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Here is what Kammie Holder is writing elsewhere Credit to Nation Newspaper 09/07/2010
Kammie Holder

Negativity, stupidity, red tape, common sense and ignorance in pure Barbados style. The aforementioned adjectives are observations of pervasive descriptives within Barbados.

Why, is it that it that the once popular Brass Tacks talk show now seems to be the embryo for negativity in Barbados. Should not moderators put aside their bull and bias, to inform and educate listeners as opinion leaders?

I heard recently that experts on water authority don’t believe that Barbados is a water scarce country. Is this the same Barbados where taps run dry? Was I dreaming when I saw a Barbados Water Authority truck pumping water into a gully to make soil soft for a motor sport during CBC TV Wednesday evening sports news? Seem to me this is classic Barbados stupidity?

Our existing fresh water resources are under heavy threat from overexploitation, pollution, and global warming.  Twenty litres are deemed to be the minimum daily requirement for drinking, washing, cooking and sanitation. Such unsustainable consumption levels have led to  water scarcity and significantly altered freshwater ecosystems.

Consider also this: Have you ever tried to pay a cashier at 2:30 p.m. within a private company and the cashier booth was closed? In the year 2010 Government revenue collection agencies cashiers stop taking cash at 2:30 pm, whose  idea it is to continue this tradition, surely not the unions. Can’t be, because aren’t these the same unions who seek increases for workers in recessionary times? Is this a case of being hung by red tape?

Mr Ronald Jones, the acting Prime Minister must be commended for showing great common sense with regards to supporting the need for increased agriculture production. Sir, your pronouncements were bold and only when we get our Ministry of Agriculture personnel to show greater leadership, will we have food security and a decreased food import bill. Have we been defeated by an army of gastropods masquerading as giant Africans.

Ignorance should be attributed to those at MTW who appear not to possess the knowledge that the rainy season starts in July. What would it have cost if Joes River Bridge was worked on 24 hours, seven days a week? What is it costing for the building and reinforcement of the temporary road via Joes River Forest? How much more is it costing the Transport Board? People it’s slippery when wet !

Kammie Holder the boy from the village is studying the personality of the erratic but is a determined Salmon swimming up stream!

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165 responses to “Brass Tacks, BWA, Crops, and MTW”


  1. That is a loaded poll .Different strokes for different folks. However I will opin on TM, Reason being that he does not cow tongue to the masses. However he must not go overboard in alienating his audiences. Right now he is my Favourite. That does not necesarily means he is the best.


  2. I have two problems with Brass Tacks.

    Tony Marshall and David Ellis.

    David Ellis is tolerable.

    But Tony Marshall, he drums up the worst in me. When I hear him put his nonsensical opinions to people I get so upset. He never allows anyone to have an opinion which differs from his. If their opinion differs from his the callers are treated with disdain bordering on scorn.

    What Mr. Marshall needs to consider is we are all different and as such each of us has an opinion and if ours differs from his then that is a good thing as it is our differences which make us unique.

    However, I must admit that OCM is smart as even though some of us villify and sometimes really feel like cursing Tony Marshall when he is on the show has a steady stream of callers.

    As for Tell it Like it is, I miss this and maybe us the listeners need to petition VOB to bring it back. I would much rather hear a live version of a less popular call-in program than a repeat of Brass Tacks which I already heard for the day. They can go back to repeating Brass Tacks at midnight as usual.


  3. The fact that his name is being mentioned be it being negatively or positively means that he has the right ingredients necessary to be a successful talk show host even if he is not well liked He is the kind of person that we all “Love to Hate” but instead of tuning him out we vibrate to his show like addicts. Most sponsors would buy on his programe because they know people are always listening. Maybe if he play his cards right he can become Barbados Rush Limbaugh.!LOL


  4. @ ac
    he is just VOB’s GP


  5. @Crusoe

    one caller noted that people were jealous of him because he went to HC.


