“LADY GAGA”, As Mr.Stuart said at the last DLP ANNUAL CONFERENCE, “GUH DOWN, GUH DOWN GUH DOWN” and may I add, you can stay down there. I ain’t getting into the gutter with you; you stay happy with what you enjoy!

@Prodigal Son
I had enough of you. You’re calling DLP supporters yardfowls and saying that they are disrespectful. Well, you are a BLP PIMP and KA-KA ROACH; a pathetic, twisted human being.
The BLP shut down the St. Joseph hospital for years and it remains in a dilapidated state; the DLP decided to sell it and according to you, they’re selling our birth right. The only thing the BLP did not sell is what they couldn’t get sell.
You need to chill; now **** off.

@gaga | January 12, 2011 at 2:12 PM | @ Adrian Seemore

Oh Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga!! End the stupid unfounded generalisations. Give me some details about this abuse of women. I know those words sound sweet rolling off your tongue, but give some details.

You forgot that the people of Barbados gave The Right Honourable Owen S. Arthur and his team, the right to govern Barbados for THREE TERMS? How you mean ….. not fit? You all better listen to the man now …… because you all on a very slippery slope. You all in know what you doing, and I firmly believe that if you continue on your present path, things gun begun to unravel MORE in the next three months.
As a matter of fact, I believe that things too far gone all like now. I seeing bear misery ahead with DLP at “THE hellum”

By the way, is not it time to get rid of Mr. Hellum up at CBC DLP TV? That election coverage with Michelle Arthur (strong and biased DEM) REAL ONE-SIDED. When will this junk end?

Interesting to observe that political tribalism is alive and well.

If we have the DLP controlling the St.John seat for 52 years, half of which our national Hero and revered father of independence was in charge, what are we saying?

I apologise for my behaviour on the blog as I reaslise I cannot comdemn anyone, male or female, unless I set a good example of myself as a woman. Please accept my apologies.

Did any one read Bob Verdun on tuesday,and then today Riddley Greene? No wonder Owen said you don’t know when you open the papers on any morning what you are going to see written about you.Owen you can’t take this heat no more, I have already told you hand back the baton to Mia, things will only get worse for you.Trust me.

LOYAL SUBJECT —thanks for the link to st.john . To Ga Ga , what you give out dat link to de nation for ? you in know dat before de nation print it , only bout two hundred people did know dat de minister of finance tell we lies ?

@Truthman Burton | January 12, 2011 at 2:35 PM |
“…Gaga, you real wrong about that party pimp thing…I am well aware that the election cannot be won with a blog, but I have to visit here now and then to ensure that uninformed simpletons like you don’t influence peole with your persuasive foolishness.”

y don’t u stay off all together, u have no arguments and respond is such a retarded way. Gaga is free to say as she/he see it. u must be looking in a mirror when u decided 2 use the word ‘simpleton’. it is obvious u r an over 50 primary school drop out. how could her comments influence the people of st. john, unless they are people – jealous and disgruntle because ur still poor and backward?

Some folks here expect an Election campaign as an opportunity to discuss issues. Wunnah really labouring under delusions

As BT would say “what issues what”

Bajan John re your post of January 13, 2011 at 1:40 PM;

I looked at the video and realised that all your talk of CSME is merely an exercise in setting up a strawman to be knocked down in the DLP campaign.

Owen Arthur is a politician. He is in the business of talking to people on a political platform in a way that the unthinking among them will interpret in a particular way that he hopes will benefit his party. The discerning fair minded Barbadian listener or viewer will either say “But Mara did not present herself as a Queen of Barbados. The DLP platform speakers did. Why attack her personally on that?” or, “That talk is just standard political spinning, but Mara’s choice as the DLP candidate is somewhat egregious given the background and events leading up to that choice so she is probably fair game”.

Some unthinking listeners will not parse what he has said but just go by the impressions given in his delivery. But the DLP strategists will take the words out of context and make good political fodder out of them. Which is precisely what is happening here.

That clip says nothing that can impugn the significant contributions to CSME by Owen Arthur. He is merely mentioning a truism derived from a slightly distorted presentation of the fact that Mara is being presented on the DLP platforms as a “queen”. It has to be true that no Bajan woman married to a St Lucian could present herself to the electorate of St Lucia merely as a “queen” and have excellent expectations that she would win. Owen Arthur said that, but few would ask him to expand on the other factors that make his assertion not totally relevant to the queen Mara situation in Barbados.

