Tobago 'blue food' lime

Thought I share a personal experience with you. Last week I was invited to a 'lime' in Tobago, traditional that is, 'blue food' where the men did all the cooking. For the uninitiated 'blue food' refers to dishes using the root vegetables such as dasheen (aka taro). It's called 'blue food' because some of the vegetables turn varying shades of blue and indigo when cooked.

I was very much looking forward to the trip. I love the ocean and the thought of the white sandy beaches and blue water was all I could think of, anything else was a bonus. I had been fortunate to be invited to take part in the lime, which also featured a rhythm section – a percussion band, in this instance fuelled by hard liquor. I suggested that the boat would be exciting way to travel, I was right. I hadn't slept the night before and hadn't had any breakfast but ate some had some saltfish as soon as I got on board. Not a good move. It was very salty and oily and I could feel my guts start to quiver almost immediately.
As we headed out to sea it started getting rougher and rougher. It was almost impossible to walk upright and in a straight line, it was more of a drunkards dance, staggering from side to side. Sometimes we hit a big wave and there'd be a collective sigh. It was exciting. The crew started handing out sick bags and a lot of people were using them. My guts were playing up and reluctantly I headed for the toilet. I really wasn't thinking about what was awaiting me, my attention was on the motion, (bowel not nautical) my need to as the Yanks say ‘take a dump’ had clouded my mind, or should I say not to do so until it was appropriate, had become my main preoccupation. When I got to the gents it was packed, and the toilets were all taken, men were vomiting into the washbasins, urinals, even the waste bins. I think most guys would have used a urinal at some time in their lives, so you'll know that you've got to be pretty desperate to stick your head in a urinal, the smell alone can kill!

An in all it was quite a spectacle and the background noise or maybe more accurately the sound effects were quite startling. It's a bit hard to describe but it was like a scene from a sci-fi horror movie, the air was filled with ghostly guttural sounds. I was fascinated to see two guys sharing the waste bin, one short and the other much taller, vomiting one after the other. I was certain that I'd witness the spectacle of one of them spewing his guts over the head of the other but it was like an elaborate dance, with background music, as they took turns to throw up, in sequence and with precision timing.

By now my pressing need to use the toilet had turned into a full blown emergency; in my darkest moments I saw myself losing control and the unspeakable happening, it was not a good picture. I looked at the waste bin and reasoned that it would be the lesser of two evils; I would have to use it and hoped that the others could understand why I was driven to take such drastic action. But before that eventuality, I quickly darted out of the gents and asked one of the crew if there was another toilet I could use, I was told that was it. She didn't seem sympathetic and I wasn't in a position to argue, just concentrate on maintaining the clench reflex. I returned to the gents. Luckily one of the toilets became free; I jumped in ahead of the others. Sanctuary, saved from a fate worse than death, ok a bit dramatic I know, but at the very least it would have been acutely embarrassing. The toilet was a mess, the lock was broken and there was sick everywhere. I had to gingerly but speedily positioned myself on the loo and let nature take its course, relief turned to apprehension when I realised that the huge toilet paper dispenser was empty, I nevertheless pulled at it in the hope of retrieving something. Lesson number one; always travel with a pack of tissues or wet wipes.

I searched my pockets over and over again but to no avail. I could see the napkins lying on the table in the cabin area, if I'd only stuffed a couple into my pockets, no good thinking about that now. I was left with but one option, cash money. I selected the softest of my one dollar notes; it would have to do, needs must. It wasn't perfect but it did the job and I was able to leave decency intact. Thing is though it didn't flush. I tried to slip out quickly but of course someone was waiting to use it. He quickly went in and backed out as though he'd stumbled upon a decomposing corpse. Poor guy, I felt a bit guilty, but hey shit happens.

Youngest ever man to fly solo around the world

Type the words 'young black men' and do a Google search and it's akin to lighting the blue touch paper of a firework, one should stand well back. The stuff coming back is all negative, over-representation in a range of categories, crime statistics, both as victims and perpetrators, prisons, HIV/AIDS, gang violence, educational underachievement, the list goes on, as one result states, 'Life keeps getting worse for young black men!' That being the case you'd think it only right that in addition to highlighting the bad, there should also be an acknowledgement of the good. So major props to this 23 year old young man Barrington Irving, who becomes the youngest ever to fly solo around the world. What an achievement but that's not all. He had all sorts of problems trying to get a plane to attempt this feat. Finally as a last resort he had to acquire the individual components to build his own plane. Read the story below and please let others know!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/outlook/news/story/2007/07/070717_irving_jamaica.shtml

The youngest man to fly solo round the world

Barrington set off round the world with only 600 previous flying hours experience.
The youngest man to fly solo around the world has spoken to Outlook.
Barrington Irving Junior, who is 23, landed a small plane in the US state of Florida in late June, three months after starting his journey from the same place.
Listen to Barrington on Outlook
Barrington explained to Outlook presenter Fred Dove that his motivation had been to combat what he saw as negativity in his community.
"I came up with the idea to fly around the world just to prove a point to other kids in the community that they too can do something amazing in aviation and follow their dreams," he said.
What makes the story even more remarkable is that, in effect, Barrington had to build his own plane.
"No-one wanted to rent me a plane, lease me a plane, let me borrow a plane," he said.
Barrington said that the most difficult part was flying over the north Pacific - because of the thick fog.
"That's when I came up with the idea of going after the individual components - the engine, the cockpit system and so forth for the Colombia 400 aircraft which I chose and then have it assembled by the aircraft manufacturer.
"First I was able to get the small things and then when I was able to get the engine, it was a snowballing effect.. Everyone wanted to jump on board."
Once the plane had been assembled and despite only having 600 hours flying experience, Barrington set off eastwards, confronting a dangerous flight across the Atlantic rather than an easier flight westwards across the United States.
"It's a good thing I didn't realise what I was getting myself into," he said.
The flights across open water - over eight hours across the Atlantic, nine across the north Pacific - were, according to Barrington, the most hair-raising.
Among the highlights was the food that he tasted in the Mediterranean.
Barrington who originally comes from Jamaica and who moved to Florida when he was six years old, had never previously travelled outside the United States and the Caribbean.
Barrington was in touch with his mentor Gary Robinson practically every day.
He was inspired by a commercial airline pilot from Jamaica, Captain Gary Robinson, who first showed him round a cockpit when he was 16 and then acted as Barrington's mentor.
On the world trip, Barrington says that he was in touch with Robinson practically every day.
In completing his flight, Barrington also became the first black man and the first Jamaican to fly solo round the world.

