Dear Marcus,
I think that BFP is the best way for me to get my message across.
I will soon be launching SportsCaribbean.net, an internet based Sports-Talk Radio Station.
Over eight months of research has gone into the technical side of things, but we need some feedback on the content aspect.
Visit the site and give us some feedback.
Thanks,
Nation News Kills Ezra Alleyne’s Weekly Column - We Offer Him Space Here
Ezra Alleyne has had a weekly column in the Nation News since forever and now the editors at that lapdog newspaper have decided to deny him the opportunity to share his views with Barbados. (Ezra Allyne’s last weekly column at the Nation News: Softly As I Leave or here)
What has changed at the Nation News?
Nothing has changed at the Nation News… only the government has changed. Mr. Alleyne is a former Speaker of the House under a past BLP Government and now that the BLP is out and the DLP is in… the cowardly lapdogs at The Nation News have decided to please their new masters.
Woof! woof!
Although Barbados Free Press has strongly disagreed with many of Mr. Alleyne’s positions, and he with ours, we are appalled that the Barbados media continues a policy of pandering to whatever party is in government and censoring all opposing views. Killing Ezra Allyne’s weekly column is yet another disgusting abuse of trust.
But make no mistake, folks - the Barbados news media cares nothing for ethical and responsible journalism. The editors at the Nation News know nothing of duty to the citizens of Barbados. They know nothing about how a strong and independent press serves as democracy’s first line of defense.
Mr. Alleyne, Barbados Free Press is extending this invitation to you. Here is what we propose…
1/ BFP will regularly publish your weekly column on any day you choose. If you wish to publish two columns a week, that would be fine too.
2/ We will not edit your articles in any manner - other than correcting obvious spelling mistakes or splitting long paragraphs for readability. We will not change one word in your articles.
3/ You have total control over article subject, length, titles, photos - everything. Your only limits will be what you impose upon yourself.
3/ BFP staff will not leave comments upon your articles. As with your past articles in the Nation News, if we wish to disagree with your position we will write a separate article that refers to yours.
4/ Should you not want to publish your articles on BFP, we are still willing to offer our readers to you. If you establish your own blog we promise that we will link to it, and for your weekly column, we will place a connecting article online (without comment) to alert our readers that you have put up a new article.
Mr. Alleyne, Barbados Free Press is the most popular online news source for Barbados with a current annualized readership of over 2 million visitors from Barbados and around the world. We haven’t spoken with David at Barbados Underground Blog, but on principle we bet that he would be willing to publish you as well. Between BFP and BU, you would still have the ability to communicate your thoughts to tens of thousands of Bajans every week.
It is up to you, Sir. Should you decide not to publish your weekly column at BFP at this time, that is no problem and the offer remains open.
Whether at BFP, BU or at your own blog, we urge you to continue communicating your ideas on a mass scale and to refuse to accept the censorship of the oldstream Bajan media.
Good luck, and may God Bless,
Marcus, Shona, Cliverton, George, Robert and Auntie Moses
Barbados Free Press
The Communist Chinese are famous for “knock-off” products - fake replicas of everything like perfume, movies, handbags, clothing and watches. Aside from the whole issue of theft of profits there are, of course, issues with quality.
It may not matter if your substandard fake Nike runners fail, but when we start talking fake aircraft components, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment… that takes us to another level. There’s nothing like an airliner with a defective cabin door pressurization seal to make your day exciting!
But now there is a new concern - counterfeit computers, servers and software designed to compromise the security of your confidential electronic data. For individuals, that means your personal data - for governments and the military the implications are staggering.
So how about all those computers that the Chinese gave to the Barbados military, police and Coast Guard?
Nothin’ be free, my friends. Nothing…
World Tribune - FBI: China may use counterfeit Cisco routers to penetrate U.S. networks
In 1959, The United States Established A Secret Radar Project On Barbados - And Didn’t Tell Our Government!
In 1957, Martin Kaiser started working for RCA Laboratories in New Jersey. The cold war was heating up, the space race was at full throttle and cities and towns throughout the USA practiced air raid alerts in case those damned Ruskies started dropping nuclear bombs.
In the early 1960’s Kaiser and his friends began experimenting with “over the horizon” radar so as to spot the Russian bomber fleets as early as possible, but they needed a good place to test the equipment and Trinidad was just the ticket.
But when the government of Trinidad refused permission because they didn’t want to upset Cuba, and Antigua did the same, the USA decided they would simply do the test on Barbados - and not inform the Barbados Government because, well, they might refuse permission!
Martin Kaiser and his colleagues lived in Barbados for a year and erected towers like this one photographed on the North end of the island…
The Russians eventually found out about the secret US project and started flying photo reconnaissance missions over the installation.
I stumbled across Martin Kaiser’s website when I did a Google search for “Barbados Cold War”. You can check it out for yourself and read some of his memories from another time on this island. Scroll down this page until you see the photo of the antenna above, and then you’ll be at the section where he talks about his secret mission on Barbados…
That’s Prime Minister David Thompson with his left arm around musician Jah Cure - otherwise known in police records and on his passport as Siccature Alcock. The photo was taken at the recent Reggae On The Hill.
Mr. Alcock was found guilty in Jamaica of rape and robbery at gunpoint in 1999 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released in 2007 after serving eight years and is now out on parole.
Yes, he is a talented musician with a major worldwide fanbase.
But he is also a convicted rapist out on parole.
What is the message that the Prime Minister of Barbados intended to send with this photo? What is the message that is being communicated? Does it matter? Should it matter?
