By Staff, Sustain Lane:

You would never cross the street without looking both ways, walk alone down a dark alley alone at three a.m., or tell your child to accept rides from strangers. So why let hazardous, toxic, and even carcinogenic chemicals into your home everyday?

The message driven home for millions of Americans each day via TV and internet commercials is this: No need to scrub or scour. With just one squeeze of the spray bottle, you can wipe away dirt, grime, and bacteria.

Alas, there’s that dark alley again. Air fresheners, disinfectants, and cleaners found under your sink are more dangerous than you think. Mix bleach with ammonia, for example, and you’ve got a toxic fume cloud used by the military in WWI. And they weren’t cleaning kitchens.

Here is a list of the ten products you should ban from your home -- forever -- along with suggested alternatives.

1. Non-Stick Cookware

When non-stick pans were first introduced into American households in the 1960s, they were thought to be a godsend. Gone were the days of soaking pans for hours and scouring pots with steel wool. In the forty years since then, however, we’ve learned that the ease of cleaning comes at a steep price: the coating that makes Teflon pans non-stick is polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE for short. When PTFE heats up, it releases toxic gasses that have been linked to cancer, organ failure, reproductive damage, and other harmful health effects.

The problems with PTFE-coated pans seem to occur at high temperatures, so if you must use Teflon, cook foods on medium heat or less. Avoiding non-stick pans altogether is the safest option. If you’re able to do so, try anodized aluminum, stainless steel, or cast iron pans with a little cooking oil. SustainLane reviewers like LeCreuset cast iron pans and more cost-effective ones like Lodge Logic. Using a lower setting on the stove will reduce the chances that your food will burn, which is how it usually gets stuck to pans the first place. If you’re worried about the extra calories cooking oil adds, try baking or steaming your food.

2. Plastic Bottles

By now you’ve heard of dangers of BPA in those ubiquitous neon water bottles. BPA mimics the effects of hormones that harm your endocrine system. While the company at the heart of the controversy has switched to BPA-free plastic, those aren’t the only toxic bottles. Single-use plastic bottles are even worse for leaching chemicals, especially when you add the heat of the sun (think about bottles left in your trunk) or the microwave. Aside from the fact that bottled water sold across state lines is not as regulated as tap water, the bottles themselves are spawning grounds for bacteria and are a source of needless waste. Each year, more than one million barrels of oil are used to manufacture the more than 25 billion single-use plastic water bottles sold in the U.S. Choose a reusable, stainless steel or glass bottle instead. SustainLane users have reviewed several water bottle alternatives.

3. Conventional Cleaning Supplies

These routinely make the top ten lists of worst household offenders. They contain toxic chemicals that negatively affect every system in your body. All purpose cleaners often contain ammonia, a strong irritant that has been linked to liver and kidney damage. Bleach is a powerful oxidizer, which can burn the skin and eyes. Another danger lies in oven cleaners, which can cause chemical burns and emit toxic fumes that harm the respiratory system. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports that more than 120,000 children under the age of five were involved in incidents involving household cleaners in 2006, the most recent year for which data is available.

To protect you and your family from the hazards conventional cleaners pose, choose non-toxic, or natural cleaners. SustainLane reviewers have particularly enjoyed Method and Seventh Generation, which are commonly found on supermarket shelves. Bon Ami is a safe alternative to Comet and Ajax. If you have the time and want to go the extra mile, you can even mix your own using common household items like vinegar and baking soda. Check out these easy-to-make recipes household cleaners.

4. Chemical Insecticides and Herbicides

Since the purpose of these products is to kill pests, you can bet that many of them have ingredients in them that are also harmful to humans. For example, the active ingredient in Round-Up -- a weed-killer popular with gardeners -- is known to cause kidney damage and reproductive harm in mice. And cypermethrin, one of the active ingredients in the popular ant and roach-killer Raid, is a known eye, skin and respiratory irritant and has negative effects on the central nervous system.

There are several companies that sell natural and organic weed- and pest-control products. Buhach makes a natural insecticide from ground chrysanthemum flowers that controls ants, flies, fleas, lice, gnats, mosquitoes, spiders, and deer ticks, among other pests. Boric acid is an effective, natural solution for cockroaches as well; sprinkle it around baseboards, cracks and other places likely to harbor roaches. You can use this boric acid recipe to control ants. For weeds, check out E.B. Stone Weed-N-Grass or try spot-spraying with household vinegar.

5. Antibacterial Products

The widespread use of antibacterials has been shown to contribute to new strains of antibiotic-resistant “super-bugs.” The Center for Disease Control says that antibacterials may also interfere with immune system development in children. Triclosan -- the most common antibacterial additive found in more than 100 household products ranging from soaps and toothpaste to children’s toys and even undergarments -- accumulates in the body. In a study conducted by the Environmental Working Group, 97 percent of breast feeding mothers had triclosan in their milk, and 75 percent had trace amounts of the chemical in their urine.

Make it your goal to be to be clean, not germ-free. People who are exposed to household germs typically develop strong immune systems and are healthier overall. Avoid buying antibacterial products or soaps containing triclosan. Soap and water is really all you need to clean most things. There are plenty of eco-friendly hand washes and other cleansers that are safe for you and easy on the planet.

6. Chemical Fertilizers

These are notorious for causing damage to our water supply and are a known major contributor to algal blooms. Whenever it rains or a lawn is watered, the runoff goes straight into storm-drains, and untreated water is dumped into rivers, streams, and the ocean. This causes an imbalance in delicate water ecosystems, killing fish and degrading water quality.

If you have a lawn, choose organic fertilizers rather than chemical ones.

As another alternative to harsh chemicals, consider starting a compost pile to create nutrient-rich soil for your flower beds and vegetable gardens. You’ll be creating your own inexpensive fertilizer just by letting food scraps and yard trimmings sit. An added benefit: it’ll also help divert waste from landfills. SustainLane users have reviewed several compost bins here.

7. More Bulb for Your Buck

A Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulb uses just a fraction of the energy regular light bulb uses. When your current bulbs burn out, swap them with CFLs, and start calculating your savings. General Electric has an online calculator that shows you just how much money you can save by making the switch.

One caveat of the low-energy bulb is that it contains mercury. Even so, CFLs are still your best bet, according to EPA Energy Star program director Wendy Reed. Coal-fired plants are the biggest emitters of mercury. Using CFL bulbs means you draw less power from the grid, which means less coal is burned for electricity. Because of the mercury, take precautions when disposing of these CFL bulbs. Rather than throwing them in your household trash or curbside recycling bin, take them to a hazardous waste collection or other special facility. This story from National Public Radio has a more through discussion of this topic.

