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NEWS YOU CAN USE ! Vol. No. ·
FREE!
Since August 17, 2010, there has been a series of
“unorthodox inspections” in the African-American com-
munity, including the Caribbean American community
that borders on a violation of civil rights. These inspec-
tions have jailed 35 barbers, who Sheriff Jerry Demings
admitted at a press conference
should have received citations.
“I would prefer that we not
make custodial arrests for these minor violations,” he
said. The majority of these arrests received a misdemean-
or charge of “barbering without a license.” Demings said
if his agency could conduct the operation over again, dep-
uties would have issued orders to appear in court.
This campaign was theoretically a joint operation with an
agency, the Department of Business and Professional
Regulations, but appeared in certain targeted communities
a police raid. In many of the shops, certain barbers were
handcuffed even before they were inspected to determine
if they were in compliance.
Many of the owners are upset with the treatment by the
deputies, and they want to know what was the basis and
purpose of these sweeps. It is obvious that in different communities, compliance evaluations were handled in a
much more orderly fashion with a positive tone.
Caribbean American community leaders are among those
who are outraged at this series of raids which targeted
some Caribbean
American owned
barbering estab-
lishments and
beauty salons. They welcome the announced intention of
Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL) to pursue this
matter further.
Among the establishments raided was a Caribbean Ameri-can owned beauty salon in the Pine Hills area. During that
raid, a child was forced to witness his mother manhandled
by deputies, later handcuffed and put to sit in the back
seat of a police cruiser. She was released at the scene
without being charged.
“I was crying,” said the child who related the entire epi-
sode to Caribbean Sun. The establishment’s owner said
the entire operation was caught on camera and is being
shared with Congresswoman Brown’s office and other
relevant authorities. Community leaders are of the view
that there is a need in the - Continued on Page 4
By Roger Caldwell Barbershop raids outrage the community
More than 7,000 secret cables on the Caribbean
T here are some 7,000 secret documents about Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states and the Do-
minican Republic among the more than 250,000 confidential United States diplomatic cables which are to be released by Wikileaks in the coming months, sources close to the Wik-ileaks investigation have told Caribbean Sun.
“These seven thousand or more documents relate to several issues and personalities in-cluding drug trafficking, gun running, human rights violations, terrorism, espionage, visa fraud and the personal lives of several govern-ment, civic and business leaders,” these usual-ly reliable sources said. Some of the cables may also include information about Caribbean
nationals and Caribbean American owned busi-nesses in the United States with close ties to their countries of origin.
Caribbean governments, present and former government officials and politicians as well as
the general Caribbean population are eagerly awaiting news of the contents of the cables which reportedly include recent issues such as
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s concerns about Iranian ties to the Caribbean, Haiti’s President Rene Preval’s concerns about having to live in exile after general elections held last month, former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s meetings in Trini-dad with former US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Guyana President Bharat Jagdeo’s conversations with Columbia’s President Uribe, the activities of drug lords Roger Khan of Guyana, “Little Nut” of St. Kitts and Nevis and “Dudus” Coke of Jamaica, among others. -Continued on Page 15-
Barrel Blues!! K
aren Alleyne had her barrel
picked up from her Kis-
simmee home in early No-
vember for shipment in time for the
holiday season. Up to December 10,
her family back in Guyana hadn’t re-
ceived the barrel. And calls to the ap-
parently unregistered shipping broker
she used have yielded no results, only
excuses and empty promises.
A similar experience has been shared
by Chris Mc Kenzie whose shipment
to Jamaica is still to arrive, according
to his loved ones back home. The un-
registered shipper he used tells him his
family is not telling the truth, the bar-
rels did arrive and were uplifted
though no documentary evidence to
support this has been produced.
Both Alleyne and Mc Kenzie, who
usually ship barrels back home with
Laparkan and Finlay’s respectively, -
Continued on Page 4
“… I was crying for my mommy...”
DREAM Act is Reality for Undocumented Youths By: Gail Seeram
B oth the House of Representatives
and the Senate took action on the
DREAM Act recently. On De-
cember 8, 2010, the DREAM Act
was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 216 to 198. On December 9,
2010, the Senate voted to table a vote on
their version of DREAM Act. The Senate
should vote on the DREAM Act before the
end of the year.
The Development, Relief, and Education for
Alien Minors Act, or “DREAM Act,” would
allow the 65,000 young undocumented stu-
dents who graduate high school each year to
start a pathway to citizenship after complet-ing two years of college or military service.
While both bills (H.R. 6497 and S. 3992) are
similar to the original versions of the
DREAM Act introduced in each chamber,
they differ in key ways. Under the Senate
Continued on Page 4
NEWS YOU CAN USE ! Vol. 7 No. 6 · December 2010
2 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
says Keeran Ramnarain
Florida’s Caribbean Sun is published by Caribbean Sun Publishers, LLC
1013 N. Pine Hills Road, Orlando, FL 32808
Phone (407) 374-2979
Email: caribbeansunnews@gmail.com
Administrative Manager: Melinda Gordon
Advertising: Vanessa Chin Churaman (407) 325-5466
Managing Editor: Laverne McGee
Lifestyles Editor: Sharazade Kirton
www.floridascaribbeansunnews.com
“My husband should have won Best Presentation”
T housands turned out for Orlando’s 5th an-
nual Curry Duck Curry competition held
last month at the Citrus Bowl which saw
more than 15 entries, the highest number since
the competition was started.
