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It is good to see the political parties in Barbados not shy about using the technology to deliver their respective campaigns. Of the two parties it appears that the Democratic Labour Party has been the more aggressive – see link to YouTube. The power of the Internet should not be underestimated when discussing the dissemination of information to a global audience. An example, our article was featured in today’sThe Issue“, an Internet newspaper, which features stories originated by blogs from across the globe.

11 responses to “Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Using The Internet To Spread The Word”


  1. Keep it up DLP. You have my full support for what you are doing.

    I congratulate fearless David Thompson, Estwick, Jones and Sealy for a great job in the House. I thank the erudite Freundel Stuart for putting developments in Barbados in context. Denis Lowe has passion and I am voting for him in Christ Church.

    I want David Thompson to tell the country about Mariano Browne who is the new Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in Trinidad and the big sell-out of Barbados by Owen Arthur.

    He must not be afraid. Tell the country about the cheques from Mariano to Owen, the Coast Guard Relocation project, GEMS, the Hall oof Justice and all of the other things that Owen Arthur empowered Mariano Browne to do in Barbados!

    David, go for it. I know you can do it and the country needs you. You are the only fearless one and you stand tall.

    BU: Investigate Mariano Browne and you will find some stuff that will exceed your space limits!


  2. Is it not funny when Owing had the people eating out of his hand and when he was feeding them the crap that he was, how all was smooth sailing and all was fine and dandy but the masses start to speak out a little bit and the tyrant in he and his party appears?
    They have lost touch and seriously so with the average person in the street and the reason for this is the extent of the arrogance and the deception and dishonesty that has been the trademark of this administration in its last 7 years in power and control of the treasury’s purse strings.
    When we allow ourselves to have people such as the Nicholls’s, Bannister’s, Washington’s, Johnson’s, Shorey’s, Cox’s, Wilkinson’s, Lynch’s, Clarke’s, Mottley’s, Liz Thompson’s et al sitting on the sidelines collecting large payments from illegal transactions to be directing these ill gotten gains to their and Arthurs bank accounts it is a very sad day in the lives of the Barbadian public.
    Maybe just maybe the voters now to are learning and seeing the true extent of the corruption and their stealing and are now refusing to accept anymore of it, good for them , they deserve much better than this type of activity.
    I would also like to take a moment to extend my gratitude to both BFP and BU for their public service to this island and because of their effort and exposure of the SLOT MACHINE deal among Owing, Nicholls, Washington and Johnson that the coverage given to this dishonesty in gov’t has delayed or halted the implementation of the 2,500 new machines into the islands every nook and cranny bar on this island, thank you BFP and BU for making a real contribution to the betterment of the Barbadian society.


  3. This was on BFP site and I think it is a very true statement of what is goiung on in Barbados at the moment.

    Barbados BLP Government Hurls The Worst It Can Think Of At The Opposition – “More Whites Like The DLP”
    Jump to Comments
    Government Getting Desperate As Election Options Tighten

    You can taste the desperation in the latest government BLP rant published in The Nation News. You can smell the fear as the government finds itself getting backed into a corner with election time coming.

    This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Cricket World Cup was supposed to have been a feel-good springboard into an election: a triumph on the international stage with a thousand yachts offshore and every home on the island transformed into a full-house bed and breakfast.

    Instead of a showpiece, the BLP government proved it couldn’t even erect lights at Kensington with two year’s notice. We’ll not recap the entire CWC disaster here except to say that the Prime Minister and everyone else wishes they’d never heard of Cricket World Cup.

    Then there were the traffic and cave-in deaths. Although the deaths cannot be laid directly at the feet of government, they highlighted various government failings and unfulfilled promises over the years. No feel-good election springboard there.

    No “Feel-Good” Election Mood On The Horizon

    One PR disaster followed another all year: Noel “Instant Millionaire” Lynch’s guilty indignation at being asked a simple question on Brass Tacks radio, the Hardwood Housing scandal, cost overruns for the prison and flyovers, hiring contractors who have been accused of kickbacks to politicians, police beating journalists, the hospital scandals and on and on and on.

