We Were Promised Cricket World Cup Accounting Would Be Delivered NOW. (Did We Stupid Bajans Really Believe That Promise?)

The financial and public relations disaster called Cricket World Cup has come and gone – and with it hundreds of millions of tax dollars that will see our grandchildren still working to pay off the debt decades from now.

We were promised an accounting.

The time we were promised to have that accounting is now.

Barbados Underground has the story, but don’t hold your breath…

Prime Minister Owen Arthur promised years ago that we would have a “full accounting” of the GEMS Hotels expenditures and that has yet to arrive.

As Owen Arthur and company have proven time and time again, we stupid Bajans will believe anything.

Barbados Underground: Cricket World Cup 2007 Three Months Later~What Is The Final Tally; You Promised To Tell Us And We The People Have A Right To Know

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary Almost Financially Self-Supporting

A very few BFP commenters (it seems with an agenda to discredit the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary and donor Peter Allard) posted information that the people of Barbados shouldn’t even want to own the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary as it is (so they say) a liability, not an asset.

Nevermind the issue of a clean and stable watershed. Nevermind the natural beauty and tourism attraction. Nevermind that the Barbados Government pumps millions of dollars annually into schemes that make the medieval quest to turn lead into gold almost legitimate… the commenters with an agenda declared that the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary was loosing millions of dollars every year.

Here is what the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary has to say about those comments…

Dear Barbados Free Press,

Here is some information which may shed some light on recent comments by certain readers of BFP in regard to Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary.

Some of these reader comments are not true. There are many good-hearted and well-meaning people in and out of Government who know
this, and believe that a National Park at Graeme Hall would be a good thing. Here are my responses:

The Allard investment in the Sanctuary is in excess of US $16 million.

Total acreage of the Sanctuary is 34.25 acres. The Offer made in December 2007 included donation of 25 of those acres plus financial and
technical services to improve and manage the Graeme Hall green space in its entirety as a National Park for all Barbadians. The donation
offer represented the largest single philanthropic offer ever made by Peter Allard, or the Allard Family, worldwide.

As this is being written, Mr. Allard is investing nearly Bds $900,000 to install an upgraded Nature Pathway System with an additional 60
interpretive exhibit signs for birds and botanicals, plus additional infrastructure improvements, all of which are designed to last another
20-25 years. He cannot profit from these investments. If he didn’t care, or if he wanted to make as much money as possible from a sale, he
wouldn’t do it. This philanthropic investment, as well as countless others, will never be repaid to Mr. Allard, except in the sense that he
will know he has done the right and ethical thing for the people of Barbados.

Sanctuary operations are rapidly moving toward break-even status. Based on the hard work by Harry Roberts and his staff, break-even
operations are expected within the first quarter of next year (2008).

Mr. Allard has always known that there would be a day when the future of the Sanctuary would need to be assured beyond his lifetime, and for that
reason alone it is best for us and best for the Government and people of Barbados to address how the Sanctuary and surrounding lands can be
protected in perpetuity. It is not in anyone’s best interest to wait for the disposition of the Sanctuary to become an estate issue, as no
one can assure the people of Barbados that Mr. Allard’s heirs would have the long-term interests of Barbados at heart.

Stuart Heaslet
Board Representative
Oversight and Philanthropy
Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary

Barbados Reporters Again Assaulted By Police Thugs – But Is The Nation News Reaping What Is Sowed?

“The government and police long ago lost any respect for, or fear of, the Barbados media.”

Barbados Police Officers Use Violence If Reporters Don’t Show Instant Obedience – A Legacy Of The Press Always Saying “Yes, Massa”

For at least a decade the Nation News and other Barbados media have bowed down to the government – ignoring well-proven stories of political corruption, censoring letters to the editor to remove facts and soften the impact, selectively covering stories to show the government in a better light, providing questions in advance and agreeing to restrict areas of enquiry during the few live “on air” interviews of government or police officials. When police or government demanded that a story be ignored or facts withheld, the editors were only too willing to say “Yes Massa”.

