What Will It Take My Fellow Bajans

Submitted by Austin

How high does the unemployment rate have to reach;
How many people will have to be on public assistance;
How high does the crime rate have to get;
How many millions does the government have to waste;
How many hotels have to close;
How many businesses have to fail;
How much debt do we have to put on the backs of our children;
How ineffective and corrupt does government and ruling officials have to get;
How many self serving politicians do we have to put in office;
How many unnecessary golf courses do we have to build for elites;
How fat do elitist bank accounts have to get;
How small does the middle class have to shrink;
How many tourist do we have to loose;
How high do food prices have to get;
How high do taxes have to reach;
How poor does civil services have to get;
How much Bajan sovereignty do we have to loose;
How much IMF funds do we have to borrow;
What will it take for "we" the people of Barbados to wake up. What will it take?

T20 – Refreshing, In More Ways Than One

Hartley Henry - DLP Political Strategist

They said “Bring it” and Caribbean people brought it! The T20 world cricket tournament is, I declare, a phenomenal success! Not since the days of Lloyd, Richards, Lillee, Chappel, Botham, Gavascar and Bishan Bedi have I been so glued to my television screen, watching the battle of bat versus ball.

I am not getting involved in the argument of the adverse impact of this version of the game on the traditional test and one day formats. I leave that to the experts. What I am saying is that T20 meets the needs of persons such as me who simply want to watch good, exciting cricket and who do not have a lot of time to hang around waiting for a result.

Frankly speaking, I am West Indian, but, it bothers me not who eventually wins the 2010 championship. From where I stand, this outcome does not define or determine any aspect of cricketing supremacy. This is simply a case of cricketers having fun and spectators sharing in the excitement. Added to this is the fact that sponsors are getting good value for money and administrators are making a profit. Simply put, T20 is win-win for all concerned.

Even the host countries are benefiting, unlike in a tournament of recent memory when all but a few political operatives lost their shirts. Just imagine that the region is spending a mere fraction of what was spent on Cricket World Cup and is reaping benefits that surpass and far outweigh those of CWC.

Oh Hammie-La!

Submitted by George Brathwaite

James Paul MP ((l) Hamilton Lashley MP (r) - Credit: Nigel Browne

I still find it amusing that persons would want to characterise Hamilton Lashley’s move from the BLP to an Independent and now DLP as being motivated by (a) a love and desire for the ordinary man and woman; (b) a need to rid himself of Mia Mottley and thus disassociate himself from a party that gave him numerous opportunities to market himself (to me his sole purpose for remaining actively engaged in politics; and (c) to go back home and thus by doing so, live out his remaining days in the bosom of the party that gave him succour in electoral politics in Barbados.

I wish to say nothing bad about Lashley and I shall not. However, one must truly listen to many other persons than those attempting to aggrandise him now or those who now recognise his community-spiritedness but failed to do so up to January 2008. Lashley has been a tormentor for the BLP and in particular the BLP Branch of St. Michael South East that he represents in Parliament. While he has done some things worthy of commendation, for the most part and in the shadows of a chosen few, many of his actions were clandestine and infelicitous to say the least. As a former President and still a member of that Branch, I can not encourage persons to support him, nor can I endorse any scent of opportunism to rise above the needs of the ordinary man and woman in that constituency.

Enough said, there may be another platform to reveal what I know as fact and what is not libelous. As one human being to another, I truly wish him well although I cannot extend that to his future success as a parliamentarian — B, D, I, none of these suits the man — he is about Hammie la.

Chaos Continues In A Regulated Telecommunications Market In Barbados

Prime Minister David Thompson

It seems like yesterday Barbadians rejoiced at the news the government would liberalize the telecommunications sector as part of WTO obligation. Barbados was an early signatory to General Agreement on Trade in Service (GATS) and the Telecommunications Reference Paper in 2000. Why did Barbadians rejoice? Hitherto Barbadians would have felt they were being shafted by Cable and Wireless, the London-based telecommunications monopoly which has operated in the region since the twentieth century. According to C&W’s 2005 Annual Report the Caribbean region ranks second after the UK in profits generated(United Kingdom turnover: £1,602 million, Caribbean turnover: £550 million). The decision to liberalize Barbados telecommunications market would have raised expectations that the onslaught of competition would have driven telecommunications costs down, welcome news in a service-based economy seeking to be competitive.

Several years post-liberalization of the telecommunications market and Barbadians are yet to benefit significantly, especially in three key areas. In the fixed line market it has been business as usual for LIME formerly C&W. In the mobile market we have seen a new entrant Digicel which has created some competition for LIME by forcing the price of handsets and packages down, as a result we have seen a deeper penetration of the Barbados mobile phone market. On the data/broadband side of the business LIME continues to dominate.

Many Barbadians believed when Telebarbados entered the market it would have ‘buss it open’. Bear in mind Telebarbados is affiliated to the Barbados Light and Power (BL&P) which has the most comprehensive pole distribution in Barbados.  The import of this is, there was and still is the opportunity for Telebarbados to launch a frontal assault on LIME. Instead our best information indicates that Telebarbados is happy to focus on the more profitable commercial segment of the market. In fairness to them a major hurdle to date has been getting LIME to agree to allow Telebarbados customers to walk with their LIME landline telephone numbers. For example the Telebarbados subscriber would have to get a new telephone number. Another area where the regulator should play a pivotal role when adjudicating interconnectivity agreements in the sector.

