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THE government is boost-

ing drainage and irrigation


and other support for farm-
ing communities along the
fertile East Bank Berbice
River region to help develop
large-scale agriculture culti-
vations.
Agriculture Min-
ister Robert Persaud said
this is part of his ministrys
comprehensive plan to fur-
ther develop agriculture and
bring new areas under culti-
vation.
He recently met
farmers at Mara, 26 miles
from New Amsterdam, and
announced that more than
G$12M will be spent on crit-
ical works to boost drainage
capacity and encourage agri-
cultural activities.
The equipment
promised has already been
deployed to the area to do
work to increase the drain-
age capacity of new areas
that were brought into cul-
tivation as a result of the
ministrys Grow More Food
Campaign.
Persaud urged farm-
ers and residents in Mara and
neighbouring farming com-
munities to help take care of
the structures and assist in
maintaining critical canals
as they are the ultimate ben-
efciaries.
He also assured
farmers that the ministry
will continue to engage the
communities to provide
technical and other support
as a means of supplement-
ing the investment made to
boost agriculture.
Additionally, it was
announced that the govern-
ment has approved G$16M
to fx the all-weather access
road to complement expand-
ing areas under cultivation
and to ensure farmers access
to local and export markets.
Farmers are also
getting seeds, planting ma-
terials, chemicals, farming
implements and other sup-
plies.
Also at the Mara
meeting were Mr. Zulfkar
Mustapha, Regional Chair-
man, Region Six, Mr. Lionel
Wordsworth, Chief Execu-
tive Offcer, National Drain-
age and Irrigation Authority,
and other technical offcers
of the Ministry of Agricul-
ture.
The ministry said
farmers committed to do
large-scale agriculture re-
sulting from the ongoing and
planned support and works
for the East Berbice areas.
Large-scale
agriculture for
East Bank Berbice
Minister Persaud (centre) fanked by Regional Chairman, Zulfkar Mustapha and the Nation-
al Drainage and Irrigation Authoritys Chief Executive Offcer, Lionel Wordsworth, during
the commissioning of the sluice at Moleson Creek.
The newly commissioned sluice at Moleson Creek. Initiatives such as these are geared towards further boosting the ag-
ricultural industry and also resuscitating agricultural schemes, such as Mara, so that farmers could experience greater
productivity and enjoy better livelihoods.
Polls, Pollsters,
Publishers and the PPP
-- Page 13
Good industrial
relations not...
-- Page 14
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 2
World News T
he Libyan government has ordered the United Na-
tions refugee agency to leave the country, without
explaining why, according to the UN.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has worked
in Libya since 1991, but last week it was ordered to close,
Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR, said
on Tuesday.
Fleming said the agency was still negotiating with the
government to try to stay in Libya.
Libyan offcials declined to comment on the expul-
sion.
The UNHCR has registered more than 9,000 refu-
gees in the country, mostly would-be migrants who tried
to enter Italy from the Middle East and North Africa. The
Italian government expels them to Libya.
Libya expels UN
refugee agency
T
he US president has
said his nation will
provide a $400m aid
package for the Palestinians,
as he called the situation in
the Gaza Strip unsustain-
able.
Barack Obama made his
pledge on Wednesday after
meeting Mahmoud Abbas,
the Palestinian president, at
the White House.
He said the money would
go to both the Gaza Strip and
the West Bank.
Abbas visit to Washing-
ton comes amid an interna-
tional backlash against Is-
rael after its forces boarded
a Turkish aid ship bound for
the Gaza Strip on May 31,
killing nine activists.
Obama said the incident
was a tragedy, but repeat-
ed the line of his administra-
tion that it was too early to
rush to judgement, saying
its important that we get
all the facts.
Obama also said he be-
lieved signifcant progress
was possible in the Middle
East peace process this year,
and vowed the full weight
of US involvement.
Now is the time to move
forward from the current
dead end, he said.
Not only is the status
quo with respect to Gaza
unsustainable, but the status
quo with the respect to the
Middle East is unsustain-
able, it is time for us to go
ahead, move forward on a
two-state solution.
Abbas repeated his calls
for Israel to lift its blockade
of Gaza in the meeting, and
described Obamas promise
of aid as a positive sign.
Michael Oren, Israels
ambassador to the US, re-
sponded that his coun-
try was open to suggestions
that would address the needs
of the Palestinian people
along with Israels security
requirements.
However, Oren defended
the blockade as essential
for not only Israels security,
Egypts security, but its es-
sential for the peace pro-
cess.
Israel put the Gaza
Strip under siege in 2007,
after Hamas seized power
of the territory, saying the
blockade is needed to pre-
vent weapons smuggling.
The siege allows Israel to
control the fow of goods and
people going into the Strip.
Obama pledges aid to Palestinians
On his frst offcial visit to
Afghanistan, David Cam-
eron, the British prime
minister, has announced in-
creased aid for the country
but ruled out sending extra
troops.
The Conservative leader,
who held talks with Hamid
Karzai, the Afghan presi-
dent, in Kabul on Thursday,
declared Afghanistan the
most important foreign pol-
icy issue for Britain.
He said Britain would
spend an additional $98 mil-
lion on countering the threat
of roadside bombs and pro-
vide additional aid funding
for Afghanistan to build up
its army, police and civil ser-
vice capacity.
Ive described this year
- and the president, I know,
agrees - in terms of the Nato
mission in Afghanistan as
the vital year, Cameron
said.
What we want, and is
our national security inter-
est, is to hand over to an Af-
ghanistan that is able to take
control of its own security.
Britain currently has
9,500 troops in Afghanistan
as part of a 46-nation force
led by the US.
But Cameron, addressing
a joint news conference with
Karzai, said that the issue
of more troops is not remote-
ly on the UK agenda.
Cameron reaffrms Afghan support
Cameron said sending extra troops to Afghanistan was
not remotely on the UK agenda.
Corned beef products
prohibited in St Kitts-Nevis
BASSETERRE, St Kitts (SKNIS) -- The Ministry of Indus-
try, Commerce and Consumer Affairs has advised the public
in St Kitts and Nevis not to consume corned-beef products
from the Brazilian frm SIF 337.
Following initial investigations, the Department of Con-
sumer Affairs and the Bureau of Standards found that the
7oz tin of Grace Corned Beef imported by O D Brisbane &
Sons (Trading) Ltd and the 12oz tin of Libbys Corned Beef
imported by Rams (Trading) Ltd originated from the Brazil-
ian frm SIF 337 and may be contaminated with Ivermectin,
which is a de-worming agent in live animals.
Consumers and shopkeepers are advised to check their
purchases. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Con-
sumer Affairs has advised that with immediate effect all beef
products from Brazilian frm SIF 337 are prohibited from
entry into St. Kitts and Nevis, pursuant to Part VI, Section
28 of the National Bureau of Standards Act No.7 of 1999.
Page 3 Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
(AFP) -- The FBI on Wednes-
day rejected reports it had
paid murder suspect Joran
Van der Sloot 25,000 dollars
in sting money and insisted
its probe of the Dutchman
did not prompt his fight to
Peru, where he is under ar-
rest for a new murder.
Van der Sloot, 22, is the
prime suspect in the 2005
disappearance of American
teenager Natalee Holloway,
who was visiting the Carib-
bean tourist island of Aruba
when she went missing.
In that case, Van der
Sloot was twice arrested and
spent three months in jail
but was never charged. Hol-
loways body has never been
found.
The FBI and the US At-
torneys offce in Alabama,
Holloways home state, said
they launched an investiga-
tion in April into allegations
of criminal conduct by Van
der Sloot after he offered
to provide information on
Holloways remains and the
circumstances of her death
in exchange for 250,000 dol-
lars.
But the Federal Bureau
of Investigation is coming
under fre for not arresting
Van der Sloot last month
when they had the chance,
after reportedly taping a
meeting in which the suspect
accepted sting money, com-
mitted wire fraud and made
incriminating statements
about Holloways death.
US news reports said
the FBI had transferred
15,000 dollars to a Van der
Sloot bank account and pro-
vided 10,000 in cash to the
Dutchman during a meeting
in Aruba on May 10. Van der
Sloot was not arrested, and
he reportedly slipped out of
Aruba three days later, ar-
riving in Peru on May 14.
According to the FBI
statement, the US Attorney
fled a criminal complaint
charging Van der Sloot with
extortion and wire fraud
on June 3, 2010, the very
day he was arrested to face
murder charges of Peruvian
Stephany Flores Ramirez.
He has since confessed
to killing the Peruvian busi-
ness student in a ft of rage
after she used his laptop
without permission, accord-
ing to police offcials.
Some news accounts
have suggested that the FBI
provided 25,000 dollars in
funds that were transmitted
to Van der Sloot. This is in-
correct. The funds involved
were private funds, the FBI
said in its statement.
Private investigator Bo
Dietl, who reportedly helped
set up the meeting between
Van der Sloot and a civil-
ian go-between for the Hol-
loway family that was ap-
proved and taped by the FBI,
told the Fox network that the
money was provided by the
Holloways.
He also said there was
absolutely suffcient evi-
dence after the meeting to
arrest the Dutchman on the
spot, but that Van der Sloot
was allowed to freely leave
the meeting.
We dont know who
let him go, but we all know
(that) he was let go, and then
he ended up killing some-
body else, Dietl told the
network on Tuesday.
The FBI appeared to
seek to defect mounting
questions about why Van der
Sloot was not apprehended
in Aruba.
We offer our heartfelt
sympathy to the Flores fami-
ly, the FBI said, but stressed
that the Birmingham inves-
tigation was not related in
any way to the murder in
Peru.
The agency said that de-
spite the investigation being
in motion for several weeks
at the time of Miss Floress
death, it was not suffciently
developed to bring charges
prior to the time Van der
Sloot left Aruba.
FBI denies probe led to Holloway
suspects Peru murder
PARIS, France (AFP) --
Cuba called on the European
Union on Thursday to drop
its obsolete stance toward
the island-nation, saying it
amounted to meddling in its
internal affairs.
The (EU) com-
mon position must change
because it amounts to in-
terference and is obsolete,
said Cuban Foreign Minister
Bruno Rodriguez following
talks in Paris with his Span-
ish counterpart Miguel An-
gel Moratinos.
The Paris talks were
held ahead of a meeting Mon-
day in Luxembourg of EU
foreign ministers who are to
decide whether they want to
change their so-called com-
mon position toward Cuba.
Havana has long
objected to the European
Unions insistence that the
regime must show progress
on human rights and democ-
racy before it can hope to
improve relations with the
27-nation bloc.
Spain has argued that
the EU position has yielded
few results since it was ad-
opted in 1996 and should be
abandoned altogether, but it
faces opposition from Swe-
den, the Czech Republic and
other EU nations.
France responded to
Rodriguezs call by saying
it could not step up relations
since Cuba had not improved
human rights.
Cuban authorities have
not made the gestures we
were waiting for, notably in
terms of human rights and
fundamental freedoms,
said the French foreign min-
istrys deputy spokeswoman
Christine Fages.
In these conditions it
is not possible to take a new
step forward.
Moratinos, whose coun-
try holds the EUs rotating
presidency, described the
meeting with the Cuban for-
eign minister as construc-
tive, positive even though
there continue to be some
differences.
The meeting was origi-
nally scheduled for Madrid
in early April but was post-
poned after the death of lead-
ing Cuban political prisoner
Orlando Zapata who died af-
ter a long hunger strike.
Madrid wants to ne-
gotiate a EU-Cuba coopera-
tion agreement, but opposi-
tion stiffened within the EU
following Zapatas death in
February and a wave of pris-
on sentences for dissidents.
Cuba urges Europe to change obsolete policy
Israel condemned at Turkey summit
N
early two dozen nations have condemned Israels
deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid fotilla at the con-
clusion of a regional summit in Istanbul.
Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president, released a statement
agreed to by 21 of the 22 participants in the conference.
Israel was the 22nd participant, and it refused to sign
the document. The summit was a meeting of the Conference
on Interaction and Confdence Building Measures in Asia, a
bloc of 22 Eurasian states founded in the early 1990s. Del-
egates mostly discussed security issues, particularly Israel
and Afghanistan. All member states, except one, expressed
their grave concern and condemnation for the actions under-
taken by the Israeli Defence Forces, the statement said.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 4
Regional Round-Up:
RDCs, NDCS, NGOs
ERC set to conclude Regional Consultations
The periodic but regular consultations of the Ethnic Relations
Commission (ERC) with numerous stakeholders, including
community oriented, grass root organisations; religious and
spiritual bodies and non-government associations reached its
penultimate stage last week.
The ERC commenced meetings with spokespersons and
representatives of Africanist, Christian, Hindu and other so-
cial strata drawn from civil society on Monday, May 17 2010.
These feed-back type meetings continued up until the end of
last month and were hosted by the ERC at its Georgetown
offces.
The other stage or phase of the exercise described as the
Annual Regional Meeting and Strategic Assessment Process
(ARM/SAP) commenced earlier this month. According to a
release from the ERC reproduced as a GINA bulletin, the
Commission is supported by the United Nations Develop-
ment Programme (UNDP) and its Enhanced Public Trust,
Security and Inclusion (EPTSI) initiative to implement the
strategy.

ERC constituencies are immediately representative of the
Neighbourhood structure devised by the Local Authorities.
Over the years the Commission has associated itself with
these traditional locations or Districts that are popularly
recognised by the broad public.
Meetings were held in Regions Four (Demerara/Soes-
dyke), Five (Mahaica/Mahaicony/Rosignol), Six (Albion-
Springlands/Corentyne) and Seven (Mazaruni/Potaro)
starting from June 1. On June 4 meetings were held with
representatives of concerned social partners in Linden and
elsewhere adjacent to the historical mining community.
Validation Workshop: Objective
Engagements were held in the West Demerara areas (Region
Three) on June 8, 2010. At the Regional meetings, accord-
ing to the Commission, stakeholders proffered recommenda-
tions, voiced concerns and threw out suggestions as to how,
and in what way the ERC could upgrade and improve its ca-
pacity and social impact in the execution of its Constitutional
mandate.
Structurally, the institutional strengthening process is
refected in the crafting of a strategic review of ERC docu-
mentation. This process in practical terms would involve the
regional stake holders and representatives in a national re-
treat that is scheduled as a validation workshop planned for
June 17 2010 at the Guyana International Convention Centre,
Liliendaal, ECD.
The accumulated data and recommendations of the
combined consultations (i.e. both phases), the ERC has
disclosed, will be considered during the Strategic Planning
Meeting of the Commission, which will be held with ERC
Commissioners, Senior Staff and personnel supported by the
technical input from parties including that of Mr. Lawrence
Latchmansingh, UNDP Consultant.
These (in-house) deliberations it is proposed will cover
the period 2010-2015, and will see the ERC reinforcing its
capacity as well as addressing priority issues and challenges
facing communities across Guyana as these concerns pertain
to ethnic relations.
Elections and ERC Confict Resolution
According to the above-mentioned source of informa-
tion, the ERC has engaged approximately 340 persons from
over 225 communities countrywide. Included in this unilin-
ear social networking are representations from three Par-
liamentary Political Parties. Meetings are also arranged to
take place with the Governing Party (PPP/C) and the United
Force.
It has also been confrmed that Bishop Juan Edgehill has
stated as follows:
* Elections including regional elections are due in 2011.
* There is the potential for Local Government Elections later
this year.
* Against this backdrop the ERC is seeking to assess its
performance and connect with the strategic objective of de-
veloping new plans.
Encouraging NTPYE Training Results
Based on the numbers provided by the Board of Industrial
Training (BIT) there has been a signifcant increase in trained
young people who have completed the various skill courses
sponsored under the National Training Programme for Youth
Empowerment (NTPYE). This projection was launched as
an initiative by President Bharrat Jagdeo in September 2005.
For this year (starting from last year) 509 youths were pro-
vided with employable skills under the NTPYE. Based on
the release issued as a GINA bulletin, the training repro-
duced several young apprentices and potential semi-skilled
youngsters, as well as some adults.
The pattern remains consistent with the sub-regional input
in terms of size with West Berbice scoring the largest con-
tingent. The regions that gained from the NTPYE were as
follows:
* Region Five - 102
* Regions One & Two - 185
* Region Three (Essequibo Islands) - 137
* Region Four - 90
A total of 509 trainees.
The whole idea behind the NTPYE was to provide anadded
opportunity for those who may have left school early, dropped
out or forced to become family providers of income before
completing their education ...
To date (see Weekend Mirror 5-6 June 2010) the courses pro-
vided range to eight with the possibility of additional skills
provision.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 5
by Ralph Ramkarran
T
he electoral victory
of the Peoples Part-
nership in Trinidad
and Tobago, the subject of
much recent comment in
our press, has highlighted
the issue of alliance politics
which was pioneered by the
PPP in Guyana.
The success of the
Peoples Partnership was
based on this creative al-
liance, decisive leadership
and hard work. The fail-
ures of governance during
the PNMs terms of offce,
allegations of corruption,
squandermania and arro-
gant behavior played an im-
portant role in diminishing
support of the PNM. These
factors facilitated a land-
slide victory for the Peoples
Partnership.
A different situ-
ation emerged in Surinam
where post electoral alliance
building is part of the politi-
cal process because no polit-
ical party can secure a ma-
jority of seats. Apart from
the necessity of the govern-
ing coalition needing control
of 51 percent of the seats to
pass legislation, it needs the
support of two-thirds of the
National Assembly to elect a
President. The Mega Com-
bination, which gained the
largest number of seats, is
now engaged, at the time of
writing, to secure the support
of a majority of members to
form the Government and
two-thirds of the members
to obtain the Presidency.
These develop-
ments have given urgency
to the efforts of opposition
forces in Guyana to create
the big tent with a consen-
sus presidential candidate.
But the situation is
completely different here.
The objectives of the PPP,
when formed in 1950, dic-
tated an alliance between
races and classes in order
to achieve maximum mo-
bilization and support. The
ethnic part of that alliance
was shattered in 1955 when
the Burnham faction broke
away from the PPP and
eventually established the
PNC. These objectives, to-
gether with an ideological
commitment, have dictated
an historical reliance by the
PPP on alliance politics.
The PPP continued
to champion alliance politics
after 1955. It sought a modus
vivendi with the PNC 1963,
1977 and 1985 in order to
repair the political and eth-
nic division but without suc-
cess.
From the time the
PPP went into opposition in
1964 it was seeking to win
additional support across
the ethnic divide, establish
alliances among the then
opposition and civil society
forces.
It started out with
the Amerindian people. Af-
ter years of harrowing ef-
fort, it obtained their politi-
cal support. It worked with
GADM (Guyana Anti Dis-
crimination Movement) and
established the broad based
World Peace Council and
other organizations. Dur-
ing the campaign against
the referendum to change
the constitution in 1977 the
PPP played a key role in
establishing the Citizens
Committee comprising civil
society groups and the CDD
(Committee in Defence of
Democracy) comprising po-
litical parties. These allianc-
es were crucial in mobilizing
support against the PNC, in
weakening its appeal from
1980 and in delivering free
and fair elections in 1992.
The establishment
of the PCD (Patriotic Coali-
tion for Democracy) in 1985,
in which the PPP played a
leading role, provided the
forum for the opposition
the PPP, the WPA (Work-
ing Peoples Alliance) and
the DLM (Democratic La-
bour Movement) and two
smaller parties to carry out
a united campaign for free
and fair elections. It agreed
to a programme and worked
on post electoral unity.
The great demo-
cratic victory in 1992 was
built on a foundation of al-
liance politics. When an al-
liance could not be created
for the 1992 elections with
its PCD partners, the PPP
joined with GUARD and
the PPP/CIVIC alliance was
born.
The success of the
PPPs alliance politics in-
spired the PNC after the dis-
mal failure of its confronta-
tional policies between 1992
and 2001. The Peoples Na-
tional Congress became the
Peoples National Congress
Reform when it embraced a
group of non-members who
were prominent in business.
Shortly after the PNCR ad-
opted a policy of shared gov-
ernance, based on a political
rather than a programmatic
alliance.
The PPPs policy of
creating alliances has been
vindicated and now accept-
ed as the preferred method
of political organization and
activity. While its current
Civic alliance has endured,
it has sought to establish less
formal alliances for specifc
programmes by consultation
with NGOs, the Amerin-
dian community, the reli-
gious community and other
groups.
This aspect of the
alliance policy of the PPP,
although not structured, to-
gether with the development
policies which have deliv-
ered social services to the
people of Guyana on a scale
larger than at any time in the
history of Guyana, has been
largely responsible for the
great successes of the PPP
and its Government.
There is no doubt
that the events in Trini-
dad and Tobago, Surinam
and even as far away as the
United Kingdom, where the
Conservatives and the Lib-
erals have formed a coali-
tion government, will give
additional impetus to oppo-
sition parties here to make
another attempt to establish
a big tent alliance.