  6. A few weeks ago the topic of all things was Aircraft Braking System, where many a caller viced hie “expert opinion”. This is from a people who are still struggling to keep common old trucks and cars on the road. These call in shows ,which we are inundated with from morning till midnight and every day on most radio stations are good for the radio stations,as it decreases their operating budget significantly,as they do not have to worry about providing listeners with programmes of quality,or even excellent presenters. It is more or less a do-it-yourself programming. Many people have now gone off radio due to the many call-in programmes and the repetition of the same callers participating in almost every programme with an identical subject.
    The only time I tune in for sometime is on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Tony Marshall is on,as a lot of those callers who really want to show the world how clever they are,and to hear their own selves braying, shy away from Tony Marshall.


  7. Interesting to hear the news making the rounds that a former leading banker who headed a bank that was our own has been fired. Interesting also to hear that his interest in projects of a self-interest and certain loans made with a busy businessman maybe the reason for the falling out. No this is not pudding & Sous!


  8. Whats up with the innuendo and poor spelling. “busy” is spelt “biizzy” or even bizy.
    How many banks we nueses to own?

    Thanks David.


  9. This question is directed to MTW. Some weeks ago a Ministry of Health Official stated ,as reported in the press, that Private Ambulances, are NOT considered emergency vehicles by his Ministry.
    Daily we continue to see private ambulances with flashing blue lights, blaring sirens , demanding priority on our highways and at traffic lights.
    What is the Ministry of Transport’s, as well as the Police’s, policy on these vehicles? The public needs to know,even if we understand and appreciate the role and function of these vehicles.


  10. @Bosun

    Barbadians often are forced to call the private ambulance service because of the unavailability or unreliability of the public service. If the private is provided the same service why should they not be accorded the same recognition by MTW?


  11. The agriculture reality with repesct to food security is that barbados donot have the available arable land resource to feed itself and this is not taking in account the over 500,000 tourist visitors annually. So the notion of food seurity is a feel -good-political buzz word that does not match the reality on the ground. What we need to do to alleviate some of the pressure off the food bill is to engage in “smart agriculture” production. For land resource challenged society like Barbados this involves a wholesale adoption of hydroponics and green house farming technology in addition to paying more emphasis on our marine resource . When it comes to tapping the potential in shrimp farming,ornamental fish farming , and fish farming in their naturl habitat we are not even scratching the surface. Smart agriculure also involes growing low volume high price agricultre commodities. The spice market and the neutraceutical market comes to mind.

    There are a lot of agriculture products that are not indigenous to this region but we could still get invovle in the production of these commodoties. The americans are good at piggybacking off agriculture products that fetch a high price in their market from overseas by growing the product themselves. Even though it may not be the same quality , they still will make money at the lower tier of the market. Examples of this are , Beluga caviar, trufles, Kobe Beef and frois gras ….. some of the most expensive food item in the world.

    Vannila is an expensive food item , but the one that top it all is safron. Put it this way you can make more money selling safron than selling cocaine. The draw back of safron cultivation is it is labour intensive and an acre only yield a few pounds. It is a land intensive crop to grow. We need to start thinking in 3D and 4D modalities, one suggestion is that Barbados investor could go to Guyana where there is land abundant and lease large tract of land ( 100 year lease) to grow food for our security. Heck! as I speak the arabs, indians and chinese are doing the same thing for their country by outsourcing their food supply in Africa. A lot of african lands (especially in East Africa) are being bought up by deep pocket investors to produce a secure food supply for their population back home.


  12. Vere Brathwaite is/was by far the best local moderator.


  13. @Brutus

    Forgot about her, have not heard her on air for sometime. She was added to the list!

  14. whistling frog Avatar

    You can say all you like about Tony Marshall,,,,, But I have called the program on several occasions and he is one person who never PLAYS THE DEVILS ADVOCATE,,,,Ihave had encounters with him when he agrees but nevertheless asked for my personal solution but never ever disagreeing just for the sake of disagreeing.On the other hand Mr.Ellis loves to REVERSE your comments and then take you to task…………….Mr.Johnson poooor fellow is what you call an OMNIPOTENT messenger!!!GO figure….Hoyos welllllllllllll!!!Sometimes he hits it with good guest etc but…………Mr. Babb oh he loves to lurk in the in between and giggle,,,,,And so on but you KNOW WHAT<<<??????? IT TAKES ALL KINDS TO MAKE THE SPIN GO AROUND ..KEEP ON GOING BRASS TACKS!!!!!!


