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Diving the Tibbets, err the Russian Destroyer, err the Koni II class anti-submarine frigate

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The sinking of the MV Keith Tibbetts - The Russian Destroyer Diving Cayman Brac's Historic Russian Destroyer Off the north shore of Cayman Brac, in 1996, while film cameras whirled, Diver Magazine columnist Jean Michel Cousteau rode a decommissioned Cuban/Russian warship 30 metres down to sandy bottom close to shore. One of the world’s first artificial reefs for divers, the well publicized sinking made a worldwide statement about turning weapons of mass-destruction into eco-friendly tourist attractions! The wreck is the only diveable Russian built warship in the Western Hemisphere.    Prior to sinking, the 285 ft long ship (known as number 356) was named the Captain Keith Tibbetts after a local dive operator and businessman.   The name hasn’t stuck too well, more often than not she is called the Russian destroyer even though she is a much smaller Koni II class anti-submarine frigate. 16 years after her sinking underwater journalist Stephen Weir, wearing a mini-under

You Tube - Snorkelling on the Kittiwake

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. Shipwreck to hold you breathe for! Frame Grab from a Stephen Weir YouTube video about snorkelling on a Cayman shipwreck My wife and I are going to Little Cayman on October 5th to photograph spawning coral (full moon phenomena every fall in the Caribbean).  Thought it was time to post videos on YouTube from my last trip.  Picture above is a frame grab from a short video I shot while snorkelling on the wreck of the Kittiwake.  She is an artifical reef off Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman Island.  Diver Magazine will soon be publishing a feature on three shipwrecks on three Cayman islands.  (No idea who the snorkeller is!)

Italian Helicopter's Washington PR office flirts with Linked In to find Canada PR experts

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ORNGE YOU GLAD YOU FOUND ME HERE IN CANADA THROUGH LINKEDIN? By Stephen Weir     It was the promise of American money dropping into my lap that got my attention.  All I had to do, the LinkedIn messages suggested, was to help a US based lobby group protect the reputation of an Italian helicopter manufacturer that could soon be in the cross-hairs of the Ontario Provincial Progressive Conservative Party and the Toronto Star.    Piece of cake! The Italian company has sold helicopters to the province’s Ornge Air Ambulance operation at a possibly inflated price and people want to know why.   At stake?  AgustaWestland’s ability to sell Italian made military helicopters in Canada and the United States. It is a great assignment for someone like me.  A little background: Three months ago Dan Hill, Washington Lobbyist for AgustaWestland helicopter (European military / civilian manufacturer) made contact. I gave him a price, a suggested plan of action. He then disappeared

Macomere Fifi wears the crown and takes the Monarch Prize!!!

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Crowning Glory - Fourpeat For Calypso Winner    The scrum - photographers take pictures of the coronation Canada has a new monarch. She was crowned last night. All hail Macomere FiFi. She is one of Canada's most successful Calypso singers, and last night, in Toronto, she won Canada’s top calypso music prize – Kaiso 365 – before a capacity crowd in the P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese Cultural Centre. In a hotly contested battle between nine singers performing two songs each, Trinidadian-born Macomere Fifi also won the coveted People’s Choice Award and Special Awards for Best Composition On A Local Topic and Best Arrangement. Fifi’s first song, “Never Again”, was a powerful commentary about the honour killing of the Shafia sisters; her second number titled “Tell Me Why” probed the issues surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin. OCPA president Colin Benjamin is hugged by the new Monarch Eulith Tara Woods Trinidadian-born Macomere Fifi also won the

Photo and Cutline from the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto newsletter and website

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Fresh from the frying pan! Black Sage chef holds up a Bake and Shark dish!  Bake and Shark.  Third Annual Blocko in Toronto during the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto Bake and Shark is a very popular street food sold in Trinidad and Tobago but is difficult to find in Toronto ... except during Carnival. It is one of those must-try items if you attend any Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto events,or if you attend a Mas Camp Blocko! On Saturday, June 30th the Black Sage Carnival Mas Camp held its third annual Bake and Shark Blocko. A huge crowd came out on Saturday to attend the party held on Barbados Blvd (Eglinton and Brimley). Bake refers to fried dough. The inside of the bake is hallow and that is where the shark meat is stuffed. Black Sage was serving up authentic Maracas Beach (Trinidad) Bake and Shark which means that the dish was seasoned with all the fixings, including: Shadow Beni, Garlic Sauce, Tambarind Sauce, Pepper Sauce, Ketchup, Coleslaw,

Polite Bum's Rush From Conrad Black's Table

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  Being Ousted from the Best Seat at the Griffin Poetry Prize Bernard Gauthier (Bravo TV) and myself arrived early at the Griffin Poetry Prize award dinner in Toronto on June 7. The Distillery District hall doors had only been open for a few minutes. We were one of the first to be welcomed by Scott and Krystyne Griffin, the founders and funders of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry. The prize is the largest annual award for a single book of poetry in the world. I had trouble hearing our hosts because of the Mexican mariachi band that had just begun to tune up. I am sure I would have heard all the details about the seating arrangements if I leaned a little closer in. We entered the large exposed brick space that was once used for the fermentation of millions of gallons of liquor. The room soon began to fill with everyone I have read in the past 10 years. Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Atwood, Christopher Dwedney, Richard Gwyn. There were TV stars journalists, and former governor

For some members of the police and the media, Caribana is code for black

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Spectators at last year's Caribbean Carnival Festival parade in Toronto Media manage to quickly link Eaton shooting with North America's largest Caribbean Canadian festival Late last week I joked with my associate Craigg Slowly (@ThatTDotGuy) that it would be only a matter of time before CFRB right wing on-air host Jerry Agar would link the Eaton Centre shooting with the Caribbean Carnival Toronto (the carnival formally known as Caribana). Don't know if Agar has taken a run at us yet, but, other media outlets have indeed made the tenuous link between an inner-city gang shooting at the Eaton Centre and North America's largest Caribbean cultural event. The Globe and Mail on Saturday did a feature on public safety at Yonge and Dundas and somehow managed to use the Caribana name.  The reporter, Kelly Grant, listed some of the murders that had occurred near the Dundas / Yonge intersection. In that list was the 2005 murder of a Brampton man in Dundas Squa