ANOTHER PROTEST AGAINST GOVERNOR HARRISON IN ANGUILLA
The tiny island of Anguilla saw another protest against the British appointed Governor of Anguilla.
The crowd began gathering before 10am and the protest culminated with a protest march on to the Governor's residence at 3pm where Governor William Alistair Harrison made the crowd wait. On hand were a number of journalist including OECS and CANA news correspondents Ras B and Keith Stonegreaves.
The large but civil crowd walked the entire length of the road to Government house where they were met by a number of officers from HM Police force and the closed iron gates of the Governor's compound. They sang "we shall overcome" and other folk songs as they wait for HE Governor Harrison who eventually emerged and allowed some members of the Hughes Government to enter the premises.
A statement was read to him and a cry by the large crowd on the outside for him to leave the island was made. Governor Harrison received the letter with a smiled and waved to the upset crowd.
The protesters eventually left and congregated on the main road where a rally was then held with key note speaker, the Chief Minister, Hon. Hubert Hughes spoke and express the difficulties with working with Governor Harrison including his interference with the judiciary, the House of Assembly (Parliament) his continued tampering with foreign investors, Ministerial portfolios and the transferring of key Permanent Secretaries against the wishes of the Government of Anguilla.
The Chief Minister appealed for the international community to come and see what is going on his this British Overseas Territory and the examine the abuses of power by the Governor who has been appointed by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office since 2009. While this appeal has been echoed by many on the island over the last two years, there are but few who believe anything will or can be done due to the fact that there have been three high level diplomats who have visited the island from the UK during that time and all of them has had a reoccurring theme to their addresses to the people of Anguilla, "whatever the Governor does and, whatever the Governor says, has the fullest support of Her Majesty's Government." Those pronouncements have left the people with little hope but they continue to call for Governor Harrison's removal.
UN poster campaign to fight racism launched
Each individual plays a role in either contributing to or breaking down racial prejudice and intolerant attitudes. This is the message of the Let’s Fight Racism poster campaign, which was launched by the United Nations Information Centre for the Caribbean Area (UNIC) during its Human Rights Day commemoration in Port-of-Spain on December 8. The campaign uses images of persons of different ethnicities to challenge the viewer’s perceptions and assumptions about other people, based on their appearance. The viewer is asked to consider what they actually see in each image and that the person being looked at might represent “more than meets the eye.”
These images can be viewed at the “Let’s Fight Racism” campaign site. The aim of the campaign is to promote understanding about how stereotypes, which often underlie perceptions and initial judgements of others, can perpetuate racial prejudice and intolerance. Further, the campaign seeks to encourage each person to take responsibility for confronting such personal prejudices, to take action for ending their own prejudicial behaviour and to encourage tolerance in others. The National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) is the UNIC’s collaborator in the campaign, which will continue until December 2012.
NALIS will distribute campaign posters to libraries throughout Trinidad and Tobago and also will host talks and discussion sessions led by UNIC staff at some branches. At the Launch, acting executive director of NALIS, Lucia Phillip, confirmed the authority’s commitment to ensuring the widest possible reach of the campaign through NALIS’s extensive network of libraries. Also at the launch, UNIC officer-in-charge and United Nations security adviser in Port of Spain, Catherine Gilbert, addressed the theme of this year’s Human Rights Day commemoration, which is the recognition and celebration of all human rights defenders.
This year, these included the peaceful protesters in cities throughout the world who, she said, “reminded us that no progress has any value without human progress.” Many of these people lived in countries that were performing well economically but in which “human rights monitors were pointing to inequality, discrimination, lack of participation, political repression and the denial of many economic and social rights.” she said. Gilbert lauded the work of those and lesser known activists and called for a renewed commitment to the personal action necessary to uphold and protect human rights.
OAS partners with Haitian government and Teachers Without Borders
The Organization of American States (OAS), with the support of the Haitian government, has presented certificates to the first group of teachers that successfully completed the certificate program in Building Capacity for Teaching and Learning.
The program, done in collaboration with Teachers Without Borders, was tailored to meet the needs of new teachers in Haiti. The program also contained a “train the trainer” component which enabled participants to train other teachers in schools and communities.
“We thank the OAS and TWB for giving us the opportunity to pursue this program,” said Agella Ternela, a Haitian teacher from the coastal city of Jacmel. “It helps us to identify our weaknesses. It also allows us to set new objectives, to improve our classroom management and to come up with new evaluation methods. We are already seeing the results,” she added.
Dr Frantz Casseus, chief of staff of the Education Minister, commended the OAS for this initiative and reiterated continued support from his ministry.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Haitian Ministries of Education and Planning, OAS member and observer states, the private sector, and the media.
Over the next three years, the OAS will facilitate training for more than 260 teachers. The next three cohorts will take place in March, July, and November 2012.
