Mega-Disaster oil spill hits Southern USA – Lessons for Caribbean small island nations

The end of the world for many southern USA coastal communities

Unless you’ve been on the planet Mars or in Dodds Prison for the last few days, you know that a BP oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, USA exploded, caught fire and is spewing 5000 barrels of oil a day into the already-not-pristine waters of the Caribbean.

An oil slick the size of the state of West Virginia is starting to come ashore and threatens all along the southern USA coast from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama to Florida. The Mississippi River is covered with oil a mile up from the coast and that’s just the start.

This is the end of the world for many coastal communities because as we saw with the Exxon Valdez in Alaska and the Shell Oil spill in Barbados these disasters kill everything for decades.

President Obama has declared a national emergency and sent in the military to do what they can do, but the magnitude of the spill means that only God could now prevent the total destruction of fisheries and tourism on thousands of miles of coastline.

“BP suggested in a 2009 exploration plan and environmental impact analysis for the well that an accident leading to a giant crude oil spill — and serious damage to beaches, fish and mammals — was unlikely, or virtually impossible.

The Coast Guard estimates now that at least 1.6 million gallons of oil have spilled since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers. The environmental catastrophe could eclipse the Exxon Valdez disaster, when an oil tanker spilled 11 million gallons off Alaska’s shores in 1989.”

… from the AP news story BP plan deemed major spill from Gulf well unlikely

Blame Game doesn’t matter right now

Some news stories indicate that the oil rig in question had major problems and safety violations for some time prior to the disaster. Some stories say that the oil rig was an older technology and that the operators were reckless. Some say that the rig met standards (whatever they are) but that nothing at sea is guaranteed 100% safe and secure.

Only the last statement about nothing at sea being 100% safe and secure is obviously true, but none of that matters to the poor folks along the coast who are seeing their lives destroyed. We know from past experience that any lawsuits will take two decades or more to settle. We know from past experience that committee after committee will perform study after study while tens of thousands lose their homes, jobs and businesses. Families will disperse. Lifetimes, even generations, of toil and sacrifice will be destroyed.

But BP British Petroleum will do alright because no doubt the rig was owned and operated by sub-companies with limited assets and even thinner insurance coverage and liability. BP will do alright because the politicians of the United States of America put the long term interests of the ordinary people and the nation secondary to the great god of MONEY and PROFIT.

All of which leads us to former Barbados Minister of Energy and the Environment Elizabeth Thompson.

During her tenure as Environment Minister, Elizabeth Thompson took the lead in auctioning off oil exploration areas around Barbados to multi-national oil companies. The Bajan news media proclaimed exaggerated benefits and mentioned no downside to this sell-a-thon of Bajan sovereignty.

Unnoticed and unmentioned by Liz Thompson and the Bajan news media though, was the fact that Barbados has no environmental legislation, regulations or enforcement organisation to police the oil companies. This disaster that will do so much damage along the US coast could easily have happened to our  beaches.

Imagine the slaughter of our economy if this happened to Barbados!

The days of “let the oil companies do what they want” should be long gone, but as we’ve seen with the Shell Oil pipeline spill along our south coast, our politicians for some reason seem to favour the polluting oil companies over our country’s future.

I wonder why that is? (He said knowingly…)

The oil spill disaster along the southern US coast should be a wake-up call to Bajan citizens. Hear the message well, my friends: our politicians are putting their own interests first over Barbados, and they can do so much damage if we allow them to act without the oversight of average citizens who are concerned for our children’s futures.

Anti-Obama Tea Party cruise conceals Haiti destination as “Hispaniola”

UPDATED: September 16, 2010

Since we first published this article over five months ago, World Net Daily has continued to mislead its readers and “Tea Party at Sea” attendees as to the true destination of the cruise. The word “Haiti” is still not mentioned in the WND.com adverts about the cruise – despite this article and our email to Joseph Farah of World Net Daily back in April. In our email (below) we asked Mr. Farah to tell his Tea Party folks the truth so they might be moved to help the Haitian people.

Nope, Mr. Farah kept silent.

Poor show, Mr. Farah. Frankly, we expected much better from you and WND.com.

And… the Wall Street Journal read our article and then published their take on the story on September 15, 2010 without mentioning BFP or our plea for WND to assist the Haitian people.

Poor show, Wall Street Journal. We know you visited Barbados Free Press during your research several days before you published your article.

Mr. Farah and World Net Daily responded to the Wall Street Journal article but not to ours or our email.