  15. Tony Marshall and David Ellis must be paying people to vote for them. The truth is, of the above

    David “no spine” Ellis with his slow time wasting delivery must always demonstrate that he has an opinion on every subject that he believes people actually want to hear…

    Tony “the Buffon” Marshall must discredit any and all callers, smacking his lips irritatingly in the process , waste time trying to cross examine with totally irrelevant questions,

    Stetson Babble actually believes that he is interesting… my God, probably is if you can decipher what the hell he is saying or trying to say.

    Patrick HoyAss believes everyone to be stupid… he brings new meaning to the word sarcasm…

    Wendell Callender/Mathew Farley… Interchangeable nincompoops… My God they never leave the class room… they are incapable of talking TO people as opposed to talking AT people.

    Shontelle Munroe-Knight… Horrible voice.. Man what happen to Dr. Delph. That was a proper female voice for a host.. not these squeeky wanna be’s suppa intellectual types that just serve to maintain the status quo.

    Vere Brathwaite.. Horrible voice, nothing more than another one dimensional who should know better

    Dennis I could stomach but only ONCE a week please unless of course it is fireworks which allows him to display his genius at interviewing, and he is very good

    Don MArshall and Peter Wickham actually do have information that I want to hear and I respect these two people. Don maybe a bit of a bore, and Peter maybe a bit of a bully…

    Those results are either cooked or Barbadians in the main are just plain stupid…! I vote Peter Whickham

  16. Pretty Blue Eyes Avatar
    Pretty Blue Eyes

    @ BU David & Hants, if you were following my blogs a couple of weeks ago you would have noticed that I mentioned some of the loans that were handed to foreigners by the B.N.B., in January, he was fired, he sent an email to staff members saying he is going to his daughter’s graduation then he is studying some course, then he will be back in July, but who cares. The fact of the matter is that B.N.B. brought on two people a former staff member who usually acted as C.E.O. and had only taken up a position at Consolidated Finance the month before, to train they new C.E.O. then announce to Barbados lying as usual that he is there temporarily.If you go through those loans at BNB and the Credit Cards you would see how Barbadians have been sideline by this bank and women offered credit cards because they looked pretty and this is no lie. Foreigners have been granted unsecured loans and poor bajans that suck salt to repay loans have been turned down.But us bajans like to listen to accents and so the wool would be pulled over our eyes time and time again. Yes he was fired but it was much more than what you mentioned, he has an indirect interest in Limegrove so I do not know how soon we can kick him out but good riddance.


  17. IT TAKES ALL KINDS TO MAKE THE SPIN GO AROUND ..

    But surely Ba’bados can do a lot better than the bulk of assh’les listed…


  18. @Pretty Blue Eyes
    Can u be more specific and direct?


  19. Listeners will have their preferences. A feature of Marshall’s moderating which he does better than most is the way he grills the mouthpieces/Communications Specialist who call the show from time to time.

    Johnson does the show with passion and has an allround grasp of the issues.

    Wickam’s popularity is built on the controversial positions he takes.

    The two worst of the group are Callender and Babb.


  20. @BAF

    However you still keep listening and calling TM.I woder why? I used to listen to the early morning show when Dennis Johnson host, he does know of what he speaks when it comes to music.
    David Ellis is quick to please and not overly aggressive. Can take him or leave him.


