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Caribbean’s role as a voice of reason in a fractured OAS
By Sir Ronald Sanders On May 31, the Organization of American States (OAS) faced a prolonged and contentious debate that lasted from 2:30 in the afternoon until well past midnight. This episode, marked by acrimony and political undercurrents, which was webcast publicly and instantly to the world, is likely to be revisited during the upcoming…
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Autonomous weapons – a real and urgent danger to people
By Sir Ronald Sanders As if small states, with limited financial and human resources to safeguard their societies, do not confront enough grave challenges, along comes the phenomenon of “autonomous weapons” – probably the most frightening technological development that has yet been created. Why should small states be concerned? They should already be deeply troubled…
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DEY ‘FRAID ASOT?
by G.A.Dwyer Astaphan On the afternoon of May 18, 2023, Member of Parliament for the St. Peter Constituency in Antigua, Mr. Asot Michal was suspended from the Parliament for the next three sittings. Mr. Michael was, at the time, on his feet, delivering what I thought to be a very incisive, well reasoned and significant…
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OBSERVATION: Antigua, Migrant Island!
Migrants have been coming to Antigua from post slavery days when the first migrants from Lebanon via New York were dropped off at St. John’s Harbour on a boat heading to Brazil. This piece of history is known by the Lebanese who have generational history to share with their great grandchildren. Tourism brought its own…
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OPINION: Speaker Watt is a growing threat to Parliamentary Democracy
By Jonathan Walter The rampaging bias of Speaker of the Antigua and Barbuda Parliament Gerald Watt against Asot Michael in particular and members of the Opposition in general, is an existential threat to parliamentary democracy that requires urgent national attention. His conduct in presiding over proceedings of the House makes it increasingly clear that he…
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1.5°C is upon us. Are we prepared?
By Sir Ronald Sanders The report on May 17, from the World Meteorological Organization, (WMO) that global temperatures are likely to surge to record levels in the next five years should have sent all Caribbean institutions, such as the CARICOM Secretariat, the Caribbean Development Bank, and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, into overdrive to…
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LETTER: Emancipation/Freedom Day
DEAR EDITOR: In the Caribbean, ‘Emancipation Day’ is celebrated enthusiastically as the day on which legal slavery ended and this is as it should be. It isn’t the same day for all the territories as the different slave owning nations issued or enacted Emancipation Proclamations on different dates and for the Dutch, French and Spanish…
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Decimation of vulnerable nations inevitable if global warming continues on present trend
By Sir Ronald Sanders John Kerry, former U.S. Secretary of State and current U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change matters, told the world’s Ambassadors at a meeting in Washington, on May 10, that “there is no way” of keeping the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius unless CO2 emissions are drastically reduced. Over the…
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MAKEDA MIKAEL: Black bodies washed up on beaches
Once more black bodies of drowned migrants are floating up on beaches, and in Caribbean seas, even as in the Triangular Trade, where millions of black bodies four hundred years ago, drowned or were dumped in the Atlantic Ocean. Mother Africa is bleeding as her black skinned children continue to suffer the same exploitation of…
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Objective journalism threatened by fake content and false media platforms
By Sir Ronald Sanders Media freedom in the Americas, from Canada in the North to Argentina in the South, with the Caribbean in between, did not rank very well in the 2023 World Press Freedom (WPF) Index. In a measurement of 180 countries and territories, only Canada – rated at 15 – secured a place among…
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MAKEDA MIKAEL: Cannabis Is Driving Our Children Wild
The Minister of Health needs to call an urgent meeting of Teachers and Parents of our cannabis smoking youth in an effort to remedy an out-of-control situation where our young people are killing their future with ‘weed!’ The weed brain destruction is now compounded by unscrupulous persons who are blending other hard drugs and synthetic…