Ho hum. At least CNN, USA Today and many other news organisations have mentioned Barbados Free Press when they use our material or ideas.

World Net Daily: Wall Street Journal: Boycott Haiti

Wall Street Journal: Tea Party Goes to Haiti

Original article first published April 6, 2010…

Will World Net Daily WND.com tell the truth about cruise destination and Royal Caribbean’s exploitation of Haitians?

The right-wing conservative website World Net Daily (wnd.com) is holding a “Tea Party at Sea” cruise this September that features a host of anti-Obama speakers and seminars.

Tea Partiers (is that a real word?) are invited to “Enlist Now!” to sail on the Royal Caribbean ship Liberty of the Seas and to “…be on board with the most freedom-embracing and liberty-loving navy at sea: the WND Navy and the Tea Party at Sea!”

Joseph Farah

World Net Daily supporters, editor Joseph Farah and other “birthers” are engaged in an ongoing campaign to discredit President Barack Obama and his political and social agenda. One of their tactics is their claim that the man Americans elected to the White House in November 2008 does not meet the US Constitutional qualifications to be President.

Well, okay – if people want to waste so much time, energy and money pursuing that doomed-to-fail agenda, that is their right. God knows one of the things we really admire about the USA is the protection of freedom of speech – which is quite contrary to the situation in Barbados where the truth is no defense against the defamation lawsuits, threats and job loss that Bajans often suffer if they are effective in criticizing the political and business elites.

But while WND.com World Net Daily claims to be in search of the truth, they are not telling the truth about where their Tea Party at Sea cruise is heading. The Tea Partiers will be frolicking on a beach in Haiti – protected from the starving Haitian children by layers of barbed wire and shotgun-toting guards.

Barbadian Engineer: United Nations turned away Caribbean professional assistance in Haiti

Updated: December 9, 2010

The recent stories about Haiti’s political troubles and the UN being fingered for causing the recent outbreak of cholera bring us back to this story about the the UN’s refusal to use Caribbean engineers after the January 2010 earthquake.

We haven’t seen much progress in Haiti since the earthquake – with millions still camped in the open. We wonder about all the aid pledges and foreign assistance on the ground. Have things returned to “normal” with the rest of the Caribbean and the world content with the state of affairs? If Haiti wasn’t an island but was instead a part of Florida, would the response be the same?

Here’s our original article. Perhaps Bajan professional engineer Grenville Phillips II can provide an update from his perspective…

“15th January 2010 – I contacted the Secretary General of the Caribbean Council of Engineering Organisations (CCEO), and the Chairman of the Caribbean Division of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) about surveying their members for a possible deployment…. we soon had a long list of Caribbean based structural engineers who volunteered to be deployed in Haiti, to help their fellow Caribbean brothers and sisters in their time of desperate need.”

… from the Weighed in the Balance article Haiti Deployment

What was the UN’s agenda in ignoring Caribbean Professionals?

The day after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Bajan professional engineer Grenville Phillips II started organising Caribbean structural engineers for deployment to Haiti to assist in evaluating the thousands of damaged schools, hospitals and other public buildings and to train Haitian engineers to perform the same task.

Short story: When Grenville arrived in Haiti, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) told Phillips (and through him the other Caribbean structural engineers) that their services were not needed and were not welcome.

Canadian authorities reject Barbados investigation of Concordia sinking

“But don’t expect the Barbadians to find fault. Three years ago, Barbados Maritime Ship Registry (BMSR) issued new guidelines for investigators of marine accidents. As the BMSR announced, the guidelines were introduced “to ensure that general marine investigations conducted on behalf of a flag state are focused on understanding the cause of an incident rather than simply apportioning blame. BMSR Principal Registrar Chris Sawyer believes that the culture of blame has become too prevalent in marine casualty investigations.

BMSR championed the priority of “learning from accidents.” While that is a fine goal, we tend to learn plenty when we figure out who if anyone is responsible for serious incidents like the Concordia’s loss. Too often in modern tragedies involving sailing ships, blame has been fobbed off on an act of God, with formal inquiries absolving ships, crews and owners of any responsibility, even when there is ample evidence of poor design, poor seamanship and other deficiencies.”

… from the National Post newspaper article The problem with flags of convenience

…the Transportation Safety Board of Canada decided to conduct a parallel investigation into this accident independently of the Barbadian investigation. The TSB made the decision to investigate because the scope and methodology used to uncover causes and contributing factors will likely be different than that of the Barbados authority. Meanwhile, in accordance with the provisions of international conventions, the TSB remains committed to providing assistance to the Barbados authority as it proceeds with its investigation.

