Senator Santia Bradshaw Companies Rake in $647,857 From Enterprise Growth Fund

Senator Santia Bradshaw and CEO of  Pyramid, Barbados Labour Party candidate for St. Michael South East

It has been drawn to BU’s attention that several companies which Senator Santia Bradshaw has significant interest have benefited in the hundreds of thousands from the Enterprise Growth Fund (EGFL). EGFL is a government agency which manages several funds to ‘assist with financing through tooling and retooling and expansion of businesses in the productive sectors’.

Based on the documents attached Pyramid Entertainment Management Inc  received what is described as a cumulative grant in 2011 of $450,000.00, Got Rythmn Inc received $146,000 in 2010 and Entertainment Network $51, 857.00.

In summary three Santia Bradshaw companies received $647,857 from the EGFL over a relatively short time period.

This is a government agency which is funded by the taxpayers of Barbados therefore BU deems our forage into the financial transactions mentioned as a matter of public interest. We want to know the basis for advancing greater than six hundred thousand dollars to the goodly Senator. The taxpayers want to know!

Relevant Links:

• Pyramid Entertainment Management (Notice of Directors)
• GOT Rythmn Inc (Notice of Directors)
• Entertainment Network Inc (Notice of Directors)
• Enterprise Growth Fund Ltd (Export Promotion and Marketing Fund)

A Picture Sums It Up!

Submitted by JULIA HANSCHELL

The sights and sound…yes the pic is meant to arouse sensibilities on a Sunday morning

There is a lot one could blog about this image. In this case the less said the better (check those grinning in the picture). All who witnessed this and similar incidences on the road, what was your thinking? Have we become numb to the point it makes no difference?

Recently Minister Stephen Lashley commented on the slack dress sightings at the popular  Wadadah’s Back 2 School Party. What does he and others in authority plan to do about it if anything? Yes individuals are responsible for their actions but some times one has to save jackasses from themselves.

Cover Drive Is #1 On British Charts

The Globe Cinema On The Path Of The Empire Theatre

Submitted by The Scout

The Globe Cinema

The closure of the Globe Cinema has brought to an end a period which will always be fresh in my mind. As a young boy, a group of fellows would have a cinema day, we started by attending the Globe at 12.30 PM, Olympic at 4.30 PM, Empire at 8.30 PM and the Plaza at midnight. From there it was Baxter’s Road for fried fish and we took the 6.00 AM bus for home.

The Globe Cinema was not only famous for good movies. I recall the night Jackie Opel out performed Percy Sledge and the Opels doing the same to the Drifters. Additionally there were many morning matinee shows with the Fantastics and other bands of the day.  Nowadays because of technology and progress many prefer to watch movies from wide screen TV’s in their living room or even on their lawns. Maybe the Globe can still be used for shows and concerts, we have the Frank Collymore Hall but that is limited in capacity. The Globe can accommodate a larger audience. Personally I wouldn’t want to see the Globe go in the same direction the Empire has gone. Both of these cinemas were blessed with very good stages suited for shows, we’ve allowed the Empire to run to ruin. Please do something to keep our heritage alive, going to the cinema was a true Bajan culture. Many relationships were made from cinema going. The Globe is the last of these cinemas.

Maybe government and private sector can assist with keeping it alive by using it as the concert hall for the National Youth Orchestra and Steel Band or any such functions. This is part of our past that should not be allowed to descend into a state of disrepair.

The Empire Strikes Back II, The Big Picture

The most effective way of using the Empire as an arts venue is to have it run under the auspices of the Central Bank management who currently administer  the Frank Collymore Hall (FCH). In this way, the administration is minimized with both operating under the same management team. We have to approach the task at hand in a holistic way, it is the only way, it is the only way.

While the Empire would run as a performing arts venue solely, the FCH ought to be marketed for business meetings, equipped with the latest in teleconferencing services, presentations, recordings,  other ancillary services and of course serve as a performing arts venue. The FCH has limited wing space, no fly space, a shallow stage and no orchestra pit and its seating is small. To put in an orchestra pit would mean sacrificing about 100 to 150 seats and the expense of excavation to access the pit by underground  would take it out of use for a long period of time.

The work begins with the need to build competitive packages to attract record companies that meet or undercut other international studios. This would include a cooperative effort by local stakeholders; the waiving of taxes on equipment brought in by recording companies by government and the like.

