Fort Hood Muslim Terrorist was a known al Qaeda suspect – Why didn’t the US Army act months ago?

“U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.”
…from ABC News Officials: U.S. Aware of Hasan Efforts to Contact al Qaeda

Why didn’t the US Army or Intelligence Agencies [...]

Chinese-equipped Cuban Secret Police beat Award Winning Global Voices bloggers

“I was arrested along with Orlando L. Pardo and Claudia Cadelo they carried us off sicilian style. Knocks. We were left lying in a corner.”
Cuban blogger Yoaní Sánchez (wikipedia link) in an SMS text message to Spanish blogger Rosa Jiménez Cano, who works at the Spanish news daily El País
Translation of the account posted by [...]

GEMS cover-up continues under DLP: Hundreds of millions of Barbados tax dollars vanish with zero public accountability

What are the functions and objectives of an independent Senator?
During the time the late Sir John Stanley Goddard sat in the Senate he repeatedly called for up-to-date financial statements for Hotels and Resorts Limited to be made available.
After all, it’s a majority Government owned company funded by the taxpayer and surely we have a right [...]

The Barbados Advocate blows the Manulife Lawsuit story big time

Manulife Case Going To Trial in 2011
The civil court case involving Bajan policy holders who claim they were fleeced by Manulife will finally take place in 2011. Maybe. If the Manulife lawyers don’t do their “delay, delay, delay” thing until witnesses and victims die or move on after a decade of being under the oppression [...]

New Book Coming: In Pursuit of Giants, Matt Rigney

Author and avid Barbados Free Press reader Matt Rigney has a new book coming.
In Pursuit of Giants is the story of one man’s global trek to learn the fate of the ocean’s great fish—marlin, swordfish, and tuna. It is a journey into the history of big game sportfishing and a voyage of discovery to the [...]

Nation reporters implement Barbados Free Press suggestions – return to hospital morgue

Friends, it looks like some reporters from The Nation newspaper read BFP’s article Night of the Living Dead in Barbados?
They returned to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital morgue and discovered that the original information they received from the hospital authorities was, how do you say? Oh yeah… bullship.
It turns out that the “high security electronic door” [...]

Who are the most influential Canadian Expats? Michael J Fox is #1, Wayne Gretzky #2… and OH MY!!!

The Canadian Expat Association’s list of “The most influential Canadian Expats” has just been published. Thanks to all BFP readers who sent us the story and to Google alerts too.
Here are the Top 5 Most Influential Canadian Expats as chosen by the Canadian Expat Association (website) and the public…
#1: Michael J. Fox (Actor, Back to [...]

Night of the Living Dead in Barbados?

Reynzill Scantlebury claims he woke up in the morgue of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being declared dead. Not a common experience, fur sure – but not entirely unknown in any country even in recent times.
The QEH originally said “we had no such patient” but later said, “oops, yeah, Scantlebury was admitted.” or some such [...]

Barbados Electric Bicycle Experience – Great, until Sugar Hill

THE BARBADOS E-BIKE (ELECTRIC BICYCLE) EXPERIENCE
David Cameron of Ottawa, Canada commenced conducting a preliminary feasibility study in Barbados with an EMoto™ Milano brand e-bike for his company CameronEV (Electric Vehicles).
The study started with using the Milano e-bike on the South Coast in St. Micheal & Christ Church and expanded Parish by Parish up the West [...]

Ingrid Persaud coming home early from Miami, misses Barbados

“I stared at his disappearing form and tears flowed down my face.
By 7am this morning in the full glare of morning I decided to return to Bim earlier than planned. The household will survive without the new linens, kettle and DS games I should have secured.”
For all our government’s faults, and our legitimate concerns about [...]

Freedom of Information Request #2009-2: To Barbados Department of Emergency Management

Hiding information from citizens…
Was Queen Elizabeth Hospital built to proper standards? When Government refused to tell the Nation newspaper, the journalists said “OK” and walked away.

With much fanfare during the 2007 election campaign, then Opposition Leader David Thompson promised that a DLP government would introduce Freedom of Information legislation (FOI) within 100 days of [...]

Six weeks later: Still no Spanish, Portuguese language welcome on Barbados Tourism or Investment & Development websites.

Last week the government member for Christ Church West Central, Stephen Lashley, stood up in Parliament and talked about the need for Barbados to tap into new international markets for tourism and industry. As tactfully as possible (considering he is a member of the government), Mr. Lashley made the point that our Barbados Tourism Authority [...]

