Rumours about Barbados Water Authority’s new headquarters

Your BFP Editor Marcus reminds everyone: this was sent in anonymously… take it with large doses of salt and let’s see if our readers can add anything, or confirm or deny…

How the new BWA Headquarters will cost triple what we’re being told

by BFP reader Sit? Gee!

Most of what I have to say comes from a very well connected DLP member who is disgusted with what is happening. On Monday there is going to be a ground breaking ceremony for the new Barbados Water Authority Headquarters at Lot F, Pine Commercial Estate, The Pine in St. Michael. Dr. David Estwick will do the honours. Hopefully his ankle holster and pistol will not get in the way of using a shovel.

At the beginning of January, our own CBC was saying that the BWA had previously announced it was hoping to source funds from financial institutions, and possibly from the Caribbean Development Bank to build a new 40 million dollar headquarters for the Barbados Water Authority.

My information is that the source of that financing is NONE OF THE ABOVE.

My DLP friend says that Despite the high level of liquidity in the Barbados banking system the project is a PFI – Private Financing Initiative. Innotech Services Limited is financing the project with offshore money by the Unitrident Capital Corporation. (UCC)

The project originally had a budget of $30 million, but with interest it is now going to be over $100 million dollars of taxpayer money.

“If we had the DLP’s promised Freedom of Information laws and Integrity Legislation, we citizens could know the truth and there would be no need for posts like this one.”

Here’s one for you: My friend says that Innotech Services Limited have possession of the building site WITHOUT A CONTRACT BEING SIGNED!

UCC  incorporated in Barbados 2010/08/11 #33605.  UNITRIDENT   has as its registered address the same premises as Innotech Services at Warrens!!. The sole Director is a William Bruce Kitsch whose address is given as the Turks & Caicos Islands!!! A jurisdiction known for corruption.

It is a SCANDAL that the BWA Project will be financed with capital out of Turks & Caicos or Canada, with a HEAVY future drain on foreign reserves when  the needed capital exists in Barbados.

The project was supposedly put out to ‘tender’. I am told that only one bid was received: from Innotech Services Limited. Other interested parties did not go to the time, trouble and cost of bidding as they were told that the Contract would in any case go to Innotech.

Innotech Services is a Barbados Company, but is 99% owned by a St Lucia IBC and 1% owned by Basil DaSilva Snr, Martin DaSilva and Anthony DaSilva.

The CAIPO file has no Innotech Financial Statements since those for the year ended 31.12.2003. Innotech is a Shell Company with very little in net assets… a few tens of thousand dollars and that was then. Check CAIPO yourself – don’t believe me.

This is part one. I’ll send part two in a few weeks.

Sit? Gee!

Idolatry coming to church at the Globe?

BFP Editor Marcus reminds all readers that the following story and above video came to us anonymously, so take it with some salt. Just because some anonymous person says something doesn’t make it true… (and that includes BFP that is an anonymous blog). Think for yourself. That’s our caution to you. Now… let’s see what this is all about…

Submitted Anonymously…

Dear readers of Barbados Free Press. This guy in the above video supposedly coming to the new church The Globe this summer – the new King.

Thought you’d be interested.

Here is what it says about him at Black Media Scoop…

New Birth Crowns Eddie Long as King

(blackmediaSCOOP) While most Christians were having regular Sunday services, over at Eddie Long’s New Birth Church in Lithonia, Ga, Ralph Messer, who is part of the Hebrew Roots movement, was crowning Eddie Long King in an elaborate ceremony that included wrapping Long in a Torah Scroll reportedly found at Auschwitz and Birkenau.

In case you’re unable or unwilling to watch: the video shows Messer giving Long the Torah scroll declaring that he’s the first man to look upon the scroll after 300 years. Long is “wrapped in the scroll” and prayed over. Messer asks Long to take a seat, and declares that God gave Long a position of power and authority. He’s given the constitution of God as a king (6:49), the Torah, and then, Messer has four men representing the four corners of the earth, (7:04) pick the chair up. Messer then declares that Eddie Long is raised up from a commoner to a King, replete with music, cheers, and a poorly executed blessing in Hebrew. If it weren’t so offensive to Christian and Jewish sensibilities, it would be laughable.

