On Friday July 20, 2018, two loads of blue barrels were transported by a white dump truck with a GA license plate to the storeroom of the Office of Disaster Management (ODM) at Jimmit. We have been reliably informed that these barrels were in a container at the port at Fond Cole containing relief supplies sent to Dominicans soon after Hurricane Maria . The shipping agency asked for the container and government had no choice but to empty it.

The dozens of barrels were sent to the government in care of Ms Joanne Commodore, the Permanent Secretary in the then Ministry of Justice, Immigration and Labour. The supplies stayed in the container for several months and were left to spoil.  Many of the canned food got punctured in the barrels because of the heat, releasing a very bad smell. Because of the smell, two barrels were placed outside of the storeroom. Another sad indication of the government's mischief and chronic inability to promptly and successfully distribute the supplies.

The pattern follows the government's long history of allowing donated supplies to expire in their possession instead of having them distributed to all needy persons. The Skerrit government and its foot soldiers have a reputation of keeping donations to themselves, and what they're unable to share with their friends, they either sell or discard. Who can forget the disposal of pallets of coffee beans from the plant in One Mile, or the generators being sold from Capitolin's place in the old Public Works building in Layou. Even our good friend, Reginald "The Rottweiler" Austrie has had supplies removed and discarded from his mansion in Toucarie. Just ask Coco with the truck where did he dump all the expired relief supplies of rice, flour and pasta he took from Austrie's home not too long ago and is there a possible link between what he removed from Austrie's home and the food supplies discovered dumped at Point Round? It happens in Kings Hill too, as evidenced by this video we recently obtained of a well-known Labourite in the act.

This is a serious crime against the people who spent their hard earned cash to make the much needed supplies available and also against the people who were desperately in need of these supplies. Only a heartless, inept and dangerous government can allow relief supplies from generous and caring organizations and individuals to deteriorate in such a manner.

How many more containers of supplies got to that stage? How many were dumped? How many more are still on the port waiting to be dumped? We are also hearing of relief supplies and money that were sent to specific communities and organizations and they are yet to receive anything sent in their names. Where are the funds and supplies? Is the government going to provide a report to the public?

MiTC is calling on every Dominican at home and abroad, also foreign governments, institutions and individuals that provided relief supplies and funds after Hurricane Maria to demand from the DLP government detailed reports on the funds and supplies that they contributed to the victims of the hurricane. There should be transparent paper trails. Anything less should be unacceptable.

Playing cheap partisan politics with relief supplies, especially in a time of desperate need is a sign of escalating political weakness and a malicious grip on failing leadership. Hurricane Maria saw no political colours, no ethnicity, nor religion. It affected everyone. So the assistance received by the DLP government should have been distributed urgently and fairly to the people in need. This current disgraceful situation going on at the ODM storeroom at Jimmit in a sickening demonstration of the Roosevelt Skerrit’s administration dont give a damn and politically driven attitude.



Report updated to note the discovery of a recent dump site for supplies at Point Round.

Farmers In Red Clinic Fashion -waiting

Many people were totally disgusted and disappointed in the way the Roosevelt Skerrit government utilize $18 Million to play politics as oppose to genuinely investing the money in developing a productive Agricultural sector. Quite interestingly a fair portion of the discontent and criticism came from Labour Party supporters. Thanks to our disgruntled Labourite friends, we received in our In-Box a copy of the List of “Farmers” in the North, those who received commercial disbursements of  $10,000 and a separate list of  small business “farmers” those who received from $3000.00.
 

The List

We are in no position to postulate on who should or should not have received funds nor are we in a position to decide who should have made it on the commercial list or the list of  small business farmers. What we know for sure is that the manner in which the government of Dominica has handled the Agriculture Emergency Relief grant by the World Bank, is disgraceful, despicable, disrespectful and insulting to say the least.

