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California Dream 2.0
Selected tag(s): Offsets
The New Fall Crop for Rice Farmers: Carbon Offsets
By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 23, 2014
This September, a new crop will be made available to rice producers: carbon offsets.
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) took another important step forward last week when it published the latest draft standard for the development of carbon offsets. The standard lays out the steps a producer needs to take in order to sell his new crop. Once it is approved, producers will be able grow and sell it as a new revenue stream.
So how does this work?
Rice fields are flooded as a part of growing this worldwide staple. It's necessary for its growth. However, when water comes in contact with organic matter, the organic matter decomposes, generating methane – a strong greenhouse gas. By reducing the amount of methane generated through rice cultivation, a farmer can generate a carbon credit that can be sold to companies to offset their carbon emissions.
What are the practices that produce credits? Read More »
Posted in Climate, Sustainable Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, rice | Comments are closed
Fertilizer-Efficiency Credits Seed the Market for Agricultural Offsets
Fertilizer use is key to increasing the productivity necessary for farms to feed rising populations. However, not using the right amount in the right place at the right time is one of the biggest threats to a stable climate. Nitrogen fertilizer not used by crops emits nitrous oxide, a heat-trapping gas 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. It also contaminates water supplies, causes algae blooms downstream and erodes soil health.
So, it was welcome news last week when the first greenhouse gas credits for fertilizer efficiency made their debut in the North American carbon market.
The American Carbon Registry issued the credits to Myron Ortner, a central Michigan farmer who voluntarily reduced nitrous oxide emissions from his crops by modifying his fertilizer use. Working closely with researchers at Michigan State University, Ortner tested fertilizer inputs on a 40-acre plot where he grows corn and soybeans in rotation. In an interview with Scientific American, he said he's down to using 135 pounds of fertilizer per acre, less than the average 200.
"I found out we can use less nitrogen and get away with it through those studies," Ortner told the publication. "I want a few more years on it before I'm going to commit all my acres to it, but I don't think I've lost any yield by doing what we're doing." Read More »
Posted in Climate, Ecosystem Services, Sustainable Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, Climate | Comments are closed
Spring Cultivates Rice Offsets
By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: March 18, 2014
The arrival of Spring can't come soon enough for some, though it came early for the California offset market. Three significant events will spur the development of carbon offsets from rice cultivation. First, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) launched a rulemaking to adopt a compliance offset protocol for rice cultivation projects. The American Carbon Registry (ACR) also approved a rice protocol for the Mid-South (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas).
And at EDF we announced the listing of the first California rice offset project with ACR.
As a part of ARB's rulemaking, they released a discussion draft of a compliance offset protocol. This protocol contained three different activities that growers can take to reduce the generation of methane associated with rice cultivation – dry seeding, early drainage, and alternate wetting and drying of fields. All of these practices have been developed using the latest science and have been shown to reduce methane generation without impacting yield. Methane is the second largest anthropogenic source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for 9% of all U.S. GHG emissions from human activities. Methane is also important because it is more than 20 times more potent a GHG than carbon dioxide. At the meeting, the ARB stated that they intend to propose the protocol for consideration at the September 2014 Board meeting. Read More »
Posted in Climate, Global Warming Solutions Act: AB 32, Offsets, Sustainable Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, rice | Comments are closed
Plow, or Preserve and Profit?
By Ashley Rood / Bio / Published: October 31, 2013
Konza Prairie Biological Station
This weekend, long-time Minneapolis Star Tribune outdoors columnist and reporter Dennis Anderson wrote a revelatory call to arms about the dire state of conservation in Minnesota:
"This ain't working, and we need to try something different. Radically different."
Directly to the West of Minnesota in the Prairie Pothole Region of Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, annual losses of native grasslands have averaged approximately 50,000 acres per year since 2007, leading to a significant loss of soil carbon. High prices for commodity crops make it much more attractive to plow grasslands than to keep them intact.
What if a market-based initiative paid farmers and ranchers for keeping grasslands grass? A new carbon offset protocol announced yesterday may just do that.
The protocol officially titled the "Avoided Conversion of Grasslands and Shrublands to Crop Production" was developed through a partnership effort including Environmental Defense Fund, Duck's Unlimited, The Climate Trust, The Nature Conservancy and Terra Global Capital and was funded in part by the U.S Department of Agriculture's Conservation Innovation Grant.
Just approved by the American Carbon Registry, this first of its kind voluntary protocol will be best applied to grasslands in the Midwest. Producers of these offsets can sell them to any willing buyer in America. Ranchers in the Midwest already recognize the value of their land lies in the soil health below ground where the soil translates to healthy food for their cattle. Now these same producers can quantify this value and sell it through new environmental markets.
"This project provides Northern Great Plains producers with new ways to earn income from conservation activities, expanded opportunity for outdoor recreation and an opportunity to create jobs in their communities," said Robert Bonnie, USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment. "The American Carbon Registry's approval of this innovative ACoGS protocol enables vital projects like our partnership with Ducks Unlimited to preserve a treasured national landscape, while also preventing the release of greenhouse gas emissions."
This first project the Under Secretary mentions, is estimated to perpetually conserve 5,000 – 6,000 acres of native mixed-grass prairie. The protection of grasslands will also indirectly protect 500-600 acres of seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands situated in the protected grasslands.
And these lands are protected not through onerous regulations or hollowed out federal conservation programs but through innovative new revenue streams for the agriculture sector from emerging environmental markets such as California's carbon market. Between now and 2020, companies in California can purchase more than 200 million metric tons of offsets. This protocol has the opportunity to help supply that demand.
This is an exciting step forward for Midwest producers. By making ecosystems a part of the economy ranchers and their families will benefit from diverse opportunities to make more money off their land.
Posted in Climate, Ecosystem Restoration, Ecosystem Services, Offsets, Sustainable Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, grassland | Read 1 Response
California Will not Repeat UN Offset Design Flaw
By Erica Morehouse / Bio / Published: August 20, 2012
Last week, the New York Times highlighted a specific design flaw in the UN carbon offsets program that the EU has allowed entities subject to its emissions trading system to utilize. In particular, the article highlighted a poorly designed offset that encouraged select companies to increase pollution – only to reduce it and then sell the offset credits. (EDF's response to this article was recently published in a Letter to the Editor.)
While the article does acknowledge that the EU has taken significant measures to resolve this problem – including the already planned ban of such bogus credits from entering its carbon trading system in the future – it fails on two critical points.
First, the article fails to point out that while Europe's carbon reduction program — the first ever regulatory program of its kind– has encountered challenges, it has also significantly reduced pollution, independent of the recession and with negligible impact on the economy, a point further substantiated in an upcoming EDF report.
Second, the article fails to note that this issue, which EDF and others have been warning about since the development of the offset program, can easily be addressed through proper program design. In fact, California, which is working to implement a similar system of its own, has put in place three mechanisms to guard against problems of this nature:
First, instead of taking a project-by-project approach (as Europe has), California has adopted strict protocols with performance standards to guide approval of carbon-offset credits within designated activity areas, like forestry. The performance standards approach used in CA is more transparent, more administrable, more enforceable, and has greater objectivity and environmental integrity than the ad hoc approach used in Europe.
