GTLIME-10th Anniversary Dinner Dance – Toronto – July 30,2011

 FOR TICKET INFORMATION/PURCHASE CALL:
Clive: SCARBOROUGH: (416) 291-7970 Day (416) 706-2816 Evenings
Judy: TORONTO: (905) 864-4737
Mark / Lauren: FLORIDA: (407) 699-5121
Carol: ATLANTA: (770) 277-4138

Obama, Trump and Kunta Kinte

By Jamala Rogers | St. Louis American Columnist – May 4, 2011 

Donald Trump has pandered to the most racist, backward sector of this country for the last few weeks. His eagerness to question the legitimacy of President Obama’s birth certificate underscored that being a birther transcends class and education; some believe that birthers are just white and uneducated.

The Donald was relentless in his challenge of the birth certificate, and last week, President Obama requested that the State of Hawaii Department release the document. For the White House, it was putting an end to a distraction. For many fair-minded whites, it would serve as a muzzle for the embarrassment, outrage or disgust that Trump fanned up in their faces.

But for most people of African descent, it was quite a different experience. It was watching Trump trying to turn President Obama into a Toby.

Anyone who ever watched Roots remembers the scene where a proud and stubborn Kunta Kinte was beaten into the obedient slave named Toby. The public beating was not just for Kunta, it was as much for the other blacks who had similar notions of being free. That kind of humiliation is part of the pathology of white supremacy that black people, regardless of their status in life, have experienced directly or indirectly.

It was easier for non-blacks to view Trump’s antics and shrug them off as attention-seeking silliness. But for black folks, it was a vicarious experience that raised the kind of anger that resides in the deepest recesses of our ancient African souls.

The Kunta Kinte Syndrome is now sewn into the fabric of most modern societies’ racial relationships. Black people periodically must be made to realize that they are second-class citizens and have no rights that white people will accept. That includes being born or having a legitimate birth certificate. It includes having a skill or a degree from a prestigious college.

For those whites who believe black people are innately inferior, white skin will always “Trump” the achievements of a black person. Once a black person internalizes this racial oppression, they are doomed to a treadmill of subhumanity and will never be equal to a white person, no matter how fast they run on that treadmill.

Goldie Taylor, contributing editor for TheGrio.com, shared her personal connection to the racist history of identification papers for blacks in this country. She told a story close to home – in the city of St. Louis.

In 1899, her great-grandfather Major Blackard was accosted by a St. Louis cop who demanded that Blackard show him his identification papers. Blackard had forgotten them that day and was beaten to a bloody pulp, arrested and thrown in jail. Twenty-one days later, Blackard’s white employer had to come to the jail to prove his identity and to bond him out.

Racism in this country is no laughing matter. It should not be trivialized or ignored. Everywhere Donald Trump goes, he should be met with chants of “No More Tobies!” Those people who were happily rubbing elbows with him at the White House Correspondents Dinner should have left him sitting there all alone. He should be treated like a pariah. Since someone of his stature wants to flaunt his arrogant racism, he has to be taught a hard lesson.

Of course this is not just about President Obama; neither is it just about the birthers. It’s about all who are not white and male; it’s about racist legislation and policies that strip us of our full citizenship rights. In this next period, we will have to fight like hell to just retain the gains made over the last century.

Fair-minded white people cannot sit on the sidelines while racist ideologues denigrate and de-legitimize the country’s first president of color. Criticize President Obama when he doesn’t live up to his promises or ideals, but not because he is the son of an African. History will judge his presidency. It will also judge us for accommodating the kind of society that says racial (or gender) equality will never be a reality in this country.

David Hinds discusses “Power Sharing”

“African Guyanese call for Power Sharing is an affirmation of human and birth rights.”

By Dr. David Hinds  –
Special To News Americas  – http://www.newsamericasnow.com

 

Born in Buxton, David Hinds is a professor of Caribbean and African Diaspora studies at Arizona State University and executive member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA). More of his writings can be found on his website at:  www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com

 

News Americas, PHOENIX, Arizona, Weds. May 4, 2011:

When I came out in support of Tacuma Ogunseye’s call for African Guyanese to take to the streets in Guyana to demand power sharing, I did so because I sensed that people were playing politics with the issue. Let me preface today’s offering with a few general observations.