Caught with your pants down!

The wearing of low slung sagging pants (trousers) is fast becoming an issue of some concern in several communities across the USA. An increasing number of them are planning to ban the wearing of sagging pants which exposes underwear, for example in Florida there have been several arrests all of whom were African American males. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0911081baggy1.html

Some view this as further evidence of the criminalisation of black urban youth, an infringement of basic human rights and freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution. There are disputing claims as to the origins of this fashion, it is said the practise is based on prison culture where the degree of sag was indicative of your availability – homosexually that is. This explanation has become quite popular, I am reminded of my father-in-law's warning to his sagging pants wearing grandson on the eve of his departure to attend university,

"Son you should be careful walking about the campus like that, some people might think you're advertising!"

Now if this is the case, it begs the question as to why this should be something that our supposedly homophobic homeboys would want to emulate. I think this is something of an urban myth and it more likely that the practice came about as a consequence of ill-fitting prison clothes and belts being withheld because of their use as weapons or a ligature risk in suicides.
Whatever the explanation it does beg the question, of all institutions where does the attraction for prison chic come from? Since when has prison grab become the latest must have?

My worst saggy pants experience occurred during a long escalator ride on my way to work. I was standing behind a young man whose pants were beneath his bottom exposing his boxers. I took a step backwards so as not to be too close but nevertheless that still left his underwear exposed backside at head height. To be honest that was the last thing I wanted, Monday’s are traumatic enough without having someone’s arse in my face. Call me old fashioned but as a fashion statement as far I’m concern it’s a major faux pas.

When the introduction of such a ban was muted in Atlanta, Debbie Seagraves, head of the local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said the proposal was, by its nature, discriminatory because it aimed to forbid something that has its roots in black culture. Black culture, gimme a break, are we led to believe that the Black presence in America and the thousands of years of African history and culture has been reduced to a fashion statement in which you metaphorically bare your arse! This is nothing to do with Black culture, this explanation is far from convincing, it’s simply a feeble post-cultural definition of blackness, since when has exposing your crack been exclusively black!

The idea of banning saggy pants has been endorsed by a number of Black legislators, but in truth the issue is not really about fashion, it represents an attempt by the authorities to try to curb the rising criminality and gang violence, to address black underachievement and over-representation within the criminal justice system. As such it simply highlights the paucity of ideas and lack of an effective strategy to deal with black inequality and inequity. But the bottom line is that people have their own ideas about how they should live their lives and ultimately it's impossible to legislate against stupidity.

For some commentators this fashion is seen as an outward manifestation of the excesses of hip hop culture, however like the music the fashion has crossed the ethnic and racial divide and is no longer just a black thing. It’s not gender specific either, as it’s adopted by both males and females, and like many things American it's spread worldwide.

Like it or not we have to assume that saggy pants wearers have adopted the style because they deem it fashionable, for some it may even be that it marks them out as outsiders, gangstas, gang members and gang bangers. But the young have always been rebellious and used fashion as a medium of expression; in the 60’s it was miniskirts, now its saggy pants, it’s just something that young people do. But as much as I find it just plain stupid and unattractive I don’t think it warrants banning. If we imprisoned people for bad taste, most of America would be a prison camp.

I felt most uneasy as I viewed the mug shots of the 12 black guys who’d been arrested in Florida, the last thing the African American community needs is legislation to incarcerate more black males. According to data from the US Census Bureau in 2006, blacks made up 41 percent of US prison inmates, but only account for around 12 percent of the population.

People do all sorts of things that I find objectionable but in a democracy it is their right as long as it doesn’t harm anyone. How they dress has to be pretty low down on the list of misdemeanours, it might very well be a crime as far as the fashion police are concerned, but the transgression probably needs a major injection of style rather than imprisonment and a fine!

Hi, I'm David and I'm a Sex Addict

The David I'm talking about in this instance is the famed X Files Hollywood actor David Duchovny who apparently has entered a rehab clinic for sex addiction. The story goes that Duchovny has 'voluntarily' entered rehab (can people be compelled to do so?) in an effort to cure his addiction. He has asked that the public to respect his privacy and for his wife and children to be left alone as they struggle to deal with this situation as a family.

Duchovny is married to actress Tea Leoni and has two children. Call me a cynic but this sounds to me like just another actor who can't keep it in his pants. Is there really such a thing as 'sex addiction', is it like alcoholism, is there a twelve step programme of recovery, do recovering sex addicts meet to share each others experiences and for support, 'Hi, I'm David and I'm a sex addict'.

As far as I can ascertain at best the jury is out, some health professionals see it as an illness but most do not. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association is the handbook for mental health professionals, it lists different categories of mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosing them, sex addiction is not listed in the DSM-IV the most up-to-date volume.

I'm really intrigued by this 'sex addiction' label and wonder what sort of treatment Mr Duchovny would be receiving. Would he have to go 'cold turkey' or get withdrawal symptoms (if you'll excuse the pun)? Do you have to avoid going into certain places, so-called high risk situations where you might be tempted and fall off the wagon, (so to speak)? Do you get cravings like when you're deprived of alcohol; is there a patch you can wear or maybe some kind of gum you could chew? I'd bet the treatment is bloody expensive whatever it is, those sort of clinics usually are. My partner has promised that if I was ever unfortunate enough to be struck down by such a malady it wouldn't cost us a penny. She'd treat it herself by swiftly removing the offending parts – radical surgery she calls it! I do hope she keeps that one to herself.

Why is it that you never hear of any women being addicted to sex is it only something that men get? I wonder how do you determine what is too much sex anyway? David Duchovny is addicted to sex; I wish I could be so lucky, maybe being a Hollywood A-lister helps. I'd love to jump just about every woman I meet and for all I know some of them might even be interested in doing the same with me but I don't because I'm in a long term relationship. And doing something like that would jeopardise it, notwithstanding my partner's promise to give me a Jesse Jackson (remember he wanted to cut Obama's nuts off) and have me neutered!

