited from Southern Living Regulations give new English learners better chance in class Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept.15,the anniversary of Independence for five Latin American countries Costa Rica,El Salvador,Guatemala,Honduras,and Nicaragua – to Oct.15.In addition,Mexico declared its Independence on Sept.16,and Chile on Sept.18.The term Hispanic,as defined by the United States Census Bureau,refers to Spanish-speaking people in the U.S.of any race.On the 2000 Census form,people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican,Puerto Rican,Cuban,or “other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino”.More than 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino on the 2000 Census. Juicy,smothered enchiladas INGREDIENTS 1 tsp. vanilla extract 14 oz can condensed milk 4 eggs 12 oz can evaporated milk pinch salt (optional METHOD Using a double boiler, cover mold bottom and sides with caramel. Mix all ingredients in blender and pour into mold. Close with lid. Par tially fill bottom pan of double boiler with water. Cook at lowheat for an hour or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out dry. When r eady , remove mold and let cool to room temperature, then place in refrigerator for about 1 1/2 hours or more. Once cold, tur n upside down over a ser ving dish. If you don’ t have a double boiler, place your flan mold in a lar ge Pyrex dish partially filled with water and cook in oven for about an hour at 350 degr ees. Edited and reprinted from www.cubanfoodmarket.com A tasty plan is Cuban flan ~ A Caribbean Today advertising feature 12 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 HISPANIC HISPANIC HERITAGE HERITAGE MONTH MONTH www.caribbeantoday.com CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 12 

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Daily life in one of Imperial Spain’s most important outposts in the New World will be recreated Oct.7-8 at the 18th Annual Colonial Arts and Crafts Festival in St.Augustine, Florida. The festival is scheduled to be held on the gr ounds of the Colonial Spanish Quarter Museum and will feature skilled craftsmen in authentic period clothing demonstrating a wide range of crafts that were essential for survival in a Spanish colony of the 1700s. Weaving, spinning, basketry, lace making, and natural dyeing are just a few of thecrafts to be demonstrated. In addition, the festival will feature storytellers, colonial music, and special activities for children. The Colonial Spanish Quarter will provide an authentic setting for an educational and fun look at life in old St. Augustine. The entrance to the Spanish Quarter is on historic St. George Street. Sponsored by the St. Augustine Textile Guild, the festival is funded in part by a grant from the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council. It will run from 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. each day. Admission is free. For more information,call 904-825-5033 . Reliving old Spain in the New W orld at St.Augustne’s arts and crafts fest 42.7 million The estimated Hispanic population of the U.S.as of July 1,2005,making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority.Hispanics constituted 14 percent of the nation’s total population. About 1 of every two people added to the nation’s population between July 1, 2004,and July 1,2005,were Hispanic. 3.3% Percentage increase in the Hispanic population between July 1,2004, and July 1,2005,making Hispanics the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S. 102.6 million The projected Hispanic population of the U.S.as of July 1,2050.According to this projection,Hispanics will constitute 24 percent of the nation’s total population on that date. 22.4 million The nation’s Hispanic population during the 1990 census just slightly overhalf the current total. 7.6 million The number of Hispanic citizens who reported voting in the 2004 presidentialelection. The percentage of Hispanic citizens voting about 47 percent did not change from four years earlier. 64% The percentage of Hispanic-origin people in households who are of Mexican background.Another approximately 10 percent are of Puerto Rican back ground,with about three percent each of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins.The remainder are of some other Central American,South American or other Hispanic or Latino origins. Roughly half of the na tion’ s Dominicans live in New Y ork City , with about half of the na tion’ s Cubans resid ing in Miami-Dade County,Florida. (Source:AmericanFactFinder) 13 The number of U.S. sta tes with a t least 500,000 Hispanic residents. These sta tes are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida,Georgia,Illinois,Nevada,New Jersey , New Mexico, New York,North Carolina, Texas and Washington. 43% The percentage of New Mexico’s population that is Hispanic,highest of any state. 4.6 million The Hispanic population of Los Angeles County , California the largest of an y county in the nation. 19 Number of U.S.states in which Hispanics are the largest race or ethnic minority group. $222 billion Revenue generated by Hispanicowned businesses in 2002,up 19percent from 1997. 9.5 million The number of Hispanic families who reside in the U.S. Of these fam ilies,63 percent include their children under 18 years old. 22% P ercenta ge of U.S. popula tion under a ge five tha t is Hispanic, as of July 1, 2005. 31 million The number of U.S.household residents age five and older who speak Spanish at home. $35,967 The median income of Hispanic house holds in 2005, unchanged from the previous year , in real terms. 21.8% The poverty rate among Hispanics in 2005,unchanged from 2004. 58% The percentage of Hispanics age 25 and older who had at least a high school educa tion in 2004. Edited and reprinted from R TO Online Facts you should know National Hispanic Heritag e Month 2006 Americans are a diverse people, yet we are bound bycommon principles that teachus what it means to beAmerican citizens. DuringNational Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize the many contributions of Hispanic Americans to our country. Through hard work, faith in God, and a deep love of family, Hispanic Americans have pursued their dreams and con-tributed to the str ength and vitality of our nation. They have enriched the American experi ence and excelled in business, law, politics, education, community service, the arts, science, and many other fields. Hispanic entrepreneurs are also helping build a better, more hopeful future for all by creating jobs across our country. The number of Hispanicowned businesses is growing at three times the national rate, and increasing numbers ofHispanic Americans own their own homes. We continue to benefit from a rich Hispanic culture and we are a stronger country because of the talent and creativity of the many Hispanic Americans who have shaped our society. Throughout our history, Hispanic Americans have also shown their devotion to our countr y in their militar y ser vice. Citizens of Hispanic descent have fought in ever y war since our founding and have taken their rightful place as her oes in our nation’ s histor y . T oday , Americans of Hispanic descent ar e serving in our Armed Forces with courage and honor, and their ef forts are helping make America more secure and bringing freedom to people around the world. As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, weapplaud the accomplishments of Hispanic Americans and recognize the contributions they make to our great land. To honor the achievements of Hispanic Americans, the Congress, by Public Law 100-402, as amended, has authorized and requested the president to issue annually a proclamation designating Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 as “National Hispanic Heritage Month”. I call upon public of ficials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the U.S. to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs. T he above is an edited ver sion of a proclamation issued lastmonth b y U.S .President George W.Bush marking National Hispanic Heritag e Month. Weeks of celebration climax mid-October as Broward County, Florida marks HispanicHeritage Month. Among the attractions is a multi-cultural ar t exhibit in the Governmental Center lobby, 115 S. Andrews Ave. inFor t Lauderdale, which coincide with Hispanic HeritageMonth, celebrated in theUnited States between Sept.15and Oct. 15. There will also be a Hispanic Cultural and Educational Center, a 15,000 square-foot space located on the third floor of the Broward County MainLibrar y . The center’s collection will feature 20,000 books in Spanish, as well asan extensive collection ofSpanish-language movies and music. In addition to the collection, the center will also house a computer lab, specifically designed for Spanish speakers, a children’s area for Spanishlanguage story time and a large exhibit space that will frequently feature exhibitsand pr ograms from different Spanish-speaking countries. “It has been a long-time goal of mine to create aHispanic Cultural and Educational Center where the public can come to see, learn, and experience themany aspects of Hispanic histor y and culture,” said Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin. V ARIETY The month-long cultural exhibit in the Governmental Center lobby features items from a variety of Latin American countries, includingpaintings and pieces and other assorted media created by of a number of female artists from South America. The featured artists include Denise Plazas (Colombiaeresa de Triana (Colombia Mendoza (Argentina Teresita Mesa (ColombiaAna Candioti (Ar gentina) and Liliana Gerar di (Argentina The ar t exhibit is being coordinated by Mujeres Latinas, an organization dedicated to assisting women of Latin ori-gin and their families integrate into American society. “This is a wonderful way to celebrate Hispanic heritageand Br oward County’s rich history and cultural diversity said Wasserman-Rubin. In addition, Br oward County Libraries Division is sponsoring more than 50 pro-grams celebrating Hispanic culture. For a complete listing of library programs, visit www.broward.org/library . Hispanics have enriched America ~ Bush Broward County celebrates with art,music and culture Hispanic Heritag e Month runs from Sept.15,the anniversary of Independence for five Latin American countries Costa Rica,El Salvador,Guatemala,Honduras,and Nicaragua – to Oct. 15.In addition,Mexico declared its Independence on Sept.16,and Chile on Sept.18.The term Hispanic,as defined by the United States Census Bureau,refers to Spanish-speaking people in the U.S.of any race.On the 2000 Census form,people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican,Puerto Rican,Cuban,or “other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino”.More than 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino on the 2000 Census. ~ A Caribbean Today advertising feature October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 13 Bush Hispanics have made their voices loud and clear in the United Sta tes. HISPANIC HISPANIC HERITAGE HERITAGE MONTH MONTH www .caribbeantoday.com CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 13 