This would be a welcome
development. The PPP led
the way and Guyana, like
all other countries, need
competitive politics so that
the people will get an oppor-
tunity to have a real choice
between parties or allianc-
es putting forward the best
policies from which the
electorate can choose. The
people of Guyana are en-
titled to have before them,
and the contesting political
groups are obliged to ad-
vance, alternative policies
which can be tested by dis-
cussion and debate so that
the electorate can make,
and be encouraged to make,
a judgment at the elections
based on policies rather
than on other extraneous
circumstances. (www.con-
versationtree.gy)
ALLIANCE POLITICS
The great democratic victory in 1992 was built on a founda-
tion of alliance politics. When an alliance could not be cre-
ated for the 1992 elections with its PCD partners, the PPP
joined with GUARD and the PPP/CIVIC alliance was born.
The success of the PPPs alliance politics inspired the
PNC after the dismal failure of its confrontational policies
between 1992 and 2001. The Peoples National Congress be-
came the Peoples National Congress Reform when it em-
braced a group of non-members who were prominent in
business. Shortly after the PNCR adopted a policy of shared
governance, based on a political rather than a programmatic
alliance.
The sun is about to get a lot
more active, which could
have ill effects on Earth.
So to prepare, top sun sci-
entists met Tuesday to dis-
cuss the best ways to pro-
tect Earths satellites and
other vital systems from
the coming solar storms.
Solar storms occur
when sunspots on our star
erupt and spew out fumes
of charged particles that
can damage power systems.
The suns activity typically
follows an 11-year cycle,
and it looks to be coming
out of a slump and gearing
up for an active period.
The sun is waking up
from a deep slumber, and
in the next few years we
expect to see much higher
levels of solar activity,
said Richard Fisher, head
of NASAs Heliophys-
ics Division. At the same
time, our technological so-
ciety has developed an un-
precedented sensitivity to
solar storms. The intersec-
tion of these two issues is
what were getting together
to discuss.
Fisher and other
experts met at the Space
Weather Enterprise Fo-
rum, which took place in
Washington, D.C., at the
National Press Club.
People of the 21st
century rely on high-tech
systems for the basics of
daily life. But smart power
grids, GPS navigation, air
travel, fnancial services
and emergency radio com-
munications can all be
knocked out by intense so-
lar activity.
A major solar storm
could cause twenty times
more economic damage
than Hurricane Katrina,
warned the National Acad-
emy of Sciences in a 2008
report, Severe Space
Weather EventsSocietal
and Economic Impacts.
Luckily, much of the
damage can be mitigated
if managers know a storm
is coming. Thats why bet-
ter understanding of solar
weather, and the ability to
give advance warning, is
especially important.
Putting satellites in
safe mode and discon-
necting transformers can
protect electronics from
damaging electrical surg-
es.
Space weather fore-
casting is still in its infan-
cy, but were making rapid
progress, said Thomas
Bogdan, director of the
National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration
(NOAA)s Space Weather
Prediction Center in Boul-
der, Colo.
NASA and NOAA
work together to manage a
feet of satellites that moni-
tor the sun and help to pre-
dict its changes.
A pair of spacecraft
called STEREO (Solar
Terrestrial Relations Ob-
servatory) is stationed on
opposite sides of the sun,
offering a combined view
of 90 percent of the so-
lar surface. In addition,
SDO (the Solar Dynamics
Observatory), which just
launched in February 2010,
is able to photograph solar
active regions with unprec-
edented spectral, tempo-
ral and spatial resolution.
Also, an old satellite called
the Advanced Composition
Explorer (ACE), which
launched in 1997, is still
chugging along monitoring
winds coming off the sun.
And there are dozens more
dedicated to solar science.
I believe were on
the threshold of a new era
in which space weather
can be as infuential in our
daily lives as ordinary ter-
restrial weather. Fisher
said. We take this very
seriously indeed. (space.
com Wed Jun 9, 2010)
More Active Sun Means
Nasty Solar Storms Ahead
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
Page 6
by Bissasar Chintamanie
M
angroves form
a unique and
dominant ecosys-
tem comprised of intertidal
marine plants, mostly trees,
predominantly bordering
margins of tropical coast-
lines around the world.
These halophytic (salt tol-
erant) plants thrive in sa-
line conditions and daily
inundation between mean
sea level and highest as-
tronomical tides, and they
provide vital structure as
habitat and food for simi-
larly adapted resident and
transient fauna. Mangrove
plants exchange gases from
exposed roots using spe-
cial lenticels, while food-
ing tides allow uptake of
river-borne nutrients and
frequent dispersal by their
buoyant propagules. The
ecological limits defned by
the diurnal tidal range ex-
plain the setting and why
just 70 species around the
world are considered to be
mangroves, compared with
adjacent rainforests that
may have hundreds of tree
species per hectare. Spe-
cialized morphological and
physiological characteris-
tics largely defne and char-
acterize mangrove plants,
such as buttress trunks and
roots providing support
in soft sediments, aboveg-
round roots allowing vital
gas exchange in anaerobic
sediments, and physiologi-
cal adaptations for exclud-
ing or expelling salt. Fewer
than 22 plant families have
developed such essential
attributes, representing in-
dependent instances of co-
evolution over millions of
years to form todays man-
grove habitats.
Atlantic man-
groves, like other mangrove
species, are affected by cli-
mate change. The unique
physiological characteristics
of each species defne its
capacity for survival in the
face of change.
Mangroves are ex-
pected to respond rapidly
and decisively to shifts in
key factors, like tempera-
ture, rainfall, and sea level,
as each species has defned
ranges of tolerance for each
factor. For instance, because
mangroves are characteristi-
cally restricted to elevations
between mean sea level and
highest tides, as sea level
raises their communities
must move upland to sur-
vive. Since mangroves have
narrow optimal temperature
ranges, rising temperatures
will cause their distribu-
tions to shift north or south
to areas where temperature
conditions are most suitable,
and they will die off in areas
where they are not suited.
Of course, their success in
making these shifts depends
on their successful dispersal
and re-establishment, and the
availability of suitable new
space. Clearly, such changes
have occurred throughout
history, so the distribution
of mangroves today repre-
sents the survivors of all past
changes. Key indicators of
change can be identifed and
mapped as incremental shifts
and responses of mangrove
communities. These might
be observed as shifts in veg-
etation, for example: 1) in
the total tidal wetland habi-
tat zone, as expected with
changes in sea level; and 2)
in the salt marshmangrove
ecozone, as expected with
changes in longer-term rain-
fall patterns as this affects
moisture stress in saline
environments. In both cas-
es, the response zones will
follow elevation contours.
Changes along contours can
be quantifed from long term
spatial assessments over de-
cade- and century long time
periods, depending on the
rates of change. Knowledge
of these changes and their
causes allows better predic-
tion of future change.
Guyana is a highly
forested country with sub-
stantial mangrove belts
along the coastal region and
river estuaries. Mangroves
contribute substantially to
sea defence by damping
wave action and protect-
ing coastal banks, but have
degradated by natural and
artifcial means over the
past decades. Mangrove
conservation and rehabilita-
tion is therefore a priority of
the Government of Guyana,
thus the introduction and
implementation of the Man-
grove Restoration Project.
The overall objective of the
project is to abate climate
change (carbon sequestra-
tion through reforestation
and forest preservation)
and to mitigate its effects
(sea defence, biodiversity).
The project is managed by
the Mangrove Action Com-
mittee (MAC) within the
Climate Change and Agri-
cultural Adaptation Unit of
the National Agricultural
Research Institute (NARI)
of the Ministry of Agricul-
ture (MoA), Government of
Guyana (GoG).
Several activities
have been completed by the
project; Regional Stake-
holders Workshops, Acqui-
sition of Propagules/Plant-
ing Materials, Preparation
of Initial Planting Sites
among other project activi-
ties.
Climate Change and Mangroves
Mangroves are expected to respond rapidly and decisively to
shifts in key factors, like temperature, rainfall, and sea level,
as each species has defned ranges of tolerance for each fac-
tor. For instance, because mangroves are characteristically
restricted to elevations between mean sea level and highest
tides, as sea level raises their communities must move upland
to survive. Since mangroves have narrow optimal tempera-
ture ranges, rising temperatures will cause their distribu-
tions to shift north or south to areas where temperature con-
ditions are most suitable, and they will die off in areas where
they are not suited.
ScienceDaily Astrono-
mers have theorized that
the planet Earth and the
Moon were created as the
result of a giant collision
between two planets the
size of Mars and Venus.
Until now, the collision
was thought to have hap-
pened when the solar sys-
tem was 30 million years
old, or approximately
4,537 million years ago.
But new research shows
that Earth and the Moon
must have formed much
later -- perhaps up to 150
million years after the
formation of the solar sys-
tem.
The research results
have been published in the
scientifc journal Earth
and Planetary Science
Letters.
We have determined
the ages of the Earth and
the Moon using tungsten
isotopes, which can reveal
whether the iron cores and
their stone surfaces have
been mixed together dur-
ing the collision, explains
Tais W. Dahl, who did the
research as his thesis proj-
ect in geophysics at the
Niels Bohr Institute at the
University of Copenha-
gen in collaboration with
professor David J. Steven-
son from the California
Institute of Technology
(Caltech).
The planets in the
solar system are thought
to have been created by
collisions between small
dwarf planets orbiting
the newborn Sun. In the
collisions, the small plan-
ets melted together and
formed larger and larger
planets. Earth and the
Moon are believed to be
the result of a gigantic col-
lision between two planets
the size of Mars and Ve-
nus. The two planets col-
lided at a time when both
had a core of metal (iron)
and a surrounding mantle
of silicates (rock). But
when did it happen and
how did it happen?
The collision took
place in less than 24 hours
and the temperature of the
Earth was so high (7000
degrees C) that both rock
and metal must have melt-
ed in the turbulent colli-
sion. But were the stone
mass and iron mass also
mixed together?
Until recently it was
believed that the rock and
iron mixed completely
during the planet forma-
tion and so the conclu-
sion was that the Moon
was formed when the so-
lar system was 30 million
years old or approximate-
ly 4,537 million years ago.
But new research shows
something completely dif-
ferent.
The age of Earth and
the Moon can be dated
by examining the pres-
ence of certain elements
in Earths mantle. Hafni-
um-182 is a radioactive
substance, which decays
and is converted into the
isotope tungsten-182. The
two elements have mark-
edly different chemical
properties and while the
tungsten isotopes prefer to
bond with metal, hafnium
prefers to bond to silicates,
i.e. rock.
It takes 50-60 million
years for all hafnium to
decay and be converted
into tungsten, and during
the Moon forming colli-
sion nearly all the metal
sank into Earths core. But
did all the tungsten go into
the core?
We have studied to
what degree metal and
rock mix together during
the planet forming col-
lisions. Using dynamic
model calculations of
the turbulent mixing of
the liquid rock and iron
masses we have found that
tungsten isotopes from the
Earths early formation re-
main in the rocky mantle,
explains Dahl.
The new studies imply
that the moon forming col-
lision occurred after all of
the hafnium had decayed
completely into tungsten.
Our results show
that metal core and rock
are unable to emulsify in
these collisions between
planets that are greater
than 10 kilometres in di-
ameter and therefore that
most of the Earths iron
core (80-99 %) did not
remove tungsten from
the rocky material in the
mantle during formation,
explains Dahl.

The result of the research
means that Earth and the
Moon must have been
formed much later than
previously thought -- that
is to say not 30 million
years after the formation
of the solar system 4,567
million years ago but per-
haps up to 150 million
years after the formation
of the solar system.
Earth and moon formed later than
previously thought, new research suggests
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 7
ScienceDaily Vegetation
around the world is on the
move, and climate change
is the culprit, according to a
new analysis of global vege-
tation shifts led by a Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley,
ecologist in collaboration
with researchers from the
U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture Forest Service.
In a paper published
June 7 in the journal Glob-
al Ecology and Biogeog-
raphy, researchers present
evidence that over the past
century, vegetation has been
gradually moving toward
the poles and up mountain
slopes, where temperatures
are cooler, as well as toward
the equator, where rainfall is
greater.
Moreover, an estimated
one-tenth to one-half of the
land mass on Earth will be
highly vulnerable to climate-
related vegetation shifts by
the end of this century, de-
pending upon how effective-
ly humans are able to curb
greenhouse gas emissions,
according to the study.
The results came from
a meta-analysis of hundreds
of feld studies and a spatial
analysis of observed 20th
century climate and project-
ed 21st century vegetation.
The meta-analysis iden-
tifed feld studies that ex-
amined long-term vegeta-
tion shifts in which climate,
rather than impacts from
local human activity such
as deforestation, was the
dominant infuence. The re-
searchers found 15 cases of
biome shifts since the 18th
century that are attributable
to changes in temperature
and precipitation.
This is the frst glob-
al view of observed biome
shifts due to climate change,
said the studys lead author
Patrick Gonzalez, a visiting
scholar at the Center for For-
estry at UC Berkeleys Col-
lege of Natural Resources.
Its not just a case of one
or two plant species moving
to another area. To change
the biome of an ecosystem,
a whole suite of plants must
change.

The researchers calculated
that from 1901 to 2002, mean
temperatures signifcantly
increased on 76 percent of
global land, with the great-
est warming in boreal, or
subarctic, regions. The most
substantial biome shifts oc-
curred where temperature
or precipitation changed by
one-half to two standard de-
viations from 20th century
mean values.
Some examples of biome
shifts that occurred include
woodlands giving way to
grasslands in the African
Sahel, and shrublands en-
croaching onto tundra in the
Arctic.
The dieback of
trees and shrubs in the Sahel
leaves less wood for houses
and cooking, while the con-
traction of Arctic tundra
reduces habitat for caribou
and other wildlife, said
Gonzalez, who has served
as a lead author on reports of
the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC).
Globally, vegetation shifts
are disrupting ecosystems,
reducing habitat for endan-
gered species, and altering
the forests that supply water
and other services to many
people.
To identify the areas most
vulnerable to future vegeta-
tion shifts, the researchers
combined statistical analy-
ses of observed climate data
from the 20th century with
models of vegetation change
in the 21st century.
Based upon nine differ-
ent combinations of IPCC
greenhouse gas emissions
scenarios and climate mod-
els, the researchers divided
the worlds land into fve
classes -- from very high to
very low -- of vulnerability
to biome shifts.