Here are some comments from the Black Media Scoop article and the YouTube video…

“PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS SOME KIND OF JOKE..!? This is CLEAR Idolatry, something that God commands AGAINST. And the people there at the Church are encouraging it!?? Wow. This is what cracked the Earth and swallowed up the people in “The Ten Commandments” Movie back in the 50’s, lol. This is worse than Steve Harvey pimpin’ the Church the way he does and calling himself “The King”. You all better know what you’re dealing with. And Bishop Long, God help you. You are CERTAINLY NO KING!!”

“Lord have mercy! Jesus the true “King of God’s government” rode in on a donkey. The devil is getting bold he is all up in the church like look at me. Lord have mercy! This things resembles a satanic, cult type ritual to me.”

“This is a perfect example of Satan walking directly into the House of God and mocking the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; and using the blind and weak as imps. How can anyone who knows our Savior sit there and give praise to man? Jesus said, “If I be lifted up from the earth, I’ll draw all men unto me!” May the Lord have mercy on all those who took part in that. Those in the congregation who didn’t walk our shall also reap the JUDGEMENT of GOD. You’ve been tricked by the trickster himself!”

“Ralph Messer & Eddie Long. God save these men and make your truth known! May fiction, lies, distortions and false teaching be exposed! Belivers are all royalty in God’s kingdom. Jesus is THEIR king not a man. Teach truth and the Word not fiction and silly drama! Shame on them and their supporters! Mr Messer why make light of another religion’s treasured relics and history? So sad and vain glory for you!”

“Whatever happened to just being an ordinary servant??? “King” Eddie Long and his “Prince” of Praise & Worship Byron Cage, the “Princess” of Praise Maurette Brown Clark…WITW??? What is this nonsense? Without God you are NOTHING and umm its looking to me like you been flying solo for awhile…Pray for the Christian Church! Pray for Salvation! Keep your Pastors lifted in prayers because Satan is BUSY!!!”

Four Seasons high profile buyers sue for deposits as Barbados NIS invests $60 million

Aidan Heavey, Lucian Grange file lawsuits in Barbados Supreme Court

One day, two headlines

From The Independent…

Tullow Oil chief sues developers as work on Caribbean resort is halted

TULLOW Oil chief Aidan Heavey is suing the developers of a luxury hotel and villa complex in the Caribbean after construction stalled following the credit crunch…

…The Irish Independent has learned that Mr Heavey and Universal Music’s Lucian Grange have both filed legal actions at the Supreme Court of Barbados; Mr Heavey and Mr Grange are demanding to recover deposits they put down for luxury homes at the planned resort.

The site now resembles “a half-built ghost estate”, according to some Irish tourists who recently visited the area…

The Supreme Court of Barbados confirmed to the Irish Independent that it has received a series of lawsuits over the stalled project, which has angered many local Barbadians who fear taxpayers may have to pay for any bailout if it fails. (Full story at The Independent)

From The Nation…

NIS funds going to build hotel

Every cent of the $60 million to be invested by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) in the Four Seasons project will be used to construct the luxury hotel.

Furthermore, Professor Avinash Persaud, who is heading efforts to restart the stalled project, insisted that Barbados’ debt to gross domestic product (GDP) would not be affected in any way by the NIS investment in the hotel and villa project.

Persaud made these statements on state-owned Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation yesterday as he responded to public concerns about Government’s involvement in the West Coast entity. (Full story at The Nation)

Time to vote Independent: BLP ripping itself apart, DLP divided

UPDATED February 3, 2011

BLP Executives for St James North constituency locked out! (Nation News)

Taan Abed: Will he or won’t he?

Have things gone too far in both the DLP and BLP?

The last two months have been nothing but “excitement” on the Bajan political scene with the Mottley vs Arthur fight heating up nicely and the Freundal Stuart vs everyone else punch-up happening in the DLP.

Even if the representatives of both parties settle down, the public won’t believe it because this pot has been simmering in public for too long.

Yesterday we had Owen Arthur standing around waiting for his date to show, but Rawle Eastmond decided he wanted to lunch with someone less cranky. Before that Owen Arthur shut Mia Mottley down in public by refusing her public request for a meeting. Mottley didn’t really want a meeting though: otherwise it would have been a private request, so she was grandstanding. We understand that.

A few weeks ago it was the Magnificent 11 trying to publicly take down Prime Minister Stuart in an awkward sort of mess that proved the old saying that there is only one thing worse than trying to overthrow the King: that’s trying and failing.