Caribbean News Now
UK CEO encourages youth to grasp opportunities for self-employment
Recessionary periods often create opportunities for self-employment and young people in particular, who have long been holding on to a business idea, should seek to grasp all opportunities available to branch out on their own and start their own businesses.
Sarah Crawley, Chief Executive Officer of iSE – the Initiative for Social Entrepreneurs based in Birmingham England, shared the above with The Barbados Advocate recently.
Crawley shared a number of her views about entrepreneurship, while she was here in Barbados conducting training sessions for staff of the Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT), to enable them to better assist young entrepreneurs in coming up with new ideas to succeed in the business world. The Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT) is presently benefiting from a partnership with the UK based non-governmental organisation (NGO), in an effort to ensure long term sustainability of entrepreneurial endeavours.
Meanwhile, Crawley had some advice for those desirous of stepping out into the exciting, but challenging world of entrepreneurship.
“I would suggest that they seek the right kind of support, so they can go to organisations like BYBT, who are experts in supporting young people. They can take advantage of all of the opportunities that are created in schools around enterprising activities, programmes and projects that they have in schools, so that they get the experience” she remarked.
Crawley also suggested that such persons should not be fazed if they fail on the first try.
“They say that every entrepreneur has at least four or five failed businesses and you can learn. So even if you don’t get it right first of all, you will get it right, because you will learn every time it doesn’t work. You will learn about how to market, how to sell, you will learn about how to produce, how to project manage, all these things. And so it is a learning process.”
“So take advantage of the learning opportunities, get specialist support and don’t be put off if it goes wrong because you will get there in the end” she reiterated.
The CEO of the UK based NGO, also suggested that young entrepreneurs consider those services which people are willing to pay for, even in a recession.
“The recession actually creates opportunities for young entrepreneurs, because there are things that people need” she indicated, while noting that business built around the beauty industry, food and technology are all good areas in which to start.
“In a recession, there will be less people perhaps buying luxury goods such as jewellery, but they will want to look good and they will need to eat also” Crawley concluded.
Drug point
SECURITY at Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) has been called into question as two recent drug cases – one in the United States and one in Britain – revealed it as a smuggling point for illegal drugs out of Barbados.
A New York Times story last Friday reported testimony in the case against Barbadian Victor Bourne, who lived in the United States, indicating that some baggage handlers at GAIA were involved in concealing dope aboard American Airlines Flight 1384 to the United States.
Bourne, 34, who worked as a baggage handler for American Airlines at John F. Kennedy International Airport, was convicted last October of importing and distributing narcotics, as well as conspiring to do so; wire fraud conspiracy, conspiring to avoid financial reporting requirements through structural financial transactions and operating a continuing criminal enterprise. He faces a life sentence.
The story noted testimony of several American Airlines employees that he “had criminal connections in Barbados, bought cocaine in bulk and arranged for baggage handlers in Barbados to hide it on planes bound for New York”. (MB)
Nation News
Lindsay Lohan misses "Ellen" but on track for court hearing
Lindsay Lohan missed her flight back home from a Hawaiian vacation, but she will be back in Los Angeles in time for an important court appearance Wednesday, her spokesman said.
Los Angeles County Judge Stephanie Sautner ordered Lohan to appear in court so she can determine whether the actress is keeping up with her probation provisions, including the requirement that she work at least 12 days a month at the county morgue.
"Lindsay was delayed in Hawaii due to a travel-related issue," Lohan spokesman Steve Honig said on Tuesday. "She will be heading back this evening in time to appear in court tomorrow."
The missed flight, however, forced the cancellation of Lohan's interview with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, which was set to be taped Tuesday.
"Lindsay offered to tape 'Ellen' tomorrow, but the show was unable to shift things around, and tomorrow is their last day of taping for the season," Honig said.
The "Ellen" interview was to be Lohan's only planned appearance to promote her just-published Playboy magazine photo spread.
There is no indication that Lohan, 25, will have any difficulty in court Wednesday, compared with many of her numerous appearances in the past two years.
Sautner sentenced Lohan to 30 days in jail last month after she admitted that she violated her probation on a necklace theft conviction, but the sheriff sent her home after a few hours because of jail overcrowding.
The judge also ordered the actress to work at least 12 days a month at the Los Angeles County morgue until she completes the 53 remaining days on her court-ordered community service. She must also attend 18 psychotherapy sessions.
If the actress stays on track, her probation would be eased March 29, Sautner said. If she doesn't keep up with the requirements, she will serve the additional 270 days behind bars, the judge said.
"This is what we really call putting the keys to the jail in the defendant's hands," Sautner told Lohan.
When Sautner sentenced Lohan to 120 days in jail in May, she ended up serving 35 days of home confinement instead, because of jail overcrowding and state rules that give prisoners credit for good behavior.
Prosecutors said Lohan missed 12 of 20 scheduled workdays at a downtown Los Angeles women's center, part of the court-ordered community service imposed in May when she pleaded guilty to stealing a necklace from a Venice, California, jewelry store.