Scientists had not quanti-
fed this risk before, said
Gonzalez. We developed a
simple classifcation system
that natural resource man-
agement agencies can use to
identify regions in greatest
need of attention and plan-
ning. We have worked with
the U.S.D.A. Forest Service
and the U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service to explore the
application of our results
to adaptation of natural re-
source management.
Gonzalez said that be-
cause of limited resources,
it may be prudent to fo-
cus on protecting areas of
greater resilience to ecologi-
cal changes so that they can
serve as refuges for plants
and animals. It is also use-
ful to identify places of high-
er vulnerability, because
agencies will need to con-
sider adaptation measures
for vulnerable ecosystems,
he said. Some shifts in veg-
etation could increase fuel
for wildfres, for example, so
prescribed burning may be
necessary to reduce the risk
of catastrophic fres.
Approximately one bil-
lion people now live in areas
that are highly to very highly
vulnerable to future vegeta-
tion shifts, said Gonzalez.
Ecosystems provide impor-
tant services to people, so we
must reduce the emissions
that cause climate change,
then adapt to major changes
that might occur.
Climate change linked to major
vegetation shifts worldwide
ScienceDaily While an
out-of-control gusher deep
in the Gulf of Mexico fouls
beaches and chokes marsh-
land habitat, another threat
could be growing below the
oil-slicked surface.
The nations worst oil spill
could worsen and expand the
oxygen-starved region of the
Gulf labeled the dead zone
for its inhospitability to ma-
rine life, suggests Michigan
State University professor
Nathaniel Ostrom. It could
already be feeding microbes
that thrive around natural
undersea oil seeps, he says,
tiny critters that break down
the oil but also consume pre-
cious oxygen.
At the moment, we are
seeing some indication that
the oil spill is enhancing hy-
poxia, or oxygen depletion,
Ostrom said. Its a good hint
that were on the right track,
and its just another insult to
the ecosystem -- people have
been worried about the size
of the hypoxic zone for many
years.
The dead zone is believed
to stem from urban runoff
and nitrogen-based fertiliz-
ers from farmland swept into
the Gulf by the Mississippi
River. Higher springtime
fows carry a heavier surge
each year, nourishing algae
blooms that soon die and
sink. Those decay and are
eaten by bacteria that con-
sume more oxygen, driving
out marine life and killing
that which cant move, such
as coral. The dead zone can
grow to the size of a small
state.
With the spill overlapping
a section of the dead zone,
the impact on that region is
unknown. As it happened,
Ostrom earlier had tapped
zoology major Ben Kamphu-
is to be on the Gulf in late
May for a research cruise
focused on nitrogen cycling.
When the British Petroleum
Deepwater Horizon off-
shore drilling rig blew out
and sank April 20, Ostrom
and collaborator Zhanfei Liu
from the University of Texas
at Austin quickly landed fed-
eral support to expand their
inquiry.
Kamphuis, a junior from
Holland, Michigan, learned
far more than water sam-
pling techniques during his
week aboard the research
vessel Pelican.
Down there, (the oil
spill) really affects a ton of
people. I really didnt realize
it before going, but after go-
ing on the trip I realized how
much we can help the people
in that area.
With dozens of water
samples now returned to the
lab, Ostrom, Kamphuis and
food science sophomore Sam
DeCamp, another under-
graduate research associate,
are setting up equipment to
analyze them in the coming
months. They want to know
whether the oil in the water
will promote oxygen starva-
tion, and if so, how.
Oil-hungry microbes
can be expected to consume
more oxygen from the water
as they feast on hydrocar-
bons, Ostrom says. But the
oil slick and chemical dis-
persants also could reduce
the fow of oxygen from the
atmosphere to the ocean, and
possibly reduce the sunlight
available to nourish oxygen-
producing marine plant life.
Michigan State research-
ers were in the right place at
the right time to contribute
to our understanding of the
effects of such a massive oil
spill, he says, pointing to the
oil-eating microbes as likely
the biggest, if unrecognized,
players in the drama.
Were fortunate to have
them, he said. Theyre do-
ing the cleanup -- not BP.
Gulf oil spill could widen,
worsen Dead Zone
ScienceDaily Geo-
logical investigations
in the Himalayas have
revealed evidence that
when India and Asia
collided some 90 mil-
lion years ago, the con-
tinental crust of the In-
dian tectonic plate was
forced down under the
Asian plate, sinking
down into the Earths
mantle to a depth of at
least 200 km kilome-
tres.
The subduction of
continental crust to this
depth has never been
reported in the Hima-
layas and is also ex-
tremely rare in the rest
of world, said Dr Anju
Pandey of the National
Oceanography Centre
in Southampton, who
led the research.
Pandey and her col-
Deep subduction of
the Indian continental
crust beneath Asia
leagues used sophisti-
cated analytical tech-
niques to demonstrate
the occurrence of rel-
ict majorite, a variety
of mineral garnet, in
rocks collected from
the Himalayas.
Majorite is stable only
under ultra-high pres-
sure conditions, mean-
ing that they must have
been formed very deep
down in the Earths
crust, before the sub-
ducted material was
exhumed millions of
years later.
Our fndings are
signifcant because
researchers have dis-
agreed about the depth
of subduction of the
Indian plate beneath
Asia, said Pandey.
In fact, the previous
depth estimates con-
ficted with estimates
based on computer
models. The new re-
sults suggest that the
leading edge of the
Indian plate sank to a
depth around double
that of previous esti-
mates.
Our results are
backed up by comput-
er modelling and will
radically improve our
understanding of the
subduction of the In-
dian continental crust
beneath the Himala-
yas, said Pandey.
The new discovery
is also set to modify
several fundamental
parameters of Himala-
yan tectonics, such as
the rate of Himalayan
uplift, angle, and sub-
duction of the Indian
plate.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 8
EDITORIAL
Letters to the Editor, Letters to the Editor
Q
uotes: ** Between the optimist and the pessimist,
the difference is droll. The optimist sees the dough-
nut; the pessimist the hole! -- Oscar Wilde.
** Everything is material for the seed of happiness, if you
look into it with inquisitiveness and curiosity. The future is
completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.
There always is the potential to create an environment of
blame -- or one that is conducive to loving-kindness.
-- Pema Chodron.
** No road is too long for him who advances slowly and
does not hurry, and no attainment is beyond his reach who
equips himself with patience to achieve it.
-- Jean de La Bruyere.
** Its only when we truly know and understand that we
have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of
knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each
day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.
-- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.
** We all have a social mask, right? We put it on, we go
out, put our best foot forward, our best image. But behind
that social mask is a personal truth, what we really, really
believe about who we are and what were capable of.
-- Phil McGraw.
** Every human has four endowments- self awareness, con-
science, independent will and creative imagination. These
give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose,
to respond, to change. -- Stephen Covey.
** You cant let praise or criticism get to you. Its a weakness
to get caught up in either one. -- John Wooden.
Month of
Martyrs
T
HE month of June can very well be described as
the Month of Martyrs. It was during the month
of June in 1948 and 1980 that some of our pa-
triots were martyred by the colonial forces and by the
PNC dictatorship in Guyana.
The June 1948 killing of fve sugar workers was
indeed a turning point in the history of Guyana. That
struggle took place at a time when the peoples of the
then colonies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America were
on the move. The martyrdom of the workers at Enmore
put Guyana frmly among those in the national libera-
tion movement which was taking place in the world.
At home, the strike began as an economic struggle
defending workers living conditions. However, it rap-
idly developed into a struggle for industrial democracy
(workers to have the right to be represented by a union
of their choice); and for independence, there was even
more emphasis after the killings.
June 16, 1948 is rightly regarded as the time when
the fght for independence began in earnest.
The 1948 strike accelerated the founding of the
Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), which set as its frst
goal the gaining of independence for our country.
Guyanas independence came in 1966.
Immediately after, we were forced to struggle
against neo-colonialism. The British and U.S. inter-
vened to ensure that our country had a government that
they wished and not what our people wanted.
That intervention logically led to the develop-
ment of a dictatorship in Guyana. It did not happen im-
mediately, but was gradual. By 1973, it was clear that
that process was completed. The massive rigging of
the elections of that year was not enough to ensure the
victory of the PNC; it had to resort to brute force and
murder (Jagan Ramessar and Bhola Nauth Parmanand
were killed defending the ballot boxes at No. 64 Village,
Corentyne). The dictatorship was exposed.
It was in this atmosphere that Walter Rodney re-
turned home from Tanzania where he was teaching.
This young and brilliant Guyanese professor and
revolutionary was welcomed home by the masses, but
he was persona non grata to the PNC dictatorship.
Indeed, just before he returned, a joint meeting
was held at the corner of Middle and Cummings streets
to demand that he be given the job at the University of
Guyana, which he had applied for and which the aca-
demic board approved, but that decision was reversed
by the Board of Governors, which was dominated by
PNC leaders and supporters.
Rodney, on his return, immediately threw him-
self into the struggle. He spoke at numerous meetings
throughout the country. Not long after, he, along with
others, founded the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA).
He had hoped that that party would play a major role in
defeating the dictatorship.
Together with the PPP, many joint activities were
organized. Indeed, the day before he was arrested, he
had addressed a large crowd at the Bourda Mall orga-
nized by the PPP to observe another anniversary of the
massively rigged elections of 1973.
Rodney mercilessly exposed the dictatorship and
even ridiculed the dictator. He played a prominent role
in all the struggles that took place in Guyana after his
return.
The PNC dictatorship could not play the racial card
with him. Being an African-Guyanese who had creden-
tials in the international liberation movement made it
impossible for the PNC to brand him racist, ect, as they
were continuing the practice of their colonial sponsors.
On June 13, 1980, Walter Rodney was assassinated
in Guyana. However, it marked the beginning of the end
of the PNC dictatorship.
It took 12 years of intense struggles to fnally re-
move the PNC from government.
Rodney played a major role in this.
The thread that links the Enmore Martyrs and
Walter Rodney is a common one in different circum-
stances.
Today, our society has advanced greatly since those
periods. There is a clear indication that we are succeed-
ing in breaking down the artifcial barriers of race.
The PPP/Civic Government has radically changed
our society. Our economy is one of the soundest in the
region; our social policies have resulted in improving
the lives of the vast majority of our peoples.
True, we face a lot of challenges, but we are in-
spired by the work of our freedom fghters, among them
the Enmore Martyrs and Walter Rodney. We will con-
tinue to advance our country so that the dreams of our
predecessors, the Enmore Martyrs and Walter Rodney
among them, would be fully realized.
In this month, we salute these martyrs!
It appears that Christopher
Ram, a man who considers
himself to be a critic of the
Government, NBS, other
business entities in Guyana
and whoever else catches his
fancy, cannot tolerate any
criticism of his own activi-
ties. In other words he can-
not take as good as he gives.
Christopher Ram has now
sued the Guyana Chronicle
and the Guyana Times and
their editors for allegations
that he claims are untrue and
libelous. He is claiming dam-
ages in excess of 100 million
Guyana Dollars.
Using the libel laws to
retaliate against journalists
is very disturbing and totally
inappropriate. Such actions
can be seen as a conscious ef-
fort to muzzle the press and
should be condemned by the
Guyana Press Association
as well as all self respect-
ing media workers including
Christopher Ram himself
who hosts the Plain talk tele-
vision show and writes for
the business Page a Stabroek
news column critical of most
businesses.
The lawsuit is clear evi-
dence of Rams growing dis-
comfort with the amount of
questions and scrutiny he is
undergoing about to his in-
volvement in the liquidation
of the Tower Hotel. It is pub-
lic knowledge that the own-
ers of another hotel chain is
suing Ram for a substantial
amount of money and maybe
he hopes to be able to offset
his losses against his gains
if he wins his libel suite. If
this is so it is simple extor-
tion and should be doubly
condemned.
In the fnal analysis the
way to solve problems in
our media community can-
not be by prosecuting the
journalists who work hard
to report stories as this will
only backfre and do more
damage to the profession,
the nation and the country.
Christopher Ram thinks that
he is showcasing his leader-
ship qualities but he is only
following a long list of oth-
ers who have tried and failed
to suppress the freedom of
the press worldwide.
Muneer Baksh.
Freedom of expression - Double Standards
Road fatalities
and licenses
The uncanny spate of fatalities due to ever speeding by ma-
terials must be cause for the authorities to be alarmed and
thus, it is expected that offcial review of the situation is be-
ing pursued.
There are several reasons that could be advanced, not
least of which is the mentality of the erring drivers, the total
lack of responsibility and maturity, which is evident in the
reports concerning the accidents and invariably result in fa-
talities.
In this regard, the time is long past considering the need
to be more restrictive in issuing licenses for holders to oper-
ate taxes and/or vehicles for public transportation.
The desired maturity and experience to qualify to be en-
trusted with the responsibility may be achieved, if the holder
has been driving for a minimum of ffteen years.
Offcial statistics should disclose the age group of
the drivers most i9nvolved in these accidents. I believe the
youthfulness will be revealed.
David DeGroot.
Japans new PM names cabinet
Japans new prime minister has named his cabinet, keeping
11 of 17 previous ministers from the ruling Democratic Party
of Japan (DPJ).
Naoto Kan also appointed Yoshihiko Noda as the new
fnance minister on Tuesday.
Noda, Kans former deputy, takes over the fnance min-
istry as pressure mounts to revive the worlds second-largest
economy and to slash Japans public debt, which is nearly
twice the countrys gross domestic product.
Prime Minister Kan has appointed the ministers mind-
ful of the need to form a government with professionalism,
very clean politics and ability to govern, said Yoshito Sen-
goku, the newly appointed chief cabinet secretary.
I regard this cabinet as young, fresh and enthusiastic
about their jobs.
The cabinet will be formally inaugurated at a palace cer-
emony with Emperor Akihito on Tuesday evening.
Several key fgures from the previous administration
of Yukio Hatoyama stayed in their posts, including foreign
minister Katsuya Okada, defence minister Toshimi Kitaza-
wa and transport minister Seiji Maehara.
But Kan added several new faces as he seeks to distance
his government from the previous one, which was bogged
down by broken campaign promises and fnancial
scandals.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 9
Readers wishing to ask ques-
tions, which will be kept in full
confdence, can write to: Mirror
Doctor, PO Box 101088, Geor-
getown or 8 Industrial Site,
Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
Doctors Note: The advice
given by the Mirror Doctor
is issued free of charge to all
readers and contributors to the
column. All letters are answered
with the exception of those with
illegible handwriting.
Mirror
Health Watch
Breast nipples
irritation
Question: A few weeks
now, I noticed redness or
crusting of my breast nipples
skin; symptoms of tingling,
itching, increased sensitivity,
burning, or pain in the nipple
when my child fnished nurs-
ing. There is also a watery
discharge from the nipple
and sometimes the nipples
appear fattened against the
breast. Can you explain if
these are symptoms or signs
of some sort of breast can-
cer? Im 25 years old.
Answer: The symptoms
you mentioned above are
frequently experienced by
mother who breast feed us-
ing the wrong technique. If
your baby is not correctly
positioned and comfortable
while breast fed, the baby
will not be able to suckle
properly and, in an attempt
to obtain adequate milk,
the baby will clamp the nip-
ples and they will become
sore and painful. Also, the
baby should not be allowed
to suckle too long on one
breast. You should alternate
the breast when feeding the
baby.
Your condition
does not seem to be caused
by cancer of the breast. Wa-
tery discharge after breast
feeding your baby might be
a sign of inadequate milk.
And, inadequate milk pro-
duction will cause the baby
to suckle harder and clamp
the breast that will lead to
cracking and soreness of the
nipples.
To learn correct
techniques of breast feeding,
you can go to the nearest
health centre where materni-
ty care is offered. Also, if you
are not producing enough
milk, you will be advised
on measures to be taken to
improve milk production.
With the adoption of cor-
rect feeding techniques, the
occasional inverted nipples
might be resolved.
Chronic diseases
Question: Ive been in an
unhealthy state for four
months, suffering from
chronic bronchitis, muscle
spasms, back pain in the
morning (normally), acid
refux, teeth grinding and
congestion of the stomach.
Ive seen numerous doctors,
all say the same thing. Doc-
tor, could it be something far
worse? Please help, Im sixty
years old.
Answer: Your problems are:
chronic bronchitis, muscu-
loskeletal pains and a bad
stomach with refux. If all
the doctors are telling you
the same thing, then most
likely the diagnoses are cor-
rect. The problem, however,
is whether you have made
the lifestyle changes and
adhered to the treatment.
These diseases are chronic
diseases which means that
there is no quick fx or cure.
You need to make lifestyle
changes for example.
Avoid spicy and oily
foods, eating on time, avoid
flling the stomach, sleep on
high pillows to avoid refux
, do not lie down soon after
meals, avoid alcohol and
tobacco and you also need
to adhere strictly to medica-
tions. Smoking and drinking
alcohol will also cause your
bronchitis to get worse.
My advice to you
is that you should take the
doctors advice seriously
and make the necessary life
style changes now. For your
muscle aches and pains use
paracetamol. Other painkill-
ers such as ibuprofen, aspi-
rin and others can worsen
your stomach problem.
N
atural bad breath
remedies mostly de-
pend on identifying
and treating the cause of the
bad breath. Of course you
can simply spray your mouth
with peppermint at regular
intervals through the day,
but this does not get rid of
the problem, it only covers
it up.
Bad breath or halitosis
has two main causes: a prob-
lem in the mouth, or a prob-
lem in the digestive system.
Gum infections,
trapped stale food, abscesses
and problems with the teeth
can all cause bad breath.
Do not be ashamed to dis-
cuss this with your dentist,
who may be able to help you
identify the cause and treat
the issue.
Brush your teeth and
gums frequently and thor-
oughly. Brush your tongue at
the same time. Some tooth-
brushes have a rough surface
for brushing the tongue or
you can buy a special imple-
ment for this purpose. Be
sure to foss your teeth too.
Increasing the propor-
tion of fruit and vegetables in
your diet and reducing con-
sumption of meat and dairy
products will help to make
your mouth an alkaline envi-
ronment where canker sores
and gum infections are less
likely to fourish.
Parsley can help to
Bad breath: causes and treatment
neutralize the mouth and get
rid of bad breath. You can
either chew parsley leaves or
make tea from fresh parsley,
allow it to cool and then use
it as a mouthwash every few
hours.
Bad breath is often
caused by problems in the
digestive system, especially
the stomach. If you have a
recognized digestive con-
dition such as acid refux,
stomach ulcer or other stom-
ach disease or disorder you
should discuss this with your
doctor. Your condition (or
the treatment for it) may be
contributing to your halito-
sis.
If you are not sick then
consider making a few chang-
es to your diet to help your
digestion improve. Again it
will be helpful to eat more
fruit and vegetables. Avoid-
ing certain combinations of
foods is also important.
Fruit is
very fast di-
gesting and
should be
eaten alone or
at the start of
a meal so that
it can pass
through the
system quick-
ly. Do not mix
it with fatty
foods such as
cream or pas-
try. If fruit is
eaten with or after proteins
and fats its process through
the stomach will be delayed.
It may begin to ferment or
rot in the stomach, causing
a bad smell. So eat plenty
of fruit as a frst course or a
snack but never at the end of
a meal.
Meat is diffcult to digest
and can provoke problems
if your digestive system is
weak or slow. It takes a long
time to pass through the sys-
tem and may begin to pu-
trefy. Reduce the quantities
of meat that you eat and wait
at least 4 hours after eating a
meat based meal before you
eat anything else.
Avocado is believed to
have amazing properties for
the digestion and is one of
the best bad breath remedies,
cleaning out and neutralizing
any poorly digested food.
(solveyourproblem.com)
Residents of Silver City, es-
pecially those who demon-
strated zeal and concern to
come together and carry out
long overdue drainage desilt-
ing in the Upper Demerara
Riverain community recent-
ly, must be congratulated.
This initiative may
well not have been taken
were it not for the freak type
foods that resulted in the
intervention of Agriculture
Minister Robert Persaud last
month.
As most residents
of the mining community
or township/s realise, small
hills (otherwise known as
hummocks) comprise of
gradients that vary (e.g 1: 3
or 1:3.5). But these slopes are
rarely regular dependent on
the environment. It is quite
normal to travel to McKen-
Sir,
The move to possibly trans-
form the management and
accountability of Water Us-
ers Associations (WUA) by
establishing an investigative
board is a positive step.
Because not only
have several of these WUAs
become affected by a form of
complacency, but also there
have been instances where
the advice and valuable ex-
perience of knowledgeable
members of areas directly
connected to kokers/sluices,
or the smaller sluice boxes
as well as reservoirs, have
been overlooked, often with
highly negative consequenc-
es.
In farming areas
(inclusive of residential dis-
tricts) within the East Ma-
haicony River and second
depth lands located south
of the EDWC, the WUAs
must be brought more into
the scheme of things. At this
level the practice of push-
ing small farmers around
must cease.
I recall a con-
versation with the MMA/
MARDS General Manager
Mr Rudolph Gajraj some
years ago when he system-
atically described the kinds
of regulations and rules that
are involved in water access
management for irrigation
and drainage purposes. He
also spoke of the abuses and
violations of governments
by-laws. Amongst these
was the practice of employ-
ing heavy tractors and other
equipment that ruin access
and protective dams that he
personally had to deal with.
The point that I am
making is that even with the
best of intentions the NDIA
will always require some on
the ground support or col-
laboration; indeed that is
one of the factors that infu-
enced the formation of the
WUA interest groups here in
Guyana. The fact that there
is now established a GAPA
function is cause for opti-
mism.
The investigations
board will have its terms of
reference and I am certain
that the chairman with his
background will not under-
estimate the need for WUA
awareness as well s bal-
anced media coverage per-
taining to what WUA expec-
tations refect in real terms.
Ensuring the proper
control factors such as peri-
odically testing of equip-
ment; drawing up an inven-
tory for sub regions as well
an evaluation of the under-
utilisation in some cases, of
allocated cash resources, I
am certain would be a prior-
ity on the IBs agenda.
Costas.
Letters to the Editor
WUA monitoring mechanism
should prove positive
Wismar Community Drainage Works
zie in bright sunshine and
warm weather, and visit Sil-
ver City, Wismar only to ex-
perience sharp rain showers
lasting less than 7 minutes;
often in or during the mid
afternoon.
The regular com-
munity know of this weather
pattern, so too for that mat-
ter does the Government Hy-
drometeorology authorities.
The proposal to
construct a road with
drains as part of the effort
to prevent the erosion that
is typical from continuously
cascading into the concrete
drains at Silver City, must be
considered realistically and
taking all the environmental
and ground as well as below
surface factors on board.
More than 40 tons
of sand fowing down when
it rains through the desilted
drains in the area is almost
equivalent to what would be
the quantity of sand placed
as part of rehabilitated road.
Community leader
Mr. Phillip Bynoe has had a
long experience with the Sil-
ver City landscape, and his
views should be respected.
At the same time would it not
be more feasible to have the
area designated or defned as
New Silver City and or-
ganise around that concept.
As an on-going process and
once the rains have abated a
long term solution should be
worked out even involving
persuading some residents
with shacks on the slope
to erect alternative and more
safe dwellings

Jack.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
Page 10
Guyana History Notebook
CONFIDENTIAL
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE SECRETARY
OF STATE FOR THE
COLONIES
FROM BRITISH GUI-
ANA (Sir. A. Savage)
Code D. 10th November,
1953.
R. 10th ,, ,,
23.00 hrs.
PRIORITY
PERSONAL AND CON-
FIDENTIAL
PERSONAL No. 196
My personal and confden-
tial telegram No.193.
Situation Report.
Position on sugar estates
still more or less un-
changed, though there has
been some improvement at
Enmore. Trespass notices
have been issued by man-
agement against six men at
Port Mourant. Fifteen acres
of cane were destroyed on
night of 9th November at an
estate on East Coast Dem-
Compiled
by Odeen Ishmael
This week we publish
two short Guyana History
Notebook to continue our
series of documentation
surrounding the suspen-
sion and the ousting of
the democratically elected
PPP government by the
British colonial rulers.
Mr. Turner Samuels M.P.
-- 5/11
(oral reply for 11 Nov:)
See minute on main fle.
J.W.V.
5/11
The Governor in his tele-
gram Personal and Conf-
dential No. 194 of 8th No-
vember has recommended
the following reply:
That some wit-
nesses gave evidence in
writing of illegal meet-
ings held by one ex Minis-
ter and four other persons
detained, on the under-
NOTE BY JAMES VERNON OF THE COLONIAL
OFFICE ON PROPOSED REPLY TO QUESTION
ASKED IN PARLIAMENT (9 November 1953)
standing that their identity
would not be revealed and
that S. of S. is therefore not
at liberty to say who they
are: that holding of these
meetings was however not
sole or primary ground
for detention or these fve
persons but, as stated by
S. of S. in the House of
Commons on 28th Octo-
ber, they were detained
because Governor was sat-
isfed their activities con-
stituted a threat to public
safety and order and that
their detention was neces-
sary to prevent their acting
in a manner prejudicial to
public safety and order.
He agreed to the
latter part of the reply be-
ing as proposed in Mr.
Rogers telegram.
The Secretary of
State in his announcement
on the 28th October linked
the diffculty of getting
witnesses to make state-
ments in the Courts with
the fve Detention Orders
made. The Secretary of
State might now be ac-
cused of trying to wriggle
out of a diffcult situation
if he now argues, as pro-
posed by the Governor,
that the main reason for
the Detention Orders was
not the diffculty of getting
witnesses to make public
statements, but the fact
that the general activities
of the persons concerned
constituted a threat to pub-
lic safety and order. The
Secretary of State made it
clear in his original State-
ment that it was their past
activities which was one
of the reasons for the De-
tention Orders. I suggest
therefore that the answer to
the Question must accept
that one of the reasons for
issuing the Detention Or-
ders was the diffculty of
obtaining statements from
witnesses.
I submit draft ac-
cordingly.
(Signed) James W. Ver-
non
9th November, 1953
TELEGRAM (No. 196) FROM GOVERNOR SAVAGE
TO COLONIAL SECRETARY (10 November 1953)
erara.
2. I held an Execu-
tive Council meeting on 6th
November to dispose of
essential business. Chase,
Jainaraine Singh and Lach-
hmansingh attended. Chase
adopted a sulky attitude but
they were not obstructive.
Singh was ingratiating.
3. One of the detainees,
Balli Latchmansingh, was
permitted to attend funeral
of his infant daughter on 7th
November under escort.