Second, California will not award offset credits to projects in other states that reduce emissions of gases that California state law already restricts. For example, California law mandates that methane gas be captured from large landfills, so California will not be awarding offset credits to projects that reduce methane emissions in states that do not already regulate landfill emissions. Without this safeguard, other states might have a perverse incentive to not pass regulation restricting methane emissions.
Finally, California has put in place a program to address the very challenge highlighted in the NTY article: offsets that reward the destruction of coolants and other high warming potential gases. Unlike Europe's program, California only allows destruction of gases that have already been used and are slated for recycling (destroying these gases is actually better than recycling them because newer materials with lower GHG potential are available),or were from a domestic source stockpiles originating before the U.S. production phase-out. And California will only accept these offsets from domestic sources.
It is critical that we not allow learning opportunities to be squandered in the name of poor excuses to avoid or delay action to address climate change, especially as dangerous emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise. Instead, it's crucial that we examine – and address – specific policy flaws with the overall goal of strengthening already successful programs.
Such will be the subject of a forthcoming report by EDF. We hope the report (expected for release in the next month) will spark discussion needed to propel effective, market-based solutions forward – not backward.
Posted in Cap and trade, Climate, Global Warming Solutions Act: AB 32, Offsets / Also tagged Cap and trade | Comments are closed
EDF and rice partners granted $1.1 million to expand rice GHG offsets effort
By Candice Chow / Published: June 28, 2011
The next exciting phase of developing greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets from rice production in the United States is now possible thanks to a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service. EDF's second Conservation Innovation Grant project for rice GHG offsets will expand the first grant's scope from California, the second leading rice-producing state (550,000 planted acres in 2010), to include Arkansas, the leading rice-producing state (1.8 million planted acres in 2010), as a model for other mid-southern states and will develop innovative technology to enable easier access to carbon markets.
The new grant includes previous partners involved in the development of the rice methodology—California Rice Commission, Applied Geosolutions, LLC, and TerraGlobal Capital, LLC—as well as new partners—Winrock International, PRBO Conservation Science, USA Rice Federation and other leading rice industry associations and rice producers in each region.
A Foundation: The first grant resulted in a methodology that provides a foundation for work to continue in California and begin in Arkansas. California has been a successful testing ground for assessing offset potential because of its groundbreaking climate law co-authored by EDF, The Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), which establishes a cap-and-trade system in 2012. However, including other rice-producing states will greatly increase the opportunity for GHG reductions and offset credits from rice production. If the California Air Resource Board adopts a rice carbon protocol, California rice growers stand to benefit in the state's cap and trade program by selling GHG offsets to capped sectors, and other rice growers outside of California also will be able to participate in the compliance market to help meet California's demand.
Phase Two: The methodology is awaiting approval by two leading carbon registries — the Verified Carbon Standard and the American Carbon Registry (where it is now open for public comment)—and it will be adapted as needed for use in two pilot projects, one in California's Sacramento Valley and the other led by Winrock International in the Delta Region of Eastern Arkansas. These initiatives will demonstrate the process of producing and selling offset credits generated by rice farmers to voluntary and potentially to compliance carbon markets, with particular focus on California's cap-and-trade program. Each project will field-test a subset of GHG-reducing practices suitable to the region, such as straw removal or altered water management. The pilot projects will help determine which additional practices can be added to the methodology.
In addition to pilot project results, we will analyze rice GHG reduction practices in other states using the De-Nitrification De-Composition (DNDC) model. DNDC is a computer simulation model of carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry in agro-ecosystems that can be used for predicting crop growth, soil temperature and moisture regimes, soil carbon dynamics, nitrogen leaching, and emissions of trace gases including nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO), dinitrogen (N2), ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Used to analyze California rice's GHG reduction potential, DNDC will be applied in other rice-producing states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. Practices such as mid-season drainage, which is currently not a feasible practice in California, may be more appropriate in other rice-growing states.
Concurrently, a user-friendly technology will be developed for growers and aggregators to enable more accurate and cost-efficient quantification of GHG reductions. Growers will test a tool that is accessible by personal computers and mobile devices, and they will also provide feedback on cost feasibility and process of the overall project. Lessons learned will be widely distributed to other interested growers and Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Since both rice-growing regions in California and Arkansas (known as a critical stretch of the Pacific Flyway and the rice and duck capital of the world, respectively) are key areas of habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds and other species of wildlife, the project will also strive to understand how rice management practices can minimize GHG emissions and maximize benefit to waterbirds. PRBO Conservation Science, a bird conservation non-profit, will lead the analysis of potential impacts of selected growing practices in California using habitat quality indicators and optimization models, which can be adapted to other regions.
Benefit to Farmers: Economic benefit estimates are based on California modeling of potential GHG reductions and cost studies. The three practices currently in the methodology and their potential for GHG reduction are: dry seeding (4%), removal of straw before flooding (8%), and reduced winter flooding (16%). The break-even costs for these practices range from $3 to $79 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent. However, though the break-even cost for straw removal, for example, is around $79, this cost can be reduced through sale of the straw, and as carbon prices increase once the compliance market begins, there may be a business advantage for some farmers. Carbon markets could provide the additional value that enables a rice farmer to access these straw markets. Other practices yet to be analyzed may produce greater GHG savings, such as mid-season drainage in the mid-southern states, in which case economic return could be higher.
A final goal of the project is to seek out regulatory approval of a rice carbon protocol, so that the GHG emission reductions achieved will have compliance value under a cap-and-trade program.
The project is expected to start in August and will conclude in 2014.
Posted in Climate, Ecosystem Restoration, Global Warming Solutions Act: AB 32, Offsets / Also tagged agriculture | Comments are closed
How California can leverage market-based environmental policies to revitalize its economy, protect its quality of life and retain a leading edge in global innovation.
EDF's work in California »


Issey Miyake Pour Homme is an old scent, with it being released way back in 1994, however it remains a firm favourite with many and is a real classic fragrance. It's actually the latest Issey Miyake fragrance I've got, with L'Eau D'Issey and L'eau Bleue D'Issey being the other ones which I got a while back. The pour homme came recommended, a lot of people rave about this, so I decided to give it a try, and after sampling it I really enjoyed it, so got a bottle.
I got this over Christmas so it came in a gift set. Along with the 75ml bottle of EDT it came with 50ml bottles of after shave balm and shower gel.
The bottle itself is a classic Issey Miyake design, the same as my other two bottles in shape. It's a frosted/translucent colour with large silver top, and smart minimal branding to the front. It looks like it will be a clean eau de toilette just from the looks, and it is.
I have a lot of woody and night style fragrances, so the latest few I wanted was for day wear, and this is one of them, however it hits just the right notes to be suitable for evening too. It's a citrus style but citrus-fresh, very aromatic and inviting. As it settles down the floral notes hit you, and they're really good. As I said I would wear this in the day, it's perfect when you want to smell really good without smelling like you're just about to go for a night on the town.
I think that this is quite a versatile scent, it's elegant too so is perfect for those looking for a fragrance that is a little bit older.
Find more fragrance reviews here.


Sandra Brown, Christine Myers; Impact of the Application of Behavioral Principles on Children's Participation in Occupational Therapy From the Therapist's Perspective. Am J Occup Ther 2018;72(4_Supplement_1):7211515231p1. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2018.72S1-PO3022.
