Submitted by Pachamama
…Barbados dollar as exacerbated by a lack of a vision that would have strategically redeployed the reserves of the country into gold, Bitcoin, silver and other real wealth currencies…
The rapid evolution of mankind over recent millennia, and particularly after the Industrial Revolution, has hit a significant speed bump. We write this with the certain knowledge that we stand high risks of having all of our predictions being spectacular misjudgements. But unlike the general culture from which we come, we are bold and brave enough to not only try to bring new understandings to the past and better understand the present, we are prepared to, with audacity and poise, be daring enough to predict future events, in the short, medium and long term. As soothsayers, we predict that we are indeed at the end of an age that no set of forces can slow, moderate or reverse, even though humans are totally responsible for all these constructs but lack any real and concerted determination to radically alter outcomes.
The global decline of a vicious White power structure, we judge, will continue apace despite unusual efforts in Western capitals to stem the slide. It however, has a potential to take us all with it. The more they try the worse things will become. The manifestations of the economic decline of Europe will prominently appear in the streets of the USA in 2014, as early indications have already shown. These will be expressed by resource riots in the streets, soaring crime rates, rising levels of real unemployment as independently measured, a more indebted government, a more overt presence of a militarized police state, a further balkanization of populations in ‘protected’ or gated communities and the mass migration of those who could afford it. All this as more American cities and states discover the spectre of bankruptcy at their doorstep. Like Detroit, many more cities will be joining the conga line in 2014 and beyond.
Barbados and the Caribbean will fear no better. The recent revelations in Barbados portend prophesies of gloom and doom, not that these will stymie a systemic international, national, regional, local lethargy. The remarks by Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister have already driven Christopher Sinckler and a feckless Barbados government to a ‘mini budget’ mere months after the principle statement of national economic, fiscal affairs. But the insightful remarks by Kenny Anthony are to have much wider application, all other things being equal. But all other things will not be equal, as recent events in Saint Vincent and Anthony’s own Saint Lucia will show, for no one, no country, has been prepared or could be prepared for an entry into this unknown territory. So Sinckler can be expected to return with other mini budgets as the future makes a nullity of his firm anchorage to a political-economy model of a bygone era.
While Sinckler continues to reside in this world of yore we see a series of steep and unavoidable devaluations of the Barbados dollar as exacerbated by a lack of a vision that would have strategically redeployed the reserves of the country into gold, Bitcoin, silver and other real wealth currencies. Such a farsighted policy in itself could have earned a sufficiency of foreign resources to counterbalance current anomalies. Sinckler, Stuart and the GOB will not be able to exit the irrational dependence on the traditional foreign exchange earning sectors and will continue in the vain hope for deliverance from the vortex of a fundamental collapse of capitalism, on the one hand, and their inability to fashion another way, another organizing principle, on the other. They are like gamblers wishing their luck will change some time soon. It will continue to get worse and Barbados will end up in the mire as a result of the misguidance of those who still seem to believe we have no other options than B or D. With the Bees waiting at first slip to catch the people of Barbados.
In the wider Caribbean 2014 will see a number of elections, ahead of scheduled. Politicians will be forced to, in some cases, in others they will be seeking to use elections to control the pressure cookers these small island states will further become. Caribbean peoples will see more and more of the uselessness of their leaders across the board. Revolutions will be called for from Port au Prince to Port of Spain. The vested interests and their international confederates will leave no stone unturned in diverting the innate desires of the peoples into the service of the maintenance of a dying order. Not even the Secret Order, the secret intelligence agencies or their local networks will be able to deny the collective will of the Caribbean peoples. 2014 will see the first open failures of these conservative yearnings by vested Caribbean elites.
