THE Creation Of A Legend

Submitted by Bajan Truth

The Late Honourable Prime Minister David Thompson, Combermerian

Legacy for sale, created by MEDIA CREATIONS LTD.  You do not actually have to do much, intent is as good as the deed. Talk about Families First, no programmes, no initiatives, no legislation, mention in a few speeches and it is legacy.  Talk about Barbados is for all of us and not a few, it is a society not just an economy and you have transformed the Barbadian landscape. Pass free busfares and free camps and apparently that is sufficient to have impacted the lives of Barbadians and lift them from out of poverty. Go to the Gaza and Red Sea attend a few dub fetes and the youth have become a champion of youth, an inspiration, a community worker par excellence that has powerfully impacted on the lives of part of a wonderful legacy, legacy for sale. The intent is as good as the deed. A storm an unprecedented event in Barbados it is the spiritual power of David Thompson, such an outstanding leader the earth itself has groaned as it did for our Lord on his death (earthquakes) according to
Matthew Farley.

The creation of this legend so fixated the Dems and the media that they forgot to warn Barbadians about the storm, or did they deliberately withhold that information because they did not want to disturb the worship at the shrine of David Thompson (Combermere) now hailed the greatest leader Barbados has ever known. David you worried about the short time in office, the fear that you did not get to do what you wanted and about the legacy you would leave behind.  You did not have to worry, your faithful Dems have ensured that your name is lifted above all names, even above Prime Ministers of yore. Apparently in two years you did so much for this country and the region that my God had you been here longer you would have ushered in Paradise. Apparently no leader before, Grantley Adams, Errol Barrow, Tom Adams, Bernard St.John, Erskine Sandiford and Owen Arthur could ever compare with you.  One media Dem worshipper even said that your death was a loss not only to Barbados but to the region and indeed the world.

Prime Minister David Thompson Never To Be Forgotten

Quotes from the BU family:

The Late Prime Minister of Barbados, David Thompson

“The question of leadership, has already been comprehensively dealt with, as David Thompson has shown by his management of the DLP’s campaign, that he has the ability, not only to plan but to execute. Perhaps one of his most important attributes, is he has a skill which engenders confidence in others, therefore they will follow him” - Yardbroom

Life gives us very few natural born leaders. David Thompson, was charismatic, stylish and he was from my generation. I enjoyed bragging about my Prime Minister, to folks here in Washington - Expatriate

The death of former Prime Minister David Thompson is a tragic lost to this country and indeed the Caribbean. We had some tragic occurrences in Barbados this year.Tragic death of those six young ladies in the Tudor Street tragedy,the recent floods and now the death of our beloved former Prime Minister David Thompson - Negroman

It is with profound sorrow and grief that I acknowledge the passing of the Late Prime Minister, The Right HON. David Thompson, my friend and neighbour. Many persons will never know the David Thompson that we in the Sanford/Mapps community were privilege to experience. David was a very down to earth young man and this also goes for his entire family. I remember the many conversations we had and even though we differ on many occasions, we would always remain close friends. When David became ill, our relationship got closer and we regularly exchanged e-mail messages as his health deteriorated. He liked his blackberry and hence I would always expect a response from every e-mail I sent. I recognised a spiritual side of David that grew stronger ever time we communicated. I believe that David was preparing himself for the life beyond this, therefore I am not worried about his future. I don’t believe in what some people call “untimely death”, I believe David is called to higher service, therefore I would remind you of the words the Apostle Paul wrote to his friend Timothy ” the time of my departure is near - The Scout

Storm Warning Announced For Barbados,Tropical Storm TOMAS Threatens The Windward Islands

Click image to National Hurricane Centre Website

 

The Late Prime Minister David Thompson Was Respected At Home And Abroad

Submitted by People’s Democratic Movement (PDM)

Turks and Caicos Islands

 

October 24, 2010

The Hon Freundel Stuart, QC

The Prime Minister

Barbados

Dear Prime Minister

Re: PASSING AWAY OF PRIME MINISTER DAVID THOMPSON

We as a people were deeply saddened when we learnt of the passing of Prime Minister The Hon David J.H.Thompson. The loss of such a young, vibrant and committed leader from this region is one that we cannot spare. Hon Thompson’s passing has sent shock waves throughout the Caribbean and the Turks and Caicos Islands included as we have always embraced Barbadians who are together here in these Islands mourning with their home nation.