Whether this was done because of cowardness, laziness, a desire not to jeopardise revenues from government advertising – or a combination of factors, the net effect has been a weakening of freedom of the press and democracy in Barbados – and part of the blame lies with the Barbados media itself.

The government and police long ago lost any respect for, or fear of, the Barbados media. Likewise, even the ordinary citizens long ago lost faith in the Nation News as a defender of citizens’ rights and democracy or as a source for unbiased truth in reporting.

On Friday, May 25, 2007, three respected Barbados journalists were roughed up by police thugs as they were covering a story at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. As BFP said at the time…

“The police physical attack on the three journalists perfectly reflected the government’s policy and attitude towards a free Barbados news media. The government has long provided the example and leadership in this area. The police were merely following the government’s example.”

… from BFP’s Barbados Government In Damage Control Mode Over Police Roughing Up Journalists At Hospital

Barbados Bus Accident – Police Assault Journalists, Take Camera, Phone, Delete Photos

In the latest incident of assault, thugs from the Royal Barbados Police Force assaulted two Nation News journalists at the scene of the bus accident. According to a story in the Nation News, Senior Superintendent Leonard Broomes told reporter Rawle Culbard that he “could not take pictures of the scene” even though he was not within any cordoned off area.

Senior Police THUG Broomes and his henchmen then forcibly yanked the camera from Mr. Culbard’s neck and deleted the photos. Senior Police THUG Broomes then used force to take the cell phone from another Nation News staffer to erase any photos taken by the phone.

That, my friends, is assault by any definition.

What Law Did These Police Thugs Think They Were Enforcing When They Assaulted Journalists and Deleted Photos?

Once again, our police officers show that they and their political masters have no respect for the rule of law or citizens’ rights.

What is not prohibited by law is permitted by law, but taking a page from the government – the police hold themselves to be the law. Whatever an officer declares at the time is the law on Barbados – citizens’ rights and freedom of the press be damned.

Just listen to the contempt that the Senior Superintendent has for citizens, journalists and the rule of law. How confident the police thug is of the outcome of any complaint! How secure he is in the certainty that the police can do as they please in Barbados without having to worry about little things like “the law”…

“When I asked his name, (Police Superintendent) Broomes said to me that ‘you all always asking for names as if something will come out of it’.

… Nation News journalist Rawle Culbard describing what Police Senior Superintendent Broomes said after assaulting him.

Cowardly Yellow-Backed Nation News Refuses To File Criminal Assault Charges Against Police

What is the reaction of The Nation News to this latest assault by police?

Oh… They filed a COMPLAINT with the police!

Well, that should take care of everything.

Is Vivian-Anne Gittens, the Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of The Nation News, cowardly, stupid or a little of both?

This is yet another clear case of assault against journalists by police thugs. It is time that criminal charges were laid against at least Senior Superintendent Broomes who was clearly operating outside the law and with total contempt for citizens’ rights and freedom of the press. Without sanctions against these police thugs, we can only expect things to get much worse.

If the publisher of The Nation News hasn’t the courage or integrity to stand up for her journalists then the concept of freedom of the press in Barbados is well and truly dead in the old media.

Required Reading:

The Nation News: Photographer’s Pictures Deleted

Notes From The Margin: Joe’s River Tragedy – Nation Files A Complaint With Police

Barbados Prison Builder VECO – Political Corruption Scandal Continues – FBI and Tax Police Raid US Senator’s Home

FBI Investigation Has Barbados Connections

VECO, the same company that is building Barbados’ way-over-budget new prison, has a long history of bribing politicians and other corrupt practices. United States politicians and VECO executives are dropping like flies as an FBI investigation shows no signs of stopping.

The latest in the continuing saga happened on Monday, July 30, 2007 at about 2:30pm Alaska time when the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service teamed up and raided the home of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.

Whooooooeee!

Give me the FBI over the tax people any day!

Which reminds me… IF a Barbados politician failed to declare received monies or benefits either in Barbados or in a foreign bank account, who would be in charge of judging their guilt or innocence in any Barbados tax-evasion charge? (Like one would be laid anyway in Barbados… Not in a million years)

But IF a Barbados politician were charged with tax evasion, who would be in charge of the system that would decide guilty or innocence and impose any penalty?