Like children when the teacher leaves the room

The politicians probably think they are impressing the hell out of everyone with their manoeuvrings and tactics – when the truth is the public views this chaos as a fistfight on the bridge of the good ship Barbados by irresponsible officers who are supposed to be looking after the ship.

The coming election may be the best chance that independent candidates have had in a long time. Voters are ripe for change but can’t stand the two old parties. There’s no time to raise a third party before the election – but any reasonably sane talking independent candidates will be in a position to gather some heavy support by default.

Rumours persist that former DLP candidate Taan Abed might play the wildcard and stand as an independent. Now that would be a story!

For the record, we repeat our strategy for the coming election:

The only way we can change things is to depower the DLP and the BLP – so here’s the plan…

Take their money. Say nice things to whatever party you normally support. Don’t do a thing differently until election day…

Then, walk in and vote for Anybody but DLP and BLP.

No, we’re probably not going to send many independents to Parliament (but if we could, that would be wonderful!) – but what we can do is to disrupt the circle of corruption, upset the “predicted” results and take comfort that you’ve spoken far louder than if you simply hold your nose and vote DLP or BLP.

Time to punish the DLP and the BLP: take their money, dance and party – then vote for “Anybody BUT”

New IADB coastal environment loan: Will Barbados now repair the Graeme Hall sluice gate?

Graeme Hall wetlands being destroyed for want of a sluice gate

Congratulations, folks… we got another loan! I’ve lost track of how many hundreds of millions of dollars our grandchildren owe to the IADB and other global bodies. Does anybody know?

According to Prime Minister Stuart, this new loan makes Barbados “a champion of coastal best practices”. Wow! All you have to do is borrow the money for a study (yes, a study), make an announcement and you’re a “champion”. Once again in Barbados it is words that matter, not achieved results. (See Caribbean 360 Prime Minister touts coastal management project)

The amazing thing about these loans is that without many exceptions the money is always for “studies” and “initiatives” that never seem to have a tangible result or quantifiable success. Smart guys, these politicians (for they are 99% men) – they never set themselves up for failure by announcing projects where the results can be measured and compared against pre-established benchmarks for success.

Even when they are supposed to establish a hard infrastructure component, the record is terrible. One example: We borrowed the money for a waste treatment plant then spent the money on something else. We now have no money and no waste treatment plant. Gotta love those politicians!

Also missing from the Prime Minister’s analysis that Barbados is an environmental “champion” is his government’s abysmal record on the environment. We don’t even have an Environmental Protection Act. That’s right folks… Barbados has no environmental laws pertaining to the land, air or inland water. We have no environmental regulations about the storage, use or disposal of deadly chemicals. No environmental regulations requiring pipeline operators to monitor and report leakage. We’re still pulling up jetfuel from coastal wells around the Shell airport pipeline and there’s nothing the government will do about it because there is no law against it and zero enforcement. Not to forget the government itself dumping raw sewerage into the RAMSAR protected Graeme Hall wetlands! Unbelievable.

And, one of the first acts of the new DLP Government when elected four years ago was to remove the environmental protections to allow development on the coastal watershed surrounding the last remaining mangrove swamp. Freundel Stuart and his DLP kissed goodbye to the Graeme Hall National Park so they and their developer friends could make money.

Barbados Tourism Authority ignores TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice awards

‘Unlike any other hotel honours, TripAdvisor Travelers Choice winners are based on millions of valuable reviews and opinions from travellers around the world’.

Tourism MATTERS

by Adrian Loveridge - small hotel owner

Up until the time of submitting this column, well over 500 major news organisations and publications have reported on the 2012 TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Award winners. Tens of millions of people around the world, among them many that will be making holiday plans will scrutinise the list and finally decide where they feel they can get the very best hotel value for money and level of service delivery.

More astute national, regional and individual city tourism organisations have been quick to link their destination with the awardees, taking full advantage of what amounts to free advertising and promotion.

While our own Government tourism agency has yet to take advantage of this almost unprecedented global exposure, Barbados has done relatively well in a number of categories.

3,943 properties across 30 countries and eight regions have received these coverted awards this year and as their Press Release reiterates, ‘unlike any other hotel honours, TripAdvisor Travelers Choice winners are based on millions of valuable reviews and opinions from travellers around the world’.

For those of you that have not yet read the list, this is how ‘we’ did.