Comments are open!
Ian Bourne documents some recent performances by Jah Cure and posts more photos of the PM and Mr. Alcock at Bajan Reporter (link here)
Further Reading
Bajan Reporter - Jah Cure Mesmerises Caribbean Fans
BFP - Barbados To Allow Convicted Gun-Toting Rapist Foreigner To Work On Island
Journalist Peter Wickham Contacts Barbados Free Press
The Nation News edited out the parts of Peter Wickham’s recent article that addressed human rights violations in China.
In a post on Barbados Free Press, Mr. Wickham told readers that the Nation News “clipped” the final section from his May 14, 2008 article People & Things - Perceptions Of China.
Barbados Free Press was critical of Wickham’s failure to mention human rights violations by Communist China, but it now appears that this unsurprising censorship was the work of the cowardly lapdog editors at the Nation News.
Although we still disagree strongly with Mr. Wickham’s views on China, we always encourage frank discussion and are pleased to print the censored section of his article now…
Finally, it would be imprudent not to address the issue of human rights since this is a major concern of those who are less sympathetic to China. It should not surprise readers to note that none of us witnessed major Human Rights abuses while we were there, however this does not mean that the Chinese government could not have abused the rights of its citizens in the past or might not do so in the future. This author, however does not necessarily subscribe to the Western view that there is one appropriate standard of human rights, even as I am prepared to argue that the standards employed in the US, China and Barbados are all inconsistent with my own personal standard.
Hence the Chinese government might be considered “heavy handed” in dealing with its citizens in some regard, but the Barbados and American governments are no less guilty. In China you can be put to death for some infractions, which is no different to Barbados and the USA and this author believes that all three governments violate Universal principles of Human Rights by doing so. In the final analysis, Human Rights is always best defined within a specific cultural and historical context and will invariably run afoul of another person’s beliefs, hence this issue will always cause discomfort in the context of international relations.
… section of Peter Wickham’s recent article that was censored by the editors at The Nation News.
Not The First Time That Peter Wickham Has Been Censored By The Nation News
Back on December 31, 2007, Peter Wickham approached Barbados Free Press and Barbados Underground blogs to have an article published as the Nation News had banned him from writing during the election. We published Journalist Peter Wickham Banned From Nation News - So We’ll Print His Article Here.
After the DLP/David Thompson election victory, Peter Wickham published another article where is stated that the “BLP and Owen Arthur… created a climate of oppression” and that the media had supported the BLP for all those years essentially due to fear of reprisal. (see BFP’s Peter Wickham: “BLP and Owen Arthur…Created A Climate Of Oppression…”)
Now those unprincipled cowardly editors at The Nation News have again shown what lapdogs they are by censoring references to human rights violations in China. We wish to remind them what we said just after the recent DLP election victory - a victory that was very much impacted by Barbados blogs…
A New Generation Won’t Tolerate Corrupt Government Or Cowardly News Media
Welcome to the future. Most of us newly-active Bajan voters are young and idealistic… and we are online.
The oldstream Barbados news media lost the respect of the majority of Bajans a long time ago, and it looks like they are still up to their old tricks - the only difference being they are now trying to please their newly-elected DLP masters as they crawl on their knees begging for money from the Communist Chinese.
Further Reading
BFP: Peter Wickham: China Has Democracy - No Human Rights Violations, Everything Fine!
Former Barbados High Commissioner In London Threatened Court Witness With Loss Of University Of West Indies Job - And That Is Exactly What Happened!
A professor at the University of the West Indies was told he would be fired by the University if he continued to be a witness in a court case (unrelated to his job) where the list of defendants reads like a “whos who” of Barbados political elites.
According to court documents found at Keltruth Blog, Barbados Government diplomat Peter Simmons delivered the threat that Professor John Knox would be fired if he continued to be a witness in a court case involving Kingsland Estates - a dispute involving a billion US dollars of prime Barbados lands.
John Knox is now an “ex-professor” with no job at the University of the West Indies.
And for those who might have doubts… a tape recording exists of Peter Simmons delivering this and other threats.
No Outcry From The Lapdog News Media - Or UWI’s Academic Community
The brother of the Chief Justice of Barbados was tape-recorded delivering threats against witnesses in a trial where he and Chief Justice SIR David Simmons are defendants…
… and not one word has been spoken about the threats in the oldstream Barbados news media.
A University of the West Indies professor is fired because he is a witness in a court case and the academic community at UWI says nothing.
What an example for the young people of Barbados. All those high words and lofty ideals mouthed by so-called Barbados journalists and proud academics at the University of the West Indies are now proven to be so much garbage.
photo: Peter Simmons, former Barbados HIgh Commissioner in London
Further Reading
Keltruth Blog…
Peter Simmons’ Phone Call - Part II - What is it all about?
Barbados Free Press…
December 27, 2007 - Brother Of Barbados Chief Justice Tape-Recorded Making Threats Of Violence In Land Fraud Lawsuit
May 29, 2007 - Barbados Lawsuit Names Prime Minister Owen Arthur, Chief Justice Simmons And Many Prominent Citizens And Businesses
The Communist Chinese Should Enjoy Wickham’s Article
That’s quite the article by Peter Wickham in the Nation News after his freebie trip to the People’s Republic of China.
Wickham describes western accounts of Chinese government monitoring of its citizens as “fanciful”.
Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader who ordered the massacre of democracy advocates at Tienanmen Square is praised.
Everything is wonderful. They have McDonald’s doan ya know!