… from a media release by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada

The Canadians shouldn’t be so smug & self-righteous

Let’s get one thing straight: the Canadians have a right to investigate whatever they please. After all, the Concordia was based in Canada, owned by a Canadian school and the majority of people on board were Canadians. The Canadians can make any inquiries they wish.

But Barbados has a duty in law to investigate the sinking of a Barbados-flagged vessel and our country shall investigate professionally according to our standards.

The Canadian authorities were happy enough to allow a Bajan “flag of convenience” on a vessel based in their country, so they might want to be a little careful criticizing Barbados now.

Even Canada’s former Prime Minister Paul Martin has his commercial cargo ships headquarters in Barbados!

As to standards for the sailing vessel Concordia, she was built for the Canadians in Poland, first registered in the Bahamas and then in Barbados. The Canadian authorities inspected her last year to allow the vessel to participate in a tall ship rally in Canada.

Online conversations we’ve read at various tallship sailing forums describe the confusion, lapses and conflicts over stability standards for sailing school ships. From what I’ve seen Canada doesn’t even have any construction or stability standards for tall ships so the Canadian authorities should drop their self-righteousness and disdain for Barbados that is inherent in their press release.

Further Reading

BFP Feb 20, 2010: Barbados will lead investigation into sinking of sailing vessel Concordia

BFP Feb 21, 2010: Barbados Maritime Ship Registry to investigate rescue delay of Concordia Survivors

It also turns out that Wojtek (Voytec) Wacowski, a crew member of the Tall Ship Amistad that visited Barbados in 2008, previously served as Chief Mate on the Concordia…

BFP April 14, 2008: Amistad Official Website Features Barbados Free Press Article

Chile: Massive 8.8 Earthquake This Morning

Tsunami warnings issued over a wide area as far away as Japan

SANTIAGO, Chile – A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, killing at least 78 people, collapsing buildings and setting off a tsunami.

A huge wave reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles (660 kilometers) off the Chilean coast, said President Michele Bachelet.
Tsunami warnings were issued over a wide area, including South America, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Russia and many Pacific islands.

“It has been a devastating earthquake,” Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma told reporters.

… from the AP article 8.8-magnitude earthquake hits central Chile

You can get your updates at Drudge Report

Barbados will lead investigation into sinking of sailing vessel Concordia

UPDATE on Concordia sinking:

– Captain says “a miracle” that everyone survived.

– Micro-burst: Ship went from upright to sinking in 15 or 20 seconds before Mayday could be sent. 30 hours in lifeboats

“The ship had gone from sailing upright to being on her side in the water in about 15 or 20 seconds,” William Curry said. “I knew, of course, that the blow to the ship was fatal and that she was not going to right.”

…The gust that knocked the ship on its side came so suddenly there was no time to radio for help before all communications equipment was submerged and ruined. So hope rested on a distress beacon that launched automatically when the vessel capsized.”

… from the AP article Shipwrecked students feared remote death at sea

BFP’s original story below with added video at end…

All rescued after school vessel capsized & sank off Brazil on Thursday

Barbados will be responsible for carrying out an investigation into the rough-weather sinking of the sailing vessel Concordia because the ship was registered in our country. According to Transport Canada spokesman Steve Bone, these are rules even though the ship was based in Lunenburg, Canada and was owned by a Canadian school “Class Afloat”.

A total of 64 crew and students took to the lifeboats and were rescued about 500kms off the coast of Brazil. A Brazilian Navy report says the vessel turned upside down in strong winds and that the survivors were picked up after spending almost 24 hours adrift in their lifeboats.

I can’t imagine what it would take to perform a proper investigation into the sinking, but presumably our officials would have to interview all crew and many of the students. The vessel was built eighteen years ago in Poland and there have probably been changes since then. Perhaps videos or photos from past cruises would be helpful.

The news media says that the vessel had a good reputation for being seaworthy and was seriously inspected last year by Canadian authorities as a requirement to allow the ship to travel between Canadian ports as part of a Tall Ship festival.

In 1996 an explosion on board caused the death of a student en route to Australia. There is no indication in the media as to whether Barbados officials investigated that event.

I presume that Barbados will be responsible for the entire cost of the current investigation as it just goes with the job if our country is in the business of offering itself as a flag of convenience to offshore vessel owners.

Thank the Lord there were no deaths because then we’d really have to pull out all the stops for an investigation and in a worst-case disaster that could be expensive.