• Top 25 Luxury Hotels in Caribbean – Sandy Lane #1.

• Top 25 Bed and Breakfasts and Inns in Caribbean – Bayfield House #5 and Sweetfield Manor – #24.

• Top 25 Hotels for Service in Caribbean – Little Arches Boutique Hotel #23.

• Top 25 Trendiest Hotels in Caribbean – Silver Point #13 The House #23.

• Top 25 Relaxation/Spa Hotels In Caribbean –  Sugar Cane #2 – Waves #5 – Sandy Lane #15.

• Top 25 Bargain Hotels in Caribbean – Southern Surf Beach Apartments #8 – Peach and Quiet #9.

Sadly, no Barbados property was listed in either the 25 Top overall Hotels in the Caribbean or all-inclusive categories, and this must concern our tourism planners considering the prevalence of all-inclusive rooms when equating it to our total accommodation stock.

We, in my humble opinion are very fortunate to have a lodging product for the majority of our potential visitors and this is graphically reflected in  the awards. There will always be a market for a luxury offering, recession or no recession.

At the same time many guests have grown over the years to prefer smaller intimate properties. Value-for-money continues to be a critical factor and it goes perhaps without saying, that overall service delivery is just as vital at all levels.

An interesting component was the average nightly rate of the near 4,000 properties who won is US$270 and 45 per cent have a nightly rate of US$200 or less.  This the reality of competing in tourism on a worldwide stage.

One thing for sure, TripAdvisor or any similar site that could replace it is not going to vanish or dissipate into the upper atmosphere. We, whether in the private or public sector ignore the largest travel community in the world at our peril.

By embracing and finding creative ways to more effectively use it we can generate greater occupancy levels and revenue.

Each month TripAdvisor advises individual hotels the actual number of views made to their page. In December 3,328 logged on to ours and that perhaps is partially why we are responding to an average hundred email requests daily.

Reader: NIS should invest in Barbados Four Seasons project

Lest we forget some of the reasons for this project…

Submitted by BFP reader WL

Me thinks that people have perhaps become a little too bogged down in the trees of politics and grandstanding and everyone is tired from looking at this too long to see the forest – hopefully this might refresh people’s memories of why this journey began in the first place.

Why has the project taken so long to restart?
Why should the NIS invest?
Why would the Four Seasons project be good for Barbados?
Why does Barbados need Four Seasons?

Did you know…?

1.        Four Seasons predict that this will be one of their premier resorts – great kudos to Barbados

2.       Four Seasons themselves are investing in the project as a sign of their belief in the project and Barbados – they usually never invest in the development stages of resorts.

3.       In the US alone in 2011, over $137 billion was spent on travel  and one of the fastest areas of recovery in this sector is luxury travel so the sooner the Four Seasons project is up and running, the sooner Barbados will be able to tap into this market.

4.       The new company, Paradise Beach Limited have put into place the following social initiatives

Canadian Muslim family guilty in mass honour killing

Keeping women in their place. Words of the father…

“May the devil shit on their graves,”

“They committed treason themselves. They betrayed humankind. They betrayed Islam. They betrayed our religion…they betrayed everything.”

“I say to myself, ‘You did well.’ Were they to come to life, I would do it again.”

“There is nothing more valuable than our honour.”

… Mohammad Safia secretly recorded talking about the murders with his wife and son.

The victims: Geeti 13, Sahar 17, Zainab 17, Mohammad 52

Father, mother, brother guilty of 1st degree murder of three daughters and co-wife

Worldwide, Muslim honour killings of women and girls are so common that if North American or European papers were to cover every reported case there would be little room left on the front page for any other stories. But when a Canadian father, his second wife and a son plot weeks in advance to murder the family’s three teenage daughters and wife number one – well, that makes the news.

We like to believe that everyone wants the same things in life. This is just another reminder that not everyone shares the same values, and that some cultural values and religious scriptures may not be compatible with a free and democratic society.

National Post: No honour in ‘cold-blooded, shameless’ murder of Shafia girls

BFP’s original post July 24, 2009: Muslim Honour Killing In Canada: Three Daughters & “First Wife” Murdered By Father, 2nd Wife, Son

Bajan Reporter oversteps criticism of Barbados news media

Journalist Ian Bourne

Journalist Ian Bourne of the Bajan Reporter breaks many news stories and covers subjects and perspectives that the old school news media can’t or won’t touch. He’s been inside the professional news industry and knows about the agendas, ethical trade-offs and outright prostitution of the Barbados news media to the political and monied elites.