Maybe it's something only celebrities get, the rich and famous, for example, I seem to remember reading that Bill 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman' Clinton, was also having treatment, 'religious counselling' for his sex addiction. There was a time when men who couldn't keep it in their trousers, the errant, unfaithful husband was not that big an issue; in fact it was a man's prerogative. Women just had to put up with it; it just goes to show how times have changed. Way back in 1963, the Mighty Sparrow, Calypso King of the World was proud to boast about his prowess in his calypso, the Village Ram;

"Is me the village ram...

Not a woman never complain yet with me

I eh boasting, but ah know I got due ability

And if a woman ever tell you that I

Ever left her dis-satisfy

She lie, she lie, she lie"

From Sparrow's perspective far from seeking treatment for an illness Duchovny should thank his lucky stars he's so blessed. In some countries having a mistress or mistresses is expected, since when has infidelity become a medical issue? I think it's a sign of the increasing medicalisation of life, the way in which human experience and behaviour is increasingly seen through a medical lens. Now there is a medical plaster for every behavioural sore and every deviance is a psychiatric or psychological illness.

Should Duchovny be subject to the attention of health professionals or divorce lawyers, I'll leave it up to you to decide. After all is said and done only David Duchovny knows whether he's is addicted to sex or not I'm certainly not in a position to say. For all I know it may very be true, on the other hand like Sparrow said of the woman in his calypso, it could be that,
“He lie, he lie, he lie.”

Guyanese Pilots

I've added this out of pure self-interest and also because I have had the experience of flying (in a de Havilland Twin Otter) into the interior with Captain Astil Paul, in the mid 90's, while exploring the Guyanese hinterland.

Guyana is a beautiful country, it's roughly the size of the UK and has a population of some 800,000. Sights like Kaiteur Falls is quite spectacular, and I visited mining villages, like Imbaimadai, which is a jump off point for gold prospectors and also Lethem on the Guyana/Brazil border. But the flights were an adventure in themselves, packed with people it was like an air bus, but not the Boeing type. And like a bus you could have a bumpy ride. I remember one flight which a bit choppy, a woman being sick next to me, unfortunately she didn't have an sickbag! We landed on some airstrips that could cure constipation. It was pretty exciting stuff I can tell you. But I never felt the least bit worried with Captain Paul at the controls. He was the consummate professional and a pilot of great experience and skill, who had flown jets internationally and took his job very seriously indeed. It might add he was also the pilot who flew the ill-fated group of American senator Leo Ryan who was killed in the events leading up to the Jonestown massacre. But that's another story!

Here's the story by Frank Roman on Guyanese pilots:

Added by Miles Williams to the group "GUYANESE PILOTS"

Hello Miles, here are some of the photos. In the early to mid 80's I was a trader to Brazil and flew on the HS 748 weekly, we nicked named her flop hat, not sure why. At that time GAC had daily service into Lethem and the daily arrival of flop hat was the high point of the day. The only way in and out. After a short time we could tell which aircraft was approaching sky van, 748, islander or DC 6 .by the sound of their engines.

The Lethem flights were always over booked; having a confirmed booking was not reason to think you had a seat in or out of Georgetown or Lethem. Many flights were late or canceled due to mechanical problems weather pilots sick plane gone to Trinidad or just because. As a result when we got to Lethem we never knew when we would be lucky to get on a flight back to Georgetown, shopping in Boa vista would take 2 days tops and it took at best a week of going to the airfield each day to make it out of Lethem. Our early warning signal for the arrival of flop hat was the sweet distinctive wine of her turbines at which time all 150-200 of us traders would make a mad dash to the airfield. Flop hat will forever have a place in my heart.

After moving to the New York one day I was driving along the Grand Central Parkway passing LaGuardia airport and I heard it that distinctive wine, all the memories of Lethem came flooding back and I almost ran the car of f the highway trying to see the approaching aircraft, as it came into view I was disappointed and confused it was not a HS 748 but a Fokker 28. I could not believe I was fooled but later learned that the F 28 uses the same engines as the HS 748.

One more foot note, Lethem's runway had a problem with cows over running it and as result many landings had to be aborted. Tony Austin and I do not recall who made a wheels up landing there after having to make a go around and they forgot to but the gear down on the second approach. Captain Astel Paul would get really pissed off when this happened, he was know for buzzing the cows off the runway. I happen to be on an early morning flight with Captain Paul into Lethem when he spotted cows on the runway, he did some flying that morning with a plane load of us, came in at tree top height up wind so the cows would not hear the aircraft approach and chased them off the field, this took about 4-5 passes of aerial acrobatics at a tree top level. I think I was the only one on board who was having the time of my life, I loved it but the lady in the isle seat next to me was not having as much fun, she had okra cook up that morning and became air sick vomited right in the isle I had the isle seat next her and with Capt Paul doing all those stunts the vomit was all over the floor, in the middle of all that I took off my seat belt folded my feet under me. Bibles came out from no where, people who for one reason or the other who were not speaking at the time were now holding hands. But he got the runway clear then on the final just before touch down the second before a voice rang out in the cabin "oh s*^%t did he remember to put down the f*&^%$g wheels?" then touch down thank God the wheels were down. That was the best flight ever !!!!! That picture was taken on one of my trips.

Frank Roman (Jeff Romans brother)

Ugly women need love too!

Now I wouldn't profess to know a great deal about women but I was rather intrigued by the appeal for aesthetically challenged women from the mayor of Mount Isa, a town in the Australian outback. If the objective is to get women to come to your town for forlorn men seeking love and relationships, maybe describing them as ugly is not a good starting point! I would have thought that simple courtesy, if not common sense would have meant him choosing his words more carefully. Didn't anyone think to mention this to him. I would really love to hear his chat up lines or be a fly on the wall to his conversations whilst on a date. It's literally not a good advertisement for Aussie (Outback) men. They do say that stereotypes have a kernel of truth which is then exaggerated to a ridiculous extent. In this case it would appear that no exaggeration is needed. As you can imagine the women of the town aren't too happy with that kind of publicity, I wonder if the mayor is married and what's his wife's take on all of this, we certainly have some idea about what she has to put up with. If this is the best the men of Mount Isa can muster then my advice would be to give up on enticing women to their town, they're hardly likely to be mounting anything in the foreseeable future. They should stick to the ungulates that have spawned a thousands jokes - Australia where men are men and sheep are nervous!