All those reports of human rights violations, China’s slave camp system, oppression of religious minorities, the beating deaths of folks wanting democracy and the jailing of people for praying in their own homes?
Lies! All Lies!
Kidnapping of pregnant women off the streets and ripping their unborn children from their womb as a method of population control? Starving girl orphans and crippled children to death?
Its all lies! Lies!
Everything is modern and beautiful. The police and government are just ordinary. Different than ours, but so nice.
Why don’t you go over to The Nation News and have a read of Wickham’s article People & Things - Perceptions Of China.
The Chinese Communists bought Wickham and the article so you might as well give them their money’s worth.
“I was invited by Peter Simmons to this house on March 14, 2007 to meet his brother Sir David Simmons. He had with him a copy of a document which I understood to be a lawsuit which named him. Throughout the course of the discussion Sir David expressed his displeasure at being included in the lawsuit and that he wished to be removed from it. He also let me know that the existence of the lawsuit could compromise the efforts of FOGH to see the creation of a National Park.”
… Sworn documented testimony of a secret meeting with Barbados Chief Justice David Simmons, his brother, Barbados diplomat Peter Simmons and environmental consultant Stuart Heaslet.
According to sworn documented testimony, Barbados Chief Justice David Simmons linked the creation of a National Park at Graeme Hall to the dropping of a personal lawsuit against him - a lawsuit that had NOTHING TO DO WITH THE NATIONAL PARK!
David Simmons, who was once the Attorney General of Barbados and a Senior Minister in the Cabinet of the former BLP Government under Prime Minister Owen Arthur, is probably one of the most powerful, influential and well-connected people on this island. His controversial and inappropriate appointment by Owen Arthur forever tainted the office of the Chief Justice with the stink of politics.
Now we see exactly what it means when a senior politician is appointed as the highest judge in the land: because David Simmons unethically linked the dropping of a personal lawsuit against him to the efforts of citizens to create a National Park.
Shame! Shame!
What foul lack of integrity and bad character would cause a man to try and save his own skin by destroying a national initiative that would have benefited all citizens of Barbados?
I spit on the ground in front of Chief Justice “Sir” David Anthony Cathcart Simmons.
Keltruth Blog has the disgusting story and publishes the court documents HERE.
Damn - this court trial is getting interesting. Don’t hold your breath waiting for the oldstream Barbados news media to cover it!
Further Reading
Keltruth Blog…
Peter Simmons’ Phone Call - Part II - What is it all about?
Barbados Free Press…
December 27, 2007 - Brother Of Barbados Chief Justice Tape-Recorded Making Threats Of Violence In Land Fraud Lawsuit
May 29, 2007 - Barbados Lawsuit Names Prime Minister Owen Arthur, Chief Justice Simmons And Many Prominent Citizens And Businesses
“We are going to tell you the truth about China. We believe that for anyone who wishes to avoid a disgraceful Olympics, knowing the truth is the first step”... from an open letter by Chinese dissident Hu Jia
The Real China and the Olympics
On July 13th 2001, when Beijing won the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games, the Chinese government promised the world it would improve China’s human rights record. In June 2004, Beijing announced its Olympic Games slogan, “One World, One Dream.” From their inception in 1896, the modern Olympic Games have always had as their mission the promotion of human dignity and world peace. China and the world expected to see the Olympic Games bring political progress to the country. Is Beijing keeping its promises? Is China improving its human rights record?
When you come to the Olympic Games in Beijing, you will see skyscrapers, spacious streets, modern stadiums and enthusiastic people. You will see the truth, but not the whole truth, just as you see only the tip of an iceberg. You may not know that the flowers, smiles, harmony and prosperity are built on a base of grievances, tears, imprisonment, torture and blood.
We are going to tell you the truth about China. We believe that for anyone who wishes to avoid a disgraceful Olympics, knowing the truth is the first step.
Fang Zheng, an excellent athlete who holds two national records for the discus throw at China’s Special Sport Games, has been deprived of the opportunity to participate in the 2008 Paralympics because he has become a living testimony to the June 4, 1989 massacre. That morning, in Tiananmen Square, his legs were crushed by a tank while he was rescuing a fellow student. In April 2007, the Ministry of Public Security issued an internal document secretly strengthening a political investigation which resulted in forbidding Olympics participation by 43 types of people from 11 different categories, including dissidents, human rights defenders, media workers, and religious participants. The Chinese police never made the document known to either the Chinese public or the international community.
… continue reading this article at The Guardian (link here)
Rand Abdel-Qader, 17 years old, butchered by father and brothers for “honour”.
It Is Not About Iraq, Afghanistan Or Even Israeli-Arab Wars - The Conflict Runs Much Deeper Than Mere Territorial Issues
We often hear the idea that at our most basic selves, people around the world are the same because “everybody wants the same thing for themselves and their family”.
What a lie that is. Some cultures are at their very heart so different that there cannot be a meeting of the minds or genuine compromise. We can be aware of other cultures, but we cannot in good conscience possibly accept or validate all other cultures with our polite, politically correct silence.
On this Mother’s Day, think about women in some other cultures who are oppressed and considered little more than chattel. Read about yet another young Muslim girl murdered by her family for “honour”.
But remember this unless you wish to deceive yourself: this is not an “isolated incident” or a father gone mad. This is a common and accepted behaviour in the culture. Indeed, murder of women who violate the simplest of rules is not only accepted in the culture - it is expected of any man who is a true man.
‘My daughter deserved to die for falling in love’
For Abdel-Qader Ali there is only one regret: that he did not kill his daughter at birth. ‘If I had realised then what she would become, I would have killed her the instant her mother delivered her,’ he said with no trace of remorse.