The mere appearance of a people groveling and climbing upon each other for a few puny dollars is very much telling of the society that PM Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration has nurtured. The biggest question that we all must ask is – was there some type of "control and assurance" program implemented by the government to insure that this $18 Million development funding will yield the maximum benefit?

According to our sources the list is made up of people who are neither farmers nor small business owners. For instance, it was pointed out to us that on this list of “farmers” in the North a gentleman who received $10,000 and he is neither a farmer nor a small business owner but instead works at a gas station pumping gas.   

We have also been warned that several members from the same household have received disbursements under the commercial or small business category. In one instance someone appeared on the list twice. 

We understand that all the “farmers” irrespective how much money they are receiving are asked to sign the bottom of a document that states at the top of that same document that the farmer is receiving $10,000. Is this an honest mistake or   deliberate attempt to distort the money trail and or to provide a favorable report to the World Bank?

In the interest of transparency we are providing a copy of the list of “farmers.” Take note that we insist on parenthesizing the word farmers because we want to leave it to the readers to decide who they know to be the real farmers in Dominica. It is left to you the readers to identify the imposters, the people who are in the NEP program supervising grass cutters and yet are receiving $10,000. You the readers must decide whether roadside grass cutting is a form of farming.

It is the readers who must ask themselves why it is that today we have over three thousand “farmers “ yet prior to Hurricane Maria the agriculture industry was at its lowest in the history  organized agriculture in Dominica. 

We leave it to the readers to figure out why it is that prior to Hurricane Maria only 7-10 farmers from the  entire  Vielle Case, Thibaud and Penville district would consistently show up for engagements with officers from the Ministry Of Agriculture yet the lion share of the funds designated for the Northern district goes to Vielle Case, Penville and Thibaud.  Out of a total 152 commercial “Farmers” the government presented and approved 92 commercial farmers in the Vielle Case area.

Under the small business  farming section ,a total of 432 were approved Again the government approved 162 small businesses from Vielle Case out of the total of 432 small business farmers in the entire North of Dominica. Lets leave this for the "straight eye" analysis of Clarence Christian. 

Two years ago Massinthecemetery featured a prolific young farmer Hiliare John Baptist aka “Castle”. We reported that Farmer Castle had been one of the premier banana producing farmers on the island and one of the very few farmers who was able to stay in the fight against the Black Sigatoka and the “red Sigatoka- the DLP” Farmer Hiliare John Baptist had been running a well-organized farming business distributing bananas to various outlets and also donating boxes of bananas to needy institutions free of charge. We notice that Farmer Hiliare John Baptist did not make it to the commercial. We leave it to the readers to ask why Farmer Castle was not on the commercial list when he was the one of the largest banana producing farmer on the island.

The government and its apologists would like nothing more than for this fraudulent, despicable government conduct to be just “talk”. In the interest of transparency MiTC is more than happy to provide you with the real document containing the list of “farmers” in the north of the island who have received funding. We are nevertheless very happy for the genuine farmers who have received the support from the program and we hope that the moneys received will help in rebuilding their farms.

Following a tip, we tuned in to KairiFM last Saturday night, and what we were a witness to was an undeservedly brutal assault on the reputation of  Q95's lead journalist, Mathias Peltier Jr. Leading the assault were three of the most grotesque individuals; Simeon Albert, Frankie Bellot and Anthony Astaphan. At issue was a donation from a New York based Dominican non-profit organization, We Are Dominica (WAD) that Mr. Peltier was making on their behalf to a deserving individual, Mr. Rudy Grove in Soufriere. Let's examine this a minute.

I must say that it is extraordinary that this trio would even attempt to impugn the reputation of anyone, let alone Mr. Peltier. While we agree that this is the norm with this goon squad, it is still an incredible thing to witness. The host of the programme, Simeon Albert, is a thief. Mr. Albert was recently caught with so much looted hardware material following the passage of Hurricane Maria that he could open his own store. What Mr. Albert could not steal was probably bolted to the floor. He remains free thanks to his benefactors, chief among them is Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, himself not averse to theft either. Birds of a feather, you say? We say yes!