Ian has been severely handled by news media employers when he refused to look the other way about unethical activities. It takes integrity, courage and dedication to stand for something when you know it will cost you your job. All respect to Ian.

So Ian has the knowledge and the right to criticize the Bajan news media – but this time we’re wondering if he’s off the mark a bit. Not entirely off the mark as you’ll see, but stretching it.

In the Bajan Reporter’s new article Elements of Barbados Media seek to muzzle Bajan Reporter; other segments use story without Permission Mr. Bourne is upset that he asked the Prime Minister a question at a press conference, and other journalists and media used the PM’s answer without attributing the question to Ian and the Bajan Reporter.

I’m not a professional journalist, never claimed to be, but I can’t remember ever reading a CNN, CBC or BBC story where it mentioned something like “President Obama answered a question by a rival news network reporter and said…” In other words, BBC doesn’t say “CNN asked a question and we’re reporting the answer given by the President.”

So Ian is off the mark in thinking that the Barbados Advocate and the Nation should say which rival reporter asked the question. That’s what I think.

Justified criticism of the Barbados oldstream news media

Ian’s latest article makes many good points about the oldstream news media stealing his stories, quotes and ideas (and they do that all the time!). He also makes a good point that the regular news media tries to squeeze out Bajan Reporter and other independents at press conferences.

He’s off the mark though when he says the news media should be crediting him for asking a question where the answer is heard by everyone attending a press conference.

Professional journalists – please tell us about the rules and typical practice…

Should The Nation and the Barbados Advocate have told their readers that Prime Minister Stuart was responding to a question from Ian Bourne of Bajan Reporter?

Marcus

Crime and Punishment: Drug smuggler LIAT pilot gets only a fine for 65 pounds of weed

International drug smugglers usually rot in prison for years. Why was the court so easy on Keith Allen?

Admitted drug trafficker and smuggler Keith Richard Otway Allen (above) is a lucky man today because he’s walking free when all reason and legal precedent says he should be in Dodds Prison for years.

Allen spent less than two months in jail after being arrested last November smuggling 65 pounds of cannabis into Barbados. Somebody paid a fine of US$125,000 and Allen walked out a free man. Many men rot away in Dodds for years for far less a quantity of drugs and would love to pay a fine instead. I guess those international drug smugglers aren’t as ‘LUCKY’ as Mr. Allen.

There’s no indication that the judge or Allen’s attorney Sir Richard Cheltenham asked any questions or demanded proof about where the money for the fine really came from. Yup, Allen is one lucky drug smuggler, alright. I wonder if he appreciates how very lucky he is.

Oh yes… Allen is or probably “was” a LIAT pilot, so his drug smuggling involved a certain breach of trust. Of course he got caught during his first time. Everybody gets caught during their first time, don’t they?

Will attorney Sir Richard Cheltenham assist Raul Garcia?

I wonder if Allen’s attorney, Sir Richard Cheltenham, would be so good as to assist Raul Garcia who’s been rotting away in prison for almost 20 years? Mr. Garcia is currently into day 12 of a hunger strike because he is being unjustly held in a maximum security prison on an immigration matter 2 years after being released from serving a 20 year sentence for drug smuggling.

How about it, Sir Richard? Will you take some time to try and assist Mr. Garcia? Please?

Further Reading

Here’s the article from The Nation. Please read it at their website, but we have to put it up here because the Bajan press has this terrible habit of adjusting history when they feel like it…

Muslim yells “allahu akbar” as he shoots up The Pentagon. News media says motive unclear.

Let’s see here…

American Muslim puts on a facemask, drives along with Muslim prayers playing on the car stereo and shoots his 9mm pistol at US military facilities while yelling “allahu akbar”.

Why, whatever could be his motivation? What a mystery!

He was arrested as he was doing his sixth attack, this time at Arlington National Cemetery. Found in his possessions was a video he’d made to inspire his Jihadist brothers.

But the Washington Post is puzzled by his motivation, saying “Motive of shooter who targeted military sites is unclear”

Pamela Geller expresses what she thinks about the Washington Post, calling them the “enemedia”. Enemedia: an accurate term.

