Diaspora News

 Daily Caribbean World News Update

Features

 The Caribbean Voice Logo
   

Trinidad-Born Teacher Jailed In Cricket Bat Killing
CaribWorldNews, LONDON, England, Weds. Dec. 18, 2008: A Trinidad-born, UK-based school teacher will spend the next two-and-a-half years of his life in jail for killing his daughter's abusive husband with a cricket bat.
Kenneth Bassarath, a 64-year-old teacher and church goer, was sentenced in Old Bailey after a jury cleared him of murder but convicted him of manslaughter.
The jury had heard how Bassarath rushed to see his daughter Celosia after she called himself from the apartment she shared with her husband Sergio Mendes, 32, to say he was attacking her.
Celosia had told the court that she had locked herself in their sosns' bedroom to escape her husband and was cowering with the children when she called her father.
He arrived with her brother Kendal, but a drunken Mendes threw a metal pole at Kendal and chased him away.
Bassarath told the court that Mendes then went inside and fetched the cricket bat. But he said he managed to disarm him and hit him once because he was scared he had a knife.
'I thought he might attack me, so I swung the bat to fend him off. I knew I had struck him on his head, and I saw him fall back,` he said.
Mendes, a supermarket worker suffered brain injuries from which he later died. Bassarath was charged with the murder.
Jailing Bassarath, Judge Gerald Gordon, in sentencing the Trinidad national commented: 'For a man of your age, with your impeccable character prior to that moment, doing that must have been a complete aberration, particularly since it is clear that you were fond of your son in law. I cannot understand how or why you came to do it.'
But the judge said he had to take into account that Mendes's parents had lost a son and his children had lost a father as a result of what happened.

Broward schools OK sending portable classrooms to Haiti
Broward County, FL, December 16, 2008: The Haitian government hopes to have a school campus created from old Broward school district portables by late January.
Broward School Board members Tuesday approved the donation of about 100 portables to hurricane-ravaged Haiti. These are the first of some 3,000 portables Florida school districts have pledged to the country.
''We are witnessing today an unprecedented and historical event that will transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in Haiti,'' said Charles Manigat, minister of Haitians living overseas.
Former education minister Leslie Voltaire said the portables will also be used as health centers.
Both Manigat and Voltaire attended the Broward School Board meeting Wednesday.
Once the country negotiates a contract with Bahamas-based Carey Marine International, the marine construction company has pledgee to get the first shipment to Haiti within 20 days, Voltaire said.
Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Martin County school districts have also pledged gifts of portables to Haiti.

Caribbean Nationals Remain On FBI`s Wanted Lists
CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Dec. 16, 2008: Caribbean nationals making the FBI`s most wanted list continue to evade the agency, CWNN has found.
Several continue to dominate the roll call of alleged criminals, including a Haitian national wanted for crimes against children.
Meet Frantz Dieudonne, 39, who has been on the lam since 2003. According to the FBI, Dieudonne allegedly traveled across state lines from Pennsylvania to Utah to engage in sex with a 15-year-old minor.
Dieudonne was indicted in Illinois on October 1, 2002, and in Utah on February 26, 2003 for the alleged crime. He was scheduled for a pre-trial motion on September 22, 2003, in the Northern District of Illinois, but he failed to appear, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
Dieudonne also failed to appear for trials, which were scheduled for October 20, 2003, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and November 3, 2003, in Chicago, Illinois. He has been on the lam since and FBI agents need your help in finding him.
Also making the FBI list is alleged Jamaican drug dealer, Dwight S. Williams. Williams is wanted for drug charges and money laundering. During 1997-1998, Williams was allegedly involved in a large-scale drug conspiracy and distribution network which originated from the San Diego, California, area. He was indicted federally on December 14, 2000, by the United States District Court, Western District of Missouri, for conspiracy to possess and distribute controlled substances and money laundering. Additionally, a federal arrest warrant was issued for him in 2000, but he remains missing in action.
Then there is Belize-born Hilbert Cutkelvin, who is also wanted on a drug charge and is considered armed and dangerous as well as alleged terrorist, Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, who has Trinidadian and Guyanese roots and carries a Guyanese passport. El Shukrijumah is wanted in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States. The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to the capture of El Shukrijumah.