Frankie Bellot, the proprietor of KairiFM, is a child molester. Mr. Bellot stands accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with a 14 year old child, plying her with expensive gifts and transporting her to various places to engage in his perverted activities. His predatory activities date back several years but he has been protected by his friends in high places. Mr. Bellot has attempted to pay off the family of the young girl who he is accused of molesting. Rumor has it that some payment was made but we cannot confirm that. The case against him is in limbo, languishing in the courts, and appears to be going nowhere thanks to his connections. His radio station is the de facto propaganda arm of the ruling Dominica Labour Party of Prime Minister Skerrit. See the connection? Mr. Bellot we urge you to listen to yourself; your voice is gone because your sins have come home to roost. Get off the air.

Anthony Astaphan, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's butthole mouthpiece, is a well-known pathological liar and an enemy of the state. Mr. Astaphan is a political prostitute who will contort himself into any position for the sake of a dollar. Mr. Astaphan once accused "dem fellers", a group including Roosevelt Skerrit and Vince Henderson, of causing the death of former Prime Minister Pierre Charles. He is on record stating that he warned PM Charles of  how dangerous "dem fellers" were. Immediately after the passing of PM Charles, Astaphan found a way to be in bed with the same gang he derided. Now he is the surrogate father to one of the gangs members. We have a question for Mr. Astaphan; is the government minister paying you child support? You are taking care of his child, aren't you? If he isn't, sue him. Talk to your wife.

Mr. Peltier continues to do good work on behalf of the people of Dominica. Whether it's on the airwaves informing us of what is happening in our country or assisting needy persons like Mr. Grove in Soufriere, we thank him for his yeoman service. Mr. Grove has been the beneficiary of a cash donation from We Are Dominica and Mr. Peltier facilitated the transfer effortlessly.

It is noteworthy that during the presentation of cash by Mr. Peltier, Mr. Grove, who is blind, noted that he was known to be a supporter of the United Workers Party and hinted that may be the reason why he did not receive assistance from the government. What he did get was a call from Mr. Albert attempting to gather dirt on Mr. Peltier. What he should have done was to deliver the hardware supplies he looted to Mr. Grove which would then be used to construct a new home. 

Several weeks ago in a piece entitled "The Greatest Threat to our Democracy", I made what now appears to be a rather prescient statement. In reference to Roosevelt Skerrit's emasculation of what was once a proud Labour Party, I told you this;

"But there are many Dominicans, in particular traditional Labourites, who continue to hold their noses and await salvation from anyone within the Labour Party who can cleanse the party that they love from the stench and scourge of Skerrit and his corrupt associates, like Astaphan. In private off-the-record conversations with several "Traditionals", as we will refer to Labourites in the mould of the founders of the party, we learned that they perceive Mr. Skerrit as something of a hybrid virus that was manufactured in the laboratories of the Freedom Party of Charles Savarin, and which came to infect the Party of Emmanuel Christopher Loblack, Phyllis Shand Alfrey and Edward Oliver Leblanc. They recognize that Mr. Skerrit's rapaciousness is antithetical to what the Labour Party stood for in the past and they remain wistful of the glory days long gone...The consensus among these traditional Labourites is that they love their party; they are Labourites to the end. However, they offer tacit support to the opposition. A minority indicated to us that they have not fully endeared themselves to the opposition United Workers Party for various reasons...and they view the Freedom Party as the reason why they are saddled with Skerrit, so they have propped themselves up into a corner biding their time, hoping that someone will emerge from within the ranks of their party that will pose a serious challenge to Mr. Skerrit."

Little did I know that the solution would appear less that two months later. Yesterday we were privy to an extraordinary interview on Q95's Talk On The Block with a distinguished member of our diplomatic corps, Ambassador Crispin Gregoire. I do not know how many Labourites heard this interview but I am certain they all need to.