“Whether it’s Islamic honor killings or jihadists shooting up military bases screaming allahu akbar, the motive is always “unclear” to the enemedia.”

 

Barbados wants to know about the Organo Gold legal fight

A Caution to my fellow Barbadians

by Barbados Free Press reader “T.C.”

Many of you have lost your jobs or seen your hours cut back like I have. Money is scarce and you can see and feel how hard life is at this moment just by looking at your friends and neighbours.

Be very careful as you look for new opportunities because there are many predators who know of your desperation. They guarantee you a job in some far off place if you’ll send them money. They tell you a fortune awaits if you’ll send them money. They have knowledge of a system and they will share that knowledge if you’ll send them money.

I read the book “BLINK” by Malcolm Gladwell and I learned what I already knew: Our “snap judgements” are usually correct even if we can’t always put into words why we immediately thought as we did when we first saw something, met a new person or heard an idea.

What does your snap judgement and gut feeling tell you about Organo Gold?

Did you receive this TellBarbados email? (click photo for large)

Almost ten thousand people received the Tell Barbados marketing email about Organo Gold “Professional Independent Distributors Needed”. (click on photo at left for a large image) I was interested in making some money because I’m getting cut back on hours at work so I started looking into the Organo Gold coffee products and business on the internet. This is ‘healthy’ coffee that has or is supposed to have some health-promoting plant ingredients. That is the brand’s claim anyway. It is a multi-level marketing scheme, not that I’m saying that is a bad or good thing except everybody has seen friends try things like this and a few months later you never hear about it anymore. Some people can probably make good money selling anything, but that’s not me.

The Lawsuit

After a few hours on the internet I am no further ahead trying to discover if this is a proper opportunity or a scam. There is a lawsuit filed some time ago by one of the originators of the Organo Gold company named Jay Noland. He or someone taking his side put up a website where you can listen to long rather boring recordings of Jay Noland making accusations against his old partners still at Organo Gold.

Mr. Noland makes serious allegations about the company and says that Organo Gold changed the ingredients of the product without telling anyone.

Barbados prisoner Raúl García vows hunger strike until death

Completed 20 year sentence in Barbados prison – held illegally for 2 years since then!

August 19, 2012: Day 186 since Prime Minister Stuart ‘promised’ to transfer Raul Garcia out of a punishment facility. Garcia still illegally imprisoned at Dodds.

Hey… if you can’t rely upon the word of the Prime Minister, who can you trust?

Tripadvisor: Boscobel Toll Gang still frightening tourists

Barbados Police unable to stop gang for seven years

With 27 million unique visitors a month, TripAdvisor.com is the world’s most popular travel website – and right now a very active topic of discussion on the Barbados forum is (once again) the Boscobel Toll Gang.

That discussion is bad for Barbados tourism, but there is this little uncontrollable thing called the internet where tourists discuss and report how their latest vacation went. Obviously our government hasn’t adapted to that reality because our leaders still think that if they ignore bad news it will eventually go away. Apparently our leaders are wrong.

The Boscobel “Road Toll Gang” have been seriously doing their thing for at least seven years now. They stop tourist hired cars by standing in front of them. They inform the drivers that the road is closed, instruct them to drive another way and then demand money for the “assistance”.

They are big, nasty men and most of the tourists pay. It is a lucrative business for the gang.

Always seven or eight sitting at the “T” intersection and while one engages the driver in conversation another will sometimes come up behind on the passenger side, reach through an open window to grab a purse or a camera and then run like hell. Sometimes they arrange to be struck by the vehicle and then fall down “injured”. Sometimes they will even open an unlocked door and, UNINVITED, enter and sit down in the vehicle to further “talk” to the terrified tourists.

Reports say they sometimes stop as many as twenty or thirty vehicles on a busy day in good weather. Do the math: even at five vehicle stops a day with the usual two tourists per car we’re talking about hundreds of tourists a month having a bad experience with the Boscobel Toll Gang. That makes the Boscobel Toll Gang a serious problem for Barbados tourism even if TripAdvisor wasn’t carrying the story.

Shooting in Boscobel

In November of 2010 there was a shooting at a Boscobel football match and it was rumoured that some of the Boscobel Toll Gang were involved. If any further information came to light one way or the other we didn’t hear. Perhaps one of our readers can fill in the blanks?

