LIONZMAN.

 4 July 1973, when the Caribbean Community's Founding Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago.  Flag of CARICOM. Today is Happy CARICOM day and in lieu of that fact and many Blog post’s that I have written, on my Blogs and in my books, I want to recognize the day and offer up, an historical perspective. The following is the official press release of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, at Grande Anse, Grenada 1989. (CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)     More than 20 years ago, the Hon Herbert Blaize, Prime Minister of Grenada and Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, posited that what was occurring in the Caribbean Community was a microcosm of the international scene. He was at the time delivering the feature address at the opening of the Tenth Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government in 1989 in St. George’s. In o...

The following article from Caribisch Newsnetwerk/Caribbean News Network, was written by Pieter Hofmann and concerns slavery reparations. The issue of slavery reparations is a divisive one and emphasizes the need for, Africans in the diaspora in the Caribbean and particularly the former Netherlands Antilles, to create their own political parties and represent their own interest’s, through lobbying of governments on a global scale. Failure to do so will ensure, their continued begging of Europeans for so-called reparations.                  AMSTERDAM – As the annual commemoration of the abolition of slavery is observed, the discussion on dealing with this highly sensitive subject continues. At the United Nations Summit in 2001, the Dutch government expressed regret for the actions of the colony in the past. According to activist Leroy Lucas the Netherlands must extend formal apologizes. Expre...

In an opinion piece on Caribbean News Now Caribbean feminist Felicia Brown lays out succinctly the dire situation regionall, with regards to gun violence and males. That article is reposted in the following. By Felicia Browne Young males are increasingly becoming victims of gun- and gang-related violence. Out of 28 homicides in Saint Lucia for the year, 95% were males. This is critically alarming as males are becoming more vulnerable and susceptible to violent crimes within their communities. There is an urgent need to enact effective gun policies and community interventions that will work as deterrents against gun violence and access to illegal guns. Felicia Brown.               Felicia Browne is a feminist philosopher at the University of the West Indies and human rights and peace ambassador for the region I appeal to civil society and youth organisations to focus their community projects on alleviating gun violence and gang ac...

The following post from the Guardian newspaper on Trinidad and Tobago is a salient potent reality of the eminent threat that the Islamic State poses not only Trinidad and Tobago but the Caribbean in general. Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean is being used by Salafist groups, as an experiment in asserting Sunni Islamist hegemony in the region. The article was published on   Sunday, June 25, 2017. Hajj Nezar Hamze, centre, speaks during a function with local Muslim representatives last week. PHOTO: MICHEAL BRUCE Heed the grievances of T&T Muslims or people may become susceptible to the Islamic State’s (ISIS) recruitment pitches. This is because Isis recruiters will not stop working and legislation alone may not curb the situation in T&T. That advice has been telegraphed to Government by Hajj Nezar Hamze, a US deputy sherrif from Broward County in Florida, who is an expert in countering the narrative of violent extremism and terrorist organi...

 Law enforcement on Trinidad after Muslims shot their way out of prison. A report in the Guardian on Trinidad and Tobago featured the following article, by Gail Alexander on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Caricom states must urgently develop new strategies to win back the hearts and minds of young men now being recruited by the Islamic State (Isis), says Caricom Security Agency chief Francis Forbes. “Let’s accept that whether we like it or not, we’re already at war,” Forbes added at yesterday’s closing ceremony of a two-day Counter-Terrorism Strategy Conference. Forbes is executive director of Caricom’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), which hosted the event. Discussions by regional stakeholders and international experts strategised on tackling areas - from arms, financing and returning fighters, to preventing radicalisation - to build a collaborative regional framework to deal with terrorism. At next month’s annual summit, Caricom lea...

Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon delivers an address during the formal opening of CARICOM Counter-Terrorism Strategy two-day conference held at Hyatt Regency Hotel yesterday. Looking on, from second left, are United Nations Resident Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative T&T Richard Blewitt and CARICOM Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer Ambassador Irwin Larocque. PHOTO: SHIRLEY BAHADUR. Caricom clampdown on returning Isis fighters Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon delivers an address during the formal opening of CARICOM Counter-Terrorism Strategy two-day conference held at Hyatt Regency Hotel yesterday. Looking on, from second left, are United Nations Resident Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative T&T Richard Blewitt and CARICOM Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer Ambassador Irwin Larocque. PHOTO: SHIRLEY BAHADUR. An article by Gail Alexander published Tuesday, June 13, 2017, confers much o...

Brief Messages to a Victorious Nation 7, by Sheikh Ayman az-Zawahiri. In the name of Allah. All praise belongs to Allah and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and Companions. My dear Muslim brothers, May peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you. Our Ummah today is up against a global war in which Western and Eastern (Orthodox) Crusaders, Chinese, Hindus, Safavi Rawafidh and secular nationalists are partners in crime. From the coasts of al-Maghreb (Western North Africa) to Eastern Turkistan, you will find a Muslim world confronted by aggression, occupation, repression, bombardment, and international alliances working hand in glove with client regimes, which are outside the pale of Islam and work for the interests of the leading international criminals. In terms of peculiarities, one region may differ slightly from another, but there are obvious common denominators, namely fighting Islam in the name of the ‘Fight against ...