In Hon Thompson’s all too brief period as Prime Minister we note his emphasis on unity for his homeland. Whilst I may not have had the opportunity to have met him whilst in this Office, his Speech made a few weeks ago which is now his Final Address, has been an inspiration to us as we face our battle as a people. The valiant call for unity was a great testament of his strong committed leadership which has spanned decades in his constituency representation and his focused leadership of his Party. This level of stability and commitment alone demonstrates that this region has suffered a great loss.

On behalf of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, my Party: the officers and members of the PDM, my family and myself, I offer our sincerest condolences to the people of Barbados, you and your Cabinet and the Former First Lady, children and family of the Late Hon David Thompson. As you mourn as a people, know that the region mourns together with you as we have certainly loss a great young mind.

 

Yours sincerely

Douglas Parnell

Leader of the PDM Party

Support For Stuart Is UNFLINCHING …But leaving is the decent thing to do

Hartley Henry - Principal Political Advisor to the Hon. Prime Minister

The answer is yes! I am confident of the government of Barbados moving on with its social and economic agenda, following the death of David Thompson and the appointment of Freundel Stuart as new leader of the country.

The philosophical and policy outlook of the Democratic Labour Party is not derived from a lucky-dip type undertaking. There is a clear trend of thought that inspires and determines how policy positions are arrived at. The late Rt. Excellent Errol Barrow set forth a charter for Barbados and the party in the mid 1980s that was followed through and implemented by Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford and the DLP Cabinet of 1987 to 1994. Several of Sir Lloyd’s initiatives and ideas were, understandably deferred or amended in the 1994 to 2008 period of Barbados Labour Party rule, but again the party hit the road running in 2008, with a resumption of its social and economic charter, this time, under the leadership of David Thompson.

While death has robbed us of his physical presence, his flight plan for Barbados was set forth in a clearly discernible manner. Thompson had his finger on the pulse of every sphere of social, political and economic undertaking and activity in Barbados. He had a clear concept of the five year work programme for each line ministry. The blueprint is there!

Tribute To A Son Of The Soil, The Late Prime Minister David Thompson Gone Too Soon!

Submitted by the People’s Democratic Congress (PDC)

It is with deep sadness and  sorrow that the members of the People’s Democratic Congress (PDC) learned last Saturday morning of the passing of the late former Prime Minister, David John Howard Thompson, at his Mapps, St. Philip residence, at 2.10 am in the morning. His finally succumbing to pancreatic cancer at 48 years old, after a brief courageous battle against it, has truly created a giant wave of emotion sympathy anguish and mourning across the island from thousands of Barbadians – many of whom saw Thompson become the first young person to be fore-knighted by the people as a prime minister of Barbados – PDC

Prime Minister of Barbados Hon David Thompson

Such a remarkable fore-ordination must be seen by esp. political historians as an unforgettable chapter in life and times of the late Mr. Thompson. So, indeed, Barbados has lost one of its illustrious sons ever. He was a student, scholar, teacher, lawyer, community person parliamentarian, husband, father, humanist, among other things. Most endearingly, in every role that he played he seemed to give his all – give his best.

As a matter of fact, this  quality seemed to be one that was identified by many Barbadian people from very earlier on in his life, and seemed to have been underpinned then by his high intelligence quotient, his  relentless pursuit of knowledge, his excellent argumentative skills, and his fondness for people of all walks of life.

Are We All In This Together? “THE CURSE OF MEROZ”: The Politics Of Moral Abnegation And Inertia – The Insalubrious Climate Of Lies, Deceit And Unfairness As A Two-Tier World Emerges; The Rich And The Poor, The Weak And The Strong

Submitted by Terence Blackett

 

Between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, the danger is that we shall do nothing – Adolphe Monod

 

I am fascinated by art in its most variegated and versicoloured forms (especially the Renaissance period). But the works of Dutchman Jan Vermeer (1632-1675) inspires incredible curiosity on my part especially where this extraordinarily gifted artist was able to apply his craft at his leisure for many years due in part to the support from his in-laws. Vermeer suddenly dies at a young age (gone too soon by some accounts) before his notoriety could even reach beyond the vale of his native Delft (for as is often said – the good seem to die young).

In many of Vermeer’s masterpieces such as the (“Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window“) or (“Girl with the Pearl Earring“) or his most celebrated piece (“The Milkmaid“) – the interplay of light, shadow and color on the faces and features of the common people of his day is a remarkable abstraction and interpretation of how when light is used in its correct resonance – the effect it creates is not only timeless but measureless.