  21. ac

    I grew up on the mid-day call in program. It is a habit that I find hard to break. Of course I was pissed when Earskine Sandiford pulled CBC from the mid-day time slot and forced a situation where Andrew Hatch, Leslie Sean and Stan Riede with their colonial bullshit became the dominant personalities. With all that history, David Ellis and Tony Marshall were/are the first moderators to have me change the channel. Over time they have gottten worse. I listen for the odd occasion when someone new calls with an interesting position on something current. Of course nowadays with the likes of Michael Browne such occasions are severely censored…


  22. Many may opine that Elombe Mottley set the standard for talk show radio in Barbados. He was brash but informative and passionate. It would be interesting to know if the station attracted law suits because of his style. It seems the management have allowed the effectiveness of the talk shows to be greatly influenced by what the lawyers threaten*.

    In the same way successful businesses accrue for potential operational losses if it becomes recurring so too the radio stations should retain a % of revenue dollar to aggressive respond to the threat of legal action while balancing the need to facilitate free speech.

    The irony is PM Thompson in an early press conference mocked that self-censorship of the media in Barbados. Usually it is the politician who takes umbrage at comments made on the shows. Put Thompson to the test, see if his people are inclined to sue!


  23. Radio is rsally at an alltime low. The talk show to replace real programming just keeps uninformed moderators talking to slightly less well informed people. It cna be ver yirritating when people say things without regard for facts or coherence in argument, and they are only corrected if the moderator disagrees with the view. I am amused at how their political petticots slip around their ankles, while they pretend to be neutral. interesting how David Ellis could have picked so many DLp operatives as hosts ‘accidentally’, he was embarrassed but defensive about it. Vere does not come on enough but she is careful and conscientious in how she handles the show.

    TM is abusive to callers, and while some may speak on things in a manner that is not informed, his way of taking them to task on the air is not right. Some of them are not equals, just ordinary folks. He corrects them like school children and you must say what he says before he will let you go on.

    It is pathetic to listen to the demise of really good radio, the excuse that they cannot research and no longer do investigative journalism, there is no time. Spend 6 hours a day on talk radio discussing non-researched topics, and have no time to research to EDUCATE people. Do 4 hours and research then, give us a better quality show.

    Look at the quality of research given on Bu by David and GP, and others. look at the balance Bu seeks to bring to comments. In a world of inundated with info it is necessary to educate people so we can keep up and stay informed. Right now VOB is not cutting it.


  24. If an analysis is done of the years during the BLP regime of Tom Adams and especially Owen arthur you will see that a massive amount of law suits were filed against the media in particular VOB,the Nation and The Advocate.Owen was the worst but all the other BLP ministers liz thompson,Rommel Marshal,Barney ‘muscle mary’ lynch and the other BLP fowlies all got into the act and VOB and the Nation and even the Advocate paid out.

    When you compare that to the regime under the DLP you will find there are less lawsuits by DLP politicians.

    It is well known that anytime the BLP get into power they try to close down any public dissent against them so they target the call in programmes and newspapers .
    Their method is to intimidate the public into silence.

    The radio station never discusses this however,and tries to give the impression that all the political parties are equally as vigorous in suing them and intimidation.Not True!

    A year by year or term by term or administration by administration comparison will reveal how wicked the BLP really is.

    It will be interesting if we could look at these lawsuits by politicians and examine them carefully to see what it is they were suing the radio stations and newspapers for,and really what it is they did not want the public to know.

    Politicians,ESPECIALLY BLP POLITICIANS,are too thin skinned,they like the adulation that comes with the office but can’t stand the heat of public scrutiny and criticism.


  25. In my opinion David Ellis is the best of the bunch…he is a thinker and knows how to articulate. Dennis Johnson is fiery and a bit too argumentative.


  26. @BAFBFP

    Peter Wickham in my opinion is only good for talking politics, and he doesn’t have much of a personality for hosting the programme.


  27. @AC

    I don’t know how you could say that Davil Ellis is always quick to please when I always hear him challenging people on certain issues. Up to a few days ago he was taking on Tallboy.


  28. @Atman

    Each moderator will have a different style. We should be careful not to criticise style over substance.

    In terms of being creative with ideas if you get past his academic speak Don Marshall is up there.


