Reudon Eversley Says “Coincidence” – We Believe Him (But Ask A Question)
The former Communications Director for the DLP Election Campaign says he didn’t plagiarise our work – it was just a coincidence. OK, we not only accept that, we truly believe him.
We also believed Mr. Eversley when as Campaign Communications Director he sent us written promises by the DLP that they would do certain things upon being elected.
Here is Mr. Eversley’s comment about not stealing our work, and our response to him – followed by the original article as first published…
Reudon A Eversley
March 8, 2008 at 1:47 pm GMT
So BFP is accusing me of plagiarism. How interesting! As someone who has gone relatively far in the world of academia, it’s a most serious charge indeed and will not go unanswered. I have never been afraid to set the record straight on this site before and I certainly will not be on this occasion.
Today, Saturday, is the first time for this week that I really have had a chance to browse through BFP or any other Bajan blog for that matter. I’ve been out of town too busily engaged in other activities. However, I always check the NATION online first thing every morning when I am away and, reading Arthur’s fulminations last Monday, he immediately came across as behaving like Don Quixote. So I decided there and then that it would be the subject of my Nation column for this week. The article was drafted Monday night, finetuned on Tuesday, and submitted early on Wednesday to satisfy the deadline.
It just happens to be a coincidence that BFP also compared Arthur with Don Quixote. FYI (and the intention is not to boast), I can write with some authority about Don Quixote, as I read the Miguel Cervantes classic in the original Spanish. You see, I was a Spanish student who still speak the language and maintains an active interest in Spanish culture, especially in relation to Latin America.
You, therefore, are unknowingly — as opposed to maliciously which I would never you accuse you of — trying to make a mountain out of a molehill with this issue regarding the comparison with Don Quixote de la Mancha — the character’s full and proper name. You should not be in the dark now as I think I have succeeded in makingh my position pellucidly clear.
As always, best wishes and kindest regards to you.
*********************
BFP Says,
Good morning Reudon.
We were wondering if you were away as we thought you’d jump right in to say something one way or the other.
OK… we accept your position that it was a coincidence and we’ll make a note up in the article to put your position forward. Not that this one incident will absolve the Nation News from all the other times they stole stories from us without attribution – of which there are many incidents documented previously.
As far as “mountains out of molehills” – around here we fully admit, embrace and enjoy a rather tabloid style to go along with our serious theme of demanding integrity, transparency and accountability from our government and media. So no offense taken and of course, our best wishes to you too.
And, I’m sure you would agree that our combination of tabloid style and serious content worked out rather well for the DLP in January.
Now… while we have your attention, we’ve been a little disappointed in the new DLP governments failure to live up to promises made during the campaign about the integrity initiatives.
We’ve been holding back a bit to give the new PM and his team a chance to settle in, but frankly we are seeing some very disturbing signs of late.
For today though, we’d like your comment regarding one integrity initiative that was promised IMMEDIATELY after a DLP government took office: the Ministerial Code.
In your January 3, 2008 letter to BFP you clearly stated that the Ministerial Code would be implemented “immediately” upon the government being elected. This was distinct from other initiatives that were to be within 100 days. Also, this is not something that needs to be debated or voted upon: it is simply the government declaring what the rules are for Ministers.
So… why hasn’t the Ministerial Code been declared and released to the public? Did David Thompson not mean what he said?
Make no mistake, Reudon. The government’s failure to follow through with this single very simple initiative is viewed by most folks as an indication that the government’s talk of integrity was indeed a last-minute “cut and paste” election lie.
Marcus, Robert, Cliverton, Shona, George and Auntie Moses
Original Article As First Published…
“(Owen Arthur’s) grandstanding seems a desperate attempt to find relevance in his post-prime ministerial life. However, in declaring war on the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government, he comes across more like the fictional character Don Quixote, who was all bark but no bite…”
Reudon Eversley’s latest piece in The Nation News Reflections – Arthur’s quixotic war is just the latest incident where the Nation News has lifted a story or article idea from Barbados Free Press without attribution.
Oh well. I suppose we shall have to be continue to be content knowing that, according to quantcast.com, Barbados Free Press has at least double the online readership of The Nation News. (quantcast’s figures are way low – but we presume with a uniform error)
That should be embarrassing to senior management at the, er, “newspaper” – but they don’t seem to care about professional standards anyway, so perhaps they aren’t bothered.
Our first-published Arthur-as-Quixote piece: Barbados Nation News: “Owen Arthur Declares War On DLP Government”
BFP reader’s suggestion of Arthur-as-Quixote – see Sentinel’s poem Owen On Dee Warpath
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Barbados Free Press 