Now there’s a question: How much does Barbados receive every year for allowing vessels to use our flag? How many vessels and how much money per vessel? What are the expenses to run such a registration system? And what about vessels that default on payment? What does Barbados do then?

It seems to me that the answers to those questions would make an interesting story.

Thanks to an old friend for sending us this video of the ship and its mission…

Further Reading

Chronicle Herald Nova Scotia: Canadian agency won’t play big role in probe

Vancouver Sun: Canadian ship sinks off Brazil, all aboard rescued

The Globe and Mail: First rescued Canadians dock in Rio

Preparing for the worst – Some implications of a major earthquake on Trinidad & Tobago

Afra Raymond looks Lessons from Haiti

We have all looked on in horror at the scenes of destruction and human suffering, experienced by our Caribbean neighbours in Haiti as a result of the strong earthquake on 12th January.  Coming after the horror and attempts to assist, my mind shifted to the possibility of such a disaster in our country.  That prompted me to attend the seminar organized by the Association of Professional Engineers of T&T (APETT) and the T&T Contractors’ Association (TTCA) at Crowne Plaza on Wednesday 3rd February.  The seminar was excellent and such was the content that this week I am setting aside the other important matters with which I have been dealing.

The Structural situation

We heard several presentations from engineers and the President of the TTCA which set out the structural situation.  Some of the main points emerging there were that we are at significant risk because –

“An approved national building code does not exist at this time, designers use building codes with which they are familiar,” Darryl Thomson, a standards officer at the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS), said during his presentation.

“I would think generally we are not (prepared) and we need to seriously look at what we are doing and change the way we do business where the built environment is concerned,” President of TTCA, Mikey Joseph said.

Past-President of APETT, Mark Francois, told us of estimated multi-billion dollar damage to buildings if a natural disaster were to hit our main cities. “Potential building economic loss … in Port of Spain was of the order of US$5 billion and in San Fernando US$6 billion” Francois said.

Francois went on to make 3 other important points – firstly, as a former British colony, our professionals had used British Standards up until the late 1960s, with the risk to us being that, since the British Isles are not prone, those standards did not take account of earthquakes.  As a result, he stated that major parts of our civil infrastructure, upon which we would rely in a disaster, were not designed or built to withstand earthquakes.  His example of the POS General Hospital being one such structure was sobering.  Secondly, he stated that building plans are being certified by engineers who do not posses the necessary qualifications in structural work and that he had done assignments to re-design some of those ‘certified’ plans.  Thirdly, he dealt with the well-known practice of engaging personnel employed with the regulatory authorities to draw plans for buildings and obtain permission.  This begs the question as to how could a public employee on such a ‘PJ’ fail to pass their own plans.

These quotes were drawn from the Trinidad Express story on Friday 5th February.

The Seismic situation

The speaker on this aspect was Dr. Walter Salazar, Senior Research Fellow at the Seismic Research unit at UWI.  The three main points from his presentation were firstly, that our country is indeed at similar risk as Haiti in terms of a strong earthquake.  Secondly, the most likely areas for the strongest earthquakes are Tobago and the north-west peninsula of Trinidad, particularly Chaguaramus.  Thirdly, we are now overdue for that strong earthquake.

The disaster-preparedness situation

The head of our Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), Col. George Robinson has confirmed, in light of natural public concerns, that our systems are in place to deal with such an earthquake.  Knowing the individual, there is little doubt in my mind that the necessary diligence has been applied to developing solid systems.

What is the likely financial impact?

My concerns as to our level of earthquake-preparedness are rooted elsewhere and that is at the level of the ‘financial safety-net’ upon which we would rely in the event of such a disaster.  Our low national savings rates have long been a concern of economists/financial experts.  We do not save enough money, in the view of these experts, to propel our country’s journey to the next level of national development.  My concern is the implied question of how we would cope with a destructive earthquake.

Add to that the fact that only a small fraction of our buildings are properly insured and a worrying element to the disaster-preparedness picture starts to emerge.

Aside from the structural concerns and seismic risks as outlined above, there is a question as to the nature and extent of our financial safety-net.  Where will we find the money to rebuild?  Our lending institutions need effective systems to ensure that the properties they hold as security are properly insured.

Such an earthquake would also damage our infrastructure – roads, water and electrical distribution systems, drains and so on.

As a consequence, even if your own property is undamaged or properly-insured, you could also suffer from the wider damage.  If your entire neighbourhood is severely-damaged, apart from the issue of loss of life and physical injury, there would be a negative effect on the value of your property.