    Hardly a “feel-good” foundation for calling an election.

    Yet… the time is getting shorter and the government can’t seem to catch its breath with new corruption revelations surfacing every week. That’s not even considering that the FBI’s charges against prison builder VECO are proceeding in the USA with all those Barbados connections that Owen knows about but we don’t yet.

    Nope, things aren’t going to get “feel good” anytime soon!

    BLP Government Plays The Racist “Whitey Likes The DLP” Card

    So what’s the worst that the BLP can think of to say against the Opposition DLP?

    Whites are moving their support from the BLP to the DLP – according to the BLP’s latest rant at the Nation BLP COLUMN: Thompson’s Sorry State…

    That, today, under Thompson, the DLP’s Afro (black) support continues to fall while its Anglo (white) support spirals upwards is testimony to the extent to which the political makeup of the DLP is changing.

    As shown in the last poll, the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) Afro support stood at 90 per cent, while its Anglo support stood at 1.5 per cent. Conversely, the DLP’s Afro (black) support stands at 87.0 per cent while its Anglo (white) support stands at 2.2 per cent. These statistics speak volumes and may well explain why the working-class Barbadians like Mr Mascoll, Hamilton Lashley and others for whom Barrow built the DLP can no longer feel at home at George Street.. .

    … from the Nation News article BLP COLUMN: Thompson’s Sorry State

    Is White Support As A Group Shifting To The DLP?

    Whether its true or not almost doesn’t matter. The fact that the BLP would crawl so low as to paint “whites” as the enemy of the people, the enemy of Barbados, is despicable.

    But standard fare for a party that won’t even put a photo of any lighter-skinned Bajan on its website.

    Maybe The White Business Class Is Keeping Options Open?

    Owen and the gang have been happily doing business all these years with the white business class – accepting “campaign donations” and all the other benefits that have made most of the cabinet members into millionaires while in “public service”.

    Which is why it is so outrageous for the BLP to now start beating the anti-white drums.

    Does the Prime Minister look like he’s unhappy with the white business class?

    It might be true though that the white business class IS shifting its support from the BLP to the DLP…

    No one ever said that our business leaders – white or black – are stupid. Business would rather back a winner than a loser.

    So the BLP article might be telling the truth about the shift in white support – but the shift isn’t about ideological issues…

    The white business class thinks that David Thompson just might be the next Prime Minister of Barbados.
    Wishing in Vain
    November 10th, 2007 at 5:09 am
    I was reading that load of nonsense earlier today and as I did so Was wondering if either of these two blogs would pick it up and elaborate on it and I am happy to see that it has caught your attention.

    Yes it maybe true that the support maybe shifting but can you blame them for doing so?

    I think not why would anyone want to be associated with the extent of the dishonesty and corruption as it exist within the blp unless of course you the supporter are just as dishonest and corrupt as the ruling party is.
    It has very little to do with the colour of the skin but moreso to do with the reality of this distraction is bankrupt of ideas and that people are intolerant of the ongoing stealing.

    It is not only white people who are shifting their support but how do you explain the Doctors support of the DLP it is a case of the blp have been in power for nearly 15 years and the dire conditions within the health care system, every aspect of the health care system is sick and needs urgent attention (it has needed urgent attention for somewhile now) but Walcott is so busy doing anything else but what he is being paid to that the ministry is badly neglected and badly under funded (this will give you some idea as to Arthur’s focus and care for those that he expects to vote for him) that it has left the doctors seeking support and hope and where do you think they are looking for this support and hope ?

    Believe me neither Walcott nor Arthur or this gov’t has the ministry of Health at heart hence the desperation that is clearly on the minds of the hardworking doctors of the QEH.