First, I make a distinction between the Indian masses whose lives are as miserable as Africans and the Indian government which is as unaccountable to Indians as it is to the Africans. Second, I do not blame the Indian people for the plight of Africans; in the same way I don’t blame the African people for the suffering of Indians under the PNC. In both cases I hold the governments responsible for the excesses. Third, nobody can seriously accuse me of remaining quiet when Indian people are under attack–my record speaks for itself.

Fourth, I am not advocating violence against Indian people or the Indian government. That is the worst solution; all of us will be consumed. I am instead supporting African defiance and militancy against those who are intent on confining their role in Guyana to something called “opposition.” Fifth, I do not absolve African people from fault for our collective condition. But our problem is not simply that we like to party and spend lavishly as some Indians think. Our problem is that we have not cherished enough who we are – self-love. Finally, I am sure the cynics in our midst will say that I do not speak for African Guyanese. That is their business. I speak as an African Guyanese. When I put my life on the line to fight and help bring down an African Guyanese government, I never did so to install an Indian Guyanese government. We in the WPA fought for a Government of National unity. So I am not a “just come” to power sharing.

Despite attempts to frame it in violent and racist terms, Tacuma Ogunseye’s call has served the purpose of putting the question of race and governance back on sensible footing. From Eusi Kwayana’s call in 1961 for joint premiership to the PPP’s call for a National Patriotic Front in 1977 to the WPA’s 1979 proposal for a Government of National Unity and Reconstruction to the PNC’s call for Shared Governance in 2002, the issue of power sharing has been about how to achieve security for all races beginning at the political level. All of the proposals I referenced above started from the position that intra-racial solidarity is a given in our political culture. Kwayana captured the essence of problem in 1961 this way: “We have known all along that the Indians would not trust a Black leader and that the Africans would not trust an Indian leader.” That reading was correct in 1961 and it is even more correct fifty years later….    more

Read full article here: http://www.newsamericasnow.com/african-guyanese-call-for-power-sharing-is-an-affirmation-of-human-and-birth-rights/

U.G. may be forced to close next year

THE UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA MAY BE FORCED TO CLOSE NEXT YEAR

APRIL15,2011 |BY KNEWS |PEEPING TOM

The University of Guyana needs money, lots of money, for it to be viable. Without a financial injection, the University is not going to survive

Guyana has excellent students who are being shortchanged because the University of Guyana does not have sufficient funds to allow it to run a top-class facility. It is way below desired standards. The buildings are in poor shape, the staff underpaid and the academic resources woefully inadequate and outdated.

What it will take to reverse this situation is a deluge of funds. Once money begins to pour into the institution, the University of Guyana will dust off the cobwebs and reinvent itself. Right now it hardly has the strength to stand in front of the mirror and assess its poor shape, much less to begin to reverse the decline which has become endemic. Money is the key to reversing the fortunes of the University.

But this injection of funds does not necessarily have to come from the government. It can be raised by the university itself while freeing itself of some of the administrative burdens that drain its present limited funds.

The fees presently charged to students were set eons ago and since then the dollar has appreciated. If the fees are increased to keep abreast with inflation and the depreciation of the Guyana dollar, no student attending the University of Guyana should be paying less than $200,000 per year.

The government offers student loans. The vast majority of students apply for these loans. There are indications that many students, after graduating, leave the country without paying their loans. These students cannot be prevented from leaving, or arrested or sued, because they have fifteen years to pay back the loans.

The government therefore is forced to absorb the burden of the bad loans, as well as the value of the loans given to existing students, and which are paid to the University. The government should rid itself of this responsibility and ask students to apply to commercial banks for loans. There is no reason why the government should have to grant loans to students when the students can apply to the commercial banks for loans.

There is the trend in Guyana that people feel that they can owe the government and not have to pay. While many do pay, there are quite a few who have absconded from Guyana without paying their loans and who are not ever going to pay because by the time their fifteen-year moratorium period is up, most of them would have obtained their transcripts from the University and would have migrated overseas. So those fees are lost.

If these same students had to take a commercial loan, they would have had to begin repaying the loan immediately upon graduation and they would have had to lodge security. They would have been more inclined to pay.