Internationally, pressures from emerging countries for the de- dollarization of international trade and for limits to, or a shift from, the US dollar as ‘the’ medium of exchange will gain pace. For the USA, 2014 will be a marked year. A year when decline is well recognized and the only remaining questions will relate to how much longer will we have to put up with the ugly American and how much damage could they do before their final breath, as global hegemon. And is there to be the usual war USA verses China starting in the South China Sea as triggered by the dumping of Chinese held and useless American paper, treasury bills. 2014 will start the accelerated migration of the power of The World Bank, The IMF, The International Bank of Settlements, the United Nations and other organs of world power away from the western powers. We will see more of the rise of the BRICS, a more consolidated Islamic Awakening and a China as the preeminent global trading superpower and lender of last resort.
So whether we are talking from a political, economic, social, technological, physical environment or legal environmental perspective, the state of the world, the Caribbean and Barbados is well positioned for a quantum leap into an abyss of disaster before any emergence of a more hopeful place, if that becomes possible. But before a dawn, capitalism will be more and more seen as the cul de sac it has been. Infinitely incapable of responding to the basic needs of people anywhere. Democracy’s promise will more and more give way to feudalism. The rich will continue to get richer and the poor, poorer.
Notwithstanding the monumental problems we are facing, and will continue to face, the nature of the human spirit represents the critical ingredient. Even in the worst of circumstances the pale skin peoples of the world will continue to feel that they better than Black peoples. The so-called middle classes will continue to believe that there can never be a common cause with the poor. The poor will be the first to die, the last to be fed and after the last to be housed and clothed. On top, marooned leaderships will continue to exploit the perceived differences for the maintenance of their power. Power as useless as a toothless tiger. Making things better may include major reversals in what is generically called development. It may not necessarily involve as radical a step as the institution of the lifestyle of Stone Age man but resource usage certainly has to be markedly reduced, especially by ‘advance’ countries.
Sith, tell it to the young people who are now walking the streets of Barbados like Vombies.
@Miller etc.
Why are you so cocksure such a strategy will not make any meaningful difference? Are the current advertising and promotion strategies making a real difference?
/\/\/\/***********
MayJane is de facto legitimized in JA, perhaps it makes a difference to the number of tourists who visit the place but it is also the most recognized of the English speaking Caribbean islands.
It also has some effective advertising spots which is bulwarked by Sandals who are promoting their brand. Jamaica’s all- inclusive resorts also have a culture of hedonism which is not seen in other Caribbean countries especially those of the English speaking variety.
It begs the question does the free flowing Ganga bring in the tourists or is it the advertising spots which highlight the island’s natural beauty that entices them? Plus the laissez faire attitude to people on vacation doesn’t hurt but the same tourists (as well as Jamaican nationals) face extra scrutiny when they disembark at most Airports on their return to North America.
@ANON
Where you went school? At the standpipe (Bromley?) pun Saturdays in August!
Read it and it clearly states China is NOT in favour of Bitcoin!
SECURITY is a major issue! GOLD!
Even the Euro is WALkiNG WHILE DEAD!!! The US$ will be beaten like a REDHEAD STEP CHILE eventually! US$ will lose at least half it’s Purchasing Power in the next 5 yrs or so! The YEN is being MAULED NOW!
@Sith
The weed gives one’s temporary high, but the long damage to the chemical soup in the Brain is irreversible friend. Don’t take my word for it buddy, because there is a corpse of scientific evidence that speaks to this reality.
Moneybrain, I agree with that latter part of your statement, because US has done little about its 17.5 trillion dollar national debt.
SITH
The legalizing of Marijuana is INEVITABLE. Barbados will lag behind
as usual.
We knew for many years that the herb would be legalized in the USA and that was the reason they started to carry out all sorts of eradication exercises in the Caribbean so that they would have the jump on the Caribbean whenever the herb starts moving. That was a known fact..
When the rest of the world starts demanding Barbados Green -Barbados grown Herb and Caribbean grown Herb in general then Barbados will be scrambling to supply
By that time people like Adriel Brathwaite and the like would be banished to the dustbins of History.
I have given up on Barbados———Somebody suggested that we need to bring in some expatriates to repair the damage done . Our collective psyche needs collective surgery.
What is wrong with growing marijuana for export to those who demand it –Colorado will be followed by many other states. We know how follow pattern works
@Mark
That number is exceedingly LOW as it does not include unfunded liabilities like Social Security the real number is $80-100 TRILLION! The US is BANKRUPT!