Oh ya. Right. I forgot…

Prime Minister Owen Arthur’s good old drinking buddy, now Chief Justice SIR David Simmons!

What a joke.

Required Reading…

CNN.com: FBI Raids U.S. Senator’s Home

BFP: Corrupt Barbados Prison Builder VECO Implicated In Yet Another Money-To-Politician Scandal

Barbados Bus Tragedy – Bajans From Around The World Look Towards Home

THEY SAY that wherever you travel in the world you will find someone from Barbados, and from what we have seen over the past year and a half at Barbados Free Press that is true. Bajans visit BFP and send us emails and comments from just about any country you can name. A few weeks ago our one millionth visitor (visitor, not page view) logged on from Germany, shortly followed by visitor number one million and one from Thailand – both Bajans living abroad.

The tragedy this week has again reminded us of how many of our brothers and sisters still look towards home no matter how far away they find themselves, or for how long.

As a matter of sad record, today has seen the highest number of visitors that BFP has ever had in one 24-hour period as Bajans around the world search for news of their loved ones and friends. We haven’t spoken with our friends at the other Barbados-based blogs, but we imagine that their traffic is also up significantly.

We notice that Barbados Underground’s post Bus Crashes In St. Joseph Intransit To The Party Monarch Finals Held At The East Coast~A Time For National Mourning is today the #59th most visited WordPress.com post, while BFP’s Tragedy At Joes River – Six Dead In Barbados Tour Bus Crash is the #34 most visited WordPress.com post out of the couple of hundred million articles online today.

Barbados Underground also appeared on the “Top 100 WordPress Blogs” list for the first time, listed at the #72 most popular blog out of one and a quarter million WordPress.com blogs worldwide. Barbados Free Press moved up to #31 on the same Top 100 WordPress Blogs list.

We point these statistics out with no joy or sense of accomplishment because, of course, we wish today had never happened the way it did – but the visitor statistics are an indication of the interest and concern shown by folks everywhere.

All of us at BFP hope that the families and friends who are suffering at this moment can take some small comfort in knowing that the entire Bajan family at home and around the world is praying for them and sharing in their troubles.

*** Photo courtesy of Barbados In Focus 

Barbados Bus Deaths – When Will It Be Appropriate To Ask “What Went Wrong?”

Dear Friends,

Few of our neighbours in large countries or even large cities can truly understand the impact of the tragedy that is visiting Barbados at this moment. We have six people dead and, if the talk is true, more than a few others who are barely holding on. Dozens more were injured to various degrees but will recover.

Everybody we have spoken with knows at least a few of the dead and the injured. Everybody. That’s the way it is on this tiny island.

At times of mass injuries or deaths, there is a tendency for some folks to say “This is not an appropriate time to discuss the hows and whys of the situation. Leave that until after.”

Others say that at the time of the tragedy is exactly the moment to discuss what happened because – whatever the causes were – nobody cared enough about them the day before the accident, and in a few weeks the discussion will fade from the front pages and our daily conversation because life goes on.

We can see both sides. Even families in the midst of tragedy are torn between their need of privacy and comfort with loved ones – and their realisation that if they don’t demand accountability, there may be none.

Injected into all this is a reality that many – perhaps even a majority of citizens – have doubts about the integrity of some in the police and the government. They believe rightly or wrongly that some officials will fail to make full enquiries – that they will attempt to protect those special folks who can do no wrong on Bim. This lack of trust in our public officials makes things more difficult for everyone, even the police and public officials who are earnestly and honestly attempting to bring order and provide answers so that this never happens again.

Some of our readers are already discussing possible causes, and some are being very quick – way too quick – to assign various levels of blame to named persons or the government.

Our Thoughts…

As Barbados mourns, let’s take a few days and concentrate on the victims and their families and friends.

Barbados Free Press, and I’m sure the other blogs on this island, will not let this issue fade from memory. Barbados deserves answers and the truth, but for now let’s mourn and pray – and trust that the good men and women who have dedicated their lives to helping others will do what is necessary to first look after the victims and their relatives, and secondly – to start the process of accountability and understanding in a professional and honest manner.

