Mahogany CoConut Blog

Michael Headley One Caribbean Nation. Letter From Brooklyn By Michael Headley Earlier today, January 10th, a caller on VOB's (Voice Of Barbados) down to brass tacks, requested that speakers comments, for the January 19th, snap General Election, should refrain from engaging in Gutter Politics. I found this laughable because without some so-called Gutter Politics the electorate will be treated to a barrage of hyperbolic statements, from various politicians, regarding how many more houses, roads, schools, etcetera, that they will build, if they are elected or reelected.   The reigning Politicians, and aspiring ones, will extol the virtues of how they have, or will, skillfully handle the economy, tourism and other industries, agriculture, health care, unemployment, old age pension, increasing crime and lawlessness.  They are trying to convince   potential voters that they have the tools to steer the ship of state into a safe harbor.  But history shows that th...

One Caribbean Nation. Once more the images of a fractured Caribbean have emerged. Apparently, President Biden, has invited two Caribbean leaders, to a Climate Change conference. The MCG does not engage in highlighting individual regional leaders, unless we deem it central to the point we are trying to make.   While we cannot tell Biden or any other country’s leader whom to extend invitations, we are of the view, that CARICOM as a regional force, must start to assert its independence, in matters relating to climate change, poverty, hunger and other maladies affecting the region and the world. Our failure to act as one body with one voice, is sending a message to our citizens, that we can be pushed around by those who control global politics, wealth, and power. Climate change is already wreaking havoc in the Caribbean. It is known that our coral reef, coast lines and water supply, are under tremendous threats. Biden and others cannot save us -we need to save ourselves. Rather...

One Caribbean Nation. By Michael Headley In this Orwellian age,  when right is wrong and vice versa, the Attorney General, Dale Marshall fell victim to Doublespeak as  he tried unsuccessfully,  to explain The Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control) Amendment) Bill 2020 (Nation News March 07).  His lame explanation blew up in smoke as he stated, in one breath that smoking cannabis (pot/,marijuana)  was a crime, however persons, caught, in possession of 14 grams or less, will be treated differently, by the police .  They would be fined and not confined.  The treasury must be smiling but how many 14 grams or less is one person allowed before they will be confined?   Mr. Attorney General, is smoking cannabis a crime or can users sidestep it by paying a fine?  Be specific.   Mr Attorney General, as recent as March 16, the Moderator, on Getting down to brass tacks, stated that because users the...

One Caribbean Nation. Political pundit ANCHOR WITH TRINBAGO ROOTS CREATING STIR CNN’s rising star Abby Phillip is getting a chance to shine on her own. The CNN recently announced the network’s new Washington-based anchor roles. Within that release came the news that Phillip has been promoted to senior political correspondent and will be taking the reins of Inside Politics Sunday from John King. So, CNN viewers will now be able to tune into Phillip every Sunday morning from 8 to 9 a.m. starting January 24th. Fans of the show will note that Phillip is no stranger to the Inside Politics set, having been a member of the show’s roundtable in 2015 and even filling in for King last month— perhaps as an undisclosed opportunity for Phillip to test drive the anchor role. Phillip was born in Virginia to parents June and Dr Carlos Phillip. Her parents are originally from Sangre Grande. They migrated to the US in 1985 and returned to Trinidad and Tobago in 1988 when she was a few months old. She ...

One Caribbean Nation. VP-Elect Kamala Harris CaribPR Wire, NEW YORK, NY, Sun. Jan. 17, 2021 : U.S. VP-Elect Kamala Harris on Sunday night delivered a special message to thousands of Caribbean Americans gathered virtually globally, at a star-studded virtual global Caribbean inauguration celebration in her honor, conceptualized and executed by Caribbean American entrepreneur and advocate, Felicia J. Persaud, and presented by Invest Caribbean and the Caribbean American Action Network, (CAAN). “Thank you for the efforts that so many of you have made throughout the course of the campaign to get us to this moment. … You did the work. You helped lay the groundwork for this historic occasion,” VP-elect Harris said. “Now, because of you and so many others, our country is on a path to heal and rebuild.” She also recognized the contributions of Caribbean Americans to the United States, which she said are woven “throughout the fabric of our country.” “Those contributions are reflected in the liv...

One Caribbean Nation. By Moses Nagamootoo The siege of the Capitol Building Moses V. Nagamootoo FOR THOSE OF us who shared the shame of what was described as “the crime of the century”, United States President Donald Trump reminded us of Jim Jones, on the eve of the “Jonestown Massacre” – the ghastly 1978 mass murder-suicide in Guyana. The evidence captured live on television on Wednesday, January 6, is compelling like a giant freight-truck in our face that the charge given by Trump to his far-right zealots to march on Capitol Hill was like a lethal Kool-Aid cocktail. The attackers, described by president-elect Joe Biden and many other American leaders as “thugs” and “mob”, invaded and occupied the Capitol. It was momentarily a palace coup. As vice-president Mike Pence was being whisked away to a secure location, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other terrified members of Congress and their staff were seen frantically diving for cover. The rag-tag militias were invariably hailed as “pa...