In clear and certain terms, Amb. Gregoire laid out the case against the corruption that permeates the current incarnation of what he knew was once a great party, a party for the people, a party of the people. Dispelling any likely insinuation that he may no longer be a Labourite, Amb. Gregoire reaffirmed his roots in the party, clearly distinguishing himself as an individual in the mould of Leblanc, Rosie and Piero. He reminded Labourites that what masquerades as a Labour Party government today is nothing other than a collection of former members of the Young Freedom Movement.

Although the interview is punctuated with several important segments, it is critical that we pay attention to Amb. Gregoire's recollection of the sequence of events that led to Roosevelt Skerrit being made leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister. Amb. Gregoire sheds light on the machinations of Skerrit and his enablers, all of who we can safely say have spat on the graves of Rosie and Piero ever since. We Dominicans must at some point come to grips with the fact that we need to cleanse ourselves and our country from this scourge.

Traditional Labourites have a decision to make now; stick it out with the gang of thieves that have taken over your Party, or seek out a new leader for the times we live in. Undoubtedly the knives will come out for Amb. Gregoire from the usual suspects, but it is clear to me that traditional Labourites, like the ones interviewed for my earlier piece in May, now have a clear path to absolution. Amb. Gregoire comes to the table with clean hands. Among his numerous attributes, he is a statesman, experienced in government, well-versed in diplomacy, and possesses extensive contacts both locally and internationally. Amb. Gregoire has been in the trenches with our beloved leaders like Rosie and Piero, and he is not a pushover. The man is a djean Gwabay and a former Que Pasa. That says it all right there.

It is now time for Labourites to expunge the likes of Roosevelt Skerrit and the entire cabal from the leadership of this country of ours. Never in the history of this island nation have we ever experienced the division we now live through. Dominica has never been so polarized. All of this came about at the hands of Roosevelt Skerrit. We need to rebuild our country. We need to love each other like we always did in the past. We need to create employment opportunities for all, especially our youth. All shall eat, not some shall eat all. 

Que Pasa Labourites? What are you going to do?

To listen to Ambassador Gregoire's interview, click on this link below.

Anthony Waddy Astaphan, the mouthpiece and puppet master of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has been called many things but one thing that seems to have escaped him so far is this; he is an existential threat to democracy in Dominica and the lives of its people. To understand why this is so, you must first appreciate what Astaphan does for Roosevelt Skerrit and to the people of Dominica.

First, let us all acknowledge that Dominicans, by and large, fear the legal system; they do not like it nor do they want to find themselves in any situation where they may end up in court. Astaphan knows that and, with the title "senior counsel" in his back pocket, uses his manufactured prominence with great effect, striking fear, real and imagined, into the minds of ordinary people who may be led to subconsciously believe that should they cross him or whomever he represents, they would have to deal with him, the enforcer. And Astaphan is his own PR machine; he does not need a marketing team - he can sell himself because he has the gift of gab. Putting all this together, he takes to the airwaves and proceeds to malign and vilify all Dominicans with whom he has issues. And these victims seem impotent, incapable of returning the fire. It's been an effective strategy, so far.

What has been amazing to us is the inability or unwillingness of Dominicans to skin Astaphan. It seems like Anthony Astaphan has bullied the population into submission. Everyone knows he lies yet they do very little, if anything, to counter his lies effectively, let alone shut him up. Is it because they fear being sued? Are other members of the legal fraternity unwilling to take cases that would pit them against Astaphan? What is it about this lawyer prostitute that makes people avoid him as if he has some deadly communicable disease? And what is it that makes this man so invaluable to Skerrit?

Dominica's conjoined twins Roosevelt Skerrit and Anthony Astaphan are a match made in hell; the former rapes the country of its resources while the latter keeps the former out of jail - again, so far. While Skerrit is busy emptying the treasury, enriching himself and his cronies, for large fees Astaphan has been ensuring that Skerrit is protected and allowed to do as he please. Skerrit, who cannot be described as being an orator, is incapable of speaking at length without a written speech, chews on his words whenever he makes an attempt to ad lib, and is a man not averse to serving us with an occasional word salad, has come to rely on the verbal prowess of Astaphan whenever the need arises where blowing smoke up our collective arses is the requisite prescription.