    It is not a colour issue it is more about the reason for the swing of support and that is this admistration is too filled with Bribery VECO PRISON , Fraud DANOS 3S ROADWORKS, Corruption CHEQUE and people are now saying enough is enough.

    The extent of the desperation is clear to see with them posting as many as three different stories per day on their blog site, then this haphazard approach to the suddenly exposed cost of living issues, they ought to have taken Mr. Thompson’s idea and remove the VAT on the Electricity bill would be a serious and sensible way forward.

    The removal of the duty on two yes 2 meats can in no way make any meaningful contribution to reducing the cost of living but here again just another case of hodge podge lets try this to see if it will generate a vote here and vote there for them.
    In closing let me say that not the entire population is as dishonest as Owing and his gang of crooks and want to get this country back on track to an honest gov’t and we in turn do not want to be aligned and associated with gross corruption.
    Littleboy
    November 10th, 2007 at 7:54 am
    The race card is nothing new.It lulls the educated, the mis-educated and the uneducated into a sense of dem-really-fuh-we/they-are-really-for-us.

    However, the reality is that no matter who has held the reigns of government the white business class always courts them and gets what they want.

    Despite the setting up of a “Truth and Reconciliation Committee” some years ago, the problem of separatism still exists in Barbados.
    Ask any interracial couple and you will hear about the negative comments endured daily.

    Those who dare to speak out against it are labelled as racist by both black and white.We still have a long way to go as a nation.

    I am afraid that the influx of the nouveau riche, who are presently buying up our land and re-colonizing Barbados, will not help. Too many of them treat their staff and other Bajans with disdain.

    Oh, for a spirit of unity!!!
    Lord help us!!!
    Tony
    November 10th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
    The BLP is showing signs of desperation when the spin doctors can find time to print this type of nonsense. It is a given that historically white Barbadians were aligned to the BLP. The business class will normally gravitate to the party which they think will serve their interests. I think what has happened is that they are tired with the behaviour and arrogance of the present government. Does the BLP think all Barbadians are stupid? By the way ANONYMOUS why do you have to resort to the vulgar language on the blog? I You have to respect another person’s opinion even if you strongly disagree with it. I am sure that you are a cultured and intelligent person and these writings are beneath your intellect. Is this your way of expressing your desperation?


  4. I would also like to take a moment to extend my gratitude to both BFP and BU for their public service to this island and because of their effort and exposure of the SLOT MACHINE deal among Owing, Nicholls, Washington and Johnson that the coverage given to this dishonesty in gov’t has delayed or halted the implementation of the 2,500 new machines into the islands every nook and cranny bar on this island, thank you BFP and BU for making a real contribution to the betterment of the Barbadian society.
    It is because of sites like yours and the internet that has put a partial halt to some of the corruption that has been taking place on this island Barbados but the this new means of communication is being used very sensibily by the the progressive and forward thinking party the DLP just another example of the extent of the tiredness and tardiness of the current admistration in power they are now becoming so preoccupied with saving their behinds from jail everthing else pales into nothing while they attempt to conceal their tracks of dishonesty.
    Just look at the piece meal methods that they are attempting to use to handle the crisis of the economy (Is Arthur suppose to be a genius in this department if so he is really screwing us into the ground) and the upward spiralling cost of living, a little of this a little of that but no real or serious plan to address the real problem confronting our affairs.


  5. Congrats to Mr Ronald Jones who is the parties IT specialist and has done and continues to do an excellent job with their site and the feeding of current information to their website, now you can visit their site like the next day and find the speeches posted and the site updated with new information that is the way to go party.
    I must also compliment them on that introduction at the Deacons road meeting it was indeed an excellent presentation and upbeat and lively lead into Mr Thompson’s hard hitting speach but it was very cleverly put together, nice work !!