Children can exhibit challenging behaviors in response to therapy intervention. This research examined the impact of application of behavioral principles on children's participation in therapy from the therapist's perspective.


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By Stephen Leather
Officially licensed for obooko members.
Read it and Rate it!
Rated 5/5(53 votes)
Book Synopsis
Four exciting short stories from top thriller book author, Stephen Leather. And, to whet your appetite for more great writing by the author, enjoy the first chapters from six of his best-selling thriller novels, including Birthday Girl, The Chinaman and The Vets.
The four stories in Short Fuses are:
Breaking In - when he breaks into a house, a burglar gets more than he bargained for
Strangers On A Train - nothing goes to plan during a mugging on a train
Inspector Zhang and the Hotel Guest - another mystery solved by the detective from Singapore
Cat's Eyes - the background story behind 'Bangkok go-go dancer'
Excerpt from BREAKING IN:
House-breaking was a victimless crime, pretty much. That was what Richie Grout thought about his chosen profession. For a start he almost never did any actual breaking when he did the entering. There were more than enough unlocked doors and open windows around, even in South London. Nine times out of ten his method of choice was to shin up a drainpipe and into a bathroom window. Most people seemed to think that windows above ground floor were somehow unreachable. Big mistake.
And when he was in the house, he never - repeat never - hurt anyone. That was an absolute rule. If there was someone moving around, he left. Like a bat out of hell. He'd never had a confrontation, and he never would. But he knew that if he was ever confronted then he'd either run or he'd raise his hands and surrender. Grout was a thief, not a mugger. He didn't carry a weapon of any kind, not even a knife.
Not that he'd even come close to being caught in the act. Grout was too clever for that. Too clever and too prepared. He'd ended up in court, that was true. But that was always because he'd been shafted when he was trying to unload the stolen goods. And a couple of times he'd been caught by CCTV. But he'd never been caught red-handed and he planned for it to continue that way.
The things he stole were insured most of the time. And if they weren't insured then that wasn't his fault, was it? Insurance wasn't expensive and if you couldn't be bothered taking out insurance then you shouldn't start whining when someone takes your stuff.
So all in all, there were no victims. Just the insurance companies. And they were worth billions so screw them. He looked up at the drainpipe and took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself. He was wearing his usual house-breaking gear - black jeans, black Nikes and a grey hoodie. He had on tight-fitting leather gloves and a small black Adidas backpack in which he had a small Magnalite torch, a set of night vision goggles, a mobile phone jammer and a nylon bag that when unrolled was big enough to hold a 32-inch flat screen television. That was one of Grout's favourite items. Televisions, BluRay players, laptops, anything like that was an easy sale. But he knew a fair bit about antiques and paintings so he always had a good look to see what was on the walls and in display cases.
He tended not to get jewellery because people kept stuff like that in their bedrooms and Grout broke into houses when people were asleep. That was when they left windows open. When they went away on holiday they locked everything and set their alarms. When they were asleep in their bedrooms they felt secure and they let their guard down. That was when Grout would move in.
His technique rarely varied. Up the drainpipe and through the window. A quick check of the upper floor to make sure no one was awake. Then downstairs, keeping close to the wall to minimise squeaks. He'd unlock the back door, then do the same with the front door. That way he had his escape routes ready. If anyone came downstairs he'd be on his toes and away, no fumbling with keys or bolts or chains.
The next step was to check for car keys. His van was parked close by but if he could find the keys then he was more than happy to relieve the owners of their vehicles. Some people took their car keys up to the bedroom but most left them in the kitchen or the hallway. The people in the house he was about to burgle had two cars. The guy drove a BMW 3 Series and his wife had a red Mini Cooper. The BMW was in the driveway and the Mini was parked in the road. Grout would be happy with either. Stealing cars was another victimless crime, he reckoned. Anyone who didn't have their car insured for theft was just asking for trouble.
Then it was time for a quick look around for valuables, then off into the night. Simple. And nobody got hurt. He'd arrived at the house at just after two o'clock in the morning and all the lights were off. The couple were always in bed by midnight, regular as clockwork. He took another deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and grabbed the drainpipe. He climbed easily, letting his legs do most of the work, and within seconds he was alongside the bathroom window. He reached for the latch, unhooked it, and slipped inside.
He stood by the shower for a while, his head cocked on one side as he listened intently for any sound that the occupants were awake. If he did hear anything he would be back out of the window and down the drainpipe. But there was nothing. He smiled to himself. It was always during the first few minutes of entering a house that he had to fight the urge to burst into the bedroom and shout "Surprise!" at the top of his voice.
He knelt down, took off his backpack and opened it. He slipped on the night vision goggles and switched them on. Soon everything was bathed in a greenish light. He took out his mobile phone jammer, a cigarette-sized stainless steel box with three aerials of varying lengths, and switched it on. It would neutralise any mobile phones within fifty feet. He put his backpack on, stood up and listened carefully again and then eased open the bathroom door and stepped out into the hall. His heart was racing so he forced himself to breathe slowly and evenly, in through his nose and out through his mouth. He kept his back to the wall as he tiptoed down the stairs.
He stopped when he was half way down. There were three doors leading off the ground floor hall. One led to the kitchen, one to a dining room and the third to the sitting room. The sitting door room was open. Grout stiffened as he realised there was a man standing by a large sofa. He was wearing a pair of night vision goggles similar to Grout's.
Grout froze, wondering what the hell was going on. The man with the night vision goggles was holding something. A knife.
Grout took a step back up the stairs and a board creaked. The man in the goggles turned to look in his direction. He was a big man, wide shouldered and with bulging forearms. He was wearing a black nylon bomber jacket and tracksuit bottoms. And on his feet, the sort of paper shoes that forensic scientists wore on the cop shows that Grout loved to watch.
The man with the knife straightened up. Grout turned to run back up the stairs. That was when the man standing behind Grout slammed something hard against the back of his head and everything went black.
WHEN GROUT opened his eyes his head was throbbing. He started to lift his right hand but realised that it was taped to the arm of a wooden chair. So was his left hand. He blinked his eyes, wondering what had happened. The lights were on and the curtains were drawn. His night vision goggles were on the coffee table. There was a flatscreen TV on one wall and a Bang and Olufsen stereo on a shelf but Grout was no longer thinking about what he could steal.
The Big Man stood next to the table. He had taken off his own goggles but was still holding the knife. It was almost a foot long with a wooden handle. A carving knife maybe. Something that belonged in the kitchen. There was blood along the length of the blade. Grout realised that the man was wearing pale blue surgical gloves. He frowned. All the thieves he knew wore gloves, but he'd never heard of anyone wearing latex ones.
"He's awake," said the Big Man. His head was shaved but there was enough hair growing back to suggest that even if he didn't shave he'd be pretty much bald. He had pale blue eyes, thin bloodless lips and large, slab-like teeth. He moved to the side and Grout saw someone else sitting on the sofa. It was guy who lived in the house, the driver of the BMW. His head was slumped on his chest and there were flecks of blood on his shirt.
A second man walked in front of Grout. He was short, just over five six, and wearing a brown leather jacket that looked as if it was a couple of sizes too big for him. Like the Big Man he had paper covers over his shoes and was wearing blue surgical gloves. He peered at Grout and nodded. "Told you he'd wake up sooner rather than later."
