Shell Oil’s Profits Rise To US$3 Million Dollars PER HOUR – Barbados Farmers Still Get Nothing For A Decade Of Pollution And A Deadly Future

Should We Trust Shell Oil To Explore Off Our Coast?

A good portion of Shell’s profit was made possible by the fact that Shell has been polluting Barbados and other countries for decades, but does not clean up the mess or compensate its victims. It prefers to ignore or buy off governments – which it finds is much cheaper than preventing pollution or cleaning it up.

This latest quarter, Shell’s profits are US$3 million dollars per hour – up from US$2.9 million dollars per hour in February.

Barbados is selling offshore drilling rights, but has no pollution laws or transparency & accountability rules, so Shell can make a few campaign donations to keep the politicians quiet.

And, oh yes… there’s nothing like a bunch of regular, top-dollar full page advertisements in the local papers to ensure Shell gets favourable coverage.

Did Shell Oil Make Any “Campaign Donations” To Prime Minister Owen Arthur Or The BLP?

Barbados has no laws governing the integrity of politicians and other government officials, so we can’t tell you how much Shell Oil paid in “campaign donations” to keep our government quiet about the jet fuel spill in the airport pipeline. After 12 years, it is time that the Government of Barbados held Shell Oil accountable.

Oh… maybe not. There’s another election coming up and Owen $ Arthur and company need the “campaign donations”.

Story Links…

Guardian Unlimited: Shell Makes 1.5 Million Pounds An Hour

BFP: Shell 2006 Profits: US$2.9 Million Dollars PER HOUR! – Offers Barbados Farmers Less Than One Hour’s Profits For A Decade Of Pollution And A Deadly Future

BFP: Barbados Pipeline Rupture: Consequences For People, Not For Shell Oil

BFP: Pollution Recklessness Should Disqualify Shell And Exxon From Barbados Oil Bids

BFP: Barbados Selling Offshore Oil Drilling Rights – But Has No Pollution Laws Or Transparency Rules

BFP Reader Asks A Question Of Doctor Duguid – What Happened To Peter Allard’s AIDS and Cancer Hospice?

A BFP reader asks fellow BFP reader and Member of Parliament Dr. Duguid…

What possible reason could the government have for scorning an offer of a free Aids clinic?

Doctor Duguid are you here? What happened to cause the government to refuse a free Aids clinic?

… comment by a BFP reader (link here)

After reading BFP’s articles Spurned and Abused By Barbados Government – Philanthropist Peter Allard Spending His Charity Dollars Elsewhere …

and SCANDAL! – Barbados “War On AIDS” – How Owen Arthur And His Government Refused The Donation Of A Free AIDS & Cancer Hospice) …

a Barbados Free Press reader posted the above comment for another reader: Barbados Member of Parliament Dr. William Duguid.

Hopefully William will reply to our reader before too long.

Spurned and Abused By Barbados Government – Philanthropist Peter Allard Spending His Charity Dollars Elsewhere

Peter Allard Gives $1.5 Million To Diabetes Centre – But It’s Sure Not In Barbados!

Regular readers of Barbados Free Press are familiar with the ongoing battle over what will become of one of our premier natural tourist venues – Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary and the lands surrounding this last bit of green on the south coast.

Sanctuary owner Peter Allard offered to donate the majority of the sanctuary lands to the people of Barbados as part of a National Park, but the government won’t have any part of that. A National Park would mean that the government piggies couldn’t sell off pieces of land to their friends to build condos on.

The Prime Minister didn’t even have the courtesy to reply to Mr. Allard’s offer, so unsurprisingly Allard has put the sanctuary up for sale. (See Nation News article here)

I guess that being from Canada, Mr. Allard didn’t realise that even if a person wants to do something out of the goodness of their heart in Barbados, one always has to pay some squeeze to somebody.

The National Park issue isn’t the first time that the Canadian philanthropist has been kicked around by the Owen Arthur government.

A few years ago when Mr. Allard offered to build a free multi-million dollar AIDS and Cancer Hospice for Barbados, the government stood him up and refused his offer in the most insulting manner. Knowing how things work ’round here, I would speculate that Mr. Allard probably hadn’t retained (or refused to retain) the proper “consultants”. (See BFP’s SCANDAL! – Barbados “War On AIDS” – How Owen Arthur And His Government Refused The Donation Of A Free AIDS & Cancer Hospice)

Barbados’ Loss Is Edmonton’s Gain

Knowing that Peter Allard has probably had his fill of being punched in the face every time he tries to do something good for Barbados, I wasn’t surprised to see a Google News Alert delivered today with a story of how the philanthropist is funding a diabetes centre at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta.

That could have been an AIDS and Cancer Hospice in Barbados.

Damn, I hate the corruption in this country of ours. It’s foul stench ruins everything.

Read it and weep for Barbados…

You don’t make any strides without research money’

Peter Allard donates $1.5M to diabetes studies; Dr. Ronald Gill will head institute

EDMONTON – Like his father, renowned Edmonton surgeon Dr. Charles Allard, philanthropist Peter Allard is always in search of solutions.

He knows, for instance, that the solution to helping people with diabetes lies in research.

Today, the University of Alberta and the Alberta Diabetes Foundation is announcing a $1.5-million donation from Allard to create a chair in honour of his father, who died in 1991.

… continue reading this article at the Edmonton Journal (link here)

Barbados Oil Delegation Flogging Their Map In Britain – What? No Takers In Texas?

Barbados Minister Of Oil Hype Elizabeth Thompson is in Britain and will make a presentation to European oil and gas companies today, Friday, July 27, 2007.

Maybe I’m stupid or something, but I always thought that if a country really had oil or a good chance of finding quality oil, the big companies would be lining up to try to get a piece of the action. Our oil-rights team just got back from Texas, and now they are giving their sales pitch in Europe.

I guess a sales-pitch is necessary if the world isn’t beating down your door. Besides, London is delightful this time of year.

Liz Thompson and the government have been telling Bajans that we’re going to have so much oil money that we’re going to have to set up a special trust fund just to manage the new BMWs that will be in every driveway on the island.

When will we get all this money?

Don’t you know? It will be sometime after the next election!

Story Links

CBC News: Oil Delegation Heading To Britain

BFP: Barbados Escalates Oil Lottery Hype In Election Run-up

BFP: Barbados Selling Offshore Oil Drilling Rights – But Has No Pollution Laws Or Transparency Rules

Loving Decision Conference 2007, Interracial Marriage and A Light-Skinned-ed Girl

We Missed The 40th Anniversary Of Loving v. Virginia (1967)

Through a series of clicks that started with our friend Titilayo at Gallimaufry blog we learned of…

Light-skinned-ed Girl

That’s Light-skinned-ed Girl above, presumably a few years ago. Her blog is all about mixed-race people and mixed-race couples and also about the challenges some of us face feeling at times as if we are neither fish nor fowl.

From LSG I learned that we missed the Loving Decision Conference celebrating the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia (1967), the US Supreme Court’s decision to legalize interracial marriage. She also has many good links if you are interested in mixed-race people or couples.

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”.

But that is usually in Bridgetown. It doesn’t happen too much anymore in New York City.

And that, my friends, is a sad truth.