Dominik360-Blog

By Sam George

Dominica is a unique country, home to the second largest boiling lake in the world estimated 365 rivers, cascading waterfalls, hot springs and so much more. We cherish and preserve our natural resources and environment while we appreciate and seek growth and development in our nation.

After 30 years of independence, Dominica has established relationships with many different nations which have been instrumental in the development and economic opportunities for Dominicans. One of the most important relationships is that of the United States of America and Dominica, unfortunately there has been zero growth in our diplomatic ties in the last 25 years.

The perfect opportunity for diplomatic relations with America to improve was at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad & Tobago in April of this year. Opportunity cost is an economic term used when one misses a chance to buy or sell a commodity because time and resources were devoted to another commodity.

In my close observation of the summit, it is my conclusion that Prime Minister Roosevelt Skeritt missed an excellent opportunity to reset diplomatic relations with America when he seemed to walk away from an opportunity to have a “one on one” dialog with President Barack Obama. I must confess that they may have talked behind the scenes; though one would expect a meeting like that along with its perceived outcomes would be boasted on and well published, evidence of which I’ve not seen.

Cost to the average Dominican, “Priceless”.

It seems Mr. Skeritt had to be some place more important than speaking with and attempting to gain some notice from the most powerful man in the world, ‘the US president’. I do have much respect for Mr. Skeritt he is an impressive young man, I’d hoped that as the youngest head of state in the west he’d have used this to his advantage and help improve the lives of all citizens of Dominica.

To be clear my views are independent of any political influence or preference. My conclusions would have been regardless of who the PM is.   I’d still ask what his vision is for the island.

Leadership demands patience, strategy and sound character among other virtues including respect for the job he or she holds, respect and care for your staff, and fellow citizens. Being a leader does not mean that you are always right and people are to follow you like sheep. A competent leader must be able to receive admonishment without becoming annoyed, he should be comfortable with constructive criticism, a true leader picks his battles carefully and seeks compromise when disagreements arrive (within reason of course) .

Mr. Skeritt in my opinion missed an opportunity to attract Obama’s attention at a time when sharing his vision for Dominica with the president could only be beneficial to us finding some common ground for example Dominica’s abundant energy resources would have paved a way of bonding as two leaders need to forge new and improve on existing relationships.

We can harvest wind energy from the Dominica’s east coast, tidal energy in the Martinique Channel and geothermal energy from the south. Energy is a very hot debate in America these days and the Obama administration is working hard to implement a green economy.

The strategy here should have been to show off Dominica to president Obama as a potential partner in creating a green economy and an energy leader in the West Indies, with the added benefit of creating jobs for Dominicans.
Our Eco-Tourism goals could have served as good and interesting conversation, invite Obama to Dominica, let him know who we are as a people and that we are ready to improve on our relationship. At the very least the nature isle would be on his mind.

Can you imagine the economic impact of an American President vacationing in Dominica? Wow!  Dominica is one of the most beautiful places on earth and is still unspoiled with respect to her natural beauty, the United States still is, (never mind the current economic down-turn) the richest most powerful nation on earth, how many of us would give anything to have a friend like that, a friend we could call on anytime we’re in trouble? Nations have the same need. I do hope that Prime Minister Skeritt gets another opportunity to get America’s attention.

www.dominik360.com

30 years of independence plus a reunion

10 Oct. 2008: As we Dominicans and visitors alike celebrate 30 years of political independence, please remember it’s also reunion 2008, a year of renewal and a time to bring about new political and social changes to our land. We need to remain a friendly, peaceful and hospitable people. “We are the nature isle of the Caribbean”! To borrow a pharse from De Hunter “One Flag, One People, One Blood, One Nation”! That’s what we ought to be working towards, We are still a young nation in terms of being independent here in Dominica and still learning how to improve our own lives and the lives of our families. Competing in the global market of trade, economics, politics, and social networking. Governing ourselves is no easy task and its up to us all to do our part to improve of our country’s’ infrastructure, living conditions, to attract foreign investments which not only benefit investors but every Dominican. Our government officials are unable to do it alone [regardless of party affiliation or who’s power] we cannot leave all of the work to others and attempt to reap the harvest along with those who toiled day and night to bring about change and improve our nations’ standing in the world. It’s important to point out We can’t presume accurately how others see us while first impressions can be deceiving we would do well in realizing that there’s always room for improvement not only in the way we dress but in the way we speak and present ourselves in a business environment or personal our encounters. Therefore I urge that this season we celebrate with every bit of energy we have, enjoy ourselves, have fun and stay safe, but when the party is over and the lights go out it will be time to go back to work; back to the business of moving Dominica forward making sure our children, their children and future generations can continue to proudly refer to her as the nature isle of the Caribbean. I pray for my nation and my people big and small young and old.