Then, there needs to be a major marketing push, Barbados, because of Rihanna has become a top of the mind name across the globe, we are ideally placed to be able to approach prominent names in the business. People like Simon Cowell, Mick Jagger  and L.A. Read to name three. If we build it, they will come because Barbados is not unfamiliar, these people have become known faces on the West Coast of Barbados over the years.

Rihanna Barbados Tour In The Works

Rihanna

Rihanna was plucked from the Combermere Secondary School in 2004 by international recording producer Evan Rogers. Her first release pon de replay was a mega-hit and since then it has been one hit after the next. The one disappointment for most Barbadians is the fact Rihanna has not been able to perform for her fans living in Barbados and in the region.

Based on our usual unimpeachable sources plans are afoot for Rihanna  to perform in Barbados at a date(s) between August and October 2011. The location of the concert is likely to be at the Kensington Oval. It is early days yet in the planning of the Rihanna Barbados Tour but indications point to the fact she plans to dazzle Barbadians by laying on a world class produced event. Our sources say the Rihanna Barbados Tour has the full backing of the Barbados government.

Last month Barbados launched the Diaspora Conference geared at enticing Barbadians living abroad to invest in Barbados. The initiative, the brainchild of Prime Minister David Thompson has come at a time when the Barbados economy is being severely affected by the current global economic conditions. To have Rihanna perform in Barbados – who can easily claim to be the most recognizable Bajan on the planet – provides a fillip to the government’s Diaspora initiative.

Rihanna’s Latest Video ‘Man Down’ Continues To Generate Controvery

Here is a link which explains it all.  At the core of the discussion, she shoots a man in the video.

Credit to Sargeant

 

Rihanna’s Image, Let It Go

Submitted by Charles S. Cadogan

I’ve read the article in Barbados Today regarding Rihanna’s image.  Sad to say, she’s not that interested in how anyone really feels. She’s in the business to make it by any means necessary.  Sex always was a big seller even if one has to use his or her imagination. Rihanna is selling what the public wants. See Rihanna’s latest video which is creating the buzz.

I can understand your feelings regarding her holding a diplomatic passport and expecting her to be different in her business approach. However you should never loose focus, she is in business not for herself but under contract to do what the company wants i.e. to recoup the money they expensed towards promoting her.

I saw the video and it is what it is to who want to take it where their imagination wants to go.  She is in the business to make money for the company so she too can get paid. Rihanna came on the scene like little Miss Innocent, but as time passed, she had to do what was expected of her if she wanted to be make it big.  Many of us do worse things than what she’s doing in her videos or her songs;  She is on her **JOB** doing what she has to do to stay on top of the industry.  We might not like what she is doing  but remember she is now a woman who can make her own choices;

I remember Grace Jones from Jamaica who was off the hook how she dressed and acted. This doesn’t make the person less than who they are at the end of the day.  Just hope and pray that during her run that she will continue to be successful, and be a **LADY** in public.  To be quite honest with you what she is doing isn’t nothing new or any different than many others who are in the business.  Rihanna never started out to be another Queen of Soul.

Fighting The Fight Against The Corruption Of Public Morals

CEO Senator Santia Bradshaw of Pyramid and Barbados Labour Party candidate for St. Michael South East (santiabradshaw.com)

Sometimes the most optimistic person in this world is forced to hang their heads and cry shame. Listen to the audio of one of the most popular artists in Barbados. Although recently fired by Voice of Barbados (VOB) he had no difficulty getting back on the airwaves compliments of SLAM 101.1. He is everywhere, on the ZRs, in the dancehalls, the calypso tents, on facebook, dub fetes, he is ubiquitous. He has a loyal fan club mainly comprised of our young minds.

What does he have going for him? He is a member of the Pyramid stable of artists managed by budding politician Senator Santia Bradshaw.

BU family you be the judge. Is he entitled to unbridled freedom of expression under the cloak of freedom of expression? How should we view the role of CEO Senator Santia Bradshaw of Pyramid and Barbados Labour Party candidate for St. Michael South East in this matter. Do we have a case of an artist corrupting public morals?

What can we say? What are we to do?

PLEASE NOTE THE AUDIO CONTAINS OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE AND SHOULD NOT BE LISTENED TO IN THE PRESENCE OF MINORS.