So borrowing from the key to Vermeer’s alluring appeal in the use of “light”, it is my hope to disseminate shards of light through the prism of modern moral philosophy – justifying how in our restless age of upheaval, the mounting problems exacerbate because of our refusal to point to the obvious, the common and the familiar and to definitively do something about it.

We are reminded in Scripture to “rise and shine when the ‘light’ comes”. Sadly this clarion call often goes unheeded because of the moral inertia of those hearing (yet refusing) to accept the call.

Tourism MATTERS VII

 

Adrian Loveridge - Hotel Owner

Two headlines quoted from the recently held Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s Leadership Strategy Conference leapt out and grabbed my attention. The first ‘You have to chase money not arrivals’, attributed to David Redekop of the Conference Board of Canada. The second from an unnamed ‘specialist’ who advised ‘the region should therefore focus shift marketing from the all-inclusive traveller to the higher revenue independent traveller’. Both in my humble opinion make absolute sense from a Barbadian tourism perspective.

Just over ten years ago, I sat on a Ministry of Tourism convened committee made up of private and public sector persons looking at ways that the small hotel sector on Barbados could be improved. During that time one of the ideas I conceptualised, was a project entitled 10/10. We then had around 120 registered small properties. We use the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association definition of a small hotel as being 75 rooms or less.

But from a Barbadian perspective, if you add the total room stock of this sub sector and then divide by the number of properties, the typical size is just 22 rooms. Our hotels generally achieve an average overall annual occupancy rate of around 50 per percent. The plan behind 10/10 was to increase that to 60 per cent and to raise every occupied room rate by US$10 per night. This would be have been achieved by the use of creative marketing together with systematic reduction of bookings generated by tour operators and to a lesser extent, travel agents. This would not been a dramatic change, because typically small hotels are not a high priority for these travel distribution channels, for all sorts of reasons.

Peter Allard Further Machinations Contained In The Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary Saga

Minister Denis Lowe (l) Peter Allard (r)

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary (GHNS) has announced a “limited opening”, or should it be “re-opening”. The announcement has been accompanied by the “thoughts” of its owner, the busy Canadian “philanthropist” Peter Allard who has wasted millions attempting to sue any Barbadian who can be described as prominent, including the Late Hon. Prime Minister David Thompson.

In Allard’s long and sometimes incoherent “thoughts”, he makes no mention of the law cases he has brought in Canada and his US$35 million claim which was originally trumpeted by Patrick Hoyos of the Broad Street Journal. Instead, he makes the following statement, which many may find questionable and disturbing:

“After years of fruitless pleading with the Government of Barbados to repair critical environmental control structures and enforce environmental laws, in 2009 we were compelled to file formal complaints with the Ministry of the Environment. These complaints allege that Barbados has violated the Convention on Wetlands and the Convention on Biodiversity Treaties, as well as the Canada-Barbados Investment Tax Treaty.” (emphasis added is that of BU)

And just who is the Minister for the Environment? Why, none other than Denis Lowe. The same Denis Lowe whose political campaign was partly financially supported by Peter Allard, with electioneering experts, gifts of camcorders and star reporter Mark Jan Vrem bought in from overseas to assist,  see BU blogs 1,2,3.

Barbados Government Maybe Selling Barbados National Bank Shares Below Premium

Tony Hoyos

Mr. Minister [Chris Sinckler], as individuals own less than 10% of the BNB shares, you are negotiating for all of us on this occasion.  Please do not sellout the Barbadians that have small shareholdings.  There is no reason why you should not seek the best price for the Government and people of Barbados.  At a minimum, seek competitive bids from other entities.  We look forward to your support, in what is your first major action that will impact us.  Thanking you in advance – A. Freeman

 

The resignation of Tony Hoyos from the Board of Directors of the Barbados National Bank (BNB) should should concern Barbadians. Hoyos’ letter of resignation was posted on Peter Boyce’s Facebook Page earlier today.

A full page statement was posted in the local press today by Republic Bank (BNB’s parent company) signalling it will be making an offer to buyout the remaining shareholders in BNB. An article also appeared in the Trinidad press yesterday. Currently Republic Bank Limited (RBL) owns 65.13% of BNB, the government of Barbados 28% and individuals 7% round out the ownership.