Ugly women wanted in Australia
Monday, August 18, 2008 | 5:23 PM

AP

The odds are good, but the goods are odd

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Life can get a little lonely for bachelors in the Australian Outback mining town of Mount Isa. So the mayor has offered up a solution: recruit ugly women.

Mayor John Molony found himself under attack Monday over comments he made to a local newspaper that read: "May I suggest if there are five blokes to every girl, we should find out where there are beauty-disadvantaged women and ask them to proceed to Mount Isa."

The mayor added that many women who already live in the remote Queensland state town seem quite happy.
"Quite often you will see walking down the street a lass who is not so attractive with a wide smile on her face," he continued. "Whether it is recollection of something previous or anticipation for the next evening, there is a degree of happiness."

The quotes, published Saturday in the Townsville Bulletin, sparked outrage among the town's female population, led to furious online debates and drew criticism from the local chamber of commerce.

"There's a lot of anger circulating among the community at the moment - a lot of passionate anger," Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce manager Patricia O'Callaghan said Monday. "There's a lot of women voicing their opinions."

Molony declined to elaborate on his comments Monday except to say they were "twisted and warped" by the newspaper.

"I've been shredded," he added, before hanging up the phone.

The situation may not be quite as dire as Molony noted. According to the 2006 census, males made up 52.6 percent of the town's population of nearly 20,000.

And several local women said there aren't a lot of gems to be found among Mount Isa's men, either.

"We've got a saying up here that the odds are good, but the goods are odd," 27-year-old Anna Warrick told The Brisbane Times.

(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Giant dog turd wreaks havoc at Swiss museum

It was Jawaharlal Nehru who said that, "the art of a people is a true mirror to their minds". I dread to think what he would have made of the American artist Paul McCarthy's 'Complex Shit', there is no accounting for what goes on in some people's heads but if art mirrors life, then maybe it's all one great big giant dog turd after all. But my tendency is towards a more optimistic reading, credit crunch notwithstanding - it's a wonderful life. Apologies for the do do story but I just couldn't resist it, thought something light would not go amiss (if you'll excuse the pun).


Inflatable artwork blown from moorings and brings down power line

• Jenny Percival and agencies
• guardian.co.uk,
• Tuesday August 12 2008 11:49 BST

The Paul Klee centre in Berne. Photograph: Jean-Pierre Clatot/AFP/Getty

A giant inflatable dog turd created by the American artist Paul McCarthy was blown from its moorings at a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a window before landing in the grounds of a children's home.

The exhibit, entitled Complex Shit, is the size of a house. It has a safety system that is supposed to deflate it in bad weather, but it did not work on this occasion.

Juri Steiner, the director of the Paul Klee centre, in Berne, told AFP that a sudden gust of wind carried it 200 metres before it fell to the ground, breaking a window of the children's home. The accident happened on July 31, but the details only emerged yesterday.

Steiner said McCarthy had not yet been contacted and the museum was not sure if the piece (pictured here) would be put back on display.

The installation is part of an exhibition called East of Eden: A Garden Show, which features sound sculptures in trees and a football ground without goalposts. The exhibition opened in May and is due to run until October.

The centre's website describes the show as containing "interweaving, diverse, not to say conflictive emphases and a broad spectrum of items to form a dynamic exchange of parallel and self-eclipsing spatial and temporal zones".

13 year old becomes 'youngest person ever' charged with possessing a gun

Although guns have been banned in the UK in the aftermath of the Dunblane massacre it seems as though illegally held guns are a major problem and increasing numbers of young people do seem any difficulty in getting a hold of and using them.

The Dunblane Massacre took place on March 13th 1996 , when Thomas Hamilton, a 43 year old, former scout leader who had been ousted by The Scout Association five years previously, shot dead sixteen young children and their teacher, in Dunblane Primary School's gymnasium. He then committed suicide. Interestingly enough he used his licensed firearms. Following the incident, the government passed the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997, effectively banning all handguns for private ownership.

By Charlotte Gill
Last updated at 7:39 AM on 13th August 2008

A boy of 13 has been charged with possessing a deadly pistol commonly used by violent gangs.

Police found the 9mm Baikal hidden under the stairs in his house with two silencers and a bag of up to 20 cartridge.

Senior officers believe he is one of the youngest people ever to be caught with a gun.

Gun crime: Police are questioning a 13-year-old schoolboy

Forensic tests are now being carried out to establish whether the weapon has been used in any shootings.

The 13-year-old was arrested at his home in New Cross, south-east London at 2.30pm by officers investigating criminal gangs.

He is currently in custody at Lewisham Police Station, where he has been charged with firearm offences.

A Baikal gun was used to kill James Andre Smartt-Ford, 16, at Streatham Ice Arena in south-west London in February last year.

Philip Poru, 18, was also reportedly shot dead with a Baikal while sitting in his car with a friend in Plumstead, south-east London, last October.

The alarming arrest and the murder last week of innocent bystander Ryan Bravo, 18, who was fatally shot in the back at a convenience store in Walworth, south-east London, will fuel fears of a resurgence in gun violence.

One source said the discovery and arrest highlights the falling ages of those involved in gang violence.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Beyer, head of the central task force at Scotland Yard, said: 'It is deeply concerning that we have a found a child of this age with a weapon that we believe is capable of firing.

'Whilst the number of shootings has been reducing, today's arrest just demonstrates that we are not complacent.

'We will continue to target anyone who is under the misapprehension that carrying a gun is a good idea.

'It isn't - it puts the carrier more at risk of death, injury or arrest.

'Having a gun, even if it isn't used in a shooting or crime, is being dealt with incredibly seriously by the Met Police.'