And as usual with any competition, the judges’
decisions are always questioned by segments of
the audience, who usually have their own favor-
ites. But one common view amongst most of the
thousands that turned out was that Kash Ramna-
rain should have won Best Presentation, a senti-
ment his wife Keenan spoke with Caribbean Sun
about in an exclusive interview.
“The judges probably felt that in order to appear
fair and transparent they had to allow some of
the new contestants to win. Kash has won sever-
al times. But the presentation was there for all to see…our presentation was the crowd favorite,”
she told Caribbean Sun.
Kash’s presentation boasted an ice-sculptured
duck, chinaware, silver cutlery and unique linens
which portrayed the highest standards of dining.
“Is duck curry or curry duck dining held to a dif-
ferent standard,” asked Mrs. Ramnarain. “If this
is the case then the criteria should me made clear.
If duck curry eating is seen to be more of a back-
yard or bottom house rustic experience then that
should be explained. For us, the presentation for dining requires the highest standards and that’s
what we put out,” she added.
Mrs. Ramnarain said that her husband, father-in-
law and the rest of the team that worked on pre-
paring the presentation are not disappointed that
they didn’t win and will continue to support the
event.
Many friends of the Ramnarain’s who visited
their tent not only enjoyed their curry duck but
also the cook-up rice. “Perhaps there should be a
cook-up rice and jerk competition alongside the
curry duck competition,” said Wesley Kirton who
was among the Caribbean American community
leaders enjoying the event.
This year’s first prize winner was Guyanese Indra
Persaud who walked away with $1,000 cash as
well as a trophy donated by Accounting and
Computer Services, Inc. owned by Philip Scantle-
bury and a gold chain with a pendant in the form
of a duck designed and donated by Singh’s Jewel-
ry World. Last year’s winner, Nadia Khan placed second this year while Dave Lall placed third and
also copped the Best Presentation prize.
The cultural entertainment was diverse and ener-
gizing with patrons, including toddlers gyrating to
the performances by Soca Elvis, Andy Singh and
the popular Supertones.
Organizer of the event, Vani Chattergoon of
Vani’s Productions thanked patrons, sponsors,
contestants and exhibitors for their support and is
encouraging
the business
community to support
next year’s
competition
which is
slated for
November
12.
Contestants at the Duck Curry Competition
Kash Ramnarain & Mr. Ramnarain Sr. in his tent with the beautiful Ice Sculpture
T here are several Carib-bean American commu-nity organizations
throughout Florida, including Central Florida. Most of these organizations and associations identify the preservation and promotion of Caribbean cul-ture as among their major ob-jectives. Most of these organi-zations do fairly good work in the social, cultural and humani-tarian spheres.
However, within the Caribbean American community in Cen-tral Florida these Caribbean American organizations have failed to be promoters and pro-tectors of the rights of members of the community. Caribbean Americans are racially profiled, business places are targeted by law enforcement agencies and often other ethnic groups bene-fit from the programs and get free access to the facilities of City, County and State govern-ments while Caribbean Ameri-cans usually have to pay to ac-cess these facilities and pro-grams.
In true Caribbean style our or-ganizations seem more focused on fetes, concerts and fun in the park. The number of political and advocacy programs and events put on by Caribbean American associations is mini-mal. About five years ago there were some positive signs emerging through the Confer-ence of Heads of Caribbean Organizations of Central Flori-da. Meetings were arranged between law enforcement agencies, Consuls General and community leaders to discuss issues such as racial profiling,
deportation and other issues affecting our community. In recent years there has been no activity of this sort.
Over the past few months there have been raids by law enforce-ment and regulatory agencies of barber shops and beauty sa-lons owned by African Ameri-cans and Caribbean Americans. The Caribbean American com-munity in Central Florida has been silent on this issue. We have not reached out to our Af-rican American brothers and sisters to offer support even though some of our own have been victims. Where are our community leaders? When Car-ibbean Sun contacted some Caribbean community leaders about these raids, many were-n’t even aware these raids had taken place.
As a New Year dawns, and as the political and human rights challenges facing minority populations intensify, our com-munity organizations and their leaders need to be more proac-tive about the issues that affect our people. These organiza-tions need to stand up and pro-tect the rights of the people they are intended to serve. No wonder no Caribbean associa-tion attracts 100 people at their monthly meetings, although there are thousands of Caribbe-an nationals in Central Florida.
No wonder the Mayor of Ocoee once said at the opening of the Caribbean American Business Expo that he liked Caribbean people because they are so fun-loving.
Caribbean Community Must Stand Up
3 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
Caribbean needs to plan for disasters-PJ Patterson
F ormer Jamaica Prime Minister
Perceval J. Patterson has warned
that the Caribbean region is vul-
nerable to several potentially
devastating hazards more than one of
which could hit a single country at the
same time.
He is urging that Caribbean countries col-
lectively work to put in place mechanisms
to ensure the least possible impact result-
ing from disasters. Among the mecha-
nisms identified are the adoption and en-
forcement of proper building codes; the
establishment of effective communication
systems and urgent and efficient tackling
of a number of environmental issues.
Patterson re-
marks came in
a major ad-
dress he deliv-
ered at the just concluded 34th
annual Miami
Conference on
the Caribbean.
Pointing to
January’s dev-
astating earth-
quake in Haiti
as a vivid ex-
ample, Patter-
son said the
Caribbean Basin is one of
the largest
semi enclosed
seas in the
world, rimmed
by some 23 sovereign states and over half
as many non-independent entities con-
trolled by four metropolitan states.