  6. BAJANS OPEN YOUR EYES look at the ruling party in barbados very carefull now there are try to foul you by starting black vs white talk to stop you from voting for the dlp the white people in barbados see what owen is doing and dont want nothing more to do with him , they see he is selling out barbados when they were supporting his party every thing was all right remember they are bajans too cut out this race card trick for votes shame on you owen we dont want race in this we are all bajans even if we are black or white this is very low thinking by the BLP dont try to divide us stand up and take your licks like a man barbados for bajans first, you are giveing away our fields and our hills and we want them all back and we dont buy your crap written in the nation this week it means you are like a dying man catching at a straw, the BLP is done it never had a plan to save us my people there have all ready given out money to some of you to vote them back in office take the money and vote them out there are all very rich now but yet we cant cope with the prices in the supermarkets so we cant eat the right food for our health we will vote for our bellies which are hungry for a long long time all this time and they now looking at the high prices this is an election gimmick they have got to go if you vote wrong you would soon die we have been exploited enough and we are not taking it any more please vote the BLP out dont be the laugh stock of the carribean we are to smart for that


  7. When politicians operate on the basis that at least 10 % of the population can be bought this in itself is a very revealing insight to how people from within the blp see these elections and trust me they have the resources to buy much more than 10 % of the vote.
    The second part of this scene is there a fight being created between the Barbadian white elite and the Sandy Lane white elite to see who has more of Owing’s attention and is the Barbadian elite loosing out to the Irish and English elite and maybe this is why they are swinging their money and their vote?
    Think on these things they may mean something to us.


  8. I have stated on this site before the extent of climbing duties and taxes are playing on the cost of living but more so I want also to mention the number of levels of markup that exist in many products imported by these major importers, when they opt to setup offshore companies to route their orders thru and these offshore companies put on their markup then they onward sell this same item to another division of the same company where they in turn put on another level of markup does this method not create artificial increases in the cost of living?
    Classic example being the BS&T group where they setup a shell company in Costa Rica that is partly owned by the wife of the Chairman and this company is used to pass transactions thru for the purchase of bottles for Banks, now have you seen or heard Cozier or any of them at Banks explaining this sad situation?

    For further reading see the CB comments below where they state that the import duties have risen once again.

    Rise reported in Government tax revenues
    GOVERNMENT’S Overall tax revenues rose by 3.6 per cent during the period January to September this year, says Dr. Marion Williams, Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados. She also reported that import duties rose by 12.1% during the first nine months of this year,value-added tax receipts were up by 1.8%, on top of an expansion of 12.1% in the corresponding period of 2006.Direct taxes increased by 5.5% during the review period, Government’s fiscal deficit is anticipated to reach around 2.5 per cent of GDP, approximately 1.0 percentage point above the ratio registered one year ago.

    And we are wondering why our cost of living is climbing?
    Take a look at the fact that gov’t continues to tax us off the map, Mr Benn was correct in his call to remove taxes of feeds etc for the livestock and to remove the burdensome VAT on electricty bills and maybe we will make a meaningful effort to reduce the cost of living.


  9. The post below is proving the point that the DLP are using the WWW to their best advantage.

    November 9th, 2007
    FRANCIS DEPEIZA VOWS TO SUPPORT ST. MICHAEL NORTH CONSTITUENCY AND BARBADOS
    I come to the Barbadian political landscape with a vision for the economic development of Barbados into a diversified and globally competitive economy. Recognizing that our principal resource is the intellect of our Barbadian people, one of the platforms on which this vision is built is the creation of a policy and framework to facilitate
    • the meaningful investment in the creative energies of our people, and secondly,
    • tangible opportunities for commercial exploitation of the indigenous innovation technologies produced to generate foreign exchange.

    From since the time that I was called to service by my party as its standard bearer in the constituency of St Michael North, I have been systematically introducing myself to the constituents and have been very involved in community development activities in your neighborhood, including among other things being the patron of the out-of-season football tournaments falling between the last 2 BFA seasons; the regional tape-ball cricket tournament hosted at the Eden Lodge playing field; and most recently securing sponsorship for the Eden Lodge Primary School’s cricket team competing the Herman Griffith Primary School tournament.