Carolina Man Charged In Murder Of Daughter Of Former Trinidad Coach
CaribWorldNews, CHARLOTTE, NC, Tues. Dec. 16, 2008: The apparent boyfriend of a 38-year-old Trinidad and Tobago woman has been charged with her murder, police in Charlotte, North Carolina say.
Gabrielle Vidale-Kinard, the daughter of former Trinidad and Tobago national coach, Edgar Vidale, was shot dead at her home in North Carolina by Scott E. Davis Sr., on Saturday night, police say. Police say Davis shot Gabrielle Kinard, 38, during a domestic disturbance about 11:45 p.m. Saturday on Thornwood Road in north Charlotte.
Davis, 46, also allegedly shot and killed the 18-year-old son of Vidale-Kinard, Anjelo Kinard, who died Monday morning at Carolinas Medical Center. Investigators say Davis also shot at Kinard's children, critically injuring an 18-year-old woman fleeing with her 5-month-old sister in her arms. A 15-year-old girl escaped the home with only minor injuries.
A friend of Gabrielle Kinard said Davis was her boyfriend and the 5-month-old infant's father. Vidale-Kinard migrated to the United States more than 20 years ago.
Davis Sr. has been charged with one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection to the death of Kinard, 38, and the shootings of Anjelo and Gabriella Kinard. He also was charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and one count of child neglect in connection to the shooting.
Vidale on Monday told the Trinidad Express, `I did not know she was having problems with her marriage. I spoke to her regularly, but she never told me. I only found out after this incident.` He is set to travel to North Carolina today to make funeral arrangements for his daughter and her son.
Davis remains in jail.

Haiti: Nutritional value of World Food Program rice in question
London, UK, 15 December 2008: The British solidarity organization, the Haiti Support Group, today wrote to Josette Sheeran, the Executive Director of the United Nations
World Food Program (WFP), requesting information about the type of rice that the organization is distributing in Haiti.
The Haiti Support Group is concerned about the nutritional content of the rice that the WFP is distributing to hundreds of thousands of
hungry and starving Haitians. In particular, the organization is seeking reassurance that the WFP is not distributing imported rice that
has undergone the usual commercial milling process, thereby considerably reducing the rice's mineral, vitamin, and fibre content.
The letter states that most mass-produced rice produced in developed countries undergoes a milling process stripping the rice grains of
their hulks and then polishing and bleaching to make the grains more appealing to the consumer's eye. Because this milling process
considerably reduces the nutritional content of the rice, it is then usual to artificially 'enrich' the rice. This enriching is a
post-milling process of adding nutrients by coating the exterior of the rice grain with a nutrient mixture.
In most developed countries it is normal to cook this enriched rice straight from the packet, without washing the grains first, and thus
the rice that is consumed has a good nutritional content. However, as the Haiti Support Group letter points out, in Haiti, as in many
developing countries, the cultural norm is to thoroughly wash and rinse rice before cooking.
The letter continues: "If commercially-milled and artificially-enriched rice is being distributed by the WFP in Haiti, and if, as is likely, it
is being thoroughly washed and rinsed by the recipients before cooking, it will have next to no nutritional value."
The Haiti Support Group's Charles Arthur said, "It is very important to know what sort of rice the WFP is handing out to hungry people in
Haiti. We know that it distributes a variety of foodstuffs - beans, corn soy blend, and vegetable oil - but it also distributes a massive
amount of imported rice. Over six months, up to the end of April 2009, the WFP plans to distribute nearly 15,000 metric tons of cereals -
mostly rice - to around 800,000 victims of the recent floods in Haiti."
Arthur continues, "We know this rice is imported from outside Haiti. We understand that a large quantity of it is donated to the WFP by the US
Agency for International Development (USAID), and that the WFP itself has, in the recent past, procured rice for Haiti from US companies such
as the Archer Daniels Midland Company, one of the largest agricultural processors in the world. We are worried that this is 'stripped' and
enriched rice, and that - unbeknown to the Haitian recipients - if it is to provide any nourishment, it should not be rinsed before cooking."
The Haiti Support Group (HSG) has contacted a number of the international non-governmental organizations that are currently assisting the WFP with its emergency food distribution programs in Haiti. The HSG's Arthur said, " One of the responses set off alarm bells for us - the project coordinator of one international NGO told us that they were sure that the WFP rice that they were distributing to flood victims was "both bleached and enriched", and that they would not personally eat it themselves!"
Arthur added, "The WFP is spending millions of dollars purchasing rice in foreign countries and then transporting it to Haiti. I think it is a
matter of public concern to ascertain whether this rice has any significant nutritional value or whether - as some have opined - it would be just as good to eat boiled cardboard!"
"This issue is all the more important as we have recently discovered that, contrary to many news reports about the complete collapse of the
Haitian rice sector, there are in fact rice farmers cooperatives in Haiti which have had, and still have, surplus rice for sale in the months since the hurricanes disaster of August and September. Haitian rice farmers' c ooperatives produce rice that undergoes a very basic
milling process and therefore it has a much higher nutritional valuethan commercially-milled, imported rice."
The letter is being sent as concerns mount about the extent of the severe malnutrition problem in many parts of Haiti, and just days after
thousands of peasant farmers demonstrated in the capital, Port-au-Prince, to demand more support for local agricultural production.