As a lawyer, Anthony Astaphan's success is mediocre at best, and that's being generous; there is not much there as far as legal skills are concerned. But we knew that long ago; he constantly trailed at the bottom of his law class to the extent where he was reportedly threatened by his father that if he failed to graduate he should not bother to return home. In choosing a path to what he believed would be his success, he apparently chose to invest his time into making loud noises in an attempt to bully and intimidate his adversaries into submission, which is why more often than not, he presses for settlements instead of actual litigation. When he does end up in the courtroom, his success rate ranges from substandard to average, with a sprinkling of fraudulent acts; not exactly an exemplary record for an attorney who trots around with the title "senior counsel". Senior Clownsel may be more appropriate. In recent high profile cases, senior clownsel Astaphan has produced spectacular failures and, true to his nature, he then turns around and ascribes blame to everyone but his lack of skill when faced with a real lawyer. That's Tony, or "Tammy Tutillini", as he recently renamed himself, in a nutshell.

Anthony "Tammy Tutillini" Astaphan's bombast is what endears him to Roosevelt Skerrit, and Mr. Skerrit is holding on to him for dear life. But Mr. Skerrit is hugging a cactus tree. While he draws on Astaphan's bullying to keep the population in line and his political opposition off their feet, Astaphan is causing tremendous damage to Skerrit in the court of public opinion. Dominicans generally despise Anthony Astaphan; the only segment of the population who views him favourably are Mr. Skerrit's hard core supporters. In fact, a significant amount of Labourites despise Astaphan as well because, while they recognize and love the bullying of the opposition, they simultaneously recognize that the hatred of Astaphan that exists among the wider population does significant PR damage to Skerrit and the party. The hatred of Astaphan is partly the reason why Skerrit must spend to bribe people for support. Had Mr. Skerrit not been constrained by the revulsion of Astaphan, he might be able to use his charm and wit to his advantage, expanding his base of support without having to expend significant amounts of money.

Let's face it, Mr. Skerrit can be charming and he knows how to interact with the common man and woman, which is why he has been able to hold on to so many ardent supporters in the face of rabid corruption. But there are many Dominicans, in particular traditional Labourites, who continue to hold their noses and await salvation from anyone within the Labour Party who can cleanse the party that they love from the stench and scourge of Skerrit and his corrupt associates, like Astaphan. In private off-the-record conversations with several "Traditionals", as we will refer to Labourites in the mould of the founders of the party, we learned that they perceive Mr. Skerrit as something of a hybrid virus that was manufactured in the laboratories of the Freedom Party of Charles Savarin, and which came to infect the Party of Emmanuel Christopher Loblack, Phyllis Shand Alfrey and Edward Oliver Leblanc. They recognize that Mr. Skerrit's rapaciousness is antithetical to what the Labour Party stood for in the past and they remain wistful of the glory days long gone. So why not join hands with the opposition, we asked. The consensus among these traditional Labourites is that they love their party; they are Labourites to the end. However, they offer tacit support to the opposition. A minority indicated to us that they have not fully endeared themselves to the opposition United Workers Party for various reasons, some of which are personal, and they view the Freedom Party as the reason why they are saddled with Skerrit, so they have propped themselves up into a corner biding their time, hoping that someone will emerge from within the ranks of their party that will pose a serious challenge to Mr. Skerrit. Time is running out for these Labourites because Skerrit and Astaphan are destroying their beloved party.