Barbados students forge special bond with imprisoned Chinese pastor – through footballs made in slave labour camps

The lead in the Barbados Advocate story China’s Gift to Barbados is “Christmas came early for students of Westbury Primary and Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary yesterday morning, when they received gifts of basketballs, footballs, volleyballs and pencil cases compliments The People’s Republic of China in a ceremony at Westbury school.”
The reference to Christmas is particularly relevant [...]

Marcus: Where are you?

Out of GIN!
Out of RUM!
Down to drinking tequila. Woe! Woe! Woe!
Where are you?
Thank 2 vacationinbarbados.com
We gone get high high high 2nite!

Investor files international complaint – says Barbados government violated agreement with Canada, failed to protect Canadian investment in Barbados

“Barbados has consistently refused to enforce its domestic environmental laws and to abide by its international obligations…”
Barbados news media silent as Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary owner alleges Government harmed wetlands & eco-tourist facility
The government and the news media in Barbados must be disconnected with reality to think that in the year 2009 they can hide [...]

Tourists documenting our destroyed beaches, placing photos on the Internet

Environment Minister maintains silence on the destruction near Mullins Bay
The government of Barbados authorized groynes to be built into the ocean near the old Kings Beach Hotel. Only a few years later the entire area is suffering as the groynes accelerated the destruction of the area beaches.
“Word is getting out that Mullins Bay is a [...]

VECO cover-up continues in Barbados – CEO Bill Allen gets 3 years prison for bribing Alaska politicians

Alaska Senator’s Son was paid US$243,250 in “consulting fees”
The corrupt former head of VECO Corporation – the same company that built the Oil Terminal and the new Dodds Prison in Barbados – has been put in jail for 3 years for his leading role in VECO’s ongoing policy of using bribes to obtain government [...]

Freedom of Information Request #2009-1: To Barbados Transport Board

With much fanfare during the 2007 election campaign, then Opposition Leader David Thompson promised that a DLP government would introduce Freedom of Information legislation (FOI) within 100 days of taking office. FOI was part of a promised ITAL (Integrity, Transparency and Accountability Legislation) package that dropped off the radar the minute that the DLP [...]

Owen Arthur clearly indicates he’d take the BLP leadership again

We at Barbados Free Press spent our lunch listening once again to a recording of yesterday’s interview with former Prime Minister Owen Arthur.
One thing is clear: Owen Arthur will return to lead the Barbados Labour Party for the next election if he is asked to do so by a unified BLP. The ex-PM says that [...]

Owen Arthur as skillful an assassin as we’ve ever seen

(Alternate cartoon caption: “The party has spoken!“)
BLP Elder Statesman publicly assassinates current party leader
We listened to the Voice of Barbados re-broadcast tonight and within five minutes we realised that Mia Mottley is now walking dead. Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur slid the stiletto into Mia Mottley’s political heart so quietly and so smoothly that his [...]

Tennis! Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniaki to battle it out in Barbados

Tennis pon de rock – November 28, 29, Barbados
With US$27 million in career prize money won, Serena Williams is the #1 player by winnings in history – and she’s coming to Barbados.
Shona is all excited and it looks like yours truly will be springing for tickets and handling the babysitting so the girls can see [...]

BLP political elites stage manage Mia Mottley’s “Leadership Contest”

The newspapers are all afire that Mia Mottley has “demanded” a review of her leadership to quash rumours of a divide in the Barbados Labour Party. (CBC News, Nation news, Barbados Advocate)
Rumours?
Much more than “rumours”…
Golly. I guess Mia and her supporters have been reading Barbados Free Press.
Here’s the results of our now-closed recent poll on [...]

Full Court Press by DLP at Barbados Free Press

“Dear Barbados Free Press,
Is it just me or are you being very tolerant of Hartley Henry/Wishing in Vain/Love/A Mottley Group being multiple posts that all read the same?
Yours truly,
A friend.”
Dear “A Friend”
Thanks for your email alerting us to the DLP operative(s) at Barbados Free Press who are operating under multiple identities. As our long time [...]

Barbados Immigration: Is PM Thompson taking advice from Winston Churchill?

Churchill opposed Immigration of “coloureds” from Barbados
An online article by the racist British National Party has us thinking about some of the comments we’ve heard about immigration from DLP government supporters and Prime Minister Thompson himself.
BFP long ago dropped our sidebar link to Barbados Underground Blog – the de facto active blog of the [...]