Editor dominik360.com

 I got this one this morning, thought I’d share it with everyone.

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This mail transmission is been sent by a lawyer. It contains information that is confidential, privileged, proprietary, or otherwise legally exempt from disclosure. There is no intent on the part of the sender to waive any privilege,including the attorney-client privilege, that may attach to this communication. Dear Friend, Am Barrister. Howard Richard, attorney at law. A deceased client of mine, by name Mr Mark, who herein after shall be referred to as my client,died as the result of a heart-related condition in November 2002. I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the money left behind by my client before it is confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance House where this deposit valued at 10.5million dollars is lodged. This Finance House has issued me a notice to contact the next of kin, or the account will be confiscated because there is a government gazette/mandate/authorizing all Finance Houses to freeze or confiscate any account that has not been serviceable in a long period of time,this is geared towards capital flight for the economy. If you are familiar with private banking affairs, those who patronize our services usually prefer anonymity, but also some levels of detachment from conventional processes. In his bio-data form, he listed no next of kin. Mark died intestate. In another year, if a next of kin is not located to inherit the fund, the Estate will revert back to the Bank’s accounting system as “unclaimed” Late Mark died with no known or identifiable family member. This leaves me as the only person with the full picture of what the prevailing situation is in relation to the deposit. What I wish to relate to you will smack of unethical practice, but I want you to understand something. It is only an outsider to the Banking world who finds the internal politics of the banking world aberrational. The world of private Banking especially is fraught with huge rewards for those who sit upon certain chairs and oversee certain portfolios. You should have begun by now to put together the general direction of what I propose. There is US$10,500,000.00 deposited with a finance company,I alone have the deposit details and they will release the deposit to any one that i nominate as a next of kin. My proposition to you is to seek your consent to present you as the next-of-kin and beneficiary of my named client, since you have the same last name with my deceased client, so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you. All legal documents to back up your claim as my client’s next-of-kin will be provided.We will share the Benefit upon our mutual agreement. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see this transaction through. This will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. If this business proposition offends your moral values,do accept my apology but if not, then contact me at once to indicate your interest, You can call me on my personal number (+44 704 572 7219) or email me (barrhowardhrichard7@gmail.com or howardrichgat@gmail.com)so I can further explain this whole transaction to you or you can just send me an email here. Best regards, Howard Richard (ESQ.)

Love your Country, Love its People, Love its Visitors

The time has come for all Dominicans to be made aware of and tell one another about some internet scams designed to rob them of there hard earned money.

Must of these scams include but are not limited to emails claiming the user or recipient has won a huge sum of money from an overseas lottery (held mostly somewhere in Europe and you probably never entered).

They ask for personal information like full name, address etc. Information no legitimate business would ask you for in an email no bank would do such a thing either.

Please note that this isn’t the only scam designed to steal your money some send you a money order ask that you cash it and remit some of the cash to an overseas partner in exchange for thousands of dollars just for doing that, don’t fall for these scams they have been exposed in the US and other countries therefore are attempting to run there scam in Dominica and the rest of the Caribbean.

Below is an example of one such email read carefully pay attention if you receive a similar email “DO NOT” open it don’t even respond, as responding has the potential to provide your personal information to scam artists just it delete and attempt to block the sender also report and send a copy of the email to your ISP and law enforcement on the island.

SCAM EMAIL SCAM EMAIL

The Irish National Online Lottery
P O Box 1010 Dublin, 11 G
Lower Dorset Street
(Customer Services)  

Batch No: IRNL/67189098011/245679/1109
Ref. No: IRNL/11278998789/908796//1109  

Dear Winner  

This is to inform you that you have been selected for a cash prize of
1,350,000 Euro. in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03. held on
the 24th Of March 2007 in Uk.The selection process was carried out
through random selection in our computerized email selection system
(ess) from a database of over 250,000 email addresses drawn from which
you were selected.  