Time is also running out on us because the twins are lobotomizing our Dominica as well. While Tammy Tutillini continues to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the upscale neighborhood of Weston, we're here suffering and grovelling for the scraps. We were once a proud nation; we did not want anything from anyone. Today, we're begging for everything from everyone. We once walked into our local Credit Union office, withdrew money from our savings and took a long vacation. Today we wait for a family member overseas to buy us a ticket while we trot over to Fast Cash for money we can call spending cash. Once upon a time our youth would have gotten a job right after leaving school; today, they reside on the street corners for years, unemployed. What has become of us? How long are we going to accept this sub-standard way of life? When are going to stop Tutillini on the street the next time he is in Dominica and teach him a lesson that he will never forget? When?

December 23, 1776, Thomas Paine, one of  the Founding Fathers of the United States in a post called "The Crisis" which describes the start of the American Revolution, said this;

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph".

It is left to be seen whether May 23rd, 2017, will go down in the annals of history as the start of the Dominican Revolution, but one thing is for certain; we need one desperately. The Roosevelt Skerrit administration is on the verge of legitimizing through legislation, bribery for votes. Mr. Skerrit has been busy blowing smoke out of his posterior in an attempt to convince us that what he is about to do is not what it is, but like anything being ejected from one's behind, Mr. Skerrit's diatribes stink like this law.

The law does away with established legislation that makes it a crime to, put simply, provide something of value to a voter with the intent on swinging the beneficiary's vote in the direction of the benefactor. In this case, the "something of value" relates to the transportation of a voter to or within Dominica. Here is the exact piece from the proposed legislation;

"For the avoidance of doubt, the transportation of electors or the facilitation of the transportation of electors to or within Dominica for the purposes of an election does not constitute an offence unless the transportation is provided or facilitated with the intention to corruptly induce an elector to vote for a particular candidate for whom or party for which the elector would not otherwise vote". 

Mr. Skerrit is undoubtedly pursuing this course because there is a lawsuit languishing under judicial review relating to the 2014 plebiscite in which there is documented proof that his party engaged in acts which, should this case be allowed to proceed and adjudicated, would determine that Mr. Skerrit and his party are guilty and were clearly in violation of the law, and would face serious consequences. Therefore, to preclude any negative actions coming from the courts, Mr. Skerrit has introduced this legislation to both kill the pending case, and simultaneously open up the floodgates for him to bribe voters again with impunity. The proverbial win-win. But this must not be allowed to occur.

The citizens of Dominica must stand up to Mr. Skerrit. The 17,000 voters who rejected Mr. Skerrit in 2014 must again rise to the occasion and stop him dead in his tracks if, for no other reason being just this: Mr. Skerrit is on the verge of making your sacred right to self-determination useless. This is not hyperbole.

If we allow this legislation to pass, Mr. Skerrit will then be able to import sufficient voters to flood each constituency he believes that he might lose in an election. We must remember that Mr. Skerrit has at his disposal a list of tens of thousands of "new citizens" who have the right to vote in Dominica. Mr. Skerrit, in his dog and pony road show that he calls town hall meetings, is telling us that these "new citizens" cannot vote because they do not reside in Dominica. But we must also remember that the requirement to live in Dominica to be able to vote in an election is also a law on our books that Mr. Skerrit can easily reverse because he has the majority in parliament. If Mr. Skerrit can destroy established law that makes it a violation to bribe an elector, what makes you think he cannot or will not do the same to the residency requirement? The two go hand in hand. I would not be surprised if that is not his next move.

It is time for us to stop talking and do something before something is done to us. Roosevelt Skerrit has proven over time to be a thief of our country's treasure; he is poised to steal our elections as well. Mr. Skerrit's tehbeh accomplice, Attorney General Levi Peters, had difficulty explaining this law to us on DBS the other day, for good reason; he could not do so without masking his lies.

Mr. Peters knows very well that "intent" is extremely difficult to prove. For a plaintiff to prove intent, he/she would have to present to the court sworn testimony from the benefactor admitting that the reason transportation was being or had been provided to the voter was to induce the voter to cast a ballot in favour of the benefactor to the detriment of another individual or party. Ask yourself; why would someone voluntarily admit to a crime knowing the penalty is a fine and/or imprisonment when simply not saying anything allows them to go free? There's no logical reason why an individual would do such a thing.