The Association Of Music Entrepreneurs Working To Expose Barbados Talent

Submitted by DrenalinProductions.biz on behalf of the Association of Music Entrepreneurs Of Barbados

Local musicians and artistes are feeling the impact of the global recession resulting in the shrinking of international bookings and performance revenues.  This has come from the newly elected president of The Association Of Music Entrepreneurs, George Thomas. Mr Thomas however believes that AME is well positioned and committed to play an effective role .in helping earn foreign exchange and stimulate economic growth through the export of local music.

Speaking on the heels of their recently held AGM, Thomas indicated that the non profit organisation is finalising plans for a range of initiatives aimed at increasing the promotion and export of local music that will result in Barbadian artistes and music finding new markets overseas.  One such planned activity is a trip to The National Association For Campus Activities marketplace (NACA) in February 2011, where the AME expects to showcase the talents of local musical acts to the largest collegiate gathering in the world.  NACA is a 50-year-old organisation and the largest campus activities marketplace in North America, where representatives of more than 500 colleges convene annually to book a variety of entertainment acts for their campus entertainment and activities calendars.  Next year’s showcase will be held in Missouri, and according to Thomas, provides an unprecedented opportunity for Barbados music export sector to build new markets for local artistes and musicians who have been hard hit and seen a steady and significant decline in revenues even from traditional bread and butter Diaspora markets.

Guh Down, Guh Down, Down De Toilet – The Chicks Are Coming Home To Roost

The video like many is being circulated on Facebook and captures some of our young children dancing to the popular Lil Rick song Guh Down. BU notes that there are adults in the thick of things. In the words given currency by Fred R. Barnard, a picture is worth a thousand words.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things – King James Bible

Should The Barbados Board of Tourism Lead The Way In The Revival Of Our Crop Over Festival?

Submitted by People’s Democratic Congress (PDC)

Another Crop Over Festival in Barbados has ended, with entertainer  Blood capturing the Road March title from other contenders with the song “Foot on Fire”. And truth be told, had NOT for its own capacity to be made so intensely commercially viable but so wretchedly politically exploitable by a few power-hungry money-grubbing people, this Crop Over Festival would have long gone by the way side like it previously did.

But, like the wider society, polity, and so-called economy in Barbados, this really little, cultural extravaganza, a micro-cosm, is being used by many elites/government functionaries for the primary purposes of aiding in the elite/state political exploitation of the masses and middle classes by ideological financial cultural imperialist means.

So, while there is no longer – as it really was – during the old Barbadian plantation enslavement society  – the burning of “Mr. Harding” to signal the ending of Crop Over festivities and the beginning of “hard times” in between the Crop Seasons then, and while there is no longer in today’s post-independence Barbadian society too – but quite regrettably however – the burning of Mr. Harding to signify the end of the modern day Crop Over Festival, it can be safely argued by the People’s Democratic Congress (PDC) that long since those days when the Crop Over Festival was revived by the Barbados Board of Tourism in 1974, to principally woo more tourists to the island during the so-called summer season in Barbados, following its demise in the 1940s owing to the continuing decline in the importance of the sugar industry to the Barbados economy, there would have been many fundamentally wrong and senseless decisions and policies linking the Crop Over Festival more and more to local Tourism,
a very fickle, culturally destructive industry, to increase its commercial income generating potential.

Rihanna The Sexy

Pop R&B song bird Barbadian Rihanna’s popularity continues to propagate as she promulgates her bad girl image. Despite the haters she continues to scorch the music charts across the globe. Many Barbadians have expressed concern about how her handlers have managed her image since her break-through Pon de Replay single. The sweet innocent 17 year old Combermerian is no more.

Her recent video (above) confirms once again that Rihanna is committed to wearing the bad girl Madonna like image.  Babadians could like it or lump it, Rihanna’s image is about making money and she seems to be doing a good job at it. The question to be asked against the background of the recent banning of Movado and Vybz Kartel, are we practising double standards given the bad girl image being portrayed by Rihanna supported by her naughty lyrics? Whenever we question how our youth ambassador is managing her career the haters surface. Given her global popularity and the fact she happens to be Bajan translates to many young Barbadians idolizing her.

Should we talk about banning some of her music as well?