Lohan was already on probation for two drunken driving convictions from 2007.
She also canceled 14 of 19 scheduled appointments for court-ordered psychotherapy, they said.
"From what I see of you, you need a structure," Sautner told Lohan last month, instructing her to return to court each month, starting December 14, to show she is complying with the schedule.
Lindsay Lohan's legal woes, which began four years ago with two drunken driving arrests, have been compounded by her failure to attend counseling classes, and alcohol and drug test failures.
Her probation is scheduled to end within a year unless Lohan breaks any laws before then. It has been extended several times because of violations, including the failed alcohol and drug tests.
CNN
Charli Baltimore Planning First Solo Album In 2012
Female rap veteran Charlie Baltimore is poised to make a return to hip-hop with an upcoming album due to be released next year.
The Grammy Award nominated rapper, born Tiffany Lane, recently dropped a new single titled “Machine Gun,” featuring Sally Anthony.
The track is meant to reintroduce Charli Baltimore before the release of her solo album, which is due in stores this April.
Although she’s a rap veteran through her affiliation with rappers like Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Cam’ron, Ja Rule, Game and others, Charli Baltimore has never released
a solo album.
Her first album Cold As Ice was supposed to be released in 1999, but the album never saw the light of day.
In 2003, her next album The Diary (You Think You Know was supposed to be released through Murder Inc., but the release was also shelved.
“Machine Gun” is due in stores on iTunes on December 20.
Katie Couric and Brooks Perlin split
Katie Couric and her boyfriend, entrepreneur Brooks Perlin, have called it quits after five years together, a rep for Couric confirms to PEOPLE.
The couple were "at different stages in their careers," says a friend of Couric's, who adds, "the split was inevitable."
Couric, 54, and Perlin, 37, met at a 2006 fundraising event for cancer research. Couric's husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer in 1998, at age 42.
After her breakup, Couric, who hosts ABC's "The Year," a two-hour special collaboration with PEOPLE that airs December 15 and looks back at the newsmakers of 2011, is "full of energy and just as active and engaged as always," says the friend.
"Brooks is a good guy," the friend continues, "but there is a time for each relationship -- and the time is past for this one."
In May, Couric, whose new syndicated ABC daytime talk show will begin next September, told PEOPLE her relationship with Perlin was "complicated," and that much had been made of the fact that she was dating someone 17 years her junior.
"I'm in the process of figuring out the future, and so is he," she said at the time.
News of the breakup was first reported by the New York Post.
People
Drake Announces Tour Dates for 2012 Club Paradise Tour
Drake has announced tour dates for his 2012 Club Paradise Tour, which kicks off on Valentines Day 2012.
The Club Paradise Tour starts off in Miami, FL and ends in San Diego, CA and will feature A$AP Rocky, along with a host of other artists throughout the tour.
Drake, who is promoting his new album Take Care, will hit 17 different cities, with the tour rapping up the second week of March.
“I spent a lot of time out there [in Toronto]; that’s what this album is about,” Drake told MTV News. “That’s what I’m gonna showcase. It’s the same thing with the tour: I wanna bring Kendrick, I wanna bring A$AP, those are guys that I love. It has nothing to do with people on my label,” he explained.
The Young Money/Cash Money Records artist wanted to make this tour more intimate as opposed to performing in large stadiums, in hopes of giving back to the fans that have supported him from his earliest days.
Drake’s North American Club Paradise Tour 2012:
» February 14 – Miami, FL @ Bank United Center
» February 15 – Gainesville, FL @ Stephen C. O’Connell Center
» February 17 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
» February 18 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
» February 21 – Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
» February 22 – Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
» February 24 – Tallahassee, FL @ Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
» February 25 – New Orleans, LA @ UNO Lakefront Arena
» February 27 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
» February 28 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Arena
» March 1 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
» March 2 – Arlington, TX @ College Park Center
» March 4 – Tuscon, AZ @ Tucson Arena
» March 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Galen Center
» March 8 – Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
» March 10 – San Jose, CA @ Event Center
» March 11 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
Music executive John Atterberry shot dead in LA
US music executive John Atterberry has died after being shot in a random gun attack in Los Angeles on Friday.
Atterberry, 40, worked with artists including Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson.
He was shot at close range by a gunman, later named as Tyler Brehm, who opened fire on Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood.
Brehm repeatedly shot at pedestrians and vehicles and was killed by an off-duty police officer.
Brehm, 26, had allegedly just broken up with his girlfriend of four years.
Atterberry had just left a bank and was returning to his car when he was shot.
He was taken to Cedars-Sinai hospital, where he remained in a critical condition until he died on Monday afternoon.
He was a senior partner and chief financial officer at the GridLock Group, an event promotions company.
Previously, Atterberry was vice president of Death Row Records, a record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr Dre and Suge Knight, and was once home to some of rap's biggest names, including Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.