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Submitted by Hamilton Hill
Kerri Symmonds, Deputy Leader of the BLP was reappointed to the Senate after a widely publicized marital dispute.ย 

Kerri Symmonds, Deputy Leader of the BLP was reappointed to the Senate by Owen Arthur after a widely publicized marital dispute.

 

I have long held fast to the belief that hypocrisy like the broken trident is symbolic of things Bajan. As I listened to Brasstacks today [Oct 18, 2013] on the Voice Of Barbados, I was reminded why. Caller after caller demanded to hear an apology from the minister of finance Chris Sinckler. Not because every single strategy….short, medium or long term employed by the minister has failed miserably, not because he has been fitted with a cloak of ignominy as the first โ€˜economistโ€™ to be stumped by a decimal point, but because of a play that if nothing else is certainly par for the course as it relates to what we have accepted as party politics in the country that we all claim to love so much. Are we serious here?

We are burdened with an administration that has clearly lost its way, or better put has not yet found its intended path. A government that through its indecisiveness cannot frequently address the nation, and here we are allowing the real issues to be over shadowed by a proffered opinion, one politician about another. Are we serious here?

To the feminist movement that now demand and rightly so the instant halt to disrespect of our women, I ask you this. Does the name Andrea Symmonds ring a bell?ย  It was right here in this very forum that this writer read that the source of her distress was pressured to demit office by none other than Mia Motley, only to be reinstated in a nanosecond by Mr. Arthur who had forced Miss Motley from her position. Where were you then? When the steps to Senator Sandiford-Garner’s office were coated in human faeces back in 2008 where were your melodious voices then? Remind me of the stance you took when the police forcefully took the cameras from the female journalists a few years ago.

We continue to play politics at every turn and that’s why nothing changes. A politician plays politics and here we are demanding an apology. Empirical evidence says that the stronger claim is grounded in the statement that a sorry excuse for a leader now heads our ministry of finance. Again I ask….are we serious here?


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128 responses to “Playing Politics at Every Turn – Are Barbadians Serious?”


  1. 1. A Minister is branded a dolt and an idiot and calls are made for his removal. Nothing wrong with that.

    2. The leader of the Opposition is a woman. Nothing wrong with that.

    3. The Minister, back to the wall, comes out fighting – not a Christian thing to do but this is politics not the pulpit – so nothing wrong with that.

    4. The Minister pulls no punches. Nothing wrong with that.

    5. The female of the species broadcasts this as an attack on womankind of a sort which would have Germaine Greer and Erica Jong reeling in agony. You what?

    6. Look female BLP sunshines – if you don’t like the heat get out of the kitchen. Male, female, neutered rat, it’s all the same. You are playing politics with your squealing and, sorry, I find you utterly pathetic.

    PS Of course he should go but that’s not the point.


  2. RR

    Kind of like the reparations debate going on in another thread.

    1. Slavery is a horrible institution.

    2. Slavery exists today.

    3. In fact estimates indicate that there are more slaves in the world today than were taken out of Africa in 14 centuries.

    3.. Since we are the descendants of African slaves who suffered when trans Atlantic slavery persisted we need some money from the world to compensate us for our ancestors’ suffering …… just too bad about the 30 million plus slaves in existence today.

    …. and I agree with your PS!!


  3. Back in time jack; Sounds great! I never heard that version before. Was it a 2012-13 election song that didn’t quite get traction then?

    Remove the references to Owen Arthur and it would make a good calypso for these times now unless wunnah planning to go back to Owen again!


  4. To repeat: the comment by Sinckler was puerile and asinine BUT understood in the cut and thrust of local politics. He did not suffer any fallout from the bald pooch comment did he? Barbadians can’t continue to cherry pick what offend their sensibilities, it is hypocritical to do so.


  5. Hamilton Hill wheel and come again.


  6. It is not a question of cherry picking. I see nothing wrong with that. It’s par for the course. What I find offensive is that his female opponents are using one of the most wonderful discoveries of modern times – the right, dignity and worth of the female of the species – for gross party political ends when the playing field is otherwise level – same House, same kitchen.


  7. @enuff

    Please share what is it you disagree.


  8. Yes HH and RR and even John;
    Politics is being played at every turn by the BLP as well as the DLP. So let’s take the politics out and look at the underlying facts. Sinckler has an undeniable tendency to attack women in the most guttersnipish of terms in responding to purely factual attacks on his performance or lack of such performance. His dramatic attack on Mia Mottley sans responding to the substantive facts in her filing the vote of no confidence was without merit. Shouldn’t the women who have highlighted that latest uncalled for attack be allowed to do so minus the characterization of just politics? I think he needs to be told by his people as well as others that his attacks are not in good taste and that he should desist.

    HH; Really!! Sinckler’s verbal gutter attacks on women and Kerrie Symmonds attack on his wife’s car tyres are not comparable in any way but politics in Barbados tend to make them so. Thus AC and CCC can make the most absurd political comparisons and everyone seems to go along with them as just politics.

    There is a saying about motes and beams. Perhaps we should reflect on it.

  9. Back in Time Jack Avatar
    Back in Time Jack

    Check-it Out

    Can he come back?
    Is this his come back song?


  10. @checkit-out

    What about when Kerri referred to a WOMAN 1000 pounds of blubber?

    The bottomline is that in Barbados we have allowed politicians to say what they like.


  11. So tell me Hamilton, one cannot find displeasure in a nasty comment made recently because of what someone else said/did in the past? Someone asked you to wheel and come again…try it. Stupse.


  12. robert ross, you and your kind are idiot’s if you think that it is ok for a person who holds office in any country (especially the high office he holds) to speak this way of any grouping of people in our country. Is this what Barbados has come too? I guess my answer is yes as most people in this present government speak freely about how they will handle everyone if things get bad. Part of our problem is that people like you are accepting this type of behaviour and name calling and doing nothing about it but agreeing there is nothing wrong. Get up and make a difference you buffoon.

    I also think this is a very deliberate statement from the Minister to deflect the true problems of Barbados at this point in time. This government has become a master at this game now rather than try to get problems resolved. This is just another way to change the headlines of tomorrow papers from one of discussing the economy to discussing something else. This is the second time I have seen them do this. The last clear cut time was when they diverted discussion on the S&P downgrade on our outlook with a BIG news conference about tourism (2 weeks before a budget) and made a whole lot of noise about nothing – and time has proven nothing came of it. Instead of that story being on the front page they managed to move it to the back pages of the paper. And we the Barbadian people continue to let them change the discussion on what a bad job they are doing.

    The best deal the Minister has going for him is that he has mastered deflection.


  13. @Nellie

    The comment was tactless, crass, puerile, asinine etc. However it is no different to political speak used by politicians from both sides. But are Barbadians that aware to discern when they are being played? BU say no!


  14. You know, I have the greatest admiration for the leader of the Opposition. She is eloquent and clearly highly intelligent and, I believe, will make a very fine PM even on the principle that ‘anything is better than this’.

    BUT to say to the effect “all she can do now to get attention is to strip naked and run down Broad St” is hardly a slur on women since the concepts of nakedness and attention seeking are self-evidently gender neutral.

    In the cut-and-thrust of debate I’m sorry, I don’t see how the remark can possibly be accounted offensive – well unless you’re ‘born-again’ and have a distaste and fear of the human form, or want to say that S’s suggestion was meant to be taken seriously as a call to public lewdness (and we’re really good at this fey moral posturing).

    Besides, as the poet says, there may well be more enterprise in walking naked. Which reminds me to ask Adrian Loveridge what he thinks……


  15. John Doe

    “You and your kind are idiots…”

    Well done – you have self-evidently raised the quality of the discussion.


  16. RR; Actually, I think, minus the first line, that John Doe has indeed raised the quality of the discussion. His second and third paragraphs get to the important point of deflection which both parties are past masters at.

    back in time Jack; Still would like to know if this a new current remake or one from the recent General Election campaign. If it was the latter, I’m surprised that I don’t remember seeing or hearing it before. If it is current, is it a false flag effort by DLP elements or alternatively a premature release of an element in a new campaign to unseat Mia Mottley again by an Owen Arthur faction in the BLP?

    The artistes in the song do not sound bajan. Why?


  17. @checkit-out

    Is it not obvious there is an Arthur cheering section still about?

  18. Back in Time Jack Avatar
    Back in Time Jack

    Check-it Out

    Mia must be very careful this time around. The moment the people turn to the BLP it will because they are re-turning to Owen.


  19. David; Re. your 9.10 am post; Grateful if you would remind me of the 1000 pounds of blubber comment. Was it about Mia Mottley? Which campaign was it in? Was Simmonds operating as a DLP or BLP at the time? I really don’t remember and would be grateful for your elucidation.


  20. Churchill once looked a lady in the eye and called her ugly …… after she had branded him as ugly. That was at a time and in a place where it just wasn’t the done thing.

    Perhaps a political response to Sinkler’s rubbish might have been “… but 10 to 1 you couldn’t catch her with the bulk you are carrying…. and …. even if you did, would you have been able to do anything about it?”

    … but who knows where that might have led.


  21. Back in time Jack and David; Thanks for pointing me nearer to the likely source of the “captain, the ship is sinking” you tube video. I would still like to know if it is new or if it is from the 2012-13 campaign and if it was widely publicized at that time.

    Re. “an Arthur cheering section” it seems obvious that at this time of an imminent arrival of the IMF, that there would be somewhat of a groundswell for the return of a professional who has served us well in the past since the current incumbents HAVE certainly ALREADY steered the ship into the rocks. But do we really need Arthur to oversee what has to be done?


  22. I agree with Robert Ross. Sinckler’s comment was puerile and silly but hardly an attack on women. There are too many things wrong in this country for the Opposition to be clutching at straws. They should deal with the real issues instead of leading their minions down this silly path of righteous indignation.

    The Government is failing at every turn and all the Opposition can seize upon is a silly comment from a known fool. This says more about the dearth of anything worthwhile coming from the Opposition than it says about the idiot savant that made the comment.


  23. John; Methinks you got your information wrong. The words used in that encounter were far from the crassness of the Sinckler words.


  24. @checkit-out

    It will be who the electorate has confidence. It is amazing how quickly the dynamic has changed since February. The government will do well to roll out its programs to spur growth quickly.


  25. This article is totally correct. We are in a debt spiral – that is the issue that should give us pause for comment, Not any personality issues between Mottley and Sinckler.

    http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5118/economics/debt-spiral-explained

    The MoF was being disingenuous with his explanations for the failure of the tender. The investors require a higher interest rate to compensate them for what they perceive as a high risk investment. Higher rates means higher costs of servicing of that debt. It’s unsustainable. The MoF and the Governor of the Central Bank need to be pressed to provide reassurance.


  26. Caswell;
    Good to see you posting again. But is it really true that the Opposition is “clutching at straws” in this incident? Hasn’t the main thrust in this regard been from individuals not necessarily connected with the opposition? Are’nt they trying to do something about the main issues related to gross mismanagement of the economy by the government? And haven’t they been pilloried by the Government and its supporters for the stances they have taken, even the obvious one of instituting a vote of no confidence in someone that I suspect most thinking bajans now have no confidence in?

  27. Back in Time Jack Avatar
    Back in Time Jack

    The MOF and Central Bank governor should be sent home. They came, they tried, they failed. Now piss off and let’s get on with the work of trying right this ship.


  28. Back in Time Jack; Agree totally with your 10:49 comment. The PM’s first order of business should be to remove those two and then find some way to remove himself from the frontline.


  29. Check-it

    You think so? The problem with this kind of post is that people will divide on a party basis. So if you want to find fault with S, you will. If not, not. Not being a party-animal in that sense, I don’t have the same problem so that, for me, the issue is the alleged gender slur and nothing more.

    All the nonsenses we associate with party-politicals are not peculiar to Bim, and yes, as David says, much of it is puerile posturing. But the same cadences are to be heard wherever there are agendas to be advanced or defended and BU is itself no exception. And what, as a matter of fact, is John Doe doing which is any different when he refers to “idiots” and “buffoons” – which is why I complimented him on raising the level of debate?


  30. “My father, a Lancashire miner at that time, told me this โ€“ I have no reason to doubt him โ€“ it was completely unsolicited and not a quote that he would have made unless from direct knowledge However, by far the most famous quotations attributed to her are taken from alleged exchanges between her and Winston Churchill, though, like the statements above, these are not well documented and may be inaccurate. Examples include an instance in which Churchill is supposed to have told Lady Astor that having a woman in Parliament was like having one intrude on him in the bathroom, to which she retorted, “Youโ€™re not handsome enough to have such fears.” Lady Astor is also said to have responded to a question from Churchill about what disguise he should wear to a masquerade ball by saying, “Why don’t you come sober, Prime Minister?” Possibly the most famous of all such anecdotes reports that Lady Astor said to Churchill, “If you were my husband, I’d poison your tea,” to which he responded, “Madam, if you were my wife, I’d drink it!” This retort is of dubious authenticity and has been attributed to others before Churchill, for instance David Lloyd George in responding to a suffragette.[43]”

    … from Wikipedia ……

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Astor,_Viscountess_Astor


  31. John; Thanks for partially concretizing my earlier point. Churchill has not been reported as calling Lady Astor or any other woman ugly to her face. When you find the reference to Churchill calling a woman ugly to her face in Parliament, let us know.

    Just wasn’t the done thing at that time.


  32. @ checkit-out …Nellie…Enuff….David actually stole my thunder. His point about the reference to 1,000 lbs of blubber was the first thing that crossed my mind after the first few calls to the program. One visit to parliament is all that is needed and one comes to the realization that this is indeed par for the course. Much worse has been said,and I am sure that if no one else, checkit-out knows this. Should we be so receptive of this garbage? That’s another story. Also Checkit my point was not what transpired between the couple. Yes we must accept as a mitigating factor that matters of the heart are delicate ones to which we are all susceptible, but at the end of the day aren’t we all accountable for our own actions? His reinstatement after so short a period of time would have sent the very same message that rings offensively in the ears of all who would have wanted me to” wheel and come again.”


  33. HH; As Robert Ross intimates, this matter is replete with inconsistencies. The picture that Sinckler evokes in one’s mind’s eye through his unnecessary comment is not a pretty one.

    However, it might have been consciously put out there to move the conversation from his clear inadequacies as MOF to a typical parliamentary joke that no one takes seriously. Indeed, that joke should have been taken totally differently, as a covert admission that he had no substantive points to respond to Mia Mottley’s bringing a vote of no confidence against him.

    I also take the point that the reaction by the women’s advocate, though predictable was perhaps unnecessary and that we need not spend too much time on it.

    As most posters, even you, seem to admit, there is a good formal case of incompetence being brought against Sinckler. Your post however, might have typically served to dilute that case. Perhaps what you need to do now is to highlight the damage that Sinckler and Freundel and Sealy have done to our economy and elicit some responses on that.

  34. Caswell Franklyn Avatar

    Checkit-out

    Thanks! My absence from the BU was due to a few attacks from kidney stones.

    >


  35. Thanks God!!!

    The recession just ended in Barbados and full confidence is back from the international community says Minister of Finance on the news about an hour ago.

    Maybe instead of trying to pull the hood over our eyes and masking the real problems we should be asking:

    1. What deal did they make with him to get Sandals in so fast.

    2. Why did Couples have a big launch just 2-3 weeks ago and praise Barbados and how well they were going to do then all of a sudden just before a Winter period pull out – like that. In a blink of an eye!

    Our press core are pathetic!


  36. @ Checkit-out…point taken. There really is no need for me to highlight anything when it comes to the shortcomings of this administration. How does one with a clear conscience attempt to defend the indefensible? It is clear that the stance taken of not speaking to the nation has more to do with “I am not sure what to say,” rather than ” I will not say.” As I said earlier word has it that there maybe a resignation somewhere in the making,and it has nothing to do with Dennis Lowe. Remember I also said that the motion of no confidence is a sword with two edges, and we already accept that one of those edges has been directed at St. Michael North West. In terms of the other one, well your guess is as good as mine. Diametrically opposed as they may seem, certain ties shall always bind. These two have more in common than they have differences. Politics killing sweet Barbados.


  37. @John Doe
    Excellent point but it will all come out in the wash.That’s the legacy of the bungler Stuart, the crass low life buffoon Sinckler and the urine poor Sealy.All three of these should be called to count in any future legislation we might insist on back dating.To be sure they must be stripped of their pensions.Legislation is being drafted by interested parties.

  38. PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926 TO 2013 , MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS OF BARBADOS, BLPand DLP=Massive Fruad Avatar
    PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926 TO 2013 , MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS OF BARBADOS, BLPand DLP=Massive Fruad

    Caswell Franklyn @ glad you are doing well and good to see you on BU , Best wishes .


  39. Caswell ”This says more about the dearth of anything worthwhile coming from the Opposition than it says about the idiot savant that made the comment.

    ————

    Just a correction Caswell, the term ‘idiot savant’ is overused (incorrectly) and should not be used to describe Sinckler, ‘idiot savant’ actually applies (though subsequently taken as not suitable) to a person with a mental limitation who shows prolific brilliance in a specific area.

    This clearly does not apply to Sinckler.


  40. @ Gabriel

    “Gabriel | October 19, 2013 at 1:52 PM |”

    Whuloss!!

    I like that

    Accountability post incompetency!

    Much like the power of recall but tell me what use is stripping a male or female parasite of their miniscule pensions when they have robbed the treasury of infinitely larger amounts and lined their pockets at the expense of taxpayers?

    Is this some type of “blame and then shame them to death punishment”?

    It did not work on Lammie Craig and it will not work on these DLP fellows


  41. Why would the MOF be resigning when he is front and center at a Press conference at the launch of two Sandals properties with presumably all the jobs and investment that come with it? That however did seem to be a rather quick deal, and I for one would like to see the terms and conditions under which Sandals got those properties.

  42. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    The worst thing anyone can call you is a thief, and her political mates in Parliament called her a thief.

  43. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    Something interesting from FACEBOOK:

    “OH DEAR! YET ANOTHER PROTEST IS BEING PLANNED BY THE OPPOSITION BLP. THIS WOULD BE THE THIRD SINCE ELECTIONS WERE HELD A FEW MONTHS AGO.

    FIRST THEY ATTEMPTED TO BE ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND LED A PROTEST AGAINST Bs BOTTLING. SIGH.

    THEN THEY ‘SUPPORTED’ A MASSIVE PROTEST OF ABOUT 20 FOREIGN STUDENTS, SUPPOSEDLY TO ASK THE BARBADOS GOVERNMENT TO RECONSIDER MAKING STUDENTS PAY FOR UWI. THIS WAS ALLEGEDLY THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF ‘MASSIVE’ PROTESTS PLANNED AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT. MONTHS HAVE PASSED, NOTHING MORE HAS BEEN MENTIONED ABOUT THIS SERIES.

    NOW WE ARE TOLD THAT WE SHOULD GATHER IN QUEENS PARK TO UMMMM…. SIGH A PETITION. A .. A.. WHAT? A PETITION FOR WHAT…..? ERRRR…. A PETITION TO PROTEST AGAINST THE PM EXERCISING HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO PICK A MINISTER OF FINANCE. APPARENTLY THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION DIDN’T READ THE CONSTITUTION, SO SHE FEELS THAT IT IS HER JOB TO PICK THE MOF, AND IS ASKING US TO HELP HER FORCE THE PM INTO GIVING HER HIS POWER.

    BUT WAIT! THAT’S NOT ALL. THE LOTO, WHO HAS BLOSSOMED INTO THE EMBODIMENT OF DELICATE WOMANHOOD ALL OF A SUDDEN, HAS BEEN ‘GROSSLY INSULTED’ BY CHRIS. AN INSULT TO HER IS AN INSULT TO ALL BARBADIAN WOWEN, AND EVEN IF WE DON’T UNDERSTAND ABOUT ECONOMICS, WE SHOULD STILL SIGN THE PETITION TO FIRE CHRIS BECAUSE HE HAS INSULTED US ALL. NO THANKS, I WASH MY HAIR ON SUNDAY EVENINGS, SO I’LL BE BUSY.”

    Requel Gilkes

  44. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    The concessions granted to Sandals Grenada included:

    29 year waiver of corporate taxes
    25 year waiver of property taxes
    25 year waiver of customers duties on capital goods
    25 year waiver of customer duty on consumables
    15 year waiver of VAT

    WILL the Government declare the concessions granted to Sandals/Beaches on Barbados?

    source: S. Brian Samuel – now Grenada – ‘The La Source Saga’


  45. @HH
    ” Should we be so receptive of this garbage?”

    Bingo! We shouldn’t, but we are. And there are many other types of garbage we put up with as well. At the end of the day “we” are to blame.

    “Politics killing sweet Barbados.”

    Past tense rather than present participle might be more apt

    @check it out
    Keep keeping it objective. Balanced as always.

    @David
    He did not suffer any fallout from the bald pooch comment did he?

    Indeed he did. Hence the apology.

    http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/chris-sinckler-apologizes-for-comments/

    We will always get the people we tolerate.

    I wish all bloggers well though since i can only be “in and out”.
    Great contributions as always.

    Just observing (from a distance)

  46. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    From FACEBOOK:”

    This country lost a great patriot today and myself, a close friend. It will remain one of Barbados’ biggest ironies that eight years ago he put love of country and love of the Royal Barbados Police Force above his own personal life when he went public with information that Darwin Dottin was behind the illegal wiretapping of people’s phones. Dottin had him suspended for five long years for speaking the truth. He was later reinstated and now Dottin has been dumped from the force for the same illegal wiretapping.
    For fortitude, fearlessness, intelligence, love of country and commitment to his profession, I have never met anyone better than Anderson Bowen. He will never be forgotten by family or friends. Rest well, ‘Invader’.”

    Wade Gibbons

  47. Back in Time Jack Avatar
    Back in Time Jack

    Oh dear Mia might have over played her hand. PM promises to make certain disclosures on the day No Confidence motion is debated in the house.


  48. How will these promised disclosures help with infusing confidence in Barbadians? How will these disclosures help to improve the economy?

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