@ MB
You wouldn’t touch BITCOIN – well, had you bought when it was $2 – today it is trading at $1000 = do the MATH!
Some of us are definitely LOL!
FOOLS!
CRYPTOCURRENCY IS THE FINANCIAL FUTURE JUST AS “google” BECAME THE VIRTUAL “freeway” ON SEPTEMBER 4TH 1998..
All those who bought into “GOOGLE” stock in the late 90’s are all today sitting CUMFY!
If you lot had bought BITCOINS @US$2.00 tonite most of all you would be MILLIONAIRES!
YOUNG Hong Kong business entrepreneurs recognize the “MINING” potential of BITCOINS and are investing seriously in the HARDWARE and are speeding ahead at quantum velocity…
That’s why I have 4 desktop computers and 3 laptops in my home – the more computing power – the greater the mining shaft!
If the BARBADOS gov’t needs some help – I am sure the Minister of Finance can put up US$10 Million of that FX that they have sitting at the Central Bank – I’ll take a 20% FEE for my knowledge and for my efforts! There’s enough office space in the Central Bank to put in massive servers and half dozen professional “GEEKS” to begin the process!
If projections are correct – we are looking exponential growth in CC and massive DEVALUATIONS in the FIAT currencies around the world.
Keep your eyes on SILVER as this precious metal is also the BILLION $$$ elephant in the room when we have reached PEAK SILVER!
Though “GOLD” is massively being manipulated by speculative FRAUD and the “DEMONS” on Wall St. – this is only until world currencies meet their WATERLOO!
Mark Fenty | 05/01/2014 at 2:28 pm |
Colonel, it’s easy to blame others for our inaction… But let me ask you this question though: where were you with your signs, trying to convince your fellow Barbadian that it wasn’t within his best interest to auction off his island?
………………………………………………………………………..
For your information, Mark, during the last 25/30 years I ‘ve had over 5000 letters to the editor published, both in the Nation and the Advocate .Many of these letters severely condemned the selling off of things Barbadian. I’ve done my bit,Sir.
@ Just asking
Some state governors are granting licenses to a few certified persons to sell this weed for medical purposes only. But the federal government is bent on closing down their operations. Now I am quite sure you have seen the report on “60 Minutes” several months ago?
Hi ANON
Just curious…
What happens to Bushie’s bit coin value when the internet fails due to a large sun flare? – or military action? …or when someone’s 4 PCs and 3 Laptops get stolen…? Of when your high tech geeks decide to help themselves to your bit coins…?
Is this concept not a bit too technology dependent – especially in our trouble prone world?
@Just Asking
I’ll bet you that federal government is going to use the Commerce Act to criminalized the states legitimate sale of this weed.
@awty
Just seems like the typical disjointed messaging, timing and implementation to me. Carrying out the decision confuses people more than the actual decision.
If it has to be done it has to be done… It would have helped to have been given the FULL picture why, sufficient time (proper forecasting) to prepare and adjust, and consultation to attempt other strategies in addition to what is done.
imho we’re still up a creek regardless of what the GoCB and the MoF say.
Imagine these are the same two were said everything was stable up until March this year; that said the MTFS (original and revised) was the best option fo rus; that said the new Growth Strategy was better, more realistic and teh way forward; that cast aside ALL reccommendations from ALL quarters; that spoke about “imminent” projects to will spur the economy (since 2011), that haven’t yet said where the 300M forex went; that clearly are a big reason why we are where we are..
I’m not sure how many people are taking them seriously anymore far less trusting anything that comes from their mouths.
@bushie
I think we both know that there is only ONE currency that has any real value. lol
Just Observing
Writer, Leo mirandi exemplying M-PESA, a money-transfer system that started in Kenya (Central Africa) says “poor countries will go from copying new technology to creating it”. Must see what Barbados can/will create in 2014 or beyond it. LOL
David, sorry but this post is full of shit. I am an eternal optimist and you should thank your ass for the protection of the USA.. If not for them, would your children be speaking Spanish (Cuba) or Russian now? Maybe you will like the smell of a Chinese ass as you bend over to kiss it in the future.
