Mahogany CoConut Blog

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                                       Garbage In Garbage Out !                   Garbage Worthless Politicians By Michael Headley On Tuesday, September 16, a video emerged from Kiev which showed  Vitaly Zhuravsky, a Ukrainian parliament member, being literally thrown into a rubbish bin by  a group of angry protesters ( myfoxphilly.com/story/ 26545710/angry ).  Apparently, this action, taken by the group, was precipitated after Mr. Zhuravsky had authored a bill, in January, that tightened restrictions on anti-government protesters. New Sky reported that the outrage came in lieu of an authored bill that had granted  amnesty to the pro Russian rebels.  And it was reported ...

The Caribbean Is One Nation                                                                           Beggars And Choosers By William Skinner The granting of concessions to the hoteliers, is a capitulation on the part of the Barbados government, which now finds itself with a one step forward two steps backward economic  policy; trying to please an essentially lazy and backward corporate class while inflicting serious blows on the already poor and economically downtrodden. The hoteliers in Barbados have clearly demonstrated that they have failed to capitalize on an industry that has been in existence for over sixty years. They have whined their way into the taxpayers coffers, on the spurious grounds that the concessions granted to the well established Sandals Group should be automatically th...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                         Photo by Michael Headley                            Bajans wine down de parkway By Michael Headley On September 01, 2014, Bajans, along with other Caribbean Nationals,and people from all over the world were 'wining down the bacchanal road' as they danced down Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway in the 47th annual West Indian American Day Carnival Parade.   Bajans were not going to be left out of this day where pageantry and culture are displayed so they joined the other revelers to showcase their costumes, calypso music and ethnic pride.  It was New York's new Mayor Bill de Blasio and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who was the Grand Master, first Carnival parade in the...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.               Woman Must Cry  Now that the Prime Minister’s Minister of Finance has delivered the last budget in this Government’s current term, there is overwhelming evidence that the nation’s mother, grandmother and now fairy godmother has done nothing substantial for Trinidad and Tobago’s women and children. Through historical fact and biological lottery, Kamla Persad-Bissessar will always be T&T’s first woman prime minister. Her awards will remain with her too: the 2013 democracy medal conferred, we were told, because “her rise to power is testament to the progress of women both here in the region and around the world” and her 2010 Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year award because her work, we were told, was “an inspiration to women and girls everywhere.” Chromosomes aside, however, what has the Prime Minister done to move the country towards protection of children, equal pay for equal work, prote...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                            Former Barbados PM's Skillful Move Owen Arthur By William Skinner Those who would seek to write off former Prime Minister Owen Arthur are making a potentially grievous political mistake. Apparently, it is now customary in our society, to declare anyone above the age of 60 as a has been. This means that all those teachers, police, nurses and others including those in the private sector, are supposed to go home at 55 or 60 and grow lettuce or roses. I respectfully beg to differ. The truth is that, as far as I know, Arthur has no impediment that will affect his ability to be a very productive citizen for many years to come. This desire to declare people old prematurely has led to the destruction of West Indies cricket when we deliberately haste...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                     Trinidad and Tobago at 52 Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence from Great Britain on August 31st, 1962.  At midnight on 30th August, 1962, the Union Jack (British flag) was lowered and the Trinidad and Tobago flag was raised for the first time.  Trinidad and Tobago National Flag The Mahogany Coconut Group had its genesis in an internet gathering that comprised mainly of Caribbean citizens in the Diaspora. Within this gathering the country with the largest contingent, was and remains Trinidad and Tobago. We are therefore quick to extend our congratulations to the good people of Trinidad and Tobago on the attainment of fifty two years of independence. At this time we remember Eric Williams, who should be an example to all those academics, who aft...