Guyana Implements Breathalizer Law – Barbados Government Continues To Ignore Drunken Slaughter Every Weekend

Government Of Guyana Acts Responsibly Against Drunk Driving

Successive Barbados Governments have failed to implement breathalizer laws that would target the growing slaughter on our roads. We lose more people to drunk driving than we do to murder, but when it came to protecting us from drunken drivers, the idiots of the Owen Arthur – Mia Mottley BLP Government never went further than talking about “maybe, if, someday”.

At least with the BLP Government, we knew that our drooling, word-slurring Prime Minister never implemented anti-drunk driving laws because he didn’t want to get nicked himself!

Thompson DLP Government Continues The BLP Policy Of Doing Nothing To Stop Drunk Driving

After almost seven months in office, the Thompson DLP Government has done nothing to address the serious problem that our country lacks enforceable, modern drunk-driving laws.

Think about that folks – in practically every civilized jurisdiction in the world when there has been an accident and the police suspect the driver might have had even one beer, the driver has to blow into a breathalizer machine to prove how much alcohol is in his or her body. We know that some people can drink lots and not “look” like they are drunk, but they shouldn’t be driving. The breathalizer provides scientific evidence so there is no doubt.

Barbados Free Press has been calling for breathaliser laws and equipment for the police for two and a half years now. In those two and a half years we have seen some horrible accidents and even mass accidents – but our law enforcement officers have no way of testing to see how much those drivers had been drinking.

The first job of government is to protect the citizens, and successive BLP and DLP governments have failed to protect the citizens when it comes to drunken driving.

Prime Minister Thompson… time to act, Sir. If your government can’t implement breathalizer laws during the first year of your term, that will pretty well say everything about your priorities and leadership.

Further Reading

Stabroek News: Guyana Passes Drunk-Driving Legislation

BFP

November 22, 2007 – Five Year Sentence For Dangerous Driver – But Still No Breathalyzer Law

October 30, 2007 – More Road Deaths Than Murders: Yet Barbados Still Does Not Have Breathalyzer Laws Or Technology

August 15, 2007 – Minister of Transport Gline Clarke Finally “Talking” About Driver Breathaliser Tests – As First Suggested By By Barbados Free Press Over A Year Ago

July 25, 2006 – Barbados Government To Ban Cell Phones While Driving

Barbados Borrows Millions From Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) – How Much Will Be Siphoned Off By Corruption?

Barbados Has No Law To Prevent Government Officials From Awarding Contracts To Family Or Themselves!

Here we go again, folks. Like the BLP Arthur/Mottley Government before it, the DLP David Thompson Government of Barbados is tapping into international loans and money to finance projects when there are no rules about how the money gets spent – and no rules prohibiting the awarding of contracts to companies owned by government officials or their immediate family members.

Now that they have achieved power and hold the country’s cheque book in their hands, David Thompson and the DLP government refuse to implement standards that will prevent them from using their office for personal profit.

So who will be doing the “consulting” and the “studies” that go along with this big loan?

Don’t ask… because Barbados doesn’t have any transparency laws either!

Same old, same old…

Barbados Gets US$5 million IDB Loan for Standards System

Bridgetown — July 27, 2008 — Barbados’ national standards system will undergo a modernisation process to the tune of US$7.29 million.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce, George Hutson and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Representative, Anneke Jessen, signed a loan agreement during a ceremony in the Ministry’s conference room, Reef Road, St Michael.

Government is providing US$2.29 million while the IDB will foot US$5 million.

Describing the venture as a priority for Government, Mr. Hutson said the project would strengthen Barbados’ National Standards Systems, upgrades to BNSI’s administrative areas, as well as its physical and technological infrastructure.

In addition, the Minister of Trade said globalisation and trade liberalisation have heightened the need for countries to maintain high standards.

“Changing international conditions, deepening regional integration, and the need to improve the competitiveness of local goods and services have underlined the importance of maximising quality and efficiency in the application and administration of national standards.

… continue reading this article at Caribbean Press Releases.com (link here)

Former Barbados Advocate Editor Says Owen Arthur, Mia Mottley “Evil As Hell The Lot Of Them”

So Mia Mottley is calling for justice for BLP supporters. Why didn’t she call for justice for me, when I was editor of the Advocate and was being persecuted almost on a daily basis by the BLP?