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC As Guyana prepares to join the rest of the region in hosting Cricket World Cup 2007, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) has announced plans to repackage the country’s main tourism products. Brian James, chairman of the GTA, said the repackaging effort will result in a greaterfocus on eco-tourism, since the country cannot seek to repli-cate the sun and fun typetourism packages whichCaribbean islands make thecenter piece of their marketingpr ograms. “There is a lot more geography, more land and the prod-ucts ar e not the typical sun, sand and sea,” James said. e are more into a specific niche market where thetourism pr oduct appeal who are into eco tourism, adventur e, natur e bir d watching, sports fishing. e have a number of culture items inour tourism product, whichyou will notfind in other parts of theCaribbean. Thisis due to thenumber of raceswe have inGuyana. “There are African andIndian heritage festivals. WehaveAmerindianHeritageMonth, ther e ar e dif fer ent types of cultural ethnic activitiesthat we ar e pr o moting. So we are not going after the mass market to have jumbo jets with 400 to 500 peo ple coming out together, which our ecology will not be able to sustain,” he added. He said while the individual tourism products have to be developed, promoted, directed and sustained by the private sector, the GTA would be working along with the private sector to ensure that the Guyana product was developed in a sustainable way. James said even though tourism is not a major r evenue generating product, it contributes to Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product. “It has gone from a literally an unknown commodity toappr oximately 12 to 15 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, and whatdif ferentiates it from the typical W est Indian tourism is that it is not an island,” he added. JAZZ JAMAICAN-STYLE IN JANUARY Music will be the drawing card for visitors planning to travel to Jamaica early next year.Last month the organizers of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues F estival announced their plans for 2007,the 10th year of the event,at a launch held in New York.They listed several well kno wn artistes confirmed to perform a t the festival, set to run from Jan.25-27,including Arturo Tappin, Christopher Cross,Cyndi Lauper,Kenny Rogers,Michael Bolton,Monty Alexander,Pieces of a Dream,plus reggae stars Freddie McGregor,Luciano,Shaggy and Wayne Wonder.Among those who attended the launch were,from left,David Shields,Jamaica’s deputy tourism director; and festival officials Walter Elmore,Marcia McDonnough,George deMercado and Gregg Truman. Guyana launches new thrust for Cricket World Cup Dr. Carol Jacobs, chairman of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, saysthe tourism sector is of critical importance in the fight againstHIV/AIDS. “In a region which boasts of 40 million tourists passing through the region annually, thetourism sector must see itself as having a critical role in sensitizing those who work in the industry, aswell as those who travel for pleas ure or for work,” said Dr. Jacobs,an eminent Caribbean familyphysician, who also chairs theBarbados National HIV/AIDSCommission. Her comments came last month as St. Lucia prepared to host a lar ge delegation of Caribbean media, tourism and development officials for the Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable T ourism (CMEx regional forum known for dealing with the contr oversial connec tions between tourism and HIV/AIDS. “The AIDS program relies heavily on our media par tners to help us achieve these ends,” said Dr. Jacobs. The fifth anniversary of CMEx, to be held at CocoResor ts and a host of other properties on the island, was sched-uled to examine the enhancement of sustainable tourism development through the lens of “Chic Communications Concepts”, discussing culinar y , cultural, health, sports, and village tourism linkages over four days in Castries. The allure of the Caribbean again received global approval asmany of the r egion’s destinations wer e selected for top prizes at the World Travel Awards (WTA) held last month in the Turksand Caicos Islands. The travel industr s so-called equivalent of the“Oscars” r evealed that the Caribbean remains among the most world’s most sought aftervacation spots by visitorsseeking r ecreation, relaxation and even romance. This year some 791 cate gories in the tourism industry wer e highlighted. V oting began in May and ended last month. Voters, represented by some 165,000 travel agencies and professionals from140 countries, had to siftthr ough 3,600 nominations. WINNERS The host country was not left out from the winners’ group, earning the orld’s Leading Beach” and “World’s LeadingIsland Destination” at the13th annual awar ds. Also topping the “world” winners group were from the Caribbean were: Leading villas – Round Hill Hotel and Villas,Jamaica Leading Sports Resort Casa de Campo, DominicanRepublic Most Romantic Resort Sandals Grande Antigua Resort and Spa Leading Hone ymoon Destination – St. Lucia Leading Family AllInclusive Beaches Resorts Leading Ecotourism Destination – Tobago Main Ridge Rain Forest Leading Cruise Line Royal Caribbean Leading Beach Pr ovidenciales, Turks and Caicos Leading All-Inclusive Company – Sandals Resorts International Tourism important in AIDS fight ~ activist Love,luxury earn Caribbean top World Travel Awards October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 15 TOURISM TOURISM / / TRAVEL TRAVEL www .caribbeantoday.com TOURISM BRIEFS American Eagle adds Caribbean destinations American Eagle has increased its services to five Caribbean destina-tions. The airline will offer additional flights from its San Juan hub toAntigua, Dominica,Anguilla,St. Thomas and St. Croix,using the ATR72 turbo-prop aircraft with capacity for 64 passengers. Faith tourism for The Bahamas The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism is partnering with former Fox Newscorrespondent and CNN newsanchor Andria Hall to promote faith tourism in those Caribbean islands Nov.30 through Dec.3. Club Med to open in December Club Med La Caravelle is scheduled to open in Guadeloupe on Dec.16 following the completion of renovations, which reportedly cost $29 million. Travelocity exec to address CTC A senior executive of one of the leading online providers of travel services will give delegates to the29th Annual Caribbean T ourism Conference (CTC-29 how to use the Internet to expandtheir business. T racey W eber , the chief opera ting officer in North America for Travelocity,will set the tone for theCTC-29 scheduled for Oct. 22-25 in The Bahamas. New tourist board for Montserrat Tourism entrepreneur John Ponteen has been chosen to chair a newboard of directors for the Montserra t Tourist Board (MTB Compiled from CMC and other sources. Caribbean destinations were voted among the most romantic. Guy ana is hoping eco-tourism a ttractions like bird wa tching will interest visitors during Cricket World Cup 2007. CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 15 

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PARENT RESOURCE GUIDE The Miami-Dade County Public Schools and TheEducation Fund have co-pub lished a free Parent Resource Guide 2006-2007 for the pub-lic. The 88-page guide, sponsored by global financial services pr ovider ING, gives parents infor mation they need to know about their child’s school, curriculum and student requirements. The guide is printed in three languages -English, Spanish and Haitian creole.Each school in the system willr eceive additional copies for use in par ent-teacher meetings. The guide may also be viewed online at www.educationfund.org (under “Our Publications”) and www.dadeschools.net (under “Resources”). The 2006-2007 Guide provides a wealth of infor mation including r evised curriculum requirements, test schedules, immunization requirements, student services, legal rights and parental involvement. HURRICANE RELIEF Elderly residents of Br oward County, Florida, home to hundreds ofCaribbean immigrants, will get hurricane help from the county. A $5,655,000 grant that will provide assistance to residents 60 years and older thatwer e affected by the 2005 hurricanes. The grant money will be administer ed by the Broward County Elderly and Veteran Ser vices Division, and will be used for rental subsidies to assist elderly residents for housing expenses incur r ed as their residences were damaged, in-home services such as minor repairs and clean up, as well as roof replacement. The grant funds will be available to any Br oward County r esident 60 years or older who is not receiving ser vices from another source and was impacted by a hur ri cane in 2005. Assistance will be pr ovided thr ough an application process. For more information, call the Elderly and Veteran Services Division at 954-537-2936 . P ASSPORTS The National Passport Infor mation Center (NPIC the United States Depar tment of State’s single, centralizedpublic contact center for U.S. passport information, is offering a toll free service and has expanded its ser vice availability/options. Persons with questions or need status checks on pending passport applications can call 1-877-487-2778. Customer service representatives are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Automated information isavailable 24 hours a day , seven days a week. For e-mail access, visit: npic@state .gov W ebsite of passport and other international travel infor mation is available at travel.state.gov ‘GREEN CARD’ FILING The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCISannounced that aliens must mail applications to renew or r eplace permanent resident car ds, commonly known as “Green Cards”, directly to the Los Angeles Lockbox. The Lockbox is a pr ocess ing facility used by USCIS to accelerate the collection of applications and petitions. The announced change allows the agency to impr ove the processing of Form I-90 (Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card) by electronically capturing data and images and by performing fee receipting and depositing from one central location, rather than at the local district office, service center, or application support center (ASC Aliens filing a Form I-90, r egardless of their state of r esidence, must mail those applications with an applica tion fee of $185 and a biomet rics fee of $70 to one of the following addresses: For U.S. Postal Service (USPS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, P.O.Box 54870 Los Angeles, CA90054-0870; Or for non-USPS deliver ies (e.g. private couriers U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Attention: I-90, 16420 Valley View Ave., La Mirada, CA 90638 Applicants should not include initial evidence and suppor ting documentation when submitting the Form I-90 to the Los AngelesLockbox. Applicants will receive a notice for a biometrics processing appointment at an ASC and will submit their ini-tial evidence during that appointment. Applicants will r eceive their biometrics appointment in the mail. CRISIS HOTLINE Multi-lingual counselors ar e available to r espond per sons suffering from stress or needing help with housing, food, child care, caring for teens or other similar prob-lems. Call 211 fr om a regular telephone or 954-537-0211 from a cellular. The fr ee service is being of fer ed as part of Broward County’s helplines. PARENTS NIGHT OUT The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Florida will hold a “Parents NightOut” event on Oct.13 . “Parents Night Out” is a chance for parents to have anevening out on the town alone while their children ages four to 12 create art, participate in creative movementactivities, play games, eatpizza and watch movies at the center, 1650 Harrison Street. For more information andr eservations, call 954-9213274 . 16 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 FYI FYI www.caribbeantoday.com CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 16 