4. P.P.P. is continuing its
attempt to organise a resis-
tance campaign and a num-
ber of anti-British and anti-
Government leafets have
been printed and distrib-
uted. Every effort in being
made to combat this.
5. An interesting
document apparently writ-
ten by Sydney King as a
part of communist manifes-
to for British Guiana soon
after he became a Minister,
has been seized by police
from a printer and is now
being examined. King had
ordered 2,000 copies, but
the printer states that he had
not executed the order as he
considered the draft too
hot.
Copies sent to:
Commonweal t h
Relations Offce Mr. R.C.
Omerod.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 11
by LI LI
A series of heavy storms
since early May led to severe
fooding and landslides in
south and southwest China,
causing heavy casualties
and economic losses. Severe
convective weather such
as downpours, gusts, hail
and thunderstorms attacked
these areas over a week from
May 5.
The rainstorms left 86
people dead and 16 missing
by May 12. About 7.9 million
people have been affected by
the rainstorms and direct
economic losses totaled close
to 5.9 billion yuan ($868 mil-
lion), the Ministry of Civil
Affairs said. The rainstorms
also damaged 399,000 hect-
ares of crops, in addition to
137,000 houses. More than
275,000 people in Anhui, Fu-
jian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan,
Guangdong, Sichuan and
Guizhou provinces, Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region
and Chongqing Municipality
have been relocated.
Two months ago, many
of the affected areas were
gripped by once-in-a-centu-
ry drought, which was alle-
viated by rainfall toward the
end of March.
The Offce of the State
Flood Control and Drought
Relief Headquarters said on
May 10 that since the be-
On Flood Alert
China braces for a particularly dangerous food
season in the wake of disastrous rainstorms
ginning of this year, foods
caused by rainstorms, melt-
ing ice and snow had affect-
ed 10.39 million people in
13 provinces, municipalities
and autonomous regions and
673,600 hectares of farm-
land, killed 94 people and
caused direct economic loss-
es of 7.36 billion yuan ($1.08
billion), Xinhua News
Agency reported. The head-
quarters also said the main
causes of casualties during
the foods were mudslides,
landslides and collapsed
buildings.
As a result of seri-
ous urban water inunda-
tion in Guangzhou, capital
city of Guangdong, more
than 13,000 vehicles in the
province were submerged
by water, which caused 170
million yuan ($25 million) in
insurance losses, estimated
the China Insurance Regu-
latory Commission Guang-
dong Bureau.
Wang Shifu, a professor
of city planning at the South
China University of Technol-
ogy in Guangzhou, defended
the city government against
public criticism of ineffec-
tive drainage in the Global
Times.
The government
should improve the drainage
system, for sure. But I cannot
put all the blame on authori-
ties. I have never seen such
a big rainstorm in at least
20 years. So it takes time to
drain all the water, even with
a great drainage system, he
said.
In Jiangxi, one of the
worst-ravaged provinces,
273,800 people were af-
fected by long-lasting down-
pours starting from May 5,
which caused direct eco-
nomic losses of 485 million
yuan ($71.3 million), the lo-
cal government said on May
9. During 41 hours between
3 p.m. May 5 and 8 a.m.
May 7, more than 200 mm of
rainfall was recorded in four
counties in Jiangxi.
The National Disaster
Reduction Commission and
Ministry of Civil Affairs ac-
tivated emergency response
plans to cope with foods in
various provinces from May
5. In accordance with the
plan, the committee and the
ministry sent disaster relief
working teams to differ-
ent fooded areas in Hunan,
Chongqing and Guangdong
to guide relief work.
Sun Jun, a chief fore-
caster with the National
Meteorological Center of
the China Meteorological
Administration, told Xinhua
that south China hasnt of-
fcially entered its food sea-
son, which is between June
and August, with stronger
rainfall yet to come.
Xinhua quoted a fore-
cast report on Chinas food
season this year from the
China Meteorological Ad-
ministration, saying weather
conditions in the country,
such as temperature and pre-
cipitation, have been visibly
abnormal this year, and it is
possible that China will ex-
perience meteorological di-
sasters, secondary disasters
and extreme weather condi-
tions. The same forecast re-
port predicted the Yangtze
River Basin, Huaihe River
Basin and Yellow River Ba-
sin would have greater-than-
normal precipitation and
some areas could be struck
by torrential rains and foods
this year.
At a national confer-
ence on May 6, Chen Lei,
Minister of Water Resources
and Deputy Director of State
Flood Control and Drought
Relief Headquarters, said
above-average rainfall pre-
dicted for the food season
this year could severely
threaten Chinas 85,000 res-
ervoirs, particularly the di-
lapidated ones.
This year greater rain-
fall than normal is expected
in a greater number of places
such as the middle and lower
reaches of the Yangtze Riv-
er, Huaihe River Basin and
the southern parts of North
China, Chen said.
More tropical cyclones
were likely to hit China this
year and bring more rainfall
to regions north of the Yang-
tze River.
Governments at various
levels must consolidate res-
ervoirs before the food sea-
son and formulate practical
emergency response plans
for rundown reservoirs,
Chen said.
(Beijing Review,
May 20, 2010 edition)
SATURATED CITY: Nanchang, capital city of Jiangxi Province, becomes waterlogged
on May 8 after continuous rain for days (ZHOU KE)
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
Page 12
by Eddi Rodney
I
n most instances popu-
lation estimates would
consider three decades
as long term 30-35 years.
Walter Rodneys percep-
tion of the long term how-
ever, would have been a
fexible one given the fact
that his materialist con-
sciousness1) always medi-
ated upon his own life style
and identifcation with the
working class.2)
On the 30th An-
niversary of his murder by
agents of the Burnham
state, House of Israel neo-
fascists and the core of ul-
tra-reactionaries who were
part of the Peoples National
Congress dictatorship3) on
June 13, 1980, it is perhaps
more than an obligation to
make specifc observations.
But there must be serious
efforts, genuine attempts to
dismantle some of the myths
and falsifcations that were
created as part of what was
at a number of levels, an in-
ternational conspiracy led
by the Kabaka Burnham
to silence Walter Rodney
and eventually orchestrate
his murder.4)
First of all let us
look at aspects of Walter
Rodneys Marxist convic-
tions and grasp of political
processes. These evolved
much as CLR James5) and
others have noted (Waller-
stein, Immanuel, Rodney
as the Spokesperson for His-
torical Forces, 1981?).
However it is also
highly likely that his visits
to revolutionary Cuba whilst
still a student of History at
the University of the West
Indies in Jamaica, instilled
in the young Guyanese a
Walter Rodney the Visionary
Marxist vs. Messianism
profound understanding of
that historical process char-
acterised by an armed insur-
gency and guerrilla war of
liberation in close collabora-
tion with support/solidarity
actions sponsored by a mass
Communist Party.
The role of the
Communist Party of Blas
Roca in the revolutionary
process in Cuba is a com-
plicated one. Harry Magdoff
and Paul Sweezy have analy-
sed the pivotal role that the
CPC played when it was nec-
essary to mobilise its work-
ing class support base as a
strategic solidarity with the
Granmaists. But there were
other features that Rodney
was impressed by. These
were the structural reforms
in education, in literacy
campaigns launched to teach
masses of people to read; in
housing the construction of
several thousands of apart-
ments and blocks of fats for
ordinary families, and last
by no means least, in the
eradication of institutiona-
lised racial and even gender
discrimination as a primary
task of the Revolution.
Walter Rodney
would have also at least
gained a deeper insight or
perception into the revolu-
tionary Cuban attitude to-
wards tercercism, or the
practice of petit bourgeois
vacillation, opportunism and
the so-called middle way.
A trend that has historically
linked to many Third World
leaders.6)
Leftist Adventurism a
reaction to powerless-ness
Upon his return to Jamaica
after his frst sojourn in
Cuba Walter Rodney be-
came a prime target of the
United States controlled Ja-
maican Intelligence Service
(as described by Agee, Phil-
lip, 1981 and 1983 in a series
of articles).
Secondly, I can
safely assert that there was
from this early student stage
of Rodneys activism, an
overt pattern of petit bour-
geois harassment aimed at
undermining and discredit-
ing the brilliant Guyanese
academic.
Dr. Cheddi Jagan
for his part was also targeted
by the anticommunist anti
Castrist witch-hunting -
harassment, searches and
denial of entry or transit fa-
cilities in Caribbean coun-
tries controlled by Anglo-
United States imperialism.7)
Dr. Jagan as it is well known
was also detained and im-
prisoned.
In his book Guyana:
A Nation in Transit: Burn-
hams Role, Ashton Chase,
a founder member of the
Political Affairs Committee
as well as the Peoples Pro-
gressive Party, narrates how
the American and the British
governments acted in cohe-
sion to brand Cheddi Jagan
frst as a Communist infu-
enced extremist, and there-
after as a protg of Mos-
cow, as the plot to overthrow
the 1952 PPP administration
thickened.
Chase however is
careful to mention one con-
tributant factor that may
have gave an additional pre-
text for the Imperialist inter-
vention. He cites the leftist
adventurism in the PPP
that played into the hands of
the colonial authorities and
Governor Alfred Savage as
Cheddi Jagan often said.).
Chase states that these con-
sequences of the extreme left
posture often demonstrated
by infantile acts were there
for all to see (p11. This
particular action was the
marching through the streets
of Georgetown holding aloft
the poster image of Josef
Stalin.8)
Rodney would have
been a keen and ambitious
political lightweight at that
point in time and like many
of the school aged popula-
tion of the 1950s would have
been impressed both by Dr.
Jagan and LFS Burnham. It
would be interesting for re-
search to be done as to what
were his thoughts of this in-
cident when he became more
involved in the political pro-
cess.
The Legendary Hero and
the Cuban Revolution
Even at the height of revolu-
tionary fervour and the con-
verging of several hundreds
of thousands at Jose Marti
Square of the Revolution in
Havana, Rodney recognised
that the principal, decisive
factor was the (as he was to
state on several occasions)
seriousness of the revolu-
tionary leadership, those
who had chosen to make the
sacrifce in actually launch-
ing the guerrilla War of Lib-
eration against the pro-impe-
rialist Batista dictatorship.
But what must have
been of cardinal importance
for Rodney was the fact that
small Cuba would dare to
challenge powerful America,
would defeat an invasionary
force to remain independent.
As a historian however, Rod-
ney quickly made a compre-
hensive analysis. And that
(See page 15)
Secondly, I can safely assert that there was from this early
student stage of Rodneys activism, an overt pattern of petit
bourgeois harassment aimed at undermining and discredit-
ing the brilliant Guyanese academic.
Dr. Cheddi Jagan for his part was also targeted by the
anticommunist anti Castrist witch-hunting - harassment,
searches and denial of entry or transit facilities in Carib-
bean countries controlled by Anglo-United States imperial-
ism.7) Dr. Jagan as it is well known was also detained and
imprisoned.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 13
by Mohamed Sattaur
O
N JUNE 4, 2010,
the Stabroek News
(SN) published a
March 2010 poll conducted
by Barbados-based Carib-
bean Development Research
Services Inc (CADRES)
which placed the governing
PPP/C as the party com-
manding the largest single
bloc of voters in Guyana.
The SN article went on
to quote a CADRES press
release which stated, In the
fnal analysis, however, the
PPP/Civic is still leading,
the PNCR is still the second
most popular party; however
the AFC would have been in
a position to hold the balance
of power if an election were
called in March this year.
According to CAD-
RES, approximately 1,000
Guyanese voters were ran-
domly selected and inter-
viewed. In each instance the
sample was proportionate to
the percentage of the popula-
tion that actually lives in the
respective administrative re-
gion. The margin of error as-
sociated with such a survey
is +/- 5% and as a result the
results could be said to be
a reasonable indicator of
public opinion in Guyana at
the time it was conducted. In
defning their methodology
for conducting polls else-
where CADRES state that
they try to obtain samples of
at least 1000 participants and
interviews are done face to
face. It is strange that the
1000 participants, the team
of interviewers, the Univer-
sity and/or other NGOs, that
must have assisted, carried
out this mammoth exercise
in Guyana without even
them boys noticing and/or
saying anything about it.
Guyana is not a
country where opinion polls
are conducted and published
with any degree of regular-
ity. Guyanese are apt to de-
clare support for political
leaders who present them-
selves in their domain as in
the case of CN Sharma who
was more than once polled
as the most popular political
leader in Guyana. Any poll
that says otherwise must be
discredited as the Guyanese
population gets its regular
dose of Sharmanese on
CNS Channel 6 thus ensur-
ing sustained popularity.
Such declarations of popu-
larity, however, have never
translated into votes on elec-
tions day.
It is not usual for a po-
litical poll to be made public
so far outside of the `politi-
cal season and it is glaringly
obvious that the results of
this poll were not published
by any other media house
in Guyana despite the claim
that the information was ob-
tained via a CADRES press
release. What is remarkable
is that no other media house
in Guyana appears to have
received the press release.
This led to the obvious con-
clusion that there was some
kind of collusion going on
with the persons who com-
missioned the poll and the
Stabroek News.
Dr. Randy Persaud,
in a series of letters to the
SN, sought to query the cir-
cumstances surrounding the
publication of this poll but
was met with a series of eva-
sive answers by the newspa-
per until June 08, 2010 when
the SN published an article
claiming that Floyd Haynes
of the Washington-based
Newton Group had com-
missioned the recent CAD-
RES poll and that Haynes
is married to former AFC
MP Chantelle Smith who,
incidentally, was also a for-
mer employee of the Sta-
broek News. This new rev-
elation brings into question
the CADRES Director of
Research Peter Wickhams
claim that none of the po-
litical parties or the political
party leaders had anything
to do with the poll
CADRES, under the
direction of political scientist
Peter Wickham, conduct so-
cial and political surveys and
related research in the Carib-
bean. It also offers Political
Campaign Management Ser-
vices. Among its major proj-
ects/consultancies are public
opinion polls in Antigua,
Barbados, Bermuda, British
Virgin Islands (Tortola), St.
Kitts, St. Vincent, St. Lucia,
Trinidad and Tobago, Turks
and Caicos Islands and Guy-
ana, since 1993. Its polls
have been commissioned by
newspapers, political parties
and governments.
No mention is made
of Grenada where CAD-
RES got its poll wrong. It
predicted a victory for Dr.
Mitchells party which was
defeated 11-4 by the main
opposition, National Demo-
cratic Congress (NDC) in
general elections.
In Dominica the DLP is-
sued a Press Release in De-
cember 2009 about a recent
CADRES poll which states:
We are of the view that this
is not scientifc and is an out-
rageous attempt to infuence
the thinking and choice of
Dominica voters and should
be rejected out of hand. This
constitutes another blatant
effort to manipulate the elec-
torate and to tarnish our de-
mocracy and the process of
free and fair elections. We
wish to advise our people to
exercise extreme vigilance
and not fall for another de-
vise that is now added unto
the multiple corruptions,
chartering of fights and the
Prime Ministers thinking
that he is above the law and
beyond any semblance of de-
cency.
In Barbados, Wick-
hams articles were banned
by the Barbados Nation. For-
mer Barbados Prime Minis-
ter, Owen Arthur, describes
Peter Wickams poll in Bar-
bados as part of a deliberate
attempt to manipulate public
opinion. According to bajan.
wordpress.com, CADRES
polls in Barbados were bi-
ased as Peter Wickham was/
is a member of the DLP is
on very friendly terms with
the PM and is known to be a
strong supporter of the gov-
ernment. So please could we
not put aside the bogus out-
comes of any CADRES poll
right now. Peter Wickham is
just what he is, part of the
Hartley Henry gang, talking
up the DLP in the face of a
mountain of domestic prob-
lems.
Finally, although
CADRES usually make
claims about the accuracy of
their polls, polls in Antigua,
Grenada and St Lucia pre-
dicted victories for the ruling
parties. In these elections the
ruling party lost at the polls
contrary to the predictions of
victory made by CADRES.
Now, the signif-
cance of these alliances be-
comes apparent and Dr. Ran-
dy Persauds point of bias
and unprofessional conduct
becomes an issue. Examples
such as these prompted me-
dia monitors to establish a
new category of concern
called Media Effects.
Media Effects is
a special category used for
those occasions which are
not possible to monitor nei-
ther quantitatively or quali-
tatively, as they simply do
not fall into any of the es-
tablished categories. In other
words, these are all stories or
items presented with a spe-
cifc intent to manipulate or
affect the public. The reason
for creating this category was
the obvious absence of basic
journalistic principles and
standards. Each story which
does not meet the basic re-
quirements for a non-biased
story falls into the category
of Media Effects.
The main criteria
for such an evaluation are
set as those stories missing:
relevance, exactness, trans-
parency, matter-of-fact, bal-
ance, variety, timeliness and
clarity.
No one can doubt
that scientifc polls provide
the best source of informa-
tion about public opinion.
They are valuable tools for
journalists and can serve as
the basis for accurate, infor-
mative news stories. How-
ever, the journalist looking
at a set of poll numbers is
obligated to ask some ques-
tions of the pollster before
reporting any results.
One of the most
important things to know is
who paid for the survey be-
cause that tells you and your
readers who thought these
topics are important enough
to spend money fnding out
what people think. In the
case of CADRES the fees
released for a previous poll
was more than USD 20,000
and USD 8,000 was paid in
advance. The important is-
sue for a journalist is whether
the motive for doing the poll
creates such serious doubts
about the validity of the re-
sults that the numbers should
not be publicized. Private
polls conducted for a politi-
cal campaign are often un-
suited for publication. These
polls are conducted solely to
help the candidate win and
for no other reason.
In a press statement,
the PPP said that it wished to
draw attention to the resem-
blance between this poll, and
what it called the fraudu-
lent one made public by the
AFC in 2006 which was con-
ducted by Dick Morris. The
statement went on to say that
at a press conference Morris
had claimed that the AFC
had overtaken the PNCR-1G
in terms of voter support, al-
though he and the AFC were
`dead wrong since the PPP
won 54.5% of the votes. The
PPP said that the Morris poll
had also predicted that the
AFC would hold the balance
of power in Parliament, a pre-
diction which was wrong.
A check of its web-
site reveals that CADRES
provides Political Manage-
ment services and that Polit-
ical campaign management
services were conducted in
Guyana in 2006 and includ-
ed such services as strategy
formulation; constituency
reports; political advertise-
ments and materials.
It is known in the
industry that some political
campaigns and special-inter-
est groups have used a tech-
Polls, Pollsters, Publishers and the PPP
A huge crowd of Guyanese converge during one of the PPPs
many rallies in the run up to the 2006 elections
Dr. Randy Persaud, in a series of letters to the SN, sought
to query the circumstances surrounding the publication of
this poll but was met with a series of evasive answers by the
newspaper until June 08, 2010 when the SN published an
article claiming that Floyd Haynes of the Washington-based
Newton Group had commissioned the recent CADRES poll
and that Haynes is married to former AFC MP Chantelle
Smith who, incidentally, was also a former employee of the
Stabroek News. This new revelation brings into question the
CADRES Director of Research Peter Wickhams claim that
none of the political parties or the political party leaders
had anything to do with the poll
(See page 16)
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
Page 14
nique called push polls
to spread rumors and even
outright lies about oppo-
nents. These efforts are not
polls, but political manipu-
lation trying to hide behind
the smokescreen of a public
opinion survey. Push polls
are unethical with the only
objective of disseminating
false or misleading informa-
tion. Such polls have been
condemned by professional
polling organizations.
In the face of all the
evidence at our disposal, it is
natural to conclude that there
was some amount of bias in
the conduct of this poll, es-
pecially since CADRES
was involved in Guyana as a
Campaign Manager in 2006.
From the results of the polls
we can draw our own conclu-
sions as to the party which
benefted from the political
Campaign Management ser-
vices offered by CADRES
and wonder whether they are
still on retainer.
We must commend
those responsible publishers
who received this informa-
tion and refused to publish
same and by the same token
condemn those irresponsible
publishers who choose not to
make the elementary checks
required of their position in
service to the nation.
In other countries pri-
vately owned National
newspapers endorse political
parties before a general elec-
tion. If the Stabroek News
wishes to endorse a politi-
cal party it should follow the
Mirror and have the cour-
age to come out and say so
in no uncertain terms rather
than rely on subterfuge and
collusion in the publication
of push polls. Any newspa-
per which wishes to endorse
a political party should do so
as soon as possible so that
readers are provided with a
context with which to ana-
lyze what is being published.
In the fnal analysis, true
objectivity is only possible
when bias is declared. The
experienced and more level
headed staffers at Stabroek
News must understand that
it is not ethical to manipulate
and deceive under the cloak
of declared objectivity.
(Sources: bajan.wordpress.
com, cdsonline, globeinter.
org and Wikipedia)
Polls, Pollsters, Publishers...
(From page 13)
by Norman
Whittaker, M.P.