The Irish National Lottery is approved by the Uk Gaming Board. In other
to claim your won prize from the lottery board you are required to fill
out the claims processing form and send it to our Claims Agent here in
the UK with the details below:  

Contact :Dr Mark Lambert
Email address :drmark_agtlambert2@hotmail.com
Tel:+44 704 572 2823
Office Line: +44-207-179-7777
**************************************************
Below is the claims form you are required to fill:
FILL AND SUBMIT.  

PAYMENT PROCESSING FORM
1.FULL NAMES:———————-
2.ADDRESS:—————————
3.SEX:————————————-
4.AGE:————————————-
5.MARITAL STATUS:—————–
6.OCCUPATION:———————–
7.ANNUAL INCOME:——————
8.TELEPHONE NUMBER:———-
9.AMOUNT WON:———————-
10. COUNTRY:—————————
11.EMAIL ADDRESS:—————–
12.RELIGION:—————————–  

Goodluck from me and members of staff of the IRISH NATIONAL LOTTERY.  

Yours faithfully,
Sir Ralp Swan.
Online coordinator for
IRISH  NATIONAL LOTTERY
Sweepstakes International Program.

by a concerned Dominican

"Dominican 2 the bone"

Knock ‘em dead speech!

A speech born out of necessity. As I sat in from of my television and listened to US Presidential hopeful Barack Obama deliver his speech on race relations and racial divide in America today and at the same time explain his relationship with his pastor Reverend Wright. I must admit that this was the first time in a very long time that a politician has been able to keep my attention for more than fifteen (15) minutes. This speech should become a teaching tool or a model for Political Science students and even future Presidential Candidates alike, it was the best speech ever given or the best I’ve heard by a political candidate on a subject that frankly no-one wants to talk about, lots of people especially those who are willing to maintain the status-quo will continue to draw negative reactions to the speech or aspects of it.The truth of the matter is race still makes a difference in America it happens from the poorest neighborhood to the richest from the biggest jobs to the smallest people will look at you differently sometimes its not their fault its the way they were raised of ignorance and its on both sides. However the most important lesson I got from Obama’s speech is that no matter how we got here the fact is we are here, we are Americans and ultimately just different sides of the of the same coin and unless we come together and stop ignoring the issue of race and talk about it and attempt to find solutions to solve these issues we’ll continue to treat each other badly in the same breath as we smile at each other we’ll be thinking the same negative, racial bias and prejudice as when slavery was legal. More over each side will keep saying my anger is more justified than yours and no matter you have been through or how much your ancestors have suffered at the hands of mine you have no right to complain, you have welfare and affirmative action or and you are good at sports you make us we give you some money and even better you can marry white women without fear of being lynched. The other you made us slaves, you’d treat your pet better than you would us, when we walk into your store if you don’t ignore us, look at us with a strange look on your face you might just follow us around the store like we are about to steal from you therefore we just might because you owe us anyway Such thinking and stereotypes haven’t gone away they are just hidden and if we don’t do something these inexcusable acts of disrespect and mistrust will continue to haunt this great nation, it’ll kept under the rug near the surface, hidden but not swept away and every once in a while pop its ugly little head out especially when something happens and the rug begins to move out of place then we see some dirt and a little dust gets into our eyes so we cry for a second or two and go back to business as usual. This is my opinion of this speech however look at the speech in its entirety and draw your on conclusion. Click here

Editor, dominik360.com

Comment on this speech

Hey, this website is Hot. I’m very impressed guys, I know a whole lot went into and continues to go into the development of this site. Keep it up!

What is the Dominican dream all about? Is there one? Has any one of our leaders given a speech that outlines a dream and motivate the citizens of Dominica to seek it ?  I do believe that any current leader of Dominica who is optimistic about the country and its people, should he or she give such a speech, will indeed become very popular overnight. It’s a psychological tactic to boost the population’s morale which in turn will increase Dominica’s economy, patriotism, honor, pride, family and even the standard of living.

In my own mind, the Dominican dream should be a set of goals directed primarily to the school children and young adults who often find that there is limited opportunity in Dominica after graduating from school. Secondarily, it can be directed to career minded adults who are seeking more than just a paycheck from their employers. Last but not least, the Dominican dream can be directed to the leaders of Dominica who can be compromised by the highest briber (lobbyist).