This is an election year, and therefore there is no way that the government is going to increase tuition fees at the University of Guyana or withdraw the student loan facility.
If the University of Guyana was charging market-based fees, then it would not have to be in the crisis it is in, because it would have been able to raise the funds from its students.
There are also other initiatives that the University of Guyana can pursue which can allow it to raise funds for its upkeep, but throughout its history, the institution has been plagued by administrative problems and has failed to be innovative.

Guyana is a small country, where less than 1% of the population acquires tertiary education. With such a low rate of university graduates, it is simply not feasible for the government to be spending as much on each university student as it presently does.
What is needed, therefore, is not a plan to balance the University’s budget. What is needed is a plan to allow the University to charge market-based rates so that it can pay for itself.

The government has committed to doing certain things, including funding a biodiversity laboratory. What is corporate Guyana doing? How much is it willing to pump into the University? These are all areas which the University should examine, because unless it does, it will find out that come next year it may have to close its doors permanently.

Your comments are welcome!!

Letter: Cheddi Jagan (jr) on Bin Laden’s death

Dear Editor,

The death of Osama Bin Laden is good news for the whole world and as I have said time and time again, President Obama has been on the right track since he became the leader of the democratic world. I remember, just after 9/11, there was a letter in Time Magazine by an active US Navy Seal, who stated that he was trained to live in swamps, swimming through snake and alligator infested water and existing on lizards, plant roots and grasshoppers; this Navy Seal also mentioned that he was also trained in warfare in deserts, jungles, oceans and even urban situations. He wrote that no matter how long it took , the US military would hunt down and kill Bin Laden and his associates by sheer dedication to their profession and to pay back Bin laden for what was done to America’s  pride; he stated that all Bin Laden did, was to awake a sleeping American giant which would hunt him to the end of this planet .

Editor, who knows, maybe this man was one of those who killed Bin Laden in this brilliantly executed operation in Pakistan by US Navy seals. One demonstrator in the USA, happily held up a placard in front of the White House which said simply: “Obama kill Osama”, a message which the remnants of Al Queda will cringe at as they scramble to run and hide.

Editor, as I have written before, President Obama has shown the world that he is a tough and determined leader, willing to take immense risks in protecting the world from the likes of Bin Laden and his network of terror, while ignoring Pakistani protection of this nefarious terrorist.  Let this be a lesson to all those in this world who are hell-bent on causing trouble and maiming and killing innocent victims by using terrorism and extreme violence because Obama is not a man to mess with and Iran, in particular, had better stop developing a nuclear weapon because we now know  that, for sure, Mr.Obama will take the necessary measures to punish such criminality; and Editor, we both know that if Obama is forced to confront Iran, the defeat that rogue nation would suffer at the hands of the USA would result in the world never hearing from them for a 100 years. Gaddafi (Libya)and Assad (Syria) will feel the relentless heat of Obama and will be dethroned sooner or later, it’s only a matter of time. Bin Laden’s 9/11 attack really awoke a sleeping giant,  just like the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941 by the Japanese , who also awoke America and ended up a defeated and disgraced nation by 1945, Al Queda will be destroyed by American power and the determination of Obama in finishing them off forever.

Bin Laden couldn’t hide out in the caves of the Pakistan-Afgan border region because special forces (and armed drones) of the US had him on the run since 9/11 and gathered intelligence for 8 months before this remarkable victory; it just shows the power of American might when President Obama could sit on a sofa and watch, through video cameras strapped to the Seals’ bodies, the actual facial expressions of Bin Laden as he was shot dead, a fitting end to a cruel fanatic. As he descends to Hell’s gate, Bin Laden soul will beg for mercy for the misery and suffering he caused our world and  will burn brightly in Hell’s cruel environs as Mr. Obama continues his good deeds, dedicating his presidency to a better world.

Editor, obviously Bin laden was not a student of history or he would have known that the history of terrorism is a history of failure wherever it raised it’s ugly head, even as far back as the early 1800s when President Jefferson had to raise an American naval squadron to hunt down and destroy terroristic naval piracy in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea ; maybe he thought that Islamic terrorism would be different but after seeing the upheavals in the Middle East where the young people are struggling for American style democracy and transparency and are not attracted to his Islamic terrorism, he had to have known that he was a complete failure and a coward to boot, hiding out in luxury while his followers languished in adverse conditions.  Now, the writing is on the wall for Al Queda as President Obama will hunt them down mercilessly , without asking for nor giving any quarter and taking no prisoners in a war which will have only one winner: the sleeping giant who woke up on Sept.11,2001 (9/11) and will never go to sleep until the Bin Ladens are all dead and defeated. It is so written.