The full story of how I was treated by the Barbados Labour Party has not been told but I will do so one day and Barbadians will see what an authoritarian government we had. How we were on the brink of dictatorship because when the press is attacked and bullied into submission, freedom is always in danger.

… Reudon Eversley writing at Barbados Underground Evil As Hell The Lot Of Them

We Need A Truth And Reconciliation Movement In Barbados

Former PM Owen Arthur

There is a tape recording that has been talked about in hushed tones for the past three years, and is now making the rounds in the Barbados legal community.

I have not heard the tape personally, but for reasons I will not go into here I sincerely believe that it exists, and that it will surface on the internet before long.

The tape recording is of a drunken, raging former Prime Minister Owen Arthur calling a citizen at home sometime in the wee hours of the morning. The language is ripe, the threats are real – and the hatred is palpable.

Former editor of the Barbados Advocate Reudon Eversley is correct when he says that Barbados was on the brink of a dictatorship during the Owen Arthur / Mia Mottley Government. The BLP cowed the press, corrupted the courts by appointing a former Government Minister and political hack as Chief Justice – and generally did whatever they wanted to without so much as a second thought about decency and the rule of law. They used the police as their private enforcers – and the police went along with it.

Police Arrest Barbados Reporter

These same BLP thugs threatened to murder Adrian Loveridge, rape his wife and burn down his hotel. After the threats, there were two arsons at Loveridge’s hotel – along with a break-in and a ladder up against his bedroom window as a little message.

The police know who the suspects are, but refused and still refuse to charge anyone.

Death threats were also made against an old lady who is involved in a lawsuit where the Chief Justice, former PM Arthur and many BLP big-ups are defendants. More death threats were made against bloggers including Ian Bourne.

These threats of murder, rape and arson against a foreign investor and respected community member are all a matter of public record. What a great lesson for other foreign investors coming to Barbados!

The Secretary of the Barbados Labour Party, William Duguid, confirmed publicly that at least some of the threats were made using his computer located at the Parliament Building!

And speaking of threats, BLP Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley has herself declared that blogs and talk radio should be censored.

Again, all of the above is a matter of public record – and we pray that the Owen Arthur tape-recording soon becomes public as well.

There Is A Lesson In Reudon Eversley’s Article – But Not The One That He Intended

Reudon Eversley and so many folks were oppressed, threatened and harassed by corrupted members of the BLP government – and it will be a long time before their sense of righteous anger fades.

Peter Simmons

And because some of those corrupted people are still entrenched in positions of power and authority, the abuses continue even now. Think of the UWI professor John Knox who was told by former Barbados diplomat Peter Simmons that he would be fired from his job if he continued to be a witness in a trial. Knox continued and he was fired… and the cowardly lapdog Barbados news media still says nothing about that. (Or about the Ronja Juman trial.)

So the abuses are still happening, but now under the new DLP Government.

Reudon Eversley thinks that the problem was with the quality of the people who were in the former BLP government.

He is dead wrong.

When Owen Arthur, Mia Mottley and all the BLP gang entered politics so long ago, they were not evil. They may have wanted a dollar or two in their pockets, but they had in mind that they would be able to do some good for their fellow citizens and their country.

Chief Justice David Simmons - Political Hack

What happened to corrupt them? Simple… Barbados had no anti-corruption laws, so there were no controls at all. Then they consolidated their power by appointing a corrupt political hack to be in charge of “justice” and the courts. They controlled the news media with government advertising contracts and threats – carrot and stick – and the Barbados news media did as they were told.

Under the BLP, rule of law became whatever the ruling elites wanted it to be. There was (and is) no law prohibiting government officials from awarding contracts to companies owned by themselves or their families.

Who could resist such power? You? Me? David Thompson?

The situation is repeating itself under the current DLP government. With no laws put in place to prevent corruption, it is only a matter of time before the good people associated with the current government yield to temptation.

It is already happening and the Barbados news media remains silent after switching loyalties to the DLP.

Meet the new boss… same as the old boss…

Calls For Corruption Investigation in Panama – Corrupt Barbados Flyover Contractor Jonathan Danos Involved

Our friends over at Panama-Guide.com have the full story of how deposed Barbados flyover contractor Jonathan Danos was involved in paying millions of dollars in bribes to Panamanian politicians.