As far as stopping cars, I think we heard about the police arresting one fellow but it has obviously had no effect on the overall activities of the gang. It’s the usual story with our police – they seem unable to commit to long term solutions to standing problems. They make one arrest and then call the job done. The leadership seems incapable of realizing that this one group of young men is doing so much harm to our tourism industry at a time when we desperately need every visitor to be saying nothing but positive things about Barbados.

Remember folks: this isn’t Barbados Free Press breaking this story. Dozens and dozens of tourists have related their experiences at Trip Advisor over the last few years and our police have done nothing. In the new world of the internet Barbados ignores this continuing gang activity at its peril.

Here are a few recent quotes from people in the U.K., the USA and Barbados as taken from the Trip Advisor website today…

Jan 22, 2012, 3:00 PM
Nelson_France – UK

We drove through Boscobel 3 days ago and at 2 separate places these guys did try to stop us by standing in the road and saying that the road ahead was closed and that we had to go a different way. Luckily we had been warned and didn’t stop but it was a frightening experience and I wouldn’t have liked to have been surrounded by them if we had stopped – I think it would have been difficult to get away safely without some possible dents to car doors etc if you hadn’t handed over money. We were of course 2 European looking people in an H registered rental car so we were quite obviously tourists. We were put off going down to Cove Bay after our experience as we weren’t sure we could get out without being stopped again. It’s a shame the local police don’t do something about it

Muslim riots in Maldives – A Barbados vacation looks better all the time!

Sex outside marriage = flogging in Maldives

Hundreds riot in support of Islamic Sharia law

Rioters say Government under the influence of “Jews” and “Christian priests” to weaken Islam in the Maldives.

(It’s the JEWS!!! JEWS!!! JEWS!!! I tell you! And those damned infidel Christian beer drinkers too. Pass me a Banks Beer please… Ta!)

As we said in our recent post about the Maldives: Maldives Muslim crazies are good news for Barbados Tourism…

The Maldives, a group of over 1,100 tiny coral islands, is often compared with Barbados as a vacation and retirement destination. Although far-removed from each other geographically, both countries compete for the same United Kingdom and European travelers.

The rise of Islamists demanding Sharia law is threatening the Maldives islands’ tourism industry. I doesn’t matter how pretty and relaxing the place is: when folks are in fear they will be jailed for possessing a bible, when they are cursed as swine and infidels, when women are publicly flogged for having sex out of wedlock and when a tourist can’t buy a beer on a hot afternoon – people start choosing other travel destinations.

Considering a Maldives vacation or honeymoon? Think again!

The government on Wednesday raised fears of Islamic extremism taking hold in the Indian Ocean atoll nation, which is best known for its upmarket tourism and as a destination for honeymooners.

The foreign ministry said it was “extremely concerned” by an increase in extremist rhetoric used by the government’s rivals that could lead to “stigmatization, stereotyping and incitement to religious violence and hatred”.

There have been anti-Semitic protests recently about the transport ministry’s decision to allow direct flights from Israel, while a restaurant that hung up Christmas decorations in 2010 was also targeted.

… from AFP News More arrests in Maldives as protests spread

New (tongue in cheek) Barbados Tourism Authority slogan for Maldives markets…

Vacation in Barbados: We promise we won’t flog you for bringing a bible or having sex without being married!

Barbados mother says “I’ll breed ’em. YOU feed ’em!”

Story #1,243 in a continuing Nation Cultural Series…

by BFP reader Passin thru

Jacqueline Blunt is 40 years old and has five children (by how many different men we’re not told). She’s long-term unemployed and lives with her mother; who has served notice on Miss Blunt that she and her five children are out on the street as of Tuesday.

According to the newspaper article, Mother of 5 needs house Miss Blunt contributes nothing to household expenses and keeps such hours and personal habits that her long-suffering mother sought to impose an 8pm curfew on the 40 year old. That really says it all when an unemployed and unemployable mother can’t be bothered to tuck her children in each night. It’s not as if she’s out working or looking for work – she’s partying.

Miss Blunt is featured in The Nation newspaper looking for her next meal ticket. She doesn’t care whether the National Housing Corporation or some unsuspecting landlord continues her free ride as long as she doesn’t have to actually earn money to support her own children.

The sad truth is that this type of story is standard newspaper fare every month and explains much about why some matriarchal “families” live in perpetual poverty generation after generation. What values and life examples are being passed along to Miss Blunt’s children?

