Good Wishes To ALL

Submitted by Charles S. Cadogan

I wish every Barbadian at home and abroad **A VERY PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR**. May GOD continue to keep watch over you in all that you do. May 2010 be a lesson of things understood, to be able to make all changes for the better.  Forget about the name calling and finger pointing and come **TOGETHER AS ONE**.   Each and everyone in Barbados will continue to be in my prayers, and I’ll never wish or hope for anything but the best in and out of life for each and everyone of you.

One favour I have to ask of each one of you in Barbados.  Go back to the old time days when we showed and gave love freely to each another. We looked out for each other. We raised our children and all the other children in the community.  We shared gladly with each another in good times and bad times;  **PLEASE** bring this back and deep in my heart I know that things will change for the better.

Young folks listen to the older ones, share what you learn, and also how you feel.  If you keep things bottled up inside of you then no one will be able to help you. WE ARE ALL OUR BROTHERS KEEPERS.

Minister Of Health Donville Inniss In An Interview With David Ellis Denies Interest In Sparman Clinic

Minister of Health Donville Inniss

[Audio http://bajan.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/brasstax1_dec30.mp3|width=90|righticon=0xff0000]

The White Elephant That Is The Caribbean Court Of Justice Exposes The Failings Of Caribbean Academics And Politicians

Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding (l) Professor Norman Girvan (r)

Barbadians continue to wait for the government of Barbados to revamp out-dated immigration laws to better protect a society which is the envy of the world. Almost one year has past since town hall meetings were held to discuss the green paper on immigration. That exercise exposed glaring loopholes in our existing legislation and inefficiency and corrupt behaviour by officers at the Immigration Department.

The late Prime Minister David Thompson at the final Town Hall meeting held at Solidarity House, made statements which would have suggested that by December 2010 the new immigration act should have been enacted. It is amusing to recall the haste the former government enacted sunset legislation to facilitate the hosting of CWC2007. It is equally humorous to recall the haste the incumbent government enacted the constituency council bill. The two examples should demonstrate to cynics if a government wants to enact legislation in a reasonable timeframe, it is possible even when our lumbering civil service is taken into consideration.

The recent revelation by Prime Minister Bruce Golding that he prefers the final court of appeal to be Jamaican has startled many in the Caricom community. He promised if Jamaica is ever to become a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) his government will go the route of a referendum. Students of Caribbean history and others who would have observed the regional interactions of Jamaica and Trinidad in the last 10 years are not surprise by Jamaica’s latest move. A case of history repeating itself some might say. BU commentators warned in earlier blogs the folly of Barbados laying bare much of its family silver (prized companies) to appease regional integrationists. The CCJ is meant to be flaming symbol of regional integration. It has taken a few years for the Caricom community to absorb the shock of Trinidad and Tobago not joining the CCJ, made all the more embarrassing given the address of the court, now Jamaica has hinted its desire to tread and all too familiar path.

Leaked Letter Written By Dr. Richard Ishmael Which Got Him Suspended From The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

L - r) Director of the Sparman Clinic, Cardiologist, Dr. Alfred Sparman; Minister of Health, Donville Inniss, his wife, Gail Inniss and the Minister's Personal Assistant, Cindy Downes at the start of the official opening of the $20 million facility for cardiac care located at No. 4, 6th Avenue Belleville St. Michael

Prominent Cardiologist Dr. Richard Ishmael has been suspended from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital QEH with full pay pending an internal investigation. At the root of the problem is a letter written by Dr. Richard Ishmael which is addressed to Dr. Delores Lewis, Director of Medical Services at the QEH on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s letterhead.

In the interest of the public’s right to know BU now post the document. Feel free to use BU’s  Confidential Feedback Form which can be used to send information to BU without using an email address.

