Free Admission To Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary For Independence Day

What A Great Way To Spend Independence Day

The Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary is celebrating Independence Day by giving free admission to everyone. Come on down, bring your family and friends, and see natural, beautiful Barbados. Lot’s of fun for the kids – they sure won’t be bored!

Meet Your Favourite BFP Writers At The Nature Sanctuary

Robert, Cliverton, Shona, Marcus and even Auntie Moses will all be at the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary shortly after noon.

See you there!

AND – don’t forget – FREE ADMISSION!

Visit the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary Website (link here).

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Where Did The Prime Minister’s Photo Disappear To?

Perhaps Some Technical Difficulties At Lynette Eastmond’s Website?

Back on September 2, 2006, Barbados Free Press noted that a photo on Senator Lynette Eastmond’s website showed Prime Minister Owen Arthur presenting an award to our sweetie, Rihanna.

With some humour, we mentioned that the Prime Minister’s eyes appeared to be wandering a bit south and we wrote about this in our article “Barbados Prime Minister Fails To Look Rihanna In The Eye“.

This was all in fun and Senator Eastmond and others joined in with some good-natured humour in return. Everybody thought it just showed Owen Arthur as an ordinary healthy guy. Nothing wrong with that. Harvard Girl even replied that the Prime Minister wasn’t a bad looking man himself.

At the end of the day, it was all a bit of good-natured humour – and we’re sure that the PM would have chuckled a bit with everyone else.

Missing…

Then last week, one of our readers notified us that the original photo of Owen and Rihanna appeared to be missing from Senator Eastmond’s website. We looked, and sure enough, the photo and the article were nowhere to be seen.

hmmmmm…. Must be some technical difficulties over at Lynette’s website.

BFP To The Rescue!

It’s a good thing that we at BFP made a copy of the missing photo or it might have been lost forever! We are happy to publish it here while Lynette sorts out her technical difficulties and restores the original article to her website.

(Don’t even mention it, Lynette. We’re always happy to help a fellow blogger!)

Story Links

Website: Senator Lynette Eastmond

Barbados Airport Exit Tax: Has Partial Sense Prevailed?

Who’s In Charge Of This Mess Anyway?

In a StarCom newscast at 12.30pm Tuesday, November 28th, followed by a media release by Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA Inc.), it was announced that the controversial 140% increased (but seemingly acceptable) former “departure tax”, now called a “service fee” – will not take place until 1st February 2007 and will then be hidden in the overall ticket price.

Of course it was far too simple for the common director that sits on both the board of GAIA Inc., and the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association to advise the BHTA (and perhaps the Barbados Tourism Authority at the same time) so they could jointly agree a national policy and implement it.

Instead, the tourism partners who we are led to believe formulate policy decisions in the national interest don’t talk about it until after the rest of us discover the news through the media.

Then belatedly when all the damage is done, they leap in and supposedly rectify poor channels of communication with retroactive damage control.

Is This Another Trolley Situation?

Order the trolleys,
have them delivered,
place them in the airport terminal
and then talk to the redcaps!

Its just as well that there are some of us left who are brave enough to ask questions.

… Our thanks to BFP reader and frequent “letter to the editor” writer, Adrian Loveridge, for his take on the Airport Exit Tax. Adrian’s original (unedited) comment can be seen here.

Related BFP Articles…

Barbados Airport Exit Tax Now Hits $60 Per Person!

Barbados Tourism Killer: Airport Departure Tax To Double

 

Former Barbados Ambassador To The USA: “Whites Are Not In Charge Of Barbados’ Economy, Whites Get Too Much Credit”

Former Ambassador Disenfranchises Racial Minorities On The Eve Of Independence Celebrations

We often mention that issues of race, racism and racial prejudice (of all colours) hover just below the surface in Barbados – even in the most mundane activities of everyday life.

As if we needed more proof that we have a long way to go on this island before we view ourselves as Bajans first without regards to skin colour – Sir Courtney Blackman, former Ambassador to the United States, gives an interview to The Nation News and disenfranchises racial minorities on Barbados.

On the eve of our fortieth anniversary as an independent nation, Ambassador Blackman has one eye on the past and the other eye on skin colour.

If he’s driving, nobody is looking at the road ahead…

“I don’t know why people keep on saying Whites control the economy,” he said. “It simply isn’t true. If Whites were controlling the economy, then we would have to give credit to them for the economy doing so well over the last 40 years. I believe we have done well because successive administrations have followed policies, which have benefited the vast majority of Barbadians, and the vast majority of Barbadians are black. I would give credit to successive administrations and not to a few white people.”

The former Governor of the Barbados Central Bank said he believed Barbados was the best managed black society in the world, a rating first articulated by Dr Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent.