But will the Thompson Barbados Government really take action against corrupt government officials involved with Jonathan Danos in the flyover project?

The smart money says that Prime Minister Thompson will put the interests of the DLP ahead of the interests of Barbados – and go easy on BLP members because he doesn’t want to start a war.

Panama-Guide.com – Mabey Bridge Scandal Continues to Grow

BFP: Barbados Flyover Contractor Jonathan Danos Admits Paying Huge Bribes To Caribbean Government Officials & Their Middlemen

Cuil – “Worlds Largest Search Engine” – Our Tests Show New Web Search Engine Just Might Be Better Than Google – What Do You Think?

Cuil – New Search Engine Claims It Has Three Times Larger Index Than Google

Google holds about 62 percent share of the U.S. search market, and with Yahoo (21 percent) and Microsoft (8.5 percent), the top three engines account for over 90 percent of the market share. At BFP I don’t think anyone uses anything much else than Google – but that might change because we’re really excited about a new search engine called Cuil. (Pronounced “cool’)

Cuil is the child of a few ex-Google engineers who say they developed new technology that digs down deeper into the web to find what you are really looking for.

After trying it for an hour, we have to admit that we are excited. The search results are not just different, they are more on point. It is like doing a “search within results” on Google, but again – different. We are also seeing results that we can’t find on Google no matter what terms we search under.

Search “Barbados” with Cuil – the world’s largest search engine – and you get back 5.6 million returns. Barbados Free Press is Number 3 !

We’ll let you know in a few weeks whether Cuil becomes our first choice for searches. (And yes, when you search the word “barbados”, guess what the number three hit is?) 🙂

In the meantime, try it out and we’ll talk about it.

New Search Engine: Cuil.com

About Cuil

Welcome to Cuil—the world’s biggest search engine. The Internet has grown. We think it’s time search did too.

The Internet has grown exponentially in the last fifteen years but search engines have not kept up—until now. Cuil searches more pages on the Web than anyone else—three times as many as Google and ten times as many as Microsoft.

Rather than rely on superficial popularity metrics, Cuil searches for and ranks pages based on their content and relevance. When we find a page with your keywords, we stay on that page and analyze the rest of its content, its concepts, their inter-relationships and the page’s coherency.

Then we offer you helpful choices and suggestions until you find the page you want and that you know is out there. We believe that analyzing the Web rather than our users is a more useful approach, so we don’t collect data about you and your habits, lest we are tempted to peek. With Cuil, your search history is always private.

Cuil is an old Irish word for knowledge. For knowledge, ask Cuil.

Further Reading

Guardian: Cuil New Search Technology

Associated Press: Ex-Google Engines Debut “Cuil” Way To Search

Who Made The Policy That Separated Mothers From 3-Year-Old Children At Kensington Oval?

Dozens of mothers were in tears at Kiddies Kadooment when the police prevented mothers from accompanying their children into the Oval. The idea that parents and 3-year-old children would be separated from each other with no prior notice is absurd, dangerous and frankly, idiotic.

We would like to have a first happen in Barbados. We would like the organisers of the event to announce publicly the name of the person or persons who made this decision.

But that doesn’t fit in with our national culture, which is “it be nobody fault”

And speaking of “nobody fault”, what’s happening with all the criminal charges that were expected in the Hardwood scandal?

From the Nation News…

Parents, who had earlier accompanied their children on the road as they jammed from Pelican Craft Village along Fontabelle, were barred entry from the Oval which was being used as the parade venue for the first time.

As frustrated and panicking parents stood behind a fence they called out to their charges, some as young as three years-old who were on the inside without their guidance.

One young mother wiped her eyes continuously, as tears flooded her face, after she tried in vain to get the attention of her four year old daughter on the other side of the fence.

… read the entire article at the Nation News here

Barbados DLP Thank BLP For Advertising Prime Minister’s Cruise!

Faulty Editor Allowed DLP To Advertise On The BLP Blog For Three Days!