The former prime minister added: “The
Caribbean Basin is subject to a range of
hazards including
a. Geological hazards such as earth-
quakes, volcanoes, landslides and tsuna-
mis;
b. Weather related hazards such as hurri-
canes, tropical storms, floods, mudslides,
droughts, fires and insect infestations;
c. Hazards such as the possibilities of
chemical and nuclear spills in a heavily
trafficked sea – populated with exotic spe-
cies of plants, animals and fish;
Trafficking in drugs, psychotropic sub-
stances and trading in small arms. In addi-tion, we are all vulnerable to the lurking
dangers of climate change with the disas-
trous possibility of rising waters and en-
dangered coastlines. Within the last twenty
years, the region has faced at least three
threats from disastrous diseases – the Pink
Mealy Bug, the Mad Cow Disease and the
Foot and Mouth Disease.
We need to develop appropriate protocols
and common approaches to deal with all
kinds of epidemic and thereby minimize
arbitrary actions by individual member states. There are several lessons to be
learnt from the cataclysmic disaster Haiti
suffered last January.
First, we must recognize that it is possible
for one or several of our countries to be
impacted by more than one hazard at the
same time. Haiti has been hit by the earth-
quake, storm and flooding and the cholera
epidemic. Other parts of the region have
had to deal with hurricanes, storms, flood-
ing, droughts and volcanoes. Limited ca-pacity exists for mobilizing emergency
response, rescue and security personnel,
but there are no overall coordinating ar-
rangements.
Our preparation strategies should ensure
several essentialities:
We need to adopt and enforce proper
building codes. The devastation would not
have been as severe had there been appro-
priate building systems in place.
We need to have a quick response
disaster management plan in place which
can be speedily activated and smoothly
implemented.
The heavy reliance on non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) to
handle a massive response effort requiring
total coordination is excessive and there-
fore inadequate to cope with a series of
major disasters.
We need to ensure that mechanisms
are in place to deal with the rush of inter-
national assistance during the emergency
phase, in order to avoid chaos.
We need to establish effective com-
munication systems, resistant to disasters
and prepared to keep the population in-
formed about steps being taken and what
can be expected at every stage. This dia-logue must be continuous and allow for
feedback from the population.
Environmental concerns must be ad-
dressed as a matter of national and region-
al priority.
We must determine beforehand how
to address the post emergency phase…
quickly putting in place transition strate-gies which focus on key priority areas
such as provision of temporary housing
and the removal of debris and rubble.
PJ Patterson (right) with Jerrit Schotte the new prime Minister of
Curacao during the recent Miami Conference on the Caribbean
New Cuban Drug
A Cuban government sponsored pilot project to
treat diabetic foot ulcers has been hailed as a ma-
jor success following trials in St Lucia, the BBC
Caribbean reports.
St Lucia is the only country in the Eastern Caribbean to benefit from the initiative.
The project is based on the use of a so-called
wonder drug, Heberprot-P, developed by the
Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnolo-
gy in Cuba.
4 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
Continued from Page 1
targeted communities, where the treat-
ment was too aggressive, to open up
the lines of communication. Having a
press conference to acknowledge a
glitch in the system does not make the different barbers, who impacted by the
sweeps, feel whole.
It is important that respect is developed
with the police, the regulators and the
barbers. Many deputies think that some
barbershops are fronts for illegal activi-
ty, and this can be true in some instanc-
es. But during these sweeps illegal ac-
tivity was very limited, and treatment
in certain targeted communities was
unwarranted.
As we move forward with enforcement agencies, there is a need to collaborate
with the police, and make our barber-
shops information centers and health
centers for men in the community. By
reaching forward, we can change the
image of our barbershops, and make
them a positive integral part of the
community.
Stopping the unorthodox evaluations is
the right thing to do. The Orange County Police Department must edu-
cate the barbers on the correct proce-
dures and proper channels to issue a
complaint. After the internal investiga-
tions are complete, it is necessary for
our community leaders to sit down and
make recommendations to resolve the
controversy and the issues with the
barbershop sweeps.
Sheriff Jerry Demings took a step for-
ward by acknowledging that his office
could have handed the situation better.
It is now necessary for the community
to take a step forward and work togeth-
er, and resolve this confrontational
situation.
Barbershop raids outrage the
community -Continued from Page 1-
Cont’d………..Barrel Blues !! were lured to use another company this
time because of the low prices this com-
pany was charging.
“I thought I would take the chance. I
shipped two barrels and in these times the savings were significant. I hope I haven’t
lost everything. This company is even
insured and bonded so I don’t know if I
can even file a claim,” Mc Kenzie said.
The issue of unregistered freight forward-
ing companies has long been an issue
which the Federal Maritime Commission
(FMC) has been trying to address. But
the registered, licensed and bonded
freight forwarders feel the FMC need to
target these illegal operators more ag-
gressively.
At a meeting in Washington, DC on De-
cember 8, the FMC considered and ap-
proved for immediate action a number of
recommendations contained in an Interim
Report on the nature, scope and frequen-
cy of potentially unfair, unlawful and
deceptive practices in the shipping of
household goods and personal property.
Between 2005 and 2009 the FMC re-
ceived over 2,500 consumer complaints
which included failure to deliver cargo
and refusal to return the pre-paid ocean
freight; loss of cargo; significant delay in
delivery; charges for insurance that was
never obtained and inflated charges after
the cargo was tendered.