James Smartt-Ford who was murdered at Streatham Ice Rink on February 3, 2007, with a Baikal

Eighteen-year-old Philip Poru was reportedly shot dead with a Baikal in Plumstead, south-east London, last October

Converted Baikal weapons, often imported from Russia and Eastern Europe, are the weapon of choice for gangsters.

Hundreds of illegal guns are seized entering Britain every year and most of them come from Eastern Europe.

The guns, which can be purchased for about £2,500, are manufactured to fire tear gas pellets and converted in underground workshops to fire 9mm ammunition.

Established gangs, dominated by older youths and men, rely increasingly on children as young as 11 and 12 - often siblings of established gang members - as runners to carry drugs or guns.

In 2006, a girl of 14 was been charged with conspiring to supply machine guns to London crime gangs.

The teenager, from Colindale, north London, was accused of conspiring to supply two revolvers and two machine guns, possession of prohibited weapons and ammunition.

The arrest came as it emerged that a schoolboy was able to buy a stash of knives on the auction website eBay despite being under 18.

David Cooper purchased a doubled-ended lock knife used in the hit film Batman and five other knives during a 20 minute online session.

Since October 2007 it has been illegal for anyone under 18 to buy knives.

Richard Ambrose, Head of Trust & Safety for eBay in the UK, said: 'eBay members must adhere to strict rules and regulations when listing items for sale.

'Any knives that are prohibited under UK law may not be sold on ebay.co.uk.

'These rules clearly outline that it is an offence to sell knives to a person who is under the age of 18.

'All users registering to use eBay must confirm that they are at least 18 years old and parents are urged not to register children.

'We constantly review our policies and are exploring ways to strengthen safeguards in this area.'

Andy Ganteaume’s Autobiography gets rave reviews

For all you cricket aficionado's out there check out Andy Ganteaume's autobiography, 'My Story The Other Side of the Coin' available at cricshop.com

http://www.cricshop.com/

It has taken almost sixty years after his only Test appearance for the West Indies in 1948 for West Indies opening batsman Andy Ganteaume to reveal why he thinks, that after being among that select few who scored centuries in their maiden Test appearances, he was never again selected to play in another Test match.

Andy’s “MY STORY The Other Side Of The Coin” was recently launched at a famous West Indies Test venue, the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, to an audience of cricketers, cricket enthusiasts and the local press.

Over the years Andy has in jest claimed that he has “a better test average than the Don” (Sir Donald Bradman), pausing just long enough for the unthinkable idea to register before adding much to the relief of the surprised listeners, “ but it is also my aggregate score”. That sense of humour is reflected throughout his book.

In a prepublication review, Dr. Ian Mc Donald, poet and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, who has written extensively on West Indies Cricket noted that, “Along with much else, he refutes conclusively the misconception, not to say smear, that in that expert and assured debut Test innings he batted “too slowly”. This is absolutely required reading. But his account of this extraordinary cricketing episode is only a part of Andy Ganteaume’s wonderfully interesting, revealing and forthright autobiography, My Story.”

In the foreword, Sir Everton Weekes, the lone surviving member of the famous 3 Ws (Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott) said, “The atrocities that existed and prevailed way back when the West Indies was given Test match status must be properly recorded. The injustices experienced by some players mainly because of social and economic advantages must not be allowed to go unnoticed. Thank heavens the playing field now seems to be more level.”

But Andy did not dwell on the negatives. In his Introduction he wrote, “Nothing I have said is meant to malign anyone but facts are stubborn things. As a matter of fact, to avoid seeming to “paint the lilly”, I have not mentioned all I could have. Obviously, it must be left to the reader to accept or reject. I however have no fear of successful contradiction.”

In his long career as player, selector, administrator and coach, Andy’s life touched many persons some famous, some not known, many of whom became firm friends. In “My STORY” he paints interesting vignettes of many of them. The long list includes Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Clyde Walcott, Clifford Roach, George Headley, Lord Learie Constantine and CLR James.

“MY STORY The Other Side Of The Coin” is published in Trinidad and Tobago by Medianet Ltd and is available on the world wide web from Amazon.com.

Professor Baldwin Mootoo of the University of the West Indies has noted, Andy “has told a unique story in this publication which we should all read if we are interested in West Indian cricket development and thus the evolution of Caribbean society.”

Murder By Nunbers

The British newspapers have been reporting the sad and tragic story of the killing of a young British couple in Antigua following what has been described as a bungled robbery. That newlyweds on a honeymoon should lose their lives in such wanton and totally unwarranted attack is ghastly in the extreme. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families of Catherine and Benjamin Mullany. This is indeed a dreadful ending to a fairytale wedding and to think they were attacked on the last day of their holiday.

It’s hardly surprising that this has hit the headlines and the blogs. Antigua is an unlikely setting for this double homicide. Tourism is Antigua's main industry and about 33,000 Britons holiday there every year. It's a popular destination and a lot of tourists make return visits because they have had an enjoyable holiday. The livelihoods of many in Antigua depend on tourism and the authorities will no doubt try to reassure tourists that they it is safe to visit the country. They have taken steps to improve security at the resorts and have invited Scotland Yard to investigate the murders.

Some sections of the media have sought to portray the Caribbean as a dystopian hell hole, populated by a criminal underclass waiting to murder, defile and pick at the bones of unsuspecting European (Caucasian) travellers.

Although the killings took place in Antigua, the media focus has been very much on the region as a whole, the homicide rates of Jamaica and Trinidad were cited as evidence of the dangerousness of the Caribbean as a holiday destination. The Times even ran a story about another couple who had been held at gunpoint and the wife raped, the incident had taken place in St Lucia. She had kept silent but was now speaking out to warn others. We were also informed that the homicide rate in Antigua is three times that of New York. The statistic is derived by comparing the murder rate per head of population. In 2007, Antigua with a population of 82,000 there were 19 murders.

According to the Times, the murder rate is increasing across the Caribbean. There were 1,547 homicides in Jamaica in 2007 and the homicide rate in Trinidad and Tobago has quadrupled over the last 10 years, there were 388 homicides in 2007. It is somewhat of an anomaly as Trinidad & Tobago is relatively prosperous the mainly industries being oil and natural gas.

