A Barbados Judiciary In Limbo

Chief Justice of Barbados Designate

Barbados is to open its Courts on June 24, 2011. The burning question is if after over a year without a permanent sitting Chief Justice, we can expect Marston Gibson to warm the bench as the new Chief Justice. Would the shareholders of an important and profitable corporation appoint an acting CEO for one year?

Can we expect Mr. Gibson’s appointment to be gazetted FINALLY?

Barbados Under Attack From Jamaican Drug Mules

The much publicized Myrie Affair occurred in April this year. By all accounts Barbados came out of the affair with a bloody nose if we are to judge by the comments made by all and sundry. Despite the vitriol spouted from both sides Barbadians, Jamaicans and onlookers are none the wiser what actually happened to Shanique Myrie when she attempted to cross the border of Barbados. She alleges that she was inappropriately searched by local officials, a charge which was denied. In the absence of substantive evidence who does one believe?

What was evident from the episode is that the Jamaican media and political directorate were in cahoots to ensure Jamaican Myrie’s story was propagated and propagandized. To be expected we had the so-called regionalists like Peter Wickham, Rickey Singh, David Commissiong et al who abandoned the need to be patriotic and gleefully jumped across to the other side of the debate.

BU does not intend to paper over any indiscretions made by Barbadian agencies if any did occur at all in the Myrie incident. Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart’s offer for Myrie to return to Barbados to facilitate meaningful investigation remains unaccepted after several months. The haste with which Jamaicans and others across the region used the opportunity to exposed a latent dislike for Barbados cannot be ignored. Some in local media and elsewhere would want Barbadians to ignore the obvious and not rock the CSME boat. It always has to be Barbados to turn the other cheek!

Little England: A Brief Socio-Political History (II)

Submitted by Looking Glass

 

Barbados was ‘built’ on agriculture. The early settlers grew crops for food, cotton, indigo and tobacco which were exported to England in exchange for items needed. They imported English ‘bondsmen” (indentures) to do the slave labour. By the 1640s the island with its Dutch style red-roof houses set among spacious parks and clean streets with churches at the crossroads was thought to be a delightful place to live. Stores sold products supplied by the Dutch after an English law obligated settlers to trade only with English firms who in turn decided on the prices to be paid. As the Merrymen reminded us Beautiful Barbados was and remains “the Gem of the Caribbean” and a delightful place to live. Please preserve it. In 1645 Thomas Oldmixin introduced a new settler to Bridgetown then asked: “have you ever seen a better island than this….My friend, this is Little England, and some of us believe it is better than the big one.” The pseudonym lingers today.

Early soil depletion and growing inability to compete in quality and quantity with crops grown in Virginia, Carolina and Georgialed to the introduction of sugar by Oldmixin and with it the increased demand of slave labour. By 1700Barbadoswas by far the largest and best sugar producer. In 1732 Samuel Trevelyan (Trevelyan plantation in Jamaica) visited Oldmixin who had the most profitable sugar business to find out the secrets. But Oldmixin would not divulge them. Later Ned Pennyfeather, owner of the Giralda Inn in the city, directed Samuel to Sir Isaac Tatum who provided the information.

By 1800 Blacks far outnumbered whites and continued to increase by black reproduction (those born locally) much more so than by the importation of slaves. Of course slavery and the sins associated with it continued. But contrary to popular opinion not all slave owners/masters treated their slaves badly. Some gave slaves their freedom long before the abolishment, some recognized their black offspring, and a few of their immediate offspring took black (coloured) wives. Some even passed on part of their wealth to their black offspring.

• Related Link: Little England: A Brief Socio-Political History (1)

Black Historical Revisionists Losing Credibility

Submitted by Charles Knighton

 

Click image to read about the Fertile Crescent

Mr. Rahim Shabazz needs to be made aware that citing a patently false “fact” casts doubt on any other assertion he makes. In his August 7th Editorial letter he claims “Africans in the Nile Valley had domesticated vegetables, grains and other crops 7,000 years before any other civilization.”

I find it increasingly difficult to assign any credibility to Black historical revisionists who seemingly will not be satisfied until every major advance in early human history is rooted in Africa, true or not. What began as a justifiable crusade to make the world aware of actual African achievements by Black people proud of their heritage has increasingly fallen under the spell of agenda-driven propagandists and provocateurs who have yet to learn the lesson that material falsehoods professed as truth will eventually destroy what was originally a good cause.

As I understand it, the retreat of the last Ice Age (from c. 13,000—c.10,000 BCE) released huge amounts of water in many parts of the world and produced climate changes, such as plentiful and regular rainfall, which helped make desert land more fertile. Before long, people learned how to domesticate animals and farm fields. This major advance in people’s control over their food resources occurred very rapidly in what we now refer to as the Fertile Crescent, a region stretching from Anatolia (Turkey) across the eastern Mediterranean coast and Mesopotamia (Iraq) to the Zagros Mountains in Persia (Iran). In about 10,000 BCE hunter-gatherers found that if they planted cereal seeds in watered fields, they would grow into new cereal crops the next year.

The Great US Debt Downgrade

Dr. Justin Robinson, Head of Department & Lecturer in Management Studies,UWI,Cave Hill

On Friday August 5 2011, while most of Barbados was partying with Rihanna, there was a loud bang, and the financial world was shaken to the core with the news that major Credit Rating Agency, Standard & Poors (S&P) had downgraded the long term credit rating of the United States of America from AAA to AA+, and with a negative outlook. This momentous decision to downgrade the USA, justified or not, may well in my opinion, hasten a dramatic reduction in the role and influence of the CRAs in global financial markets, and the financial world will be much better for it.