8. Air fresheners

Just like cleaning supplies, these are incredibly toxic and can aggravate respiratory problems like asthma. Even those labeled “pure” and “natural” have been found to contain phthalates, chemicals that cause hormonal abnormalities, reproductive problems and birth defects. Try simmering cinnamon and cloves to give your home an “I’ve-spent-the-whole-day-baking” scent, and leave a few windows open to let in fresh air. You might also boil a pot of water on the stove with a few drops of your favorite essential oil, or use an essential oil burner.

9. Flame Retardants

A common flame retardant that was used in mattresses -- polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) -- is known to accumulate in blood, breast milk and fatty tissues. This chemical is linked to liver, thyroid, and neuro-developmental toxicity. According to the Environmental Working Group, new foam items often do not contain PBDEs, but foam items purchased before 2005 (like mattresses, mattress pads, couches, easy chairs, pillows, carpet padding), are likely to contain them. Household furniture often contains flame retardants and stain repellents that use PBDE’s as well as formaldehyde and PFOA (the same chemical used in non-stick cookware).

If you are in the market for a new mattress or sofa, ask manufacturers what type of flame retardants they use. Look for products that don’t use brominated fire retardants. Organic Abode sells natural and organic furniture. If you’re looking to keep your existing mattress, but make it safer, use a cover made of organic wool to reduce PBDE exposure. You can find organic furniture and interior décor here.

10. Plastic Shopping Bags

Remember: Like diamonds, plastics are forever. Ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s a giant mass of plastic twice the size of Texas that’s floating 1,000 miles off the coast of California. In the United States, only two percent of plastic bags are recycled, which means that the remaining 98 percent is dumped into landfills or blown out to sea. According to Californians Against Waste, the City of San Francisco, which recently banned plastic shopping bags, spends 8.5 million dollars annually on plastic bag litter.

The good news is, we can easily decrease our plastic bags use. Bring in your own reusable cloth bags when you go shopping. If you have kids, ask them to remind you to bring them. Or keep them in a place by the door where you’re most likely to remember them on your way out.

Watch this informative cartoon on your own or with your kids

July 9, 2009

alternet

Bahamas Caribbean Blog International

By VERNON CLEMENT JONES ~ Guardian Business Editor ~ vernon@nasguard.com:

Loan loss provisioning at the country's commercial banks continues to lose ground against growing arrears, says the latest Central Bank report. It's a phenomenon only expected to worsen.

"Banks augmented loan loss provisions by $3.0 million, boosting the ratio of provisions to total arrears by 18 basis points to 23.44 percent," reads the May economic survey. "This corresponded to new loan provisions of $10.0 million, partly offset by a $6.9 million net write-off against loans provisioned for earlier.

"However, as the growth in non-performing loans outpaced the increase in provisions, the ratio of total provisions to non-performing loans fell by 5 basis points to 42.43 percent."

The gap between the cash the banks put aside to cover bad debt and the actual bad debt is expected to widen as the institutions continue to grapple with the growth in delinquent accounts.

Their hesitance to move revenue out of the plus column and into the minus one is also part of the equation, although all are expressing confidence in their respective levels of provisioning.

The quality of their collective book continued to deteriorate in May, however, says the bank report, with the value of private sector loans in payment arrears of at least one month growing by $6.1 million (0.7 percent) to $847.3 million. The associated ratio of arrears to total loans extended by 28 basis points to 13.98 percent.

The number of arrears now beyond the 90-day mark has also started to increase.

"The average age of delinquent loans increased, arrears in the 31-90 days segment waned by $12.0 million (3.1 percent) to $373.3 million," says the Central Bank. "However, non-performing loans — those over 90 days past due and on which banks stopped accruing interest — advanced by $18.2 million (4.0 percent) to $468.2 million."

The discrepancy between provisioning and bad debt has actually grown since the dark days of September and the resulting uptick in layoffs as area hotels and, indeed, businesses across all sectors felt the brunt of the global recession.

While layoffs have slowed, the long-term effects of a depressed income are now being felt by those still on the job. Work weeks little more than one or two shifts have obliterated their ability to keep current with loan payments. That reality suggests the commercial lenders have months and possibly years of growing non-accruals to deal with.

The divide also runs counter to the expectations of one financial advisor. Last January, Ken Kerr of Providence Advisors told Guardian Business the banks would move quickly to close the gap.

"I expect that in the next reporting period we'll see provisioning grow to reflect the growth in arrears and the state of the present and future economy," he said. "If they don't do that then they're very confident about the quality of their loan portfolio or expect a turnaround in the global economy much sooner than everybody else or they could be extremely aggressive in going after borrowers as a way of encouraging growth of their book and because those still able to qualify have more options open to them and the competition to win their business is greater."

That same reduced number of fully-employed Bahamians — with earnings holding against recessionary forces — is also making it tougher for banks to put relatively risk-free loans on their books.

July 8, 2009

By JASMIN BONIMY ~ NG Staff Reporter ~ jasmin@nasguard.com:

A 10-year national plan proposed for education calls for the introduction of a special tax and national lottery, to better fund the nation's public schools and programs designed to produce more well-rounded productive students.

The 65-page document proposes that a referendum on the national lottery be held by December 2011. However, such a referendum appears unlikely as Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has already indicated that no more referenda will be held under his leadership.

As a means of funding education, the Ministry of Education also proposes in the document that departure tax be increased by $2 per passenger. This recommendation and the recommendation for a national lottery are listed as short term objectives in the 10-year plan, which was the focus of attention at the National Education Summit at the Wyndham Nassau Resort yesterday.

Another short term objective is that the government allocate at least 17 percent of the annual national budget to education in a bid to reflect its commitment to the sector.

This goal has already been achieved, according to Minister of Education Carl Bethel, who noted in his contribution to debate on the 2009/2010 budget in the House of Assembly last month that the government allocated 17 percent of the recurrent expenditure to education.

This allocation, $24,666,062.00, includes the budget for the Ministry of Education, the Department of Education, The College of The Bahamas and The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute.

The proposed national education plan calls for appropriate fiscal management mechanisms to be put in place in the short term to reduce wastage by seeking to better maintain physical plants and other facilities. The document suggests these measures be fully implemented by July 2012.