 IDB wants recognition for Caribbean Afro-descendents
WASHINGTON, United States, December 12, 2008: The President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno, called on the international community to increase recognition and support for the Afro-descendent peoples in the Caribbean.
"Cultural expressions of all kinds constitute a necessary and integral condition for the economic and social development of the Latin American and Caribbean populations," he said. "Promoting inclusive cultural policies will allow us to establish the necessary bridges to incorporate Afro-descendents into the region's development goals."
Mr Moreno was speaking during a forum on culture and development to advance equality and racial inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean held at the IDB this week, on the 60th anniversary of the United Nation's adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The forum focused on culture as a means to achieve social and economic inclusion of people of African descent in Latina America and the Caribbean.
Discussions centered on the role of governments, civil society and mass communications as agents of change to find common ground on best practices in the promotion of cultural diversity and racial equality and to enhance future initiatives for inclusion in the region.

Haitian American State Senator Speaks On Chicago Governor Scandal
CaribWorldNews, CHICAGO, Il, Fri. Dec. 12, 2008: Haitian-American Senator Kwame Raoul, who replaced President-elect Barack Obama in the Chicago state senate, has revealed a few details about his interaction with the office of embattled Governor, Rod R. Blagojevich and the choice for a replacement for Obama in Washington.
As President-elect Obama urged Blagojevich to step aside following his arrest on Wednesday, Raoul said he had received a call about a month ago confirming that he was under consideration for the D.C. seat vacated by Obama.
Raoul did not respond to a press query from CWNN, but was quoted by the New York Times as saying `he ran head-on into the message that the governor was looking for a candidate who offered something of tangible value to him.`
`It was open knowledge among people in and around Springfield, legislators and lobbyists alike openly talked about the fact that the governor would want to appoint somebody who would benefit him,` Raoul was quoted as saying. `I can firmly say that I've had these conversations, that I've spoken with both legislators and lobbyists that felt that that would be the consideration in his appointment.`
Raoul added that interest in his candidacy died when it became obvious `that I didn't have anything to give other than my service.`
Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions ­ both historically and now in a push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009.
Blagojevich, 51, and Harris, 46, both of Chicago, were each charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. They were charged in a two-count criminal complaint that was sworn out on Sunday and unsealed on Tuesday.
The 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois' U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining: a substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;
placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year; promises of campaign funds ­ including cash up front; and a cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.
If convicted, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, while solicitation of bribery carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, and each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
Obama has reiterated that he and his staff had no involvement in deal-making over an appointment to his vacated seat.
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, has said Obama was not implicated in the investigation.

New Year Jury Selection In Case Of Guyana Drug Accused
CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Dec. 12, 2008: Jury selection is set to begin in the new year in the trial of accused Guyanese drug dealer, Shaheed `Roger` Khan, CWNN has learnt.
Jury selection is set for January 20th at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Dora Lizette Irizarry. The trial will commence immediately following the jury selection, the judge said.
Khan was indicted in April 2006 on eighteen counts of importing, exporting and selling five or more kilograms of cocaine between 2001 and 2005 and for heading a criminal enterprise.
Khan was subsequently arraigned in June of 2006 in a Brooklyn court, after federal agents arrested him in Trinidad as he was enroute on a flight back from Suriname to Guyana, where he had been arrested over alleged weapons and drug smuggling offences.
Khan, aka `Shortman,` has pleaded not-guilty to the charges.U.S. prosecutors say the ledger belonging to murdered boutique owner Davendra Persaud with a list of names of drug dealers is among a pile of evidence they have submitted to the court that will be used in Khan's case. Persaud was gunned down at Palm Court in October of 2004 by unknown persons. The prosecution has argued that it has close to 800 pages of evidence on Khan; wire taps and witness testimony from Guyana and persons in the US who have been around Khan while he allegedly ran his drug trafficking organization.
In September, his then defense attorney, Robert Simels, was arrested and charged with plotting with Khan to `eliminate` a key government witness. Khan`s new defense team and Simels have since been arguing over key evidence in the case.
Before he fled Guyana, Khan in a paid advertisement in local newspapers, admitted his involvement in a phantom death squad there that assisted the current government in its crime fighting tactics.

