UPDATE
BU just had to comment on the fact that mainstream media continues to ignore the contribution that blogs and other Internet forums
are doing to distribute information which the mainstream media seem unable to adequately handle. Their “cold shoulder” approach to Barbados Free Press which has brought a freshness to reporting Barbados news; especially in the the political arena can only be interpreted as backward and puerile. It is known by some of us that BFP and other Bajan Internet blogs and chat are used to provide news content for journalists in Barbados. Although we here at BU do no always agree with BFP we applaud what they have done so far to shed light where others would want to keep it dark.
David
Ezra Alleyne Tackles Adrian Loveridge, But Avoids Mentioning Barbados Free Press
Alleyne Says He Doesn’t Want To Even Breathe The Same Air As Loveridge
Labels Loveridge As “Minor Innkeeper Who Dabbles Sometimes In The Difficult Art Of Self-Expression…”
Ezra Alleyne seems to be all upset about a Barbados Free Press article “Ezra Alleyne’s Spin Doctor Mathematics“ written by Adrian Loveridge, so he has written a retaliatory piece in The Nation News called “Of Two Hazards“.
Ezra’s mathematics of success are still wildly reminiscent of LSD trips as portrayed in bad Hollywood movies. According to Erza, the fact that we spent half a billion dollars on Cricket World Cup and made 24 million in ticket sales is fabulously successful.
Uh huh.
Shhhh! Don’t Say “Barbados Free Press”
Extracted from: Barbados Free Press
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The whole idea of the Blogosphere and the influence it can have on shaping the opinions of others in a world now transformed to a global village is relatively new in the Barbados landscape. However, since 1999 in the more mature Internet markets blogs have been accepted as a way to promulgate opinions. As the Wikipedia definition outlines the concept of creating a Blogosphere is only realized when there is a conscious recognition by the authors of blogs to read, comment on and cite other blogs. A good illustration of the power of the Blogosphere can be seen in the recent demise of Imus who made the now famous utterance “nappy head hoes“. A quick Google of the Internet about the role the Blogosphere played in the final decision to fire his ass is documented in literally thousands of blogs littered over the Internet.
In the last year Barbados has seen the rise of the Barbados Free Press which has blazed a trail for others to follow. A true assessment if we examine the current status of the Barbados Blogosphere is that there is a wide gap between Barbados Free Press and the other blogs. The entry of BU along with other blogs like Bajan Reporter et al will have a lot to do to create the critical mass of activity to build a vibrant Blogosphere which can influence public opinion. BU wishes to acknowledge the encouragement which BFP has given to date to direct traffic to our site and to critique articles posted. The reality is that to promote an active Blogosphere the many other Barbadian blogs which have been established need to become more active, additionally BU wishes to join in the call for others to get on board. It will not be an easy task especially in the context of government’s response to blogging. Recently the Deputy Prime Minister has been quoted as saying in the Nation newspaper:
POPULAR ELECTRONIC OUTLETS for citizens to air their views like call-in programmes and Internet blogs ought to have a “framework of accountability”.
She spoke too, of “blogs” – online postings of individuals’ views and comments to which surfers of the Internet can respond – which, because of the technology, could not be regulated.
“[Blogs] will marginalise our existence as parliaments and will cause disrespect, not just for the rule of law, but for the institutions that are required to keep our societies safe,” she said.
There was also a very active blog topic on Barbados Free Press where many bloggers vented about the Deputy Prime Minister’s view on the need for blogs to be regulated. We over at BU feel that there is perhaps some room for regulation because all too often given the free wheeling nature of debate in the Blogosphere there is the frequent ocurrence of personal attacks and filthy language which could act as a disincentive for mainstream society to participate. Another blogger who appears to be more eloquent than we can ever be echoes a similar opinion over at The Wolf’s How blog.
We have uploaded the Barbados Defamation Act 1999 as a resource. To read you need to have Adobe Reader installed.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.