For all the problems and issues the US faces, it is the only superpower that has allowed us to remain in relative peace. I am a Bajan and American and proud of both.
Konkieman, it appears some of your fellow (US) citizens are not sharing your sunny disposition and eternally optimistic outlook.as to what the future has in store for them as citizens of the USA:
How Many Constitutional Freedoms Have We Lost?
This post explains the liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights – the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution – and provides a scorecard on the extent of the loss of each right. (This is an updated version of an essay we wrote in February. Since then, it has become apparent that the few rights we thought we had left are largely illusory.)
First Amendment
The 1st Amendment protects speech, religion, assembly and the press:
The Supreme Court has also interpreted the First Amendment as protecting freedom of association. However, the government is arresting those speaking out … and violently crushing peaceful assemblies which attempt to petition the government for redress. A federal judge found that the law allowing indefinite detention of Americans without due process has a “chilling effect” on free speech. And see this and this. There are also enacted laws allowing the secret service to arrest anyone protesting near the president or other designated folks (that might explain incidents like this). Mass spying by the NSA violates our freedom of association, chilling our willingness to associate with people who are not firmly in the mainstream. The threat of being labeled a terrorist for exercising our First Amendment rights certainly violates the First Amendment. The government is using laws to crush dissent, and it’s gotten so bad that even U.S. Supreme Court justices are saying that we are descending into tyranny. For example, the following actions may get an American citizen living on U.S. soil labeled as a “suspected terrorist” today:
(embedded links in the original)
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/01/americans-lost-constitutional-rights.html
@ BUSHMAN
“What happens to Bushie’s BITCOIN value when the internet fails due to a large sun flare? – or military action? …or when someone’s 4 PCs and 3 Laptops get stolen…? Of when your high tech geeks decide to help themselves to your bit coins…? Is this concept not a bit too technology dependent – especially in our trouble prone world?”
Good thoughts son!
For the record, I took a chance getting out of bed this morning because the likelihood of a possible accident was an ever-present danger. I got up and got out and did the business necessary to have a productive day. Voila!
On a serious note bro, we are living in a time where anything is possible! Extreme intra/extra planetary phenomena have become more prevalent as we continue to mess with mother nature.
Dr. Lika Guhathakurta, (NASA) astrophysicist and heliophysics expert, believes that if we have a massive coronal mass ejection (CME) as we did in 1859 known at the time as the CARRINGTON EVENT which slammed into Earth causing dramatic magnetic fluctuations essentially leading to induced ground current that actually caused significant fluctuations in our power grids, pylons and the simple switches in our houses.
When you have such a massive electromagnetic disturbance on Earth, EVERYthing that is operated by electricity is vulnerable to fluctuation – anything including your computers. kettle, TV or electric car.
CME’s produce high levels of electromagnetic radiation (primarily x-rays) – and the impact disturbs the Earth’s magnetosphere, setting off geomagnetic storms. So yes, your concerns are LEGIT! But should that be a reason to not embrace THIS BRAVE NEW WORLD?
C’mon Bushie!
I agree that Bitcoin security is paramount for those who “MINE” this technology! But the beauty of cryptocurrency is the PEER – PEER technology that is not the exclusive domain of any single person just as “GOOGLE” algorithms is not the exclusive domain of one MAD SCIENTIST! No amount of government interventional threats or policy decisions can affect this LEVIATHAN as it has been unleashed on us and there’s no going back regardless of what happens ABOVE or BENEATH!
LOL!
BUSHMAN, for many in Barbados who sit up on the “net” and on places like BU; spend ridiculous amounts of vegetative time “DUMBING-DOWN” on FACEBOOK and other social media are “COMPLETELY” oblivious to the other side of the “COIN” of the INTERNET!
We call it the “DARKNET”!
