“He (Thompson) congratulated Jada Builders, who are to carry out the construction, noting that projects like the new marina would no doubt help that company ride out the recession.”

Come now BU, what say you? The BLP has been out of power for two years but has the business model changed or even the players (other than on the Gov’t side)? Where are the posts of those who so indignantly protested the same form of development when done under the former administration but are notably silent now.

BU has reported on of the meeting required by the Town Planning regarding land development i.e. Environmental Impact Assessment discussions. Surely the media in Barbados could have sent reporters to these meetings and report to the PEOPLE as well as ask questions on behalf of the people.

Oh no Ms. Roxanne Gibbs you have failed miserably at your job. Why not recall Harold Hoyte? With one eye open and half a brain he can do a better job than the dynamic duo of Gittens and Gibbs.

(2)What prevents Bill Gates, or even the chaps from Sandy Lane, from buying every available lot of land at $100 per sq foot and crowding the rest of us into Belle gully?

(3)I would suggest …NOTHING…. you good with that?
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(1)I most wholeheartedly agree with this because if we continue to sell the country to non-nationals at the rate we are doing so, my grandchildren wouldn’t be able to own their own piece of it.

(2)The sad thing is, legally, nothing. Realistically, if the populace were to rise up against it then it may force the government to put a stop too it, for their own good. However, as an older and much wiser man (in my opinion) once said, “Bajans are all sheep. We complain bout how bad de grass taste but don’t think to nudge de shepherd across de field to de sweet grass. Dah’s why we would always suffer!”

(3) I am in no way good with that. If I could, I would disinvite nuff people from their land and houses that they’ve bought here. It’s not that I don’t like them, I don’t like what their purchase represents.

If we’re suggesting words to look-up…

Go to homophobic.

@Tourism Monkey
You apparently understand the situation with my allegorical son and I like the way that you have turned the argument. But you are right!! The actions of those who sell off family (Bajan) assets to strangers who then build fortresses and block our prized views and import their strange customs DEFINITELY tempts me to curse my luck (to be part of such a ‘family’ so lacking in pride), to curse my fellow citizens for their selfishness and to declare myself henceforth neighborless (which is EXACTLY how I am make to feel whenever I need to trespass near to these imported rich strangers and their fortresses.

Do you not agree that as a country, we (led by government) need to come up with some rules and regulations?

What prevents Bill Gates, or even the chaps from Sandy Lane, from buying every available lot of land at $100 per sq foot and crowding the rest of us into Belle gully?

I would suggest …NOTHING…. you good with that?

http://www.nationnews.com/story/357189697384190.php

“With respect to my son……..and declare myself henceforth childless….”

I pity you. No, I pity your son.

With respect to my country (which I do love), should its individual landowners choose to ignore its local residents and suggest that they want to sell to those who are willing……

I, Bush Tea would curse my luck, my countrymen’s @#ses, and declare myself henceforth neighbourless….
…But then again, that is an unwritten but well understood family rule.

Like you, I was speaking generally and not about you in particular.
Clearly your heart is in the right place but you – like many of us – take ‘freedom’ to mean that everyone can do exactly as they wish, whenever they wish, and for as long as they wish.

Freedom can ONLY mean free to operate WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED framework.
Your neighbor is NOT free to do as he wants on his own land because it may also affect you or me.

It therefore behoves our leaders to establish ground rules which outline the limits of our ‘freedom’…. and to censor any temptations to stray outside those boundaries.

THAT is what ‘community’ is all about.

Such limits include… how fast we drive; what taxes we must pay; how we relate to each other (no voilence / robbery etc) AND they should include how FAMILY assets are disposed to OUTSIDERS…. (and the conditions under which external assets come into the family)

With respect to my son (which I do have), should he choose to ingore your cute daughter- and suggest that he wants to be a drag queen…… even though I am nowhere near to being a minister…..
I, Bush Tea would curse my luck, my son’s @#s, and declare myself henceforth childless….
…But then again, that is an unwritten but well understood family rule.

Good point but still a little flawed.

Playing devil’s advocate here:

Suppose your son (I don’t know if you have a son, it’s just metaphorical) came home and said he was full blown gay and wanted the opportunity to take part in a Drag Queen Pageant and you were a minister…

Yes, his choice would affect you and the general public’s view of you but he would still be free to make that choice, wouldn’t he?

The answer to that question depends on if I knew it was stolen. :) (But would most likely be no as I know there’s no such thing as a free lunch!)

I agree with what you’re saying because I feel that way too. Places like St. Lucia have got it right. Let the people lease the land with some stipulations.
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Next:
If you are saying that anything that you have is for sale to a high enough bidder, then I hope that you do NOT have a cute daughter or wife – you could have a problem….

Barbados is not a collection of independent individuals, it is a family of concerned interest. Just as your daughter’s choices affects your whole family, your land choices also affect the rest of us dwellers of this rock.
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First off, I was not talking about me. I do have a cute daughter AND wife and they’re mine with no exceptions.

The problem I spoke of comes from other people who have had the thought process I spoke about. I’ve had family friends whose parents sold off their beachfront land so that they could retire in another country.

They weren’t thinking about Barbados then.

I’ve seen countless people get offered money for their land, or sometimes the option of moving to a better neighbourhood. And you know what? They take it.

They weren’t thinking about Barbados then.

The Barbados you speak about is merely a fable these days. If David Thompson was serious about half the things he said, he would limit the spread of the deadly “Bajan Condovirus”.

….ease up a bit and consider, before you launch your ‘Bajan logic’….

If you are saying that anything that you have is for sale to a high enough bidder, then I hope that you do NOT have a cute daughter or wife – you could have a problem….

Barbados is not a collection of independent individuals, it is a family of concerned interest. Just as your daughter’s choices affects your whole family, your land choices also affect the rest of us dwellers of this rock.

This is why we elect a government to seek to coordinate interest and conceptualize a common vision. (just what you would do if you were a real man in your house)

The fact that individuals can sell off family treasures for short term gains says that our ‘parents’ are either asleep, dead, or stupid. (…we got rid of drunk)

…as to what can be done about it – that is so SIMPLE that any Ossie Moore can see it….

HUGE TAXES on all such deals such that they DO NOT PAY!!!

…instead, the idiots are taxing poor simple Bajans who try to put a small home over their heads….

…Thank God it will all end so soon….

The problem isn’t how much people are prepared to pay for your property. It’s what the government allows the buyer to build on it.

In many beloved tourist destinations all over the world the rules for building along shorelines are close to drastic.

No buildings more than 2 storeys tall, no buildings larger than 50% of the ground space available. They even dictate the appearance of new buildings to make them fit-in with the surroundings. Etc.

Incidentally, if someone offered you a stolen 2009 Mercedes in exchange for your 1997 Toyota Corolla would you take it?

What a pooch licker!

Unless you are an intrepid sailor, where can you easily sail to and from Barbados?

Perhaps it will be a docking station for St Vincent speed boats!

Like I said, suppose a “realtor” comes to you and says we’d like to offer you way more than market value for your property.

You think, well I always wanted that other piece of land out by X. You say, “Why not?” and sell. How can anyone, including government, come and stop you from selling this land?

Truth is, as you would know from all my other posts, I hate it just as much as anyone else but individual people, making individual decisions, put us in the situation that we are in now.