Mahogany CoConut Blog

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group Prime Minister David Cameron The Mahogany Coconut Group prefers to leave the window dressing and puerile debate, to others who are more “brilliant”. We try mostly to put our case or points of view directly and allow others to sit in judgment. And so it is with the offer of the British Prime Minister David Cameron, who on a recent visit to Jamaica, offered to build jails in Jamaica, for those Jamaicans who are now imprisoned in England. Jamaica Prime Minister, Portia Simpson has correctly turned down this insult disguised as some magnanimous act! Ironically, the British PM literally dismissed the calls for Reparations and told us that it was time to move on from slavery and forget the quest for reparations. If a politician had told a Jewish community to move on from the holocaust, his career would have been effectively over. However reality informs us that since our former colonial slave masters saw Black...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group We join in expressing our total solidarity with teachers today, Monday October 5 th . as they celebrate World Teachers Day. Throughout our region, teachers continue to function in environments that have not always recognized their importance in national development. Indeed, much to our disappointment, teachers are often the very last to be considered, when we are discussing:  restructuring economies, protecting the environment and other pressing issues. They are usually ignored even when we are examining education! Somehow we have succeeded in separating the teachers from the very field they have chosen as career. Yet, with the disdain they endure, they still toil diligently, as they focus on training our young and future leaders. No wonder that some have referred to teaching as a thankless profession. Our teachers are now entering classrooms that in many cases are dangerous because of the increase in sch...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                                          Submitted By the Mahogany Coconut Group With some frequency, we are witnessing, pictures and videos of school children from a number of Caribbean countries, exposing acts of violence and sexual encounters on the internet. While some might describe these occurrences as the last days and the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, we venture to suggest that in many instances, these acts are done for their pure shock value. In other words, present day youth, use the internet as a powerful force in their rebellion against the norms of society. Parading these episodes for millions to see obviously puts fear in the hearts of parents, who would be embarrassed if their children are in such a limelight. We all ...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group. Phil Simmons Like most Caribbean citizens, we have become accustomed to the stupidity that surrounds the administration of our cricket. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is the laughing stock of cricket administrators worldwide. We are in deep straits both on and off the field. On one hand, we are barely keeping our rating as a bona fide test team, and on the other, the administrators are happy scoring duck after duck! The latest issue is the suspension of Coach Phil Simmons, who in a moment of frustration, stated that there was “outside” influence in the selection of the team that is bound for Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, for Simmons, he chose to make his position known publicly. The Board, no doubt considers such a breach enough to order his suspension. However, what was most remarkable was the decision of the selectors to revisit the selection process and then include the same two players (Bravo and Po...