Among the recommendations of the In-
terim Report are increased consumer edu-
cation and the implementation of joint
law enforcement efforts to protect con-
sumers. Michael Khouri, the FMC
Commissioner who spearheaded the
recent investigation on which the Inter-
im Report is based said that the new
measures to be taken address a consum-
er protection issue that “affects many
average citizens. He said enforcement efforts would be intensified against
rogue operators.
During the peak holiday season, legiti-
mate operators such as Laparkan are
making every effort to ensure that con-
signees get their cargo in time for the
holidays. These companies, as well as
the ports in the various Caribbean coun-
tries are working extended hours and
throughout weekends to clear the holi-
day congestion.
version (S. 3992) of the DREAM Act, ap-
plicants are treated as conditional nonimmi-
grants for ten years before being allowed to
apply for permanent residence. The House
version (H.R. 6497) breaks this status up into two five-year periods, and requires
students to apply for an extension of their
conditional nonimmigrant status after the
first five-year period has elapsed. Under the
House version, the applicants would have
to pay a $525 surcharge on the initial appli-
cation and a $2,000 surcharge at the begin-
ning of the second five year period. The
Senate version establishes one ten-year
period of conditional nonimmigrant status
without either fee.
In general, The DREAM Act would allow
qualified young people to adjust their status
to that of a conditional permanent resident
if they have: (1) entered the U.S. before the
age of 16; (2) been physically present in the
U.S. for a continuous period of not less
than 5 years immediately preceding the
date of enactment; (3) earned a high-school
diploma or its equivalent; (4) been a person
of good moral character; and (5) no crimi-
nal record and are not a danger to national security.
Additionally, to have the conditional basis
of their permanent resident status lifted,
students would have to satisfy one of the
following requirements: (1) earn a 2-year
degree from a U.S. institution of higher
education or complete at least 2 years of a
bachelor’s degree program; or (2) serve in
the U.S. Armed Forces for at least 2 years,
and, if discharged, receive an honorable discharge.
According to the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO), the House version of the
DREAM Act (H.R. 6497) would reduce
deficits by about $2.2 billion and increase
revenues by $1.7 billion over the 2011-
2020 period. The Senate version of the
DREAM Act (S. 3992) would reduce defi-
cits by about $1.4 billion and increase reve-
nue by $2.3 billion over the 2011-2020
period.
It is estimated that roughly 2.1 million indi-
viduals would meet the DREAM Act’s
basic age, length of residence, and age of
arrival requirements upon enactment. Ad-
ditionally, passage of the DREAM Act will
increased enrollment in colleges and uni-
versities, increased enrollment in the U.S.
armed forces, keep talented students in the
U.S., and provide individuals an opportuni-
ty to raise their standard of living and con-tribute to the tax system.
The passage of the DREAM Act is a win
for undocumented youths and for our strug-
gling economy.
DREAM Act is Reality for
Undocumented Youths
St. Margaret’s Sea Scouts in Trinidad rebuilding their community
Lyma Dunbar
With a renewed mission to empower the youth in the community, the St. Margaret’s
Sea Scouts named after the village it represents, located on the outskirts of San Fer-
nando in South Trinidad; reactivated their membership under the zealous guidance
of Anselm “Slim” Callender. At an event in November, at the St. Margaret’s Com-
munity Center, some of these gentlemen ceremoniously gathered to officially an-
nounce the return of the Sea Scouts, and their mandate.
In existence for sixty years, the St. Margaret’s Sea Scouts has over the years seen
some of the village’s finest pass through its ranks, many of whom are now in their
fifties. Men such as Andrew Alves, Godfrey John, Valentine George, Renny Forde,
Glenn Young and the current President of the Village Council, Colin George.
“Slim” Callender, also the manager of entertainer, Ronnie McIntosh and the
band Blue Ventures, and a Sea Scout himself, said “there is an escalation of
crime in the village, just as elsewhere in Trinidad and Tobago, and we were
blessed with a support structure in our youth, under mentors such as the late
Scout’s Master, Trevor Levine.” Godfrey John elaborated, “We would like to
show that there are positive role models in the community.”
With the assistance of some of the wives, Sharon Alves and Dianne Reuben,
along with Lima Ramjohn, whose parents Manny and Irma Ramjohn have been the life’s blood of the Scouts during most of their living years; Lima continues
the family tradition after their death. Through fund raisers and other resources,
the Sea Scouts intend to avail themselves to their community as a go to for fi-nancial assistance and mentorship, among other social and wellbeing needs.
“WE COME TO YOUY-
407-350-4888 Gonsalves wins third term
The ruling United Labor Party (ULP) of
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves in
St. Vincent and the Grenadines won an
historic third consecutive term in office at
general elections held on December 13,
fighting off a strong challenge from the
New Democratic Labor Party (NDP)
which won seven (7) of the 15 seats in
Parliament.
Supporters of the ULP took to the streets
in celebration after the preliminary results
showed that the party had won eight of
the 15 seats contested in the general elec-
tion. The NDP, which had three seats in
the last parliament increased that number
to seven, preliminary results showed.
STOP PRESS
5 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
6 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
7 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
I ts enviable ranking is contained in
2010 Corruption Perception report
by the international watchdog
Transparency International (TI).
Not only does TI place Barbados at the top of the Latin Amercan and Caribbe-
an region, the Caribbean nation is se-
cond only to Canada in the entire
Americas.
The United States is in 4th place while
Chile is 3rd.
Globally, the Transparency Internation-
al Corruption Perception Index puts
Barbados at a very high 17th where it is
tied with Japan.