The violence in the Caribbean has tended to be drug and gang related in the main, it's a fairly universal theme. Crime and violence are global phenomena and regardless of country it’s normally the poor and the dispossessed who suffer. In Trinidad a 24 year old man and his 5 month old baby were shot and killed. In Jamaica the slaughter has thrown up many such stories of unspeakable evil. These stories tend not to feature in international headlines, and in both countries, Scotland Yard is rarely ever called and few murders are solved. As Stalin is said to have stated, ‘one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic’.

This is the first murder of a tourist in Antigua for 13 years, and despite the homicide rate tourists tend to be largely unaffected by the serious crime that plagues the local population. For the vast majority of holidaymakers their vacations will go peacefully and crime and particularly serious crime will only affect a minority, however as in the case of the Mullanys, life sometimes has a way of intruding even in a tropical idyll.

Our disgust at this despicable killing should not make us lose sight that in Antigua and the other islands the people who are mostly affected by crime are the locals: the vast majority of the murders on Antigua involve nationals, both as victims and perpetrators.

The Moral Maze

Raffique Shah (Trinidad Express) has written a very insightful piece about the killing of a local criminal and gang leader, Merlin ‘Cudjoe’ Allamby and the collapse of a finance company, the Hindu Credit Union in Trinidad.
(When greed leads to grief, http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_opinion?id=161356920).

We live in a globalised world and it may come as no surprise that in the UK we are also grappling with similar issues like the glorification of gangsterism and the exploitation of the poor.

Hundreds turned out to the funeral of Merlin ‘Cudjoe’ Allamby and the expressions of grief were genuine and palpable and somewhat unnerving. Of course we know not of those who felt exactly the opposite, didn't see him as a hero or felt their prayers had been answered. The dissenters within the community were hardly likely to demonstrate their joy at his passing lest they suffer a similar fate. Bad men survive because of fear and greed, and bad boys because of misguided affection, that's why gangsters like Cudjoe prosper but this issue is not that simple. I am reminded of the scene in the Godfather when war hero Michael is talking about his father Don Vito Corleone to his girlfriend Kay, at his sisters wedding:

Michael: My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.

Kay: Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don't have men killed.

Michael: Oh. Who's being naive, Kay?

People like Cudjoe have a following, a constituency because of what they provide in areas of deprivation, a generous benefactor, he even owned a football club. It may not be legitimate but in places long since abandoned by the state and civil society they provide social services, employment and a form of natural justice. In Jamaica so called 'community leaders' provide votes for particular parties and have political backing, it’s an unholy alliance. I'm not sure as to the situation in Trinidad but I would guess at some level of collusion, either by commission or omission, with agencies of the state, such as the police force and other local authorities.

Outlaws have always been larger than life and somewhat mythical figures, bad men (bad boys) tend to be exciting, they have an edge. Amongst the poor and the dispossessed they represent a particular class of entrepreneur, those who literally put themselves on the line, in order to 'get rich or die trying'. It’s also a gender thing; young men (and sadly increasingly young women) tend to put themselves at risk from driving at breakneck speed to binge drinking, substance misuse and various forms of antisocial behaviour. Most tend to grow out of it, mature, however for some it becomes their lifestyle, life long career, or in some instances, short life career - they fail to thrive. It is they who dominate the headlines, we see the photos in the newspapers, and read the scant obituaries; barely out of their teens we look upon their fresh faces and wonder where it's all gone wrong. It is a crisis of our youth, it is the dilemma of the Diaspora, but it is one of our own making.

The young didn't invent greed and consumerism, they didn’t invent drugs or are the major suppliers, didn't invent the bling culture or the screwed up set of values that they live and increasingly die by, but it is they who are caught up in it and suffer. For them life ceases to have value or meaning, it is replaced by the concept of respect which really isn't about respect at all but all about fear of the other.

It is a nihilism that few can identify with and we all struggle to understand.

That does not mean they are in any way absolved for the violence they perpetrate, an explanation is not an excuse. They must atone for the evil that they do, they must pay the price. But it is because of the failure, the failure of parents to discipline, of the schools to educate, of the police to protect, of big business to care about anything other than profits, of politicians to give a damn, that we're in this mess in the first place.

We have shirked our responsibility, we may not be directly involved but how many have turned a blind eye or failed to inform on a loved one? We would do well to remember that, for evil to triumph all that is necessary is for good men, and women to do nothing!

Here in the UK, there are families where kids are the sole breadwinners and mothers (father's being largely absent or when present complicit) just take the money, no questions asked. If the behaviour of our children and young people is revolting it’s because we as adults have set the example they follow. Unfortunately, whilst children may have some difficulty in doing what adults say, they excel in copying what they do. Children by and large simply reflect and respond to the world that's envelopes them. But for some unknown reason we are surprised when they act in such an aggressive and violent way, as if we expect them to somehow be better than us adults. We seem to hold them to a much higher standard than we hold ourselves. It is you, the nebulous 'you', who have abandoned these feral kids, that roam our streets, gun or knife in hand, spreading terror. It is 'we' the not-so-silent majority, the innocent and law-abiding who suffers. We watch our children in whom we have so much invested and have invested so much, succumb to the madness and all we can do is weep.

My 5 billion dollars now becomes 5 dollars!

I've just lost a small fortune, for one brief moment I was trying to work out what I'd do with my five billion Zimbabwean dollars now I've only got one dollar, talk about a cruel twist of fate. The sudden decision by the Reserve Bank Zimbabwe to drop ten zeros has left me bereft. Its another riches to rags story, ah well easy, come easy go!

From Times Online

July 30, 2008

Zimbabwe slashes ten zeros off its currency

(EPA)

No more - the 100 billion dollar note

Jonanthan Clayton

Zimbabwe, gripped by rampant hyper-inflation stoked by ruinous economic policies, reacted by knocking ten zeros off the country’s near-valueless currency.

The move by the Reserve Bank, which analysts said would do nothing to redress the economic crisis, turned ten billion dollars in to one dollar. It came as President Mugabe went on state television and threatened to impose a state of emergency if businesses took advantage of the country’s economic woes, which he blames on the limited sanctions imposed by the West.