Accused Trinidad-Born JFK 'Plotter' To Be Transferred
CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Dec. 12, 2008: One of four Caribbean men accused of plotting to blow up gas pipes at the J.F.K. airport, is set to be transferred to another medical facility, CWNN has learnt.
Kareem Ibrahim, 63, was being held at a prison hospital in Springfield, Missouri, after starving himself and refusing medical treatment. But prison officials had been forced to feed him through a tube.
On Thursday his lawyer said Ibrahim has begun eating `sweet breads and taking nutritional supplements` and that he had gained 13 pounds ­ up from 85.
Defense Attorney Michael Hueston requested he be moved to another facility and Judge Dora Lizette Irizarry agreed. She ordered the government to coordinate the transfer to prevent a relapse.
Ibrahim and three others ­ Russell Defreitas, Adbel Nur and Abdul Kadir, are charged with conspiring to attack the JFK Airport in 2007 by planting explosives to blow up the airport's major jet-fuel supply tanks and pipeline.

Haitian Found Guilty Of Bank Fraud
CaribWorldNews, HARTFORD, CT., Thurs. Dec. 11, 2008: A 43-year-old Haitian national has pleaded guilty to federal bank fraud charges.
Jean Andre Aine, of Brooklyn, admitted that he stole checks at the Navy Federal Credit Union in Groton, Connecticut.
The fraud was part of a scheme that involved cashing stolen federal tax refund checks at the Navy Federal Credit Union and the federal prosecutor says Aine convinced others to cash federal tax refund checks. Aine faces up to 30 years in prison.

Census Figures Show Only Paltry Growth Among Caribbean Nationals
CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Dec. 9, 2009: People of West Indian ancestry in the U.S. continue to register only paltry growth, according to the U.S. Census` latest figures.
The latest sampling report of the American Community Survey puts West Indian non-Hispanics at a mere 2,391,604 nationally for the period 2005-2007. That's compared to 2,233,125 in 2005, according to the ACS sampling. Guyanese, who are counted as a separate group, are put at 202,759.
But many nationals believe the numbers listed in the latest American Community Survey report are very wrong, especially when compared to New York City figures, which show a conservative count of 813,515 Caribbean nationals across the city alone.
Patrick Beckford, President of the northeast Jamaican Diaspora called the numbers `a gross undercount.` While Chuck Mohan of the Guyanese American Workers United group in New York, says Caribbean nationals across the city alone number close to or more than the national figures put out by the Census Bureau.
`These figures show why it is necessary that we get counted as a separate group in the Census,` said Mohan. `It is urgent if we are to truly get an accurate count of our community since a lot of Indo-Caribbean now count as Asians while Afro-Caribbean count as African Americans, so the true number of West Indians is not known because there is no way to self-identify.`
Beckford agreed. `This basically highlights the point of why we need CARIBID, the movement to get an origins category of the U.S. Census form,` said Beckford. `Given the many ethnicities of the Caribbean there is only one way to accurately count this community and that is with a true self-identifying category. Congressional representatives and especially Congresswoman Yvette Clarke who represents the large Caribbean populated district of Brooklyn should urgently take up this issue so we can get a better count of all Caribbean people.`
Bruno Gaston, a journalist in Atlanta and a second generation Caribbean, agrees with Mohan and Beckford that the number cannot be `accurate.`
`The growth is clearly visible in Atlanta and the growth has never subsided in South Florida where I grew up,` said Gaston, while supporting the call for CARIBID.
`The black experience has blinded many second generation Caribbeans like me from self-identifying as Caribbean but we have to be careful that we not lose our own identity,` said Gaston. `Our children and grand children need to have these values instilled in them and federal self-identification is a big first step. We have to do this to ensure our legacy to this country is remembered, honored and cherished.`
`CaribID2010,` a movement initiated by Hard Beat Communications` Felicia Persaud, is a gigantic effort to get Caribbeans from the English, Dutch and French-speaking Caribbean, who have no way now of self-identifying themselves on the U.S. Census form, secure a category.
Irwine Clare, of the Caribbean Immigrants Services, and Sherra Pierre Marche, of CbeanMedia.tv, co-initiators in the effort, insist the economic, political and social importance of the Census is part of the main reason why Caribbeans should be accurately counted by the U.S. Census.
The movement is lobbying for a bill to be introduced in Congress to push for a single line to be added to the U.S. Census form, calling for a Caribbean origins category.
Nationals who number millions across the U.S. and are from English, Dutch and French-speaking Caribbean nations are now forced to choose between checking the box misidentifying themselves as either African American, Asian American or Hispanic or simply as other. For more on CARIBID log on to www.caribid2010.com.
The `discriminatory` move keeps the community undercounted, under empowered and disrespected, says Persaud, as they remain invisible to mainstream Americans.
Meanwhile, the new ACS Survey claims forty seven percent of the West Indians nationally, according to the Census, are men, compared to 53 percent of women. Most are 35-64 and are married with families. Many are also naturalized citizens with a minimum of a high school education who are employed in the management or service sector; own their own homes and earn a median income of $46,000 annually.