Yours faithfully,
Cheddi(Joey)Jagan(Jr.)

Bill Maher – Killing of Bin Laden and “Republican Crackers”

Comedy:

Bill Maher, in his own inimitable style, on the mission to kill Bin Laden and the political fallout, with a lot of laughs along the way.

If this Bill Maher video is no longer available  you can see the script of what he said on this video here on HBO:  There are also other HBO clips that are very amusing.

http://www.hbo.com/#/real-time-with-bill-maher/episodes/0/212-episode/article/new-rules.html

(COMEDY SPOOF) President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden

(COMEDY SPOOF)

President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden

Hundreds in Buxton interact with Windies cricketers

May 7, 2011 | By KNews | Filed Under Sports

By Sean Devers

Hundreds of mostly children interacted with several members of the West Indies team which will face Pakistan at Providence from Thursday when the cricketers, former Test legend Lance Gibbs and Digicel officials visited the East Coast Demerara Village yesterday.

Vice-Captain Australian born Jamaican Brendon Nash, Trinidadian left-hander Darren Bravo, Barbadian West Indies under-19 Captain Kraigg Braithwaite andGuyanese Ramnaresh Sarwan and Davendra Bishoo were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic welcome they received from the moment they emerged from the Bus.

The team’s Media officer Phillip Spooner described the experience as ‘a wonderful and moving’ one as the players interacted with the children who are members of the Buxton Youth Developers Club.

When the Bus, escorted by Police outriders to the historic Village, one of the first in Guyana bought by the freed slaves in 1834, a bevy of beauties who will participate in the Miss Buxton African talented teen pageant were ready to take them to the club house which is almost fully completed.

President of the Organization Robin Phillips officially welcomed the contingent to Buxton and told the cricketers that their presence was certain to inspire many of the over 300 youths present and assured that the people of Buxton was one hundred percent behind the regional team.

Phillips thanked Digicel for their financial contribution towards making the completion of the facility a reality after CIDA had provided 80% of the construction cost.

The Buxton Villager told Kaieteur Sport that the group began in 2004 with 30 members between ages 5-17 to try and bring back the glory days to the Village which is approximately 20 minutes from the Capitol and boasted that there are now 300 children on board.

There was thunderous applause when Sarwan and Bishoo were introduced to the large and raucous crowd which included several parents and other Villagers while Bravo, Nash and Braithwaite were also warmly received.

The cricketers demonstrated the art of batting to several youngsters, some of them not much taller than the bat and Sarwan in particular wasted little time in mingling with the crowd.

Gibbs told the youngsters that he represented West Indies ‘very long ago’ and said they should look up to the present players who are carrying the West Indies flag, while Digicel’s CEO Gregory Deen said the cell phone giants with the bigger better network in Guyana was delighted to assist the community project to help develop, youth, sports and culture in Buxton, adding that Digicel was also pleased to help bring the cricketers to meet them.

Patron of the Buxton Youth Developers Lenny Shuffler, the President of the Guyana Volleyball Association, said he was satisfied with the progress made since 2004 and explained that funds are still being sought to complete electrical and other internal aspects of the clubhouse and the chipping and rolling of the ground which will be used for cricket and football among other activities.

Shuffler, who thanked the Buxton NDC for its support, explained that the mission statement is ‘regaining the glory days of Buxton through Sports, Education and Culture. He added said the club’s motto is promoting friendship, influencing change and said that sports is being used to promote friendship, education to promote understanding and culture to gain recognition.

The cricketers spent over an hour playing cricket and interacting with the children and shared out Digicel West Indies T-Shirts as they were departing.
Several photographs were taken and autographs signed as the West Indies players advised the youths to never give up their dreams and stressed that regardless of where you come from anyone can become successful in life if they work hard for what they want.