We received the following message and the screen shot from a delighted DLP organiser…

I would like to congratulate the BLP for allowing the DLP space on their website to advertise the upcoming cruise of The Hon. Mr David Thompson the Prime Minister onboard the HARBOUR MASTER this Sat the 2nd at 5.00pm.

They must still be using the faltered program of the politics of inclusion to have allowed us the use of their site for the few days, whatever got into them I would very much like to thank them for promoting the event and realising that they are in opposition and are willing to be sensible in carrying out the affairs of this country.

Once again thank you all at the BLP for giving exposure and supporting the upcoming charity event being hosted by the DEMOCRATIC LABOUR PARTY.

It is the one time that I would have hoped that their site use to get some hits but nevertheless we always have the blogs to turn to,

We in the DEMOCRATIC LABOUR PARTY thank you for allowing the opportunity to promote our cruise on your website, we loved it.

Canadian CIBC-Owned FirstCaribbean International Bank Indicted In 100 Money-Laundering Act Charges! Barbados News Media Hides The Story

Cowardly Nation News Pees Self Thinking About Reporting This Story

Lapdog Barbados News Media Covers-Up For First Caribbean

FirstCaribbean International Bank, headquartered in Barbados, has been indicted in Belize in over 100 money laundering charges that happened between 2001 and 2005.

The bank is over 90% owned by the Canadian bank, the CIBC.

This story has been on the international news for almost two weeks, but the Barbados news media doesn’t think that the story of a Barbados-based bank indicted for over 100 counts of money-laundering is news!

Cowards! Bought-and-paid-for cowards!

Keltruth Blog broke the story in the blogs, and they have all the links and background at… Keltruth Blog: FirstCanadian Bank indicted under money-laundering laws

Barbados Government Minister Chris Sinckler Working Hard For Us All In Switzerland – BUT…

Sinckler At The World Trade Organisation In Geneva

Minister Of Foreign Trade Chris Sinckler

Minister of Foreign Trade Chris Sinckler is over in Switzerland fighting for Barbados as the WTO considers changes in tariffs. (CBC article here)

While Minister Sinckler’s work with tariffs doesn’t have the exciting cache of announcing a new hotel project or some other flashy government initiative, it is this important work in the trenches that very much impacts our economy on a long term basis.

The idea of working in Switzerland sounds exciting to the uninitiated, but the glitz of travel soon fades into the reality of life on the road. Chris might be doing a little sightseeing in Switzerland, but for the mostpart we bet that he will have started to miss home by now.

The World Trade Organisation & World Agencies Know We Lack Integrity Legislation

Minister Sinckler is trying to convince WTO major members that Barbados and other small and vulnerable economies should be given a break when compared to larger nations. That is all good and necessary for small countries like Barbados, but increasingly, larger countries and world agencies are becoming far less tolerant of government corruption than they were even five years ago.

Barbados does not have Integrity Legislation or effective oversight of government spending, and while the WTO and the larger nations are willing to help us out, they want to know that their support and concessions will go to the citizens of Barbados and not end up lining the pockets of the government’s members and friends.

How much easier and more effective could Minister Sinckler’s efforts be if he could say that Barbados had taken a firm stand against corruption in government.

Instead, Minister Sinckler can only tell his fellow Trade Ministers that the Thompson government was elected on a platform of integrity initiatives – but then failed to adopt even a single measure once it achieved power and held the keys to the treasury.

Barbados Opposition Leader Mia Mottley Asks For Justice – But Did The BLP Give Justice To DLP Supporters?

Comments are open for discussion folks!

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE HON. MIA AMOR MOTTLEY
Leader of the Opposition
Political Leader, Barbados Labour Party

Earlier this week, Prime Minister, the Honourable David Thompson indicated that all new contracts to CEOs of statutory corporations in his Government would be bound by a clause to resign within 3 months of a change of Government.

We oppose this policy as self-defeating. This is a backward step particularly given the Prime Minister’s comments on January 20th, 2008 at Kensington Oval. On that occasion, he declared that there would be no night of long knives and that the country should rise above partisan politics and should unite.

Firstly, this move reduces the pool of competent Barbadians who will come forward and be willing to serve as there is no security for them given the flexibility our system affords for the calling of a General Election.

Secondly, there is the risk of labeling persons who are appointed for their competence and qualifications as automatically supporting the Political Party in Government who appointed them.