By comparison Britain is at number 20
and the United States 22.
Three countries are tied for first place
as being perceived to be the least cor-
rupt in the world - Denmark, New Zea-
land and Singapore.
The only other Caricom state making
the top 50 is Dominica at 44 - and the
other Caribbean territory in that bracket
is Puerto Rico, ranked at 33.
Other Caribbean country rankings on
the global corruption perception index are Cuba at 69, Trinidad and Tobago -
73, Jamaica comes in at 86, the Domin-
ican Republic 101, Guyana 116 and
Venezuela 164.
At the bottom of the list globally, plac-
ing at 178 and perceived to be the
world's most corrupt country, is Soma-
lia.
Barbados has topped the list in Latin America and the Caribbean as the country perceived to be the least cor-rupt in the region.
Barbados is hemisphere’s second least corrupt country
The Management & Staff of
Caribbean Sun wish all of our
Advertisers and Readers
Happy Holidays
8 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
9 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
10 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
6100 Old Winter Garden Rd., Orlando, Florida 352-874-3554
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our customers.
We are always grateful for your continued support.
OUR CHRISTMAS SPECIALS INCLUDE:
Aniseed Bread, Special Pepperpot Bread, Black Cakes, Fruit Cakes,
Party-size Pastries and much more…
Also serving you at:
CLERMONT/MINNEOLA BRANCH:
Sarah’s West Indian Store, 204 West Washington St. 352-243-3465
OCALA BRANCH:
Jerry’s West Indian Store, 9536 S.E. Maricamp Rd. 352-680-1608
MAIN BRANCH, TORONTO CANADA
2691 Markham Rd. #11, Scarborough 416-298-6611
B arbadians in Central Florida cele-
brated their country’s 44th Inde-
pendence anniversary by paying
tribute to the life and work of their late prime minister, David Thompson, who
died a few weeks prior to the celebrations.
The Coalition for the Barbados Associa-
tion of Central Florida held its annual In-
dependence Gala on November 20th at the
Rosen Hotel. Guest of honor at the event
was Barbados Minister of International
Business and International Transport,
George Hutson.
In his address to the gathering Hutson
highlighted the visionary leadership of the
late prime minister and the achievements of the government. He assured that pro-
gress and prosperity would continue de-
spite the loss of David Thompson. Presi-
dent of the association, Dr. Dale Husbands
said that through solid stewardship the
people of Barbados “have not really felt
the pain of a global recession.
He said that in the New Year the associa-
tion will partner with other Barbadian as-
sociations in Florida in fundraising efforts
to help charities back home. “My hope is
for all the Florida organizations to come
together to host a single fund raising event
which would allow us to make a signifi-
cant contribution to Barbados.”
Three Barbadians resident in Central Flori-
da-Tyrell Pile, Vincent Sandiford and
Gladstone Clarke received the Outstanding
Citizen Award for their long and dedicated
service to the community.
Barbadians in Orlando celebrate Independence
Indian Ambassador visits Orlando hails contribution of West Indian culture
By Laverne McGee
M eera Shankar, Indian Ambas-
sador to the United States has
acknowledged the contribu-
tions West Indians of Indian descent are
making to the modernization of Indian
culture.
Ambassador Shankar told Caribbean
Sun’s Managing Editor Laverne McGee
that she and the rest of India are quite
aware of the modernization and cultural
modifications West Indians have had on
Indian culture pointing
to the fact that chut-
ney music specifically,
has gained attention
outside of the Caribbean.
Several Guyanese, Trinidadians and other Caribbean Americans were part of the
audience at a recent lecture delivered by
the ambassador at the University of Cen-
tral Florida.
While her visit to Central Florida was
most welcoming the same could not be
said for her trip to back to the Washing-
ton, DC metropolitan area. On December
4, Shankar was departing Jackson Evers
Airport in Mississippi when she was sub-
jected to a search by agents of the Trans-portation Security Agency (TSA) alt-
hough she had correct paperwork and
documents proving she is a diplomat.
Those who witnessed the ambassador’s
screening said officers told her that she
was singled out because of the way she
was dressed. Shankar was wearing a sari.
First she was pulled from the security
line. Then she was taken to a waiting
room despite telling them she was the
Indian Ambassador. A female security
officer patted her down. A Transporta-
tion Security Administration spokesman
said diplomats are not exempt from the searches and that Shankar was screened
in accordance with TSA’s security poli-
cies and procedures.
India’s external affairs Minister S.M.
Krishna issued a statement from New
Delhi, India. He said” I am rather sur-
prised by the way the Indian
Ambassador to the US has
been treated. This has hap-
pened for the second time in
three months. This is unacceptable to
India and we are going to take it up with the government of the United States. I
hope things can be resolved so that such
unpleasant incidents do not occur again.”
Meera Shankar, Indian Ambassador to
the US (left) with Laverne McGee
“India protests search
of its Ambassador “
11 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
DECEMBER VID’S 5th ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY
MELA ROOM 9677 S. Orange Blossom Trail
Orlando, FL Saturday, December 18, 2010
Doors open @ 9.30 pm Tickets: $10.00
Contact: 407-654-9096/407-291-2047 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
ISLAND SATURDAYS 2ND ANNUAL MASQUERADERS EDITION
STONEFACE BIRTHDAY BASH CLUB LIMELITE
345 N. Orange Ave Orlando, FL
Saturday, December 18, 2010 Ladies free till 11.30 pm
Men $10 Before 12.00 am >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
AN EVENING OF INSPIRING DEVOTIONALS SARYAM
OLYMPIA HIGH SCHOOL 4301 S. Apopka Vineland Road
Orlando, FL Sunday, December 19, 2010
Doors open @ 4 pm, Program begins @ 4.30 pm
Tickets: $15.00, Children under 5 yrs free Contact: 407-451-2617/352-8705300
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CHRISTMAS EVE DANCE
“THE VENUE” TIMEHRI BANQUET HALL 7371 West Colonial Drive
Orlando, FL (Highland Lake Mall)
Friday, December 24, 2010 Time: 8 pm -?