  29. With regards to the replacement of TILIS with a repeat of Brass Tacks, I too was disappointed with that decision. I heard David Ellis explain to a caller that the decison was made based on listenership, therefore they want to see if listener will will improve with a repeat of Brass Tacks.

    Quite frankly I believe they started to encounter difficulty with getting reliable moderaters for the evening programme. If you took notice you’ll realize that moderators were always late for TILIS which was suppose to begin at 6:15pm, and sometimes they were so late that Ronnie Clarke was asked to sit in until the moderator arrived.


  30. @David

    I only call it as I see it. You may have substance but poor style, and if that’s the case, I will say so. In my opnion David Ellis has the best balance of style and substance, and that’s why he gets my vote. I think that both ingredients are important when it come to hosting a programme.


  31. @ Atman
    “Quite frankly I believe they started to encounter difficulty with getting reliable moderaters for the evening programme.”

    I so agree with that. It is as if I would have wrote it and inadvertently placed it under another handle

    @ Atman

    “In my opnion David Ellis has the best balance of style and substance, and ..”

    I can’t believe that the same person wrote this piece… Atman somebody using your handle man…


  32. @Bajan Truth

    Note that the quality of BU to use your term is a collaborative effort. Many behind the scenes provide information and we are very happy to have a high satisfaction level regarding the quality of information from our sources and contributors.


  33. @ Atman

    “David Ellis is the best of the bunch…he is a thinker and knows how to articulate ”

    Excuse me, friend, David Ellis is a Parrot…! He will only regurgitate that which was articulated to him. For example, a few months ago when he was asked to give an opinion on the BL&P raising capital by issuing either new shares or bonds, the “thinking” individual DID NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT A BOND WAS… He later tried to save face by claiming that “a moderator cannot know it all”… A BOND for Christ sake…! Someone later outfitted him with a catch phrase “the BL&P could have gone to the market” and that became his tag line response… Thinking person my as#…

    Sorry has picked up on another tag phrase to go with the one above and “Counter Cyclical Measures”… It is “Double Dip Recession.

    Sorry Atman I mean no insult to you, but this man only sounds good to people who know no better…!


  34. @BAFBFP

    Man I’m sure we can sit and find some fault about each and every moderator, but overall, I’d still much rather listen to Ellis than listen to Wickham. Not only does Ellis have a more suitable personality for radio, but he can entertain a wider range of topics than Wickham can.


  35. Oops, the abbrev for the evening programme should have been TILII rather than TILIS.


  36. All those who are related to David Ellis on this blog say YO..O…

    All those related to Tony Marshall on the blog say AYE..I

    SOMEBODY SCREAM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH..!


  37. How do the current crop of talk show hosts measure up to Elombe and Walter Blackman?


  38. My favoritist favorite of all time is HARRY HUSBANDS… but he ge’ a pick now an’ gone quiet… (Sorry Akintolove, yuh’s talk ta much..)


  39. The question for me David is how did successive Directors of the National Cultural Foundation measure up to Elombe. Short answer, they did not…! They have all since been ineffectual Party hacks…! (A couple could even be described as scoundrels)


  40. The success of the NCF in recent years maybe measured in the economics of the Crop Over Festival. Of course in the process they would have squeezed the culture out of the thing.


  41. I TOO LOVE TONY MARSHALL.
    He is a very good moderator. He just don’t tolerate persons making blanket statements and have not one iota to back up their comments. He has little or no tolerance for ignorance. Just like Bonny. I was elected president of a PTA once and I had to resign early a-clock because the shite that some parents would come to ask and expect an answer too, was more than my little tolerance could manage. So before I ‘buse everybody, I resigned long before my tenure was up. Some people would make ya ‘buse’ dem with the nonsense that they talk.
    Tony Marshall is a real sweet fella though. Me an he lock horns more than once on the said Brass Tax but in the end, he was still my numero UNO.

    I hate softy, softy moderators.

    I love Peter Wickham bad as a person but can’t stand the way he moderates. Especially when he talking shite bout de 11plus or lashing children. But I love he bad.

    I can’t stand the way Dennis Johnson skins his teet all de time like a goat. stupseeeee.