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Miami – The W omen’s Inter national Film Festival South Florida (WIFF ing films for its second annual festival which will take place Mar. 29-April 1, 2007. Screenings will be held in both Miami-Dade andBr oward counties. Festival entries will be accepted into two main cate gories, “U.S. Fem-Cinema”, for women from or living in the United States and “WorldSheview” for women who come from other countries. Filmmakers may enter featur e length (70 minutes or longer) nar rative/dramatic films or featur e length documentaries. The festival will also accept dramatic shorts and short documentary films(films 49 minutes or less Cash and prizes will be given for the best films. e’re really excited to have juried competitions with both American and interna-tional filmmakers being judged separately this year Yvonne McCormack-Lyons,executive dir ector of the festi val said in a press release issued last month. “It pro-vides our audiences the opportunity to see from theeyes of women her e in the U.S., as well as a window intothe thematic and aesthetic concerns of issues stemmingfr om acr oss the globe.” SHOWCASE The WIFF is a four-day omen’s History Month”celebration showcasing women’ s films, visual art and other ar t forms. The event also includes workshops,panel discussions, symposia, and parties celebrating women artists. “The mission of WIFF is to bring together womenar tists from all over the world to explor e, share and dialogue about issues concer ning women through the arts,” said McCormack-Lyons. “With women representing only five to seven percent of filmmak-ers, it is no wonder that the images of women and the sub-ject matter of films pr esented to the general public ar e often less than ideal. W ith these kinds of statistics, WIFF’s role is very important.” Filmmakers can submit their films to: Women’s International Film Festival, P.O. Box 120337, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 or through the website www.wiffonline.org where they can view complete submission rules and information. Submission deadlines and pr ocessing fees ar e: Early submission deadline: Oct. 31, 2006, $25 features and $20shor ts; official submission deadline, Nov. 30, 2006, $30 featur es and $25 shor ts; and late submission, Dec. 7, 2006, $40 features and $35 shortfilms. For mor e infor mation about the WIFF, call 954-9378299 or log onto www.wiffonline.org . The cultural diversity of artists and art organiza-tions will be the focus of a Cultural Diversity Artists’ Forum this month in Hollywood, Florida. The workshop, set for 7 p.m.Oct.11 at the Okalee Museum, 5710 Seminole Way,will encourage dialogue with artists and arts organizations inor der to identify their needs. It will also offer artists an opportunity to learn about the different services offered by theBr oward County Commission’s Cultural Division, to learn new skills for career enhancementand network with other ar tists and arts organizations, as wellas infor mation ongrants, workshops, school and community ar tist r esidencies, teaching oppor tunities, publications and marketing. “The Cultural Diversity Artists’ Forums are a wonderful oppor tunity for us to lear n about the area’s artists, as well as openly discuss new ideas andfutur e needs, of artists and arts organizations,” said Mary A. Becht, dir ector of the Cultural Division. For more information about the free forum, which is beingheld in par tnership with the Seminole T ribe of Florida, call Adriane Clarke, grants specialist, at 954-357-7530 or e-mail: aclarke@br owar d.or g; or T er r esa For d, arts education specialist, at teford@broward.org or 954-357-8007 . Online r egistration can be made visiting www.broward.org/arts and clicking on “Workshops”. LOS ANGLES, CMC Managers of a nightclub herelast month cancelled an October performance by Jamaican reggae artiste Mark Myrie, alsoknown as Buju Banton, aftercustomers raised concer ns about his anti-gay lyrics. Pr ess r epor ts stated that email messages and telephone calls from patrons prompted the cancellation of the Oct. 2 show. e felt it was the right thing to do after doing some r esear ch on the matter,” said Adam Manacker, general manager of the Highland nightclub and restaurant. STUNTED Earlier this year Buju Banton and Beenie Man, another Jamaican r eggae star , had shows in London cancelled after activists condemned them for their homophobic tunes. One of Buju Banton’s earlier songs “Boom Bye Bye” glorifies the shooting of gay men. However, his most recent album oo Bad”, r eleased last month, omits homophobic lyrics. The husky-voiced star has been a major figur e in Jamaica since the early 1990s with brash dancehall music and, more r ecently , a traditional r eggae sound. But his career has been stunted in the United States and Britain because of his attitude toward gays. Women filmmakers wanted for festival Florida hosts forum on artist diversityL.A.nightclub cancels Buju Banton show TORONTO, Canada, CMC Jamaican filmmaker Per r y Henzell says he is “amazed” at the “phenomenal” success ofthe movie “The Har der They Come”, since it had been a “har d sell” when it was released in 1972. Henzell was speaking with patrons, whoattended the scr eening of a restored version of the movie at the ongoingT oronto International Film Festival (TIFF Canada last month. Hesaid it was impossible to get a distributor, and when no internationalcompany would take thefilm, he personally tookit to some 36 countriesover a six-year period. “When the movie opened in Brixton, nobody came. We printed 2,000 flyers and got runners to plaster them everywhere and the nextnight, the place was rammed,” he recalled. IMPACT The movie was shown in a section of the 10-day film festival called “Dialogues: Talking with Pictur es”, wher e film directors were invited to “select and discuss films thathave inspir ed them, had a sig nificant impact on them, or wer e pivotal in the pr ogr ession of their own car eers”. The restored version of “The Harder They Come” also contains 20 new shots.The movie, which star r ed reggae icon Jimmy Cliff, also launched the acting career of Carl Bradshaw, who was a highschool teacher at the time. He told the audience that no one realized how big the film would become, as formany of the actors it was just “a mackerel and banana”movie. “What that means is we didn’ t r eally see it as having any substance but it could feed you and keep you from starving. I had noidea I waslaunching my career,” saidthe awar dwinning actor and movie producer, who has appearedin almostever y movie shot in Jamaica, including “Third World Cop”, SmileOrange”, “The Lunatic”,“Klash” and “DancehallQueen”. Henzell’s second movie, “No Place Like Home”, wasone of two Jamaican movies topr emier at this year s Toronto Film Festival, the other being “Made in Jamaica”. Grammy award winners Shaggy and WyclefJean will be among the top acts appearing at the 10thAnnual W orld Creole Music Festival from Oct. 27-29 at Pottersville Savannah inDominica. The festival will open with the Jamaican-born dancehall artiste Shaggy, who won aGrammy A ward for “Best Reggae Album” in 1995 and Dominica’s own WCK, creators of Bouyon music.Other performances will include T-Vice from Haiti, Royalty Band from the U.S. and Zouk Flam fromGuadeloupe. The next day , Haitian-born Wyclef Jean, formerly with The Fugees, will perform. Joining him will be Triple Kay from Dominica, performers of zouk, compas, r eggae, cadance,dancehall andlocal bouyonmusic; andSwingingStars, also fromDominica,featuringHunter andKing Dice.The sounds of Sakis and Djakout will complete the evening’s line-up. ‘THE DRAGON’ Dominica’s Impromptu Band will take the stage on Oct. 29, along with “The Dragon” Byron Lee of Jamaica, AdmiralT of Gaudeloupe, as well as Tabou Combo and Carimi, both from Haiti. Digicel is the platinum sponsor of this year s World Cr eole Music Festival. Other sponsors include Heineken, Kubuli, CaribVision,AppletonJamaica RumandCaribbeanStar andCaribbeanSun Airlines. For more information on the festival, contact the Dominica Festivals Commission(DFC 767-448-2045 or visit the festival’ s website at www .worldcreolemusicfestival.dm Success of ‘Harder They Come’ amazes filmmaker Perry Henzell Shaggy,Wyclef among headliners at Dominica’s World Creole Music Fest October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 17 ARTS ARTS / / ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINMENT www .caribbeantoday.com Wyclef Jean Henzell Sha ggy CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 17 