Donation: $5.00 Contact: Lake @352-267-1232/Errol @407-
864-9981
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ISLAND BEAT ANNIVERSARY & HATTERS
PARTY TEMA FOUNDATION HALL
1044 Plaza Drive Kissimmee, FL
Saturday, December 25, 2010 Time: 10 pm-2 am
Tickets: $10.00 advance /$15.00 at door Food and Drinks Available >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
THE ORLANDO CARIBBEAN ASSOCIATION NEW YEAR’S EVE SOCIAL
“THE VENUE” TIMEHRI BANQUET HALL 7371 West Colonial Drive
Orlando, FL (Highland Lake Mall)
Friday, December 31, 2010 Time: 8 pm - ?
ALL INCLUSIVE: Drinks, Dinner & Breakfast Contribution: $40.00 per person
Contact: Phillip @ 321-231-5998/Ricky @407-448-8688/Bunny @917-886-6940
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 2011
GACACF ANNUAL REPUBLIC BALL “THE BALLROOM” AT CHURCH STREET
Saturday February 19, 2011 7:00PM—2:00AM
Tickets $ 60.00 Contact : Vanessa 407-325-5466
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GRENADA INDEPENDENCE GALA
THE HOLIDAY INN, HOTEL & SUITES 5905 Kirkman Road
Orlando, FL Saturday, March 19, 2011
Time: 7 pm-1 am Tickets: $55.00 in advance only
Contact: Val @321-303-9345/Rita @407-299-8316
M IAMI - Sunday, Janu-
ary 16th 2011 Martin
Luther King Weekend,
mark your calendars for the most
highly anticipated show that will
lock down any other show for the
entire year, Buju Banton Live on
Stage for one night and one night
only.
There is no other way to start 2011,
but to start it with one of the lead-
ing Grammy Nominated Reggae
Artist, Buju. Just when they
thought Mr. Gargamel would stop
to dwell on the negativity, Buju
rises and comes fourth with
friends for Before the Dawn Con-
cert. With no school or work the next
day there is no
other reason to
miss this once in
a life time un-
expected con-
cert, which will
not happen any-
where else in
the USA. So
come out and
witness history
as Buju hits the
stage on Ameri-
can Soil, which
most people
say, may be his
very last show.
Reggae Superstar Buju Banton to perform
live in concert January 16 in Miami
KISSIMMEE # 407-201-3066
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
Curacao to offer flights to space
C uracao hopes to offer commercial flights to space by January 1, 2014, the country’s new prime minister,
Gerrit Schotte announced recently while addressing the 34th annual Miami Confer-ence on the Caribbean Basin.
The projected price for a 45 minute trip to space from Curacao is $95, 000. The prime minister announced his country’s space project as among the bold new initiatives his administration plans to stimulate the economy and generate jobs.
“We keep adding new initiatives, some more bold than others. One of those is the proposed Curaçao Space Port, where by January first of 2014, we hope to see com-mercial space flights take off from our
Hato International Airport. The price tag for such space experiences is still steep, some 95.000 dollars per person for a 45 minute trip, but the predictions are that by 2020 some 20.000 people will be mak-ing a trip to space on a commercial basis, as space tourists. Now some of you might be thinking right now, yeah right, space travel …. but in this new era we live in, I see projects like this as a unique but also realistic opportunity to present Curaçao to the world. And also as a unique opportuni-ty to create new jobs, and introduce new high-tech opportunities to our island,” the prime minister said.
Government and private sector, he added, have been actively involved in this project from the onset.
12 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
Aries (21 March - 19 April) Your career will start to show vibrancy and progress. You will be filled with energy and drive, which will bring you career opportunities, too, so this is truly a critical time for you to leap ahead. It's the right time to gain a promotion or to start interviewing for a new position of responsibility and power. Your chart shows a step up, not a lateral move to the same old thing you did before, so don't settle for anything less, dear Ar-ies!
Taurus (20 April - 20th May) You like to know precisely how your in-vestments are doing and exactly where your money is going when you spend it. As the month starts out, you seem to be doing a lot of end-of-year tax plan-ning and evaluation. Excellent. This is the time to do that. Something that occurs December 23 may make you aware that you need to expect the unex-pected when it comes to money. You tend to be superb at money manage-ment.
Gemini (21 May -21 June) When two people come to the table in busi-ness or in love, both bring something that is highly attractive to the other side. You both need one another, but on the other hand, you both also have certain needs. Finding the right balance will be your aim this month.
Cancer (22 June - 22 August) In case you expected a quiet, sleepy little month for December, think again. Your schedule is likely to change dramati-cally as you get closer to month's end. You'd be wise to get as much work and as many holiday preparations done early, so when priorities shift later, you won't feel anxious about running out of time.