Letter Written By Dr. Richard Ishmael:

Pages: 1,2,3

Bauxite Company A No-show At Labour Ministry Meeting – GTUC Writes CARICOM About Greenidge’s Right To Work

Submitted by Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (29 Dec 2010)

 

Lincoln Lewis, General Secretary Guyana Trades Union Congress

Today the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU) turned up to a scheduled meeting at the Ministry of Labour. The ministry had initiated this meeting for the Union and the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI) to meet to address a number of issues, including the dismissal of the 57 workers in 2009 and the five in 2010.  The meeting which was to be chaired by Mr. Charles Ogle, Assistant Chief Labour Officer, who was present, saw non attendance of the company’s representatives. In a letter seen by the GB&GWU’s representatives the company said that the Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) between itself and union has come to an end so it does not consider the ministry’s invitation to a meeting as valid.

It should be clearly stated that even though a collective labour agreement may be expired, while there still exists a Recognition Agreement, a company/employer is legally bound to engage with the union. GB&GWU has so informed the Ministry and has dispatched a letter (see attached) to the company highlighting its legal obligation. The expiration of a CLA has nothing to do with engagement between the parties, it is merely an excuse to avoid the legal obligation to engage, following on a pattern since December 2009 even though there exists a Recognition Agreement that legally binds the party. The Trade Union Recognition Act (98:07) Section 23. (1) ‘Compulsory recognition and duty to treat’ expressly states “Where a trade union obtains a certificate of recognition for workers comprised in a bargaining unit in accordance with this Part, the employer shall recognise the union, and the union and the employer shall bargain in good faith and enter into negotiations with each other for the purpose of collective bargaining.”

Open Letter To The African Union, We Need Bretton Woods Plus For Africa

Submitted by Ibo Tbo (unedited)

 

My dear Chairman of the African Union, African leaders and readers of this letter, I expect you be aware that it is our right to call you and hold you accountable for everything is going on among us Africans, similarly it is our right to present to you our suggestions and views on policy/s which you write thinking its good or the only option you have.

Since this is not the first and for sure won’t be the last letter to you I plead you not look at the messenger as itch to you, rather should whisper into your minds that yes we people on the streets are not lucky or smarts enough to lead like you but at least, we can ask you where we being lead to.

My African leaders, this year (2010) over 17 African countries are finishing fifty years of what you call independents but I call it fifty years of really dependent. Fifty years of fully adopt western languages, names cultures and rituals. These 17 nations have nothing to show beside wars, diseases, starvation and depts., very careless and corrupt leaders. Which all are calculated and engineered by the same person today you are saluting and expecting him to be your guider.

Barbados Can Learn From United Kingdom’s Money Claim Online

If the analysis of our leading political correspondent is to be accepted, it appears Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart, who is said to be a student of history, is loath to make important political decisions  during the Yuletide Season because of a fear of having to suffer the wrath of a Christian nation.  In his Sunday article, Albert Brandford opined that Prime Minister Stuart would have observed how Barbadians reacted to former Prime Minister Arthur’s announcement of a general election date in December 2007. To support Brandford’s position the local press reported today the candidate to contest the St. John bye-election will be known on January 2, 2012.

Barbados Underground regrets that another decision of significant national import continues to be influenced by political  demagoguery; or so it seems. The appointment of former Chief Justice David Simmons was also fraught with controversy. BU agreed with many at the time who believed the decision to appoint a politician of current vintage to the post of Chief Justice, smacked of insensitivity and signalled a dangerous intervention by the Executive into the realm of the independent arm of  the Judiciary. Yet again Barbados finds itself in a shroud of controversy carping the appointment of one of the most important positions in our system of governance. The suspicion that Prime Minster Stuart maybe weighing political considerations with the appointment of Marston Gibson at a time when our judicature is labouring to dispense justice is unfortunate. The adage ‘justice delayed, is justice denied’ has become a common characterization of our Court System in recent years.

A common concern resonating from Barbadians posted on BU is the difficulty of filing and managing small claims matters in our Courts. It is no secret the Barbados Court System is designed to make it mandatory for lawyers to be involved in the most routine matters. While such an arrangement will favour lawyers with the opportunity to earn fees, it serves as a deterrent for ordinary Barbadians who would turn to the Court, as Ralph Thorne QC recently recommended, to seek redress. How can we have justice if a large part of the populace believes it is not a ready option to seek justice?

Tourism Matters – Barbados Government Subsidizes Barbados Jazz Festival To The Tune Of $500,000, Could The Money Have Been Better Spent On An AAdvantage Airline Mileage Program?