The introduction of the education tax was listed as one of the proposed long term objectives. Also included in that category was the objective to reduce building repairs and costs by implementing ongoing maintenance of all school facilities.

Other long term objectives call for the implementation of programs to assist newly arrived immigrant children in adjusting to Bahamian society, and the extension of the school day to give more time to extracurricular activities and supervision of projects and homework assignments.

The report also recommends that closed circuit television systems be installed in all New Providence and Grand Bahama schools.

The comprehensive report addresses many different areas of education in The Bahamas, including developing national curricula that are more relevant to the needs of society; meeting the needs of special students; furnishing schools with the necessary training resources; improving the quality of education at the tertiary level; attracting quality teachers and constructing and properly maintaining school buildings.

While speaking to a room full of educators at the Education Summit yesterday, Bethel called the 10-year plan a visionary document designed to strengthen the education system.

"As you put your collective minds together to examine and refine the 10-year education plan, it is envisioned that each of you will be a catalyst for change in your sphere of influence and will work zealously to ensure that goals of the 10-year education plan are achieved," Bethel said.

In a message contained in the document, the education minister said the plan provides the "blueprint for transformation".

Education officials said they are seeking to create a Bahamian education system that promotes the highest standards and produces students who are intellectually curious, compassionate, responsible and capable of making a meaningful contribution to the country's productivity, prosperity and peace.

The proposed plan is being considered amid ongoing concerns in various quarters about the state of education in The Bahamas.

A July 2005 report released by the Coalition for Education Reform entitled 'Bahamian Youth: The Untapped Source' highlighted so-called learning gaps within the educational system.

Pointing to the 2004 Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examination results, which averaged a D that year, the report said: "This data substantiates the conclusion that the state of Bahamian education is unacceptable. This is reality. These are the brutal facts and you absolutely cannot make a series of good decisions without first confronting the brutal facts."

The national grade average in the BGCSEs rose to a D plus last year. Results for 2009 examinations have not yet been released.

The Education Summit continues today.


Tuesday, July 7, 2009
thenassauguardian

I love a practical solution, especially when it’s good all around — for personal health, the environment, and for living consciously. So when I received an email from Chris Elam, the director of the Meatless Monday campaign — a project of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Columbia University School of Public Health, in association with twenty-seven other public health schools — I was thrilled.

The campaign is focused on convincing the world not to eat chickens, pigs, and other animals — just one day per week (on Mondays, as you may have guessed).

Since it’s sponsored by a slew of public health schools, the campaign was set up to promote health, and since I’ve already written extensively about the fact that eating meat leads to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and lethargy (for example here), I’ll skip extended analysis of these facts, other than to say: When Johns Hopkins, Columbia, the American Dietetic Association, and dozens of other health organizations argue that the less meat you eat, the better off you’ll be, it’s worth listening to them.

Chris wrote to share the fact that Michael Pollan had just argued in favor of the campaign on Oprah, saying, “[w]e don’t realize it when we sit down to eat, but that is our most profound engagement in the rest of nature… To the extent that we push meat a little bit to the side and move vegetables to the center of our diet, we’re also going to be a lot healthier…” I wasn’t surprised, since Pollan’s most recent book calls on all of us to eat “mostly plants,” and his new movie (Food, Inc.) offers a stomach-turning look at factory farming and slaughterhouses (I highly recommend it).

As an aside on Food, Inc.: The scene that I found most interesting is the one where Joel Salatin, proprietor of Polyface Farm, was slaughtering chickens and talking a mile-a-minute through the process. He was talking about treating the animals with respect, but in the theater where I saw the film, this scene elicited perhaps the most audible shock of the entire movie because you can actually see the animals being slaughtered (contrast this with the secrecy of factory farms and slaughterhouses — no one is allowed because, as Paul McCartney likes to say, the process would turn everyone vegetarian). Anyway, this scene seemed to shock a lot of people, even though this is poultry slaughter at its most humane. Actually, the scene reminded me of that Sarah Palin interview that she conducted in front of the turkey slaughter; it’s worth remembering that most chickens and turkeys have a far more horrific experience in the factory farms that process more than 98% of the birds we eat.

Chris also wanted to share their new video, in which their scientists tell us that if all Americans switched from eating chickens and pigs to eating beans and grains for just one day per week, that would stop as much global warming as if everyone in the U.S. shifted to ultra-efficient Toyota hybrids (which is the weekly equivalent of using 12 billion fewer gallons of gasoline). Of course I have to point out the obvious: If we all stopped eating animals completely and shifted to vegetarian foods, that would save 84 billion gallons of gas per week (and all the troubles that go with that kind of consumption).

I know that some readers will argue that the issue is not the meat industry, but factory farmed meat. But in fact, environmentally, all meat requires exponentially more resources to produce than eating grains and beans, as eloquently discussed in the Audubon Society’s magazine a few months back. And all meat contributes to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and so on. Some meat may be “less bad,” but according to the science, no meat is good.

And I know that some vegetarians pooh pooh Meatless Monday as not enough. I’m sympathetic to that view, but I think it’s unnecessarily strident. For people who think that going totally vegetarian is too challenging, the Meatless Monday campaign offers a gentle entrée into the idea of eating without eating animals. My hope is that people will use the campaign as a stepping stone — first one meatless day per week, then three, then five, then seven. As we lean into meatless eating — switching out more and more meat meals for meatless meals — we end up feeling better, both physically and ethically.

And another point for those who might think that Meatless Monday is not enough: The first family of vegetarianism — Sir Paul McCartney and his daughters — recently launched the campaign in the UK. Stella and Mary have been vegetarian since birth, and Paul has been a vegetarian for more than two decades.

For recipes and cooking information, check out the Meatless Monday site. And for tips on making the transition to vegetarian eating, please click here.

Happy eating!

alternet

Bahamas Caribbean Blog International

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — David Thompson, Prime Minister of Barbados, said this week that the Caribbean was faced with global economic convulsions of unprecedented proportions, which had reinforced convictions that regional integration “is the last best hope” for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

“Going it alone or fragmenting into unworkable reconfigurations of the regional project cannot be an enduring solution”, Thompson stated. He was at the time speaking at a press briefing in Georgetown, Guyana, on the eve of the 30th Meeting of The Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government.

Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson

Thompson who is also Lead Head of Government with responsibility for the Single Market and Economy in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet stated that in the current economic crisis, it was easy for stakeholders to become impatient due to what they saw as the slow pace of the integration project and to declare it “dead on arrival”. Alternatively, he posited, what was needed was the strengthening of the core ideals of the integration movement rather than “proliferating the periphery.”