Leo (23 August - 22 August ) If you are single and hoping to find love, plan to be out of the house in the days after December 5. That might be nice - a chance meeting that you simply don't expect. You need to try your luck now. Holiday parties will be in full swing, and you will get more than your usual share of invitations.
Virgo (23 August - 22 September) This may be one of those months where everything seems a little off kilter. It's a perfect time to do research and meditate about your New Year ahead, but do not etch anything in stone quite yet. The world will be in flux, and you will have to go with the flow. Any deal you negotiate now will need to be renegotiated later, so hold back. Eve-ryone will be in the same position, so you won't be alone.
Libra (23 September - 22 October) Too much is going on in your life these days, and you are alternating between jittery highs and depressing lows. Your plate is piled high, and although you feel that finding accord and cooperation from higher ups and others should be easy, in December you will find almost nothing is easy. Don't buck this trend - relax and refuse to be ruffled.
Scorpio (23 October - 21 November ) Money will be a big focus this month, and you will need to do the best you can until your prospects perk up in January. Very soon the spending will drop and you will feel more in control of your finances. You are more motivated to find additional money, if only by necessity.
Sagittarius (22 November - 21 December) December is an important month on so many levels, not only because it's birthday time. This is a superb opportunity to start a new chapter in your life. You will be brave and deter-mined, ready to do whatever it takes to be successful. Anything you do will have special gravitas, and you can begin to build a firm foundation.
Capricorn (22 December - 16 January) This is a month perfect for fixing things in your life that are not working. This is an unlikely time to find a peaceful period to decide what you'd like to change, what to leave, and what to bring in the New Year, but it is the perfect time to do so. During most of this month, you will be in an enormously reflective mood.
Aquarius (20 January - 18 February) Aquarius is considered a social, gregarious sign that is said to be eager to meet new people and expand their ever-widening circle of friends. This month you will joyfully live up to your reputation. You can be sure that the two weeks that follow that date will be highly social and lots of fun. Your actions could bring stability and long-range benefits.
Pisces (19 February - 20 March) This month has exciting balance be-tween your public life and private life. It won't be without drama.. It's a com-plex month, so let's start at the top and see how the universe created the plot for December. The month starts out poised for honors, awards, achievement, and fame.
Caribbean Horoscopes
December 2010
13 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
Ingredients 1 lb raisins
1/2 lb currant
1/4 lb prune
1 cup rum
1 1/2 lbs brown sugar, packed (3 1/4 cups)
1/2 lb butter
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 lb flour (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice (nutmeg, cinnamon,
cloves, allspice)
1/4 lb mixed peel
1/4 lb chopped nuts (optional)
ICING FOR BLACK CAKE
MARZIPAN 2 egg whites 1/2 lb ground almonds (2 cups)
1/2 lb icing sugar (confectioner's, 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon almond essence (extract)
ROYAL ICING 2 egg whites
1 lb icing sugar (confectioner's, 4 cups)
1 lemon, juice of
Directions:
Prep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 2 1/2 hrs
1. FOR THE CAKE: Wash and dry fruit.
Grind fruit and soak with 3/4 cup of rum. Store,
covered, in glass jar to steep for 2 weeks or
longer. So you don’t have time.. try stewing it
works as well.
2. TO MAKE CARAMEL, heat 1 lb. of sugar
in a heavy bottomed frying pan until melted;
simmer until dark brown. Let cool.
3. Cream butter and 1/2 lb (250 g) sugar well,
add beaten eggs a little at a time; add soaked
fruits and rum, stirring well, and enough cara-
mel to make it as dark as desired.
4. Add sifted flour with baking powder and
mixed spice. Fold in peel and chopped nuts.
5. Pour mixture into baking pan, greased and
lined with waxed paper. Bake in a slow oven at
300°F for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
6. Sprinkle additional rum over cake immedi-
ately after it is baked. Repeat a few times. Al-
low cake to remain in pan for 2 to 3 days.
7. FOR THE MARZIPAN: Beat egg whites to
a stiff froth, stir in ground almonds, sugar and
almond essence to make a paste.
8. Remove cake from pan, place on a cake
plate. Cover top of cake with almond paste.
Roll rest of paste thinly to cover sides. Allow to
dry 1 day before icing.
9. FOR THE ROYAL ICING: Beat egg
whites to a froth, add sugar, a little at a time,
beating well after each addition. Add lemon
juice and sugar and continue to beat until mix-
ture forms peaks.
10. Dip a spatula in hot water and smoother the
icing over the almond paste. A second layer
may be applied when the first is thoroughly
dried.
Decorate as desired.
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14 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
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Sports roundup
T he West Indies has cut short its current tour of Sri
Lanka due to bad weather.
The visitors should have
played five One Day Internationals and one T-20, but bad weather,
which also ruined the three test se-
ries, forced a cancellation of the re-
mainder of the tour.
West Indies Cricket Board CEO
Dr. Ernest Hilaire said that a
practical decision had to be taken
in the interest of cricket with re-
gard to the cancellation of the
Limited Overs portion of the West
Indies Team tour of Sri Lanka.
“The weather in Sri Lanka has been
most disappointing throughout the tour and a practical decision had to
be taken in the best interest of crick-
et, the fans and the players,” Dr
Hilaire commented.
Sri Lanka Cricket took the decision to cancel the Limited Overs Series
when it was clear that the persistent
rain is unlikely to abate and allow
for completed matches. The drawn three match Test Series was also
heavily affected by rain.
The WICB was consulted and sup-
ported the decision taken by SLC.