Grout tried to move his legs but realised that they were also taped to the chair.
"You could have killed him, knocking him down the stairs like that."
"I didn't have time to do anything fancy," said the Little Man. He was holding sheets of kitchen roll. He had a pinched, rat-like face and some sort of growth on the side of his nose.
"Stairs clean?"
"Done and dusted," said the Little Man. He gestured at the knife in his colleague's hand. "Are you planning on taking that with you?"
Catch up with the author online:
http://www.stephenleather.com
http://www.stephenleather.blogspot.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/stephenleatherofficial
https://twitter.com/stephenleather
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Who's The 'Conman' Now, Mr. Rubio? Marco Rubio Flip-Flops On Supporting Donald Trump, Says He Would Be 'Honored' To Help Him Win
The following article is entirely the opinion of Mohit Priyadarshi and does not reflect the views of the Inquisitr.
Mohit Priyadarshi
While flip-flops and changing loyalties are not uncommon occurrences during an election season, Marco Rubio's U-turn on supporting Donald Trump could be categorized as perhaps the starkest example of how politicians often take their voters for granted and remain unaccountable for their ever-changing attitudes (read: political decisions).
The junior senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, suspended his campaign in the face of defeat in his home state at the hands of Donald Trump in March, but it was not before voters, and Republican ones in general, bore witness to an incessant, and sometimes vile, exchange between the two candidates during their campaign trail.
In February of this year, during a rally in Arkansas, Trump had said that Rubio "couldn't get elected dog catcher in Florida." The real estate mogul had particularly enjoyed getting after the Florida senator, nicknaming him "Little Rubio" during the campaign, which, like most of the nicknames Trump comes up with for his rivals, unfortunately stuck to Marco Rubio.
In return, Rubio had called Donald Trump a "con artist," promising that he "will never get control of the GOP." He had said that America's nuclear codes must not go to a "lunatic," because it could be dangerous for the future of the country.
Donald Trump will never be the nominee of the party of Lincoln and Reagan. #NeverTrump
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 27, 2016
Donald Trump is a con artist — and he cannot be our nominee. #NeverTrump https://t.co/3ZYQZraCfNhttps://t.co/8wm9ToY7El
And yet, now, in what could only be described as a pathetic — but not wholly unpredictable — move, Marco Rubio has promised to push his weight behind Donald Trump, and in no unambiguous terms, either. During an interview on CNN that will air later today, Rubio said that he would be "honored" to rally behind Trump for the sake of defeating Hillary Clinton, reports the Washington Post.
"I want to be helpful. I don't want to be harmful, because I don't want Hillary Clinton to be president.
"If there's something I can do to help that from happening, and it's helpful to the cause, I'd most certainly be honored to be considered for that."
It is a decision, Rubio later suggested, that was taken in the interest of the GOP, and had nothing to do with narrow political goals driven by self-interest, an allegation hurled at him in the wake of his endorsement. However, while the Florida senator might have consoled himself with the endorsement for Donald Trump and the benefits it would entail, supporters who rallied behind him during his campaign trail were not quite so pleased.
Some of them confronted Marco Rubio on Twitter, deriding him for his complete capitulation to the cult of Trump.
@BillKristol @philipaklein I & respect your position.The choice before us is far from ideal.Everyone will have to make own choice
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 27, 2016
Read this @edatpost story, though you might get whiplash: Rubio's "honored" to help Trump become president https://t.co/ywXaSalMok
— Juliet Eilperin (@eilperin) May 27, 2016
More typical inaccurate context.I said I would be "honored" to help party beat Hillary.Stop your snarkathon https://t.co/iCW3p5QFRK
Respectfully, that does seem like a distinction without a difference, Senator. https://t.co/tHkdd02C7f
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) May 27, 2016
While Marco Rubio stuck to his guns and argued that the real reason for his "capitulation" is because he does not want Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States, the fact of the matter is that Rubio's endorsement is just one in a long line of endorsements by Republican representatives who have yielded to Trump after seeing him run away with the party's nomination.
It does speak of the desperation within the GOP, and the silencing of the many voices who might have liked to resist Donald Trump's candidacy, but more than that, Marco Rubio's complete flip-flop on supporting Trump speaks of the decadent state of America's current political system, where voters cannot be sure of whom they are electing into the senate, or onto the most powerful political position in the world.
Marco Rubio had called Donald Trump a "conman" for repeatedly and pathologically lying to his voters. But who's the "conman" now, Mr. Rubio?
[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]


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Home >> International Relations
PM Skerrit commends Obama on US/Cuba policy shift
Dominica News Online - Thursday, December 18th, 2014 at 1:35 PM
Obama announced the shift in police on Wednesday
Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, has commended President of the United States, Barak Obama, for moving to normalize relations with Cuba, describing it as courageous, heroic and historic.
"I beleive we need to support and commend President Obama for what I consider to be a very courageous decision on his part," he said in reaction to the news. "I always felt within me that President Obama, before he demits office, would take this heroic and historic decision."
Relations between Cuba and its giant nothern neighbour have been frozen since 1960 when diplomatic ties were broken and a trade embargo imposed. Although Obama announced a series of measures in the thawing relationship, such as the opening of a US embassy in Cuba, the trade embargo remains in place since only an act of Congress can lift it.
Skerrit said he received the news with "great excitement" pointing out the call for better relationship between the two countries was being made "for a very long time now."
He said Obama should be encouraged to "forge ahead with the additional action which Congress and other would need to take in respect to allowing Cuba to be part of the world community and continue playing its important role in world development."
The Prime Minister noted that Dominica fully supports Obama in decision "in respect to the normalization of relations between the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba."
Meanwhile, Obama, who made the announcement of Wednesday, described that move as a "new chapter" saying the US approach to Cuba was "outdated."
Here are some key dates in US/Cuba relations as outlined by the BBC.
1959: Fidel Castro and his guerrilla army defeat the US-backed Cuban regime of Fulgencio Batista
1960-1961: Cuba nationalises US businesses without compensation; US breaks off diplomatic relations and imposes a trade embargo in response
1961: Failed Bay of Pigs invasion by CIA-backed Cuban exiles
1962: Soviet Union deploys ballistic missiles to Cuba, prompting Cuban Missile Crisis
2001: Five Cubans, dubbed the Cuban Five, are jailed in Miami for spying
2008: Raul Castro becomes Cuban president
2009: US citizen Alan Gross detained in Cuba accused of spying
Dec 2013: US President Barack Obama and Raul Castro shake hands at Nelson Mandela's funeral – the first such public gesture since 1959
17 December 2014: American Alan Gross is released by Cuba
Trump to reverse Obama's Cuba policy
PM welcomes normalization of Cuba/US relations; calls for lifting of trade embargo
Fidel Castro was not impressed with Obama
U.S. abstains for first time on U.N. call for end to Cuba embargo
Cuban leader pledges to continue enhancing relations with Dominica
Rev. Donald Hill
"The US approach to Cuba was outdated" ?
Has communism changed?
Has Castro changed?
Has Cuba changed?
Are the people of Cuba more free now? Have the great freedoms of speech, public assembly, the press, and religion been restored?
Will tourists and journalists now be allowed to move about freely on he island without the secret police shadowing them?
