CARIBBEAN TODAY

n e WS


T&T's RM. laments 'dangerous U.S. funds Tsunami warning system for Caribbean


imbalances'


 NELSON A. KING

NEW YORK Trinidad and
Tobago's Prime Minister
Patrick Manning has lament-
ed the "dangerous imbal-
j.n i, of globalization.
 In an hour-long address at
the Medgar Evers College in
Brooklyn, where he received
an honorary doctor of laws
degree from one of New
York's predominantly black
colleges last month, Manning
said the current economic
paradigm, "anchored in glob-
alization, notwithstanding its
obvious benefits, in terms of
productivity, has already cre-
ated dangerous imbalances in
and among countries.
 "In the midst of tremen-
dous wealth that is being cre-
ated, the gulf between rich
and poor continues to widen.
 "The gross domestic
product of the 40 poorest
nations is less that the wealth
of three richest nations in the
world," he added.
 Manning said that over 50
percent of the world's popula-
tion lives on less than $2 a
day in a world economy that
generates in excess of $50 tril-
lion annually.

'UNACCEPTABLE'
 He said the result of "this
totally, unacceptable situation
is mass poverty, spawning the
myriad problems of hunger,
malnutrition, disease, home-
lessness, illiteracy and child
labor," adding that over eight
million people die annually
hL_.Ju1L they are simply too
poor to stay alive."
 The Trinidad and Tobago


I


U.S. considers compensation for Antigua...


(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
known as the Caribbean Basin
Initiative (CBI), if Antigua
pursues these sanctions.
 CRNM said that MPAA is
basing its argument on the
grounds that "suspension of
TRIPS obligations would
infringe the eligibility criteria
for CBI benefits.
 "The association has cited
an eligibility criteria which
states that CBERA denies
beneficiary status to a country
that has nationalized, expropri-
ated or otherwise seized own-
ership or control of property
owned by U.S. citizens or has
taken steps to repudiate or
nullify intellectual property.
 "Further reference was
made to the CBTPA criterion
that requires that countries
meet CBERA criteria in intel-
lectual property rights (IPR)
pr lM said that "in as far
 CRNM said that "in as far


as Antigua continues to bene-
fit from CBI preferences
through WTO waiver, the pro-
posed action of retaliation may
be completely permissible
under international trade law.
 "It should be further
noted that U.S. recourse in this
case has also been empowered
by the recent agreement
between CARICOM and the
U.S. to extend the CBI prefer-
ential agreement.
 "This decision to extend
CBI was the most appropriate
course of action for CARI-
COM (Caribbean community)
at that time. However, this
potential threat of U.S. retalia-
tion, compromises the political,
negotiating and legal manoeu-
vrability of Antigua.
 "In the end, the options
available to Antigua in this
case are f,\\t stated the
CRNM.
0


 "As part of that effort,
the U.S. government provided
US$37.5 million in related
support to the Caribbean and
Atlantic regions including the
installation of seismic moni-
toring stations in throughout
the region."
 The station, which is


of globalization
 prime minister said that the
 world's industrial powers con-
 tinue to "create the breeding
 ground for the level of disaf-
 fection and desperation that
 produces criminal activity
 within and across borders."
 Manning said other con-
 sequences include illegal
 migration; the "pernicious"
 trade in illegal drugs and
 arms; and "the delusion of an
 ideological solution, which is
 fuelling a terrorism with a
 ferociousness, perhaps,
 unprecedented in human his-
 tory."
 Manning said failure of
 the "model" in many develop-
 ing countries has given rise to
 "an adventurism and left-wing
 governments, particularly in
 Latin America.
 "Additionally, competi-
 tion, the struggle to survive
 and the push to produce con-
 tinue to take a most disas-
 trous toll on the environment,
 to the point where the very
 survival of human civilization
 on this planet is thrL iiL nd,"
 he said.
 Manning said the
 "Washington consensus,"
 which ihrh/a trade and
 production facing the private
 sector, has "clearly not worked
 for the benefit of all humanity."
 Brooklyn Borough
 President Marty Markowitz,
 who, in jest, considers himself
 a "Trini J\\% presented
 Manning with a small replica
 of the Brooklyn Bridge and a
 proclamation, declaring Sept.
 26, 2007, "Patrick Manning
 Day in Brooklyn".
 0


BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,
CMC The United States is
providing just under half a
million dollars towards the
establishment of a Tsunami
and Coastal Hazards Warning
System (TCHWS) for the
Caribbean community
(CARICOM).
 Washington, through the
United States Agency for
International Development/
Office of Foreign Disaster
Assistance, on Sept. 26 signed a
two-year agreement with the
Caribbean Disaster Emergency
Response Agency (CDERA)
as part of the initiative.
 Officials said the $475,200
grant would help in empower-
ing coastal communities in the
Caribbean to prepare for and
respond to tsunamis and
coastal hazards.
 "This assistance comple-
ments the multi-million dollar
U.S. government support for
the creation of the Indian
Ocean Tsunami Warning
System in the wake of the
Indian Ocean Tsunami of
December 26, 2004," said U.S.
Ambassador to Barbados and
the Eastern Caribbean Mary
Ourisman, who signed the
accord.

 Antigua's

 action on
NEW YORK Antigua and
Barbuda's Prime Minister
Baldwin Spencer has called
for collaborative action in
adapting measures to deal
with climate change.
 "It would be no exaggera-
tion to say that our collabora-
tive action in this area holds
the key to future of entire
countries and communities
around the globe," Spencer
said during a round table dis-
cussion at a high-level summit
of the United Nations
General Assembly last month.
 Spencer told colleagues
and other delegates that
financing effective measures
and mechanisms for climate
change would be one of the


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prepare coastal communities
for action to be taken when a
warning issued.
 "We have provided the
 technological infrastructure
 and we are now providing our
 people with the knowledge and
 skills to respond effectively to
 such dangers," said CDERA
 Chairman Dale Marshall, who
 is also the Barbados minister
 of home affairs.
 "Often we think of the
 region as one which is only
 prone to certain types of nat-
 ural hazards hurricanes,
 tropical storms and floods -
 we tend to forget that there
 are other natural hazards such
 as earthquakes and tsunamis
 which though less frequent,
 can be much more greater in
 magnitude and can cause sig-
 nificantly higher loss of
 human life."
 The two-year project will
be executed by CDERA in
conjunction with the Seismic
Research Unit of the University
of the West Indies (UWI), the
National Meteorological
Offices and the Coastal Zone
Management Agencies in
CDERA participating states.



aborative

measures
for dealing with climate
change," Spencer said.
 The prime minister noted
 that financing mechanisms,
 like the Global Environment
 Facility (GEF), should priori-
 tize the implementation of
 projects as opposed to writing
 reports and other consultation
 exercises.
 In looking ahead to the
 Climate Change Summit in
 Bali, Indonesia later this year,
 the Antiguan leader said
 future generations will look
 back to the Bali negotiations
 and judge the global commu-
 nity in terms of its response to
 the issue of financing for
 adaptation.
 0


Ourisman


 located in Barbados, became
 operational in Oct. 2006.

 OBJECTIVE
 The primary objective of
 the TCHWS project is to sup-
 port the establishment of an
 effective end-to-end Tsunami
 warning system at the region-
 al and national levels, and to
 undertake public education
 and awareness campaigns to

s RM. wants coil

climate change
 defining chal-
 lenges before
 U.N. in the
 upcoming
 decade.
 "It's one
 thing to set up
 a fund, but
 another for
 the monies to Spencer
 reach projects
 that make an impact in the
 country. The latter is not hap-
 pening enough to make a dif-
 ference.
 "Simply put, if we are to
 implement national climate
 change action plans, it requires
 money, technical assistance
 and training and educating our
 own local people on strategies