Florida Sherriff Warns Of Jamaican Lottery Scam
CaribWorldNews, LEE COUNTY, Fl., Weds. Dec. 10, 2008: The Jamaican Lottery Scam is reportedly re-emerging in Southwest Florida, with several people falling victims.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office said that in recent weeks, several Lee County residents have been contacted by people purporting to be representatives of `Global International.`
Residents are told they have won $2 million or $3 million in the Jamaican Lottery. The catch, of course, is that the `lucky` residents have to wire money in order to receive the documents needed to claim their `winnings.` The victims then receive calls from several individuals, each claiming they need money to ensure delivery of the necessary `documents.` Once the money is wired, the victim receives a variety of excuses why the important `documents` aren't being delivered, such as a sick child, etc.
One local victim lost $18,000 in this scam, while another wired between $40,000 and $70,000 to strangers over the past two months, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said, while issuing a warning to residents.
`Never, ever send money to someone on the premise that you've won a bunch of money or some type of lottery,` warned Detective John Scheall of the Lee County Sheriff's Office Economic Crimes Unit. `Any legitimate lottery is not going to ask people for money upfront before paying them their winnings. If you're contacted and asked to pay money to collect money, hang up immediately...and save yourself a lot of money and heartache.`

Dominican Republic Consular Employee Accused Of Migrant Smuggling
CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Dec. 9, 2008: An employee at the Consulate of the Dominican Republic in New York City has been arrested on charges of migrant smuggling.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested 48 year-old, Francisco Estevez, also known as "Danilo," on charges of using his family's passports and consular visas to bring dozens of illegal aliens into the United States from the Dominican Republic during 2007 through 2008.
According to the indictment unsealed Monday in Manhattan federal court, as a full-time employee at a consular post, Estevez held a diplomatic visa that allowed him and his family members-his mother, wife, and six children-to enter and reside in the United States. In addition, he and his family were entitled to receive expedited process at passport control at the airport.
Commencing in approximately October 2007, up to and including July 2008, Estevez allegedly took advantage of his A-2 visa status to smuggle into the United States numerous Dominican nationals who posed as members of Estevez's family, using the family's passports and A-2 visas. Estevez made on average two trips per month to the Dominican Republic to identify aliens who could pose as members of his family and charged each alien approximately $10,000 to bring the migrants into the country illegally.
Estevez is charged with two counts of alien smuggling and if convicted, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He was arrested Friday upon his entry into the United States and is scheduled appear today before a United States Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Cuban-Americans Now Favor Ending U.S. Embargo
CaribWorldNews, MIAMI, Fl, Tues. Dec. 9, 2008: On a day when CARICOM leaders issued a call for an end to the Cuban embargo, a new poll in Miami showed that a majority of Cuban-Americans now favor ending the U.S. embargo as well.
The poll by Florida International University shows that for the first time in the survey's 17-year-history, fifty-five percent of those asked supported a change in the decades old policy. The majority of those supporting the lifting of the 1962 law are largely between ages 18-44, second generation
Cubans born in the U.S. and registered voters. Some 65 percent favored ending current restrictions on sending money to Cuba while a majority also supported ending the current restrictions on travel to Cuba, both issue that President Barack Obama has talked about changing.
The survey was done by the Institute for Public Opinion Research of Florida International University among 800 randomly selected Cuban-American respondents were polled in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Five hundred interviews were done to land-line phones and 300 to cell phones. The survey was done in Spanish and English with all bilingual interviewers. Interviews were completed on December 1, 2008.
Most also said they did not think the new Cuban President, who replaced his brother, Fidel Castro in the post, will bring much change.
Raul Castro has insisted his country survived the U.S. embargo for 50 years and they are prepared to survive it another 50.
On Monday, Current CARICOM Chair, Antigua & Barbuda's Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, said he hoped the US embargo would finally be `relegated to history.`
`As we gather today in Cuba, the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America is still in place,` Spencer told the gathering of 14 CARICOM leaders in Santiago de Cuba. `The Caribbean community hopes that the transformational change which is underway in the United States will finally relegate that measure to history.`