This is why the time is now to stand up and fight against Mr. Skerrit and his corrupt government. I call on all Dominicans, in particular the youth, to do something for your country. Mr. Skerrit has impoverished us all while his bank accounts and those of his appeasers continue to bulge. Are we going to wait until the situation in Dominica deteriorates to what we now see in Venezuela? Are we going to wait until we're fighting each other in the streets? Mr. Skerrit and his ministers are a gang of thugs.

In an unprecedented move, government minister Kenneth Darroux showed up in parliament today with a firearm, in clear violation of standing rules. Mr. Darroux at some point brandished his weapon and threatened a member of the opposition. Mr. Darroux also threatened to shoot whomever was outside. Presumably he was referring to the demonstrators outside parliament building assembled in opposition to the presentation of this legislation. Elements of the police, Mr. Skerrit's very own Tonton Macoute, did nothing. In fact, the police fired shots above the heads of demonstrators. What's next? Blood on the streets?

Dominicans, get out into the streets. Now. Stop this madness before we end up like our neighbours in Venezuela. Get out there, for country. Get off your comfortable chairs, get into the streets. Do it for your children. Do it for the future. Do it to preserve some dignity. Do it before its too late.

"When the situation was manageable it was neglected, and now that it is thoroughly out of hand we apply too late the remedies which then might have affected a cure. There is nothing new in the story. It is as old as the sibylline books. It falls into that long, dismal catalogue of the fruitlessness of experience and the confirmed unteachability of mankind. Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong - these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history"

Winston Churchill

Mr. Churchill was speaking before the House of Commons, May 2, 1935, and he was addressing the failure of Europeans to contain German Chancellor Adolph Hitler when they had the opportunities to do so, but failed, and the end result of that failure was war amongst themselves. If we don't act now, are we prepared for a similar fate?

In the ever-widening investigation into the UN-Iran sanctions-busting scheme, US authorities have snatched up one more corrupt individual. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the deputy chief executive officer at Turkey's Halk Bank, has been indicted in New York along with Reza Zarrab, who was picked up in Florida several months ago. Mr. Zarrab is part of the group of persons, which included Alireza Ziba Halat Monfared, who have been implicated in a massive scheme to defraud the Iranian government out of billions of dollars while circumventing the United Nations embargo on Iran.

The new superseding indictment, unsealed on April 5th, names four individuals and includes Reza Zarrab's brother Mohammed Zarrab and two other persons; Camelia Jamshidy and Hossein Najafzadeh. The indictment lists Mohammed Zarrab as the owner of a network of money services companies in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Ms. Jamshidy is listed as an employee of Reza Zarrab and Mr. Najafzadeh is listed as a senior officer of Mellat Exchange, a large Iranian financial services company tied to Mellat Investment Bank.

The arrest and indictment of Reza Zarrab has far reaching implications for the Turkish government. Said to be implicated in the scheme are senior members of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government and if there was any indication as to how serious the ramifications could be for Mr. Erdogan, it has been reported that the recent hiring of former NYC Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, himself a former US Attorney in the same office now prosecuting Mr. Zarrab, and former US Attorney General Michael Mulkasey by Mr. Zarrab was done at the behest of Mr. Erdogan. The addition of these two prominent lawyers has not been sealed, for their inclusion on the defense team of Reza Zarrab is the subject of a Curcio hearing; the government is challenging the hiring and wants the judge to reject Mr. Guiliani and Mr. Mulkasey on conflict of interest grounds. New York Newsday reported on March 31st that Mr. Guiliani and Mr. Mulkasey both met with Mr. Erdogan on matters relating to the case against Reza Zarrab. According to Newsday, federal prosecutors handling the case said they were told that Mr.Guiliani and Mr. Mulkasey notified US Attorney General Jeff Sessions of their visit to Turkey in late February, just weeks before the firing of Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, who had been overseeing Zarrab's prosecution.