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A scholarship fund in honor of the late Louise Bennett-Coverley (Miss Lou officially launched last month ata community cultural tribute tocommemorate the bir thday , life and legacy of the late Jamaican icon in Miami, Florida. The scholarship, tenable at the Edna Manley Collegeof V isual and Per for ming Ar ts in Kingston, Jamaica, will be awarded to a student pursuing the three-year diploma course in performing arts. This was announced by Norma Darby, director of the Florida-basedfolklor e group, the Jamaica Folk Revue, who spear headed the planning of the cultural tribute. A proclamation declaring Sept. 8 as “Louise Bennett Day” in North Miami was also pr esented by that city’s Mayor Shirley Gibson. ENTER T AINMENT Mor e than 600 persons attended the three-hour long program of cultural performances which featured folk songs, poetry, drama, dance and video clippings reminiscentof the work and life of MissLou, including the famous “Ring Ding” entertainment with the childr en. The audience was entertained by local ar tistes including the Jamaica Folk Revue, the T allawah Mento Band, the Roots and Culture Dancers, the Sierra Norwood Children’s Choir, the Queens Entertainment Troupe and dub poet Malachi Smith. Special guest was Jamaican cultural performer Faith D’Aguillar who enter tained the audience with a col lection of Miss Lou’ s wellknown pieces. Miss Lou, who died in Canada recently, would have celebrated her 87th birthdayon Sept. 7. A similar community tribute is being scheduled for Oct.14 at the African American Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale as part of Jamaica’ s National Her oes’ celebrations in Florida. JIS KINGSTOWN, St. V incent, CMC The family of singerPatrice Bascombe, who diedlast month following a motorvehicle accident, is suing the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government over claims ofgr oss negligence on the part of health of ficials at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital. Bascombe was one of two finalists selected to representthe island at ther egional level of the Digicel Rising Star Competition. The 18-year -old former junior queen contestant,national dance champion and singer died while being pre-par ed for sur gery, hospital authorities said. But the family’s attorney Bayliss Fredericksaid that T rinidadian pathologist Dr. Hubert Daisley con-fir med that the singer died fr om septicemia or blood poisoning. Fr ederick has alleged that the young singer died as a r esult of gross negligence. GORDON WILLIAMS The tasty flavor of a tempting destination will be available in Toronto this month, and organizers of the first ever “Caribbean Week” are hopingthat it will be sweet enough to draw visitors from the Canadian city to the region. Between Oct. 11 and 15 Toronto, which has hosted the popular “Caribana” festival for years, will be engulfed with the Caribbean’s special brand of allure – food and entertainment – in this first time eventpr esented by the Caribbean Tourist Organization (CTO The CTO hopes the experi-ence will be linger long enough to transform into asignificant boost for ther egion’s tourism industry. s taking the people to the market,” CTO’sCommunications Dir ector Johnson JohnRose told Caribbean Today recently. s giving them a little taste fo the region so they can come to the region and have the full meal.” According to the CTO, which has also been or ganiz ing a similar event in New York for the past four years, Toronto has always been a target, along with other North American cities with large Caribbean populations. e have, for quite a while, been trying to get it done in Toronto,” JohnRosesaid. “Hopefully we can do it inother cities n the U.S. as well.” EXPOSURE The intent of the celebra tions is clear. According to a press release from the CTO, “Caribbean Week” in Toronto wants to “create events, whichwill attract significant media and consumer attention by pr esenting the best of the Caribbean; create a platform for the sale of Caribbean vaca-tions; and cr eate oppor tunities for our member countries to use the event to further theirindividual objectives.” “What you’re doing is exposing the Caribbean to thepeople,” JohnRose said. aking the Caribbean and bringing it to lifeand done by Caribbean people.” The CTO is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency which represents 32 governments and some private sectorentities. Gordon W illiams is Caribbean Today’s managing editor. Beginning Nov.1,2006,youmay e-mail him at editor@caribbeantoday.com. Taste of the Caribbean comes to TorontoFamily of dead singer sues gov’t 18 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 Toronto will host “Caribbean Week”this month. Miss Lou ARTS ARTS / / ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINMENT www.caribbeantoday.com Florida launches ‘Miss Lou’ scholarship to honor late icon The schedule for the CTO’ s first ever “Caribbean Week”in Toronto is as follows: Thursday,Oct.12 at The Carlu 10 a.m.-2 p.m.Ribbon cutting opening ceremony and media marketplace and luncheon for sponsors and offi cials. 3 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Travel agent training sessions 6 p.m.-10 p.m.Agent carnival and mini-marketplace showcasing Caribbean foods and entertainment. Friday,Oct.13 at The Carlu “DoItCaribbean” wedding promotion, followed by a champagne reception for the winning couple. Saturday ,Oct.14 at The Ontario Science Centre 10 a.m.-5 p.m.The Caribbean Marketplace,open to the public. Representatives from Caribbean destinations,airlines,tour operators and hotels will be present to showcase the best of the region’ s destinations. Sunday ,Oct.15 at the Cathedral Church of St.James 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.– Special service including the music of the Chorale of Toronto.Reverend Douglas Stoute willpreside over the celebra tion. F or more information on “Caribbean Week”in Toronto,call 416-935-0767 or visit www .caribbeanweek.ca Caribbean Week CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 18 

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana The Guyana gover nment has confirmed that the country’s largest trade and investmentexposition, GUYEXPO, will proceed as planned thismonth. Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister ManniramPrashad said the event wouldtake place fr om Oct. 26-31. Prashad, said he had met with the GUYEXPO Committee to discuss preparatory works and site designing and that the event would beheld under the theme“Exhibiting Excellence”. Organizers said they expect mor e than 80,000 peo ple to attend the exposition that provides local companies with an avenue to pr omote their products. The stateowned Guyana Chronicle newspaper had r eported there were fears that the exposition would have been postponed this year, because of the Aug.t 28 regional and general elec-tions that had been won by theincumbent People’ s Pr ogr essive Party Civic (PPPC Prashad said GUYEXPO has contributed significantly to the economy, as many localenterprises, small and lar ge, have been able to clinch lucrative deals. Help reception for small businesses The Miami-Dade Department of Business Development will beholding a reception a t 6 p .m. Oct. 11 at the Continental National Bank of Miami,1801 S.W.1st St.,to kick off its new program tha t guarantees loans to CommunitySmall Business Enterprise (CSBEand Small Business Enterprise(SBE The program relieves some of the financial burdens these companies encounter as small business contractors/vendors when awarded county contracts guarantees loans for CSBE and SBE firms performing on county contracts, through a partnership with Continental National Bank of Miami. 30th Miami trade conf ab Dec.4-6 The effect of recent initia tives such as the Caribbean SingleMarket will be among the issuesassessed a t the 30th Miami Conference on trade and invest ments scheduled for Dec.4-6. Will the Caribbean be able to effectively integra te and crea te a truly single market space tha t allows for increased regional and foreign direct investment?Is CAFTA-DR delivering on its promise or is there significant work left to be done to make Central American economies competitive? Those subjects will be discussed by leaders from the region at the three-day event. Belize banking on CABEI Belize has signed an a greement making it a non-founding beneficiary member of the CentralAmerican Bank for EconomicIntegra tion (CABEI CABEI,established by the governments of Guatemala,ElSalvador , Honduras,Costa Rica and Nicara gua,aims to contribute to the social and economic development of the Central American region. Compiled from CMC and other sources. LESLIE A. SHARE AND MICHAEL ROSENBERG So-called offshore “tax haven” jurisdictions such asthe Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, and the British Virgin Islands have traditionally ser ved as the preferred choices for foreign individuals to for m holding companies and tr usts. Similarly, many United States persons use them as wellfor such purposes, and keepthem fully compliant with the r elated U.S. tax requirements. In most cases, these structures are created for completely legitimatebusiness or personal r easons. On the other hand, there are of course some individualsand entities which attempt to usetax haven companies to hide assets and income from their home country tax authorities.In recent years, these activitieshave under gone intense scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service (IRSand numer ous “secret” offshore schemes have been uncovered. In this regard, on Aug. 1, 2006, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigationissued an extensive 370 page report entitled “Tax Haven Abuses: The Enablers, The Tools and Secrecy” (the report STRUGGLE Commissioner of Internal Revenue Mark Everson testified before this subcommittee that the report reviews the struggles of the U.S. government to combat the alleged use of Caribbean and other offshore financial cen-ters to hide trillions of dollars of assets, avoid taxes on billions of dollars of income, and par tici pate in money laundering. As one example, the r eport mentions that Enron Corporation, one of the most notorious users of of fshor e str uc tur es, for med 441 of fshore entities in the Cayman Islands in a single year . The expr essed purpose of the r epor t is to “open the black box” of how financial pr ofessionals allegedly help their clients conceal and secretly uti-lize for eign offshore assets while circumventing or violating U.S.tax, securities, and anti-money laundering laws.It then reviewsa number of fascinating case his tories where various “promoters” recruited clients over the Internet, prepared an “offshorehow-to manual”, and devised various complex trust and securities transactions schemes for shielding their activities from law enfor cement authorities. ‘SPIDER WEB’ The most detailed and inter esting case histor y discussion involved the use of a virtual “spider web” of 58 non-U.S. tr usts and corporations and a wide range of of fshore mechanisms to exercise control over their assets and $600 million in r elated investment gains. In essence, the r epor t pr ovides a r oadmap of the beliefs of the U.S. tax authorities on “how not to” establish and maintainof fshor e str uctur es. As a bottom-line, if any for eign or U.S. investor still believes that the use of a“secr et” tax haven will for ever shelter their investments fr om the prying eyes of the various legal authorities, a casual review of the r eport should put an end to such foolishness. Although the report generally tar gets U.S. taxpayers rather than foreign persons with no direct U.S. connections, it does inevitably give rise to the practi-cal pr oblem of potentially “tainting” the honest, legitimate uses of low or no-tax Caribbean and other jurisdictions like theBritish V irgin Islands; the Cayman Islands, and TheBahamas. In our experience, foreign investors using these jurisdictions to hold their U.S.assets have sometimes been misidentified as U.S. persons or as having engaged in illegal activities, which has caused them numerous related difficulties and pr ofessional expenses to clarify their situations. Pr ofessional advisors will therefore need to carefully consider these types of potential issues with r espect to each per son’ s individual cir cumstances. Leslie A.Share and Michael Rosenberg are shareholder s with the Coral Gables law firm of P ackman,Neuwahl & Rosenberg,and can be reachedat 305-665-3311. Guy ana ‘Exhibiting Excellence’ with trade expo Oct.26-31 Throughout October the Miami-Dade EnterpriseCommunity Center (ECC free public business plan laband seminars for aspiringentr epreneurs in South Florida. Those par ticipating in the “Emerging and Expanding Business Seminars Series” can receive the ECC Certificate Program upon completing theseminar series. Seminars will be held at 3050 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 201in Miami. They will be divid ed in two parts consisting of the “Emerging Business” andthe “Expanding BusinessSeries”. Among the topics to be discussed are assets, manage-ment, legal contracts for smallbusiness owners, businessplans and gover nment con tracting, business licenses and taxes, loans, and how to starta successful business. HELP The ECC is a division of the Miami-Dade Empowerment Trust. The mission of the ECC is to maximize the opportunities for entrepreneurs and smallbusiness owners to succeed inMiami-Dade County and con tribute to its economic gr owth by providing a wide array of business ser vices thr ough a “One Stop Entrepreneurial Center”. The center offers a small business resource library anddaily one on one businesscounseling. The ECC houses nonprofit organizations, public and private lenders and government agencies like theMinority Business EnterpriseCenter , a component of the United States Department ofCommer ce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA pose of this office is to foster the establishment and growthof minority-owned businessesin America. For additional infor mation and to r egister, call 305579-2730 . Miami-Dade offers free public business seminarsBUSINESS BRIEFSU.S.Senate targets foreign tax haven abuses October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 19 BUSINESS BUSINESS www .caribbeantoday.com Enron Corporation once formed 441 off shore entities in a single year in the Cayman Islands. CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 19 