This is where drug dealers launder billions of $$$$! This is where a multibillion $$$$$ BLACK MARKET exist! This is where transactions, DEALS and other ominous forms of illegality take place including file share of illicit pornographic material that cannot be shown on the regular INTERNET because of its insidious nature!
This is where the ARAB SPRING was birthed and this is ultimately where criminals, FREEDOM-FIGHTERS & others will choose to do their dark dealings!
SO WELCOME MY DEAR BROTHER TO THE REAL WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY!
This is the future and it is pointless that small island states with “SMALL” thinking can limit the ability of human beings to be “FREE” to do whatever is necessary to have individual autonomy – regardless of who or what is calling the shots!
@ David
You see what OSA saying in the Nation bout MIA – gimmick! Our problems just got worse
Bitcoin crosses $1,000 on Zynga move
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25617931
The craziest (and possibly most startling) story of 2014 may be this one right here.
When you read it, you’ll think it’s coming straight out of a futuristic science fiction movie, but it’s happening now.
Due to fears of global economic collapse and the rise of unstable governments…
225 of the richest people in the world, including billionaire and PayPal founder Peter Thiel, are secretly planning to pay around $172 million each to live on cities being built in the ocean.
The first one is slated to launch in the coming year.
These cities will belong to no country.
They will operate outside the laws of any nation. And the plan with them is to build a new monetary system.
That last point is why it’s important you learn about this story now.
The billionaires who are lining up to live in these floating cities have so little faith in global economies they are willing to pull up stakes and ship out…
While literally putting their fortunes on the line to build a new international financial system.
And it’s what they may replace the old one with that could be the most shocking part of this all… I’ll warn you now, what you’re about to come is highly controversial.
WELCOME 2014!
SEE MORE: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/new_scientist/2012/09/floating_cities_seasteaders_want_to_build_their_own_islands_.html
The Minister of Finance is meeting with the Press.
The Central Bank Governor is meeting with the Private Sector.
As a fellow on the block said, Barbados has been ruled by three Adams as Premiers / Prime Ministers. First was Adams-G.H. (Grantley Herbert) ,then Adams -J.M.G.M (TOM) and our present Prime Minister is Adam- G.H. (Garden Hiding)
BOY BLUE !
FREUN-DULL STUART IS THE WORST PRIME MINISTER EVER
Pachamama | 06/01/2014 at 10:34 am |
@ David
You see what OSA saying in the Nation bout MIA – gimmick! Our problems just got worse
HOW SO !
OWEN IS TOO SMART
How will the DLP respond
Will they say yes its a gimmick
Will they say it is not a gimmick
It is a gimmick because the IMF has spoken and we must follow the dictates of the IMF
It is not a gimmick so why not put It in place.
YOU SEE THE TRAP OWEN GOT THEM IN.
YOU SEE
YOU SEE
GOT SILVER! THEN YOU’LL SOON BE LAUGHING OUT LOUD WITH GLEE!
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-02/turkey-s-silver-imports-surge-to-most-since-1999-as-prices-slide.html
@ANON
Assuming that Silver owners did NOT slit their wrists in the last 2 yrs. LOL
at Konkieman
\Right on!!!!The USA is the greatest country in the world and the greatest hero of the 21st century is the American GI who without, the world would be ruled by tyrants. In Granada these brave men and women looked after problems. The date of the invasion is now a national holiday in Grenada, called Thanksgiving Day
And US$ what we needing here in Barbados so we can pay for all the things we import…we running out.
In the Merchant of Venice, Bassanio said:
“Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing;
more than any man in all of Venice.
You shall seek all day for his reasons,
and when you have them, they are not worth the search.”
I believe that this quote firmly epitomises the nothingness that I heard emerging from the mouth of dear old Chris Sinckler. Surely Barbados can do better, is that not so?
@Brathwaite
We support the Bushie Plan! Its our only option
Surely, Barbados could have done better than the inarticulated and unpolished Owen Arthur. Arthur was a disgrace to the institution of government in Barbados. And I am not afraid to say that I took an instant dislike to the man, the first day Adams introduced the nincompoop into the political arena in Barbados.