The arrest of Mehmet Hakan Atilla threatens to open the gates even wider in this case. The government has charged Mr. Atilla with Conspiracy to Violate the International Economic Powers Act and Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud. In elaborate detail, the government details the scheme in this indictment, which includes references to monies wired to a Malaysian company, not named in the indictment. Is is possible this unnamed Malaysian company be tied to Monfared? It's possible, and we will see as the case moves through the judicial system. 

How all this will affect Dominica is an open question. It is well documented that Mr. Monfared was in possession of a diplomatic passport from Dominica, which didn't help him quite the way he was hoping. He was picked up in the Dominican Republic and shuttled to Tehran via Havana under the noses of US authorities. Iranian press reports that he sits in jail pending a trial that will certainly lead to execution upon his conviction. The mastermind of the scheme, Babak Zanjani, also sits in an Iranian jail on death row. Mr. Monfared's close association with Roosevelt Skerrit is under scrutiny by federal authorities, who may well have an indictment awaiting him when he is no longer Prime Minister.

Mr. Skerrit remains at large by virtue of his status as a sitting head of state. However, it is not a safe bet. There have been instances, albeit rare, where supposedly "safe" leaders have been apprehended by law enforcement authorities. We suspect Mr. Skerrit may be nervous. We would like to point out something here for our readers; much speculation exists among Mr. Skerrit's supporters that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and while we acknowledge that federal authorities have not publicly disclosed any information to support this speculation, it does not mean that Mr. Skerrit is in the clear. Mr. Skerrit has become filthy rich through his association with nefarious characters around the world and the pilfering of our national resources. If, in the movement of illicit money, Mr. Skerrit utilized the services of any US financial institution, which is almost guaranteed, he would be subject to US laws and could face bribery and money laundering charges at the least. Put differently, if investigators determine that Mr. Skerrit at any time was in possession of monies illicitly appropriated which, while being transferred to accounts controlled by him, was handled at some point in the transaction by a US bank, Mr. Skerrit would be in deep shit. If you doubt that just read the indictment against Zarrab and his co-conspirators for proof. 

Tension is high within the ranks of the Dominica Police Force as members of the Police Welfare Association come to grips with allegations of subversion made by Police Commissioner Carbon. A release circulating on social media indicate that Commissioner Carbon may be planning to arrest members of his own force on the basis of this allegation. Subversion is a very serious charge, tantamount to treason, and the police men and women who find themselves in the cross-hairs of Carbon and the government ought to be very careful. 

We've obtained a recording of an unnamed individual giving what we determine to be sage advice to members of the police force. In the recording, the individual can be heard admonishing the officers who may be inclined to attend an upcoming meeting with the police hierarchy. Click on icon below to listen to recording.

The "Breaking News" release that has been circulating on the internet can be seen below.

"In response to the Chief of Police allegation of conspiracy to plan a subversion made against members of the Police Welfare Association, the Executive Members of the Police Welfare Association has convened an emergency meeting at 7:00pm today 21st of March 2017. Having contacted their regional Police Welfare Association counterparts, they have been advised to seek legal representation and advice on this disturbing threat made by the Chief of Police to arrest them on suspicion of planning a subversion. According to a senior police officer, the Chief of Police, his Deputy Valerie and Superintendent Williams were hurried to an emergency meeting at the Financial Centre at 2:30pm today 21st March 2017 and on their return to Police Headquarters, the Chief of Police made this disturbing threats to the police officers. The senior officer can confirm that at the meeting at the Financial Centre, the Chief of Police, his deputy and Superintendent Williams were directed by the Minister of National Security and the PM to arrest the Police Officers on suspicion to send a strong message to the public and the Dominica Public Service Union members who intend to take action for salary increase. The senior police officer can confirm that the Chief of Police has called extra security to cover Police Headquarters and sensitive government points around Roseau and environment based on information from NJIC and Special Branch".