This issue affects everyone.

Some suggestions

I am suggesting that this is an issue which needs our urgent attention and that the private sector can take the lead.  The Association of Trinidad & Tobago Insurance Companies (ATTIC) and the Bankers’ Association of Trinidad & Tobago (BATT) can take a leadership position here.  One way forward could be for the insurance and banking sectors to agree, in their self-interest, a minimum code for design and construction with APETT and the TTCA.  That would be one way to set a benchmark in terms of proper standards for all financed or insured construction going forward.

In terms of existing privately-owned building owners, the Central Bank should consider adding a component on the importance of proper insurance to their National Financial Literacy Programme.

The other urgent requirement is the retro-fitting of our major public buildings to meet the challenge of these overdue earthquakes.

Thank you to APETT and the TTCA for organising this important intervention.

Afra Raymond is a Chartered Surveyor, Managing Director of Raymond & Pierre Limited and President of the Institute of Surveyors of Trinidad & Tobago.  Feedback can be sent to afra@raymondandpierre.com.

Afra Raymond also writes a blog: Afra Raymond’s blog

Photo courtesy of the Real Hope for Haiti Rescue Center blog

Cover-Up In Barbados: Inquest Into Deaths Of Hugh Springer & I’Akobi Maloney – But No Inquest Into Codrington Family Deaths

Too Many Big Names Involved So No Inquest Called: Family Died When Home Collapsed Into Known Cave

An inquest, however unsatisfactory, was held into the death of I’Akobi Maloney while in police custody. An inquest has been announced into the death of Hugh Springer – an innocent passerby shot in the back of the head by a police officer.

But no inquest has been called into the death of an entire family who died because of actions taken or not taken by corrupt and/or incompetent government officials, engineers, developers and greedy landowners.

Why call inquests into suspicious, unusual or controversial deaths like Hugh Springer or I’Akobi Maloney and not into the deaths of an entire family where evidence of wrong-doing has already come to light at BFP and in the Barbados Advocate?

Stupid question. Too many big names involved in the Codrington family deaths. This is Barbados and we only do inquests or other public enquiries when it is safe and convenient. Rule of law be damned.

There are many villains who must bear responsibility for the deaths of an entire Barbados family whose members died after their house fell into a collapsing cave at Arch Cot. Horrifically, we know that members of the Codrington family did not die all at the same time. As he was trapped in the rubble, Donavere (the father) talked to people at the scene after the initial event. Some of the children could be heard screaming for a time.

Although we have been denied a public inquest by two successive governments, Bajans now know some of what happened thanks to the efforts of Hans Machel, Richard Goddard and a handful of others who, unlike Barbados politicians, still care about the truth and the public good. No thanks to the professional Barbados news media who are (or were, in the case of the Barbados Advocate) part of the cover-up to protect the members of the Bajan nobility who murdered the Codringtons…

… from the Barbados Free Press article Expert: Arch Cot Cave-In Victims May Have Been Killed By Wrong Decisions, Actions and Inaction By Barbados Emergency Officials

Swine Flu Cruise Ship Refused By Grenada – Heading For Barbados… Now What?

UPDATE: Ocean Dream Denied Barbados Entry – 43 Crew Ill With “Flu-like” Symptoms

A LUXURY CRUISE LINER carrying 43 crew members exhibiting “flu-like symptoms” was denied entry into the Bridgetown Port yesterday. (snip)

When contacted, Minister of Health Donville Inniss said: “The situation was drawn to our attention this afternoon [yesterday] that the vessel was heading to Barbados as its second port of call and that several crew members were ill.

“After consultation with all relevant stakeholders, the decision of the Barbados Government is that this vessel should not make Barbados its next port of call.”

… continue reading this story at The Nation: Sail On By!

Original story…

Ocean Dream Due In Bridgetown – Tuesday, June 16, 2009 8am

Grenadian health authorities on Monday refused to allow the luxury cruise ship “Ocean Dream” to dock after some of the crew and passengers exhibited symptoms of the influenza A (HINI) virus, commonly referred to as Swine Flu.

Public Relations Officer with the Grenada Board of Tourism, Edwin Frank confirmed that the ship, which visits the island on a weekly basis with 1,350 passengers, was refused entry on Monday, but could not say how many persons were affected with the flu-like symptoms…

… from the CBC News article: Grenada turns cruise liner away from port

Barbados Health authorities have been doing much public relations about enhanced employee training and screening at the port and the airport, but when the Ocean Dream arrives in Barbados on Tuesday morning (or maybe before), one person will eventually have to make a decision to turn the ship away or to accept passengers who want to come ashore and see some of Barbados. (Ship’s cruise schedule is here)

If we let the passengers off but Grenada didn’t, does that mean our decision is wrong or theirs? Or can everybody be correct?