Confronting The Alternative Lifestyle

In recent days the homosexuality issue has been in the news at every turn, or so it seems. Last week we got an email from a BU family member which alerted us to the story about a Baptist minister who took a ten day vacation with a male prostitute. What is laughable is the label anti-gay which the story attached to the Baptist minister.

Before that we were subjected to the ridiculous comment by Minister of Education Ronald Jones, who in response to concerns raised about rising lesbianism in our schools was quoted as follows:   I have seen in my time growing up where, as part of their exploratory phase of development in our communities, girls ‘playing’ with themselves and with each other, nobody would put that as lesbianism, but what is essentially happening is that it is easier now to really accentuate the negative because that’s what sells [papers] . . . . so all of a sudden all of our girls [are lesbians]. That’s not true. – Nation Newspaper. How can a Minister of Education make such an irresponsible statement without feeling obligated to cite empirical evidence?

To cap the homosexuality talk in recent weeks we had the Archbishop of the West Indies Dr John Holder publicly stating that the Anglican Church will not break with tradition in the Caribbean by ordaining homosexual priests. A bold pronouncement by the good bishop in the face of the runaway gay lobby.

So, The 1000 Point Dip In The DOW Is Due To ‘erroneous trading’?

Submitted by Crusoe

How exactly does one sell millions of shares ‘erroneously’? Particularly in such a company as P&G? And the professional commenters say that some of the other drops ‘could be’ for the same reason? Do the trading systems not have checks and balances, even when making trades? Of course they do.

Lol. What a load of bollocks.

There are some who are trying to hoodwink the public when the market dips i.e. trying to boost the market, artificially. As said before, the markets do NOT reflect true net asset values nor future earning streams of companies, the current prices are artificial. This view is particularly bolstered by references such as above, which identify the coming oil supply issue and thus pricing and product costs, inflation, standard of living etc.

One big smoke and mirrors to hide the train coming at us. Why have we not heard about the problems in the trading systems that would allow such ‘erroneous trades’ before, after all these years of trading?

Hung, Drawn And Quartered: Modern Politics At The Crossroads In an Age Of Stasis And Instability

Submitted by Terence Blackett

Credit: Creative Art Inspiration Website

If we are to believe the media’s analysis on the state of British politics based entirely upon the General Election results of Thursday night into Friday – one would assume that the gridlock often seen in Capitol Hill, Washington DC was now dawning on the shores of Britain for the first time in a generation causing an already beleaguered market to go into a Greek-style tailspin.

But this is what the Athenian model of democracy has resulted in. Much can be said about Greek culture (the cradle of democracy and civilization) but moreover as we witness the bedlam, anarchy and economic seismology in Greece at the moment – we can take little comfort in the modern machinations of political intrigue.

On another equally troubling note, BP (British Petroleum) is in the news AGAIN. We must conclude that these oil companies are criminal enterprises propped up by evil governments for the sake of wanton profit and excess. Look at SHELL* and its antics! Has Southern Farmers in Barbados been adequately compensated in a 15 year-old saga which has robbed many of their livelihoods? What about the Ogoni people of Niger Delta? What about these folks in my neck of the woods?

The “Mystery” Of The Divided Church: How Christianity Was Infiltrated – Is More Divided Than Its Ever Been And How Millions Of Christians Live In The Abyss Of Religious Deception – Part I

Submitted by Terence Blackett

“Order out of chaos – the soldier dies but the war continues” – Masonic Motto

A house divided against cannot stand. These were the fateful words of Jesus. Christianity today is divided among fiercely divergent sects, groups, denominations and viewpoints, nearly all of which are narrow-minded at best and pleased to condemn each other at worst.

Christianity has become exclusive instead of inclusive – narrow, instead of visionary.  It has made God out to be either a fiend or a power-deficient weakling who saves a select few, and condemns the rest of His creation to an eternity of Hell.  How absurd! Is this “Someone” any of us would be inclined to worship and to serve?

Most postmodern religions (and over the many centuries) including the disciples of Jesus have fallen into the same demon-inspired lies as those held by the heathen man-made religions.

The Angel of Revelation 18:2-5 tells of the Fall of (spiritual) Babylon – that great city had become the hideout of demons and evil spirits, a nest for filthy buzzards and a den for dreadful beasts. For all the nations had drunk of the wine of passionate immorality. The rulers of the world have committed adultery with her and the merchants of the world have grown rich as a result of her luxurious living. Christ is asking His people to come out of her and to not partake of her sins lest they be punished with her for her sins are piled as high as Heaven and God is ready to judge her for her evil deeds.

Is The Traditional Barbadian Hotel A Dying Breed?

Submitted by Adrian Loveridge

I was tempted to pose this question after studying a recent accommodation occupancy report produced by the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association. The BHTA, according to its website, represents ‘over 80% of the total room stock on the island’, divided into three categories.

Luxury, ‘A’ Class and ‘B’ Class, which includes many of the smaller properties, apartments and guest houses!

2009 average occupancy by month were as follows:

Reality: Bajan Politicians Represent Small Group Of Industry Elites, Not The General Public

Submitted by Austin

In searching to explain why the wants and needs of the general public are systematically ignored, one must entertain the possibility that the political system in BIM  only represents the elite class in our island.

Industry elites have the means by which to enable a standard of living many politicians no matter how well intentioned can’t resist.  Today the rewards of serving the general public comes often with little gratitude and nothing else. One can argue “that’s life” however there is a point of frustration the general public can reach as they did today in the UK, that is also possible here in Barbados.