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GORDON WILLIAMS Shaka Hislop knows all about waiting. That’s because he’s soconfident it will never be invain. The man who stepped from the shadows of a substitute at virtually the last minute to shine for Trinidad and Tobago on soccer’sbiggest stage – the 2006 World Cup finalsin Ger many lives the per fect formula: patience does pay . ou never know when opportunity will come. You just have to be ready,” the goal-keeper told Caribbean Today last month as he continued his current role as a back-up with his new team F.C.Dallas of Major League Soccer (MLS in the United States. Staying ready is the philosophy Hislop has adapted through-out his long car eer , including 14 years in Europe’s professional leagues, many at the club game’s highest level. Yeteven though success never totally eluded him – twice fin-ishing r unner -up in the English Premier League (EPL had to wait until age 37 to rel-ish the gr eatest moments of his soccer life. And after all those years, which included hoppingbetween several clubs – topflight English teams Newcastle United and Portsmouth amongthem it happened in thespace of one month. In May, the 6’ 4” Hislop star ted the final of the F.A. Cup for West Ham, It took a spectacular late shot fr om England international Steven Gerrard of Liverpool to snatch one of the most prestigioustr ophies in world club soccer fr om the grasp of Hislop and the Hammers. BIGGER HIGHLIGHT But Hislop was not deflat ed for long. The following month – just hours beforeT&T was to make its historicentrance into the W orld Cup he lear ned that he would replace injured Kelvin Jack in goal against Sweden. Nothing in more than a dozen pro seasons, and dozens more international caps, could top the experience of lining up with his teammates as T&T’s national anthem cascaded from the public address system on June 10 at Dortmund. “It was a lifelong ambition to be in the World Cup,” said Hislop, who went on to per-for m brilliantly for the Soca Warriors in a surprise 0-0 draw with Sweden, and days later in a 0-2 defeat to England,although he was again beaten by a Gerrard strike late in thegame. “Throughout (my career always thought something wasmissing for me and that was the World Cup. “Things went well for me personally and the team,” heexplained, although the tiny twin-island republic of justover a million people – the smallest nation ever to reach the finals failed to score a goal in the tournament and was eliminated in the groupstage. s a high that I will probably never come downfr om.” FRESH ST ART Hislop’s biggest soccer highlights had came within a month of each other, making that, according to him, “a nice note to sign off” his European career on. Yet, despite still being buoyed by the WorldCup experience, Hislop insistshe does not look down at the MLS, America’ s highest ranked professional league, but still scoffed at by the tradi-tional club powers of Eur ope and South America. He misses the packed ter races at England’s soccer gr ounds and the chanting, ultra-passionate fans who roaron world-class players eachweekend. “Of course,” he admitted, “the environment is different.” But he looks at the MLS, a relatively young league with a promising future, as a freshstar t that he is already relishing. “It is not a come down,” said Hislop about playing inthe MLS. “It’ s still about football, soccer. It was a time for a new challenge. I wanted a new challenge, a fresh challenge.” So he did not re-sign with W est Ham, although, he said, the club offered him a con-tract. He claimed he wanted tobe closer to T&T , the place he calls “home”, although he was born in the United Kingdom and attended Howard University in the U.S. T&T is also where his wife and her family are from. “I wanted mor e stability Hislop explained. He went to F.C. Dallas fully aware that the startinggoalkeeper s job belonged to Dario Sala, a 32-year-old Argentine who last played forArsenal, another top levelEPL club. W ith the club on an impressive run in the MLS’s Western Conference when hejoined in early August, Hislopalr eady knew he would have to compete hard for playing time. At the time of this interview early last month he had only seen action in the U.S. OpenCup on Aug. 23, and was still waiting to make his MLS debut. “Even with his pedigree, we knew when we brought him in that we weren’t just going togive him the (star ting) job,” F .C. Dallas’s Media Relations Manager Justin Pearson told Caribbean Today . “He would have to fight for a job like everyone else on the roster STILL INTENSE Hislop doesn’t mind. He said his intensity has not diminished with the crossing ofthe oceans. He signed on withF .C. Dallas through the end of next season simply because hewants to play . “I’m still as competitive as I was,” he said. “The r ules of the game haven’t changed that much (fr om England to the U.S.). My competitiveness hast changed that much.” However , he understands that he still must prove he isgood enough. For that, he isar med with his most telling weapon. “The single-minded intensity remains the same,” Hislopsaid. He insisted he has set no timetable for grabbing a start-ing spot. Sitting and watching, the patience that has brought him so much reward in thepast, is finefor now . s nothing new to me,” he said. “It doesn’t bother mein the slightestIt’ s just par t of the game.” While he waits, Hislop said he has no problem doing whatever he can to help F.C. Dallas win the MLS. He supports Salaand the other young goalkeep ers at the club. In some ways he is like the old veteran passingon the knowledge. They tur n to him, and he loves it. “I feel I have a r ole and responsibility to be support-ive,” he said. “I am enjoyingit.” And even if it eventually turns sour, which Hislop seri-ously doubts, he can always look back at his special summer, when in less than a monthhis soccer car eer reached its pinnacle. “I was happy as a fan just to be there,” he recalled abouthearing the T&T national anthem in Germany at the WorldCup. “For me it was a specialmoment. That was the highlighton the field. What a big moment for me, my country Just something to think about while he exer cises his most valuable vir tue. Gordon Williams is Caribbean Today’s managing editor.Beginning Nov.1,2006 you may e-mail him at editor@caribbeantoday.com T&T’s Hislop bides his time over new U.S.soccer challenge ~ T&T World Cup hero moves to MLS’s F.C.Dallas 20 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 Hislop in action for West Ham in England last season. Hislop,left,and captain Dwight Yorke celebrate T&T’s historic qualification for the finals of World Cup 2006 SPORT SPORT www.caribbeantoday.com CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 20 

