KINGSTON, Jamaica - Federation had a swift demise. With hindsight we now know it could not work for us. CARICOM was a "feel-good" project of limited scope; the CSME is a reprise of a federal vision couched as a single economy. Over decades, powerful men invested their reputations but did no due diligence. CARICOM was faith. In a free market, "failure will out" but taxpayers are eternal and can be made to sustain failure ad infinitum. God bless Chris and Andrew for placing CARICOM on the agenda. Every year I do a piece but nothing sticks. CARICOM is okay, but what of CSME?

GEORGETOWN, Guyana –  Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s reference, in her opening remarks at the recent meeting of CARICOM Heads in Port of Spain, to the view that “CARICOM, as it was originally envisioned, has reached its political, socio-economic and ideological limits,” may have its genesis in the thinking of her foreign minister, Winston Dookeran.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Not long ago, rebels on the outskirts of Damascus were peppering the city with mortar rounds, government soldiers were defecting in droves and reports circulated of new territory pried from the grip of President Bashar al-Assad.
As his losses grew, Mr. Assad unleashed fighter jets and SCUD missiles, intensifying fears that mounting desperation would push him to lash out with chemical weapons.
That momentum has now been reversed.

WASHINGTON, CMC – The United States says it has resumed migration talks with Cuba, marking the first time since January 2011 that the periodic talks have been held.
US and Cuban officials met here on Wednesday to discuss the implementation of the 1994 and 1995 US-Cuba Migration Accords.
Under the Accords, both governments pledge to promote safe, legal, and orderly migration from Cuba to the United States.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end. – Nelson Mandela, Robben Island 1975