The Flower Garden

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The Flower Garden

If you like flowers you will love this entry

For years many have passed this house and marveled at the floral display at 3725 North Vassault Street in Tacoma, Washington State. USA. Here is his display for 2011. We went up to the owner and told him how much we had enjoyed his garden all these years and he invited us to tour his creation. We found the backyard to be as beautiful as the front. He is Vietnamese, shy, very soft spoken, and speaks very little English, so we couldn’t discuss too much with him about the garden.

We hope that you like his garden

Guyanese Online Newsletter – May 2011

Read/Download >>>  Guyanese-Online-May2011-Newsletter

                                (Click Link above)

This is the latest edition (# 15) of the Guyanese Online Newsletter.

This newsletter has 17 pages and contains over 43 items- including video links, links to external articles and advertising of events by various Associations.

This edition  features Guyana news (5 pages); Regional Caribbean news page;  an Editorial page; an Environment Page; a Tourism Page;  Guyanese Associations and their news (4 pages); Arts and Culture articles (2 pages), as well as a historical article on Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow – the father of Trade Unionism in Guyana and the Caribbean (2 pages).

Page 1–  Masthead : Springtime – flowers of Guyana and the Caribbean; Main story: Unions warn of street protests if wage talks fail.

Page 2- Editorial: “Giant whirlpools off Guyana and Suriname.”

Page 3– Guyanese Online Blog Page: Blog entries for April  2011;  Top 20 – most popular entries for April 2011;  Feature Video – “A Next-Generation Book”.

Page 4- Environment: Letter:  Siddartha Forestry Concessions questioned;   Giant Ocean Whirlpools off Guyana and Suriname puzzle scientists.

Page 5– Guyana News – Proof of address for Guyana Bank clients;  Poor results from Takutu Basin Oil well;  GuySuCo land being sold to developers.

Page 6—Guyana News – Contracts rewarded for Hope/Dochfour Canal;  Amaila Falls Road hopelessly behind schedule – Luncheon;  High tides destroy East Bank Berbice farms;  GPL reduces power losses.

Page 7—Guyana News – Canada based Guyanese donate 400 notebooks to Education Ministry;  Berbice has new private hospital;   Sports: Gayle lambastes WICB and coach Gibson.

Page 8– Tourism – REDjet certified by Barbados for Caribbean service;  Curacao is part of Space tourism.  “Near miss” plane incident highlights the problems at CJIA (bird strike fallout – Canadian Airlines plane) –

Page 9– Caribbean-Regional – Barbados aims at 100% free internet access;  Suriname plans to expand rice acreage;  Re-launch of Jamaica rail services welcomed;  Grenada cocoa industry recovers from hurricanes;  Above  average hurricane season forecasted.

Page 10- Associations: Guyana Folk Festival 10^th Anniversary Awards – Call for Nominations; Family Fun Day – Orlando. Florida.

Page 11– Associations:  Guyana Medical Relief donates US$1.9M in drugs; Victoria Village Creole Breakfast;  Guyanese Association of Manitoba;  Father’s Day Fun Run/Race, in Scarborough, ON. Canada

Page 12- Associations: Guyana Kaieteur Group Awards Banquet;  Buxton-Friendship Express Newsletter; CIMBUX memorial Weekend Dance. Maryland USA;  “Tipperary Hall Rising’ Update

Page 13- Associations: Tutorial High School Reunion 2011; Caribbean Style and Culture Show, Maryland USA;  GUYFEST – Guyana Cultural Festival, Maryland USA.

Page 14- Arts and Culture: Joan Bryan-Muss – Artist from Whitby, ON Canada; Guyanese women honoured for volunteering – Toronto Canada.

Page 15– Arts and Culture:   Book: “Guyanese Achievers – USA and Canada” by Vidur Dindayal;  No Stopping Rihanna – she tops Billboard Music Awards nominations.

Page 16/17– Historical – ‘The work and life of Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow – “the father of Trade Unions in British Guiana and the Caribbean”;  GT-LIME 10^th Anniversary Dinner-Dance, Toronto Canada.

We do hope you find this publication interesting.

Read/Download >>>  Guyanese-Online-May2011-Newsletter

                                (Click Link above)

Cyril Bryan, Editor and Publisher

E-mail: guyaneseonline@gmail.com