Will Castro apologize to my friend from Toronto, a well known pastor of a big church in the city, who was rudely arrested in Cuba because the police claimed he was a CIA spy? He was there to speak in some of the churches and deliver much appreciated gifts from the Canadian church . (A church where I have preached many times.)
Is Cuba going to release American prisoners without America being forced to release Cuban criminals who are being held in the States?
Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. International Evangelist.
committed Dominican
Little boy, stop mentioning Obama ' s name in your garbage.
B Lion
Cuba got too many fine ass queens for a black man like obama to refuse that ass. With Skerrit well u dunn know already.
what boy. you mean Obama cower to pressure from Roosevelt Skerrit? obama hear skerrit say he standing with Venezuela and Cuba and Obama get scared. papamet
joking
UK Dominican
jalous allyou Jalous i mean what next "Dictator" please enlighten me of your definition of that word Ja…..s.
Leave the man alone mind your buisness no one said that he was the one who made Obama move. Before all this palava he had voiced his opinion stating that Us should raise the sanctions. Maybe allyou was to busy with pre election fever and nothing mattered at the time.
Have a Happy Xmas to all the miserable Dominicans your pressure will go down.
Allu jealous of Skerrit
I fine u takin long…………..
How can one be jealous of a leader, who can not win his own election but relies on mercenaries from a foreign country? That is very sad and makes me feel very embarrassed for my country.
WONG PING
why is there so much hatred among we dominicans? is it because of the possibility to express it freely on the net? what is wrong with we people ? nowadays every one is a counselor. if we have so many people who know how to make the country progress why hide behind the computer and express so much hate. it's time that we look into ourselves. clean our innerman. red blue green yellow!! there is so much to be done.
Francisco Telemaque
A few years ago President Obama signed a loan of a few million dollars for Dominica in the presence of PM Skerrit.(The Fact).
Lie, Lie, Lie, all lies!
Your fact is nothing more than a myth!; you know like something from a mythical world. The United states donated some small vessels to be utilized in the deterrent of the importation of cocaine and marijuana into the country.
They were intended to be utilized by the Coast Guard if they, exists in Dominica. Your Prime Minister, and mine, fail to put the vessels into service, and I believe he has ulterior motive for leaving them on the ducks. (I think I know why but I doh talking eh). Nevertheless, he was very eager to hand the U.S. official who presented the gifts to our nation two bottles of white rum, not realizing he insulted the representative who presented the gifts.
For your information (S.. Machine) or The Fact, or whatever machine you are: Obama never signed any loan to Dominica in the present of Roosevelt Skerrit, you are mistaken, or simply decided to indulge into a fallacy, or in other words an simple lie! Now if you said Skerrit met Obama, and cross path with him, to a point where they were engaged in a conversation I would agree with you, because that is factual, that is true they met somewhere in Centrial America, and believe it or not other members of ALBA were also present.
For your information the president of the United States of America does not give loans to any island government in the Caribbean. Have you ever heard the term "Caribbean Basin?" Well Dominica is part of that which is termed the Caribbean Basin. What you do not know is that certain amount of money is contributed to the islands in the Caribbean Basin, and that I believe is supervised by the State Department through the United States Embassy in Barbados. The amount of money given is divided among the nations in the "Caribbean Basin." I came into that knowledge way back in 1962.
For as long as you have been living not one single President of the United States have ever directly, or indirectly signed any sort of loan with any Prime Minister in the Caribbean, never mind singing a loan in Skerrit presence! Where did you get that from, how did you manage to deduce such nonsense?
If Skerrit confirms anything like that I can tell you he lied to you; say Francisco Telemaque said he lied!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
Anthony Ismael
I wish for a change we could elevate the discourse on this board. This was an old promise that President Obama finally acted upon. The US is very smart. Politics aside, there are companies that have been lobbying for normal relations between these two nations for decades now.
Although it's not mentioned in the article, one cannot ignore the impact of economics either. We sometimes forget that Cuba has some 11 million people with a 90% literacy rate who reside some 90 miles away from Florida. I would like to see more discourse that focuses on the Prime Minister's mistakes and the way forward, instead of petty sniping.
How should Dominica position itself to take advantage of this shift, vis-à-vis economic cooperation and trade? What's our exit strategy here?
DNO PLEASE DO NOT PLACE PRESIDENT OBAMA NEXT TO SKERRIT'S RAMBLING.
What a Shame that a leader of a country would allow himself to be a laughing stock .
simply because he relies so heavily on someone else to do his bidding and pretend it's all his doing.
Don't you at least read your speech and make sense of it before ………
J John-Charles
Prime ministers who always ready to blame America, (Of course they are singing for their supper.)Now they are commending the president for lifting the embargo on Cuba. But if the U.S. is so racist, the most repressive nation on earth and is the obstacle for world peace.Why do they want to have dealings with such a country?I heard on the radio even the PM's wife went not to Venezuela,Cuba,China and not Russia but to the Imperialist America to give birth.I saw Cubans dancing on the streets because the embargo is lifted.Why are they so happy to have relationship with the great Satan.
The Muslims hate America,but when they want to better their lives or escape from political and religious persecution they come to the great satan for asylum.
Put all the nations of the world together more people are coming and want to live in America.There is something special about this land.
zamm
Wat is wrong with this Pm? Went on a rampage against the us n now commending Pres Obama.
This is like foot in mouth disease. Always out of timing n making immature n baseless remarks.
Skerritt, Pres Obama is not even taking you on…
You forgot how greAt is da USa. Why dont.you encourage your friendly govs to treat their own folks well.
The USA is all.about human rights n democracy.
If the caribbean gets in to trouble our first response will be U S A
Remain quiet pm. You have always sided with chavez n other leAders to bash The great super power usa.
Everything Skerrit says is gospel to his followers. If he says that the sky is red, and his followers know to themselves that the sky is blue they will in the end agree with Skerrit that the sky is red.
Views Expressed
Skerrit has not got the morale authority nor the integrity to comment on such matters of world affairs. Skerrit first has to clean his backyard which is dirty with bins filled with bobol.
Skerrit has been just a populist leader and lacks morale, integrity, vision and honesty in public office.
Cuba will still have its people in prison simple because they spoke their minds…where were you Skerrit to articulate the human rights of these people. Just to share a voice for the country the love and separated from their families…
Skerrit you're not a role model to talk internationally on behalf of Dominica and the Caribbean…there are too many unanswered question directed at your government
Just as the heroic people of Cuba have fought against and defeated the dictator Batista, so too they have continuously resisted the inhumane trade embargo for about 53 years. The embargo has stifled the commercial and financial operations of Cuba for decades. Obama had the political will to shift US policy on the matter.
Is the political directorate here willing at all to make or facilitate changes to the electoral process, for example, thus allowing a level-playing field in our elections? Why do you, in authority, treat a people with such disdain? Aren't Electoral Reforms in the interest of all Dominicans? Well, we know such reforms will mess up the winning legacy of the Supremo.
But, the world is on the side of those fighting for FREE and FAIR Elections and a better democratic way of life. No longer will reforms be stalled or blocked. Because the people are willing to change. Future elections have to be FREE and FAIR. The movement is on for Change. No two ways about it.