Two weeks after The Observer revealed the shocking story of Rand Abdel-Qader, 17, murdered because of her infatuation with a British solider in Basra, southern Iraq, her father is defiant. Sitting in the front garden of his well-kept home in the city’s Al-Fursi district, he remains a free man, despite having stamped on, suffocated and then stabbed his student daughter to death.
Abdel-Qader, 46, a government employee, was initially arrested but released after two hours. Astonishingly, he said, police congratulated him on what he had done. ‘They are men and know what honour is,’ he said.
Rand, who was studying English at Basra University, was deemed to have brought shame on her family after becoming infatuated with a British soldier, 22, known only as Paul.
She died a virgin, according to her closest friend Zeinab. Indeed, her ‘relationship’ with Paul, which began when she worked as a volunteer helping displaced families and he was distributing water, appears to have consisted of snatched conversations over less than four months. But the young, impressionable Rand fell in love with him, confiding her feelings and daydreams to Zeinab, 19.
It was her first youthful infatuation and it would be her last. She died on 16 March after her father discovered she had been seen in public talking to Paul, considered to be the enemy, the invader and a Christian. Though her horrified mother, Leila Hussein, called Rand’s two brothers, Hassan, 23, and Haydar, 21, to restrain Abdel-Qader as he choked her with his foot on her throat, they joined in. Her shrouded corpse was then tossed into a makeshift grave without ceremony as her uncles spat on it in disgust.
‘Death was the least she deserved,’ said Abdel-Qader. ‘I don’t regret it. I had the support of all my friends who are fathers, like me, and know what she did was unacceptable to any Muslim that honours his religion,’ he said…
… continue reading this story at The Guardian (link here)
Further Reading
Daily Mirror - Iraq Girl Murdered By Dad For Loving A Brit Squaddie
Independent - Girl, 17, Killed In Iraq For Loving A British Soldier
Independent - Iraqi Girl Murdered By Family For Having Unknown Number On Cell Phone
Daily Mail - Teenage Iraqi Girl Who Fell In Love With British Soldier In Basra Is Murdered By Her Own Father In Honour Killing
It is time to begin the discussion folks…
We were told that David Thompson and the DLP would adopt a Ministerial Code immediately upon forming a government. We were even provided with a draft document.
No Ministerial Code was adopted. Why not?
Did Thompson and the DLP only make this promise for expediency during the election? Or did the majority of Government MPs rebel at Thompson’s promise after they achieved power?
We were told that David Thompson and the DLP would not only act with integrity, but that they understood that they must be seen to be acting with integrity. We were told that the DLP and David Thompson understood the necessity of having rules about conflicts of interest. We were promised by David Thompson that his government would act with transparency and integrity.
We were told that David Thompson and the DLP would act within 100 days to implement ITAL - Integrity, Transparency and Accountability Legislation, but the government has done nothing.
Not only that, Prime Minister Thompson has flown on private jets owned by people who do business with the Government of Barbados - an obvious potential conflict of interest where he has provided zero public transparency and accountability. This one action proves that Thompson and his bunch either don’t care about ITAL or don’t really understand the basic concepts of integrity in governance.
As far as the Opposition BLP goes, they are nothing but the same bunch of crooks who were just summarily dismissed by the voters… and they will still be crooks four years from now.
Barbados Needs A New Centrist Party Founded Upon ITAL
A new political party would not win the first time out, but they could easily hold the balance of power in various closely-contested areas. A political party that established ITAL rules and required candidates to follow them would stand in stark contrast to the “anything goes” policy of the BLP and DLP piggies.
So let us start by choosing a name for the new movement - then work on organisation, policies, fundraising and communications.
Naming something gives it power and presence.
What shall Bajans call their new political party - which has a foundation of Integrity, Transparency and Accountability?
Comments are open!
Pattie Boyd and George Harrison Honeymooned in Barbados
“She was a Vogue model, a fresh-faced blonde from Somerset, England, with little-girl bangs that hovered over blue button eyes.
She met, on the set of “A Hard Day’s Night,” George Harrison, who proposed to her just 10 days later.
She was “Layla” – inspiration, muse and eventual wife of guitar god Eric Clapton…”
… from a David L. Coddon article in the Union-Tribune (link here)
Pattie Boyd married Beatle George Harrison and he wrote “Something” for her. After George ran around and they broke up, she wed Eric Clapton, who wrote a couple of mildly successful songs about her called “Layla” and “Wonderful Tonight”. Along the way she said no to Rolling Stone MIck Jagger and one or two other famous names. Alas, she wanted children and so did her men, but she was unable to have any. This thread runs through her biography, but now she says she is perfectly happy.
She is writing her third book, this time about Barbados. In a recent interview she said that she would soon be traveling here to do more research, so she might be poking about already.
Boyd’s website has a selection of photos from her 1966 Barbados honeymoon with Harrison and a treasure trove of old photos for rock and roll aficionados.
Here is one of the Barbados photos. Can we identify any friends? Can anyone identify the hotel?
And who could forget BOAC? Here’s George and Pattie leaving Barbados in 1966…
Further Reading
Pattie Boyd - Official Website
Pattie Boyd - Wikipedia entry
David L. Coddon article in the Union-Tribune (link here)
Tulip Festival In Canada’s National Capitol Excludes Canadian Band Because Of Their Religion
It appears that Barbados is not the only country crawling on its knees for Communist Chinese money…
From epochtimes.com…
“O Canada” - Censored
OTTAWA—When is it okay to ban someone from playing “O Canada” in our nation’s capital? When the clothing they wear might upset Chinese communists.