“It made little sense to have the
teams turn up for matches which they knew were not going to take
place and this would have caused
frustrations to fans and officials as
well,” Dr Hilaire observed.
“The weather is beyond any of our
control and the WICB will now
work with Sri Lanka Cricket to en-sure that the matches are resched-
uled to a time when the weather is
more favorable for cricket,” he said.
WI cuts tour of Sri Lanka
New York Chargers win US Open Cricket
T he New York Chargers be-came the 2010 US Open
Cricket Champions when
they convincingly defeated the Pa-
kistan Magic in the finals of the Cricket Council USA sponsored
tournament, on Sunday, December
5th, 2010 at the Lauderhill Cricket Stadium, in Fort Lauderdale, Flori-
da. The Chargers played undefeated
during the three days of intense
competition.
The Finals of the US Open com-
menced almost immediately after
the conclusion of the semi-finals. The Magic batted first. Openers
Ken Singh (29) and Hussain Haider
(33) were the only two Magic bats-men who seemed to know how to
handle the Chargers’ five- prong spin attack. With the fall of
Haider at 35, and Singh at 48, the
Magic were unable to do any signif-
icant recovery. They were all out
for 113 runs.
The Chargers’ regular opening pair
of Carl Wright and Glenn Hall con-fidently strode to the wicket.
Wright immediately set upon the hapless Magic bowling while Hall played a more
supporting role, rotating the strike. By the
end of the 15th over Chargers had acquired
the runs need for victory and the champion-ship. Wright hit the winning shot- a four
muscled over the extra cover fieldsman. He
was 47 not out and Steve Massiah 23 not
out.
Following the game the presentation cere-
mony was held with various awards , for the tournament, given:
Most Promising Player – Steven Tay-
lor ( Miami Thunder)
Most Catches – Rashad Marshall (United Chargers)
Most Wickets – Masood Moham-
med ( Magic) Most Runs – Steven Taylor (Miami Thun-
der)
MVP of Finals – Carl Wright (United Chargers)
Tournament MVP – Steven Taylor (Miami
Thunder)
15 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
More than 7,000 secret cables on the Caribbean -Continued from page 1-
There are more than 1,000 secret docu-ments each on Jamaica, Dominican Re-public, Haiti and Guyana in addition to hundreds each on Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, St. Lucia, Barbados and the Bahamas, Caribbean Sun has learnt. One of the cables on Grenada may have to do with the use of the interna-tional airport there as a base for US fight-er jets which accompanied President Barack Obama to Trinidad for last year’s Summit of the Americas. Recent cables, the sources say, also deal with the rela-tions between Caribbean countries and Venezuela and President Hugo Chavez.
Many of the secret cables, according to the sources, go back to events such as the Cubana Disaster off Barbados, the Grena-da invasion, the Jonestown Massacre and the Iran-Contra investigations. Caribbean Sun sought to confirm these reports with the US State Department but a spokes-person there said the Department “is unable to confirm any of this infor-mation”
While acknowledging that the leaks “are an embarrassment to the United States” the State Department spokesperson add-ed “while we cannot speak to the authen-ticity of any documents provided to the
press, we can speak to the diplomatic community's practice of cable writing. Cables reflect the internal day-to-day analysis and candid assessments that inform the governments' foreign relations deliberations.”
Meanwhile, Wikileaks said the embassy cables will be released in stages over the next few months. "The subject matter of these cables is of such importance, and the geographical spread so broad, that to do otherwise would not do this material justice," the web site added. The Wik-ileaks website, founded by former hacker Julian Assange, last month started releas-
ing what it called the largest set of confi-dential documents into the public do-main. Assange has since been arrested in London on unrelated allegations of rape.
The website has thus far released some 450 documents with a total of a quarter million slated to be released.
The cables date from 1966 up until the end of February 2010 and contain confi-dential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Wash-ington, DC.
16 Florida’s Caribbean Sun
Guyana’s Prime Minister Sam Hinds examines what is be-lieved to be among the few original documents of the pro-ceedings and maps both for British Guiana and Venezue-
la leading up to the Arbitral Award of 1899 at the Cheloni-
an Research Institute in Oviedo, Florida in the company of, the Institute's director Dr. Peter Pritchard, a student intern at the Institute and former diplomat Wesley Kirton.
HISTORIC DOCUMENT
CARIBBEAN CHAMBER HOLIDAY PARTY
Kash Ramnarain ( 2nd from right ) with Management Staff of the Maraya Res-taurant at the Chamber’s Holiday Party From left to right Edwin Ayache, Ade-le Saxe, Peter Saxe, Violette Haddad, Kash Ramnarain and George Knouri
From left are: Hector Perez, vice president of community rela-tions at the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA); Chamber president Carol Singh; business consultant Wilfred Thomas; Roberto Acevedo, senior adminis-trative assistant at the Orange County Appraiser’s Office and Ron Roach of Darden Restaurants.
Members of the Dream Team, recipients of the Triple Crown this year being congratulated by the Association’s President Hakim Bacchus at the Annual Award Ceremony/Dance held at the Mela Room
FSCA 10TH ANNUAL
PRESENTATION DANCE
Duck Curry Duck
The Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce of Florida (CACCF) held its Holiday Party and Dinner recently at the Maraya Res-
taurant on Crystal Clear Lane in Orlando. Scores of Chamber members and friends attended the event.
(Left) 1st Prize Winner
Indra Persaud re-
ceives trophy from
Philip Scantlebury
(Right) This group
took time out to relax
during the event