As I think I’ve stated before. Mara is entirely eligible to contest and win this seat and any other in this Parliament. However, it is my contention that the DLP, by acceeding to David Thompson’s wishes for setting up a dynasty, are playing willing midwives to that Dynasty. It should also be clarified that word has it that it is not his oldest daughter that the seat is being held for, but his intermediate one. So the seat will be held for perhaps 7 years before that daughter is qualified to take up the seat that her mother will be warming for her.

One good thing that can be said for David Thompson is that he was really a lng term strategic thinker.

I like your thinking Checkit-out but can you explain how Owen Arthur relates to the young lady on the stage in this video?

Bajan John. Could you point us to some more BLP St-John campaign videos. Not just clips.

I’ve finished listening to the three clips of Owen Arthur’s speech at College Bottom. Overall, they show Owen in fine form, looking and sounding fit, and making some excellent points. The clips give the lie to the comments that have been made that the BLP is concentrating only on the Mara issue. References to Mara took up only a miniscule portion of the 44 or so minute speech. The speech did not mention any programmes that the BLP would champion for St John but such would really be innapropriate given that it is the DLP in power now. Not the BLP.
In all, for me, a surprisingly good speech, given the very negative reports in the press about it that concentrated on a non-issue.

Hi Bajan John; The message I think you are trying to get across is that Hutson Griffith has a subliminally poor opinion of the intelligence of the St John people. The well chosen extracts suggest this clearly. However, one would have to get the exact context of those extracts to make a proper assessment of this.

This is the first time I’ve listened to him talk and he comes across as a down to earth fellow based only on the extracts. In which case the “wunnah foolish” etc. may be just a figure of speech that he uses in his normal parlance to concretize a point and does not necessarily reflect that he has a poor opinion of St John folk. The impression is also given that he is not pretending to be one of the ordinary people but that he is talking in his normal everyday way.

fwiw.

Tell me why
The statement make by Owen was, I deem, unfortunate, but certainly not bad. Had the opposing candidate not his wife, I would have considered it bad also. Here is a “grieving” wife, who looks quite happy on the political platform, quite trying to extract sympathy for her husband from the opposition, that can’t work. As I predicted before, she would have to deal with the “kid-gloves” coming off and she being treated like any ordinary person. I still think the DLP is doing her an injustice by putting her up as a candidate just three months after her husbands death, if she is strong enough to handle that, then she must be strong enough to handle anything the opposition party throws at her, including the alleged Clico/ Parris/ Thompson deals that will be aired as a climax to this campaign.

Tell me Why;

You said “This is an extract by the PM.
Quote from the PM. at 11:15 during his speech “A leader who has no concern is already dead” Bad statement knowing our late PM. passed away in October 2010.”

Was Arthur referring to Freundel? If so there is nothing wrong with the statement. imho.

Was he referring to Thompson? If so, he might be saying that Thompson had no real concern for the people. That might be an arguable statement but not a bad one.

Hello my friends,

I much enjoy the mature manner that issues are debated here.

I have no problem with Bajan dialect. The fact that he actually explained its use to the media in front of the people is strange. Then to follow it up with the “retarded” slip says to me that it is more than a case of a ‘down to earth’ fellow.

I know that checkit-out suggests that context is important but in what context do you have to tell people that you eat breadfruit and cow heel soup as a prerequisite to represent?

It’s the combination of extracts in one speech that just does not feel comfortable. I suggest that you watch the clip again and see if you get what I am trying to say.

Tell me why; re my post @ Checkit-out | January 14, 2011 at 6:12 AM; I seemed to have been sleeping when I made that post.

Please ignore that post. I think PM Stuart is prone to making gaffes like the “concern” one. I don’t think it means much in the real scheme of things.

Bajan John; re. the Hutson Griffith extracts. Its just politics. DT was apparently reported to be accustomed to eating roast breadfruit and cow heel soup in St John. HG wants to show to those that consider such things important that he also does that too. Not earth shattering, but the kind of politics that all of them play.

The Nation news reported today that AG Brathwaite has commented on an impending change in the law, pertaining to the requirements in the appointment of a Chief Justice.

Apparently, this change is to amend the current requirement for the appointee to have at least 15 years commonwealth ‘relevant’ (my paraphrase) experience.

This intent to change the law to ‘accomodate’ an impending Government action, is extremely worrying,in viewing the specific instance as well as a matter of principle.

Firstly, the reasons for the original requirements should be considered, these should be plain enough.

To suddenly change the law simply because it does not mesh with Government’s intended action and decision is highly irregular, if one wishes to trumpet about democracy and fairness of society.