That’s exactly what happened at the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa on Friday evening.
Having invited the Tian Guo Marching Band to perform “O Canada,” and “The Maple Leaf Forever,” the band was barred from the stage mere minutes before the opening ceremony was to begin.
Band members were told that if they wanted to perform, they had to remove their hats, scarves and jackets that display the words “Falun Dafa.”
However, soon after that the band was informed that their performance was cancelled altogether and the police were called.
The problem? The Chinese embassy had a tent at the festival, and festival organizers were concerned that the presence of the band, which is composed of Falun Gong practitioners, would “upset” embassy officials…
… continue reading this article at The Epoch Times (link here)
Minister Sinckler Should Fire His Advisors
On February 15, 2008, a group of Africans who had arrived in Barbados via a Ghana International Airlines charter became stranded when their aircraft failed to return for them.
On April 18, 2008, Barbados Minister of Foreign Affairs Christopher Sinckler announced that the cost of chartering an aircraft to fly the stranded Ghanaians and Nigerians back to Africa would be a cool one million US dollars. The high expense, he said, was due to the fact that the “special type of aircraft” required was a rarity and “only a few companies in the world” possessed such aircraft. This outrageous statement was carried in the Nation News article $2M Flight.
Barbados Free Press immediately responded with our article Barbados Foreign Affairs Minister Has Huge Mouth - All The Better To Accommodate His Feet written by BFP’s own Robert - who happens to be a professional pilot (and an AMT - both A&P) with various type-ratings in his logbook including Boeing 727s.
Robert got on the phone and in less than an hour had sourced three jet charter companies willing to take on an urgent Bridgetown to Accra flight for US$500,000 dollars tops - with preliminary estimates dropping to as low as US$315,000 with ten days notice.
Unethical or Incompetent Civil Servants Misled Minister Sinckler
We speculated that Minister Sinckler had been the victim of unscrupulous or incompetent civil servants whom he had relied upon to research charter costs and regulations. Even a blind man on a fast horse could see that the one million US dollars cost was outrageous… but apparently neither Minister Sinckler nor the snoozing Barbados media thought to question the civil servants who provided this figure.
Bajans have seen similar government contract scams many times in the past when crooked public officials sign deals that are so over-priced it virtually becomes proof of kickbacks being paid.
When BFP published our story saying that the one million US dollars cost was outrageous, a government official using the name “lighthearted” came onto our website and commented that we didn’t know what we were talking about - that the aircraft had to be ETOPS certified and this was the reason for the one million dollar cost. Our Robert made short work of this crook, but it was interesting that government officials were still pushing this one million dollar figure in the face of realistic estimates obtained by BFP and some of our readers. (You can read “lighthearted’s” comment and our reply here)
Actual Return Charter Cost: US$300,000
We learned yesterday that the cost of the aircraft used to transport the Africans home was US$300,000 - which is pretty much what we said it would be as we were taking all the abuse from government officials and supporters. (Nation News published the actual cost here)
So what happened to the US$ one million dollar cost to charter the “special” aircraft? No “journalist” from the lapdog Barbados media dared to ask Minister Sinckler who the hell gave him that outrageous figure. No one from the media even mentioned the discrepancy. The fact that Minister Sinckler was prepared to spent over triple the real cost - an extra US$700,000 dollars of our hard-earned money - until Barbados Free Press made an issue out of it, is simply a non-story in the Barbados media.
Whatever happened, Chris Sinckler and his fellow government Ministers had better learn their lesson well…
Many senior Barbados civil servants simply cannot be trusted. For years many have been misusing their authority to divert public funds through kickbacks and awarding contracts to companies controlled by themselves, family members and friends.
The previous BLP government, and now the current DLP government, have failed to implement ITAL - Integrity, Transparency and Accountability Legislation. There are no rules against conflicts of interest. There is nothing to prevent a government official from using a family company to source the charter flight and skimming whatever profit they can get away with.
Yes, Minister Sinckler: the civil servant who gave you that US$ 1 million dollar price was either a crook or stupid.
Either way, we hope you learned your lesson.
No one can deny that Masonic symbols, terminology and influences - subtle and not-so-subtle - permeate western culture. Trust us: we’re on the level about this.
Keltruth Blog just finished an excellent eleven part (!) series on Freemasonry in Barbados (part one here), but I never dreamed that the interest in finding “hidden” Masonic symbols would eventually extend to music videos by our Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna.
Ian Bourne at Bajan Reporter has published an absolutely astonishing article about Masonic symbols and theology in Rihanna’s song Umbrella. The article is written by Roger Marshall, executive director of the Barbadian Christian Project Probe Ministries. One is tempted to dismiss the entire line of reasoning but a few Google searches for Rihanna and “Masonic” or “occult” turn up some very interesting commentary.
The issue of occult symbolism was played out in letters to the Nation News, first by Roger Marshall (link here) and then by Michael Sealy (link here).
This new article by Roger Marshall at Bajan Reporter is a far more extensive commentary on the Rihanna - Umbrella - Freemasonry - occult connection and is worthy of a read if only because Masonic symbolism in popular culture is not unknown.
What do you think, folks? Stretching the imagination, or a credible look at Masonic influences upon one of the most popular contemporary vocalists?
Have a look for yourself…
Bajan Reporter: Barbadian Christian alleges Umbrella Video & Song from Rihanna is a tract for Illuminat & Satanism - Is Jenkins missing an inmate?