“In the midst of global crisis and regional upheavals, now is not the time for CARICOM to retreat from its strategic purpose,” the Barbadian Prime Minster emphasised. He added that the crisis had highlighted the need for the refocusing of many of our national institutions from purely domestic visions to the wider regional horizon.

“The successful implementation of the interlocking elements of the CARICOM Single Market and eventually the Single Economy demand this of us,” he stressed.

“It requires of us to put in place number of regional institutions dealing with accreditations, standards, and the exchange of information amongst other infrastructure to facilitate the CSME. If we do not do this carefully, we would endanger the fabric of the very societies regional integration aimed at sustaining” Thompson added.

Outlining the progress of the CSME, he stated that all of the provisions for the rights of establishment and the free movement of the goods, services, and skilled persons had been implemented.

Included in the successful implementation of the Single Market, Thompson said, was the establishment of the CARICOM Development Fund, which has been established to assist disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors.

He said while the time table for the Single Economy may have been delayed, recent developments in the Region have shown the true extent of the financial interdependence that already existed, and this has given new urgency to the policy coordination efforts of the Region’s regulators and Ministers of Finance.

Reflecting on the historical Grand Anse Declaration and Work Programme for the Advancement of the Integration Movement, crafted at the 10th Meeting of The Conference, 1989, in Grand Anse, Grenada, Thompson said that it was now time for the Community to “regroup and refocus to find strategies irrecusable of survival”.

Prime Minister of Barbados is expected to lead a discussion on the developments within the CSME at the July 2-5 Meeting of The Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government.

July 4, 2009

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Caribbean Blog International

By Lindsay Thompson:

NASSAU, Bahamas (BIS) -- With the theme ‘Towards a common loftier goal’, the Bahamas is celebrating 36 years of Independence.

Many activities to commemorate that historic event on July 10, 1973 have been planned.

“In the spirit of unity, let us pursue the loftier goal of peace and goodwill,” said Governor General, Arthur Hanna, in his Independence Day message.

Since July 10, 1973, he said, the goal of successive governments and society at large has been the advancement of social and economic equity for all Bahamians.

“Over the years much has been accomplished and going forward there will be greater accomplishments as we work together towards the realisation of this lofty goal,” the Governor General said. “We remain one people, patriotic Bahamians, standing proud and tall.”

The Independence celebrations include a showcase of heritage and culture, story telling and singing, all reflective of country’s history.

“This Independence we are cognizant that The Bahamas, like the rest of the world, is experiencing a recession,” he said. “But we have hope, and shall with God’s help, successfully weather this economic storm.”

Prime Minister, Hubert Ingraham, urged Bahamians to celebrate “in a spirit of pride and gratitude,” despite being in the midst of global and protracted economic crisis.

“Our economy has been hard hit, especially the hospitality sector which is the principal engine of our economy, resulting in the lay-off of many Bahamian workers with consequent hardship for their families and for the whole community,” he said.

In this vein, he urged Bahamians to still celebrate the sacrifices and resourcefulness of ancestors and their hard-won achievements in more recent times.

“It is through their struggles, resilience and spirit of self-reliance that we have arrived at where we are today, that we have become a proud nation with our heads held high in the community of nations, having achieved a distinct cultural identity, a stable parliamentary democracy, and a large measure of prosperity,” Ingraham said.

July 3, 2009

caribbeannetnews

By Linda Buzzell, AlterNet:

Not so very long ago, humans -- like the rest of the animals and plants on earth -- moved through our natural cycles at nature's pace. Time was marked by the passing of the seasons, the life cycles of human, animal and plant life and the yet grander cycles of the moon and the other celestial bodies.

Homo sapiens, a late-appearing species in the long history of our unimaginably ancient planet and universe, evolved during the recent (as the universe views these things!) Pleistocene era, adapted for a life intimately connected with and expressive of our natural surroundings on the African savannah and beyond.

And this is how we lived for millennia.

In the last 150 years, however, the human relationship with time has radically changed. Some say the problems started earlier, with the development of agriculture or writing, but it was really the Industrial Revolution -- the rise of the Machine -- that put humans in thrall to mechanical processes and machine time. And the recent exponential speeding up into Cybertime has accelerated the process still further. Industrial time was bad enough (Charlie Chaplin did a wonderful job of visualizing that "cog in the wheel" feeling in his film "Modern Times") but Cybertime can be dizzyingly discombobulating for a Pleistocene primate.

And that's how many modern people feel -- completely frazzled and out of synch with our deepest selves.

The results of this disconnection from nature and nature's pace show up in therapists' and doctors' offices every day. Living under unnatural time pressures causes a myriad of psychological, social and physical ailments. Delinked from the natural rhythms of our bodies and the rest of the planet, we struggle with diminishing success to adapt to the strange mechanical and disembodied world we have created.

As a practicing psychotherapist and ecotherapist, when I see patients who are suffering from depression or anxiety I ask them to keep a time-journal in which they record the hours and minutes spent each day outside, as well as the hours spent inside in front of a screen. My clients are often shocked to realize how disassociated they have become from nature and our species' natural ways of living, and the effect this disconnection is having on their psyche. In fact, a 2007 study from the University of Essex shows that a daily "dose" of walking outside in nature can be as effective at treating mild to moderate depression as expensive antidepressant medications that can sometimes have negative side-effects.

Time poverty is now a recognized psychological and social stressor. In a speeded-up, highly complex society, there just isn't enough time for everything: our demanding jobs, our interlocking bureaucratic responsibilities (taxes, insurance, legal issues), our loved one, kids, our community (including the rest of nature), plus commuting and keeping up with traditional media and endless 24/7 online communications. Constantly rushing to keep up as we inevitably fall further behind, we find ourselves destroying not only our own health, but our habitat and the habitat of the people, plants and animals with whom we share the planet.