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TITLE:First Rain AUTHOR:Donna Weir-SoleyREVIEWED BY :Dawn A. Davis Is not often that words from another so stir the spirit that they conjure up memories deeply buried with time. A book of poetry reflecting the rhythmic music of language,“First Rain” celebrates the lives ofthe women in the author s life fr om her grandmother to her aunty and her close friends, who have played significant roles in shaping her words. Donna Weir-Soley recreates the lives and tales of these women through her own unique storytellingvoice. And, thr ough her stories you will go back to a time when you felt most nurtured, a time when qualitytime meant a family gathering with the eldest matriarch in the familythe center of attention as she weaved her life story, loose, but strong as a bamboo basket. Ah was born Teresa Matilda T ouban, but evvy baddy call me mi Miss Mattie or Sistah MattieMi madda was a Maroon, fighter people dem she was as a healer an a midwife;Mi daddy people dem come fromIndia im come ere wen im a bwa Mi nevah have a easy life Mi born inna strug-gleMi birth thirteen pickney;one born deadone get poliomylitisfrom im a bab y one get a bad injec-tion almost cripple im.Mi bury two husband Cousin dem,same name,one jetblac k and cool like de stone in im water jarde odder one red like wite people , eye dem green like de pickney dem glass marble STRENGTH Pictured on the cover is WeirSoley’s grandmother. She is Nanny.She embodies the str ength of all the women mentioned in this book; thewomen who nur ture and send their sons and daughters into today’s harsh non-communicative worldgiving them power to navigate. Indeed, many have written about positive for ces in their lives, but these stories/poems ar e dif fer ent. They go beyond just telling the tale; they invite you into theauthor s world. But, her world becomes yours because the stories are so familiar, so personal to yourown experience. These tales are the Caribbean experience, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. In fact, some totally deny this part of their existence the country life, cooking on a “dutchie” on a coal fire, feeding the pigs, going to bush with grandfather. Sadly , this means denying your being living a life outside of who you are. The men-folk in Weirsoley’s life are also explored, always with love, some with a bite. adda nuh dare look pon me. Him talk to mi wid im bac k turn, name de worlds I and I see and de faces that refuse to see me . Me learn de rhythm of him voice, each curve and dip,swell and whirl, syllable by syllable me swallow himmeaning wholeuntil me learn to speak in parableslike de river But it is the women who take center stage. In fact, they ar e the first line of defense against adversity. The women we meet in “FirstRain” battle enemies, physical orpsychological, over come gr eat handicaps, the jump hurdles to survival and success. DISPLACED Her migration stories paint a picture many displaced Caribbean people can relate to the loneliness even in the middle of a vast concrete jungle; the cultur e shock; the day job, the night job; the over t discrimination. But, amidst all this the she celebrates the successes and contri-butions made to our adopted lands. What if we were to tell the truth about our voluntary exile?That we became the butt of jokes InLiving Color for the three,four jobs we worked to make down-payment on the modest home, since owning a home expressed thedogged determinationthat cast our spirits in iron, made us oblivious to racial slights and other insults we broaden our bac ks to take daily Insults bred desire, hope, molded by large, tough hands into words heavy as brick that become edifices of powerful Caribbeanimmigrant experiences. “First Rain” get it! PUBLISHER:Peepal Tree Press Ltd,U.K. Dawn A.Davis is a freelance writer for Caribbean Today. Celebrating women takes center stage in ‘First Rain’ October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 21 BOOKS BOOKS www .caribbeantoday.com BOOK BRIEFS Jamaican launches book Jamaican Da vid P.Rowe,a South Florida-based attorney,last monthlaunched his book “Ira Rowe, Caribbean La wyer,Materials, Tributes & Cases”at the St.Thomas University School of Law. Law professor wins book prize A book with a bittersweet Caribbean flavor has been selected the winner of the Frederick Douglass Book Prize,which is awarded for the bestbook on sla ver y or abolition. “Degrees of Freedom; Louisiana and Cuba After Slavery Rebecca J.Scott”,a Charles Gibson Distinguished University Professor of Histor y and professor of law at the University of Michigan, is the author of the book. She won a prize of $25,000. New book focuses on abuse A woman struggling to survive abuse while living in the Dominican Republic,Puerto Rico and the United States,highlights a new book titled res Gritos de Abuso Carnal Angustia Y Terror”. The book,written in Spanish by Leonidas Santana,focuses on thehardships faced by the author . CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 21 

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22 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 22 

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Some of the brightest liter ary minds to come out of the Caribbean will be among those featured at this year’s Miami Book Fair International set for Nov. 12-19. The book fair , which has attracted dozens of awar dwinning writers fr om around the world, will be held at the Miami-Dade College Wolfson campus, downtown the South Florida city . The 2006 book fair is expected to of fer eight days of fun-filled activities, including the “Street Fair” on the weekend of Nov. 17-19, featuring readings by established andaspiring authors, plus a wideselection of books for collec tors to choose fr om and international pavilions showcasing the books, arts, food and drinks fr om around the world. 200 WRITERS Isabel Allende, Thomas Cahill, Nora Ephron, Edward P. Jones and Robert Olen Butler are among the celebrated authors who are sched-uled be among mor e than 200 in attendance this year . They will joined by many writers from the Caribbean, including Kamau Brathwaite, DeborahJack, Philip, Dawad, SharaMcCallum, Lor na Goodison, Lawrence Scott and Mervyn Taylor. Miami Book Fair International is one of the largest presenters of Spanish-language writers in the nation, of fering a rich Hispanic program as a complement to English-language events. Miami Book Fair Inter national is a premier program of the Florida Center for the Literary Arts at MiamiDade College and is held at MDC’s Wolfson campus at 300 N.E. Second Ave., Miami, Florida, and surroundingdowntown str eets. Miami Book Fair International set for Nov.12-19 Belo w Caribbean Today fea tures profiles of Caribbean writers who are scheduled toparticipate in the MiamiInternational Book F air. KAMA U BRA THWAITE Kamau Brathwaitewas bor n in Barbados andis a poet, per for mer, cultural theorist and researcher. His most recentbook is “Bor n to Slow Horses” (2005 he has authored other works, including “Ancestors: AReinvention of MotherPoem”, “Sun Poem and X-Self” ( New Dir ections, 2001), “The Arrivants: A New World Trilogy: Rights of PassageMasks-Island” (Oxfor d, 1968); “Zea Mexican Diary” (Wisconsin Press, 1993), “Dream Stories” (Longman,1993), “Middle Passages” (New York: New Directions,1993) and “The Development of Creole Society in Jamaica 1770-1820” (Oxford 1971 Brathwaite has r eceived numerous awards, among them the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Bussa Award,the Casa de las AmricasPrize, and the Charity Randall Prize for Performance and Written Poetry. He has also received Guggenheim andFulbright fellowships. His book “The Zea Mexican Diary” (1992The V illage V oice Book of the Year. Earlier this year Brathwaite was awar ded the Grif fin (Inter national) Poetr y Prize in Canada for his newest work “Born to Slow Horses”. He is a co-founder of the Caribbean Artists Movement and was educated at PembrokeCollege, Cambridge and has aPhD fr om the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. He has been professor of comparative lLiteratur e at New Y ork University since 1993. DEBORAH JACK Deborah Jack was born in Amsterdam and grew up in St. Martin. She is a poet and ar tist. Her collected poems,“The RainySeason” (St Martin: Houseof Nehesi,1997), is herfirst publishedbook. Her poems have appeared in “TheCaribbean W riter” and “Calabash”. A wards and honors include a Caribbean Writers Institute Fellow, University ofMiami, Prince Ber nar d Culture Fund grants, University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Fellowship. Jack was listed as one of the nation’ s most popular artists at the turn of the century in “St. Martin Massive! ASnapshot of Popular Ar tists” (1999 assistant professor of art atNew Jersey City University in New Jersey. SHARA McC ALLUM Shara McCallum isthe author of two booksof poems from theUniversity of PittsburghPr ess, “Song of Thieves”(2003 “The Water Between Us”(1999, winner of the 1998Agnes L ynch Starrett Poetry Prize). Originally fr om Jamaica, McCallum directs the Stadler Center for Poetr y and teaches at Bucknell University . She is also on the faculty of the Stonecoast Low ResidencyMF A pr ogram. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family. MER VYN TAYLOR Mer vyn T aylor was born in T rinidad and is the author of three books of poetry, “An Island of HisOwn” (1992 “The Goat” (1999 way” (2006 Press, and a compact disc, “Road Clear” (2004incollaboration with bassist David Williams. About the poems in his latestcollection Debbie Jacob wrote in her column in the T rinidad Guardian , “Lost in the cold and unable to returnhome to the tr opics, the West Indians of T aylor’s poems r each as far as they can: Florida”. Taylor lives in Brooklyn, New York. LAWRENCE SCOTT Lawrence Scott is from Trinidad and Tobago. He isthe prize-win ning author of the novel“Aelr ed’ s Sin” (London: Allison & Busby, 1998),which won a Commonwealth Writers’Prize, Best Book in theCaribbean & Canada 1999.“Night Calypso” (Allison&Busby , 2004), his most recent novel, was short-listed for a Commonwealth W riters’ Prize, Best Book in Canada &the Caribbean and nominated for TheInter national Impac Dublin Literary Award 2006 and waspublished in France asCalypso de Nuit in June 2005.His first novel, “W itchbr oom” ( Allison, 1992, Heinemann, 1993) was also short-listed fora Commonwealth W riters’ Prize for Best First Book in Canada & the Caribbean,1993. His short stories have been read on the BBC andhave been anthologized inter nationally, notably in The Penguin Book of CaribbeanShor t Stories and The Oxford Book of Caribbean Shor t Stories. He divides his timebetween writing and teaching literatur e and creative writing. RAMABAI ESPINET Ramabai Espinet was born in Trinidad and Tobago. She is apoet, essayist and critic. Her first novel, “The Swinging Bridge” (T oronto: Harper Flamingo, 2003), was short-list-ed for the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize in the category ofBest First Book (Caribbean and Canada Region), long-list-ed for the IMP AC Dublin 2005 prize for fiction and selected for the Robert Adams lectureseries 2005, held annually in Toronto and Montreal, and fea-turing Adams’ s pick of “moder n classics”. Other works by Espinet include the poetry collection“Nuclear Seasons” (1991and the childr en’ s books “The Princess of Spadina” (Toronto: Sister Vision, 1992) and “Ninja’s Carniva” (Sister Vision, 1993). Her performance pieces “Beyond the Kala Pani”, and “Indian Robber Talk” both explore the historical recordof South Asian immigration to the Caribbean. A documentary, “Coming Home” (Caribbean Tales/Leda SereneFilms), and focused upon the context of Espinet’s work,especially “The Swinging Bridge”, was released in 2005. Espinet is a professor ofEnglish at Seneca College in Toronto in the School ofEnglish and Liberal Studies.She also teaches at the University of T oronto in the Department of CaribbeanStudies and the Institute for Women’s Studies and GenderStudies. She lives in T oronto. D A WAD PHILIP Dawad Philip was born in Trinidad. He is a poet andpainter and cultural activist, as well as (formerlyist in the United States. He is the author of “Invocations” and his work has appeared in several anthologies, includ-ing, most r ecently , “Poetr y International’s English Language Poetry from Aroundthe W orld” (2003-2004 Caribbean authors join Miami’s page turning experience October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 23 www .caribbeantoday.com BOOKS BOOKS PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING CONSULTANT 9-5. M-F. BA/2yrs. exp. Plan public relations and marketing programs including brochures, newsupdates, speeches, and columns. Send resume to Swan Communications 757 SE 17th St. #1018, Ft. Lauderdale, FL33316 CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 23 