S
OME labour union
leaders and mem-
bers of the opposi-
tion PNCR and AFC want
Guyanese to believe that the
performance of the results-
oriented Minister of Labour,
Manzoor Nadir, should be
appraised on the basis of
their assessment of the man-
ner in which he has been han-
dling the industrial dispute
between the Guyana Bauxite
and General Workers Union
and the RUSAL subsidiary,
the Bauxite Company of
Guyana Inc.
In fact, the PNCRs no
confdence motion tabled
and debated in the National
Assembly during its 124th
sitting on June 3, 2010, sug-
gests not only that the min-
ister has not been delivering,
but premises this misguided
distortion on their fawed
deductions based on a single
issue -- the trade dispute be-
tween the Guyana Bauxite
& General Workers Union
(GBGWU) and the Bauxite
Company of Guyana Inc.
(BCGI).
How can one draw a logi-
cal conclusion or determina-
tion based on partial assess-
ment of one event with such
a narrow spread?
The minister must be
congratulated on taking a ra-
tional approach and position
on the issue as opposed to a
mere vocal one. For in fact,
while the union and its po-
litical supporters have been
involved in verbal bashing
and confrontation aimed no
doubt at fuelling any fame
of industrial dissension they
surmised may yet be in the
air, the minister has been
doing what is expected of
responsible, experienced
leaders - encouraging dia-
logue and collaboration at
the bilateral level between
the two parties to the dispute
and to the Collective Labour
Agreement with the ultimate
objective, the expectation
and the confdence that this
approach would bring clo-
sure to the issues that gave
rise to the dispute in the frst
place.
Consensus often can-
not be reached in one effort
and ought to include efforts
at rationalization. Further-
more, intervention must not
be premature but must be
seen as necessary, timely,
discretionary and used only
as a last resort. Section 4 of
Chapter 98:07 of the Trade
Union Recognition Act per-
mits the ministers interven-
tion if he thinks ft.
We too of the PPP/C Gov-
ernment want an early reso-
lution of this matter and the
Minister of Labour has been
ventilating this position.
In pursuing his respon-
sibilities in the dispute and
the dispute resolution pro-
cess, the minister has been
mindful of the rights of the
workers and has been up-
holding these rights, and fur-
thermore, has made it clear
that the way forward rests
in resolving the contradic-
tory issues - one of which is
the matter of the more than
120 workers in the bargain-
ing unit who have written to
the Trade Union Recogni-
tion and Certifcation Board
on the derecognition of the
GB&GWU.This matter is
outside of the purview of the
minister and the government.
Perhaps, this is the no conf-
dence motion that the oppo-
sition should be debating for
it is obvious that many of the
workers have lost confdence
in the GB&GWU and its un-
inspired leadership.
It cannot be overempha-
sized that the right to asso-
ciate with the union of the
workers choice necessar-
ily implies a corresponding
right to disassociate from
that union when it is no lon-
ger the one of frst choice.
Workers have a constitution-
al right of association and
disassociation. The union
has not even written or ap-
proached the Ministry of La-
bour on the issue. This cer-
tainly is not representation.
But the union created this
situation - agreeing to a pro-
posal that it determined too
late did not serve its inter-
est and thereafter seeking to
shift the blame, so to speak.
But we of the PPP and
the PPP/C are proud of our
longstanding support of the
working class people and
our continuous and intensi-
fed efforts to pass legisla-
tion to, inter alia, recognise
workers rights, including the
right to be represented by the
union of their choice. We are
not about to change that po-
sition.
The Minister of Labours
portfolio and his perfor-
mance in that portfolio must
not be viewed and assessed
on the basis of the Opposi-
tions determination of the
ministers handling of an
industrial dispute only. In-
deed, the minister has, under
his watch and in recognition
of the fact that the labour
portfolio must expand to ad-
dress workers interests and
respond to the global chal-
lenges of today, broadened
and redefned the labour
portfolio so that labour is no
longer concerned solely with
salary and wage increases
which are really short term
benefts in nominal terms.
Neither is it focused only on
industrial disputes but also
on matters that extend to the
totality of the workers live-
lihood and that of their fami-
lies and other Guyanese.
And so, the performance
of the Ministry of Labour
and the Minister of Labour
must be measured also, on
the basis of
a) the occupational health
and safety awareness pro-
grammes and seminars
targeting workers, and the
work place inspections to
ensure that legally required
safety measures in the
factories are in place, and
equipment and machinery
are timely and properly ser-
viced in order to reduce the
probability of accidents and
possible injuries and fatali-
ties.

These site visits/inspections
have increased signifcantly
from
1,031 or an average of 515
per annum from 2005 to
2006 to 9,336 or
an average of 3,112 per an-
num for the years 2007 to
2009.
These inspections have
also included several com-
munities that
Industrial Inspectors had
never visited before.

b) from 2000 to 2009 3,704
persons have graduated
from the Board of Indus-
trial Training. From
2007 to 2009, 2,531 or
68% of the 3,704 persons
were trained
during Minister Nadirs
watch. It must be noted also
that the Board
of Industrial Training has
moved from being an $11M
subvention agency in 2006
to a $140M agency providing
training for youths and
women in particular.
c) The placement of per-
sons registered for employ-
ment has also
seen a record setting im-
provement in performance.
Av. registration per annum
Av. Placement per annum
2000-6 1,600
1,131
2007-9 2,469
1,709

c) The Ministry of Labour
has also been able, under
Minister Nadirs
watch, to attract over
$1MUS for its HIV/AIDS
Workplace
Programmes that targeted
workplaces and workers all
over
Guyana. In fact, the min-
ister, in whom the Opposi-
tion expresses a lack of con-
fdence, has been the lead
player in the formulation and
adoption of a National HIV
and AIDS workplace policy.
The minister and his min-
istrys efforts to deal with
HIV/AIDS education and
awareness in the workplace
and the successes in reaching
out to thousands of Guya-
nese, including marginalized
groups across Guyana, have
resulted in Guyana being se-
lected by the ILO as one of
the outstanding countries to
be in Austria (ILO pays all
expenses) for an HIV /AIDS
International Conference to
be held from July 18-23 in
Vienna.
Minister Nadirs contri-
butions at the OAS (Organi-
sation of American States)
Ministers of Labour confer-
ences from 2007 to 2009
have also been recognized
by his Caribbean peers and
the OAS. The minister was
elected Vice Chairman of
one of the working groups
along with Mexico in 2007
Good industrial relations not
sole responsibility of minister
The Minister of Labours portfolio and his performance in
that portfolio must not be viewed and assessed on the basis
of the Oppositions determination of the ministers handling
of an industrial dispute only. Indeed, the minister has, under
his watch and in recognition of the fact that the labour port-
folio must expand to address workers interests and respond
to the global challenges of today, broadened and redefned
the labour portfolio so that labour is no longer concerned
solely with salary and wage increases which are really short
term benefts in nominal terms. Neither is it focused only
on industrial disputes but also on matters that extend to the
totality of the workers livelihood and that of their families
and other Guyanese.
(Turn to page 16)
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
Page 15
by Hydar Ally

C
OALITION politics
is now something of
a buzz word among
opposition politicians, espe-
cially in light of the recent
developments in elections in
Britain and more recently
in Trinidad and Tobago and
Suriname where opposition
parties managed to unseat
governing parties.
In the case of Britain,
the Labour Party headed
by Gordon Brown suffered
a defeat at the hands of the
Conservative Party which
won the plurality but had to
enter into a coalition deal
with the Liberal Party in or-
der to form the government.
In Trinidad and Toba-
go, the Kamla Persad-Bis-
sessar-led alliance won an
overwhelming majority of
the parliamentary seats in a
pre-alliance coalition which
saw two former factions of
the United National Con-
gress (UNC) joining forces
along with some smaller
political/trade union group-
ings to unseat the Peoples
National Movement (PNM)
led by former Prime Minis-
ter Patrick Manning. As to
exactly why Manning took
the unexpected step to, as
it were, gamble his govern-
ment some two years ahead
of the constitutionally due
election date is anybodys
guess. What is now clear is
that his `game plan did not
work and he was left with the
rather embarrassing position
of not only losing his job as
Prime Minister prematurely,
but suffering the indignity
of being unceremoniously
kicked out of the leadership
of his party, the PNM.
One suspects that he
misread the mood of the
electorate into believing
that the perceived opposi-
tion fragmentation between
the Panday-led UNC and the
Deokarran-led Congress of
the Party (COP) would have
provided his party with an
advantage at the polls. What
he did not bargain for was
the mercurial bonding of the
two opposition factions led
by Kamla Persad-Bissessar
and the rapid political de-
mise of the founder member
and leader of the erstwhile
UNC whose political de-
cline, though not unpredict-
able, was much faster than
anticipated.
Suriname was not with-
out its own political drama
as the Bouterse-led coalition,
Mega Combination, man-
aged to poll the largest bloc
of votes winning 23 of the 51
seats in the National Assem-
bly. What made the victory
all the more interesting was
the fact that Bouterse was al-
legedly linked to a number of
criminal offences including
murder and drug traffcking
and is in fact wanted in Hol-
land for drug-related crimes
he allegedly committed. As
to whether he would succeed
in getting the presidency in
which he seems quite inter-
ested remains to be seen.
In our case, the oppo-
sition PNCR led by Robert
Corbin has repeatedly said
that it favoured a politics of
shared governance, espe-
cially following successive
electoral defeats at the hands
of the PPP/C since the return
of democracy to the country
on October 5, 1992. The PPP,
Guyanas largest and oldest
political party, has not been
opposed to alliance politics
and in fact opened up the
party to a Civic component
in the elections of 1992. The
alliance with civic elements
continued in all subsequent
elections and has in fact
grown in stature and size
over the years.
Such is the fascination
with the alliance/coalition
concept that a Barbados-
based polling grouping,
CADRES, found in a recent
survey conducted in Guyana
that were elections to be held
in Guyana, the PPP/C would
win the plurality but with a
reduced number of votes,
some 20 percent below what
the party obtained in the last
elections when it won rough-
ly 54% of the votes cast. By
some convoluted logic, the
PPP was `relegated in terms
of popular support to that of
the recently-formed Alliance
for Change, (AFC) which is
projected to have even over-
taken the PNCR in terms
of popular and electoral
strength. As to who com-
missioned the poll and paid
for the survey is still to be
determined.
One thing, however, that
is very clear is that the poll
has a close resemblance to
the famed Dick Morris poll
which predicted that the
AFC would have given both
the PPP and the PNC, as it
were, a run for their money.
The actual seats obtained by
the AFC, as it turned out to
be, were a far cry from that
anticipated by the poll and
came mainly from disen-
chanted voters belonging to
the PNC. The PPP/C, by con-
trast, not only maintained its
traditional support base but
was able to win over a size-
able crossover vote, mainly
from among the hinterland/
Amerindian communities.
If the intention of the poll
is to galvanize the opposi-
tion parties into some kind
of coalition politics prior to
the holding of elections con-
stitutionally due in less than
two years time, it may fnd
much to its disappointment
that the political preferences
of the Guyanese electorate
may not exactly match those
of the political authors who
commissioned the poll. To
begin with, many Guyanese
still have bitter memories of
the experiences of the frst
attempt at coalition politics
which saw two politically
and ideologically diverse
parties coming together to
unseat the PPP government,
that of the PNC and the Unit-
ed Force (UF) in 1964. Not
only was the United Force,
the junior partner in the co-
alition, unceremoniously
kicked out of the coalition
a full year ahead of its ten-
ure in offce, but it left in its
trail a path of destruction
unmatched in the Common-
wealth Caribbean. By the
time democracy was fnally
returned to the country some
two and a half decades later,
the country was reduced
to that of the poorest in the
hemisphere, rivaling Haiti in
terms of per capita income.
Another impor-
tant factor that cannot be
ignored is that the current
PPP/C alliance has over the
years scored for the Guya-
nese people signifcant eco-
nomic, social and constitu-
tional gains which would
certainly put the political
opposition under tremen-
dous pressure to match.
COALITION POLITICS
If the intention of the poll is to galvanize the opposition par-
ties into some kind of coalition politics prior to the holding
of elections constitutionally due in less than two years time,
it may fnd much to its disappointment that the political pref-
erences of the Guyanese electorate may not exactly match
those of the political authors who commissioned the poll. To
begin with, many Guyanese still have bitter memories of the
experiences of the frst attempt at coalition politics which
saw two politically and ideologically diverse parties coming
together to unseat the PPP government, that of the PNC and
the United Force (UF) in 1964.
convinced him that what
was of tremendous impor-
tance for the success of the
state power was the broadest
Solidarity with the Revolu-
tion. The fantastic adulation
for Fidel Castro, Che Gue-
vara and other revolutionary
leaders 9) was another im-
portant factor that made an
impact on Rodneys socialist
development.
The third aspect of
Rodneys struggle relates to
his connection with the intel-
lectuals. On previous occa-
sions when outlining crucial
aspects of Rodneys work I
have made references to the
contribution he made whilst
teaching at the Dar-es-sa-
laam University, in Tanza-
nia. And I shall probably do
so in future. But one of the
signifcant episodes involv-
ing Walter Rodney and the
Black community was the
occasion of the 1968 Black
Writers Congress in Canada.
10) There has never been any
similar lecture before or sub-
sequently.
Indeed it may well
have been in Canada that
Rodney attacked institu-
tional racism in its unique
form. Unique in the sense
that Canada has historically
developed as a colony of
United States imperialism.
Canada has been regarded as
a junior imperialist partner
of the United States. It was
here rather than in Jamaica
that Walter Rodney interact-
ed with scores of West Indi-
an, Afro-American and Af-
rican as well as other Third
World intellectual fgures.
Revolution Afric-
aine, the Paris based politi-
cal journal ran a feature on
Walter Rodney as a revolu-
tionary Pan Africanist. The
journals Editor in Chief,
Paul Verges was tremendous-
ly and favourably impressed
by Rodneys profound grasp
of Marxist dialectics.
The Post Jamesian trend
and Revolutionary Nation-
al Liberation
A number of Guyanese and
others in the Diaspora have
had to refect on the manner
in which Rodney was killed.
There is almost unanimity
in terms of him commit-
ting an error by present-
ing himself as a target for
the assassin Gregory Smith.
Some other person should
have interacted with the
GDF sergeant, who had been
specially trained to perform
that kind of covert operation.
Any real and proper answers
can only emanate from the
Working Peoples Alliance
itself. 11) However, there is
another view that supports
what Rodney set out to do in
the face of an imminent and
concentrated attempt to dis-
rupt WPA communications,
to isolate the leadership from
the mounting mass move-
ment and, ultimately execute
the leaders individually or
otherwise.
The fact of the mat-
ter is that Amilcar Cabral,
possibly the most advanced
of West African liberation
fghters was murdered by
a bomb device planted by
the Portuguese secret po-
lice agents(s) in September
1973. During the early 1960s
Gama Pinto, a remarkable
fgure in the Kenyan Inde-
pendence movement was
assassinated. So too was
Dr. Eduardo Mondlane by
a letter bomb in his Dar-es-
salaam offce during Febru-
ary of 1969. Mondlane was
the leader of Mozambiques
FRELIMO whist Cabral was
Secretary General of Guinea
Bissaus PAIGC liberation
movement.
Archbishop Oscar
Romero of San Salvador, a
radical Jesuit was brutally
gunned down as he read
Mass in the San Salvador
cathedral on March 24 1980,
less than three months be-
fore Walter Rodney was as-
sassinated.
Walter Rodney it could be
surmised through his asso-
ciations with Alliance unity
politics had in fact gravitated
beyond the Jamesian para-
digm. (to be continued).
References
1) As defned in Walter
Rodney Revolutionary
and Scholar: A tribute, sev-
eral contributors, CAAS.
Calif. Uni. 1982.
2) Ibid; particularly the
contribution by his friend
Prof Ewart Thomas.
3) Mirror newspaper, June/
July editions 1980.
4) See account as published
Walter Rodney the Visionary...
(From page 12)
by the Latin American Bu-
reau, 1984. Guyana Fraud-
ulent Revolution, London,
LAB with assistance of the
World Council of Church-
es.
5) Walter Rodney and the
Question of Power, Lon-
don, 1980.
6) Studies in a Dying Co-
lonialism, Frantz Fanon,
1962? Maspero, Paris/New
York.
7) See for an insight recent
Weekend Mirror article by
Ralph Ramkarran (30-31
January, 2010), Walter
Rodney, the WPA and the
PPP (p 12).
8) Walter Rodney, Rupert
Lewis, 1998, pp. 107.
9) Ralph Ramkarran op
cit.
10) Walter Rodney the in-
tellectual, Rupert Lewis,
London.
11) Ralph Ramkarran, op
cit.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 16
and re-elected in 2009
His ongoing efforts to revitalize Cooperatives and
Friendly Societies to improve their management and be ac-
countable to the membership have also been noted
I mention these additional portfolios to give recognition to
the fact that the record of the performance of all the depart-
ments under the Minister of Labour, the Honourable Manzoor
Nadir, including the Labour Department, the Board of Indus-
trial Training and the Central Recruitment and Manpower
Agency has been exemplary. I mention these also since the
motion questions the competence of the Hon. Minister and
by extension the PPP/C Government and seeks to assess that
competence based on an examination of only one of the sev-
eral portfolios held by the minister.
In conclusion, let me remind all that the theme of this
years Labour Day was responding to global challenges
through Trade Union initiatives and solidarity. Not by bul-
lyism and mouthing and certainly not by raising false hopes
and creating industrial dissension; and certainly not by seek-
ing to shift blame; but by recognizing and accepting that
each industrial dispute must be treated on its own merit.
No amount of fllbustering or sanctioning of illegal strikes
or blame game by the union would resolve the impasse. Ne-
gotiation, compromise and industrial diplomacy are better
options in the present national and global economic climate.
Unions need to fnd better ways to negotiate.
The union needs to put its house in order for it too is
subject to the law.
Good industrial
relations...
(From page 14)
Following the launch of
World Day Against Child
Labour 2010 on June
7, the TACKLE project
(Tackling Child Labour
Through Education) in
collaboration with the
Ministries of Labour, Hu-
man Services and Social
Security and Education on
Wednesday staged a child
labour awareness pro-
gramme for schools at the
Theatre Guild Playhouse.
This event was part
of the activities planned
by the Ministries and the
European Union (EU)
in observance of World
Day against Child Labour
2010.
To highlight aware-
ness of the programme
there was a dramatic pre-
sentation under the theme
Go for the Goal End
Child Labour. Songs and
poetry highlighted the
ills of child labour and
the benefts of attending
school.
The dramatic pre-
sentation would be taken
around the country and the
students were encouraged
to disseminate the mes-
sage to end child labour in
their schools, communi-
ties and homes.
Additionally as
part of the observances,
primary and secondary
school children were en-
gaged in an art and jingle
competition, where the
pieces refected the ills of
child labour and the urgent
need for it to be stopped.
The winners of the
various categories of the
competition were present-
ed with their awards dur-
ing the programme.
The participat-
ing schools included Ket-
ley, Watooka Day, Win-
fer Gardens, and Thomas
Moore primary schools.
Other participants includ-
ed the New Amsterdam,
Freeburg, L Venture and
Vreed-en-Hoop second-
ary schools.
These and other
planned activities are in
commemoration of World
Child labour awareness
programme held for schools
Day against child labour
which would be observed
on June 12.
Over the years
the administration has
been staging interventions
that address the improper
treatment of children and
initiatives have been taken
to protect them from soci-
etal ills.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 17
Bollywood Glitz Nollywood News
Hollywood highlights
Discuss your
Problem
This feature explores personal problems. We invite you to write to Portia,
c/o Mirror, P.O. Box 101088, Georgetown,Guyana
with
PORTIA
Dear Portia,
After a year of togetherness,
my boyfriend has broken up
with me. Hes going through
a divorce and says that at
present, it is not a good time
for us to continue a relation-
ship. Im baffed because
he has told me Im the best
thing that ever happened to
him.
He wants to keep in
touch and says that maybe,
down the road when things
are diverse, we can get back
together.
My friends and
family think hes using me
as a standby so he can live
the single life but still have
someone waiting on the side.
Im left wondering, does he
want to get past his issues or
is he just playing games?
Not a game-player.
Dear Not a game-player,
Neither one. You have been
dumped. The technique your
boyfriend used is called
the easy letdown. Dont
count on getting back to-
gether down the road or
youll squander more time
on a losing proposition. In
the future, hook up with a
man whos available and you
may have better luck.
Portia.
Im baffled
Dear Portia,
I am in my 40s and have nev-
er lost anyone close to me.
Unfortunately, my darling
mother-in-law has terminal
cancer. I am now preoccu-
pied that peoples spirits are
near us after they die.
Please dont laugh,
but it gives me the creeps. I
dont want to think my moth-
er-in-law will watch me mak-
ing love with my husband,
that my father will watch me
in the bathroom, or that my
mother will be critical of my
spending more time with my
kids than cleaning the house
as she did.
Am I crazy to think
I might not have any privacy
after my loved ones die?
Troubled.
Dear Troubled,
Calm down. The departed
sometimes visit those
with whom their souls were
intertwined, but usually its
to offer strength, solace and
reassurance during diffcult
times. If your mother-in-
laws spirit visits you while
youre intimate with her son,
it will be only to wish you and
her son many more years of
closeness and happiness in
your marriage.
As to your parents,
when they travel to the here-
after, I am sure theyll have
more pleasant things with
which to occupy their time
than spying on you. So hold
a good thought and quit wor-
rying. Portia.
It gives me the creeps
Sanjay Dutt to
be father again
H
e has seen many ups and down in his life of ffty
years. Now as the tough times are over, actor San-
jay Dutt is a happy man; he is going to be father
again. Yes, Sanjay and his wife Manyata are reportedly on
their way to be parents.
The buzz is that Manyata Dutt is three months preg-
nant and is staying mostly at home taking extra care of her
health. And Sanjay recently visited several holy places including Ajmer Sharif to seek bless-
ings. As per sources, for almost one year the couple was waiting for the good news and as its
reportedly confrmed, Sanjays happiness knows no bounds now that Manyata is expecting.
He already has a daughter Trishala - who is studying criminal law in the US - from his frst
marriage. Sanjay is also starting work on his frst home production. He will be leaving for
Oman, Mozambique and other places for a recce of locations for the flm which will be di-
rected by David Dhawan. Munnbhai now has new roles to play! (apunkachoice.com)
Sunday show by Amitabh Bach-
chan and Shahrukh Khan
M
ay be it happened by coincidence that the two
superstars wanted to tell Tweeple what hap-
pens at their respective houses on Sundays.
Well, they do think alike. On June 6, Amitabh Bachchan
posted on Twitter the pictures of fans that had gathered
around his home entrance. A few hours later, Shahrukh
Khan did the same.
Sr Bachchan tweeted, T20 -Someone wanted to see
what happens on Sundays at Jalsa.. here is a previous sunday .. While SRK scribbled, Ppl
come to share love on sundays and take my pics...this time i thought i will take theirs. thanx
all Jalsa (Big Bs residence) and Mannat (Shahrukhs abode) are among major tourist at-
tractions for cine fans in Mumbai. Their crazy fans can wait for long just to have a glimpse of
them. Big B takes out time and greets them with Namaskar and sometimes even goes out and
shakes hands with them. This is like a tradition followed by Amitabh for almost two decades.
Shahrukh, too, chooses to meet the public, wave hands, say Aadab and sign autographs, and
doesnt mind if people ask for photographs. Show of fan power! (apunkachoice.com)
Steven Spielberg
eyes Australia for new
dinosaur movie
(ANI) -- American flmmaker Steven
Spielberg has chosen Australia as the lo-
cation for his 150 million-dollar-dinosaur
movie Terra Nova.
Spielberg was so impressed with the
movie The Pacifc; he co-created with
Tom Hanks that he has decided to shoot
for the dinosaur epic in Australia. Terra Nova, a 13-part science-fction television series is
about the Shannon family, which travels 150 million years back in time to prehistoric Earth
to escape the apocalypse, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. According to Entertainment
Weekly magazine, the drama, which is also executive produced by agent-turned-producer
Aaron Kaplan, Craig Silverstein and Kelly Marcel, among others, takes place in 2149 A.D.
when a large group of settlers are preparing to leave the apocalyptic world in which they live
to time travel back millions of years. It could be a week, it could be three months, it could
be literally weeks before flming starts, its hard to know, Ausflms head of policy, Alastair
McKinnon said. Australia is probably one of six or seven potential locations. I think Queen-
sland is the appealing venue at this stage because it has got studio and the tropical location
they need. They are looking at Queensland, he added.
Madonnas daughter
turns cover girl
P
op queen Madonna daughter Lourdes
Ciccone seems to be following in the foot-
steps of her mum. The 13-year-old has be-
come a cover girl.
Ciccone has been signed up by Europes
Quality magazine for her frst cover page shoot,
reports the Sun. The daughter of pop diva is the
spitting image of her famous mother in the pic-
ture on the front of the magazine.
Stella Damasus happy
with HSM experience
V
eteran Nollywood actress, Stella
Damasus-Nzeribe, has said that being
one of the instructors of the recently con-
cluded Disneys High School Musical [HSM]
show held in Nigeria is a dream come true.
The sultry actress was the voice instructor
of the show, which was held last week in Lagos
and Abuja, while other professionals tutored the
participants on acting, dancing and other cre-
ative tasks. Stella, who just returned from Abuja
where the second edition of the show was held,
Kelani cries piracy as Arugba
goes on general release
T
unde Kelanis flm, Arugba is to go on general release
later this month.
The flmmaker made the announcement at a press
conference held at his Mainframe production company offces
in Oshodi, Lagos on Tuesday. It has been far from plain sail-
ing, however. The good news quickly dovetailed into the bad, as
Kelani revealed that the release of Arugba had to be postponed
three times because of the heavy piracy of his flms by a gang
operating from the notorious Alaba Market in Lagos. Recalling
Moses Olaiyas claim that his career was ruined by the piracy of
just one flm, Kelani revealed the extent of his own ordeal: What
we have suffered within the last nine months is that all our works
were pirated at the same time and distributed extensively. The
described her involvement in the show as one of the challenges she had been looking forward
to as it impacts positively on the young generation. When I was contracted as the voice
trainer of the show, I felt elated because I have always been looking forward to a platform
where I can effectively reach out to the younger generation and inspire them positively. Now
that Stella is through with the HSM, she noted that next on her plans is to face her Stella
Damasus TV Show, which will hit the airwaves very soon. (nigeriaflms.com)
director, who has taken to buying pirated copies of his flm as evidence, displayed an array of the exhibits, to gasps
of astonishment from those present. Exclusively Mainframe packages contain up to 16 pirated Kelani flms on
a single disc, including Agogo Eewo, Saworo Ide, Abeni and O Le Ku. Kelani said, Benefactors had to come
to our rescue because the business was destroyed. My career was threatened. There was no place to turn. We
couldnt do any flm. We couldnt even pay our rent. I couldnt pay taxes because they just hijacked all of the Main-
frame flms at the same time. We have no income of any sort. Piracy, he stressed, is the main challenge facing
the Nigerian flm industry. How can we continue? How can we get funding for the industry? With all this (piracy)
in a country like Nigeria, believe me, there is no hope for the industry, he declared. We are going to be pirated,
he said of the imminent release of Arugba, but he is going ahead. Its a risk because we are already boxed in. We
dont have an income. We have a project we invested 15, 20 million naira in; everybodys been waiting. He also
needs money to continue his next project, Maami. The director said, We have no choice but to comply with what
the law says as to releasing flms, because weve worked with all the agencies to make sure. But the point is: who
is going to protect us? Arugba will be launched on Sunday, June 13 (2pm) at Etal Hall, Simbiat Abiola Road,
Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos. It goes on general release on January 14. (nigeriaflms.com)
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 18
Childrens Corner
Name: ...............................................................................................
Address: ...........................................................................................
............................................................................................................
Tel. No: ............................................................................................
The winner of the colouring
contest: Cookie Monster
Cooks is: Camanie Ram-
charran of Hague, WCD.
The picture to colour
this week is entitled: Zak &
Wheezie and was submit-
ted by Abiola McCoy of
Wisroc Housing Scheme,
Wismar.
Colour and send
it to Weekend Mirror; PO
Box 101088, Georgetown.
Well children, I do
hope you had a good week.
School must be keeping you
busy and end of term tests
will start next week, so you
need to start getting ready
for the big days ahead.
World Day against Child
Labour will be observed this
Saturday (June 12) and the
government has launched
a series of activities to pro-
mote the need of a good edu-
cation and also to discourage
people from using children
as cheap means of labour.
Sometimes home situations
can contribute to children
leaving school at a young
age to seek employment to
help out at home. This robs
that child of an education
and a secure future, so the
government will be work-
ing with the schools to help
such children. Mind, doing
every day chores at home is
not child labour. That is part
of your daily activities. Read
up more on this issue in the
coming days, there is sure to
be a lot about it in the news-
papers and television.
Enjoy the rest of the week
and remember: Road safety
is everybodys business.
Aunt Shirley.
Dear Children,
(a Chinese folktale)
A
young land owner in
China once found a
very special bird in
his garden. Every time the
bird would snap its beak,
pieces of gold would fall
out of it. When the man ob-
served this, he set a trap and
caught it and put it into a spe-
cial cage inside his house.
He used the gold to buy
more and more land and to
hire servants to work for him.
He became very wealthy. It
happens that some wealthy
men learn to live wisely and
use their money for good.
It also happens that wealth
makes some men greedy
and makes them want more.
Such was the case with this
man.
The more he had, the
more he wanted. He even
looked for ways to cheat his
servants out of their hard
earned wages. When their
wages were due he told them
to go to the market and bring
him back some ow and ouch!
If you come back without
them, I will give you 100
strokes of my cane instead of
your wages.
No one knew what ow
and ouch were, so they
stayed home and did not go
to the market. Because they
did not follow orders, the
rich man did not pay them.
They grew poorer while he
grew richer.
Finally a very clever boy
Ow and Ouch
came to work for the rich mi-
ser. When the wages were
due the master told him Go
to the market before I pay
you, and and bring me back
some ow and ouch! If you
come back without them,
I will give you 100 strokes
of my cane instead of your
wages.
If I bring you back what
you ask, the boy questioned,
Will you pay me my wages
and give me your magic
bird?
I will be glad to, the
rich man said. For he knew
the boy could not bring him
back something that was not
for sale in any market. When
the boy came back, he would
punish the boy and make all
his servants to ever again ask
for their wages!
The boy ran all the way
to town. There he bought
two gourds. He hollowed
them both out and put a bee
into one and a wasp into the
other. Then he hurried back
to his master.
Master, I have brought
you Ow and Ouch, said
the boy as he held out the
two gourds. All the ser-
vants stood watching.
All I see are two com-
mon garden gourds, said
the rish man. Are you ready
to receive your punishment
for failing to give me what I
asked you to bring me?
Put your fnger inside
and see if you still ques-
tion what I brought you,
said the boy.
The rich man frowned and
stuck a fat fnger inside one
of the gourds. He was just
about ready to pull it out and
grab his cane when, OW,
he shouted, and pulled his
fnger out and looked at it.
See? the boy said. That
gourd had Ow in it. Put your
fnger into the other one and
you will fnd Ouch.
All the servants smiled.
They knew the boy had giv-
en the master what he had
asked for. The master did
not put his fnger into the
other gourd, but he did give
the boy and all the servants
their wages. He also gave
the boy the magic bird.
The rich man had learned
his lesson. He had enough
money to live well for the rest
of his life, and he learned to
use his money wisely to do
good for himself and for oth-
ers.
What happened to the
boy and the special bird?
No one thought to ask where
they went to, and now no one
can tell.
Amazing
facts
* Rabbits and parrots can see
behind themselves without
even moving their heads!
* Butterfies taste food by
standing on top of it! Their
taste receptors are in their
feet unlike humans who have
most on their tongue.
* Most of the dust in your
home is actually dead skin!
Yuck!
* Although the Stegosaurus
dinosaur was over 9 metres
long, its brain was only the
size of a walnut.
* Humans get a little taller
in space because there is
no gravity pulling down on
them.
* Because of the unusual
shape of their legs, kanga-
roos and emus struggle to
walk backwards.
* A hippopotamus may seem
huge but it can still run faster
than a man.
* Sneezing with your eyes
open is impossible.
Have a Laugh
A
California Highway
Patrolman pulled
a car over and told
the Guyanese driver that,
because he was wearing his
seat belt, he had just won
US$5,000 in the State safety
competition.So, what are
you going to do with the
money? asked the police-
man. Well, I gwan get a
driver licence, he answered
with pride and jubilation.
Oh, dont listen to he, na.
yelled the Trinidadian wom-
an in the passengers seat.
He always a smart ass when
he drunk. This commotion
woke up the Barbadian guy
in the back seat. He took one
look at the cop and moaned,
Oh shit-rass, I knew we ain
gon get farin no teifn car.
At that moment, there was
a knock from the trunk and
a Jamaican voice yelled out,
Hey! I man mek it krass de
barda yet?!
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
Page 19
by Donald Ramotar

J
UNE 16 will mark the
62nd anniversary since
fve workers at Enmore
were martyred.
They were shot in the
back by the colonial police
as they protested to defend
their rights.
The strike by the sugar
workers was started in pro-
test at the Sugar Production
Associations (SPA) decision
to change the working pro-
cedure from cut and drop to
cut and load. That, of course,
would have resulted in work-
ers losing income.
The strike developed
from this specifc issue to
one of industrial democracy
in which workers were de-
manding the right to be rep-
resented by a union of their
choice. As positions became
entrenched and the role of
the colonial state began to
be seen more and more op-
pressive, the demand for
independence began to be
heard. This was more pro-
nounced after the shooting
at Enmore.
The workers struggle
at the time encompassed the
specifc workers problems
and national interest.
Over the years, even
though sugars contribution
The Enmore Martyrs and
the sugar industry today
to the GDP has decreased
from what it was in 1948, it
still remains the most impor-
tant industry in Guyana. It
employs the most people and
contributes signifcantly to
the nation in many respects.
It, therefore, remains
very important to the workers
and the nation as a whole.
Things have changed
in other ways as well. Very
important is the ownership
of the industry. In 1948,
it was in the hands of two
companies, the leading one
was Bookers Brothers. The
profts from the industry
were mostly exported to the
shareholders in the United
Kingdom.
Today, of course, the
industry belongs to the peo-
ple of Guyana. The present
government has shown that
it has great interest in the
workers. It has done quite a
lot to help the industry.
It worked hard to get
the funding to modernize
the industry, the process that
has started with the new fac-
tory at Skeldon and the new
packaging plant being con-
structed at Enmore.
However, the challenge
that the industry is facing to-
day is much greater than in
1948.
This year, we will feel the
full impact of the 36% cut in
the price of sugar that is ex-
ported to Europe. Added to
this is the fact that the Euro,
the currency used in Europe,
is weakening against the US
dollar. This will have a nega-
tive impact on our industry.
The massive foods
of 2005 and the unpredict-
able weather conditions
since then have resulted in
the industry not meeting its
targets.
This means that very
careful management has to
be done to turn the industry
around.
This will call for sac-
rifces and understanding
from all sides. Clearly, the
interests of the working peo-
ple are much more than just
wages.
The workers, through
their unions, should work
for greater effciency of the
industry as a whole. In the
process, they should be pre-
pared to put representatives
on the Board of Directors.
They must have all the infor-
mation about the industry.
Having the information
and analyzing it carefully
will no doubt give the work-
ers the whole picture of the
industry and can help them
to understand the need to act
responsibly in relation to an
industry that is strategic to
them as well as to the nation
as a whole.

