Sad Carib Day

On my very first trip to Dominica in March of 2006, I was able to meet several Carib Indians, the indigenous tribe on Dominica. One such individual was Martin Etienne and his wife Queen and their son Leon. Martin was one of those individuals that when he smiled you could not help but know that he genuinely cared about anyone who stopped to say hi. He was full of knowledge and the workings of life. During the time we had with Martin, he took us up this twisting river path to a set of waterfalls that few people outside of Dominica have seen. Not only was he generous to have cleared the path of debris and overgrowth ahead of our visit, guide us to the waterfall, he also carried Little O (my professors son) on his shoulders back down the trail for a good long distance without breaking a sweat. More than I could have ever done :-)

Martin passed away today, unfortunately I do not know more around the circumstances of his death. He will be missed and to any of you who have met the Carib people, you know how generous and nice these people are. My thoughts go out to Queen and Leon and wish them the best in these troubled times. And to Martin, we'll miss you. Peace man!

If the Price is right...

Blingin Plates
There was a song, I believe by Nelly awhile back that had the line in the chorus "What does it take to be #1?..." In the United Arab Emirates it takes approximately $14.3 Million (US). This is what an individual paid for the license plate with the single digit "1" in a recent action in the UAE. The explosion of the car culture in the the booming cities along the Persian Gulf has made obtaining a "vanity plate" of some significance an important task among some of the richest sheiks in the land. The normal UAE plate has 5 random characters on the plate, and as the number of characters drop, the "value" of the plate increases. Special plates with repeating digits such as 11 or 22 are also highly prized.

According to GT Spirtit, (mentioned to me by mewalt), the individual that purchased the 1 plate also purchased 100, 5, and 7, making it one, if not the, most expensive license plate collection in the world. But remember, all of this money goes to charity. In this case, it goes to a charity set up for individuals hit by motor vehicles...

Jamaica River Dying
It is humbling day by day when you look at all of the news that comes out about the impacts humans have had on the natural environment. We lose not only the biodiversity and inherent beauty of nature, but more and more we lose a cultural bound that revolved around those certain species. Many use the example of indigenous tribes in the arctic that depend on seals and whales for sources of calories and the social and cultural implications. But its not the only place in which these impacts can be felt.

The locals in the Rio Grande Valley in Jamaica have been harvesting and preparing local river shrimp (janga) for hundreds of years. The old "primitive" means of gathering the shrimp are forgone for a simpler and "easier" method of using poisons or dynamite. It demonstrates the power of money when individuals will dump known toxins into the ecosystem to make a quick buck. Luckily though, many locals are starting to protest such practices and the government has made it a crime to perform these acts.

The total impact of the toxins is unknown, but many say that there has been adverse affects on the local ecosystem, in particular the janga. The quote that drives home what I want people to think about is “To think that children some generations down the road will have no idea what a janga or a crayfish looks like. ...” How very true; how many other species around the world are sharing this fate?

Caribs
Some good news to pass along on Dominica and their newest partner Venezuela. The Carib tribe, the indigenous people of the Caribbean occupy a portion of land on Dominica northeast side. The Caribs live below the standard of living of most people on the island due to segregation. They have been fighting for equal treatment and have made some gains recently.

Venezuela has pleged to provide $4.5 Million (US) to Dominica to help build homes and school for the Carib people. I have been critical of the Chavez administration and still much opposed to it, but I applaud (if it comes to fruition) the administration for pledging to support the tribe and I hope that, unlike many times in the past, many new homes and a wonderful school is built!

$100 Oil
Oil briefly popped back over a $100 today for the first time since early January. I'll post more on this tomorrow! Here we go again
Cheers!