Mr Mugabe, 84, often accuses Western capitalists for the country’s plight, but this time his words, coinciding with a breakdown in talks with the opposition in neighbouring South Africa on a government of national unity, were taken more seriously.

An African diplomatic source close to the talks, which began at a secret location in Pretoria last week, said: “If he feels the talks are not going his way, he could well use the economy as an excuse for a state of emergency and try and cling on a little longer."

President Mbeki of South African flew to Harare yesterday to see Mr Mugabe after having previously met Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). He later said that the talks would resume on Sunday.

It is believed they stalled after Mr Mugabe offered the MDC leader only a few minor ministries and the meaningless position of third deputy president — a new post. The MDC claims that it won the first round of the country’s election on March 29, but then Mr Mugabe unleashed a campaign of intimidation to win a second round which the opposition boycotted.

Mr Mugabe would remain as president for two years and then step down, but the opposition fears the ruling ZANU (PF) party would use the period to undermine the MDC still further and ensure one of its top politburo figures takes over.

In his television statement, Mr Mugabe insisted that he was negotiating in good faith. “We are still negotiating, we want to succeed...You find room for compromise but sometimes compromise is difficult ... So things are never easy.” An official South African statement said that Mr Mbeki would also meet the leader of a breakaway opposition faction, Arthur Mutambara.

Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai, who is also under pressure from his grassroots not to make too many concessions, met for the first time in ten years last week and agreed to have their negotiators hammer out a formula to share power.

All sides are under immense regional pressure to do a deal. Zimbabwe’s neighbours, all awash with hundreds of thousands of refugees, have lost patience with Harare, but remain deeply suspicious of the MDC and its leader.

How To Disappear Online

Social networking undoubtedly has many benefits and it is fun, however like everything else one should be aware of the pitfalls. Some people may not be aware that information posted on these sites may not be easily deleted, so its worthwhile having a second or possibly even a third thought about those posting or photos that might seem quite funny at the time but less so in the cold and sober light of day!

Forbes.com

Online Life
How To Disappear Online
Andy Greenberg, 03.07.08, 12:00 PM ET

You may have forgotten about Friendster, the once-booming social networking site that faded as American Web users flocked to MySpace and Facebook. But Friendster may not have forgotten about you.

It still remembers, for instance, that John Smith from Salisbury, Md., enjoys hobbies including "comic books" and "copulation." And any Google user can read a glowing testimonial written to Brooklynite Sam Brown, describing his habit of walking around his apartment drunk and naked, as well as his talent for using a certain part of his anatomy as a puppet.

In fact, Friendster is a ghost town of detailed personal information: The site received only 2.4 million unique visitors in the U.S. in January, but has more than 10 million American profiles, many of which publicly display information that users would probably prefer to keep private.
In Pictures: How To Become 'Web Dead'

Luckily, deleting your old Friendster profile takes just seconds. A subtly placed link on the bottom right corner of the "Account Settings" page will permanently delete all information stored on your page.

While you're at it, why not delete your old blog, that embarrassing attempt at literary wit that still lingers online? And perhaps it would be best to rid yourself of the Flickr account with those incriminating photos from last weekend? In fact, why not delete every reference to yourself online--simply disappear from the Web and restart your digital reputation afresh?

It's not easy, says Michael Fertik. But plenty of Web users would like to try.

Fertik's business, a start-up called ReputationDefender, based in Louisville, Ky., advertises that it lets users control their Web identity: For $30, the service will work to remove any content a subscriber chooses, using tactics that start with polite requests to the content's publisher and occasionally escalate to legal threats.

Most of Fertik's 6,000 or so customers only want a limited amount of material removed--a couple of embarrassing or defamatory blog posts, for instance. But a few, he says, want all online references about themselves to evaporate. "They want to be what they call 'Web dead,' " he says.

For those customers, many of whom have been stalked or threatened in the real world, Fertik admits that "Web death" is often impossible--references in major newspapers or political contribution data collected by the government, for instance, are practically indelible. More reasonable is trying to manage your online identity, say by removing a few unpleasant references or hiding them.

One ReputationDefender service creates innocuous content about customers, then tweaks those comments so that they float to the top of Google search results, where they hide offensive material. (See "Google-Proof PR?")

But for people who have just a few online references on community Web sites--usually older customers--it's sometimes possible to create a clean slate. "If you're 60 and above, you might be able to become 'Web dead' because you've never been 'Web alive,' " Fertik says.

Many younger users, on the other hand, have left a vivid record of their lives online by posting to user-generated content sites and social networks. And some of the more privacy conscious of those users are starting to clean up that digital trail.

More than 13,000 Facebook users, for instance, have joined a group on the site called "How to permanently delete your Facebook account." The majority of the group's members simply want to erase pages with embarrassing details when they apply for a job, says the group's Swedish founder, Magnus Wallin. Others don't like the idea of leaving personal details sitting on the Web for years to come. A few, he says, want to delete all online traces of themselves to hide from the C.I.A. or other imagined pursuers.

Thanks in part to the demands of Wallin's group, Facebook has made disappearing easier. Until recently, users had to painstakingly remove every message they had left on the site and then "deactivate" their account--an option that still left their personal information stored on Facebook's servers, though not publicly visible. Now users can choose to leave the site temporarily with the deactivation option or to contact the site's administrators and request that their records are permanently erased from the site.

But when it comes to content that's not created by the user himself or herself, completely disappearing online often runs into legal barriers, cautions Daniel Solove, a professor at Washington University and author of The Future of Reputation, a book about online identity management. Because first amendment law tends to protect free speech above privacy in the U.S., an individual can't easily demand that someone else pull down what they wrote, unless the comments are either false or overtly offensive, he says. That means if a blogger or mainstream media outlet mentions you on the Web, Google will find the page for years to come.

"Antiquated notions of invasions of privacy and the overprotection of free speech make removing content a real uphill battle in this country," says Solove.

The only real solution, argues a hacker and security researcher who calls himself "Dead Addict," is to not reveal your personal information in the first place. Dead Addict, who plans to give a talk on Web privacy at the technology conference Notacon in April, has used a workaround common to hackers avoiding the problems of online identity: To keep his controversial opinions and cyber-misdemeanors separate from his real world identity, Dead Addict has used a pseudonym for the last 15 years.