In my recently published book, Ecotherapy:

Healing with Nature in Mind (Sierra Club Books, 2009) therapists and experts from many backgrounds discuss some of the ways that nature can help to heal problems like stress and anxiety. What suggestions can ecotherapists offer to help us slow down to a more natural pace of living? Here are a few simple things that can make a difference:

• Reconnect with place. We can learn to resist the constant rushing around and settle into and tend a beloved location, taking time to learn its secrets and hear its whisperings.
• Reconnect with companion and wild animals. Animals slow us down to our natural animal rhythms, which is why animal-assisted therapy works so well at lowering blood pressure and healing psychological ills of many kinds. The simple act of petting a cat or watching the birds flit through the trees is profoundly healing.
• Reconnect with plants. A simple pot on a windowsill slows us down to the pace of a seed, a seedling, a leaf and a flower. A tree on the street, if contemplated and touched, offers its blessings during a busy day.
• Reconnect with the cycles of human life. Instead of demanding that we remain in perpetual-teenager mode (the preferred state in our society, it seems), allowing ourselves to become true initiated adults and then elders honors the natural pace of human life rather than fighting it. Nature teaches us that seeds emerge, plants flourish, bloom, fruit and then wither and slip away -- valuable wisdom for our own lives when we encounter the inevitable transitions in our own and others' lives.
• Reconnect with our wild bodies. Untamed nature is to be found not only in far-away wilderness but in the wilds of our bloodstream, our digestive processes, our breath. Any practice that brings our attention back to our bodies is wilderness ecotherapy. Yoga and ecstatic dance offer release from the controlling modern ego and access to what ecopsychologists call "the ecological self." And once we reach peace with our animal bodies, our souls naturally open up to the larger Spirit in which we are embedded.
• Spend more time outdoors in wild nature. Most of us are indoors most of the time. Our bodies and souls cry out for long walks on a beach, contemplation in a forest or a few minutes in a nearby vacant lot near a stream. These times slow life down to a healing, natural pace.

Making just a few of these simple changes can radically shift how we feel. Ecopsychological research is now proving that reconnecting with nature and more natural living performs a host of psychological miracles, including lowering depression, improving our sense of well being, calming our anxieties, raising self-esteem and giving us a sense of belonging to the great whole of which we are a part.

July 2, 2009

alternet

Bahamas Caribbean Blog International

By Frank Edward Paco Smith, Jr., JP:

The media is very powerful, so much so that depending on the ‘perspective’ that is put forth, one’s view can be highly influenced.

Based on the information I have uncovered, it appears as though "the system" has (to this point) stumped the efforts of Jose Manuel Zelaya to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, President Hugo Chavez. His initial attempt to run amuck of his nation’s laws, on a grand level, was thwarted.

In my opinion, Honduras’ Congress and Supreme Court did the right thing. Indeed, Zelaya is the constitutionally elected leader of that country. But does that mean the he can defy the laws as set forth in the constitution and beyond that, defy the judgment of the Supreme Court? I don’t think so.

What I perceive to have occurred is a failed attempt at a grab for increased power. One need not look any further than the case of Venezuela, to gain some insight as to what Zelaya attempted to do.

One of the fundamental differences in this case involved a critical miscalculation by Zelaya. Initially, unlike the Venezuelan President, Zelaya presumably does not have an adequate level of loyalty from the military, as does President Chavez.

Second, it appears as though those who are vested with the responsibility to ensure that the different branches of Honduras’ government remain separate and accountable through checks and balances, were not asleep at the wheel. Kudos to those who did their job, as required, under what must have been a highly stressful situation.

Frank Edward Paco Smith, Jr. is a Belizean who currently resides in Belize. He has a BA in Social Sciences from the University of California at Irvine (USA), an Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) from UWI Cave Hill and an MSc. in Governance and Public Policy from UWI Mona.

Certain, mainstream, media houses have presented a neat little package which depicts the events in Honduras as a “military coup”. Certainly, it depends on how one defines such an event, but given the history of Latin America, that term carries a negative connotation.

I have come to understand that Zelaya ignored a judgment of Honduras’ Supreme Court and set upon a path to hold a referenda vote, which was not sanctioned. Apparently, he instructed the Army Chief to mobilise security forces to facilitate the vote. When his order was not carried out, Zelaya fired the Chief.

The Supreme Court informed as to the illegality of his actions and requested that the Army Chief be reinstated. In all, Zelaya took it upon himself to attempt to hold the referendum vote, without the logistical support of the Army and, incidentally, in contravention of the judgment of the Supreme Court.

It has been revealed that the Supreme Court informed him of not only the illegality of such an act, but also told him of the potential consequences. When faced with the facts, it is said the Zelaya was given an option; either proceed with the vote and face prosecution under the law or resign as President and receive safe passage to a neutral country.

My understanding is that he signed a letter of resignation and opted to go into exile, rather than face the music.

With that said, and if it is indeed fact, this is where I take issue with those organizations and countries which provided a knee-jerk reaction to the unfolding situation in Honduras.

Specifically, I take issue with the Organisation of American States. This entity, which is led by Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza, immediately called for the re-instatement of the “democratically elected President of Honduras”. My disdain with the OAS runs deeper than just this matter, but I will attempt to remain focused.

By no stretch of the imagination do I claim to be an expert on the affairs of Latin America, but being a Belizean, I have a keen interest in matters that can potentially affect the well-being of my country.

The OAS has based its position on the notion that Article 19 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter should be applied to the present situation in Honduras. Admittedly, I am no expert on the aforementioned charter, but I am someone who believes in the equal application when invoking judgments.

To my knowledge Article 19 can be applied to matters which cause any unconstitutional interruption of the democratic order. I do not share Secretary General Insulza’s view that Article 19 should be applied in this instance, especially given the fact that unlike how matters have been characterised in the mainstream as a ‘military coup’, there are more substantive and critical inputs which have contributed to the critical mass.

Case in point, when one talks of “any unconstitutional interruption of the democratic order”, how exactly does the trampling of individual’s rights to the freedom of speech and expression factor into the equation?

There is a nation in South America, where the voice of any and virtually all opposition is being summarily silenced. Opposition leaning television and radio stations are being shutdown, based on trumped-up charges. There is even the case of a leader of the major opposition party having to seek asylum in a neighbouring country, in order to escape persecution from the newly self-styled Latin American strongman, who incidentally appears to have the tacit support of Secretary General Insulza.

Let’s be real. How is it that the OAS, who is tasked with addressing and facilitating regional matters, appears to be so overtly biased when taking positions on matters of concern? Maybe I missed it, but has the OAS expressed any concerns, let alone taken any action against the South American government who has undoubtedly engaged in the aforementioned activities?

Getting back to the matter of Honduras, it was reported that the Venezuelan President expressed something to the effect that he would fight and defeat those who have taken over in Honduras, following Zelaya’s departure. Can someone tell me whether such a vow contravenes some statute of the OAS?

What it sounds like to me is that a leader of a foreign country has publicly expressed his intention to proactively meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation. Where is Mr Insulza’s castigation of such expressed intentions? To date, I have heard nothing from the OAS which calls upon President Chavez to temper, what I hope is, his rhetoric.