Apart from those pressures from the US, in particular and other former colonial/capitalist countries, Cuba has one of the best Health care system in the World. Cuba has developed a highly-trained population because of its high priority on Education. For several years now, many countries have voted in the UN for the lifting of the embargo. Imagine Cuba was able to send 165 health care workers, doctors, nurses, to Africa to help fight the deadly Ebola epidemic. Outstanding for a small Caribbean country.
While all that diplomacy is going on between two countries at odds for decades, and a past policy is being shifted, here in Dominica an Electoral Commission and the political directorate are stubborn, refuse to make changes to the electoral process to ensure FREE and FAIR elections.
Debates and discussions of issues of development, foreign affairs, politics, economics, social and cultural affairs etc. etc. are of no importance to the regime. The cabal refuse to engage with the opposition as far as electoral reforms are concerned. The chairman of the Commission would not meet for simple discussion/clarification on such a pertinent matter.
Change is a must. All changes for the better must be welcomed. Changes to the electoral process is absolutely necessary for FREE and FAIR Elections. The Electoral Commission itself, Dominicans here and abroad, Regional and international Election Observers have been pleading, recommending changes, for sanitizing the bloated/dirty Voters' List and to provide voter ID Cards, to the Skerritt DLP Gov't. For Years no listening ear to the people asking for such important changes. What is Skerritt's stand on that local burning issue? We have heard nothing. Nothing
RASTAFARILEADSTHEWAY
The Prime Minister is again being the Statesman that he is by calling a spade a spade and a giving praise where its due.
Back in the old days in LA before all these educated karawats started roaming the streets and making illogical comments online…
We had a saying 'si il bon dis il bon' ebeh tojour il bon!'
for those of you that don't know original patois it means 'if its good say its good… well now its good!'
RasNah
You not no rasta. Rasta doh support mental slavery and corruption. Your a babylon fraud.
Nac Vibes
RASTAFARILEADSTHEWAY, are you using that name to try and sound credible or are you true Rasta?
If it's a claim to be a true Rasta who follows the Livity of HIM, them I suggest you visit some of the many world leading speeches by HIM to see why your Prime Minister is far away from Rasta teachings.
Hey skerrit my president Obama don't need your support, you need to watch CNN or Google Haiti pm resign after anti government protest, take a page from HAITI book Dominicans, they are fighting for democracy, while you sit and beg, they said "we need a new government as soon as possible". Oh HAITI today I applaud you, Dominicans don't have your backbone, you are fighters,and GOD deliver you, GOD bless HAITI. And for Dominicans it is written of you in proverbs chapter 6 vs 6 to 11. Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise,which having no guide overseer or ruler,provide the her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.how long will thou sleep, o sluggard? When will thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
I'm ashamed to say HAiTIANS are smarter than DOMINICANS. The comments on facebook make the world realize how illiterate and stupid DOMINICANS are.
You can curse me and fuss but it's the truth. You are a begging country, and your pm out there begging Venezuela and Cuba, always begging what a damn shame.begging, begging, begging, go get a job DLP. Maybe your pm could find out from other countries, how to teach you to fish.
Roosevelt, did you pay Obama royalties, or at least ask for his permission to use his image so blatantly in your election campaign? What does Mark Marie have to say about that?
Boy you really are something.
FAST N FURIOUS
It take strangers to see the good happening in Dominica,while a set (the opposition) sit and criticize the very same thing the strangers praise the PM for that good he has done and is doing in the country ;The only time something would appear to be good in the opposition and its supporters eyes or mind is when the PM would cowardly abide with whatever they say to do.It is so laughable and annoying to listen to some callers on Q95 dictating to the PM if he(PM)is a man,do this or that or don't do this or that without their approval; How silly that sounds.At the end of the exercise they are the ones passing as the fool.Those people(opposition) speak with hate,rage and anger from within.Their tone of voice and the manner they express themselves speak volume.Some believe that they are the ones in charge…Tell them I say that;I want to see this or that take place now;Is I want etc,etc,etc,yet they call the PM a dictator.Sad to see election 2014 has just gone and the opposition Leader is still campaigning .Can't this guy accept defeat?18-3; 15-6; Whenever they loose,elections were stolen but if they had won the elections,it would have been fair under the very same conditions the elections were called.They accuse the government for bringing people to vote,yet they did the same.The truth of the matter is the one with more money could afford to help more people.The Leader of the opposition was of the belief he would have been PM but that was not so and for that this guy is angry and is raging hatred and disorder in the country.This guy must understand that the majority of Dominicans(whether home or overseas)have spoken and should get his acts together and stop believing he is untouchable. He is one who likes pelting stones and when stones are pelt back at him he goes crying saying that they are pelting stones at him..but who cares..In his own words…If you can't stand the heat bro get out of the kitchen.
Fast and Foolish shut the FRONT Door!!!! Best to be thought a FOOL than Open your mouth and cast out all doubt! EVERYONE knows the Election was RIGGED so just crawl back under that rock BLAH, BLAH you don't know what you are talking about. STOP REGURGITATING!!!!!!!!!
PossieCan
Is the move by President Obama going to help Cuba economically? The congratulations to the President of the United States of America, Barac Obama, for taking steps to normalize relations with Cuba.
Taking a closer look home, I would like to remind the world that it was the United Workers Party (UWP) who while in government took to bold and courageous step to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba. I wonder how many people would remember that it was former Prime Minister Edison James who established relations with Cuba when Fidel Castro was President…
While we praising Obama, it was important moves like that taken by the UWP that has today, among other important diplomatic, bilateral trading and other arrangements with which the USA may have an important stake that has contributed to the USA considering re-establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba… any thoughts on that folks???
IMJustSaying
Wasn't Skerrit the same person just the other day blasting the US over sanctions re: Venuezuela?
This man is so myopic its hilarious and sad at the same time
you're statement makes no sense… you're a follower its not your fault!
The Fact
All is fair in politics. Dislike today, love tomorrow and then shake hands. After an election, whichever wins the election, opponents call each other to offer congratulations. The loser may find it difficult but it is common sense and diplomacy. It also projects a gentlemanly/ladylike attitude. Linton should learn this gentlemanly attitude.
You should not be surprised that the PM telephoned President Obama.. After all, they are not personal enemies. Anyway this is protocol. This is also utilizing tact.
This is something some of you must learn. You become angry, spew derogatory words and hate those whom you disagree with and vice versa. Be civil even to your opponents. This depicts a matured adult. Furthermore, it is Christian-like. Learn to pretend without your heart swelling with animosity and hatred.
Think of this as an example. If you made a comment on DNO and I am pleased with it I will compliment you and give you thumbs up. If not, I will express my displeasure and/or dissatisfaction in the form of a comment and I will give you thumbs down. I will not hate you for your comment.
US politicians, Canadian and European ones do not always agree on every policy but they are civil to each other.
Did you hear this year, at a summit, Putin, the Russian President tried to shake hands with Canada's PM? The Can. PM said, I will shake your hands you must get out of Ukraine. If you listen to international news you will know why he made that comment. Putin sent his army to take over that country which is independent of Russia. Canada's PM's words made international news.
I hope you comprehend what I tried to relay to you. If you practice diplomacy towards others who have wronged you or who you feel you detest, you will experience inner peace and tranquility for you should know, what you dish out to others you will receive and twofold.
It is the prerogative of leader's of a country to speak out when they feel it is necessary. Do not blame them nor criticize them for taking a stand in whatever manner they feel they should.