Whatever the decision…

Zero risk = zero tourist dollars

BUT… could a bad decision put our families at risk?

I don’t know any of the answers folks, but if July and August are much worse than April, May and June – more than a few businesses might not make it to the high season.

Meanwhile… Let’s go for a cruise on the Pullmantur Ocean Dream…

Readers Say Barbados Arch Cot Cave-In Construction Was A C.O. Williams – Gregory Hazzard Project For Liz Thompson

FEBRUARY 28, 2009 UPDATED: Former Barbados Government Minister Liz Thompson Writes BFP – “I deny that I was involved in any way” with Arch Cot Collapse

“Barbados Free Press, this is the second time I am asking you to publish my comments. You very quickly published lies about my association with Arch Cot but I cannot get you to publish my response to your garbage. Is it because the BFP has no real commitment to the truth and knows that it can damage people’s personal and professional reputations and then hide behind the anonymity of the internet to escape being sued?

I am asking you to give my response the same kind of prominence that you gave to the libellous story. I am making this second attempt because people are asking me if I have seen the BFP story. In the past I have ignored the many untruths which the BFP has published about me but these most recent allegations are extremely serious…”

… continue reading former Government Minister Liz Thompson’s letter and BFP’s response in our article Former Barbados Government Minister Liz Thompson Writes BFP – “I deny that I was involved in any way” with Arch Cot Collapse

Original story…

Rumours Swirling About Daycare Center Construction

My friends, two newspaper articles about the Arch Cot cave-in deaths recently appeared in the local rags known as the Nation and the Barbados Advocate. The Nation article by Phillippe Aimey lamented the government’s inaction in assisting the displaced residents, while the Barbados Advocate published a comprehensive letter from Charles Whittaker asking many of the questions that have been on the front burner for everyone it seems – except the governments of Owen Arthur and David Thompson.

Mr. Whittaker asked most pointedly…

“Will there ever be a coroner’s enquiry or any public enquiry into the tragedy? The more we discuss the events leading up to the fateful cave-in, the more we are convinced that the final tragedy could have been prevented.”

We have all heard the rumours, but have never read any involved names in the news media in the nineteen months since the Codrington family died. It is disgusting that two successive Barbados governments and the island media are apparently more concerned with protecting big names and political elites than in allowing the citizens to know the truth. It is disgusting that two successive Barbados governments have failed to take the steps necessary to prevent a recurrence.

As citizens we have a right to the truth. We DEMAND that the David Thompson government call a PUBLIC inquest – a full and truthful inquest – into the deaths of an entire family.

No Inquest Means Citizens Must Find Other Sources

The rumours have been going on almost since the day of the tragedy and we have no way of knowing if they are true or not. We had hoped that the government would call a public inquest but that is apparently not to be – at least not in any timely fashion. As we’ve pointed out repeatedly in the last three years, Barbados doesn’t do inquests or assign blame, especially if big names are involved.

So we’re going to print the rumours here. They are the same rumours that we’ve all heard and it is time that someone printed them in public – if for no other reason than to force the truth to the surface.

Notice To Anyone Mentioned In This Article

If your name is mentioned in this article as possibly involved in the Arch Cot tragedy and you would like to dispute anything that is said, we would be willing to print your unedited response prominently so it can be read by the same audience that reads this article.

Names We’ve Heard Associated With The Arch Cot Cave-In Deaths

C.O. Williams Construction Ltd.

Elizabeth Thompson

Gregory Hazzard

Mahy, Ridley, Hazzard Engineers Limited

It is rumoured that C.O. Williams Construction Ltd. was doing the digging for a daycare center project for BLP Government Minister Liz Thompson. Gregory Hazzard is rumoured to be the engineer who attended at the construction site and gave the go ahead to resume construction four days before the cave-in. The construction had been halted for a week due to the appearance of large cracks and the loss of a drill bit down a “bottomless hole” that appeared near the Codrington family’s apartment. Mahy, Ridley, Hazzard Engineers Limited are rumoured to be the project’s engineering firm.

