Economic and racial inequality exposed in French Caribbean protests

 IF you grow up black in the Caribbean you grow up as a member of the majority and you enjoy all its accompanying rights and priviledges.

In history class kids are taught that their country, the region and by extension most of the North American continents was built on the backs of African slaves and that they are a descendants of these slaves.  All black children in the Caribbean grow up knowing that their dreams are not limited by race and that if they truly work hard they can accomplish anything. Be it a doctor, lawyer, fire fighter or even prime minister black children in the Caribbean KNOW that he/she will NEVER be asked, ” Can a black person really become prime minister? ”

In many cases White and East Indian West Indians have retreated from the political arena. Many choose not (Trinidad and Guyana are the exceptions) to participate in the political life these island states.  Since the granting of Independence (which for many of these nations occurred in the 1960s) political power was swapped for economic power.

It has long been obvious to Caribbean populations that the members of the business elite, mainly the descendants of former colonial masters, East Indian and Chinese indentured labourers, that these handful of families and (in many cases it really is just a few families) exert disproportionate economic influence based on their relative small numbers. In many cases these descendants make up less than 1% of the population yet control 80% of the economic resources with two exceptions once again Trinidad and Guyana.

Granted political power has allowed many in the Caribbean to enjoy a relative high standard of living but Caribbean leaders have often expolited and in many cases fail to seriously address lingering racial tensions that have exploded periodically in the last 50 years-the business class are not solely to blame. 

However,  with the deepening of the global economic crisis and its consequences become clearer and clearer every day for the average citizen those who have controlled the reigns of power for so long have now become targets of popular anger and protest not just in America but across the globe.  Americans aren’t the only ones who are mad as hell!

Sadly, the social structure in the Caribbean a product of its colonial legacy has remained almost unchanged and its accompanying inequalities have led to brief but destructive periods of unrest and resistance.

Martinique and Guaduloupe may now be  experiencing one of those periods, other Caribbean islands are also at risk.

Violent rebellions and revolts once the most powerful weapon in the masses arsenal have long been abandoned for more peaceful protests. But with economic discontent spreading and global resentment rising 2009 may become known as the ‘Year of Violent Discontent’.

Mccain should’ve practiced the Karl Rove fundamentals

Now, I’m not willing to say that Obama has it in the bag even though all the polls have him up nationally, there are still three weeks left to this campaign and anything could happen.

Obama is still capable of making a catastrophic misstep and those white working class voters who are still on the sidelines could suddenly jump off and throw their full support behind John Mccain. I don’t think either of these things will happen but they are a possibility.

In the last week, I’ve tried to watch John Mccain’s campaign objectively, (yes, I have..lol) and all I have to say is that his campaign is undisciplined and his messages lack direction and consistency.

One day his campaign is attacking Obama’s character and his past associations vigorously. The next day he’s attacking his record. The next day he’s telling his supporters, he’s not an arab but he’s a decent and good family man. The next day he’s talking about his economic plans.

Now, if  I were a rational, intelligent, Republican leaning independent voter I wouldn’t know which message to listen too. But I do know the message that Obama is an Arab, marxist terrorist with plans to enslave white people would NOT be an effective or persuasive enough argument to get my vote.

And this is and continues to be John Mccain’s problem. His messages are inconsistent and imprecise.
And with only three weeks left to the general election this is a failing strategy.

Yes, the current unfavorable political climate, economic conditions and an unconventional opponent should have caused the Mccain camp to adjust their strategy but not so much so to cause their campaign to appear in disarray and desperate.

Karl Rove and his team would never have allowed this to happen.

For all the reasons we liberals hate Karl Rove we must admit he maintained, practiced and demanded message discipline from the candidate and their supporters and when he found a weakness in his opponents he zeroed in on it, concentrated his resources and exploited it effectively to the benefit of his candidate.

Mccain and his team, and the Republican party in general at the moment, lack these capabilities and although it didn’t work in 2006 it can be argued that it might have worked this time around even with all the obstacles.

Mccain has been trying to replicate some of the plays from past Republican play books and they just aren’t working however,  I do believe if they had practiced the ‘Karl Rove fundamentals 101′ from the very beginning we might be seeing entirely different poll results but we’ll just have to wait a few more days to see if their missteps and misfires were disastrous.

Oil hits $100 a barrel..

Oil prices hit $100 a barrel briefly today before falling back.

If oil prices continue to rise and we see sustained oil prices at $100 a barel in the short term this is going to mean higher gas prices for me and you and higher heating oil prices in the long term higher prices across the board for every day items. I could also talk about the impact this is going to have on specific industries and in the long term this could fuel a recession that although we’re technically not in doesn’t stop the everyday person from believing we are.

Although I have my doubts, I really do hope this inspires people to start pressuring their elected officials and the car makes to spend more on developing alternative fuels and to put more into hybrids. Detroit MUST go greener sooner rather than later because after reaching the $100 mark the $120 and $150 naker might not be that far away.

Check out the story here.