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How Dancehall and Rap Define Today’s Youth

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The music we listen to reflects our innermost feelings and our relationship with society, and if society does not offer opportunities for jobs and a meaningful life, then music won’t offer narratives that reflect hope and opportunity for loving relationships and acceptance into society. That is why we have hip hop culture infiltrating T&T. That’s why so many teenagers listen to violent dancehall and rap music that terrifies those of us who lock ourselves away from a certain faction in society.

Trinidad-born author wins regional prize for literature

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad-born United Kingdom-based writer, Monique Roffey, whose work titled “Archipelago” based on the 2008 floods here, has won the US$10,000 2013 One Caribbean Media (OCM) Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. St. Lucian poet, Kendel Hippolyte won the poetry category for his collection “Fault Lines” while Guyanese writer Rupert Roopnarine won the non-fiction category with his publication “The Sky’s Wild Noise”. There were 40 entries. “This is a response to something very tragic that happened to my family.

Celebrating with the indefatigable George Lamming

KINGSTON, Jamaica – (Today), Barbados will celebrate National Heroes Day, and highlighting the activities will be the presentation of the prestigious Clement Payne Appreciation Award to legendary Barbadian novelist, political commentator, essayist, and public intellectual, Mr George Lamming, appropriately marking the 60th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work, In the Castle of My Skin.

PJ gets Oliver Tambo award

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Jamaica's former Prime Minister PJ Patterson receiving South Africa's highest award presented to non-nationals, the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo, from President Jacob Zuma at the annual Freedom Day ceremony in Pretoria on Saturday. The Order, instituted on December 6, 2002, is awarded to foreign nationals (heads of state and governments) and other foreign dignitaries for friendship shown to South Africa. It is designated an order of peace, co-operation and active expression of solidarity and support.

Anger over South Africa award to Burnham

KINGSTON, Jamaica - THE recent decision by the South Africa Government to confer on Guyana's late President Forbes Burnham its highest national honour designated for outstanding foreign citizens- — the Oliver Tambo Award (gold) — has drawn strong criticisms from two well-known Jamaican scholars and Pan-Africanists — Dr Rupert Lewis and Dr Horace Campbell.

Activist resigns accusing PM of seeking to influence national heroes debate

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC - Political activist and social commentator Jomo Thomas has tendered his resignation from the National Heroes Selection Committee in protest against a speech delivered on national; heroes by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves. “I am convinced that the Prime Minister’s presentation has made our work superfluous,” Thomas wrote in his resignation letter to the chair person of the Committee, Rene Baptiste, a former culture minister here.

Getting gender right

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - At Wednesday’s consultation with religious bodies on the 2012 draft national policy on gender and development, Leela Ramdeen, chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice, raised a curious argument regarding the definition of gender in the document.

European Union funds to boost health sector

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The European Union is providing J$2.5 billion (One Jamaica dollar = US$0.01 cents) in grant funding to boost the delivery of maternal and paediatric health care in public health institutions in Jamaica. Health Minister Dr. Fenton Ferguson said the allocation is expected to further advance the government’s efforts to meet the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for significant improvements in these two key areas. Dr.

Keep exploring every option

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - WITH the private sector backing the recently announced tourism initiatives it is going to be important to gauge whether the measures will in fact translate into an improvement in the island’s tourism industry.

Expert says cyber attacks increasing locally

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Computer technology expert Yves Ephraim has pointed to growing incidents of cyber attacks in the country as a new report points to its damaging effects on small businesses in particular. Ephraim, managing director of Pegasus Technologies, told OBSERVER Media that in his line of work, he has seen repeated examples of cyber attacks which lead him to the conclusion that the scourge is growing locally. “I think it happens more often than we really like to admit. Some people don’t even know that they are being hacked but we are under attack,” the IT expert said.

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