Thirdly, this is a dangerous precedent that achieves nothing more than the polarization of politics in Barbados in a way that has not been part of our culture and in a way that will have consequences that will reinforce political tribalism. In this instance, Barbados and Barbadians will be the loser.

Coroner’s Inquests Can Take 25 Years In Barbados – Legalities Not A Priority With Successive Governments

Rule Of Law, Legalities Are Seldom A Priority On This Island

It is about priorities, and successive Barbados governments have traditionally spent money on show rather than necessities. We spend hundreds of millions of dollars on cricket parties while our hospital falls down and old women still haul water from the standpipes. We put a bright and shiny coat of paint on a public building while the raw sewerage from the toilets runs onto the beach.

Our governments buy new garbage trucks instead of ensuring that all government vehicles are properly maintained. We would rather change an engine than change the oil regularly and that analogy applies throughout our government and civil service.

This same neglect is evident in our law-enforcement and justice systems.

Successive Barbados governments have only paid lip-service to maintaining our police and justice systems – both in terms of funding, and in upholding the rule of law and other legal necessities that are the foundations of our society.

Look at the single issue of Coroner’s Inquests and you will see a prime example of the outrageous neglect that Barbados has suffered under for decades.

As Richard Goddard pointed out in his excellent article Police Jurisdiction and Authority, up until very recently, Barbados neglected to hold coroner’s inquests for hundreds of unusual or suspicious deaths. Some inquests were waiting for almost 30 years!

Think about how it looks to the outside world, and what it really means to a country when successive governments don’t bother to properly investigate and document hundreds of deaths.

The article shown above “Men’s Buddy Was Dead Drunk” was published in 2004 in the Nation News about the results of a Coroner’s Inquest held in 2004 into an unusual death that occurred in 1982 – some 22 years earlier.

Prior to about 2002, Barbados had no “coroner in charge” and after one was appointed with island-wide jurisdiction, the backlog of hundreds of cases was cleared up in three or four years. Let us be truthful with ourselves and admit that many of these old suspicious deaths were “rubber stamped” by the coroner. What else could be done with cases 20 years old?

But instead of a “fresh start”, we went back to our same old ways with chronic under-funding of police, the coroner’s office and other agencies that are supposed to play a role in ensuring that when someone dies on this island no unanswered questions remain.

Thompson Government Is Careless With The Deaths Of Citizens At The Hands Of Police

We also have no independent body to investigate the police when a death occurs in police custody or under circumstances involving police. Strange revelations surrounding the recent death of I’Akobi Maloney while with police highlights the carelessness of our government in protecting citizens from wrong-doing by those in authority. The police are investigating themselves with no independent oversight and our government has adopted a “hands off” policy.

We read in the Nation News that Assistant Commissioner of Police Seymour Cumberbatch told a press conference…

“Maloney, on request of the police, put back on his clothing and placed his haversack on his back and started to accompany officers away from the cliff. It was during this period the young man darted away and jumped over the cliff.”

Only one problem… the police gave the haversack back to Maloney’s mother, who showed it to reporters. The haversack hadn’t been in the water. No salt stains, no stuck-together papers, no ink running on notes.

The police say that I’Akobi Maloney ran from police, jumped over a cliff and then drowned while wearing the haversack – but Maloney’s mother showed reporters that the haversack had never been in the water.

How much longer are we going to allow the police to investigate themselves? How much longer until the David Thompson Government starts taking some leadership to bring accountability and proper process to the serious business of the deaths of citizens who are in the custody of police?

Further Reading

Nation News: More in the bag than meets the eye

Nation News: A Mother’s Advice

Barbados Free Press: Nation News Finally Discovers That Barbados Police Don’t Give A Damn About Rule Of Law

Barbados Integrity Laws – Some Folks Still Fooled Into Thinking Words Are Actions

“One of the major complaints against the new David Thompson administration in Barbados has been that, although it won power mainly by promising to do something about the entrenched corruption in the previous Owen Arthur administration, it had appeared to have forgotten the issue”

Janine Mendes-Franco quotes Don Mitchell MBE, on Harvard Law School’s Global Voices (link here)

Don Mitchell has been a voice for integrity in government for years – even before it was fashionable to say the words “integrity” or “conflicts of interest” – and he is nobody’s fool.