To change the law to seemingly circumvent requirements which were considered, probably very carefully, such as ensuring that the appointee is very capable of dispensing duties and decisions in an excellent manner, is troubling in of itself.

Secondly, as a matter of principle, for a role such as the Chief Justice and any other senior Governmental role, there should be much more dialogue and consideration to future requirements of the positions, if a change is considered and such change should be made as a matter of overall public concern and necessary structural change, not as an aside merely because the existing law does not suit Government.

In principle, I would be very concerned if a Government takes it upon itself to change laws as a matter of whim and fancy, rather than by genuine considered, debated and consensus oriented reasoning.

I wonder if and why I am the only one concerned at this.

What other laws can be changed, if they do not ‘suit’?

I have nothing against the gentleman ostensibly to be the appointee and really wish him well.

However, foundations always have to be on solid moral, structural and reasoned ground. Otherwise, one never knows where things will lead.

A word to the wise.

Hi guys,

Did you see Lynette Eastmond? Is that a chip on her shoulder?

All are invited to Mara and Fay’s (Leroy Parris’ windowdressing wife)
Housewarming fete this Saturday at Martin’s Bay.
Please bring a donation for the CLICO pensioners who are now facing the loss of their homes while Mara and Fay were able to buy this beachside mansion for $900,000 CASH…..CLICO money no doubt.
Maybe this “poor’ widow will declare her first family’s assets soon.

Caribbean News Now!

Commentary: Caribbean integration is a mockery – CSME at a standstill
Published on January 15, 2011 Email To Friend Print Version

…by Oscar Ramjeet
Oscar Ramjeet is an attorney at law who practices extensively throughout the wider Caribbean

It seems as if Caribbean leaders are not serious about regional integration. The talk about freedom of movement is only lip service and there is no genuine effort for this to become a reality.

It is since 1989, more than 21 years since the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) agreement was signed and, although there has been a series of meetings throughout the region, very limited progress has been achieved to date, especially in the area of free movement of capital, skilled labour and the freedom to establish business enterprises anywhere in the Community.

It is rather surprising that former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur, who had been travelling from island to island “preaching” regional unity and for governments to adhere to CSME, has criticised St Lucian-born Mara Thompson, for contesting the vacant seat in St John created after the death of the late prime minister.

The action by Arthur is very surprising and, in my view, very ridiculous because it defeats CSME and the regional integration process, but two friends of mine who are very familiar with regional affairs reminded me that Thompson, when he was prime minister, completely disregarded CSME when he took stringent, harsh and unconscionable action against non-Barbadians, especially Guyanese. He chased them out of the country and many of them did not get the opportunity to take their assets with them.

My friends said that you reap what you sow and said that the sins pass on to the third and fourth generation.

However, two wrongs cannot make a right and Arthur, who served three terms as prime minister, should know better because Mara is a citizen of Barbados and under the Constitution she can hold office as a lawmaker. The Constitution does not state that you have to be a Barbadian by birth. It states a citizen of Barbados and she has been a citizen for the past 21 years by marriage and residency.

Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has expressed surprise at Arthur’s comments.

It seems to me that there is a dim future for the regional integration movement and recently distinguished commentators have been questioning if the CSME has a future. One is David Jessop, Director of the Caribbean Council. He spoke of the criticism meted out against CARICOM Governments and institutions for not ensuring the capacity and economic strength to create a sound regional economic base for investment and trade.

He also touched on the failure to implement regional and external agreements which, he suggests, indicates at best the absence of any coherent long term strategy and, at worse, irreconcilable divisions.

Sir Ronald Sanders, former Caribbean diplomat and well known commentator, suggested that the time had come to stop playing with the aspirations of the Caribbean people and argued that CARICOM needed to devise urgently a comprehensive regional plan utilising the best Caribbean brains that can be assembled from inside and outside the region.

Jessop agrees with Sir Ron’s comments and said there is desperate need for a commission with popular support to be empowered to make recommendations on how to move forwards and modernise CARICOM.

The delay by most of the regional governments to abolish appeals to the Privy Council and accept the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is another glaring example of the lapse by the various administrations. So far only three jurisdictions, Guyana, Barbados and Belize have accepted the CCJ as the final appellate court.

Reads: 432

Back…
Comments:

Winston Strachan:
This is an excellent piece by Oscar which has hit home very hard to those hypocrites in the Caribbean that are referred to as politicians. It is time they stop fooling the Caribbean people. We need a few decent politicains to fill the gap created by the late Grantley Adams and Dr. Eric William.