Haitian Freed In Liberty City 7 Case Ordered Deported
CARIBWORLDNEWS, MIAMI, FL, MON. DEC. 8, 2008: A Haitian Man who beat a terrorism conspiracy charge has now been ordered deported from the U.S.
Lyglenson Lemorin was ordered deported back to Haiti on Friday as an immigration judge ruled that he did provide ''material support'' to a group he knew had plans for attacks against the U.S.
Judge Kenneth Hurwitz said Lemorin's knowledge of surveillance, along with his pledging a contested ''oath'' to al Qaeda, was sufficient to classify him as a terrorist supporter, even though the judge he was ''technically'' not a member or supporter of al Qaeda.
Lemorin was accused in 2006 of being part of a terror plot that conspired to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and Miami's FBI building. But he was acquitted of the criminal charges last December after a federal jury decided he was only marginally involved in the Liberty City 7, as the group came to be known.
Lemorin`s attorney, Charles Kuck, is set to appeal the judge`s ruling, leaving the Haitian migrant languishing in detention.

Convicted Drug Dealer For Deportation To Trinidad
CaribWorldNews, MIAMI, Fl, Mon. Dec. 8, 2008: A man who was convicted of drug trafficking in the U.S. in July of 2006 is set to be returned to his Trinidad and Tobago homeland.
Ray Nurse was arrested Friday on a charge of Violation of Community Control­Sale of Crack Cocaine and of his criminal record which makes him deportable.
Nurse originally entered the United States legally with a visa that allowed him to stay until April of 2006. But when his visa expired, he stayed on and ended up becoming a drug dealer.
He was convicted at trial in 2006 and received probation. But he recently violated his probation and was placed on Community Control. He subsequently violated that and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Nurse is currently in detention in Orlando awaiting deportation back to T&T.

Barbados defends human rights record
GENEVA, Switzerland, December 5, 2008: Barbados has made it clear to the United Nations that it will keep the death penalty and maintain its position on keeping prostitution and homosexuality illegal.
Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment, Urban and Rural Development, Christopher Sinckler asserted that position as he defended Barbados's human rights record before the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review process this week.
In a presentation hailed by the President of the Council and other members as "outstanding and refreshingly complete" Mr Sinckler argued that the government had neither mission nor mandate from the people of Barbados to abolish the death penalty as was being called for by a number of member countries of the Council.
"It is a part of the legal system of Barbados and would remain so until further notice, but obviously there was not a clear desire in the country for abolition of the death penalty," he said.
However, he indicated that the David Thompson administration had begun to engage, at the level of the Attorney General's Office, an internal examination of existing domestic laws making the imposition of the death penalty mandatory in cases of murder and treason. This, he conceded, was in contravention of some human rights obligations to which Barbados was subject, and assured that it would be reviewed holistically.
The Minister was equally as firm in defending the country's maintenance of laws criminalising homosexuality and prostitution.
"Government does not intend to consider any recommendations to legalise homosexuality, prostitution, or allow for the distribution of condoms in prison until such time as a full and proper national discourse on the issues can be engaged," he said.
Mr Sinckler also stoutly defended interventions which raised questions about the professionalism of the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), saying that it had one of the best reputations for fairness, transparency, and professionalism in the world.
He also dismissed views from some quarters that there was widespread national discontent with the image and professionalism of the country's security forces.
Mr Sinckler further highlighted the existence of a new independent Police Complaints Authority, as well as the Office of The Coroner, which had jurisdiction to review and investigate actions of the police at varying levels, as a further effort by Barbados to ensure due process for citizens.
The Universal Periodic Review of Barbados's human rights situation ends today, after Minister Sinckler fields additional questions from member states and issues his closing remarks on the process.