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC The Barbados gover nment is seeking to get the religious organizations in the country to assist in spreadingthe gospel of the CaribbeanCommunity Single Marketand Economy (CSME The CSME was the main discussion point when PrimeMinister Owen Ar thur, who has lead prime ministerial responsibility for the CSME,met with the Religious Advisory Committee onNational Af fairs an interfaith body comprisingChristians, the Islamic com munity and Rastafarians lastmonth. Arthur told the religious leaders that the church mustalways be engaged in matters affecting the society, particu-larly on issues driven bylifestyles. “This countr y is facing change on a number of issues and there are some things that cannot just be solved by political power or the law. Wehave to engage the chur ch on these matters and we have to do so on a sustained basis,” Ar thur said. Chairman of the Religious Advisory Committee on National Affairs, Anglican Bishop Dr.John Holder , described theCSME, aninitiative tointegrate the region’s econ-omy into a single eco-nomic spaceas “new and challenging.” He urged ther eligious fraternity to “step out in the new CSME ar rangement guided by God’ s command to love our neighbor The CSME allows for the free movement of skills, labor, goods and services within CARICOM and is regarded as a suitable response by ther egion to the changing global environment in whichCaribbean states have lost preferential treatment for their goods and services. BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC St. Kitts and Nevis has joined fellow Caribbean community (CARICOMBarbados in declaring thatcommer cial sex workers will not be welcomed to its shores for next year s Cricket World Cup (CWC However, Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC last month that while prostitutes would not be wel-comed for the CWC, it wasabout time that Caribbean people engaged in serious discussions on the decriminaliza-tion of pr ostitution and homosexuality. “St. Kitts and Nevis has not begun to discuss the mat ter of legalizing commer cial sex workers or homosexuality, ther efor e my government would be highly irresponsible if we were to move to allowcommer cial sex workers to move into the countr y for W orld Cup in that way ,” Dr . Douglas said. “This (prostitution highly illegal in St. Kitts andNevis and I as prime minister would be the first to ensure that the law is maintainedand that the law is pur sued against those who are being involved in those activi-ties,” headded. DISCRIMINATION Douglas, however, said Caribbean people could nolonger delay discussing the legislation of prostitution andhomosexuality since the crimi nalization of these acts wasfuelling the discrimination,which was pushing HIV/AIDS underground. e must not bury our heads in the sand becausethese ar e impor tant issues issues that have to come to the fore in the discussion of Caribbean people on the topic HIV/AIDS,” said Douglas. The prime minister said it would be unreasonable toseek to legalize pr ostitution or homosexuality in Caribbean countries before there was widespr ead debate on the highly emotive issues across all sectors of society. “I believe the governments have to respond to show leadership. That leader-ship means the time is now opopen discussions on humansexuality within the widerambit of HIV/AIDS and what it is doing to Caribbean popu-lations,” Douglas added. Last month, the Barbados government warned that anylocal pr ostitute or anyone coming into the countr y to trade in prostitution either befor e, during or after the international sporting event,would be made to feel the fullweight of the law . Religious groups to help spread CSME messageBarbados,St.Kitts reject sex workers for Cricket World Cup W ASHINGTON, CMC – The International Organization for Migration (IOM research confirms that manyHaitians migrate to TheBahamas primarily in sear ch of employment. It said that the research, conducted in collaboration withThe Bahamas gover nment and the College of the Bahamas(COB Haitians were leaving from var-ious points, “in many instancesin an ir r egular manner , primari ly in search of work”. “Because of their generally low educational levels andpoor English language skills, they largely seek unskilled orsemi-skilled jobs and ar e often able to cir cumvent labor per mit requirements with employer assistance”, the IOM report-ed. SEP ARATE It said the research findings also suggest that Haitianmigrants ar e not well integrat ed into Bahamian society . “Owing to low income levels, they make considerably more use of public than privatehealthcar e and education ser vices while seeking help amongst themselves for other kinds of social support”, ther epor t stated. “Haitian migrants largely remain a distinct and separatecommunity , generally living in poor er accommodations than other groups; perhaps for that reason, significant numbers of respondents disclaimed anyintention to settle per manently in The Bahamas”, the IOM added. It said that research estimates extrapolated fr om avail able data suggest the popula tion of Haitian nationals pres-ent in The Bahamas range fr om between 30,000 and 60,000, adding that “mor e infor mation needs to be developed about the numbers of “flow through”migrants, i.e., those using TheBahamas as a transit point tothe United States”. BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC The Owen Arthuradministration has againdefended its policy of allowingBarbadian land to be sold tofor eign investors saying it would be sensitive and sensible about what projects areappr oved. Prime Minister Arthur told a political branch meetingof his r uling Barbados Labour Par ty (BLP that the big pr ojects, especially in the tourism sector, were the only way the countr y could continue to pay its bills and deliver social services such as free education, subsidised public transport and free health services. The prime minister said gover nment would not consider the alternatives such as casi-no gambling, incr eased bor rowing, currency devaluation and private beaches and ther e for e had “ver y little to work with.” Arthur said while manufacturing and agricultur e wer e important sectors which still had to be supported and devel-oped, they could not contributeenough to pay the countr s bills. “What will be in the new economy that will give you the assurance that wages in thepublic sector will be paid when they fall due?” he asked. “The sugar industry is $40 million ($20 million, the public sector wage bill is $700 million ($350 million year and I can’t tell them(public ser vants) at the end of the month to hold strain and hold an IOU,” the prime min ister told constituents in the St. James South constituency. NEW MARKETS Arthur said his administration was busy at developinga new economy based ontourism and ser vices. “All acr oss Barbados we have given the impetus in building a new capacity to ear n for eign exchange for this coun try. Once we get them together we can go up market,” the prime minister added. Haitians visit The Bahamas searching for jobs ~ IOM Land sale to foreign investors vital for development ~ Bdos 24 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 Douglas Arthur REGION REGION www.caribbeantoday.com REGION BRIEFS $15M loan for Haiti’ s poor The Inter -American Development Bank (IDB the approval of a $15 million softloan for a program to expand drink ing water and sanitation services to rural communities in Haiti. According to the Washingtonbased bank,the project is expected to benefit some 90,000 people inthe rural areas of Artibonite, Grand Anse,Nippes and Ouest,including the island of La Gonve,wherea vera ge consumption of water is around seven liters per person a day,nearly one-third of the basicminimum recommended by the World Health Organization. Grenada to get agro-aid from China China will be assisting Grenada in a griculture and technology as part of the second phase of a co-opera tion a greement signed between both countries,according toAgriculture Minister Gregor y Bo wen. Bowen,who recently returned from an official visit to Beijing, said the Chinese ha ve a greed to provide assistance for the establishment of four centers for a gro-processing and another four for animal husbandr y. T&T observes Republic Day Trinidad and Tobago last month observed its 30th anniversary as a republic that is likely to be its lastunder the present Republican Constitution. The P a trick Manning-led gov ernment has already disseminated for public discussion a new draft constitution tha t could see various changes,including an executive head of state to replace the largelyceremonial one a t present, and a change in the appointment of ministers to the Cabinet. Cheaper electricity for St.Lucia Prime Minister Dr.Kenny Anthony says the a greement with V enezuela to provide oil at a concessionary price to St.Lucia will result in cheap-er electricity ra tes to consumers. “As far as the government is concerned,our priority will be to try to get a cheaper fuel to LUCEEC (St. Lucia Electricity Services Company Limited) so that they can reduce thecost of genera tion of electricity , Anthony said last month. St. Kitts and Nevis marks 23rd Independence St. Kitts and Nevis marked its 23rd anniversary of Independence on Sept. 19 with a call from Prime Minister Dr.Denzil Douglas to citi-zens to position themselves to adjustto the current socio-economic tran sitioning taking place in the country. The prime minister said the main focus of his administra tion would be to empo wer citizens to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in the aftermath of the recent closure of the 300-year-old sugar industry. Compiled from CMC and other sources. CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 24 