CRAs are private profit oriented entities that issue an opinion on the likelihood a borrower will default on its debt. The opinion is issued in the form of a letter grade, with AAA being the highest rating. The industry is dominated by Moodys Investors Services and Standard & Poors, with Fitch running a distant third. Financial economists have long questioned the value added by the CRAs. To put it simply, many argue that in good times, rating agencies upgrade borrowers, and in bad times they downgrade them. Do you really need them to state the obvious? The CRAs were much maligned for assigning AAA ratings to now worthless subprime mortgage loans, and infamously rating Enron as “Investment Grade” in the same week the company filed for bankruptcy.

Much of the power of the CRAs seems to come from the fact that the credit opinions (ratings) they issue have been written into the law and contracts in many countries. For example, by law or contractual agreement many institutions are only allowed to invest in financial instruments carrying a certain credit rating by one of the major agencies. Also, in many instances, contracts require that financial instruments posted as collateral have a AAA rating. Financial Economists refer to this as the regulatory license granted to the CRAs. In essence to be a player in many financial markets you need the blessing of the CRAs. Due to this fact, attaining or losing a certain credit rating by one of the major agencies is a major issue for many investors and financial institutions. If these laws and contracts are enforced, then come Monday, a number of contracts would have been violated and investors may be forced to sell assets, find new collateral and so on. My guess is rather than face this massive inconvenience, or rather chaos, a number of clauses will either not be enforced or simply changed to allow institutions to continue to hold US government securities and use them as collateral for all kinds of financial contracts despite the downgrade. If this happens, the regulatory license, which has the source of the power of the CRAs would have been undermined and with it some of their influence.

CARIBBEAN STOCK REPORT July 25 to July 29 2011

Compiled by the Department of Management Studies, UWI Cave Hill - Click image to read in PDF

Rihanna’s Homecoming

Part of the large crowd on the ground of Kensington Oval who attended the Rihanna concert

They came from near and far, young and old, White and Black, rich and poor to be part of the historic homecoming performance of Bajan international pop star Rihanna. The Westbury girl did not disappoint!

A crowd estimated to be about thirty thousand people endured the opening acts and a lengthy delay which preceded the entry of Rihanna on stage well after her scheduled time. The wait was not in vain. She delivered a performance which was emboldened by dancing, fantastic use of stage lighting, use of props and excellent accompaniment by back-up singers, band and other support.

Rihanna’s frequent references to Barbados and use of the national colours during her performance should make Minister Richard Sealy and  Chairman  Elcock of the Barbados Tourism Association   believe they got 4 million dollars worth of publicity.The video of the performance should ensure that Barbados enjoys a legacy benefit for years to come.

The world maybe about to totter into another recession which is not good news for the tourism dependent Barbados. Rihanna’s homecoming is anticipated to provide a needed boost to the tourism product by giving her island home a piggyback ride on her global popularity.

Time For Barbadians To Participate In Our Democracy

The murder of six people at Campus Trendz in Tudor Street last year provoked cries across Barbados for the gallows to swing. When the perpetrators of the recent murders in Salters are apprehended, the same cries will be heard, again. The cries will become muffled at the realization Barbados is signatory to human rights agreements which frown on administering capital punishment. The question remains for many Barbadians, how can we get the gallows to swing again as a measure to combat rising heinous crime?

Recent events in the United Kingdom may signal hope that the return of hanging in Barbados may not be that remote a thought:

“From today [4 August 2011] the public will be allowed to set up Internet petitions on a Government website on any subject. Petitions which attract more than 100,000 supporters must be debated in the House of Commons. However, the scheme is likely to backfire immediately because right wing internet bloggers have been collecting signatures for several days calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty. “ – The Telegraph

Should Same-Sex Unions Be Legalized?

Submitted by Caswell Franklyn

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

I hate to get involved in an area where I have no personal experience or knowledge. I cannot speak to the attraction and sexual urges that some people have for their own gender. I am therefore writing from the perspective of someone who has been brought up and culturally conditioned to believe that homosexuality is immoral, sinful and should be condemned. However, I recognise that homosexuals are people like myself, and must be entitled to some basic rights. The question now is which rights, since some among us are saying that the lifestyle should be recognised as normal under the law.

I hope that all can agree that a society/country must put laws in place to ensure that it survives and continues to grow. It is therefore reasonable when laws are put in place to discourage and punish the misuse of harmful drugs, even though some might argue that the addict is only hurting himself. In reality, he is harming the society because he would eventually become a burden on the state.

Will Our Children Become Refugees In Barbados?

by Agyeman Kofi

I have but one favour to ask, after reading my rant and you think my rant from my Soap Box is a legitimate. I ask that you  add your voice by commenting and forwarding to everyone on your contact list and ask them to do the same. We have 115,312 persons in Barbados on Facebook and the politicians need to know how we the voters feel. I have a negative friend who tells me Bajans are too busy  to care about their rights unless it directly relates to them and I am wasting my time. Help me prove him wrong!

So let me want rant as the politicians have being saying recently and reiterate  its not my intention to promote anarchy. My only aim is truth,justice, equality, transparency and integrity as well preservation of the social fabric.

In 2011 the only things bajans seem willing to fight for is cake at PriceSmart. Many of you want to reap corn but not plant, but freedom is only gained and maintained through fight.