Marcus, Shona, Robert, George, Cliverton and Auntie Moses

You Want Irony? A Country With No Environmental Protection Laws Sends The Chief Justice To Environmental Law Conference

Hey, Does The Chief Justice Have Any Offshore Bank Accounts In Caymans From When He Was A Cabinet Minister?

Barbados Chief Justice Sir David Simmons attended the Ritz-Carlton in the Cayman Islands last Thursday for the eighth annual Caribbean Heads of Judiciary Conference. Ironically, the theme of this year’s conference is “The Role of the Judiciary in Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development”.

You see, Barbados has no effective environmental protection laws – and as far as the “sustainable development” part of it goes, the Government of Barbados has proven time and time again that it totally ignores it’s own published land use plans when there is money to be made.

“To Hell With The Future – Show Me The Money NOW!” has long been the rallying cry for the current government, of which Chief Justice Simmons was a member of the inner Cabinet for the majority of the government’s current run.

Even if Barbados had effective environmental laws, how can a former member of the current government adjudicate environmental disputes with the government in an unbiased manner – when he was part of the government that created the mess?

Oh well, they only worry about such things in real democracies where accountability and transparency exist.

So unlike Barbados.

Story Link

Cayman Net News: Regional Heads of Judiciary Meet

Rumour – Government Inner Circle Considers Allowing The Barbados Dollar To Float

We have had a few emails from different sources in the last few days – indicating that inner circles in the Barbados Government are discussing allowing the Bajan Dollar to float on the world markets. Our dollar is currently tied to the US Dollar at 2 for 1.

This rumour surfaces in Barbados about every 6 or 9 months or so. What’s different this time? The number of previously-proven good sources who are telling us about the discussions.

Does anyone know anything?

Tragedy At Joes River – Six Dead In Barbados Tour Bus Crash

UPDATED: July 31, 2007 – Sixth Victim Identified 

Our Condolences To Families And Friends

The Barbados Advocate has a story online. Nothing on the Nation News yet that we can see…

From the Barbados Advocate…

A FULL investigation will be launched into the crash that claimed the lives of six Barbadians yesterday along Joe’s River, St. Joseph, as they made their way to the Party Monarch Finals at the East Coast Road.

Just after 11 o’clock yesterday (Sunday) morning, the lives of three men and three women were cut short when the 40-seater vehicle carrying patrons who purchased an all-inclusive package from Mount Gay Distilleries, for the much anticipated and high-paced Party Monarch Finals was involved in an accident which saw an additional 37 persons seeking medical attention at the Accident and Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).

Five of the deceased include Adrian Franklin of Lot No.2 Oughterson Park, St. Philip; Lorie Marshall of Parks Road, St. Joseph; Nancy Griffith of Gooding Alley, Church Street, St. Peter; Kenrick Harewood of Stadium Road, Bush Hall, St. Michael, and Morton Brathwaite of Sayers Court, Christ Church. The identity of sixth fatality is Deborah Murray. (Article here: Sixth Crash Victim Identified)

… continue reading this article at the Barbados Advocate (link here)

Can Our Sugar Industry Be Saved?

Thanks to a few readers who sent links to an excellent story in last week’s Guardian…

Sun, Sea and … Sugar

Tourists head to Barbados for the beaches and lush landscape, but without sugar cane the island would turn to scorched scrub. Now, with the EU about to slash prices in the name of free trade, local growers are fighting back. Joanna Blythman reports

…

With a platinum-plated visitor list like this, you might think that everything was hunky dory in Barbados. But there is trouble brewing in paradise. Barbados’s tourist scene, the island’s top source of income, is predicated not only on sea and surf, but also on sugar – its second-biggest source of revenue. Tourists love Barbados for its lushness, a verdant landscape carpeted with rolling green hills of sugar cane – an erect, elegant grass with bamboo-like stems that stands as high as 12ft at maturity, swaying and rustling in the breeze of the trade winds.

… continue reading this story at The Guardian (link here)

Gardin Democracy Says “Let’s Hire More Chinese Slaves And Political Prisoners. They Work Cheap!”