Now folks – we are just repeating the rumours we’ve all heard, and once again if these rumours are false or there is more known we want to hear about it like everyone else. If any of the people mentioned want to dispute that they were not involved at all, please write us and we’ll post your comments right here where everyone can read them. You can write to Barbados Free Press at our email address of…  barbadosfreepress@yahoo.com

Here is the letter from Charles Whittaker as published in the Barbados Advocate. We print the complete version because the Barbados Advocate often destroys their archives, presumably so the truth can be changed whenever convenient.

Barbados Awards Oil Rights To Company Responsible For Worst Environmental Mining Disaster!

“Every (year) over the past twenty years, the Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has dumped 80,000 tons of waste into the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers. The result has been an environmental disaster that has destroyed thousands of square kilometers of rainforest and caused terrible hardship for local people…

Australian mining giant BHP Billiton was the major shareholder in Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) and the mine operator until early 2002. At this time, the company handed over its majority stake in OTML to the newly formed and ironically named Sustainable Development Project Company.

This quiet revolution demonstrates the power of transnational corporations in PNG. With the transfer, BHP gained legal indemnity from PNG government action with respect to all the pollution and destruction it has already caused and will cause in the future. The government surrendered its sovereignty, failing to protect its citizens by setting environmental standards and monitoring corporate activities.” … Friends of the Earth International

BHP Billiton Destroyed A Country, Took The Profits And Then Transferred The Mess To Another Company To Limit Ongoing Liability – JUST LIKE SHELL DID IN BARBADOS

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this my friends.

Prime Minister David Thompson and the Democratic Labour Party have just awarded the first Barbados offshore oil exploration rights to a company that does hit and run environmental disasters.

No Rules: Thompson awarded oil contract to a company known to bribe government officials

You know the type of company that goes into a small country and rapes vast areas without a care about destroying the environment? That is BHP Billiton. A company that brings long-term sickness that injures thousands. A company that leaves malformed babies and miscarriages in its wake. Then after they make hundreds of millions, they “sell” the entire operation and leftover mess to some little nothing of a shell company so BHP Billiton can walk away without liability for the disaster.

Then they go to another little country like Barbados, pay lots of bribes and start all over again.

Oh… and here is the BEST PART….

BHP Billiton themselves started as a little company that SHELL OIL used to walk away from an environmental disaster! You know, the same SHELL OIL that walked away from the environmental damage they caused in Barbados with jet fuel. (see To HELL with SHELL – Barbados Boycotts Shell)

That is BHP Billiton.

Full story and many links at Keltruth Blog’s Barbados Awards Offshore Oil-Exploration Rights To Company Responsible For Worst Environmental Disaster

Prime Minister Thompson: I am ashamed that I once supported you and your government.

Expert: Barbados Apartment Collapse Deaths Were Caused By Gross Negligence. Why No Coroner’s Inquest?

Prof. Hans Machel: Family Of Five Died - Nearby Construction Could Have Triggered The Collapse

UPDATED: August 13, 2010 – Approaching the Third Anniversary of the Arch Cott cave-in deaths

Cover-up by Government, Police & Coroner continues

“There is nothing that better illustrates the rot of corruption that infests our country than the fact that a young family of five died due to criminal neglect – and there will be no inquest.”

Now that former Attorney General Dale Marshall is in opposition, he’s incredibly vocal about the need for Government transparency and accountability. When in power though, he and his Barbados Labour Party used every trick in the book and then some to keep Bajans in the dark.

Today as we approach the third anniversary of the Arch Cot building collapse that killed a sleeping family of five, we remember that before the bodies were cold, Dale Marshall held a press conference and announced that the deaths were nobody’s fault, that it could have happened to anyone.

And that, my friends, was as close to an inquest as the political and business elites would allow. The people who died were nobodies, ordinary folks of no means or connections.

The people associated with their deaths are members of the business and political elites. Therefore, no inquest. It’s that simple.

Do you remember the dead? Their faces? Their names?

For the next two weeks let’s remember the victims and consider how they died as best as we can. Let’s remember the ongoing cover-up and the determination by Dale Marshall, Mia Mottley, Owen Arthur, David Thompson and Freundel Stuart that the mass death of five ordinary Bajans was nothing more than a regrettable inconvenience to be forgotten as soon as possible.

Five dead in one preventable happening. Lots of evidence of negligence, incompetence and deliberate criminal acts – but no inquest called by the BLP or the DLP in three years because they chose to protect their fellow elites instead of doing their duty for Barbados.