Search for Dead Addict's real name, which he declines to reveal, and he says you'll find a digital non-person: Other than a single forum comment he wrote some 13 years ago, the name offers no results. That anonymity comes from careful attention: Dead Addict has never blogged or created a social networking profile with his real name. Even his business cards carry only his first name and middle initial. "Fifteen years of keeping distinct identities takes a lot of work," he says.

But for those who haven't spent decades hiding from the Web, is it still possible to pull off the same disappearing act?

"If you already have a history online and suddenly start caring about privacy, you're in a very tough spot," he says. "Basically, there's no easy answer."

A brief report on my visit to Elmina and Cape Coast Slave Castles in Ghana

Elmina Castle was built by the Portuguese in 1482 initially to trade in goods as opposed to people. I was struck by the fact that a church stood in the middle of the castle and that religion played such a prominent role in the slave trade, cheek by jowl(the Church owned slaves on plantations in the West Indies. At Elmina church services were held above the dungeons that housed the slaves. I moved though the castle listening to the tales of physical and sexual abuse (rape) foisted on a people held captive until encountering the Gate of No Return, where slaves boarded the waiting ships, something moved inside me. This was the point of severance. It was made deliberately small as some slaves leapt into the sea and drowned rather than board the ships taking them away from Africa – choosing death rather than separation.

The scene at Elmina was somewhat incongruous because our visit coincided with the Bakatue Festival which is a pretty lively and fun affair, with huge crowds (a bit like Notting Hill Carnival). The Bakatue or (Fish Harvesting) consists of a royal procession of chiefs and stool holders riding palanquins through the main streets to a sacred shrine where chiefs pour libation and sprinkle sacred food. It heralds the opening of the fishing season following the ban on fishing, and features the ceremonial scooping of the lagoon with a net, after which permission is given to fishermen to fish. We're talking serious bling here, with chiefs draped with gold and fine clothes; it is a very impressive and imposing sight. I was having a digital camera malfunction and my battery was almost dead. I only managed to get a few pictures from afar, I couldn't get close to the chiefs, as people danced in the streets, music blared, and men in multi-coloured costumes walked on stilts, it reminded me of Trinidad carnival. Actually, I will add that if you want to see the origins of carnival go to West Africa.

Cape Coast Castle:

Unlike Elmina, Cape Coast Castle was built by the British specifically to house slaves. What you don't get in the pictures is a sense of how dark and dank the dungeons are and hot, and despite the centuries that have elapsed, the funny smell. There would be little point in me trying to imagine what the conditions must have been like with about 300 hundred people shackled in them, even emptied and clean the dungeons are revolting. At one point they closed the doors and you could hardly see a thing, the air was also quite stale and that was with only with a few of us in them. Slaves were held for up to 3 months in the dungeons depending on the availability of ships, packed in shoulder to shoulder, given little food and water, they were quite literally left to wallow in their own filth, for 3 months this is where they lived - slept, ate, defecated, and died, one can only guess at the attrition rate.

I am not at all squeamish but I felt very uncomfortable when our guide pointed out that what we were walking on was not the brick floor of the dungeon but a thick stone-like crust on top of it, made up of layer upon layer of compacted faeces (excrement), blood and human remains (slaves that died were literally left to rot); this had been trodden on by the slaves over the years and had become rock hard. In some of the pictures you can see where the dungeon has been excavated exposing the brick floor. Thereafter I felt uneasy with every step, continually glancing at my feet as I walked over this compacted matter and was very much relieved to be out of it. However when I emerged from the gloom of the male dungeon and into the air and light, I initially thought I was going to cry, felt the tears welling up inside me but suddenly I just became very angry.

Those who survived the Slave castles then faced the Middle Passage, crossing the Atlantic and exposure to more misery and death. It is said that the difference between the Holocaust and the Slave Trade is that there was no intention to kill or exterminate the slaves. As far as I'm concerned that is merely semantics. I got a distinct sense that not only was the welfare of the slaves not a matter of concern for the traders but that the conditions were as such that survival was simply a matter of luck and the indomitable spirit of our ancestors. This was further evidenced by the use of the death cells for those who transgressed and offered the greatest challenges to authority. They were shut into this airless, lightless room, with no food or water and left to die. The marks on the stone walls and floor of the death cell were made by slaves as they clawed with their fingernails in distress. The slavers made best use of the technology of their day as did the Nazis; if the slavers had gas at their disposal they would have used it.

The Slave Trade remains an issue that has yet to be properly addressed; I also need to mention that the enslavement of Africans would not be possible without the collusion of Africans. This was my first visit to West Africa and I couldn't help but see the dietary, social and cultural similarities with the Caribbean, between the Africans in Africa and those in the Diaspora. I became even more interested in the disconnect, the fact that there is such fear and loathing between us. The links were so obvious to me; this is where our origins lie, our story begins, our history starts; not the new world and not the 400 year period of chattel slavery.

The Castles are monuments to an unbridled savagery but I also see them as a having a positive story, resistance and triumph in the face of adversity - we survived against the odds and if we survived the Slave castles and the Middle Passage we can survive anything.

I would urge everyone to try to make the trip not only to the Slave Castles but to see the country as well.

Money, Money, Money

This is not a hoax, strange as it might seen I have actually been given $5 billion dollars by a friend, if you don't believe me see the photos. I was really surprised because I didn't ask for that much, the thing is I have until 31st December to spend it or lose it. So please forward suggestions as to how I might spend it.
I forgot to add that I've got $5 billion Zimbabwean dollars, and one should consider that currently the exchange rate of Zimbabwe dollar against the US$ is US$1 to $75 billion Zim dollars! $75 billion buys a loaf of bread (however it wouldn't by the time you read this email). So what can you do with $5 billion? Toilet paper is exceedingly scare in Zimbabwe to be precise it is more or less impossible to get. The $5 billion dollar notes seem fairly absorbent if a tad sharp but with the attendant due care and diligence I would suggest that they are a fitting replacement!