Again, I see a great disparity in the manner in which the OAS selectively chooses to address issues. My friends, I detect a very insidious and certainly dangerous trend. I won’t go as far as calling the Secretary General a “Chavista”, just yet. But if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, there is a strong likelihood that it very well may be a duck.

Concerning a different issue, the recent moves by the OAS to specifically facilitate the potential for Cuba to re-enter the regional body also deserves closer scrutiny. I am not against Cuba’s re-entry, but I have a concern when special concessions are made for specific countries in order to appease certain, regional leaders. If one of the basic tenets of the OAS involves the need to facilitate and promulgate democracy and democratic institutions, I think that precept should remain paramount. Again, the matter of Cuba is a completely different issue, but I believe it is important to acknowledge especially when one perceives a certain trend in the anglings of the OAS.

Although I am a stickler for the rule of law, one must give credit where it is due. Prior to the current situation in Honduras, President Chavez had proven rather effective in co-opting support throughout Latin America to legitimise his self-styled socialist revolution. This can be attributed to many factors, including his capacity to: plan, evoke stirring rhetoric and above all capitalise on the frustrations of many disenfranchised individuals throughout Latin America, who have developed a lingering disdain for the systems and structures which have perpetuated considerable economic inequalities.

In all, President Chavez has proven a very astute tactician. I do not agree with many of his tactics, but I admit that he has proven rather effective, to this point. Bearing this in mind, I hope that my fellow Caribbean counterparts are taking a critical view of these issues, for the lure of ‘petro-dollars’ is appealing.

Yet, I do not wish to see the general tradition of freely contested elections become a thing of the past in the Caribbean. Choice is important and the potential for certain elements of a self-styled socialist system do not appear to share synergies with this concept. In other words, be mindful of those who bear gifts, for more often than not, they come with invariable conditionalities.

I applaud Honduras’ Congress and the people of that nation for stopping former President Zelaya in mid-stream. My disquiet is ever-growing for the position taken by those nations and organisations, worldwide, who wish to focus primarily on Zelaya being the 'democratically elected' president of Honduras. They should stop with their knee-jerk reaction and realise that although Zelaya was democratically elected, within his capacity as the Executive...he is not above the law, as set forth in Honduras' Constitution.

Unfortunately, the entire realm of International Relations is becoming perverted much like the notion of Human Rights. The latter began as a meaningful concept, but has morphed into an internationally sanctioned sorry excuse for perpetrators of (local) crimes; whereby they commit atrocious violations (e.g. murder, rape, etc...) and once apprehended, their rights and not those of the victims, become paramount. Unfortunately, it appears as though the major players in the realm of international relations have succumbed to this misguided concept.

In sum, I applaud those who stood up to Mr Zelaya, a presumptive authoritarian in the making. As for the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, wake up! Stop these aspiring autocrats before they gain a strangle-hold on your respective: seat(s) of power, economies and ultimately your destinies. It is interesting because they are a new breed; one which consistently reminds the masses of the atrocities brought about by leaders who were propped-up by “the Empire”.

What they fail to explain is that similarly, yet uniquely, they are constructing their personal fiefdoms, at the expense of the masses. I guess at the core level, it is politics as usual. This time, at least in one case, it has taken on a distinctively local dynamic and is backed by wealth derived from natural resources.

With the misguided calls proffered by the OAS and other organisations, it will be a challenge for Honduras to defy their calls for Zelaya's re-instatement. Yet, I encourage them to stay the course, for once they are convinced that their actions were within the legal parameters set by the Constitution of Honduras, the law is on their side. Don't let the external forces dictate your internal matters, on this level!

On the whole the recent activities in Honduras have opened a ripe discussion as to whether the questionable reasoning of a regional body holds primacy over the laws of a sovereign nation, in such instances.

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Caribbean Blog International

By Jill Harris, AlterNet:



As the world continues to mourn the death of Michael Jackson and the details of his final hours emerge, it appears that it may be another in a long line of celebrity drug overdoses. Jackson is reported to have taken a number of painkillers known as opioids on a regular if not daily basis.

Michael Jackson inhabited his own rarified world, and we are used to hearing about drug overdoses in the context of fast-lane inhabiting music and film stars, like Jackson and Heath Ledger, who died of an opioid overdose last year. But even among average Americans, deaths from drug overdoses have been rising and have reached crisis levels in our country. A recently-released report by the Drug Policy Alliance documents the extent of the problem: drug overdose is now the second-leading cause of accidental death in America, surpassing firearms-related deaths. Many of those affected are young people. Among teenagers there has been a steep rise in misuse of prescription drugs. A December 2008 survey of high school seniors reported that more than 15 percent of high school seniors reported using prescription drugs for non-medical reasons. But it’s not just young people who are dying of overdoses: overdose is the number-one injury-related killer among adults in Michael Jackson’s age group: 35-54.

This spike in overdose deaths is almost entirely attributable to increasing numbers of people overdosing on legal, prescription drugs; overdose deaths from heroin and other illegal drugs have leveled off in many places as a result of harm reduction efforts. Most of these drugs are opioids, which can include both opium-derived drugs like morphine and codeine, and synthetics like Oxycontin and Vicodin, both of which were allegedly used by Michael Jackson, and Demerol, with which he reportedly was injected just before he died. Other commonly prescribed opioids include Percodan and Percocet. Some of the drugs involved in overdoses have been diverted to the black market and sold illegally, while others are obtained through legal prescriptions. Pain patients can misunderstand their doctors’ instructions and accidentally exceed their prescribed doses of painkillers.

But in Michael Jackson’s case, if it was caused by an opioid overdose, his death might have been averted had people close to him had access to a simple and reliable antidote: naloxone, otherwise known as Narcan.

Naloxone, if administered to someone who has stopped breathing as a result of an opioid overdose, can reverse the effects of the overdose and restore normal breathing in two to three minutes. Naloxone has been used effectively in emergency rooms to reverse overdoses for over 30 years. Tens of thousands of lives could be saved if naloxone were more widely available and more people (including doctors, pharmacists and other health care professionals, as well as law enforcement professionals, many of whom are currently unfamiliar with naloxone), were trained in its use.