Blackman expressed doubts that if Whites were really in charge, Barbados would be in its current prosperous position…

… read the entire article in context at The Nation News (link here)

Ambassador Blackman may have been trying to give another message, to inspire or to chide – but for myself, a man whose family is all the colours of the rainbow, Mr. Blackman is still viewing Barbados and the world primarily through the narrow prism of race.

I understand where he is coming from, and God knows he has the right, but the future for all of us who love Barbados must belong to a different vision.

… our thanks to BFP reader Mike for the tip.

Pursuing A $326,000 VAT Refund From Barbados Government

“THE BARBADOS Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity (BIMAP) is pursuing a $326 000 value added tax (VAT) refund from Government…”

… from The Nation Newspaper (link here). 

Kiss That Money Goodbye!

It will be a cold day you-know-where before the Government of Barbados cuts anyone a $326k VAT refund. As countless businesses on this island know, once they have that money in their hands, they will lawyer and accountant a business to death before giving it up.

The government is so over-spent that it is clouding decision making. Justice and rule of law have given way to making sure the next government payroll can be met.

Kiss that money goodbye, gentlemen, and get on with your lives – older and wiser.

BLP Blog Publishes DLP Leader’s “Fatted Calf” Speech

DLP’s David Thompson Has Some Explaining To Do

The BLP Blog has published what they say is part of a speech given by DLP Leader David Thompson to the party faithful at the (last?) annual conference.

In speaking of those former DLPers who have gone elsewhere, Thompson says that upon the DLP victory…

“Under no circumstances, however, we will kill the fatted calf to welcome any such persons back into our fold.”

“We have learnt our lesson as a party. The fatted calf, under David Thompson’s watch, will be slaughtered and shared among those of you who have stood this course…”

What Does Thompson Mean?

Assuming that David Thompson did say the words as published by the BLP Blog, we have to ask ourselves “What does he mean?”

IF Mr. Thompson means that he will not offer Ministerial positions to entice former DLPers to return to the fold, that’s fine with me.

IF, however, Mr Thompson means that it is now the DLP’s turn for a feed at the trough, we soundly condemn him and his leadership for all time.

So let’s hear from Mr. Thompson or someone who can speak for him… Did he write and say these comments as alleged, and what was meant by the comments?

Read the BLP Blog article here.

Barbados Abandons Canada At United Nations – “Thanks For Nothing” Say Canadians

Iran Calls For UN Censure Of Canada As Human Rights Abuser of Aboriginals & Immigrants

UNITED NATIONS – Some of the most popular holiday destinations for Canadians have spurned helping Ottawa fight off Iran’s bid to taint Canada’s human rights record.

In a showdown at the United Nations, Cuba joined Iran and four other countries supporting Tehran’s call for the world body to censure Canada over its treatment of aboriginal Canadians and immigrants.

Various other countries popular with Canadian tourists stopped short of speaking up for Canada by abstaining. Among them were China, Thailand, Singapore, Barbados, Costa Rica, and South Africa.

The backbone of support for Canada came from Western democracies, and the European Union, Australia and New Zealand went on record saying Iran’s anti-Canadian draft had been political retaliation for Canada’s leadership Tuesday in seeing Iran’s human rights record condemned…

… continue reading this article at Victoria Times Colonist (link here)

I missed this issue in the Barbados media and only discovered it accidentally on another blog. Was it mentioned in the Barbados media at all?

In retalitation for Canada’s introducing and having passed a UN motion condemning Iran’s human rights record (all to do with the torture and murder of Zahra Kazemi – a Canadian woman journalist who was beaten to death by Iranian police) – Iran introduced a motion to censure Canada for human rights violations of aboriginals and immigrants.

Supporting the failed motion to condemn Canada were the virtuous countries of Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Myanmar and Belarus.

Supporting Canada were despotic gulags like the European Union, Australia and New Zealand.

Barbados abstained – along with China, Singapore, Costa Rica and South Africa and 48 other countries.

That Barbados abandoned Canada is big news throughout the land of snow – with major newspapers carrying the story on Friday and Saturday, November 24 and 25.

Canada – practically little Barbados in some parts of Toronto – a country that has welcomed immigrants from all over the world for a century. Canada – where something like 100 languages are spoken in Toronto alone.

Sure, Canada abused the aboriginals in times past, but the Iranian motion condemned Canadians for current behaviour – not fifty years ago.

Does Barbados consider Canada such a brutal country that our diplomats were instructed not to support Canada?

Or maybe the Barbados government said “To Hell with Canada – we want all those tourists and investors from Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Myanmar and Belarus”

Whatever happened, the Canadians and their media are mad as hell at Barbados.

Thanks Owen!

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Story Links

Victoria BC Times Colonist – Cuba joins Iran To Shame Canada at UN

General Speaking Blog – Choosing sides