Spying Controversy In Trinidad

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says there will be more probes into other agencies following the shocking discovery that the State’s Special Intelligence Agency (SIA) had been spying

T&T Commissioner Raids Secret Snooping Agency

An early-morning police raid, ordered by Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs, on a secret snooping agency within the National Security Ministry

‘Cop-killer’ Ammo In T&T

A special type of ammunition, known in the United States as the“cop-killer” and also called the “black talon”, has reached T&T.

Beyonce Upcoming Trinidad Concert

Majority state-owned TSTT (Telecommunication Services Of Trinidad and Tobago) yesterday confirmed that a company owned by West Indies cricket icon, Brian Lara, was one of the main contractors for its February 18 concert with Beyonce, one of the biggest musical stars in the world.

Venezuela Willing To Join OECS

Venezuela wants to join the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the nine-member grouping says it’s considering the request.

OECS Director General Dr Len Ishmael said some proposals would have to be further studied before a decision was taken. The matter was discussed at the recently ended meeting of the OECS Authority in Montserrat.

Although saying member countries have had solid relations with Venezuela, Dr Ishmael said it was too early to say whether they would be willing to welcome the South American country into the OECS fold.

“Any proposal that seeks to deepen functional cooperation between Venezuela and ourselves at the regional level is one that we would look at and wish to discuss,” she said.

Meantime, the OECS leaders ended the meeting in Montserrat resolving to go ahead with plans to form their own economic union by 2009. Trinidad is expected to join two years after that, before entering into a political union by 2013.

A major part of the OECS Economic Union will be reaching out to members of the public and Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, who is Chairman of the grouping, said that “if we really set out to do this sensitisation and get this public consultation process going, this will be done within the year”.
 
Consultations have already started in St Lucia, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Montserrat.

Source: Caribbean 360

Pirate-Style Attack On Trinidad High Seas

 

 A day of fun at sea turned out to be an evening of terror when six men, in pirate-style, attacked a boat carrying 20 passengers, killing one and injuring seven others.

The Trinidad Express reported that 42-year-old Assim Ali, a carpenter from Cunupia, was killed by a gunshot wound.

Three others remained in serious condition at the hospital and another received minor injuries.

According to the newspaper, the gunmen had targeted six persons that were part of a group of 20, who went on the trip and were on their way back near Five Islands when the 25-foot pirogue was “rammed” on the port side by another boat. The occupants thought it was an accident, but the speedboat that hit the pirogue began to circle the vessel and two of the six men who had guns started to open fire on the group.

The first shot struck the boat’s engine and followed by a barrage of bullets sending the occupants to dive for cover.

Source: Caribbean Net News

3 Golds, 3 World Records, Bolt & Asafa Mash It Up In 4×100 Relay Final

Photo credit – International Herald Tribute

37.10 secs became the new world record when the Jamaican team powered their way down to the finish line in the 4x100m relay this morning, as Asafa Powell anchor home the Jamaician leg to a blistering gold medal finsh, smashing a previous record of 37.40 set in 1992 Barcelona by 0.30 secs.

Said Bolt  to BBC, “I asked the guys for it and they said ‘yes, we’re going out there to do it’.

“I’m just happy and grateful because we worked hard for it.

Once again as predicted  it was a 1,2 finsh for the Caribbean [like the 100m final]  with Trinidad winning the silver medal as Richard Thompson was the man to bring his team home in 37.11 secs.

Strong favourites Jamaica however ruined their gold medal chances in the women 4x100m relay final when the bungle baton exchange beween Simpson and Stewart denied Veronica Campbell-Brown her chance and their country a gold medal victory. Russia won the race.

• SHOCKING –  What’s Wrong With The Americans? Eliminated From Both Relays!!!
• Ground Provisions Not Steriods Won The Day

SHOCKING – What’s Going On With The Americans? Eliminated From Both Relays!!!

Photo credit – BBC

Americans athletes are both out of the men & women 4x100m relays. In what was shaping up to be a Jamaica,Trinidad and America showdown for gold will now see the two Caribbean countries battle it out for a gold medal finish with a lesser stiff competition. The Americans dropped the baton in the qualifying heat between Patton handing over and Gay taking it. Williams and Edwards also fouled up like their male counterparts, eliminating themselves entirely from the finals.