Cities with programs that increase the availability of naloxone, among them Chicago, Baltimore and San Francisco, have seen their overdose rates decline dramatically. New Mexico, which for years had a high number of deaths from drug overdoses, saw a 20 percent decline in such deaths after the state’s Department of Health began a naloxone distribution program in 2001. Naloxone itself has no abuse potential, making it a good candidate for over-the-counter availability. If people who are prescribed an opioid were also be given a prescription for naloxone, with instructions for them and their caregivers on how to administer it, this spike in overdose deaths could be reversed.

But our country’s drug war mentality prevents this safe and effective remedy from being made more widely available. Fear that doing so will encourage drug use causes the government to restrict naloxone’s availability. This "abstinence only” mindset is the same one that for years has prevented the federal government from funding syringe exchange programs -- proven to reduce the spread of HIV, hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases -- for injection drug users. Just as the "abstinence only” model has proven a failure at preventing unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, it has been a failure at reducing drug use or the harms associated with drug use. Rather than continuing these failed policies, we need evidence-based solutions to the problems of drug misuse and drug overdose.

Fortunately some attention is now being paid to the overdose crisis. A bill known as the Drug Overdose Reduction Act was recently introduced in Congress by Rep Donna F. Edwards (D-MD). The bill would create a federal grant program to provide cities, states, tribal governments and community-based groups with funding to prevent and reduce overdose deaths; task the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with responsibility for reducing overdose deaths; commission studies on the efficacy of various strategies to reduce overdose deaths; and create a nationwide surveillance system for monitoring overdose trends. A Facebook group called Purple Ribbons for Overdose Prevention now has nearly six thousand members across the country and is growing daily.

Another part of the solution to the overdose crisis are "Good Samaritan/911” laws, which provide immunity from arrest and prosecution for drug use or possession to anyone who calls 911 to report an overdose. Many lives could be saved if friends of overdose victims weren’t afraid of being prosecuted if the police are called to the scene. New Mexico last year became the first state to pass such a law, and similar legislation is now pending in several states.

We need to accept the reality that people will always use drugs, whether legal or illegal, prescribed or sold on the street, mood or performance enhancers, pain killers or stress reducers or sleep-enablers. We are a nation of drug users. We must learn how to reduce the harms associated with our drug use, including reducing the unconscionable and unnecessary number of deaths from overdose.

June 29, 2009

alternet



Jill Harris is the Managing Director of Public Policy at the Drug Policy Alliance.

By Richard Kim , The Nation:


Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, is dead of a heart attack at the age of 50. In the next few days we will be treated to endless eulogies mining the rich archive of his music, dance, videos, performances and especially his purported habits, hobbies, misdemeanors and alleged crimes. After all, what writer could resist mentioning the various critters and tchotchkes he collected: the hyperbaric, youth-preserving oxygen chamber, the Elephant Man's bones, his pet chimp Bubbles, the Beatles catalog, Neverland Ranch, Macaulay Caulkin, Elizabeth Taylor, his many noses, skin pigments and hairstyles, his one bright white glove. I certainly can't.

These mutations will inevitably be placed in the tragic narrative of his decline. We will be asked to remember Jackson in his prime--as the smiling, dancing, "P.Y.T." black child star who outshone his less talented siblings in the Jackson Five or as the pop-and-dance virtuoso who transcended Motown by bringing us "Thriller," "Beat It" and "Billy Jean." Forget the eccentricities and footnote the accusations of child abuse and molestation (he was never found guilty). Those are but sad stains on the larger spangled fabric of his life and career.

Well, I am here to say: fuck that shit. Without his extravagant eccentricities and ambiguous, obsessive relationships to race, gender, mortality and childhood (and children)--indeed without the conspicuously tenuous link he had to the category of the human itself--Michael Jackson would have been a B-list has-been. Most likely last seen on the latest episode of Celebrity Apprentice, his obit would have followed Farrah Fawcett's. In short, he'd be John Oates.

Our fascination with Whack-o Jack-o has never been only, or even primarily, with his prodigious skills. It was with the way he personified our culture's most central ambitions to whiteness, immortality, wealth, real estate and fame. Lodged somewhere between the superhuman and the alien, aspiration and disgust, Jackson was a grotesque reflection of our collective desires.

As Margo Jefferson noted in her perceptive book On Michael Jackson, the best reference point for the "Man in the Mirror" is P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth. Like the Chinamen and Arabs who peopled Barnum's circus, Jackson came to embody the space between "Black or White." Like Barnum's pygmies, giants, bearded ladies and albinos, Jackson mesmerized us with his recombinant body, the weird scale and mix of his anatomy. His animal menagerie helped too.

Like those with too many or too few body parts, Jackson was a human freak, to be pitied, sure, but also to be mimicked, always to be looked at and, in some way, to be wanted. He was a freak like me, a freak like you.

June 27, 2009

alternet

King of popular music
…master of the big stage
Entertainer extraordinaire
…with deep and wide appeal

Michael Jackson, the cultural icon
…transcended all barriers with approval
Universally treasured
…a rare talent undying

Tears for a fallen star…
…travelling gloriously beyond
Celebration for his inestimable gifts
…peoples love Michael Jackson

A revolutionary in song…
…an activist of note
A generation pleased
…with the masterful virtuoso

Michael Jackson, the spirit of groove
…his music of verve
…wakes up the dead
Moonwalking the will…
…paving the way
Eliminating the barriers
...of discrimination
…one prized piece at a time

His unifying music
…consolidative and curative
Thank you Michael for it all
Sleep well my brother
…we shall met again
…in timeless elation

Until then, the king of pop reigns
…in our distinct hearts
With celebrated admiration and awe
…forever prized and sanctified


©2009 Dennis A. Dames
Nassau, Bahamas
Dennis Dames Domain

• Statement by the OSPAAAL Executive Secretariat

The Organization for Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America (OSPAAAL) condemns the refusal of the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case of the five Cuban heroes unjustly incarcerated in U.S. territory for almost 11 years.

The solid arguments presented by the defense team regarding the innocence of the anti-terrorist Cubans, despite the host of arbitrary legal actions committed throughout the whole trial, have once again been trampled on. The universal demand for justice that has been forcefully and overwhelmingly expressed – in a manner that is unprecedented in the history of the United States – in "Friends of the Court" documents presented by ten Nobel laureates, parliamentarians, prestigious U.S. and international jurists’ organizations, and prominent political and academic figures, have been contemptuously ignored.

As René González stated in a message sent shortly after learning of the Court’s failure: For the peoples of the world, the audacity of this process is the reiteration of an old lesson: we are facing an empire that will never make amends for any crime. It will only calculate how it can get away with what it wants. No ethical considerations or universal clamor can detain it, only the price imposed on it by resistance.