    My educational foundation began in Barbados at the St John the Baptist Primary School and later at the St James Mixed School as it then was and later still at the Erdiston Primary School.

    When I graduated from Harrison College, my tertiary education continued with my becoming a qualified Chemical Engineer by training graduating from the Howard University School of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering (BSChE). I am also an Attorney-at-Law with a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Miami School of Law. I returned to Barbados to make a contribution to this country upon completion of the six-month conversion course at the University of the West Indies Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas to qualify for the Certificate of Legal Education (CLE).

    In addition to being called to the local Bar, I am also a member of the New York State Bar and the American Bar Association.

    In my work-life, I first became associated with the law firm of Carrington & Sealy (est. 1872), in 1996 and have continued my professional practice with them primarily in the fiELD of corporate law specializing in Patent law, fusing the disciplines of Engineering and law.

    In 2005, I became a Partner of that Firm with principal responsibility for the technical disciplines in intellectual property law and medical malpractice litigation. I remained a Partner of the Firm until my decision in September 2006 to serve the community as a candidate for the Democratic Labour Party the next time an election is called in the St. Michael North Constituency.

    It is from this background that I offer my skills in service to the constituency of St Michael North and to Barbados. With the benefit of the DLP’s educational policies, I was afforded the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and expertise to give effect to my vision for the development of Barbados. My daily work with the WTO treaties affords me the opportunity to come to the table with a working knowledge of the oppoRtunities available for Barbados and not with the academic approach that causes this present Government to view these treaties with fear and apprehension.

    I know how to help David Thompson and the DLP team build this economy through meaningful investment in the productive sectors.

    But we need your assistance. I need your assistance.

    The upcoming election is a fight to reclaim good and just governance for Barbados in the interest of all Barbadians. We must require that the present Government account to us for the so-called cost-overruns; for the decisions made as our Board of Directors to spend our tax dollars to prioritize in favour of those persons by my Comrade Kellman’s categorization as the “too few”, as opposed to the underlying DLP policy which informs all of our policy development over the years: government must exist to help those less able to help themselves.

    My fight on your behalf calls this Government to account for being principally responsible for the exorbitant cost of living because of its policy in this essentially retail economy to collect VAT from
    1. the customs broker (+15%);
    2. the Customs Department (+32.25%);
    3. the wholesaler (+56%); and
    4. the retailer (+95%)
    NOTWITHSTANDING THAT THERE IS NO CHANGE TO THE COMMODITY, with the exception of some weebles, or maybe some rust on the BRC!!

    By reason of the way they choose to implement the VAT ALONE, the Government of Barbados stands indicted for being solely responsible for an almost quadrupling of the increase in the cost of most goods which we necessarily have to import through our only commercial shipping port by the time it reaches the consumer.

    Can this be fair? Can this be just? How dare they blame the corporate sector for price gouging?

    To reclaim this government, it requires all of us to act affirmatively. I will be depending on you, and other likeminded persons like you, to spread the positive message that the Democratic Labour Party provides in each of our public presentations.

    In the immediate past election in St Michael North, the incumbent defeated the DLP candidate by 800+ votes in an election when 3,000…………….. 3,000 of your neighbours did not vote!

    We need your help. I need your help. The Democratic Labour Party is depending on you to help spread the message. I need you to encourage your friends and neighbours to come out and vote. If you bring them to the polls with you, we will be empowered to save this economy and to restore hope in the people of this country that we can and will do better. With your support, the Democratic Labour Party will be successful at the polls with the return of St Michael North as but one of all of the St Michael seats.

    Please feel free to contact me at 246-422-6705 to confirm any additional ways in which you can assist this campaign. Your thoughts and prayers for the success of this campaign are appreciated. You are also encouraged to contact me for us to share a more detailed and expansive discussion of the vision for which I fight. Your input will be immeasurable.