A modern sugar industry
producing more sugar and
more added value products
will greatly enhance the
workers conditions and it
will continue to make a big
contribution to the countrys
social and economic devel-
opment.
This photo, taken sometime in the early 1970s, shows workers protesting for better
conditions.
Today, of course, the industry belongs to
the people of Guyana. The present govern-
ment has shown that it has great interest
in the workers. It has done quite a lot to
help the industry.
It worked hard to get the funding to
modernize the industry, the process that
has started with the new factory at Skel-
don and the new packaging plant being
constructed at Enmore.
However, the challenge that the indus-
try is facing today is much greater than in
1948.
As we observe another
anniversary of the Enmore
Martyrs, let us be ready to
champion the cause of the
working people and our na-
tions interests.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 20
Recipes
Mirror for Women
Baked Eggplant
Ingredients: 1 lb eggplant, 1 oz butter, salt and pepper to
taste, 1 small chopped onion, bread crumbs, 1 tbsp tomato
ketchup
Preparation: Boil eggplant in skin until tender. Skin,
then crush to a pulp with butter, salt, pepper, onions, and
ketchup. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake in a moderate
oven until brown.
Banana Honey Pie
Ingredients: 4 oz short crust pastry, 3 tbsp cornstarch,
pt water, 2/3 cups evaporated milk, 2 eggs, separated,
cup honey, 4 bananas, small, 2 oz sugar, tsp salt
Preparation: Blend the cornstarch with water. Add milk
and cook over boiling water until thickened - about 15 to
20 minutes. Blend the egg yolks with honey and add to
frst mixture, stirring constantly. Continue cooking over
boiling water until thickened (about 5 minutes longer).
Chill thoroughly. Slice bananas into a baked pie shell,
pour in the cream flling, and top with meringue made of
beaten egg whites, salt and sugar. Brown in a hot oven.
by Andrea Engber
A
long with letting your
child seek his own
heroes and role mod-
els, there are things you can
do to allow him to be male.
Whether or not you have a
man around to show him the
ropes, your son can grow up
to be an emotionally healthy
male just as many boys of
single moms have already
done. Did you know that
Tom Cruise, Ed Bradley, Al-
exander Haig, Bill Clinton,
Alan Greenspan, Bill Cosby,
Dr. Benjamin Carson and
Les Brown were raised by
single moms?
The following tips have
been compiled from my own
experience, the expertise of
current or retired single
mothers and single parent
advisors:
1. Accept your sons differ-
ences.
2. Never make him the man
around the house. True, you
want to teach him to grow to
be man, but there is a distinc-
tion between being the little
man and being responsible
for things that adults are sup-
posed to do. Your child is not
your confdant, your knight
in shining armor or your res-
cuer. Especially important
for the newly widowed or
divorced, correct people if
they suggest that now your
son is the man around the
house, or that he should
take care of Mommy.
3. When you look at your
child and see his fathers
face, its okay to get a little
emotional. After all, if your
ex gave you anything of val-
ue, youre looking at it. Let
your son know how impor-
tant he is to you.
4. Point out the positive qual-
ities in men you see on a day
to day basis. This means that
even if youre buying your
son shoes, and the salesman
is especially attentive or
friendly, point this trait out
by mentioning what a help-
ful person he is, or Isnt this
man very nice?
5. Be a little creative in help-
ing your child learn guy
stuff. For instance, many
single mothers report con-
cern over their sons using
the potty while sitting, or
playing with their makeup.
Chances are, your child wont
spend the rest of his life pee-
ing sitting down while wear-
ing mascara. Homosexuality
doesnt exist because you
didnt monitor the morning
makeup sessions! But if you
want to get a head start
on defning the differ-
ences between second-
ary sex characteristics
between males and fe-
males, try this: Set out
a little basket just for
him. Fill it with a mock
razor, gentle shaving
cream, watered-down
cologne, his tooth-
brush, toothpaste and
a comb. Let him know
this is what most guys
do every morning to
their faces.
6. As your child ma-
tures, investigate local
boys groups or clubs
that he could join such
as Cub Scouts. Dont
be intimidated by
such sponsored events
that should be experienced
by all boys is that initiation
ritual that welcomes them
into the pack. This is an es-
sential boost to the self es-
teem of little boys, that feel-
ing of belonging to a group
with whom they can closely
identify.
7. Teach him your values,
but let him express them
uniquely. Hes a male and
will respond to emotional
situations somewhat differ-
ently than you might.
8. If your boy is really active,
get a chinning bar for his
room for rainy days. Exercise
is critical for all children, but
in cases where boys cant
seem to center themselves
as comfortably as girls, they
might need other means of
releasing excessive energy.
9. Role models are impor-
tant and will be found in
every aspect of your sons
life. Boys need men, but not
necessarily fathers. Just be-
cause a father lives at home
does not mean a boy is being
fathered.
10. Enjoy your time with
your baby or toddler by not
worrying about whether they
are missing out on anything
by not having dad around.
At the same time, try not to
avoid daddy stuff totally.
Even though many childrens
books feature animal fami-
lies raised only by mom, its
okay to read stories about
all kinds of families to your
child. Place a high value on
male and female relation-
ships in order to give your
child a realistic perspective.
And remember, try not to
have negative attitudes to-
ward men, even if you be-
came a single mother out of
the most excruciating cir-
cumstances.
Raising Boys: 10 Tips for Single Moms
as Father/son boat races or
picnics. Let the troop leader
know that with the number
of single parent families,
you would be comfortable if
the den would acknowledge
parent-child events. But the
biggest beneft of scouting
Giving in to teenage
peer pressure
R
emember what your teenager usually says when he reaches a
certain point in his life? Mom, I want a Nintendo. Everyone in
school has one! Dad, please let me go to the party or Ill be the
laughingstock of the whole school! Everyone will think Im so uncool!
Mom, I need to have my hair cut this way because its the hot new
look!
Harmless? Yes, but in some ways, it is also distressing
given the pattern his requests and desires are following. Your teenager
is going through a certain phase in life, and with it comes trying to ft in,
doing what everyone else is doing, or wanting to buy something or look
a certain way just to be considered cool. Peer pressure is a vicious
beast and can truly transform the way your teenager is behaving.
Peer pressure is one of the nightmares many parents have to go
through especially because they will need to do everything they can to
make sure their children are immune to it. More often than not, peer
pressure tends to be negative, and therefore greatly affects your child
and the way you two relate to each other.
If you notice your teenager undergoing some changes completely
alien to you, or you have more diffculty reaching out to him, its time to
get some answers to the hard questions. For instance, why does your
child appear to be receptive to peer pressure? In this case, its entirely
possible that hes seeing something he likes in his friends, and wishes
to be like them as much as possible. Self-esteem is also an issue, and
perhaps your child hasnt been able to build up a very strong sense of
self yet to know what is or isnt right for him.
Children give in to peer pressure because of the need to belong.
We usually conform to what our friends want and what they expect
us to be, and this tendency is even stronger in young people. They
spend more time outside the house and in the presence of different
infuences, and all of them will be able to change the way your child
thinks and behaves. You should therefore try to spend as much time as
possible with your child. For starters, try to fnd out what his interests
are and what he likes to do.
Another reason could be your teenagers desire to experiment and
develop a sense of freedom. As he grows up, he encounters many dif-
ferent things in life, prompting him to welcome new things more openly.
With the changes in his life, he may feel the need to discover his iden-
tity, and trying things brought about by peer pressure is a way for him
to explore himself further.
Giving in to peer pressure is like a way for a teenager to be-
come accepted by his friends, and experimenting with what he learns
enables him to learn more about himself. As a parent, you should stand
by your childs side and make sure that he isnt going astray, and make
sure to communicate with him so you always know whats going on in
his life. (by Jeff Cohen)
by Dawn Papandrea
(ivillage.com)
D
oes your cup runneth over?
Youre not alone. Accord-
ing to experts, a shocking
85 percent of women are wearing
the wrong bra size! That means
theres a good chance you may
need to brush up on your under-
garment understanding. iVillage
checked in with bra experts to get
their top tips for fnding a bra that
fts comfortably, doesnt create
spillage, and of course, makes
your bust look its best.
Just because youre a 36C
doesnt mean all 36C bras will ft
you perfectly. Let me let you in
on a secret: All brands use actual
people, not mannequins, as their
ft models when sizing their bras,
says Jene Luciani, fashion jour-
nalist and author of The Bra Book.
Since, no person is an exact size,
bra sizes are anything but stan-
dard, she says. Translation?
Spend the time trying on bras in
the store just as you would when
shopping for jeans.
By that we mean that you
should not let a perceived size
stigma infuence the bra you
choose. If you are busty, dont
be afraid to go beyond a DD cup.
Many women think that DD is a
huge bra size -- well, its really
not. Find a bra that fts you com-
fortably, and dont worry about
what it says on the tag.
You may have preferred
front-close or racer-back bras all
your life, but they may not fatter
your particular shape. There are
four basic body types -- hour-
glass, apple, pear, and rectangle.
Pear-shaped women are bottom-
heavy, so they need bras to bal-
ance them out on top, so general-
ly they should look for a push-up
style to create the illusion of an
hourglass shape.
Other tips: Women with
muscular or athletic builds will
want to try cleavage-enhancing
bras with wide-set straps as in
the balconette style to narrow
the shoulders and feminize the
fgure -- save the racerbacks for
the gym! Those who are heavier
on top (apple-shaped) or with a
thicker mid-section should ex-
periment with minimizing bras,
says Luciani.
Also, keep in mind, body
types arent set in stone, and
certain bras can add some unex-
pected fgure fattery. For exam-
ple, a front-close bra by its very
nature pushes breast together.
This is great when you are small-
er busted and looking to create
cleavage.
When choosing a bra, fabric
matters, too. It needs to be rigid
like lace or powernet, as opposed
to stretchy like cotton, to offer
support. With stretchy fabrics, the
breast tissue bounces all over the
place. As for underwires, the big-
ger the breast, the more impera-
tive an underwire is. In fact, un-
derwire does a fantastic job in all
sizes, she adds. Shelf bras and
soft cups are better worn when
lounging around the house.
Heres something that most
women may not realize: Cup size
is determined in relation to band
size. Here, once and for all, is
how you determine your bra size:
First, measure the area directly
under your breasts. Take that
number and round it up to the
nearest even number. So if its 31
inches around, you are a 32-inch
band. Then, measure around the
fullest part of your bust. Subtract
that measurement from the band
measurement -- so if the bust
measurement is a 36, you have
a four-inch difference. Each cup
size is one inch, so you are a
32D.
If you are petite or small-
busted, buying a bra that will fll
you out can improve your overall
appearance. But proceed with
caution: You dont want to go
overboard with excessive pad-
ding to look svelte and shapely.
The key is to look natural and feel
comfortable. If youre an already
larger busted woman and youre
going for a push-up with massive
padding, then you might be going
overboard. Have an honest friend
come with you and be your objec-
tive set of eyes.
Most women wear the same
size bra for years -- sometimes all
their lives, but it is recommended
that women check their bra mea-
surements every six months to a
year. Our bodies change so much
with hormonal shifts, weight loss
and gain, and aging, and our
breasts are one of the frst parts
of the body to change!
Regardless of whether
or not your size changes, bras
simply wear out. They lose their
shape and elasticity. Rule of
thumb: Plan to buy new bras
yearly.
Experts to the Rescue! How to Avoid the Top Bra Mistakes
Keep the girls looking perky -- and feeling
supported -- with these tips for finding the right bra
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 21
Presidents College Silver Jubilee
Labour intensive as well as other vol-
untary efforts are underway in prepara-
tion to celebrate 25 years of the Presi-
dents College, a leading secondary/
boarding school constructed to honour
and represent the memory of former
Prime Minister and President of the
Co-operative Republic, Forbes Odo
Burnham, aka the Kabaka.
The President College Alumni
(PC Alumni) will observe and host a
Reunion weekend scheduled for Au-
gust 6-9 2010. The programme will
include what has been termed a mas-
sive give-back exercise at the Golden
Grove educational facility, located on
the East Coast Demerara, Region Four.
The reunion is being organised by the
New York based alumni body Presi-
dents College Incorporated (PCAI) in
conjunction with President College Old
Students Association (PCOSA) (http://
www.pcosa-ny.org).
Old students will participate
in repainting the premises, class-room
restoration, tree planting exercises and
the installation of a volley ball court
among other activities. Additionally,
computer donations will be made to-
gether with electrical equipment and
school supplies. The Science, Electri-
cal and Woodworking laboratories and
sections will be reftted.
A previous effort by the PCO-
SA some months ago to raise funds and
capital for rehabilitating PC, featured
and included a musical evening, domi-
noes and lime and other engagements
including a barbeque and fun day. This
previous PC Support activity was
also spread over two days.
Broad Community and Interest
Group Involvement
According to a statement issued by
the organisers twenty-fve years have
past since the School of excellence
opened its portals with the intention of
providing a sound education to those
who were suffciently qualifed to be-
come PC/SE entrants. PC Alumni will
proceed with making other, miscel-
laneous donations to the school, and
some corporate sponsors and students
have committed themselves to make
appropriate contributions.
Reunion Weekend 2010 aspires
to be a catalyst for the revival of Presi-
dents College as the School of Excel-
lence. After 25 years since its inaugu-
ration, many of the schools graduates
are already accomplished professionals
in their respective felds.
100s of the school Alumni
including those from the frst batch in
1985 to the more recent 2009) gradu-
ates will participate in the jubilee cel-
ebration which will kick off with a
formal ceremony on the PC campus.
According to PCUSA there
is an urgent need to preserve the cul-
ture and value system of sharing, of
competitive learning, discipline, ex-
cellence, tolerance of race and class,
that has defned their unique experi-
ence at Presidents College.
Former students will also
participate in a reunion impromptu
cultural show and lime the same
Friday and enjoy the pleasures of a
Dance with Guitars on Saturday
evening at the formal Ball planned to
be held in Georgetown.
PC Alumni has already met
the Ministry of Education, the Chair-
man of the school board, the principal
and other offcials to consult, discuss
and decide on issues pertaining to the
Reunion and plans to assist PC.
Meanwhile applications to fll
vacancies existing at the school have
been invited. These openings and jobs
are for electrician (1), librarian III (1),
handyman (1), and farm attendant (1).
Job specifcation and description can
be accessed from the Personnel Of-
fcer 1, Presidents College, Golden
Grove, ECD.
Signifcant Old Student Participa-
tion
Weekend Mirror also understands
that for the Reunion participants
are advised to re-register (e-mail:
pc2010reunion@gmail.com) as a
large number Old Students have con-
frmed their attendance, and space,
especially for the grand Ball is lim-
ited.
The hosts and organisers
(PCA) also hopes to launch a volun-
teering and mentoring programme at
the college, create a future endowment
fund as well as to concentrate on spe-
cifc projects including the funding of
various bursaries to students.
The reunion will also include
specifcally for the student body a
Sports Day on Sunday, August 8 to be
staged at the PC sports ground. This
aspect of the programme will be co-
ordinated to enable students to show-
case their athletic prowess. Diamond,
Agate, Jasper, and Gold Houses will
compete for the coveted sports cham-
pion trophy. Past and present teachers,
as well as senior students are all in-
vited to attend the Sports Day.
In addition to the above stated
website and e-mail address, interested
PCAI as well as PCOSA members can
telephone Renetta Persaud 220-4943
or 616-8194 or Sharon Dillon at 219-
2972 with regard to fees of registra-
tion, other payments such as tickets
for events and any other information.
News from the Regions
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 22
Grade Six Assessment
Mathematics
1. The whole number that is divisible by both 7 and 5 is
(a) 35 (b) 25 (c) 15 (d) 8
2. In the mathematical statement, 35 x 3, the 35 is called the
(a) Multiplier (b) subtrahend (c) multiplicand (d) dividend
3. When 6500 is rounded to the nearest thousand, it becomes..
(a) 6000 (b) 6600 (c) 7000 (d) 7500
Study the fgure at side carefully, then answer question 4
4. The fgure shown has edges.
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4
5. In a swimming class, there are 12 boys and 8 girls. What
is the ratio of boys to girls?
(a) 3:5 (b) 5:3 (c) 3:2 (d) 2:3
6. The Roman Numeral that represents 1000 is
..
(a) L (b) C (c) D (d) M
7. The cost of one dozen mangoes is $288. What will 5 such
mangoes cost?
(a) $24 (b) $48 (c) $100 (d) $120
8. Reduce $600 by 12%.
(a) $672 (b) $528 (c) $478 (d) $72
9. By how much is 0.75 of $600 greater than 75% of $400?
(a) $750 (b) $600 (c) $450 (d) $150
10. When we multiply an odd number by 1, then add 2, we get a/annumber.
(a) Even (b) prime (c) odd (d) composite
11. The clock at side is 7 minutes slow. What is the correct time?
(a) 3:07 h (b) 2:53 h
(c) 3:00 h (d) 12:00 h
12. Sue obtained 12 INCORRECT answers out of
80 in a spelling test. What percent of the test was
correct?
(a) 25% (b) 35% (c) 65% (d) 85%
13. An aircraft took 55 minutes to travel from
Piarco to Grantley Adams International Airport. If
it arrived at Grantley Adams at 15:10 hrs, at what
time did it leave Piarco?
(a) 16:05h (b) 15:150h
(c) 14:15h (d) 14:05h
14. In a class of 40 pupils, there are 5 boys to every
3 girls. How many girls are in the class?
(a) Doodnauth has $1086 and Shaquane has $214 more than he. What sum of money do the
two boys have altogether?
(a) $1300 (b) $1786 (c) $2386 (d) $2514
15. Sean wants to know how much ice cream is in the tub. He may have to calculate the
..of the tub?
(a) Perimeter (b) area (c) volume (d) density
16. 105% expressed as a decimal is..
(a) 0.105 (b) 1.05 (c) 0.150 (d) 0.0015
17. How many kilograms are there in 750 grams?
(a) 0.5 (b) 0.25 (c) 0.75 (d) 1.25
18. 5030 3879 =
(a) 1351 (b) 1251 (c) 1151 (d) 1051
19. 19.345 x 45 =
(a) 15 525 (b) 16 525 (c) 17 525 (d) 18 525
20. Shelley spent 70% of her money. She had $600 left. How much money had she at frst?
(a) $2000 (b) $3000 (c) $4000 (d) $5000
Answers to last weeks questions
1. D 2. B 3. C 4. C 5. A 6. C 7. D 8. C 9. C 10. D
11. D 12. D 13. A 14. A 15. D 16. C 17. A 18. D 19. B 20. B
Weekend Mirror, 12-13June, 2010 Page 23
The Other View
by YAN WEI
R
ussias high-profle
celebrations of the
65th anniversary of
its victory over Nazi Ger-
many in World War II earli-
er this month, said analysts,
offered strong messages of
peace, unity and confdence.
The celebrations culmi-
nated in a military parade
in Moscows Red Square
on May 9. More than 11,000
service personnel took part
in the parade, which fea-
tured 161 tanks and missiles
as well as 127 aircraft.
Leaders and dignitaries
from more than 20 foreign
countriesincluding Chi-
a badly needed boost to the
Russian peoples morale.
The proceedings high-
lighted Russias recent mili-
tary modernization efforts
through the displays of so-
phisticated weaponry. But
they would also likely help
bolster the Russian publics
confdence in the govern-
ment, Zhao said.
From an internation-
al perspective, the parade
sought to show Western
leaders with a Cold War
mentality that Moscows
priority concerns national
defense rather than aggres-
sion.
This message struck a
particularly important tone
against the backdrop of the
ter their initial drives to take
Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The Soviets helped the
Chinese, too. At a crucial
stage of Chinas War of Re-
sistance Against Japanese
Aggression (1937-45), the
Soviet Red Army marched
into the battleground in
northeast China to help fght
Japanese invaders. During
the eight-year war, China re-
sisted 70 percent of Japanese
fascist forces at a cost of
more than 35 million lives.
Views of history
President Hu refected upon
the alliance in Moscow. It is
an iron-clad fact that China
and the Soviet Union have
made exceptional contribu-
them, to avoid the repetition
of such a tragedy.
The celebrations were
also a tribute to the veter-
ans, of course. For instance,
Russia has announced plans
to establish a database for
World War II veterans con-
sisting of 30 million entries
by the end of 2012. On May
9, the Russian Ministry of
Defense began the endeavor
by posting the frst 600,000
entries on its website.
Russia is also in the pro-
cess of tracking soldiers who
went missing during World
War II. For this undertaking,
Russian military offcials
recently opened an offce
at the Russian Embassy in
Beijing to search for missing
soldiers in China.
It has thus far identifed
the remains of some 600
missing Russian soldiers in
China, Tomikhin said.
The victory of the Great
Patriotic War must con-
tinue to be a consolidating
factor between Russia and
many other countries in the
world communityone that
should also serve to erase
any efforts at distorting the
history of fascist aggression
in Europe and Asia, he said.
There remains a heated
debate in Eastern Europe
about the Soviet Unions role
in World War II, said Zhao.
But there can be no doubt it
was the Soviet Union that
defeated Nazi Germany and
played a pivotal role in help-
ing secure a victory over
fascism in World War II.
China also supported
for the worlds anti-fascist
efforts by fghting Japanese
aggression.

President Hus presence in
the Red Square parade was
deemed as a sign showing
Chinas backing for Russia
from a diplomatic point of
view. As strategic partners,
the two countries always
support each other on ma-
jor issues, Zhao said.
At this point, China-
Russia relations are the
closest, most dynamic and
most promising relations
between major world pow-
ers, said Chinas Assistant
Foreign Minister Cheng
Guoping.
Last year, for example,
China and Russia not only
celebrated the 60th anni-
versary of their bilateral
diplomatic ties, but also
held the Year of the Rus-
sian Language in China,
during which the two coun-
tries staged more than 260
cultural events.
The two neighboring
countries also approved a
plan for cooperation between
Chinas northeast region and
Russian Far East and Eastern
Siberia last year. Moreover,
the two sides signed a treaty
on informing each other of
ballistic missile launches.
This year, China-Russia
relations are expected to
maintain this sound momen-
tum. Chinese Vice President
Xi Jinping, for one, visited
Russia in March. He and
Putin jointly inaugurated
the Year of the Chinese Lan-
guage in Russia.
Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao, meanwhile, is sched-
uled to visit Russia later this
year for the 15th regular
Homage to Victory
China congratulates Russia as it celebrates the
65th anniversary of triumph in World War II
A COMRADES GRIP: On May 8, Chinese President Hu Jintao met in Moscow Russian veterans who
helped China during Chinas War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (RAO AIMIN)
nese President Hu Jintao
joined Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev and
Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin at the ceremony. Be-
yond Red Square, 19 other
cities in Russia and in parts
of the former Soviet Union
staged similar military pa-
rades that day.
A show of confdence
These celebrations had pow-
erful implications both do-
mestically and around the
world, said Zhao Mingwen,
an expert on Russian studies
at the China Institute of In-
ternational Studies.
At a time when the dev-
astating effects of the global
fnancial crisis have yet to
be fully resolved, the mili-
tary parade in Moscow gave
United States planned de-
ployments of anti-missile
systems and interceptors in
Eastern Europe, Zhao said.
In addition, by inviting
veterans from former Soviet
republics to partake in the
Red Square parade, Russia,
said Zhao, also enhanced its
solidarity within the Com-
monwealth of Independent
States.
The Great Patriotic War
the Soviet Union fought
against Nazi Germany and
its allies from June 1941 to
May 1945 is regarded as
one of the most important
parts of World War IIand
one of its deadliest. In all, it
is believed that 27 million
Russians died before the
Red Army beat back Adolf
Hitlers forces to Berlin af-
tions to the victory of the
worlds anti-fascist war, he
said, while meeting Russian
war veterans who fought in
the battles for the liberation
of Chinas northeast.
The Chinese people,
he said, continue to value
highly the Soviet Unions
role in World War IIand
will by no means forget the
Soviet Red Armys help.
World War II inficted
immeasurable losses on the
Soviet Union, and almost
every Russian family lost
a loved one in the war, said
Evgeny Tomikhin, Minister
Counselor at the Russian
Embassy in Beijing.
Nations around the world
should neither forget these
wars, he said, nor the cir-
cumstances surrounding
tons of crude oil annually
from Russia to China.
At a meeting with Med-
vedev in Moscow on May 9,
Hu called on both countries
to redouble their efforts to
deepen cooperation in trade
and energy between Chinas
northeast and Russias Far
East.
The two countries should
also strengthen people-
to-people and cultural ex-
changes by promoting the
teaching of Chinese and
Russian languages in each
others countries and hold-
ing regular exchange pro-
grams for the two countries
young people, such as sum-
mer camps, he said.
Hus Proposal
Chinese President Hu Jintao
put forward a four-point pro-
posal for boosting China-
Russia strategic cooperation
while meeting with Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev
on May 9:
Strengthen coordination
in the institutionalization
of the Group of 20, seek a
greater say for China and
Russia in international
affairs, and uphold their
own legitimate rights and
interests as well as other
developing countries;
Keep in close touch with
each other to help safe-
guard regional peace and
stability;
Work closely in the fght
against the three evil forc-
es of terrorism, separat-
ism and extremism; and
Strengthen coordina-
tion on major internation-
al issues, such as climate
change and energy secu-
rity.
(Beijing Review,
May 20, 2010 edition)
There remains a heated
debate in Eastern Eu-
rope about the Soviet
Unions role in World
War II, said Zhao. But
there can be no doubt
it was the Soviet Union
that defeated Nazi
Germany and played a
pivotal role in helping
secure a victory over
fascism in World War
II.
meeting with Putin, Cheng
said.
Bilateral trade volume in
the frst quarter of this year
reached $12 billion, up 64
percent over the same period
in the previous year. This is
evidence that bilateral trade
cooperation has moved out
of the shadow of the global
fnancial crisis.
In addition, the China-
Russia crude oil pipeline
project will be completed in
the second half of this year.
The pipeline, whose con-
struction started last year,
runs from Skovorodino,
Russia, to Daqing, northeast
Chinas Heilongjiang Prov-
ince. The 1,030-km pipeline
will transport 15 million
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
Page 24
South Africans have marked
the 50th anniversary of the
Sharpeville Massacre, a
turning point in the nations
liberation struggle.
Sixty-nine people died
on 21 March 1960 when po-
lice gunned down unarmed
people protesting against
apartheid laws.
The dead were honoured
as part of Human Rights
Day, with church services,
the laying of wreaths, and a
speech by Deputy President
Kgalema Motlanthe.
Critics say people in the
township still face poor liv-
ing conditions.
People gathered at the
Roman Catholic church in
Sharpeville, and laid wreaths
at the cemetery on the graves
of those killed in the massa-
cre.
Mr Motlanthe spoke to
survivors and relatives of the
victims at the Garden of Re-
membrance.
Later addressing a crowd
of about 5,000, he said: We
say never, never and never
again will a government ar-
rogate itself powers of tor-
ture, arbitrary imprisonment
of opponents and the killing
of demonstrators.
In the same breath, we
state that our democratic
government undertakes to
never ignore the plight of the
poor, those without shelter,
those without means to an
education and those suffer-
ing from abuse and neglect,
he was quoted by the Associ-
ated Press as saying.
The Sharpeville Mas-
sacre is remembered as one
of the bloodiest moments of
the liberation struggle, the
BBCs Karen Allen reports
from Johannesburg.
Fifty years ago,
South African police opened
fre on demonstrators in
Sharpeville township, 50km
(30 miles) south of Johan-
nesburg.
Sixty-nine people died
and at least 180 were injured
- many shot in the back as
they were trying to fee the
scene.
They had gathered out-
side the police station to pro-
test against pass laws, which
required all blacks to carry
identity documents - known
as pass books - at all times.
No police were ever convict-
ed over the killings.
The Sharpeville massa-
cre led to the banning of the
African National Congress
(ANC) and its rival libera-
tion movement, the Pan Af-
ricanist Congress (PAC), and
signalled the start of the un-
derground armed resistance
in South Africa.
Today, many in the town-
ship are disappointed that the
ANC has failed to improve
their lives since it came to
power, our correspondent
says.
Many of the shops in
Sharpeville have closed
down, unemployment per-
sists and there is a sense
among some residents that
basic public services are in-
adequate.
Our lives started chang-
ing with Nelson Mandelas
release, but people are still
fnancially struggling and
fnance is still in white peo-
ples hands, Abram Mofo-
keng told Associated Press
news agency.
He was 21 when the mas-
South Africa commemorates
Sharpeville Massacre of 1960
sacre took place.