Once again, the U.S. judicial system has turned its back on the case of the Five, which clearly constitutes an example of injustice so great as to be outrageous. The prolonged and arbitrary incarceration of Ramón, René, Gerardo, Antonio and Fernando is shameful: grotesque evidence of the policy of double standards applied by a country that harbors and protects self-confessed international terrorists, while all the time condemning those who confront it in order to protect innocent lives; a political revenge against the Cuban people.

The International Executive Secretariat of the Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) calls on the U.S. government for the immediate release of the Five, and demands that President Barack Obama enforces the faculties with which he is invested to put an end to this macabre injustice.

Our tricontinental organization affirms its commitment to redoubling actions and initiatives until the Five are able to enjoy the right to freedom to which they have been robbed; and it makes an urgent call to all member organizations and friends, to the U.S. people, and to all intelligent and honest people around the world to close ranks for this noble cause, increase international mobilization, maintain this battle and courageously resist, as the Five are doing in the empire’s prisons, with sovereign and socialist Cuba.

JUSTICE AND FREEDOM FOR THE FIVE CUBAN HEROES!

FREEDOM FOR THE FIVE NOW!

OSPAAAL Executive Secretariat
Havana, June 23, 2009

Translated by Granma International

granma.cu

MATANZAS (AIN).— U.S. President Barack Obama can order the release of the five Cuban anti-terrorists imprisoned in the United States, Ricardo Alarcón, president of the Cuban Parliament, reaffirmed.

The likewise member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba gave a master lecture for religious leaders at the Theological Seminary in this city, on the 80th anniversary of the Hispanic-American Evangelical Congress in Havana.

Alarcón said that President Obama has it in his hands to end the injustice committed against Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González.

“Will the impunity continue under his mandate?” Alarcón asked, adding, “He (Obama) knows that the Constitution gives the president the power to withdraw the disgraceful charges that were the basis of legal proceedings plagued by arbitrariness and violations from day one.”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to review the case of the Five is the most recent confirmation that anti-Cuban terrorism continues to enjoy the support and complicity of that country’s government, he stated.

During the religious congress, which ends on Friday, the 60-plus ecumenical leaders from 15 nations said they would concretize actions so that millions of church members all over the world would increase their solidarity with the cause of the Five.

Translated by Granma International

granma.cu

HEART TO HEART

With Betty Ann Blaine

Dear Reader,
It took 144 years since the abolition of slavery in 1865 for the United States to issue a formal apology. I'm not sure if the saying "Better late than never" is apropos, considering the length of time it took for that government to say that it was sorry. Nevertheless, the announcement is significant, and signals a victory for descendants of slaves all over the world in general, and the unflagging work of the global reparation movement in particular.

In what was described as a "fiercely" worded resolution, the United States Senate last Thursday apologised for the "fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery" of African Americans. One report stated that "the unanimous voice vote came five months after Barack Obama became the first black US president, and ahead of the June 19 "Juneteenth" celebration of the emancipation of African Americans at the end of the US Civil War in 1865.

House of Representatives approval, which could come as early as next week, would make it the first time the entire US Congress has formally apologised on behalf of the American people for one of the grimmest wrongs in US history. The bill, which does not require Obama's signature, states that the US Congress "acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and 'Jim Crow' laws that enshrined racial segregation at the state and local level in the United States well into the 1960s". And the Congress "apologises to African Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws."

While people no doubt are celebrating this historic development all across the world, it is important to point out that the resolution came with an important caveat stating that "nothing in this resolution (a) authorises or supports any claim against the United States". In other words, apology yes, compensation, no! And so, for the reparations constituency the struggle continues.

It is important to note that the issue of compensation is not a new phenomenon. Calls for compensation in some form to slaves and their descendants preceded the founding of the United States, dating back to at least the 1760s and continued to be sounded in relatively unbroken form for some two-and-a-half centuries up to the present. This long history of reparations, arguments and practices included a range of individuals and groups prior to the Civil War. Hundreds of 18th-century Quakers, who freed their slaves and personally compensated them for their unpaid time in bondage; a few newly freed slaves in the North after the American Revolution, who sued in court for a portion of their former masters' wealth; dozens of penitent masters in the upper South, who set their slaves at liberty (especially in their wills) as acts of "retribution" and gave them plots of land; a small cadre of 19th century black and white abolitionists who argued that it was important not only to emancipate the slaves but to "compensate them for the crime", and hundreds of thousands of slaves on Southern farms and plantations before the Civil War, who sounded calls for both freedom and reparations in their folk songs and tales, claiming that they were due "Egypt's spoil" for their "unrequited toil".

Those various threads converged after the Civil War as African Americans and their white allies pressed unsuccessfully to redistribute "40 acres and a mule" to each family of recently freed slaves. After agreeing to the compensation, President Andrew Johnson reversed the order after the assassination of Lincoln, and the land given to ex-slaves were returned to their previous owners. In 1867, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens sponsored a bill for the redistribution of land to African Americans, but it was not passed.

Since then the issue has been revisited time and again by leading civil rights activists. In 1963, for example, Martin Luther King Jr called Sherman's (the American general who issued the "40 acres and a mule" order after the Civil War) promise "a cheque which has come back marked 'insufficient funds'". King called instead for "a cheque that will give African Americans upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice". Advocacy groups like the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (NCOBRA) and our own Jamaica Reparations Movement have fought gallantly to keep the issue on the front burner.

Those opposed to reparations cite the enormity of the task of calculating compensation. Various estimates have been given if such payments were to be made. A leading American magazine in reviewing a book on reparations published an estimate that the total amount in reparations due is over US$100 trillion, based on 222,505,049 hours of forced labour between 1619 and 1865, with a compounded interest of six per cent. The article stated that "should all or part of this amount be paid to the descendants of slaves in the United States, the current US government would pay only a fraction of that cost - over US$40 trillion, since it has been in existence only since 1789".

But NCOBRA leaders and others point to the precedent already set with other racial groups. They are adamant that the US Congress not only apologised to Japanese Americans for internment in World War II concentration camps, but paid US$1.25 billion to camp survivors and their descendants. In 1988 the US government paid eight Sioux Indian tribes US$122 million dollars for tribal lands illegally seized in 1877, and Jewish Holocaust survivors continue to receive US tax benefits from reparations paid by the German and Austrian governments.

So the question remains, if others have been paid, why not blacks?

With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com

Tuesday, June 23, 2009