I think you missed the point. The PM has been quite consistent!
just a correction..So America said Dominica you are etc..
It is unfortunate, Skeritt remained quiet when President Maduro, put some serious blows of President Obama at a rally a few days ago. Maduro said," they can shove their US Visas where they should be shoved, insolent Yankees, " in other words, arrogant, contemptuous, Americans. The Americans are our friends, his son was born in America. I have my problems with Skeritt failing to address the governance of my country. Failing to address the alleged corruption in Government. Failing to do something about electoral reform, but no foreign friend, because he gives my country hand outs, has the right to publicly insult my President or old Buffond or a rasta man or my Prime Minister, for that matter, any Dominican, by calling him insolent or arrogant or contemptuous.
The PM cannot respond to every word the Venezuelan President stated. He had already pledged to stand by them. This is sufficient. He made his point.
During the cold war Dominica received assistance from the USA,they financed school buildings, feeder roads. During and after hurricane David in august 1979 America was like a good old grand mother to us.The USAID even had an office in Dominica,it was located on Cork street upstairs the building where Guiyave restaurant is.I believed these helps were given because the U.S. did not want us to fall into the hands of the leftists on the island and of course Cuba.Now after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the nations of the world came to the realization that communism is a fraud (except Cuba and North Korea0 America said Dominica you are on your own.
The last nail was put on the coffin when Bill Clinton joining with these big companies like Dole, Bel Monte and Chiquita took the EU before the W.T.O. and destroy our banana industry.
I believe that China, Cuba and Venezuela is telling us (not verbally) "You aligned with the U.S. but we are the ones helping u.
Now I just hope that when Cuba and U.S. remarry it will not be to our disadvantage.
Shaka zulu
What is the meaning of independence to you? Is it the ability to self determination, export your own produce, educate your people, efficient and maximum use of resources, and self growth, and so on? Or, is it alliance with whoever can pay your bills and give you money because you believe your are poor and can do nothing for yourself?
Again, there are those who cry for Dominica's self sustenance and internal economic growth, but they fail to acknowledge just how things function on the ground. Some twenty years ago, a local Dominican returned from the US with a business plan to commence a "Chicken Farm."
He was never granted the license to operate his business, because someone already had the license to import meat and meat-by-products in Dominica. Back then, Dominica's annual expenditure on this product alone was some EC$ 15,000,000-$20,000,000 annually.
We can point to the constant battle over geothermal exploration at home right now. We had a few individuals who learned how to fly helicopters and they started a local business at home, where they would take tourist on sight-seeing tours around the island.
There were daily complaints from farmers that the noise from the helicopters disturbed their animals that were grazing in pastures. Locals eventually drove them out of business. Dominica is extremely conservative. A few people own everything and the rest of the people are poor. It is like that by design. Our current situation is no accident.
We have certain business people who criticize LIAT when their bottom line is affected. However, as soon as the debate moves to the construction of a proper airport for the benefit of the masses, it's a terrible idea.
We write about change and we talk about growth, but we do not want development. There was a court battle to remove a wall and expand a road and create sidewalks for pedestrians. Just think for a minute that we have people fighting simple progressive ideas and how it adversely impacts the country.
There are locals who would like to invest in Dominica. However, if the ruling elite deem them a threat, the government will not grant you a license to operate your business.
Finally, when the younger generation began importing used vehicles into Dominica via the Internet from Japan, the established dealers lobbied the government to add a $EC 5,000.00 on the importation of such vehicles.
Any venture that threatens or challenges the ruling elite is usually dismantled forthwith. That's why so many learned Dominicans will not return home or take a chance to invest. The class and political foolishness is too much to bear.
A few years ago President Obama signed a loan of a few million dollars for Dominica in the presence of PM Skerrit. I think, if I am not mistaken, it was after a summit of the Americas.
I do not think the US will turn its back on Dominica, if it is in need of. You must not be negative. Some of you think ahead and too far ahead. It is as if you are always expecting the worst to occur.
I am pleased to see that there are sensible Dominicans out there who understand and remember these pertinent facts.
Don't expect any consistency on the part of the communist nations. Deception is their middle name. The powerful governments of Russia and China slew millions of innocent people whose only crimes were believing in God, free enterprise, and democracy. This shows the heart and true nature of communism.
In the cold war days we knew who our enemies were. The lines were clearly drawn. But communism has not produced its promised utopia. There are nations that still claim to be communist but are madly pursuing the fruits of capitalism. They will use whatever means they have to win credibility with the free world.
A democratic nation has nothing to gain by accepting favors from these countries. Any favors they bestow will come with a price. Are our leaders so foolish to think they will gain by pretending they now think the communist ideology is not so bad after all? China's human rights violations continue.
dcan
all those so called Men that hating on d PM will go and suck salt…the man cant do or say nothing right for u ppl to start attacking like a bunch of rabid dogs..all I have left to say is 5 more years so deal with it!!! jahlosie sey met sorciaye
They are right here on DNO as observed. I am wondering if they will ever get fed-up of hitting on him.
"I always felt within me that President Obama, before he demits office, would take this heroic and historic decision."(Roosevelt Skerrit).
If only Skerrit took time to keep himself informed, and abreast with important matters, he would have long realize that Obama only fulfil a campaign promise he made way back in 2008.
In 2008 he committed himself to normalizing relations with Cuba. Another reason for Obama taking that position is in fact to gain the released of some Americans who were locked away in the prison dungeons in Cuba. There were also Cuban spy's locked away in jails in the United States, who are released in the prisoners exchange.
All the crap Skerrit is talking is because he is embarrassed over the nonsense he spoke in Cuba, I supposed now he will claim that the garbage he spoke is what cause Obama to shiver in fear that Skerrit was about to unleash the might, and power of the Dominica military, hence crushing the United States into a pile of paper-pulp why he did what he has done.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
Before Skerrit take credit for something he does not know what he is talking about; let it be known, that Francis, the one they call pope, whatever that means is the one who was a go between the dialogue of United States/Cuba, which resulted in what developed over the last day or, so!
Let me just show how someone who claims to major in the English language, said he has a degree in English uses the English language incorrectly. Demit actually means to dismiss, or resign, or to withdraw from office or membership. That is different from someone serving two terms as president, and is prohibited by law to contest for the presidency ever again. Withdraw can imply to remove from consideration or set outside of a group, such as withdrawing his name from a list of nominees. The word demits cannot be applied to a president who has finished his two terms in office.
Frans why are you so angry with yourself. Anger is bursting out of your pores. You need to chill my boy before you make a coronary but in any case if you do. You will be able to save yourself even if you are choking and can't breathe cause you have experience in CPR… Well Frans chill. Just chill please and feel inner peace. We feel too much anger from you I suggest you see a physchairtrist to help calm your self this lashing out is making us wonder whether that you are insane or on drugs, it's not doing good for your image which is already tattered.
NEGfuSENJO
My brother, the man is a nobody in International politics.
Lougawoo Mem
I really do not know what to think of this immature Prime minister. I am confident he does not understand world affairs, and is quick to run his mouth before putting his brain in a sensible gear. For one, President Obama did not admit office. The world knows he was voted into office. Unlike corrupted politicians who bribe, treat, lie and steal their way into office, not so in America. Roosevelt Skerrit should know his utterances about the normalization of relationship between Cuba, Venezuela and the U.S. is irrelevant in the eyes of the US government.