Details are scarce, but most of the Africans remaining on Barbados since their Ghana International Airways charter failed to return in February are on their way back home.
So far the government has not revealed exactly how many were on the return flight, how many remain hiding on Barbados or how much the whole debacle will cost Barbados taxpayers.
Still silent are Ikael Tafari and the Pan African Commission whose agenda was probably set back twenty years when Bajans came face to face with the reality of closer and direct ties with Africa.
CBC have a little article up in anticipation but we didn’t catch anything yet on the tely or radio. We’ll update the news when we can.
As we’ve said time and time again, Barbados seems to lack whatever it takes to hold people accountable for wrongdoing. We see lots of shouting and fingerpointing by government and opposition for all kinds of misbehaviour, but seldom do we see charges and accountability before the courts.
Our prediction: this will be no different.
Further Reading
Opposition Members’ Credibility Problems Are Enormous
Welcome to the next five years or so, folks. Barbados again has no effective Opposition against a majority government that will do as it pleases without rules, transparency or accountability.
Almost daily we see members of the former BLP administration hampered in their criticism of the current DLP Government because, well, they were crooks when they were in office and their admonishment of the Thompson government sounds absurd.
Today’s absurdity is found in the Nation News where we see former Minister Gline Clarke criticizing the government over land matters.
Could this be the same Gline Clarke who as a member of government expropriated private lands and then built himself a house upon that same land that his government seized? (photo at top)
Could this be the same Gline Clarke who parked his beautiful new Mercedes on land that used to belong to someone else? The same Gline Clarke who unethically built a home for his mistress… paying cash from the same ScotiaBank account that he used for “political donations”?
That Gline Clarke?
Whaloss! He be mekking sport!
Further Reading
Nation News: Clarke: Government Not Doing As Promised
BFP: Barbados Government Minister Gline Clarke - House and Mercedes On Expropriated Land
Barack Obama Will Be The Democratic Nominee
News commentators throughout the USA are starting to call the end for Hillary Clinton. Tim Russert lays it all out on YouTube and it makes sense to us.
See? We told you so back in February with our article Hillary Clinton Fading Away - Get Ready For President Obama
MAKE TODAY HISTORY - MAKE HISTORY TODAY
This project by the artist Ingrid Persaud aims to record an ordinary day, Tuesday May 6 2008 (TODAY!), in the life of people in Barbados.
If you are in Barbados on May 6 All you do is keep a diary of your day, between 600 -1000 words, and email it to her.
It will function as a time capsule capturing for history what normal people did on that very normal day – what they wore, what they ate, where they went, what transport they used – just the stuff of a normal day. It is not about recording extraordinary events.
The records will ultimately be available online for all to share.
Keep a record of the day and send to: maketodayhistory@gmail.com
You can email it anytime between 6 and 9 May 2008.
Please tell your family, colleagues and friends.
Make today history. Make history today.
David Thompson Meets With Chinese Official Responsible For Human Rights Violations, Religious Persecution
Our Prime Minister is in China right now. On Monday he met with Wu Bangguo, the number three honcho over there and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC). As China’s top lawmaker, Bangguo has established a dark reputation with Human Rights Watch and other groups who care about the pathetic state of personhood in China.
It seems that Mr. Bangguo has quite a record - starting with a campaign of eliminating crippled and female orphans through deliberate starvation when he was an official in Shanghai during the 1980’s. Now Mr. Bangguo oversees the persecution of both Christians and Falon Gong members.
According to the Chinese press, our Prime Minister pledged our country’s never-ending support for the Communist Chinese efforts to end democracy in Taiwan. The news article doesn’t exactly put it that way, but that is the truth nonetheless.
Ah well… you know how it is when you’re a beggar nation. You can’t be too concerned about Human Rights violations or democracy.
I wonder if Prime Minister Thompson will ask for a tour of the Chinese slave labour camps while he’s over there? Given Barbados’ historical connection with the slave trade, it seems like a natural request for our Prime Minister.
Further Reading
China View - Top Chinese legislator pledges to increase cooperation with Barbados
New York Times - U.S. Rights Group Asserts China Lets Thousands of Orphans Die
Epoch Times - An Open Letter to China’s National Peoples’ Congress
Human Rights Watch - Death By Default: A Policy Of Fatal Neglect In China’s State Orphanages
In 1958, Mildred and Richard Loving Killed Virginia’s “Racial Integrity Act”
Shona and I often get “the look” when we hold hands in public - and when the rest of the family is with us we sometimes get “the stare”. That is just reality for a mixed marriage like ours. We know that some folks are more curious or surprised than anything and their stares are not unkindly.
But other people cannot keep the look of disgust from their faces. When its really bad - sometimes we have some fun. Shona will lean over and plant a big long kiss and mischievously say (loud enough to be heard) “I think we should get you right home right now.”
Nothing bothers those kind of bigoted people more than that thought, you know!
Interracial marriages will remain “special” for the foreseeable future, but in the United States it was Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving whose love ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage. In 1958 they left Virginia for a day and got married in Washington, DC. When they returned home they were charged with violating the Virginia State law against blacks and whites marrying or sleeping together. (Other races did not face such prohibitions in law)
In 1967 the United States Supreme Court decided that Virginia’s law was unconstitutional… and that was the end of that for legal prohibitions against interracial marriage.
Richard Loving died in 1975 in a car accident, and Mildred just passed on last Friday at the age of 68. In an interview last June, Mildred said that she wasn’t trying to change history, she was just a girl who fell in love with a boy.
Shona and I can both relate to that statement.