Barbados has an interest in curbing this destructive behaviour, for the country and for the sake of the children. This matriarchal subculture with unemployed mothers and no fathers contributes nothing positive to Barbados – unless you count as a positive the simple biological production of children with nothing further contributed.

The never-ending stories of Miss Blunt and other unemployable single mothers are the best arguments for the establishment of orphanages.

I accept that we as a society must look after the children of those parents who are incapable of supporting and raising children on their own. If we really want to help Miss Blunt’s children, the best thing we could do would be to place them in an orphanage and away from their irresponsible and unemployable mother. If we really want to help Miss Blunt and others like her, take away her children and allow her to sink or swim on her own: to perhaps become a responsible, self-supporting adult as she should have 20 years ago.

Only then will society have a chance to stop the perpetuation of the single-mother subculture that robs thousands of children of the chance to be raised with proper values and edifying habits and life skills.

Passin thru

Further Listening: Generation X: The value of Black Women

Huffington Post says avoid Barbados… if you’re gay or lesbian

Huffington Post: Anti-gay laws a legacy of “outdated British colonial laws”

Barbados’ criminalization of buggery continues to attract attention in human rights and tourism discussions. In 2010 Ethical Traveller Awards slammed Barbados for our anti-gay love law, and in 2011 Britain and the USA both criticized our country over this issue.

Should buggery be illegal in Barbados? How about adultery?

How about adultery… should that be illegal too?

IF we’re going to regulate sexual behaviours between consenting adults, what other activities should be prohibited? Is there any other orifice besides an anus that should be restricted? And… is that restriction limited to the penis, or should other protruding parts of the human body be restricted as well?

How about more than two people in the same bed? (Sorry, Cliverton!)

I mean… if Barbados society is going to be in the business of regulating sexual acts between consenting adults… well, let’s do some regulating.

Though the current law is under review, it still punishes “buggery” with a life sentence. Until the law is repealed, same-sex couples might prefer to experience the sparkling blue-green waters of the Caribbean in locales that welcome gay travelers, such as Puerto Rico, Aruba, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Despite legal recognition of same-sex relationships in several nations throughout the Caribbean, Collins asserts that widespread homophobia persists on many of the islands…

From the Huffington Post article Honeymoon from Hell: The Top 10 Destinations Gay and Lesbian Travelers Should Avoid

Our thanks to BFP reader “C” who wrote…

Message: Hello BFP

Love your blog. I was reading Huffpo this morning and came across this link and was embarrassed to see that along with our CARICOM neighbors Jamaica, Guyana and Belize, Barbados made the list of the most homophobic countries that gay travelers should avoid.

In a time when we are pushing our tourism this is a huge blow as many straight but socially conscious Canadian/American tourists may see this and decide against a Bajan vacation.

Not sure if you would be interested in highlighting this or not…

Cheers!
C.

Genetically modified food: What’s it doing to humans?

Farmer discovers that his GMO corn contains Estrogen-mimicking compounds, causes false pregnancies in animals.

by Green Monkey

“This is bothering our pigs, bothering our cows: what’s it doing to humans?”

A self-described former “cutting edge, “advanced technology” American farmer fed GMO corn to his pigs; they all became sterile forcing the farmer into bankruptcy.

A couple of interesting quotes by farmer Jerry Rossman taken from the Youtube video above:

@7:28 – I was put in connection with this work done out of Baylor (i.e. Baylor University /GM), and I mean it said right in there that this is what would happen; this is the concerns; they had isolated these compounds off of food products they had gotten out of grocery store shelves already – that this was already out here. The humans were eating it, and they had identified it as being an estrogen mimicker. That is what we’ve been working with here.

@8:17 – But as we went along through this, we come to find out that basically the seed industry is not testing – they’ve done absolutely no long term feeding trials with any livestock, and they absolutely resist even the idea of doing it.

Is it an incident isolated to Iowa?

“Austrian scientists fed mice over a course of 20 weeks a mixture of 33 percent Monsanto GE corn (NK 603 x MON 810) and non-GE corn.

These mice gave birth to less babies and lighter babies in their third and fourth litters. Mice fed on non-GE corn had babies as normal.

These differences are statistically significant.”

From the GreenPeace article No need for condoms – GE corn can do the job

Further Reading at Wikipedia: Genetically modified food