Also see an excellent article in today’s Barbados Underground

Here’s a sample…

“Given the overtures which the Arthur administration has been making to China; any policy change directed at the Chinese will be cosmetic in nature as we have seen from Minister Atherley’s press conference last night. Our willingness to fold in the face of the economic agenda by sacrificing basic principles which have served us well in the past is truly regrettable. It is a time like now that we remember the famous quote by the late Right Excellent Errol Barrow and its appropriateness: Barbados will be friends of all and satellites of none.”

Check out Barbados Underground’s Sir Roy Trotman Our Knight In Shining Armour

World Is Watching Barbados Political Scandals – Really! TWO Bajan Blogs Make WordPress “Top 100” List Out Of 1.2 Million Blogs

Barbados Citizens Are Using The Internet To Embrace The New Push For Democracy, Integrity & Accountability

There are over 1.2 million WordPress blogs published online from all over the world – displaying hundreds of millions of articles on any given day.

During the last few days, TWO Barbados-based blogs appeared simultaneously on the WordPress “Top 100” Lists.

On July 26th, Barbados Free Press achieved #39 most popular WordPress Blog out of 1,244,243 WordPress blogs worldwide..

On July 27, 2007, the Barbados Underground article The Demise of Roy Morris: Veteran Journalist At The Nation Newspaper was the #62 most popular WordPress Post in the world out of those hundreds of millions of posts online at WordPress. That same day, Barbados Free Press was ranked the #60 most popular WordPress Blog.

On July 28, 2007, the Barbados Free Press post Roy Morris – Nation News Train Wreck Continues was the #63 most popular WordPress Post, and BFP was the #50 most popular WordPress Blog in the world. That same day, the Barbados Underground Post The Demise of Roy Morris was the #93 most popular WordPress Post.

So far today, July 29th, the Barbados Free Press post Election Fraud In Barbados – How Do We Stop It? is the #71 most popular WordPress Post in the world and BFP is the #76 most popular blog.

This Must Be A World Record

Barbados is a tiny country with fewer than 300,000 souls on this island. That’s barely a city in most of the world – yet TWO of our Bajan blogs are on the WordPress “Top 100” lists.

Friends, Something Is Happening…

Tens of thousands of Bajans are flocking to political blogs every week in what has to be the strongest display of non-confidence in the nation’s news media and government seen in decades. Although BFP and Barbados Underground have made the “Top 100” WordPress lists, they are only two of a dozen or more blogs on this island that are on the forefront of a new democracy in Barbados.

Never doubt these two truths for even a moment:

1/ The political and media elites in Barbados have lost their their ability to control information in our country.

2/ The appearance of TWO Barbados blogs on the WordPress “Top 100” Lists means that people all over the world are interested in our stories about political corruption in Barbados.

Tell your friends and family…

There is still much work to be done, but the world is changing, and ordinary Bajans cannot be silenced any longer.

Election Fraud In Barbados – How Do We Stop It?

How Many Times Should A Dead Person Be Allowed To Vote?

My friends, the election is coming – perhaps October, perhaps November. How do we keep the voting process honest? No matter which way you vote, if you love Barbados and democracy over individual interests, you must acknowledge that our voting process is in trouble.

It is a given that both the DLP and the BLP have engaged in “creative voting” campaigns in the past.

Now, now… don’t be bothering to comment that it isn’t so, ok? We know it. You know it. THEY know it.

Dead people voting. Folks voting twice or more. Ballots “lost” or declared “unclear” or “spoiled” when any five year old could make them out. Drunks being held up as they stagger in with recently met “friends”. Straight trades of money for votes. Old ladies who aren’t really sure what day it is, what their name is or why their neighbour has taken them “for a walk”.

We’ve seen or heard it all and so have you.

How do we stop those who would do anything for power?

It seems to me that the first thing we have to do is to talk about it. With neighbours, friends and family.

Let’s start talking.

Article Links…

BFP Nov 2006: How Do We Keep The Next Barbados Election Honest?

Wikipedia: Electoral Fraud

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.