    TONY MARSHALL, I TOO LOVE YOU.


  42. @Bonny

    You love old grumpy men who set in their ways…dah is all…ha ha ha. So when I gine meet yuh?


  43. BAFBFP
    And what about all those who would LOVE to get close ta Tony Marshall?What should dem say? MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?????


  44. Atman
    Yes, I LOVE ta ungrumple dem ol men dat set in dah ways.

    We gun meet in good time. But be careful wah ya ask fa, hear?


  45. @Bonny

    Since there is no way I could send you a private message here, when you get a chance pop on over to my forum and send a private message to Gearbox.

  46. Robert Deschappe Avatar
    Robert Deschappe

    In my opinion, Don Marshall is the best. He brings an educational aspect to the show, in that he has an in-depth knowledge of various topics, such as local, regional and international issues, “yard fowl” free political opinions, and of the international economic environment. I am particularly interested in what he brings, and more often than not, I learn something.
    Tony Marshall is arrogant and uncouth. I hate his style. I notice that he is tolerant of the opinions of persons such as Dennis Kellman, “The Trinidadian Lady”, Leroy McClean, “Mr.P”, and all those who are supportive of this present administration. However, if one is critical of the DLP, he has no tolerance and he would cross examine them in a very rigorous way, with the main intention of embarrassing them. Check out his treatment of Indar Weir, Winnie, Ivan Linton, Cynthia Forde, et al. But if you are a supporter of the DLP, he would obviously your hero. This is expected, he is chairman of the NIS board.
    Pat Hoyos is extremely sarcastic, and needs to be removed from the programme. Dennis Johnson brings a lay-man’s perspective that is often fresh and free from a political bias.
    Peter Wickham is the public relations officer for the DLP, and CBC is used as the mode to filter the propaganda. Check-out the CBC news and The People’s Business.
    I have two problems with the call-in-programmes:
    1. The choice of moderators; Maxine McClean, Harry Husbands, Stedson Babb, Akentoolove Corbin, Shontelle Munroe-Knight, Ralph Jemmott, Tony Marshall, Mathew Farley, Patrick Hoyos; must we have all moderators who are pro DLP. This encourages calls from supporters of that party, and there is no alternative perspective. The programme goes in one particular direction – accept the opinions of DLP supporters, while dismissing the opinions of those who may have some concern with this administration.
    2. Does Mr. P have to call every single day? he brings nothing new to the show, but the same topics over, and over, and over. Can anyone at VOB ask him to take a break? Good grief.


  47. But look, if there is one caller who does sicken me and crack me up at the same time is Julian bla bla bla Hunte. That guy ia a piece of work.


  48. Did anyone listen to the call last week between Marshall and Conde Riley of the Barbados Cricket Association?

    One could sense the tension emanating from the call.

    It was unprofessional of Marshall to demonstrate such open hostility…lol.


  49. @ Robert Deschappe

    I agree except that the obvious Dees in the bunch go out of their way to come across as fair and unbiased… boring, particularly when you know that they do carry a bias. Peter Wickham has always claimed to be a Dee, which is unfortunate, but he is paid by Government to do what he is doing now. “Don’t bite de hand dat …”

    @ Atman

    Julien Glyne Williams-Hunte is the most entertaining of all those simpletons that are referred to as regulars. Pity the producer has so little patience with him

    @ Bonny

    I cannot for the love of God understand how you could like me and Tony Marshall at the same time….

    @ David

    These PHd’s that have been running the NCF have proven what I have always none to be true, book smart and spineless … fodder for big business interests (and politicians…) Bankers have a tendency to fall into the same category, as demonstrated in an earlier comment on the BNB, Tony Marshall and others.


  50. It was unprofessional of Marshall to have waited for the World Cup 20-20 campaign to broadcast the incident between Riley and the WICB.. (not once, but over and over again…!) Hanging dirty linen out when you have world class guests… What an idiot.

    When Riley called Marshall went silent. I believe Riley did it on purpose…. Good Mooove

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