That said, his latest Corruption Free Anguilla article ‘Barbados’ about the continued promises but zero action by the Barbados DLP Government is too kind and optimistic. Mr. Mitchell has forgotten that this Barbados government promised to adopt a Ministerial Code on the first day it assumed office, but then did not.

Mr. Mitchell has forgotten that Prime Minister David Thompson could have declared on that first day that no government contracts would be issued to companies that are owned by the immediate family of a government official or where a government official has an interest in a company.

Prime Minister Thompson could have issued that order on the first day, and he could issue the order tomorrow if he was really serious about integrity in government. There is no need for him to wait for legislation, he could implement this single change as a matter of government policy and he could do so immediately.

This “Government Advisory Board” that Thompson appointed to “look into” integrity legislation has no address, no phone number, no email address and no public face or method by which citizens can communicate with it.

It is smoke on a windy day.

Barbados Free Press will continue to remind people that words are only words. Words are not action.

As to transparency and conflicts of interest, one of David Thompson’s first official acts as a newly-elected Prime Minister was to borrow the corporate jet of a company that does business with the Barbados government – and to refuse to release any details of the costs and arrangements.

When it comes to integrity in government, David Thompson’s only real action has been to create a conflict of interest by borrowing corporate bizjets from friends who do business with the Government of Barbados.

Respectfully, we suggest that Don Mitchell should re-write his article.

Further Reading

Corruption Free Anguilla blog: Barbados

Barbados Free Press Articles…

July 5, 2008: Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson Fools Lindsey Grant – St. Kitts and Nevis People’s Action Movement Leader

June 6, 2008: Will Rayside Construction Be Awarded Barbados Government Contracts To Thank Leroy Parris For The Use Of The Bizjet?

June 3, 2008: Barbados Government’s 140 Days Of Broken Promises – In Four Easy Steps

April 17, 2008: Barbados Prime Minister Thompson’s Weasel Words On Integrity Legislation – No Guts. No Leadership. No Personal Transparency From Our Jet-Setter PM

Where Did Cliverton Sleep Last Night?

Somebody is looking for Cliverton

Where are you, Clive?

UPDATED: International Investors Fear Dirty Justice In Paradise

Would You Invest Where The Courts Do As They Please To Ensure An Outcome The Government Desires?

There is a situation going on in the small island state of Seychelles where the Supreme Court is so obviously manipulating a court case towards a favourable outcome for the government.

The government might win this specific court case, but Seychelles will lose in the long run. What international investors in their right minds would invest in that small island state after reading about the plight of the shareholders who are being raped by the government?

Barbados Can’t Hide The “Chicken Plucking” Anymore!

The internet has changed everything, and many smaller jurisdictions are finding that they can no longer hide their “chicken plucking”. The chickens are fighting back on the internet and spreading their stories worldwide in a matter of seconds.

You know “chicken plucking”… it happens all the time Barbados. A newly-arrived international investor is feted and shown Bim until they fall in love with the place. By the time they discover that the rule of law is whatever the ruling elites want it to be, they are so significantly invested that they lose millions.

Take the case of Matthew Kerins, developer of the aborted Caribbean Splash Water Park. Mr. Kerins came to Barbados and was treated like a king when the government insiders learned that he had millions to pour into the island’s tourism industry.

Kerins said in public that he paid 2 million dollars in “consulting fees” to various “consultants”, met with Prime Minister Owen Arthur and was generally told “we have a deal”. Except there was no deal, and no agreement. Kerins is out US$2 million and Owen Arthur and the gang laughed all the way to the bank.

(For the background on this story, read here, here, and here.)

Invest in Seychelles? Are you crazy?

Here are some excerpts from couple of stories about the Supreme Court of Seychelles doing exactly what their government wanted.