The prime minister needs to find ways and means to govern his nation with justice and equality for all. He must cease and decease his dictatorial tendencies that cause him to victimize those who do not tow his line and political beliefs. If he doesn't, he may find that our beloved nation in the same relationship position between Venezuela and the United States of America. Only time will tell.
You know it is one thing for a person to write what develops in their brain; memorize it, and talk it out loud: it is something totally different when another person writes a script, and hand it to someone to read and memorize it as their own.
Intelligent people almost never use words which they do not know the true meaning. If Skerrit had done his home work, if he graduated; earned a degree in English, he would automatically know the meaning of demit, and know when to use it appropriately; and would not have used it in reference to Obama leaving office.
I suppose the man may have majored in linguistics also, hence he may be an authority where it pertains to linguists, and the English language, and the use of words; when or where they should be appropriately used. Well you know: (man boast in Dominica how him is alumna eh). What he did not tell the nation is that anybody who attended college our university: wether they graduate or not as long as they attended such institution after they leave: no longer a student of that institution, they are classified as an alumna.
The only school I attended in Dominica is the wind blown down elementary School in Wesley, near the Methodist Church (commonly referred to as Chapel). Many years has elapsed since I attended there, however, I can boast that I am an alumna of my none existing elementary school. If I say I an alumna, that does not mean I graduated! If I was the Prime Minister of a country, or even a celebrity incapable of writing my own speeches, before I memorize a script handed to me I would analyze every single word, knowing the meaning before I spew out words that I do not know the meaning, and when it is apropriate to use them.
Now I am not saying that he cannot, or should not engage a speech write, even presidents and prime ministers of the more develop nations allow people to write their speach, nevertheless, someone have to proof read the script ensuring that words are not wrongly appropriated, and cannot cause any embrassment to the leader who read the script to the letter.
I Francisco now demit oui! Hahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahah.
http://news.yahoo.com/u-cuba-rapprochement-exposes-venezuelas-maduro-212720417.html
Frances Cannoville
Skerrit, I see what you're trying to imply. No, ties between these two countries were not restored because of your recommendations- which you never declared public until now! Remember, just 3 days ago in your statement on the newly placed restrictions on Venezuela for human rights violation you said that any country[USA]that takes action against Venezuela and CUBA are enemies- so to speak-. Meanwhile, de same Cuba was in the backroom making their own deal. You sir, would like to think that you're in the innermost circle of these world leaders, when in fact, you are just a fly that's trying to get into the room. Stop trying to use reverse psychology on your followers and act bigger than you are
winston warrington
Just what is wrong with you angry people? Don't you get tired of shredding the backs of one another? The Prime Minister expressed support for Obama's foreign policy commitment since 2008. Other Caricom leaders have expressed similar expectations that by lifting the embargo, not only would trade between US and Cuba alleviate the hardships in Cuba, but also embolden timid Caribbean countries who have not created trade alliances with Cuba for fear of offending the US to do so.
Who cares what your pm says, AMERICA don't need anything from you.absolutely nothing, the only news that is spreading about your pm is the worst news possible.
Warrington, you and Skerrit are the only two angry people. He is running off his mouth which you perceive to be support for Obama.
Read this: "an attack on any ALBA nation is an attack on all the Caribbean islands," that includes Dominica such words are words of a hostility, anger towards Obama, and the people of the United States, perpetrated by our Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.
Anytime people like you come across anyone who does not share the same stupid mentality, and dance to the rhythm of the music of this dictator, guys like you with no intelligence always accuse people of anger and hate. You need to stop indulging in talking nonsense!
@Frances Cannoville,with all due respect but your comment here is just pure rubbish.
Why is the comment 'pure rubbish'? Why can't you try analyzing the context what was said, instead of the usual stock Labar response?
As usual, Skerrit is attempting to further blind his followers, but the wise and intelligent can see behind his reverse psychology.
That comment is deep, I like it!
PaBoo
I think this is indeed a great move however mr PM you have more pertinent issues here in Dominica for you to address.
je dire
why not the Gov.t of dominica?
grell
Skerrit the big picture,Obama does not victimize anyone and he works with his congress,also he won both electine without bribing the poor and he takes critizism like a politician suppose to.USE his ideas and you might have a chance,He got american back and working and not looking for handouts.
Grell, there is no comparison between Roosevelt Skerrit and Obama you know. In the first place Obama is a constructional lawyer by profession. He attended one of the most prestigious Universities in the United States. Skerrit on the other hand could not even finish, and graduate an English language discipline.
The fact that Obama prevented the entire economy of the United States from collapsing in the interim, and thus far has grown the economy, providing more than four million new jobs in less than six years speak volumes. Not forgetting where the white boy failed to capture the worlds most notorious terrorist bin Laden, Obama found him and exterminate him.
When Obama took office, I paid almost five dollars for a gallon of premium (grade 91) gasoline; today, this afternoon, I paid less than three dollars for a gallon of grade 91 octane. Obama made it possible where no insurance company in this country can deny any person suffering from pre existing diseases from obtaining coverage. He revolutionized the Real Estate industry which collapses under the white boy watch.
There are many other good things Obama has done for the United States, making him one of the most successful Presidents ever to hold office in this country.
People like Skerrit are nothing more than blowing in the wind; he is one who feared debating his opponent in Dominica; Obama exposed himself to the nation when he engaged John McCane and most recently Mitt Romney in two different presidential debate which was seen in the continental United States, and continentally, which was seen by millions of people throughout the world. We knew who we were electing when we elected Obama as president of the United States. Skerrit feet cannot fit into Obama's trodden down old shoe.
One thing more politicians in America cannot afford to bribe individuals to get their vote, that is certainly a felony, and if caught in such an act the alternative is incarceration for a long time. And finally Obama respects and honor the law's of the country, and does not; and cannot remotely try to dictate or impose his wish on the people of these United States; although he is the most powerful man on the face of the earth today, and shall be for another two years or so!
In Dominica, Skerrit is dictator, judge, police, magistrate, pope, priest, and minister of everything in a nut shell; our people suffer in fear of him, and accept any crap Skerrit forces down their throats including his handouts!
Francisco, be nice
Mr. Skerrit is the P.M. of your beautiful homeland! You are a Dominican of the diaspora.
I do enjoy your writings but sometimes I wish you would chill. Don't be so hard on your cuz or whatever the connection is.
Rev. Don Hill.
Thank Goodness Skerrit gave it his blessing.
At least he showed he is a gentleman.
MADD DEM MADD
but skerrit you were just blasting the usa with madduro now commending
He does not have to be his enemy. Do we all not get blasted by others especially when we stand up for the truth? After all is said and done, do we not still communicate with those people especially those whom we personally know?
Skeritt needs to hold a press conference where he is asked questions on his intentions, his public comments etc….. There should be such press conference every 3 months where the journalsts get to ask those tough questions. He needs to be accountable for his dealings. It is not matter of choice. He is working for us and has to answer to us.
And the journalists? Are they bias or impartial?
In little Dominica?
Just as a debate among leaders, I would not encourage that.
Here goes Roosevelt Skerrit again! You know you have no influence in international politics. Stop trying to fool the supporters who are helping you continue your dictatorial ways.