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How Owen Arthur manages his guilt

“One way corrupt people manage their guilt is to give some of their ill gotten booty to charity. The corrupt delude themselves into thinking that their God would not only forgive them for stealing if they give some to the poor but he might even bless them with even bigger opportunities to illegally pocket state funds once they give something to the lucky poor and chosen political party rather than squander all on high-rises in Florida, European vacations, big cars, Ten Cane Rum, and outside women.”

… from This Beach Called Life’s post Managing Corruption in Trinidad and Tobago

“A group of 41 former cricketers from Barbados, including some famous names, is clubbing together to help former team-mates who have fallen on hard times… Prime Minister Owen Arthur, an ardent cricket fan, has personally donated US$150,000, an amount that has been matched by local hoteliers.”

“… think about the wealth it takes to give away US$150,000.”

… from BFP’s January 15, 2008 article A Reminder On Election Day: Prime Minister Owen Arthur Personally Donates US$150,000 In After Tax Income To…

Surprise Inquest called into Barbados Arch Cot cave deaths

UPDATED: October 10, 2010

Also see BREAKING STORY: Intimidation of witnesses to keep silent! Witnesses fear arson, violence & job loss if they testify.

Original story published October 9, 2010…

Barbados government yields to citizen pressure, but…

Will we see a proper inquest, or a carefully choreographed event?

An inquest has been called into the August 2007 deaths of five members of the Codrington family – killed when their home was swallowed into a collapsing cave at Arch Cot, Brittons Hill.

The short notice of only 10 days between the public announcement of the inquest and the October 18, 2010 start date is raising some concerns.

Relatives and friends of the Codringtons, aided by other citizens, foreign experts and the blogs, have been calling for an inquest for three years. With one rare exception, and then only after much shaming, the Barbados news media largely ignored the issue. Many people on and off this island believe the lack of media interest is directly related to important people being involved in various ways with the land, home, collapse and rescue efforts.

Issues raised at Barbados Free Press and other venues include:

– Sale and ownership history of the land.

– The mysterious removal of a “no building” clause on the land title.

– The building of the home on a known cave.

– Ownership history after the home was built.

– Construction work nearby that may have led to the collapse.

– A stop work order at the nearby construction site when cracks started to appear near the home, an engineering survey and the subsequent decision to lift the stop work order.

– The rescue team took several hours to arrive at the scene, and hardly anything was done for several more hours. These were the most crucial hours to save lives, yet they passed with nary anything being done!

– Decisions made at the scene by emergency responders that may or may not have caused the deaths of some members of the Codrington family who may have still been alive after the initial collapse.

– The lack of equipment and training for emergency workers.

– The lack of proper laws, building codes, inspections and site assessment requirements in Barbados and how this lawlessness contributed to the deaths.

– BREAKING STORY: Intimidation of witnesses to keep silent! Witnesses fear arson, violence & job loss if they testify.

Barbados Attorney General announced Inquest results 3 years ago on August 31, 2007

Scientology looking for converts in Barbados

Strange Scientology beliefs: Galactic confederacy and humans possessed by the ghosts of aliens

There are a series of “motivational” commercials now being played before the standard ads and trailers at Olympus Cinemas.

These commercials have high production quality but are relatively corny with themes that at first seem biblical (don’t be promiscuous, honour your parents), then stray off the usual commandments agenda (take care of yourself, be temperate.)

They are sponsored by “thewaytohappiness.org”, which if you follow the link yourself you will see is a website for “a common-sense guide to better living” based on 21 precepts written by L Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology.