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Why Are We Not Exporting Coconut Water?

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Submitted by St. George’s Dragon
Coconut
Coconut Water in demand in the USA and UK

Barbados is struggling economically, with tourism numbers down and foreign exchange earnings accordingly reduced. The position is not helped by the decline in earnings from the off-shore sector and the sugar industry. There seems to be no end in sight to the debate about whether we can modernise the sugar industry, and nothing seems to be happening to build up agriculture, either in order to export and earn foreign currency, or feed ourselves and save foreign import costs.

One possible route to earning foreign exchange which I have not even heard mentioned is the production and sale of coconut water. Sales in the USA and UK are booming and Rihanna is the marketing face of one brand of coconut water in the UK – see LINK.

I am conscious that our worst fault is to talk about things we could do, then to do nothing. Surely, though, it must be worth investigating whether we could ride the back of the worldwide interest in coconut water? We would need to learn from our experience in sugar and not go into bulk exports thereby allowing someone else make the profit by branding, packaging and selling. Instead, we would need to market a “Barbados” brand and pasteurise and can it here. Government should not be involved. If they are nothing will happen – as with the Sea Island cotton project.

I have the prime candidate to take it on – Banks. Their business is drinks production. They have new pasteurisation and bottling/canning facilities and they know how to export.

What about it Mr Cozier?

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202 responses to “Why Are We Not Exporting Coconut Water?”

  1. Ready done Avatar
    Ready done

    Good to see a thread about AG reach 150 comments, this is a good start.

  2. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ ac
    “…..what Arizona. who feeding u that bull ?”
    *********
    Come on ac, is it not obvious that your man gone or going to Arizona?
    Wuh um is in the bible……and it CLEARLY says there that at some point in time, your man HAS to go…..

    @ Islandgal
    Alvin is just from another planet.
    He was the sort of young fellow that caused teachers to resign and join the civil service.
    Alvin thinks that being patriotic is about being blind to all the brass bowl foolishness and pretending that all is well….

    Can you see why he likes Freundy? 🙂

    @ Ready Done
    What 150 comments what?!?
    “Why are we not exporting coconuts?”
    …this only need one comment….because we have so many brass bowls in key positions ’bout here that we could not export gold if it was like beach sand.

    Imagine a little 2X4 place blessed with
    Perfect climate and weather
    Perfect topography
    Excellent water
    Unmatchable location
    Globally Unique brands such as
    – black belly sheep
    – Barbados sea island cotton
    – Barbados cherry
    – Barbados aloe vera
    – Barbados sugar/ rum/ molasses
    – Rihanna
    – Bushie 🙂 …and Alvin ?

    ……and we can only see prostitution (…sorry tourism) and money laundering (oops..offshore Business) as means of livelihood…?

    NO VISION
    NO LEADERSHIP
    NO MORALITY
    NO BALLS
    That is why we have….no productivity, no creativity, no success, no export.

    Give it up Ready done. You are outnumbered and out gunned by the brass bowls.
    Perhaps we can all join Alvin and the other ac and sing praises to the brass bowl system as a means of fooling ourselves….

  3. Rosemary Parkinson Avatar
    Rosemary Parkinson

    While we are at it…if we want to export anything called food or drink and be tops on the global market…best we become organic…it will give us a real push in how Europe is thinking for instance..and in the USA too even if Monsanto and its products are basically the dictators of the US.

    IF BHUTAN CAN DO IT WITH 700,000 INHABITANTS WHY CAN’T WE WITH JUST UNDER 300,000. PLEASE SIGN MY PETITION AND LET US GET BARBADOS CLEAN AND HEALTHY AGAIN…AT LEAST THAT!!! For full read see http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/02/hutan-bets-organic-agriculture-is-the-road-to-happiness.html

    Bhutan – The World’s First 100% Organic Nation
    Wednesday, February 20, 2013

    The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan drew international attention a few years back for saying gross national happiness should trump gross domestic product when measuring a nation’s progress.

    If you’re going to prioritize happiness, the Bhutanese thinking goes, you’d better include the environment and spiritual and mental well-being in your calculations. (Not everyone in Bhutan is happy, and many leave as refugees, as Human Rights Watch and others have noted.)

    But Bhutan, which has only 700,000 people — most of whom are farmers — has another shot at international fame if it can make good on a recent pledge to become the first country in the world to convert to a 100 percent organic agricultural system.

    Last month at the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley said his government is developing a National Organic Policy because the country’s farmers are increasingly convinced that “by working in harmony with nature, they can help sustain the flow of nature’s bounties.”

    Going all-out organic is a lofty goal for any country given that many farmers — and poor farmers in particular — covet chemical fertilizers and pesticides to enrich their soil, boost production and keep diseases and pests at bay.

    But Andre Leu, an Australian adviser to the Bhutanese government and the president of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, says it’s very doable.

    “I don’t think it’s going to be that difficult given that the majority of the agricultural land is already organic by default,” Leu tells The Salt.

    Indeed, the synthetic chemicals and fertilizers that are used so widely in countries like the U.S. are only available and affordable to a few of Bhutan’s farmers who are widely dispersed across the rugged and mountainous terrain sandwiched between India and China. But very few of the organic-by-default farmers have been certified as such by third-party institutions. (Certified organic food, by the way, makes up less than 1 percent of the world’s calories, and is mostly available to wealthy consumers.)

    According to the World Food Program, Bhutanese farmers mainly grow rice and corn, as well as some fruits and vegetables, including potatoes and oranges.

    But as demand for food has grown in recent years, the country has been forced to import rice and other foods from India, and today Bhutan is a net food importer.

    One of the few products Bhutan exports to the U.S. is red rice; Lotus Foods sells it to chains like Whole Foods. Bhutanese red rice is more nutritious and tastes nuttier than white rice, its boosters say, and is well-suited to pilaf, as Monica Bhide reported for NPR’s Kitchen Window earlier this year. The rice does not have organic certification, but Lotus Foods says it been grown without the use of pesticides or other chemical inputs for centuries.

    The Ministry of Agriculture says the organic program, launched in 2007, is not just about protecting the environment. It will also train farmers in new methods that will help them grow more food and move the country closer to self-sufficiency.

    The ministry is now training extension workers in organic methods and giving farmers who go organic priority for government assistance.

    Not everyone is so sure that a 100 percent organic Bhutan is a great idea. Leu says he’s found some resistance among researchers at the Ministry of Agriculture who’ve been trained in conventional farming techniques abroad.

    And an article last year in the Bhutan Observer notes that many farmers who grow export crops like apple, Mandarin orange, and potato already rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and could be reluctant to give them up.

    Still, Leu is optimistic that Bhutan’s burgeoning organic agriculture research centers will eventually be able to come up with organic methods to boost yields and manage the problems of these crops.

    “All these problems are solvable, they just need a few more years of research to come up with some more effective solutions,” Leu says.

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/CLEAN_UP_BARBADOS_NO_TO_MONSANTO_YES_TO_ORGANIC/?fcAByeb&pv=2

  4. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    The Bushman of Bush Tea……………….i see you are sneakily trying to pass over ISLANDDEEDEE aka IslandRat to Dr. Love, it won’t work, you have already professed your love as HIS man for the whole of BU and probably has been doing it for years while bashing gays, i see your little game……..won’t work, won’t work, won’t work.

  5. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    Well Well

    Take some time to review the following 2010 article written about British businessman Jonathan Bryant (now residing in Barbados) and his relationship with scam company 8000 Inc. (EIGH) from http://theworm06.blogspot.ca/2010/10/eigh-british-businessman-jonathan.html

    http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/former-british-footballer-at-home-in-paradise/

    Former British footballer at home in paradise

    By: Gercine Carter

    Jonathan Bryant describes himself as “just an ordinary bloke living in paradise”.

    The former British footballer is so enthused over the life he leads in this “paradise” that he is making plans to give back in a big way.

    Bryant had been visiting Barbados for almost 20 years, having fallen in love with the island from the first time he came. Somehow nobody believed him when he would repeatedly say he was going to live in Barbados eventually – not even his wife. She said it would never happen.

    “I’ll believe you when I see you put the tickets on the table”, was her response to her husband’s pronouncements.

    He did put the tickets on the table on October 19 last year and four days later Bryant, his wife and their two sons were on a plane heading for Barbados.

    In the years of visiting Barbados, Bryant struck up friendships on the golf course, including with Sir Garfield Sobers and Desmond Haynes. Through these friends he met many others in the sports field and watched golfers, athletes, footballers and other sportsmen and sportswomen in action.

    He was impressed with what he saw. “When I first came here I met a couple of young athletes. I just felt they did not have the opportunity because of the infrastructure in Barbados,” Bryant said during the interview with the Weekend Nation beside the large swimming pool at his well appointed Sandy Lane home.

    “The problem is there is lots and lots of talent in this island in sports. Typically, [this is] what happens: anybody with any talent in sport, if they are spotted by an English premiership football club or an English college, they are plucked and taken away. That takes something away from Barbados.

    “I thought that was a shame and I just did some more digging into what was going on. Whether it is right or whether it is wrong, the people believe that not enough is given back.”

    As he looked out towards the azure Caribbean Sea on a sunny day, Bryant remarked: “I have been fortunate in my life. But that was not all the time. I had my moments where I had been penniless. But things are good now. So I wanted to do something special out here.”

    Bryant is also concerned about the future for young Barbadians.

    “Other than tourism there really isn’t any industry left on the island. Once you have built all the houses and there is no more land, what do you do?” he said.

    He saw “huge” potential problems ahead. That is why he has been supporting the Carlton Club, because he believes that club emanates from a community where many young people benefit from membership. His generosity in cash and advice is known by people in sports administration, as well as by thesportspeople themselves.

    He attended the Sentabale Polo Cup match, where Prime Minister David Thompson spoke about the importance of developing sports tourism and he pondered on the message.

    “I actually think that there is a real opportunity on this island to build that into more than just words.”

    Bryant is taking action. He is moving his business interests to Barbados, and through 8000inc, one of the businesses he founded, he plans to do even more than he is already doing. He is already committed to the Amateur Athletic Association of Barbados, the Barbados Golf Association, the Carlton Club and to developing centres of excellence with former West Indies opening batsman Desmond Haynes.

    8000inc will be opening a store at the upscale West Coast development Limegrove later this year, and Bryant said ten per cent of every dollar spent in the shop will go towards the sports he supports.

    So elated is Bryant about the life he is able to enjoy in Barbados, being able to share a golf game and socialise with two of Barbados’ cricketing heroes, that he remarked: “There is nowhere in the world that you can get up on a Thursday (the one day he takes off in the week) [and] saunter 500 yards to one of the best golf courses in the world, on the best island in the world and play golf with Desmond Haynes and Sir Garfield Sobers. I still can’t believe it. It just gives me a thrill.”

    This leads him to talk about his two big dreams.

    “I have two dreams . . . One is to build a Desmond Haynes Sporting Centre of Excellence, a purpose-built facility which will have corporate offices and the equipment for his coaching, as well as football equipment.

    “You take the National Stadium . . . You have a world champion . . . The running track is not good enough . . .

    “My other dream is I want to rebuild Barbados’ cotton industry.”

    It disturbs this self-proclaimed “Barbadian” that “this island produces the best cotton in the world and it is sent all the way to Switzerland to come back here as cloth”.

    He estimates the bales of cotton flax lying useless around the island number more than 100, and he confesses having a personal interest in seeing local processing of the cotton cultivated in Barbados. The clothing on sale at 8000inc, the sports wear and casual wear lines, including shirts and men’s trousers, is largely cotton-based.

    Bryant once played professional football for the Cheshire football club Crewe Alexander, but developed arthritis and was forced to end his career prematurely. He holds a BSc.(Honours) degree in advanced medical microbiology and advanced medical biotechnology, and worked in these fields, while as he said “making some investments that turned out all right”.

    Now that he has adopted Barbados as his home, he is committed to putting his money behind Barbados’ sportspeople.

    He reckons that he is “unbelievably” fortunate.

    NationNews.com © Nation Publishing Co. Limited 2010

    Interesting the blog I found this in is theworm06 – appropriate to this worm who seems to have wormed himself into the upper echelons of Barbados society

  6. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Due Diligence………….how appropriate the worm06, he managed to act just like the cotton worm and worm his way into the island, now all his fancy plans for Barbados are laid out in an SEC justice department indictment, that is what he had to offer the island……….amazing.

    I would like to know what “making some investments that turned out all right”, really are.

    Bryant says: “Other than tourism there really isn’t any industry left on the island. Once you have built all the houses and there is no more land, what do you do?” he said.

    It’s amazing that people come to the island and within a few days can analyze the problems, most however, always see a way to exploit the problem for their own gain. Government should take the analysis seriously and not the person.

  7. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    It is interesting to note that he saw the big problems ahead for Barbados but was quite unable to see the big problems ahead for himself………can always see what will happen to someone else but never to themselves………let’s hope government learns from this and change how they allow people to worm their way into the island and ultimately embarrass the government.

  8. peltdownman Avatar
    peltdownman

    I don’t know anything about this man Bryant, but reading that article would automatically raise an alarm. The man is full of sh*t, and like many before him, he thinks that he can come across as benefactor and saviour of the island. If he is given the rights to the Barbados Sea Island Cotton (BSIC) brand, the best that he will do with it is sell it on. His plans for the processing of BSIC are pie in the sky and he would have to explain to me how much he would invest in ginning, spinning, weaving and knitting before he could sell one yard of fabric. There is a reason why the cotton is exported to Switzerland and Italy, and that is that it takes real expertise and the finest machinery in order to deal with this very valuable fibre. If we put every available acre of agricultural land we have into cotton, it wouldn’t keep a spinning mill working for longer than a month. I sincerely hope that the MOA did not swallow this crap and that all we have seen to date is just Bryant bullsh*t.

  9. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    You do not need Interpol or FBI to do background checks, just a laptop and internet access and Google to dig this stuff up.

    Here are some more links for your reading pleasure – and for the Minister of Agriculture and the Nation, and The Office of the Registrar of Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property of Barbados:

    http://theworm06.blogspot.ca/2011/01/eigh-jonathan-bryant-again-appears-as.html

    http://theworm06.blogspot.ca/2011/01/eigh-scam-company-8000-inc-issues.html

    http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=59584455

    http://theworm06.blogspot.ca/2011/01/eigh-who-owns-group-8000inc.html

    At first I thought that the claim to have a deal with the Ministry of Agriculture was untrue – but the more I find suggests it is true.

    Why does no one at Headquarters on Bay Street not get it and do some due diligence before signing away a potentially profitable industry

    Who did this worm Bryant pay off?

    PLANTATION seems pretty plugged into the goings on on the Island.

    Would like to see his read of this situation.

  10. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Peltdownman………..too late, apparently the preset government already gave him the rights to market the cotton internationally, this guy just landed in bim 3 years, there are people on the island born on the island or lived there most of their lives and government won’t even look at them, but this guy just arrived and got international rights to market the island’s cotton and managed to involve the island in a scandal in the US with SEC when he violated their laws with regards to company shares and scams.

  11. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    That should read: the present government.

  12. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Due Diligence………..the question is, which minister signed off on this guy having the privilege to market Barbados’ sea island cotton after only 3 years of living on the island, what deal did they cut and what and how much were they given for this exchange?

  13. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    While LP and his Trini bosses were allowed to plunder the savings of thousands of Barbadians, this British bloke Bryant appears to have been allowed to plunder the country’s sea island cotton industry.

    If true it is scandalous.

    The SEC document at the link below includes a Barbados address for Jonathan Bryant

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/118958786/SEC-v-8000-Inc-Et-Al-Doc-10-Filed-03-Jan-13

    As Due Diligence is presently off the island, maybe a BU sleuth with boots on the ground could do a drive-by to check out the Sandy Lane home pictured in the Nation article at http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/former-british-footballer-at-home-in-paradise/

    PLANTATION where are you?

  14. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Due Diligence…………..I happened to be in Bim at the time when Bryant was parading around the local newpapers, i believe it even had the amount of millions he was worth, what I really want to know is who allowed him that leeway to burrow into the island and command the sea island cotton industry?

  15. Duppy Lizard Avatar
    Duppy Lizard

    For years as i bought coconut water from various vendors,I would ask them why dont they also offer the jelly for sale,as i would see them throw away the material along with the shell,,,I would say to them that in other places such as Magueritta and Venezuela they would blend the flesh with coconut water,ice and sugar and make a very delightful drink,,,sell that on the beaches etc,,,All it would take is a small generator,a blender and cups,,,and Bam $$$$,,the cost of the generator would very soon be made back,,,,There is a very huge profit in selling cocnuts,,very little overhead,,,no taxes,,,,no rent for space,,,,etc,,,,
    I also understand (subject to correction) that in WW2 the USA and the Japanese were using coconut water in the Pacific as an intravenious drip for woundedsoldiers,,I suppose the young coconut water had all the electrolytes,,etc,,and were a sterile solution,,,,,????????

  16. PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS Avatar
    PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS

    Due Diligence@ what is the Question? Barbados right now.

  17. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Construction Companies depend on outside investors for projects in Barbados………
    http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2013/06/06/irs-stumps-port-ferdinand-investor/

  18. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    PLANTATION

    Would like to hear your comments/views about the claim @ http://www.sea-island-cotton-of-barbados.net that The Barbados Ministry of Agriculture has granted Jonathan Bryant, under the trading name of BSC Inc. to be an International Barbados Company, the rights exclusively to produce a brand to rebrand Barbados Sea Island Cotton for export and delivery to the World Cotton market, a $32BN per annum opportunity.

    I copy below some of the links I included in previous posts.

    http://securitiesenforcementblog.com/2012/09/28/sec-charges-jonathan-bryant-thomas-kelly-carl-duncan-and-8000-inc-in-market-manipulation-scam/

    SEC Charges Jonathan Bryant, Thomas Kelly, Carl Duncan and 8000, Inc. In Market Manipulation Scam
Posted on September 28, 2012 by Mark Fickes
SEC v. 8000, Inc., Jonathan E. Bryant, Thomas J. Kelly, and Carl N. Duncan, Esq., Case No. 12-CV-7261 (S.D.N.Y.).  On September 27, 2012, the SEC announced charges against 8000, Inc., Jonathan E. Bryant, Thomas J. Kelly, and Carl N. Duncan, Esq. for their roles in a scheme to manipulate 8000, Inc.’s (“EIGH”) stock price…………………

     http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2013/01/08/us-probe-2/

    US PROBE
Jonathan Bryant
by Shawn Cumberbatch
Barbados has become a focal point of an American government investigation into the business dealings of a British investor living here.
The alleged failure by Jonathan Bryant to follow through on promised multi-million business ventures here and public statements about the same are part of an unlawful securities scheme, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has claimed.
Bryant, who has lived in Barbados for the past three years, and in that time has become known for his involvement in sponsorship of athletics, football, cricket and other sports…………..

    Take some time to review the following 2010 article written about British businessman Jonathan Bryant (now residing in Barbados) and his relationship with scam company 8000 Inc. (EIGH) from

    http://theworm06.blogspot.ca/2010/10/eigh-british-businessman-jonathan.html

    Also

    http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/former-british-footballer-at-home-in-paradise/

    Has no one in the at Government Headquarters heard of the concept of due diligence?

    Has no one in the at Government Headquarters heard of Google?

    How is it possible for Government to get into bed with this guy Jonathan Bryant without checking him out?

  19. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Due Diligence………..they got another investor in Barbados to keep tabs on now too, Morse who is helping fund the jada group, the IRS has something active going on with him, these governments in Barbados are just not ready yet, if you are white and tell them you have millions or billions they immediately assume the position and get in bed.

  20. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    Well Well

    Looks like H. Gary Morse does have really big bucks

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Villages,_Florida

    Why not sell him the whole island?

  21. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    Whoops

    Should have said Why not sell him and his friends Bush and Romney the whole island?

  22. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Due Diligence………….I thought you had missed that part, and who is to say it has not been already sold, what proof do we have that it was not?…….we need proof that it has to dispel any doubts.

  23. peltdownman Avatar
    peltdownman

    Doesn’t this whole Bryant thing sound just like Alan Stanford in his heyday? If he has done this deal with the Barbados government on cotton, all like now he is telling them how much they must give up front as “seed” money to get it off the ground. Do you know that they paid Amersey around US$1 million to get the West Indies Sea Island Cotton trade mark back over 10 years ago and still don’t have it back? The proof of the pudding with Bryant will be when we see the island covered with cotton.

  24. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    What a bunch of losers these government officials are. I feel very sad that we paid for the education of fools.

  25. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Peltdownman…please tell me that is not true about the Trade mark!

  26. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    No one in their right minds ever give up trademarks or patents once they get their hands on them, people kill for these things, case in point.

    http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/02/13/nikola-tesla-was-murdered-by-otto-skorzeny/

  27. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    That is why you do not let people waltz into your country and sing you a bunch of lies that you believe just because they are of another color persuasion, more often than not they will waltz away with all trademarks and patents your country is entitled to and you will not see a dime.

  28. peltdownman Avatar
    peltdownman

    Islandgal, I can’t totally confirm the veracity of that story, but it came from what I would call an unimpeachable source.

  29. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    No one in their right minds ever give up trademarks or patents once they get their hands on them, people kill for these things, case in point
    **************
    True dat! No one IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS…
    …But Brass Bowls do it all the time….over and over – sheep, cotton, sugar…LAND…their own very BARBADOS…they sell..

    ….Their very BIRTHRIGHTS!!…for a pot of gold…or FOREX as Baffy likes to call um….

    Bajan Brass Bowls are in a class of their own.

  30. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Due Diligence has now allowed us to see who else is in the mix…….

  31. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    They are never getting back that sea island cotton trademark, do you have any idea who these Amersey’s really are?, do some homework.

  32. Due Diligence Avatar
    Due Diligence

    Well Well

    Due Diligence has simply Googled and shared some stuff about a British bloke and a Yankee billionaire real estate developer who are apparently setting up shop in Barbados.

    At 3:12 you said “I thought you had missed that part, and who is to say it has not been already sold, what proof do we have that it was not?…….we need proof that it has to dispel any doubts.

    Given the well known thorough, accurate and the up-to-date state of information at Land Registration Department, it should be a simple matter of visiting the Department office and do a search to see if H. Gary Morse has bought the island. Perhaps one of the BU sleuths could drop by the Warrens Office Complex to do a search.

    Sorry, it is a bit long; but the following from http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/01/ is interesting

    Major GOP Donor Hires Lobbyist While Federal Investigation Continues

    One of the Republican Party’s biggest donors — a Florida real estate developer who apparently is facing a federal investigation over the use of special tax districts for his retirement complex — hired a lobbyist in the last quarter of 2012 for the purpose of “contacting the federal government” about the districts.

    The Villages, owned by developer H. Gary Morse and his family, had not previously hired a lobbyist at the federal level, according to OpenSecrets.org records. But the new lobbying report shows that it paid $30,000 during the quarter to Cardenas Partners, led by Al Cardenas, the Cuban-born two-time chairman of the Florida Republican Party. Cardenas has done state-level work in the past for the Villages.