    I look forward to hearing from you and of course to ultimately representing you and the wider constituency of St Michael North in this nation’s House of Assembly.


  10. In the same way a business has to market using the traditional channel, in the new channel which the Internet has opened up marketing strategies have to be implemented as well.


  11. This lot are almost as destructive as a pack of Steppe Lemming.
    MIA DOING THE POLITICAL DOG DANCE
    FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, as the political temperature rose, independent observers would have wondered what ever became of Mia Mottley, the once vaunted heir to the throne of Owen Arthur. Surely the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) election train could not be “puffing, ready for take off” with Mottley nowhere in sight.

    In Barbados today, they are those who still insist the Deputy Prime Minister was demoted when she was stripped of Attorney-General and made minister of “what no one really understands”, but which appears substantially to be junior to that of Clyde Mascoll.

    Mottley, it would appear, was also overlooked for the chairmanship of the BLP, when a few Sundays ago Prime Minister Owen Arthur was forced, constitutionally, to vacate that position.

    It was not David Thompson, but rather Owen Arthur who said on the floor of his party’s conference that Mottley had been seriously wounded in the preceding months. Just when Mottley thought she had sat out and lived down the fallout from a mouthful of criticisms, the Prime Minister brought her plight back into sharp focus by singling her out as a wounded soldier in the special victims unit of the BLP. The political guile of Arthur is amazing!

    Nonetheless, general elections are around the corner and Mottley, it has clearly been determined, must be resurrected and reincarnated if the BLP is to have a chance at the polls. So, notwithstanding that Mascoll has been parading and paraded as the crown prince of the BLP, strategists, it would appear, recognised that he is totally useless in the scheme of things, and that Mottley would have to be politically rehabilitated if several parliamentary seats in St Michael are to be saved. This therefore explains the heightened political activity and media presence of the Deputy Prime Minister in the past seven days. She has returned from seeming political exile “totally rebranded”.

    Mottley has had more positive Press in the last seven days than she had in the previous seven months when her presumably wounded state was considered more a liability than an asset to her party and Government. Today, however, seats have got to be saved in the St Michael area and all of a sudden the portfolio of minister with responsibility for the Urban Development Commission (UDC) takes on new life.

    For four years, the cries of poor people across St Michael for help and relief from the UDC fell on deaf ears. Shadow Minister Dr David Estwick and several of his colleague candidates in the Democratic Labour Party shouted and screamed themselves hoarse, but the UDC was unresponsive to their cries and those of the people. Even at the time of the now historic sprucing up of the environs of Kensington, in the lead-up to the finals of Cricket World Cup, the decision was taken to de-emphasise the role and relevance of the UDC and utilize the up-to-that-point unrecognisable talent of a declared BLP candidate to lead the effort. A few weeks ago the management of the UDC changed hands in an unspectacular fashion, and this too was not touted as any turning point in the life of the organisation.

    But the image of Mottley had to be rehabilitated, and how better than with “a poor old lady” who had benefited fromthe kindness, sensitivity and generosity of this Government, under the minister’s watch?

    Mottley, it can be said, donned her Sunday finest, with tons of make-up and new hairstyle to boot, and headed into the Orleans for a Hollywood-style photo shoot.

    Several years ago, Aaron Truss got a tongue-lashing from Barbadians for the inappropriateness of posing for the cameras at the expense of the pride and dignity of others. Mottley comes 20 years later and does the same thing, and expects to be credited for it.

    There is nothing positive in a photograph of ordinary, poor working-class Barbadians benefiting from richly deserved state handouts in an election year.

    This carefully, and one dares say, professionally choreographed public relations exercise was in poor taste. The programme of the UDC could have been spelt out more appropriately from the public platform.

    But, I doubt such crude political strategies will positively influence the vote of a single Barbadian this time around.

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