Defense Vs. Defense In Case Of Accused Guyana Drug Dealer
CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Dec. 5, 2008: The case of accused Guyana drug dealer Shaheed `Roger` Khan has gotten weirder with the current attorneys for Khan turning again his former defense attorney.
Steven L. Brounstein, the new lawyer for Khan, wants a judge to deny a request by the Guyanese businessman`s former lawyer, Robert Simels, for access to information in the case that could help Simels in his witness tampering case.
Simels, a top New York attorney, had represented Khan up to September, when he was nabbed by federal prosecutors on charges that he planned to `eliminate` witnesses who would testify against Khan.
Brounstein, of Papa, Depaola And Brounstein, wants Judge John Gleeson to now deny a request by Simels to access information he gleaned in preparing his defense of Khan.
`This material was gathered for the purpose of defending Mr. Khan against the very serious allegations he faces,` argues Brounstein. `Exposure of that information and material to any third party seriously jeopardizes Mr. Khan's ability to defend himself.`
Brounstein further argues that `exposure and later use at Mr. Simels' trial would provide to the government a road map of Mr. Khan's defense and undermine his ability to present evidence in his own behalf against the very serious charges and possible life sentence that he faces.`
Khan faces a twenty year mandatory minimum and a maximum of life imprisonment if convicted of charges that he participated in a continuing criminal enterprise involving the importation and distribution of cocaine in the United States. He has been jailed in New York since 2006.
Brounstein claims any disclosure of the information sought by Simels, who represented Khan prior to his September arrest, will violate the attorney-client privilege and should be denied. He, however, concedes, that the information can be made available once Khan's narcotics matter has been resolved.

Family With Caribbean Roots Remember Horrors Of Mumbai Attack
CaribWorldNews, MIAMI, FL, Fri. Dec. 5, 2008: Maxine and Luis Allen had always wanted to visit India. The Maitland, Florida couple, both of whom have Caribbean roots, have friends from India, like Indian food and textiles and overall find the country fascinating.
But what started out as a highly anticipated family trip turned into a nightmare as the couple and their two sons found themselves trapped in a hotel with a group of terrorists' intent on exterminating everyone in their path.
Scattering their belongings around their hotel room to feign a hasty retreat, the family spent 48-terrifying hours huddled under a king-sized bed at Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel, afraid even a whisper would attract certain death.
`It's a miracle I'm talking to you tonight,` Mrs. Allen told CWNN.
Mumbai was one of several Indian cities that the family, which also includes 13-year-old Brandon and 10-year-old Jonathan, had planned to visit during a seven day excursion to India, said the Belize-born Maxine Allen, whose husband has Panamanian and Jamaican roots.
But the dream vacation began to turn into a nightmare Wednesday night after a visit to the hotel's fabled swimming pool.
Upon returning to their second-floor room, they at first thought they were hearing fireworks, but soon realized it was gunfire and hand grenades.
They thought initially that two factions were using the hotel to settle their differences.
But soon they realized it was much worse than that.
`We heard this woman screaming at this man yelling 'no, no no followed by a barrage of bullets, then it sounded like people kicking or breaking doors down,` said Maxine Allen. `It sounded like they were pulling people out and shooting them.`
The family became even more fearful after hearing news reports on Luis Allen's I-phone that the terrorists were looking for people with U.S. and British passports, recalled Maxine Allen.
Maxine Allen, who carried the family's passports in a pouch hung from a chain around her neck, quickly hid them by tucking them under her blouse and into her pants.
Unable to call out on the I-phone, they began to text message, family, friends and the U.S. Embassy or help.
On the advice of a woman calling from another Taj Mahal hotel in the city, they unplugged the room phones so they wouldn't ring.
They then piled under the bed, with Brandon and Jonathan in the middle so that they might escape the killers - even if their parents didn't.
`I said, 'this is the position you are in when you're in a coffin,' ` Mrs. Allen said.
The family climbed out from the bed occasionally to stretch and to grab snacks from the hotel mini-bar.
But the boys mostly slept `like they were sedated` through the ordeal. `That's exactly what you needed, quiet. Even whispering was dangerous,` she added.
Brandon Allen said he was initially terrified. `The shooting was going on around us, my body was in shock the first day,` he recalled. `Then the shock started to wear off and I started not to worry as much.`
On Friday night Mumbai's chief of police called them, saying commandos were on the way. When heavily-armed commandos finally arrived, they avoided the main staircase, carefully leading the family downstairs via a rear staircase, Maxine Allen said.
They left the hotel through the kitchen. `That's where they (the terrorists) first came in so there was a lot of blood everywhere, but thankfully no bodies,` said Brandon Allen.
Brandon Allen said he is somewhat afraid of the dark after the experience.
His mother said her priorities have changed.
`There will be the time before Mumbai and the time after Mumbai,` she said. `The things that used to bother you really don't matter. What matters is that your family is together.` - By Kirk Jackson/CWNN