Thanks, Mildred.
Further Reading
Fox News: Mildred Loving, Matriarch of Interracial Marriage, Dies
Wikipedia: Loving v. Virginia
BFP: Loving Decision Conference 2007, Interracial Marriage and A Light-Skinned-ed Girl
This is Merricks, St. Philip, as it is today, May 4th, 2008. Apparently, there is to be a huge development (hotel or condos) in this area very soon. As you can see, there was a huge bush fire there, and most of the beautiful casuarina trees, bush and grass were destroyed.
A resident, to whom I spoke, told me that people in the area are positive that the fire was by design and most likely caused by the developers. Worse still, you will notice in one of the pictures how close the flames came to surrounding houses. Merricks used to be a beautiful, quiet, peaceful area with magnificent casuarinas (not to mention the scores of birds which would have nested in the trees).
But soon, there will be a concrete jungle - trees gone, birds and other wild life gone. If ever there was an “abomination of desecration”, it is here at Merricks, St. Philip.
… from Barbados Free Press reader “T”
Keltruth Blog Asks Some Disturbing Questions About Police Inaction
Regular visitors to the Barbadian blogs are well aware that a person or persons have been making threatening comments for the last ten months or so on various blogs. Victims of the death threats include hoteliers Adrian Loveridge and his wife Margaret, bloggers Ian Bourne (Bajan Reporter blog), Kathy Davis (Keltruth blog) and lawsuit defendant Marjorie Knox.
Of particular interest is that threats were also made to burn down the Loveridge’s hotel, and that two arsons did happen.
The threats were properly reported to the Royal Barbados Police Force along with the IP information that would enable the police to find the culprits, but seeing as how the main suspect(s) are BLP government supporters - perhaps even linked to the BLP government itself - we didn’t expect that the police would do anything more than pretend to investigate.
And that’s pretty well what happened.
Nothing.
The threats were part of a pattern and happened around the same time that the brother of Barbados’ Chief Justice was tape-recorded threatening a witness in a lawsuit involving a billion dollars of Bajan land. The suspect in that case, retired Barbados diplomat Peter Simmons, contacted Adrian Loveridge to deny that he had anything to do with the threats against Adrian and his wife.
(As an aside, it must be a hell of a thing to be tape-recorded delivering a threat in a court case and then have to phone up other victims and say, “Well, just so you know I didn’t threaten you“. Makes for a great little story at the next embassy fete!)
So all the internet threats were reported to the police, along with the IP information that would enable the police to catch the culprits if they wanted to… but nothing happened.
Are The Barbados Police Involved?
Keltruth Blog has analyzed the content of some of the threats and found quite open references to police involvement. True, the author(s) of the threats could be deliberately misleading everyone by inserting these references, but one large question hangs like a dark and evil shadow over the threats and arsons…
Further Reading…
Keltruth Blog - Does the Threat Wording on BFPE Site Suggest Barbados Police Involvement?
Keltruth Blog- Do Barbadian Police Use Excessive Force?
Media Release Calls For Nominations For 2008 Skål International Ecotourism Awards
We just received a media release from the Skål International Ecotourism Awards indicating that nominations are still open for the 2008 awards.
Back in November of 2007, we stated that Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary would be a natural to win this prestigious ecotourism award that is sponsored by some big names including Evian, Danone and Johnson-Diversey to name a few.
A win for Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary would be a win for Barbados and would garner positive international attention in an economic climate of increased competition for fewer tourist dollars. A nomination seems like a no-brainer to us.
A requirement for the nomination process is that the candidate must be vouched for by a local tourism organisation or government. Perhaps our old friend Adrian Loveridge could lead the way here? Adrian is now on the Board of Directors of the Barbados Tourism Authority.
What say Adrian? Can we make it happen?
We are willing to do our part, but the whole thing will be stillborn without a commitment from the BTA to lend their support.
How about it?
Check out our earlier story: Our Nomination For 2008 Skal International Ecotourism Awards: Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary
Also see the new media release calling for nominations: 2008 Skal International Ecotourism Awards
UPDATE: Barbados Underground Blog reports that an aircraft is on its way and at least one person is in custody in Ghana over the original charter.
The Pan African Commission is apparently involved in enmeshing the government in an operation that they knew was suspicious.
For details check out Barbados Underground link here
Government’s Continuing Inability To Resolve This Situation Is Giving Barbados A Black Eye
BBC is now reporting that the stranded Africans being detained at a Barbados Military facility are complaining that the rooms have “insects” and they have had to remove the bedsheets. The article is unclear as to the nature of the “insects” but the reference to removing sheets gives the impression that bedbugs are involved.
This is the latest installment in the seemingly never-ending story of the plight of a planeload of Africans who arrived on Barbados on February 1, 2008 and were stranded when their Ghana International Airways charter failed to show up for the return flight on February 15th.
Interestingly enough, when the passengers were first stranded, the Barbados newspapers FAILED TO REPORT THE NEWS until Barbados Free Press and other blogs did so first. One has to wonder when the Barbados media and politicians are going to wake up and realise that this censoring of the news is no longer a viable strategy.
The one thing I guarantee that you will not see printed in the Barbados oldstream news media are any stories questioning the role that Ikael Tafari and the Pan African Commission played in creating this disaster for Barbados. Tafari was happy enough to float his way to a press conference when the flight first arrived and he and his cohorts were happy to take much credit at the time, but since then Doctor Tafari has been strangely silent on the issue.