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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC The main Opposition United National Congress (UNC Basdeo Panday had resumedthe post of chair man, less than a five months afterhe announced his r esignation from active politics. The move by the UNC, taken at an emer-gency executive meetinglast month, followed the decisions bythe par ty’ s embattled political leader, Winston Dookeran, to form his own Congress of the People party. Panday told r eporters that one of his immediate tasks would be towrite to the party’s membershipas well as those who had helped form the party tor eturn to the UNC. He said the executive had also agreedthat the Leadership Council would continue to direct the party until a leader is chosen. He did not rule out of the possibility of his former Attorney General Ramesh LawrenceMaharaj, whose criticism ledto the downfall of the Panday gover nment in 2001, being part of the Council. “I have decided to r esume the chairmanship of the party. This is in response to requests from the people and the party who have supported us,” Panday told reporters. Panday had relinquished leadership of the partysoon after hewas convict edin aMagistrates’ Court on three charges offailing to declare tothe IntegrityCommission,a bankaccount heand his wife,Oma, held in London during the peri-od he ser ved as prime minister . Panday wassentenced totwo years imprison-ment oneach of the charges to run concurrently, but he has been released on TT$300,000 ($50,000 pending an appeal. T&T’s foreign minister resignsPanday returns as UNC chairman in T & T October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 25 POLITICS POLITICS www .caribbeantoday.com Panday PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC Foreign Minister Knowlson Gift resigned with “immediate effect” fromthe T rinidad and T obago gover nment, according to a statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister late lastmonth. The statement gave no reason for the sudden r esignation, but said that Prime Minister Patrick Manning “accepted Mr. Gift’s resignation and in so doing, has expressed his gratitudefor the loyal ser vice r ender ed by Mr . Gift during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs”. “The Prime Minister also wished Mr. Gift well in all his future endeav-ours”, the statement added. Gift, 71, became minister of foreign affairs in 2001 after Manningwas named prime minister by thenPr esident Ar thur NR Robinson fol lowing the collapse of the Basdeo Panday administration. He held on to the post after the People’s National Movement (PNM general elections. Gift CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 25 

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GORDON WILLIAMS It won’t be complete in time for Cricket World Cup (CWC ning in Mar ch, but operators of Sangster Inter national Airport in Montego Bay have issued assurances that the entry to Jamaica, through its second city on the western side of the Caribbean island, will be prepped enough tocomfor tably handle the expected large influx of visi-tors and car go for the massive international event. The airpor s new arrival hall, part of the overall expansion of the airport, the hub of the country’s national airline Air Jamaica, is scheduled for completion by Jan. 2007, according to MBJ Airports Ltd., the four-company consortium that runs the facility.That means that the 12,000 visitors “anticipated specifical-ly for cricket” (but which doesnot include teams and their entourages), according to Althea Tharkur, marketing analyst for commercial development at MBJ Airports Ltd., should have few hitches relating to overcrowding whenthey ar rive. The tour nament will be played in several Caribbean islands. However, Jamaica will host the opening ceremony at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium, located not far from Sangster International, in addition to several warm-up games beginning Mar. 5. Yet with all the adjustments necessary to accommo-date the influx of visitors and cargo, for example equipmentfor media cr ews and general luggage, ar ound the time of CWC 2007, the consortium insists that the major concern – security – will not be short-changed. “It (security focus,” MBJ Airports Ltd.’sSecurity Coor dinator Cecil W eekes, told a group of journalists who tour ed Sangster International recentlys zero tolerance for that.” PASSENGER SEPARATION For CWC 2007 the east concourse of the airport willhave separation of passengers,although most passengers will be channeled in that directionas constr uction at the west concourse picks up intensity around that time. Gates 8-19on the east concourse will beopen by CWC. By the time the expansion of the airport is completed in 2008, the immigration and customs area will be shifted from its present spot to the area where the ground transporta-tion section is cur rently located and the separation of incoming and outgoing pas-sengers will become per manent. By that time, all luggage will be checked by the airport before being sorted by the air-lines and ever yone will be required to go through the same security checkpoints. MoBay airport expands for CWC 2007, anticipates heavy traffic into Jamaica 26 CARIBBEAN TODAYOctober 2006 Sangster Interna tional Airport in Montego Bay is undergoing major expansion. CARGO CARGO & & TRANSPORT TRANSPORT www.caribbeantoday.com ~ A Caribbean Today advertising feature (CONTINUED ON PAGE 27) CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 26 

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NEW WRINKLE Another new wrinkle of the expanded airport is actual-ly CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment), whichallows all airlines to haveaccess to check-in points atgates once they have the pr op er pass codes. The airport also has big plans to incr ease passenger traf fic. Thr ee million passen gers currently pass through Sangster International eachyear . By 2010, MBJ Airpor ts Ltd projects that the figure will move to nine million a year . A r ecent tr ek through the airport showed that the expansion still has a way to go. Large spaces are void of color and style, although that is expected to improve once the work is completed. However, the east concourse offers a pleasant, airy feel, complete with shops and bars. Passengers seem to take anysor t of discomfor t fr om the expansion work in stride. MBJ Airpor ts Ltd. sour ces told Caribbean T oda y that not all parties were enthused over the expansionplans of the private consor tium, which includes for eign entities. There were concernsthat the airpor t would lose its “Jamaican feel”. “Ther e was a lot of r esist ance prior to privatization,” Tharkur explained. “The pub-lic felt it would be losing itscultur e. “(But talked about maintaining theJamaican sense of place at the airport,” she added. Gordon Williams is Caribbean T oday’ s manag ing editor . The Federal Maritime Commission (FMCindependent r egulatory agency r esponsible for the r egulation of ocean bound transportation in the foreign commerce of the United States. The agency is r esponsible for the following activities: Monitoring activities of ocean common carriers, marine terminal operators,confer ences, por ts and ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIsU.S. for eign commer ce to ensure they maintain just and r easonable practices, and oversees the financial responsibility of passenger vessel operators. Maintaining a trade moni toring and enfor cement program designed to assist r egulated entities in achieving compliance, and to detect and appropriately remedy mal-practices and violations set forth in section 10 of theShipping Act. Monitoring the laws and practices of foreign governments which could have a dis-criminator y or other wise adverse impact on shipping conditions in the U.S. Enforcing special regulatory r equir ements applicable to ocean common carriers owned or controlled by foreign governments (“controlled carriers” Pr ocessing and reviewing agr eements and service contracts. Reviewing common carriers’ privately published tariff sys-tems for accessibility and accuracy. Issuing licenses to qualified OTIs in the U.S. and ensuring all maintain evidence of finan-cial r esponsibility . Ensuring passenger vessel operators demonstrate ade quate financial responsibility for casualty and non-per for m ance. One of the FMC’s main objectives is to license OTIs and ensure that they have an insurance surety bond in placeto pr otect those consumers shipping cargo overseas. With unlicensed cargo companies,consumers ar e not protected and have no r ecourse should pr oblems arise with their personal shipments. Submitted b y FMC MoBay airport e xpands for CWC 2007, anticipates heavy traffic into JamaicaFMC: Shipping’s watchdog U.S.agency on the high seas October 2006CARIBBEAN TODAY 27 CARGO CARGO & & TRANSPORT TRANSPORT www .caribbeantoday.com ~ A Caribbean Today advertising feature (CONTINUED FROM P AGE 26) FMC is making sure ships and their cargo adhere to U.S. regulations CTOct2006.qxd 10/6/06 10:52 AM Page 27 

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