The Dominican dream in my opinion starts with the individual citizen. Someone’s perception of themself; their ability to do the unthinkable and succeed at it, the belief in oneself to overcome the odds and be the best of the best in whatever endeavor one undertakes, maintaining a good character which is one of the core values of the Dominican dream. Another awesome value of the Dominican dream is one’s attitude on giving. I personally have strong feelings towards giving, not just monetarily but also your skills, time and ideas to contribute in the development of your community. Giving is likened to sowing seeds into a cause or someone that you believe in and reaping the harvest of that investment. The next value of the Dominican dream is self confidence and dignity. Be confident in yourself and others will in turn be confident in you especially when you’re trying to attract a potential buyer in business. Your confidence shows off the degree of competence that you possess on a paticular matter. Complimenting confidence is dignity because it’s all about how you carry yourself. Who you associate yourself with and the places you circulate is very important to achieving your goals in life. Not everyone in your life is good for you so when you reach some milestones in life, you’re gonna have to let go some people in order to go higher. A good example of this is a space shuttle launch.  

With those individual values out the way, the most powerful part of the Dominican dream is ownership. This concept in most cases requires money. What do you think about money? Do you like money or do you think its not important? The bible say that money answers ALL things. Whatever part of the world you might find yourself in, this statement can be proven to be true. If you have lots of money, your words and influence is much stronger than a broke person seeking the same thing. I believe that money has a spirit behind it and that spirit will reside where it is wanted. Possessing money is the key to ownership. What are some good things to own? This seems like a great investment question. The number one investment that should be on your list of ownership is Land. From the beginning of time, land has always been the best investment and location is the key factor in land ownership.

Have you ever thought of owning your business where you answer to no one? Think of something that people need or something that you are good at doing and this could very well be the beginning of a new level in your life. Of course business ownership involves risks but the independence and profits you get to enjoy is sweet indeed.  Own you home and stop renting because you’re just helping your landlord fulfill his dream. Houses appreciate over time so this investment like land is good for your net worth. A reliable car is a good investment but all vehicles depreciate so being conservative when buying a car is an asset. The basic rules of staying on top of you money is buy low, sell high; spend less than you earn; give at least 10 percent to God, save at least 10 percent and spend the rest according to your priorities.

Finally, the Dominican dream requires all able body citizens to stop looking up to the government for anything and practice self reliance. The government can be a slow moving machine even when there is an urgence involved. Make yourself independent from government programs because they are not designed to enrich you but to keep you at the level that they desire. These programs tend to impose control over the citizens who use them thus freedom is hindered. Yes, you do want to be free and independent from your government because when that’s the case you will have its respect. That’s the Dominican Dream.

K. Roberts

Hey

 I love the new website!  Big ups to the Editor in Chief and Web Master.  Let the students of MSU know about it. Their website is csoweb.org.

Tasha

One would think or I had come to believe that the Art Form (calypso) had grown and improved since the early years in Dominica. In truth it has many things have changed from the styles of calypsonians to their presentations to even who sings calypso. However sometimes it seems like the more things change the more they remain the same, yes I’m take about reunion 2008 calypso finals being out of the country and only listen its difficult to have an opinion on the presentations but its easy to have one the songs and which ones can be called calypso and the ones which are closer to soca.

If crowd participation and favorites only makes for 10% of vote for a performer at the calypso finals why then are the finals judged in the same manner as soca monarch? I know and everyone who knows calypso including the judges know who sang calypso at the ‘08 finals and who sang something else. Not that there was anything wrong with their song except they weren’t calypso and belonged in a soca or road match competition. It seems judges make up there minds before finals night based on the most popular song/artists public opinion seems to play a bigger role than we realize in who gets the crown regardless of whether they actually sing calypso or not. Maybe it’s time for one more change like placing outsiders (i.e. Mighty Sparrow) in the judges chairs; people who’s minds have not been poisoned by the popularity of a song or performer but would rather listen to the presentation before them and say without bias that what is been presented is in fact pure social or political commentary which we all know calypso stands for. We’d like the popularity contest style of judging to be reserved for the soca monarch and road march king competition because these should be based on public opinion air play and by extension popularity. Calypso cannot be judged the same way.

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