Last week the African online press first reported that one of the Ghanaian female detainees was sexually assaulted while in custody of the Barbados military. Barbados Free Press linked to that story and received criticism from some readers for doing so. Instead of demanding an explanation from the military or government about how a woman who is in custody could have been sexually assaulted, the readers chided BFP for not covering-up the story.
To those readers we say: sorry… you must have confused us with the Nation News, Barbados Advocate or the CBC.
The international media is beginning to follow the tale of stranded Africans as it drags on and folks around the world are no doubt wondering about the competency of the Barbados government officials who set up this disaster in the first place, as well as the current government’s inability to deal with what should have been a minor incident.
No doubt there will be new human interest stories about this situation appearing in the international media, and no doubt we will have additional guests arriving as it becomes clear to the world that if you can make it to Barbados the government hasn’t got what it takes to send you back.
Further Reading
BBC News: Africans Stranded In Caribbean
Yes folks, the news is in…
Our “like new used only once” Kensington Oval has been nominated for the 2008 Structural Steel Design Awards by Corus (Europe’s second largest steel producer) and the British Constructional Steel Association.
Does that make me proud?
Frankly, the oval was fine as it was. Really. We would have been much farther ahead to have put that hundred million dollars or whatever the real price was into a hospital or water infrastructure.
But what do I know? I’m just an ordinary person who gets up every day and goes to work.
So off I go!
Further Reading
Shortlist Announced for 2008 Structural Steel Design Awards
BFP: Toilets At Kensington Oval To Be Flushed Weekly - Because They Are Never Used
MAKE TODAY HISTORY - MAKE HISTORY TODAY
This project by the artist Ingrid Persaud aims to record an ordinary day, Tuesday May 6 2008, in the life of ordinary people in Barbados.
If you are in Barbados on May 6, 2008, all you do is keep a diary of your day, between 600 -1000 words, and email it to her.
It will function as a time capsule capturing for history what normal people did on that very normal day – what they wore, what they ate, where they went, what transport they used – just the stuff of a normal day. It is not about recording extraordinary events.
The records will ultimately be available online for all to share.
Keep a record of the day and send to:
maketodayhistory@gmail.com
You can email it anytime between 6 and 9 may 2008.
Please tell your family, colleagues and friends.
In Communist China, the authorities kidnap pregnant women from the street, hold them down and abort their babies.
That is the government were talking about. The same government that has been showering gifts and financial aid upon Barbados in order to win our votes at the United Nations.
Shiu Yon Zhou knows this first hand. Her story is one you will not forget.
WND: Survivor Says US Shares Guilt For China’s Abortions
United States Congress Hearings: FORCED ABORTION AND STERILIZATION IN CHINA: THE VIEW FROM THE INSIDE
Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on the US Ethanol Programme…
“This was a well-intentioned measure, but it was also impractical. Nearly all our domestic corn and grain supply is needed to meet this mandate, robbing the world of one of its most important sources of food.
We are already seeing the ill effects of this measure. Last year, 25% of America’s corn crop was diverted to produce ethanol. In 2008, that number will grow to 30%-35%, and it will soar even higher in the years to come.”
… read an excellent article by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. She’s the womany between the cowboys (link here)
Meanwhile In Barbados…
Thank the Lord that one of the first things the DLP did upon assuming power was to kill the plan for ethanol in Barbados.
WE were given millions by the EU to spend on our cane industry. I wonder if we shall ever learn what happened to all that money?
Further Reading
Keltruth Blog: Rice Rationing… in America!
My friends, a few days ago we published an article discussing how several Barbados journalists were on a junket to Communist China - paid for by the Chinese government.
We questioned the ethics of journalists receiving gifts from a government that has a vast network of slave labour camps. We asked about the whether the journalists would now ignore human rights issues in that brutal land where Christians are imprisoned in slave labour camps for offenses such as praying in their own home or for handing out bibles.
Our article Which Barbados Journalists Have Received Gifts and Trips From Communist China? stated our belief that any journalist who receives gifts from a person, company or country that is the subject of their writing must declare those gifts publicly.
Professional journalism standards demand it.
This would never have been an issue if it weren’t for the blogs and our readers, and frankly we don’t expect the Nation News, the CBC or any other Barbados-based oldstream media to act ethically. We’ve seen too much to have any remaining faith in the Barbados news media.
So…
If the Barbados news media won’t declare what gifts the journalists were given, we’ll see if our readers can pool their knowledge and find out anyway.
We received the following anonymous comment from a BFP reader going by the name of “The Mole”. Is the list correct? Can we fill in any of the gaps?
Here is what our reader posted…
I have done my digging and here are the names…
Sean Farrell
Ryan Gilkes
Janelle Riley
Kaymar Jordan
Chris Gollop
Peter Wickham
Hartley Henry and Angela Henry
They went flying all over the place in the chinese government cars treated like diplomats with escort and all, but my question is why did only five of them come back this weekend?
Where were Wickham and the Henries?
makes you say hmmmmmm……
More to come as information comes to hand. Oh, did they declare thier gifts to customs? Heard they get alot…
OK, to be fair… the title is our summary of what Barbados Tourism Authority board member Adrian Loveridge says in his latest report to the people of Barbados.
Adrian makes some astonishing revelations in this article and we agree 100 percent with his main point, which is (we think)… The Barbados Tourism Authority needs the best, most accurate and comprehensive information possible to achieve the best outcome for Barbados in spending their 80 million dollar budget.
Barbados Hotel Room Stock
While visiting the offices of the Barbados Tourism Authority recently, I collected a copy of what I assume is the latest list of all registered accommodation on Barbados.