New York Governor Takes Blame For Haiti Aid Delay
CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Dec. 5, 2008: `This situation has been messed up. The fault lies with me.''
That`s the admission of New York`s Governor David Paterson, who on Thursday took the blame for the lengthy delay in the delivery of donated food, water and clothing to victims of hurricanes in Haiti.
Paterson`s response came following a complaint from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who said donations meant for the victims of the floods in Haiti, which occurred in August, have yet to be delivered.
The aid collection by the state began more than 10 weeks ago as Haitians in the Caribbean nation struggled with the impact of back-to-back floods.
`The supplies should have been there in two weeks,` the governor, who has Caribbean roots and trekked to two Caribbean nations last month, said. `We apologize to the people of Haiti. We didn't come through. We're going to do so now.`
He added that the deliveries will now be expedited to Haiti.

Family Of Haitian American Slaps Lawsuit On Wal-Mart
CaribWorldNews, BRONX, NY, Thurs. Dec. 4, 2008: The sister of the 34-year-old Haitian American trampled to death in Long Island by Wal-Mart shoppers last Friday, have slapped a lawsuit on the retail giant.
Attorney Jordan Hecht of the Hecht, Kleeger, Pintel and Damashek Law Firm filed the suit in the Bronx Supreme Court on Wednesday on behalf of Elsie Damour Phillipe, the surviving sister of Jdimytai Damour.
The suit alleges Damour died as a result of `the carelessness, recklessness negligence, wanton disregard for public safety and gross negligence of the defendants ... in the staging, conducting and advertising for sales events.` No dollar amount was listed.
Wal-Mart, Green Acres Mall in Nassau County, N.Y., Vornado Realty Trust and Securitas Security Services USA are all named in the suit. The family also filed notice that Nassau County, on Long Island, and its police department will be sued.
Funeral arrangements for Damour, 34, are still up in the air. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has not yet commented on the lawsuit but on Friday called the incident a `tragic situation` and said it had tried to prepare for the crowd by adding staffers and outside security workers.
Nassau County Police Commissioner, Lawrence Mulvey, told reporters on Monday that temporary worker Damour, of Queens, died of `positional asphyxiation.`
`He was trampled to death,` Mulvey added. Damour was in a vestibule of the Green Acres mall, Valley Stream store early on the day ironically dubbed `Black Friday,` when hundreds of bargain crazed shoppers broke through the exterior doors, knocked down Damour and stepped over him, police said
.

Brooklyn Man Faces Murder Charge In Death of Caribbean Bus Driver
CaribWorldNews, BROOKLYN, NY, Thurs. Dec. 4, 2008: A 20-year-old ex-con was on Wednesday arraigned on second degree murder charges in the death of a 46-year-old Haitian bus driver.
Horace D. Moore, of 1327 Park Place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn has confessed to the Monday killing of Edwin Thomas, police said. He is being held without bail.
He was taken into custody at 11:30 p.m. on Monday at the home of his girlfriend in Brownsville, Brooklyn, the police said. He was taken to the 81st Precinct station house for questioning, and witnesses picked him out of a lineup. Moore has a rap sheet that includes previous arrests for weapons possession and assault charges.
Thomas was driving the B46 route when Moore allegely boarded the northbound bus at Fulton Street. He inserted an invalid MetroCard but despite the rejection walked to the back of the bus. Thomas apparently said nothing to avoid a confrontation. But when he asked for a transfer at Gates Avenue, the driver refused, telling him according to police, he did not pay and was not entitled to one.
Moore reportedly got angry and punched Thomas twice in the head and then stepped off the bus. But as Thomas was about to close the door behind him, Moore allegedly turned suddenly, stepped back onto the bus, pulled out a knife and stabbed the Caribbean immigrant repeatedly in the chest and torso.
He then ran off the bus and down the block with two passengers on his heels. But the two soon lost him.
Thomas was fatally stabbed by the passenger at a bus stop on Malcolm X Boulevard at Gates Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn shortly after 12:30 p.m. Monday. He died minutes later at the Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center.
New York City Transit officials said it was the first slaying of a city bus driver in more than 27 years.