    An overwhelmingly white, mostly Republican retirement community 90 miles north and inland from Tampa Bay, the Villages cuts through parts of three counties. Sometimes referred to as Disneyland for retirees, it includes dozens of golf courses and about 50,000 homes.

    It’s also known for being an insular community where Morse is the chief orchestrator. Morse controls not only the larger corporation but has created many spinoff companies that handle aspects of life at the Villages — trash pickup, for example, and utilities, as well as investment firms and banks.

    Morse’s wealth — he and his family are worth billions, according to Bloomberg — is due in part to his use of special tax districts  to fund the Villages’ expansion. The districts, created under state law, sell bonds that are exempt from federal income tax, and some of the proceeds are used to buy amenities and services from Morse.

    But sale of the bonds is supposed to perform a “wholly public purpose,” according to the IRS, and the special districts have been controversial, with many in the state believing that many millions of taxpayer dollars have been wrongly flowing to developers such as Morse.

    Morse’s special tax districts have been under investigation by the IRS since at least 2009, when the agency wrote to the Villages saying it believed that bonds issued by one of the development’s special districts overpaid Morse for golf courses and other structures, according to Bloomberg, and that some of the assets it bought from the developer weren’t eligible to be purchased with tax-exempt bonds. While the IRS won’t comment on investigations of taxpayers, legal documents indicate that the inquiry was ongoing as of last May.

    All is not rosy at the state level, either. Florida’s Republican governor, Rick Scott, issued an executive order last year ordering an investigation of the use of the special tax districts statewide. .

    But he’s unlikely to need much help opening doors on Capitol Hill, at least on the Republican side. Contributions from Morse and his family, his companies and their employees to federal GOP candidates and committees over the past several election cycles have been prolific. Morse and his wife have given $2.2 million since 1999, according to OpenSecrets.org research. And his children and their spouses have given another $2.1 million. Employees of the Villages and related companies? Add another $2.7 million.

    And then there are the companies themselves. In 2012, Morse took advantage of recent developments in campaign finance law — including the 2010 Citizens United decision —  and used the Villages and related corporations to bolster the finances of two key Republican super PACs. The companies — many of which were started to provide services at the retirement complex, such as Central Sumter Utility Co. LLC, Sumter Sanitation LLC and Mid-Florida Properties LLC — contributed $385,000 to Karl Rove’s American Crossroads last year, and $1 million to the pro-Romney super PAC, Restore Our Future.

    Individuals (including Morse and his family) and corporations who listed the Villages’ main address — 1020 Lake Sumter Landing — as their address on reports to the Federal Election Commission donated $2.4 million in the 2012 election cycle alone to candidates, leadership PACs and super PACs.

    Not only that, but Morse offered his yacht, the Cracker Bay — which was flying the flag of the Cayman Islands — for a party during the GOP convention feting bundlers who had put together $1 million or more for Mitt Romney.

    And, not to neglect state politics, just a couple of months after Scott ordered a study of the special tax districts, Morse, his three children and the Villages itself donated a total of $180,000 to Let’s Get to Work, a committee Scott “supports.” The study is about a year from completion, state officials told OpenSecrets.org.“

    End of article

    Based on this Mr. Morse’s political favours and donations he might just fit in and could make people forget LP.

    Buying the island would be a great investment opportunity for Morse and his Republican friends – they could rent all of the agricultural land to Bryant to grow his cotton, until Morse et al can build the island out as one big Villages of Barbados master planned retirement community. The weather sure beats Florida, and I am sure he could arrange to be given tax-exempt status for his financing

  33. Well Well. Avatar
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    Due Diligence…………i am sure he already has.

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  35. Well Well. Avatar
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    Due Diligence and Well Well @ I will say the numbers look good seen and not seen , Has the markings of the Number People that make things happen , If it dont work its because Ministers looking for a cut before they get going ?
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    I like it and We have the land for we all need food and cloths, We may voting in 6 Months or sooner ,

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