Shirlee Smith shares a Barbados family history: Searching through garbage for food in 1940’s Toronto Canada

Family History includes Barbados & Inter-marriage between escaped slaves and Canada’s Native peoples
By any standard, we are an adventurous people. That may be a surprising statement to some who have never been off this rock (and there are many) but anyone who travels knows that you will find Bajans everywhere on this planet. I’m not [...]

Jamaica’s Canadian tourism up 28 percent over last year!

Caricom Unity? Forget about it… it’s every country for itself in a fight for survival on the Tourism Battleground.
Jamaican Tourism Minister personally met with 300 Canadian travel agents in Canada’s Western Provinces
Despite the global economic crisis, Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says a record number of Canadian tourists are expected to visit Jamaica this [...]

Bahamas Politicians lie about Freedom of Information legislation too

“Barbados Free Press blog reminded me of all the times I’ve read about the commitment of our political class to to do something similar.
Oh they write about it in their respective manifesto’s and talk it up on the campaign trail but just seem so busy passing laws to keep the general public “in check” that [...]

Poll: Mia Mottley Opposition “Leader” in name only? You decide…

Mia Mottley: almost two years without a leadership mandate from BLP Membership
It’s almost two years now since Mia Mottley was declared last man standing at the post-election punch-up that saw her declared “Leader” of the BLP. Many party members and the public are starting to understand that it will soon be time for the BLP [...]

New Hospital the only proper decision for Barbados – but as a nation and as citizens, do we have what it takes to make it happen?

Minister of Health Donville Inniss announced Tuesday morning that our government has committed the country to building a new hospital. We pray that our current government and the succeeding government(s) receive the wisdom and strength to continue with vital project.
If we can make it happen in five years, I’ll be surprised but pleased. Most people [...]

Environment Minister Lowe’s speech a farce as he deliberately ignores the largest and best green space near Bridgetown

Hey friends, just found a short little reminder to myself about something I read in the Nation a few days ago so I’ll write a few lines before it slips away and I forget again…
Environment Minister Denis Lowe was recently rambling on and on about the importance of open spaces for people. Lowe said recreational [...]

Barbados Athlete Ramone Harewood has shot at NFL – National Football League

Couple six foot – seven, three hundred and sixty pounds with a engineer’s mindset and you get a thinking football player who can also eliminate opposition like a tank rolling on the battlefield.
Oh… and they say Ramone Harewood likes cricket too!
The NFL (that’s American “football”) has taken a liking to a young man from St. [...]

Nicholas Cox asks “Where’s the professionalism?” but leaves out his own profession

In his latest column at the Barbados Advocate, Mr. Cox is aghast (and rightly so) that Barbados police officers, lawyers, and bus drivers – people we should be able to depend on to do the right thing – are being hauled before the courts for wrongdoing up to and including rape, kidnapping, major thefts and [...]

Remember When? BWIA posters in 1965 & 1970

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I stumbled on these two at the National Air and Space Museum collection of aviation posters. Are there any more? I don’t know and I didn’t look, but you can at the National Air and Space Museum Fly Now! online museum.
Robert “still not home”

Is the NATION newspaper service NISE compliant?

Must reasonable people can understand when organisations have a problem, but it’s how you deal with it that’s important and how you communicate with people that are keeping you in business.
It’s 3.45pm and still no paid-for Sunday Sun has been delivered.
Calls to the 1) Circulation Manager, 2) After hours Distribution, (3) News Hotline, 4) Customer [...]

Bar Association: Public having doubts about Barbados lawyers’ credibility. (No Kidding!)

Leslie Haynes QC, the President of the Barbados Bar Association, is whining in the Nation about how tough it is to be a lawyer these days when the public over-reacts to a few bad apples.
Our message for Mr. Hayes:
Everyone understands a few bad apples in any profession – it is the Bar Association’s long [...]

Bajan Reporter: “Barbados should have its independence revoked…”

Aside from the fact that Barbados IS independent and therefore no outside body can “revoke” our independence short of war (or cutting off the tourists, offshore bank accounts and handouts to our government’s foolish spending) – we can see some of Ian Bourne’s frustration.
(Whoooooeeee!  Ian, if you’re frustrated just think of how they feel on [...]

Prime Minister Thompson’s new strategy for avoiding Integrity Legislation, FOI: “Private sector must be included in this legislation”

Government of Barbados guarantees failure of Integrity Legislation by including Ordinary Citizens!
A DLP insider reveals how David Thompson and his gang intend to sabotage Integrity Legislation and Freedom of Information laws by expanding the promised laws to include private citizens and corporations. This, of course, will throw a spanner into the works of any legislation. [...]