Dirty Justice In Paradise – E-TurboNews

VICTORIA, Seychelles (eTN) – In the Supreme Court of Seychelles, on 23rd July 2008, Acting Chief Justice A. Ranjun Perera refused to “stay” the winding up process in the case of Ailee Development Corporation Limited, owner and operator of the Plantation Club Resort, to prevent the liquidators, Ernst & Young LLP of Mauritius, from being able to sell the assets of the hotel company before the Court of Appeal hearings have taken place. This is despite the fact that the date set for hearing the appeal of the company is set for August 7, only two weeks away…

Shareholders representing 91 percent of the company and all of the secured creditors do not want to see the liquidation go through as it is being conducted, as the shareholders fear the total loss of their hotel and the creditors fear that the tender process will be manipulated to defraud them of their proper dues.

Mark Davison, managing director of Ailee Development Corporation Limited, said: “We continue to be convinced that this process will be teamrollered through by those elements of government who have orchestrated it, to ensure that the Hotel is acquired by the government’s chosen party, without us having recourse to any defense or protection whatsoever.”

Seychelles supreme court ruling questioned – Afrol News

afrol News, 16 July – Seychelles Supreme Court has delivered a shock ruling granting for liquidation of Ailee Development Corporation Limited (ADC), the company owning Seychelles largest tourist resort, in favour of government which own minority shares of only 8 percent in the company.

Acting Chief Justice Ranjun Perera ruling which has set precedence in Seychelles justice system for minority shareholder call for liquidation, has shocked majority shareholders of the company, who have said that the court proceedings were bias…

UPDATED: Seychelles Blog Fire Broadside!

“We are all up in arms (metaphorically speaking) here in the Seychelles. Actually, the whole thing was orchestrated by one of the shareholders (not Mark, who is local) in conjunction with the government. The plan is to sell all the shares to this one shareholder, who is the foreign investor. This investor wanted to buy out the local, but he didn’t want to sell, hence the wheeler-dealing with the government.

It’s the foreign investors who are actually getting away with all kinds of shenanigans, so it is unlikely to stop them from investing. Many are even getting citizenship if they buy here, which is encouraging all sorts of unsavoury types to settle here and wash their dirty money with “investments”. The locals are the ones suffering, as prices are being pushed up and nobody can afford land or investments any more.

Interesting blog, btw. I didn’t know Barbados was also a banana republic like ours.”

… from Louise at Living In Seychelles Blog

Hi Louise!

Sweetheart, you might be on the other side of the world, but you are one fine looking woman!

Clive

UPDATED: Pastor Jippy Doyle – Barbados Child Sex Trial Finally Starts After 7 Years – Police Witness Died Weeks Ago!

UPDATED: Jippy Doyle Convicted – Story Here

BFP’s original story…

Disgusting Delay Undermines Justice System In Barbados

Now that one of the key witnesses in the child sex charges of Pastor Jippy Doyle died, it is finally convenient to have the trial.

In May, 2001, Royal Barbados Police Sergeant Stephen Adamson collected important forensic evidence at the time of the alleged sexual assault of a 13 year old girl by Pastor Jippy Doyle.

Over seven years later, the Jippy Doyle child-sex trial has started, but Sergeant Adamson’s evidence was read by someone else because he died a few weeks ago on June 1, 2008.

Oh well, at least it is not as bad as, say, a ten year delay in a child rape charge…

See BFP’s article Child Rape Haven Barbados – 12-Year-Old Girl Raped Ten Years Ago, No Trial For Ten Years – Defense Lawyers Succeed In Subverting Courts

Does anyone else get the feeling that the judges, lawyers, witnesses and accused are but scripted actors in a play, with Barbados as the audience and Justice as the understudy that never takes the stage?

Also read: Another Barbados Child Rape With No Trial For Seven Years!

Barbados National Trust Votes To Leave Nelson’s Statue Where It Is

Yesterday, Wednesday, July 23, 2008, Prime Minister Thompson spoke at the the 48th Annual General Meeting of the Barbados National Trust.

The PM took some surprising positions, speaking favourably about the 2003 Amended Physical Development Plan passed by the previous Arthur/Mottley BLP Government. (!) This is especially interesting because Mr. Thompson as then-leader of the Opposition walked out during the discussion and subsequent vote concerning the plan.

Perhaps now that the corrupt piggies in the DLP have control of the development, they have persuaded the Prime Minister that the plan is excellent if the DLP instead of the BLP are now able to profit from it.