Our leaders are corrupt, uncaring bastards who NEVER hold fellow elites accountable for anything. Barbados deserves better…

Bajan Fisherman Safe – But What Really Happened With The Barbados Coast Guard?

“Hi Clive. I thought you might be interested in this article. That is not the whole story. I hope the person who went in search of the fisherman will come forward with what really went down. Barbados fisherman adrift, coast guard can’t be reached.”

A friend is hearing rumours about the situation involving the rescue of Barbados fisherman Anthony Gooding who went missing last Friday. Another friend says that the Barbados Coast Guard couldn’t be reached at one point – as in didn’t respond and nobody knew where the pilots were!

What really happened? This is Barbados so if we can’t find the answer on the blogs, we’ll probably never know the truth.

Nation News: Fishman Found Safe In St. Vincent

Fisherman found safe in St Vincent
Published on: 1/6/09.
ANTHONY GOODING is safe and sound and his family is rejoicing.

The 59-year-old fisherman went missing last Friday after what was supposed to be a “day trip” at sea.

When the DAILY NATION arrived at his home at Marine Square, Goodland, St Michael, his wife Winifred was all smiles as she hung up the phone.

“I just talked to him. They have him in St Vincent and he is safe,” she exclaimed.

Although she did not get to talk to him long enough to determine what had been his problem at sea, Winifred said she believed the boat went adrift with some high tides.

“When I didn’t see him back at home on Friday evening, I went to the market looking for him, and after no one had seen him, I called the Coast Guard.

“They searched but they didn’t find him. After that, an island tour plane spotted him 39 miles off the coast of Barbados and alerted the Coast Guard, so I was glad to know someone had seen him, but when they checked again, they still couldn’t find him. By that time I guess he had drifted,” she stated.

Arrangements are being put into place to have him sent back to Barbados, and a happy Winifred said she could not wait to see her husband back at home.

Safety First: Barbados Government Does The Right Thing

Cracks At Wilkie

CRACKS have been found at Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary School and the Ministry of Education has decided to relocate the students and teachers.

Minister of Education Ronald Jones said yesterday the ministry was taking no chances with the “superficial cracks” found in the eastern block, and will be relocating the students so that remedial work can be done on the building.

The minister said the building was 46 years old and its walls were constructed with “coral stone and reinforced block work” and the school was not built to accommodate its present roll of more than 600 students.

“What will be done will be a complete reinforcement of the entire structure where, based on the reports provided, steel girders and things of that ilk, would be used,” Jones said…

… continue reading this article at the Nation (link here)

No Nonsense – School Closed

It is good to see that our new government is capable of making an immediate decision when called for. Somebody obviously went to the school to inspect the cracks and said, “First priority – get the children out”.

That is an entirely different behaviour than we’ve seen over the years from government. There have been times in the last ten years when we thought there wasn’t a bureaucrat on the island with a brain in their head.

To the person who first made the decision to close the school and then sold it up the ladder: well done!

Too bad they weren’t one of the consultants who were engaged when cracks started appearing in the building that eventually fell into the cave-in and killed the Codrington family back in August of 2007.

Pet Kidney Failures: Tainted Pet Food Still Killing Pets In Barbados?

“I thought that the tainted Chinese pet food scandal was over, but then two dogs from the same household died within days of each other – both from kidney failure! This happened in Barbados. Later, I was speaking to a friend in Canada, and his sister’s cat had just died from unexplained kidney failure. If your pet was lethargic (without energy), vomiting, and then died from kidney failure it is possible that it may have eaten either melamine-tainted food or possibly a medication like aspirin. (Rat poison (Warfarin) has very different symptoms like bleeding.)…”

… from the Keltruth Blog major article Did your pet die suddenly from kidney failure? Tainted petfood could be the cause.

Keltruth Blog Looks At Tainted Human & Pet Food Ingredients From China

Our friends at Keltruth Blog have published a well researched major article on pet-food deaths in Barbados and elsewhere – along with a look at the poisoned ingredients that made it into the human food chain during the China poisoned food scandal.

Upon reading their article, we have to agree – it is not over yet, folks.

Are any pet foods in Barbados affected? How can you protect yourself, your family and your pets?

Keltruth Blog has some of the answers in a well-researched and easy-reading story LINK HERE.

Previous BFP article: Chinese Pet Food Poison Found In USA Human Food Chain

Photo: Our sympathies to Aliza Sherman in Anchorage, Alaska who lost her beloved Chewie to a mysterious illness. She blogged about looking after her pet in Chewie’s final days at Cyber Chewie – Caring For A Dying Dog