In recent weeks the ANC
has faced protests from
other communities in South
Africa, who fear that cro-
nyism and corruption have
overshadowed the partys
agenda.
Victims at the scene of the massacre.
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
Page 25
Monthly Mirror Contest
Win this Lay-Z-Man Bed by completing the entry cou-
pon and mailing it to the Weekend Mirror, Lot 8 Indus-
trial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown or Freedom House, 48
Robb Street, Lacytown, Georgetown.
Drawing will take place at the end of May, 2010
and the winners name will be published in the Weekend
Mirror. Only original clippings of the coupon will be ac-
cepted. Employees and/or their relatives of the Weekend
Mirror and Freedom House are not eligible to enter the
competition.
This months prize is with the compliments of
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A South Korean attempt to
launch a weather monitor-
ing satellite into orbit has
failed after the rocket car-
rying it appeared to have
exploded, striking a blow to
the countrys aspirations of
joining Asias space race.
The Naro rocket, de-
signed by Russian and South
Korean experts, seemed to
have exploded 137 seconds
after blast-off on Thursday,
Ahn Byong-man, South
Koreas minister of educa-
tion, science and technol-
ogy said.
Looking from the
bright fash seen on the
camera mounted on the tip
of the rocket, it appears the
Naro exploded in fight dur-
ing the frst-stage ignition,
Ahn said.
Engineers from
South Korea and Russia
are trying to determine the
cause of the incident.
The satellite, de-
signed to monitor climate
change, had been due to
separate from the rocket at
an altitude of 302km and
to deploy its solar panels
about nine minutes after
blast-off.
The rocket had only
reached an altitude of 70km
when the apparent explo-
sion occurred.
I cannot defnitely
say now, but there appears
to have been a problem with
the frst stage of the rocket,
Lee Jae-Woo, a space ex-
pert at Konkuk University
in Seoul, the South Korean
capital, said.
The frst stage of the liquid-
fuelled rocket was made in
Russia, while the second
stage of the rocket and the
satellite were built domes-
tically.
The remnants
of the rocket might have
crashed into the ocean
about 465km from Seoul,
offcials said.
This is the second
time a South Korean built
rocket has failed in the past
year.
A previous launch
attempt failed in August
when the nose cone of the
satellite did not open prop-
erly.
South Korea has in-
vested more than $400m in
the 140 tonne Naro-1 rocket,
with space technology seen
as a matter of national pride
for many Koreans.
About 100 people
cheered as they watched
the rockets launch on tele-
vision screens in the main
railway station in the capi-
tal.
The mood at the sta-
tion turned anxious when
news of problems with the
launch became apparent.
We are sorry for
failing to live up to peoples
expectations, Ahn said.
The country has
previously sent 10 satellites
into space, but has relied on
launch vehicles and tech-
nology from other coun-
tries.
South Korea is aim-
ing to catch up with Japan,
China and India who are
Asias current space pow-
ers.
Japan has launched
numerous satellites, while
China sent its frst astronaut
into space in 2003 and car-
ried out its frst spacewalk
in 2008.
India launched a satellite
into moon orbit in 2008 but
had to abandon it nearly a
year later after communi-
cation links snapped.
The frst South Ko-
rean astronaut was sent
into space aboard a Rus-
sian Soyuz rocket in April
2008.
Lee Myung-bak,
South Koreas president,
has urged the countrys
space engineers and experts
to avoid feeling frustrated
S Korea rocket explodes on launch
over the failure and to aim
for success in the future.
Though it is re-
grettable, much more can
be learned though fail-
ure, Lee said in a state-
ment posted on the presi-
dential website.

Ahn has said plans are un-
derway for a third attempt
to send a satellite into orbit,
although he did not specify
a date.
The second rocket failure in the past year is seen as a blow
to South Koreas space ambitions
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010
Page 26
Weekend Sport
Sports View
by Neil Kumar
S
hondell Mystery
Lady Alfred knocked
out Corinne Sexy
Panther De Groot to take
the undefeated Womens In-
ternational Boxing Associa-
tion (WIBA) Bantamweight
Title.
The sharp and fully ft
Alfred clinical put on a clini-
cal performance. Alfred
was quick and smart in the
frst three rounds. She was
looking dangerous every
time she went forward.
The World Bantamweight
Champion took one minute,
23 seconds of the fourth of
their 10 round encounters, to
deliver a vicious knock-out
fnal that sent De Groot reel-
ing with Canvas. The dev-
astating punches confrmed
Alfred as the un-disputed
Guyana/WIBA Bantam-
weight Champion.
Gwendolyn The Stealth
Bomber ONeil defeated
Veronica Blackman to take
the WIBA Heavyweight Ti-
tle. ONeil boxed her way to
a unanimous decision. This
win is her third world title.
Hector Machito Co-
macho Jr., the son of the leg-
endary Hector Macho Co-
macho Snr. whipped Denny
Dalton seriously in front of
his hometown supporters.
Dalton seemed to have left
his deadly right hand home
as using it seemed to have
been a problem. Comacho
used that to his advantage
and destroyed Dalton with
solid left hands especially to
his body and was bestowed
with the WBF Intercontinen-
tal Middleweight Title.
Orlon Pocket Rocket
Rogers was unable to launch
his rockets as predicted
in his pre-fght promises,
as he was indeed no match
for Elton The Real Coolie
Bully Dharry boxing out of
the USA. Dharry used his
height, reach and superior
strength to soften the Pocket
Rocket and gained a unani-
mous decision victory.
In the amateur section
of the well put together card,
Junior Commonwealth Sil-
ver Medalist, Clevon Rock
defeated Nandkumar Singh
of Republican Gym.
Rock displayed tactical
and skillful boxing. How-
ever, Singh showed off a
well trimmed body. He was
hungry and went after Rock
menacingly, but because of
Singhs lack of experience,
Rock prevailed.
Singh, with his will
and determination can go a
far way. Those who are in
charge of his training must
quickly, but with caution,
cooperate and give him the
necessary encouragement
and exposure which will be
Guyanese boxers excel at Friday Night Card
necessary for future suc-
cesses.
The well organised card
by Bris O Promotions,
headed by Seon Bristol, saw
a capacity crowd at the Prin-
cess Hotel Poolside.
Attendees included Presi-
dent Bharrat Jagdeo, Minis-
ters of the Government and
other dignitaries, who were
treated to an evening of high
entertainment and top class
boxing.
It cannot be denied that
the nights card was well or-
ganized and fully supported
internationally and locally.
The tremendous turn out is
a manifestation of Guya-
neses appreciation for sport.
Further, the crowd was dis-
ciplined and they rallied be-
hind our local boxers.
Guyana Boxing Board
of Control (GBBC) must be
complimented for a well-
executed vent. Lets us rally
behind our boxers.
West Indies and South Af-
rica are presently playing
in the frst test match at the
Queens Park Oval. Due to
injuries, the West Indies is
without top batsman Ram-
naresh Sarwan and fast
bowlers Fidel Edwards and
Jerome Taylor.
So far the South Africans
have already whitewashed
the West Indies in the two
shorter versions of the game.
The three test match series
may be more competitive if
the solid rock of West Indies
batting, Shivnarine Chand-
erpaul continues to bat con-
sistently.
Chanderpauls clone
Narsingh Deonarine is also
a solid test batsman and he
along with Brendon Nash
can occupy the crease and
play very long innings.
Skipper Chris Gayle has
failed miserably with the bat
so far in the Limited Over
series. Gayles batting at the
top of the order failed to give
the team a good start. He
will have to bat sensibly if
the West Indies are to score
runs adequately and give
their bowlers an opportunity
to bowl at the South Afri-
cans. All-rounder, Dwayne
Bravo and Denish Ramdin
along with Travis Dowlin
must also score runs for their
team. Test cricket is all about
batting and scoring runs and
bowling out the opposition
twice under your total.
West Indies will have
to improve in their felding
from their last Limited overs
match against South Africa.
The Bravo brothers put down
two catches that certainly
cost the West Indies team
the match. Our felding will
have to be superb and clini-
cal. South Africas batting
on paper looks very strong.
Their bowling also seems
threatening and in their
felding, they are far sharper
than the West Indies.
The Caribbean people
will rally behind the home
team and our players must
be motivated to stop South
Africa from winning.
Stiff competition for W/I and
upcoming tournament
South Africa is preparing for the
start of the biggest football tour-
nament on earth, the World Cup,
which gets under way on Friday in
Johannesburg.
It is the 19th staging of the
showpiece event and will be the
frst time it has taken place in the
continent of Africa.
Johannesburgs 94,000-
capacity Soccer City hosts the
opening ceremony, with the frst
game getting under way at 1500
BST when South Africa face
Mexico.
Former president Nelson
Mandela, 91, is set to attend part
of the festivities.
He will be present on Friday,
but will not attend the entire open-
ing game as his family are worried
about the state of his health.
T he World Cup kicks off
with a 40-minute opening cer-
emony at Soccer City starting at
1300 BST.
American RnB star R Kelly is
one of 1,581 performers ahead of
the game between the hosts and
Mexico at 1500 BST.
The global TV audience for
the tournament will be made up
of viewers in more than 215 coun-
tries and will run into hundreds of
millions.
South Africa president
Jacob Zuma and Archbishop
Desmond Tutu are also expected
to be at Soccer City, the newly
refurbished stadium designed to
look like a calabash, an African
cooking pot.
Since it was chosen as the
frst African host of the World Cup
in 2004, South Africa has spent
about 40bn rand (3.55bn) on
stadiums, transport infrastructure
and upgrading airports.
The tournament, which is made
up of 32 nations, could add as
much as 0.5% to the countrys
GDP in 2010 and will bring in an
estimated 370,000 foreign visi-
tors.
As well as the iconic Soc-
cer City - the biggest stadium in
Africa - nine other venues will
stage World Cup matches across
the country, including Ellis Park,
which is also in Johannesburg.
Cape Town, Pretoria, Polokwane,
Rustenburg, Bloemfontein, Port
Elizabeth, Durban and Nelspruit
will host matches, too.
There are 64 games in total,
with the fnal taking place at Soc-
cer City on Sunday, 11 July.
There have been concerns about
ticketing policy and security in the
run-up to the tournament.
Fifa has come under fre for the
way tickets have been distributed,
with critics claiming its preferred
method of making tickets avail-
able online excluded many locals
who did not have an internet con-
nection.
However, footballs world gov-
erning body has made a number
of tickets exclusively available to
South Africans and announced
on Wednesday that 97% of the
3.1m tickets had been sold, allay-
ing fears of empty stadiums.
As for security, there have
been concerns about the safety
of fans, media and players travel-
ling to South Africa.
England are among the fa-
vourites in South Africa and Fabio
Capellos men get their Group C
campaign under way against the
United States in Rustenburg on
Saturday.
Defending champions Italy start
on Monday with a match against
Paraguay, Brazil face North Ko-
rea in their frst game on Tuesday
and Euro 2008 winners Spain
start their bid for a frst World Cup
win by taking on Switzerland on
Wednesday.
South Africa have never
progressed beyond the group
stage at the World Cup, though
they have only taken part in two
previous tournaments, in 1998
and 2002. They are managed by
Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira,
who led his home nation to vic-
tory at the 1994 World Cup in the
United States and will be coach-
ing at a record sixth tournament.

Some of the worlds best players
will be on display in South Africa,
among them Lionel Messi, Cristia-
no Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
But some big names will be miss-
ing because of injury, such as
England duo Rio Ferdinand and
David Beckham, Germany skip-
per Michael Ballack and Ghana
midfelder Michael Essien. Di-
dier Drogba - an icon in African
sport - fractured his elbow in a
recent friendly against Japan, but
is hopeful of playing a part in the
Ivory Coasts campaign.
World Cup 2010: South
Africa set for historic event
Weekend Mirror, 12-13 June, 2010 Page 27
Greatness of former cricketers
Wes Hall
W
esley Winfeld
Hall (born Sep-
tember 12, 1937,
Holders Hill, Barbados)
is a former West Indian
cricketer who played in 48
Tests from 1958 to 1969.
Hall was one of the frst
in the line of highly suc-
cessful West Indian fast
bowlers. Known for his
speed, he approached the
wicket with a 35-40 yard
run-up and his partnership
with Charlie Griffth was
highly successful in Test
cricket. Six feet two inches
tall, Hall had a graceful
action and could bowl fast
for long spells. He bowled
the famous last over in the
Tied Test of Brisbane in
1960. Garry Sobers ranked
Hall ahead of Michael
Holding.
Hall attended Comb-
ermere School on a free
scholarshp and played for
the school cricket team,
initially as a batsman.
[1] After completing his
schooling, Hall was em-
ployed by the cable offce
in Bridgetown and it was
playing for the offce crick-
et team where Hall took up
bowling.[2] Halls talent
was soon recognised and
in 1956 he was included in
the Barbados team to play
EW Swantons XI.[3]
In addition to being a
successful fast bowler, Hall
has also been an selector,
manager, administrator,
politician and clergyman.
After retiring from cricket,
he was later elected a sena-
tor in Barbados.
Hall began his career as
a wicket-keeper but soon
switched to fast bowling, a
role he could handle much
more easily. He quickly
emerged as the West In-
dies frst great post-war
fast bowler. With one of
the longest run-ups in Test
cricket, he bowled genu-
inely fast - and for very
long spells throughout a
day. During the Lords
Test of 1963 he bowled
unchanged for over three
hours on the fnal day.
He took 192 wickets
in 48 Tests (exactly four a
match), with best return of
7 for 69 against England at
1960, when he was at his
quickest. In all frst-class
cricket, he took 546 wick-
ets in 170 matches.
Following retirement, he
was a selector and manag-
er of the West Indies team
and president of the West
Indies Cricket Board from 2001 to 2003. During
that period he sat on the board of directors of the
International Cricket Council, where he pushed
for better conditions for players in particular and
West Indies cricket in general.
He was the Minister of Tourism in Barba-
dos in the 1980s and implemented many sports-
related initiatives which have now been adopted
globally.

Today he continues to serve as an evangelical
church leader. He was on the board of direc-
tors for the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Project.
(Wikipedia.com)
R
e
v
.

W
e
s

H
a
l
l
PUBLISHED BY NEW GUYANA Co. Ltd., 8 Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana. Tel: 226-2471/73 Fax: 226-2472 WEEKEND MIRROR, 12-13 June, 2010
Road Safety is everybodys business
by Mirrors International
Correspondent

ON JUNE 9, the UN Se-
curity Council voted to
put additional sanctions on
Iran, continuing to claim
that Iran is making a nucle-
ar bomb even though that
has been denied time and
again by the Iranians.
It is clear that the U.S.
has applied a lot of pres-
sure on other countries to
comply.
Brazil and Turkey
seem to be the only states
that felt strong enough to
resist the might of the U.S.
It is very obvious that
the great powers seem to
be taking a terribly biased
position against Iran. This
country has never invaded
any other country. It is not
a threat to anyone, yet it has
been subjected to serious
and damaging sanctions.
At the same time,
Israel, which has nuclear
arms, which is threaten-
ing Iran and other weaker
states, and which has a re-
cord of invasion and sei-
zure of lands from many
Arab countries, faces no
sanctions.
The terrorist state of
Israel has been blockading
Gaza and starving more
than one- and-a-half mil-
lion people of basic neces-
sities, yet it is allowed by
the big powers of this world
to go with small comments
and half-hearted condem-
nations, but no sanctions.
Israel has even gone
The UN sanctions on Iran
Obama hails toughest sanctions but Ahmadinejad dismisses them as pesky fies.
so far as to steal passports
from U.S. and U.K. citizens
to send agents to assassi-
nate people in other coun-
tries, as recently occurred
in Dubai. No sanctions
were placed on Israel.
No wonder that Iran
has responded in the way it
has because it sees that it is
under attack and may very
well have to face the mili-
tary might of some of the
powers-that-be.
If the U.S. feels so
strongly that it wants the
support of the world, it
should begin to act even-
handedly.
If it disarms Israel of nu-
clear weapons, it would no
doubt gain the moral au-
thority to call for sanctions
against Iran.
The Peoples Progressive
Party (PPP) has noted with
deep regret the shooting of
Kelvin Fraser, a 16-year-old
student, by the police at Pat-
entia, West Bank Demerara.
This unfortunate incident
must be of concern to all
Guyanese people.
We urge that an inves-
tigation into this tragedy be
mounted. It should be done
swiftly and not prolonged.
The result of such an inves-
tigation must also be made
public.
The Peoples Progressive
Party extends deepest sym-
pathy to the parents, family
and friends of Kelvin Fra-
zier.
PPP condemns
Frazer shooting
Government continues to in-
sist on quality and value for
money, while emphasising
the need for international
certifcation to reduce tech-
nical barriers to trade for lo-
cal businesses, companies,
services and laboratories.
In order to achieve
this, the Guyana National
Bureau of Standards (GNBS)
has launched the National
Accreditation Focal Point
highlighting the importance
of local bodies securing in-
ternational accreditation.
The Wednesday ses-
sion, which saw participants
from various private and
public sector organisations,
was held at the Pegasus Ho-
tel under the theme, Global
Acceptance and coincided
with the observance of World
Accreditation Day.
The GNBS said the
main aim of accreditation is
to boost competitiveness of
the local economy and fa-
cilitate acceptance of goods
and services on the global
market.
Accreditation is
seen as crucial not only to
competition and global mar-
ket access but also to ensure
the health and satisfaction of
consumers are guaranteed.
It involves satisfying
consumers trust for quality
services as well as ensuring
value for their money.
Guyana has made im-
portant advances but needs
to accelerate actions to cre-
ate its own standards and
become an equal participant
in the making of the safety
standard process.
Around the world,
international certifcation is
being used as a viable mar-
keting tool and Represen-
tative of the Private Sector
Commission (PSC) Rabin-
dra Rambaran said standards
go far beyond labels, weight
and measurements.
Rambaran mentioned
that some businesses seek
to expand through export
but are turned down due to
non-compliance with inter-
national standards resulting
in loss of investment and ex-
pansion.
He added that al-
though some are in compli-
ance, they are not certifed
and accredited and are there-
fore excluded from lucrative
global markets.
The businessman sug-
gested more research, in-
creased transparency, good
corporate governance and
visible corporate social re-
sponsibility as keys to com-
petitiveness.
Head of the Conformity
Assessment Department,
Candelle Walcott-Bostwick
said the CARICOM Region-
al Organisation for Stan-
dards and Quality (CROSQ),
in June 2008, implemented
the Caribbean Laboratories
Service Project to improve
lab service and tests results.
It was later decided to
develop focal points in those
countries without accredita-
tion bodies to ensure stan-
dards are equated with those
in the United States.
Guyana to pursue accreditation
for local companies
Participants at the launch of the GNBSNational Accreditation Focal Point project
at the Pegasus Hotel.
The Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) has announced that the Ad-
venture Stelling is back in operation after its closure to aid the safe retrieval of
a lorry and its driver from the Essequibo River.
It was noted that the rescue operation was expedited by a fellow lorry
driver and an employee of T&HD. The mishap occurred at approximately 07:55
hours and the service from Adventure resumed at 16:30 hours.
On June 8 while the vessel, M.V. Torani was being off loaded at the Ad-
venture Stelling, lorry # GEE 7332 rode over the chock that was placed behind
the rear wheel, pushed its way through the securing chain and ran overboard,
on the seaward side of the vessel.
At the time of the incident the lorry was being driven by one Christo-
pher Browne and it was conveying 15 tons of fertilizer. The gross weight of
the lorry was 22 tons, which is the present acceptable weight on the Essequibo
Ferries, the T&HD said in a release.
The Management of the T&HD has expressed regrets for any inconve-
nience caused by the unfortunate incident.
Adventure Stelling back in operation
- following lorry episode

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