Ready Set BOLT And A New World Record

Photo credit – BBC

Jubilation broke out across the Caribbean this morning [during live coverage] when Usain “lighting” Bolt  became the fastest man in the world clocking a time of 9.69 in the 100m dash 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Eclipsing his previous record by 0.03 secs. Winning the gold medal for Jamaica and placing the Caribbean in the Olympic history books. It was an anticipated  race featuring 6 Caribbean athletes for the first time in Olympic history  in the 100m dash. Trinidadian Richard Thompson [above in red] took the silver medal. Jamaican Asafa Powell came fourth.

Activists: Homosexuality Must Be Legal To Beat Caribbean AIDS

Sex between men, which is prevalent in the Caribbean region, must be decriminalized or AIDS will never be beaten there, experts at an AIDS conference in Mexico City said Thursday.

 Participants at the six-day International AIDS Conference, gathering more than 22,000 people, said it was very complicated for men to access AIDS tests and potential treatment in the region with the second highest figure of HIV/AIDS cases worldwide at one percent of the population.The figure represents more than a quarter of a million people and is second only to Sub-saharan Africa. 

Half of Caribbean men have had multiple sexual contacts with a member of the same sex, and between 80 and 90 percent have had sexual relations with another man at least once, according to figures from psychologists in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

“It will not be possible to have effective HIV/AIDS prevention in the Caribbean if we don’t decriminalize (sexual) relations between men,” said Michael Kleinmoedig, a West Indian journalist and social activist.

Stigma and discrimination, a problem worldwide for people with HIV/AIDS, were particularly bad in the region.”Human rights are limited for those who have (sexual) relations with men. They are not recognized as a valid group by law and many countries silence them and deny them their rights,” Kleinmoedig said.

Many of them are married and have children.

Moreover, some 20 percent of those with HIV in the region, mainly women, contracted the virus through their partner, said Peter Figueroa, director of epidemiology and AIDS for the Jamaican government.

On a rare positive note for the region, he highlighted universal access to AIDS treatment in Cuba.

 

Source – Carib Net News

• France Pushing For Worldwide Decriminalisin Of Homosexuality
• No Room For Gays In My Cabinet: Jamaica Prime Minister Bruce Golding
• Admit Yours Sins To The Lord, Priest Tells Gay Judge

FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner Narrowly Escape Death From China Earthquake

On Thursday 29th 2007 Barbados experience a 5.0 earthquake that was felt as far as Peurto Rico in the North to Venezuela in the South. For some it was a frightening experience. A wake up call. One house in St.George was extensively damage at the base. For days Barbadians traded stories on What, Where, When, Why and How. Experts and ordinary citizens voice their opinions as to what measures Barbadians should take in the likelihood of a repeat.

So are we better off today than 6 mths before. Can Barbados handle a massive 7.8 earthquake? Do we have a mass evacuation plan in place for persons displace by such?. What open areas can we used ‘house’ persons who have lost their homes to an earthquake? During the 2007 World cup Cricket, it was stressed that the emergencies services were capable to handle any unforseenable events. Are those systems still in place but more importantly are there ‘up to stracth’. Like for a 7.8 magnitude earthquake?. 

We have heard of stolen/missing hospital supplies. Will there be enought emergency supplies to go around?. What we are asking about folks is, is there any contingency plans in place?. Or have we not learn anything from the Brittons Hill cavein?.

Having survived a narrow escape from death as a result of a 7.8 earthquake in China on Monday afternoon, FIFA Vice President and Trinidad MP Jack Warner noted,

“After this experience in a large country like China which is supposedly prepared for calamities like this and to see what they are going through now, I am convinced more than ever that in my country Trinidad… we are not prepared for such a disaster. And it is one of the first things I intend to bring up at my next Parliament meeting.”  

Is Barbados prepare?.   

Cops ‘In Cahoots’ With Drug Dealers

Saw this article over at Trinidad Express.  It read like a movie script. Had me riveted in my seat that the only thing missing was the actual events play out in front of me on wide screen TV.

Further reading –
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161301565
  

Cop Charged For Ganga In Courtroom

Enought marijuana to roll more than 200 joints. Was it worth it?

Constable John Parsons was arrested by Sgt Zamsheed Mohammed, the Court Prosecutor after Mohammed led  a special exercise where every police officer who entered the prisoner lock-up was searched.

Parsons, 38, was charged with the possession of 134 grammes of marijuana compressed into three blocks and placed in three bags.

{Taken from the Trinidad Express}.