Of course, Barbados has no laws against a government official – elected or appointed – profiting on the side from their office. That was in the Ministerial Code that David Thompson promised to adopt from the day he was sworn in, but failed to do so when an internal rebellion in the party forced him to put aside the idea of integrity, transparency and accountability legislation. (ITAL)

Richard Goddard – We Need A Dozen More Like Him

Also at the meeting, our old friend Richard Goddard upset or pleased more than a few folks when he proposed four resolutions, including that Admiral Nelson’s Statue should remain right where it is. That proposal was approved by a majority of those present.

You can read a first hand account of the meeting (with photo) at Keltruth Blog’s Barbados National Trust Discusses Controversial Issues After PM Thompson Speaks

Wall Street Journal Covers Corrupt VECO – But Misses Barbados Connection

The Wall Street Journal has an excellent little summary piece of how VECO Corporation bribed politicians in Alaska as a normal part of doing business. (WSJ article here)

Where the WSJ article fails, is that it doesn’t mention the fact that VECO had a 10-year relationship with many BLP politicians in Barbados – where it built the oil terminal and the new Barbados prison.

Jim Carlton wrote the WSJ article. Perhaps someone should send him an email telling him to turn his thoughts to Barbados. Here we don’t have any crooked politicians. That must be true because former Attorney General Dale Marshall “investigated” the VECO bribery charges in Alaska for about 15 minutes and then announced that VECO had been on the up and up with Barbados so there was no need for a more formal inquiry.

Thanks, Dale!

Here is Jim Carlton’s contact info…  jim.carlton@wsj.com

United States Embassy Says Barbados Banks Laundering Drug Money!

Keltruth Blog Transforms From Boring To BLAST!

We don’t know what has happened to our friends at Keltruth Blog, but they have transformed their image from “stuck on a single issue boring” to a hard-hitting Barbados political and social blog that presents well-researched, take-no-prisoners articles on a wide range of interesting topics.

In the last week alone, Keltruth Blog stories have covered…

– Skin cancer dangers for people with dark complexions

– Barbados lawyer Gittens Clyde Turney threatening a witness in a Barbados court.

– What is organized crime costing the taxpayers of Barbados?

– Black liberation theology (The theology of Barack Obama’s former pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright)

– Money Laundering techniques used by the corrupt.

– How some of the Barbados lawyers and politicians robbed a blind old lady of her land.

– An ancient tablet in Jerusalem ignites debate on Messiah and Resurrection.

New Keltruth Series Slams Barbados Police, Banks & Government

A few days ago, Keltruth Blog posted a story of how the Royal Barbados Police Force are slacking in drug enforcement – with drug charges down by 91% in the past 3 years! Keltruth’s source was the US Government that released enforcement statistics the Barbados Police refused to release to the public! (HA HA HA!)

Keltruth says that the response to that article was “Tremendous” and we believe them because we linked to the post and sent over a thousand of our readers yesterday morning alone.

Today, Keltruth delivers another broadside against Barbados corruption and institutional incompetence with the news that the United States Embassy in Barbados says that Barbados banks are laundering drug money!

Apparently, diplomats are not supposed to say such things about their host country, or at least be a little more gentle, but maybe the United States is getting a little cranky with the ineffectiveness of our police and the lack of financial crimes investigations.

Read it for yourself in the Keltruth article: US Government – Barbados Banks Can’t Stop Drug Dealers’ Money Laundering!

Whatever is happening over at Keltruth… keep it up. We love it!

Judging by the many thousands of Barbados Free Press readers who have followed story links to Keltruth Blog in the last few weeks alone, it can truly be said that Barbados now has three hard-hitting major blogs. (Barbados Underground, Keltruth Blog, Barbados Free Press)

When the dozens of smaller blogs are added into the equation it is obvious that our island has developed an extremely active and vibrant blogging community that is having real impact in many areas of society. Certainly the two major political parties wouldn’t even have mentioned the words “Integrity Legislation” without the efforts of Barbados bloggers.

Already Barbados Free Press alone far exceeds the online daily readership of the two newspapers with websites: Nation News and Barbados Advocate. Who knows where this will all be in another two years?

Free Speech Rules!

And to tempt us all, Keltruth Blog posted this little teaser about an article not-yet-published…

Coming: Shocking Scandal involving Bank with Barbados HQ.

… coming article at Keltruth Blog