Adrian Loveridge - Hotel Owner

After reading the Nation’s Editor-in-Chief’s article recently, detailing the reasons behind the cancellation of the 2011 Barbados Jazz Festival, I must admit it left a few unanswered questions. If the reporting is accurate, then it surprised me that the event only ‘attracted 400 visitors to the island last year’.

Does this number including the imported artists, their entourage and the various invited journalists? And what is the average stay and spend during their visit?

The Barbados Tourism Authority President/CEO stated they ‘had been supporting the festival to the tune of more than $1/2 million’.

Over what period!

Is this an annual subvention or is this the total marketing support since the inception of event?

Clearly, the BTA needs to justify their (our) ‘investment’ and they cannot be criticised for ensuring any funds are used in the most cost-effective way. Surely any event organiser would fully understand that.

The Fall of Islam: “Cutting Off The Head Of The Snake” – How The Cost Of A Lamb’s Dinner In 629 AD Still Holds Abysmal Repercussions For Shia & Sunni Muslims Today

Submitted by Terence Blackett

 

In the late 1990’s, Saddam Hussein sat for [24] tortuous months while almost [6] gallons of his blood was drained from his body as an Islamic calligrapher transcribed and etched [114] chapters of the Qu’ran in his blood. Twenty years on, this blood manuscript continues to cause political and religious polarization between the Shia led government and for some Sunnis though accepting that what Saddam did was haraam (forbidden), others realise the cultural, aesthetic and financial value of such a document. The document which has been locked away for years since the fall of Iraq in the Umm al-Ma’arik mosque is now a sore thumb for the Iraqi government because years of denial and a cloak of secrecy has turned into a spectre of damage limitation. This new Shia government realises that they cannot destroy this sacred text because of the anarchy that would take place across the Muslim world – neither can they ill-afford to open the doors to those Sunnis who will treat Saddam’s sacred blood legacy as divine approval and reverence for a holy text written in the blood of someone who is still viewed as a martyr.

Most Western political scholars as well as Judeo-Christian commentators tend to stay away from serious narratives on the internal religious rumblings within the volatile religion of Islam, fearing that discharacterization and ideological disinformation could result in “Fatwas” and the polarizing incendiary media protest we have all witnessed when the prophet Muhammad or Islam was brought into the spotlight with any negative connotations attached to them.

This modern pretext was already etched in blood by Salman Rushdie in doing the unthinkable by publishing the Satanic Verses in 1988 and the backlash which that revelation created and how it lasted for a decade or more. Since then, it has been one thing after another. Most notably has been recent revelations by Wikileaks which showed unequivocally the dissimilitude which exist within modern Arab tribal and religious politics and the complex nature of how war, infighting and civil instability between Muslims since the 600’s have shaped the current state of modern Muslim relations in the Middle East and around the world – where different strands of Islam are practiced and the increasing tensions which still exist between the [2] major groups, Shia and Sunni.

Sold Out!

Submitted by Charles S. Cadogan

Well, well, Barbadians – you have now for sure sold one of your very important holdings to this so called white man yet again.  Has money became so important to Barbadians? Aren’t there enough so called blacks in Barbados willing to invest the same way that this so called white man has been doing and will continue to do?  Why, why in GOD’S NAME would you give this so called white man full control over anything that you yourself might be able to control?

I have suggested to you never give anyone more than 49% holdings in anything in Barbados, which would still allow you control by having 51%.  It doesn’t take Einstein to figure this out.  What are you doing with all this education and so called business sense?

It seem to me that you are going backwards, but seeing yourselves going forwards.  If you are going forward you are looking through rose colored glasses. The only person going forward is the so called white man who’s doing his best to control everything you own on that island.  But your greed for the money, and what you call better living now has you back at the mercy of this so called white man even in the twenty first century.  You have enslaved not only yourselves, but your children and grandchildren.  You for sure as those before you, who gave all what they owned, blood, sweat and tears to make it a better life for you turn over in their graves.  You are setting one hell of an example for the coming generation of Barbadians with your actions