Caribbean Countries Should Integrate or be Left Behind
Secretary General, Irwin La Rocque
Alicia Nicholls – Caribbean Trade Law and Development blog
A few days ago I had the pleasure of being on the Regional Integration panel at the 17th Annual SALISES Conference held this year in Barbados where I presented a paper co-authored with founder and president of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Young Professionals Network (ACP YPN), Miss Yentyl Williams. The consensus all the panelists had reached in our papers was that as small fish in a very large pond, Caribbean countries are facing a growing swell of global trade and other socio-economic tides which are deepening our marginalisation in the global economy.
We argued that the region desperately needed to deepen and widen its integration process or face being further relegated to the back of the global shoal. Of course, what we were saying was not novel and indeed, has been one of the oldest and most compelling justifications for the regional integration project.
Barbados Underground 
Bush Tea April 4, 2016 at 9:34 PM #
What else did the dude Jude have to say on the Caribbean?
You eschew integration and show the failure of the EU as the reason we should not follow suit.
What about the integration of the United States of America…..why not fashion our unity on a tried example tailored to suit our peculiar needs.
Singapore at 238 sq.mi. has a population of over 4m…..we at 166 sq.mi. only have 0.28m…..the english speaking Caribbean has a populi of approx 11m and taking Guyana into consideration vast untapped resources/wealth.
Why do you insist on us paddling our own miniature canoe in choppy waters,when a big one can ride the turbulence?
Do you not realise that it suites the powers of the world to keep us,who came on the same boat from the same places,fragmented.
Strength lies in unity………ask Caswel.
You appear to be an agent provocateur for these same world powers,as none of your reasons make sense.
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@ Suck Salt (and Exclaimer)
You are asking Alicia to venture out there and to shoot herself in her foot by going outside the parameters of safe conduct through the land that is CARICOM consultancies.
She is not at the level of a Jeff Cumberbatch to get into a wrangle with Invader #1 and give him some good blows like Chicky Starr did, she is unfortunately a featherweight who would be well advised, if she wants to continue getting work in the CARICOM region, not to speak out against her potential bosses.
So for the time being, even though her words are big and the concepts alien to the poor man, either lef out the heavy reading OR pretend to read um and do the same illiterate stupidness that Stink Liar does do as is evidenced with his decimal points and the .007 percentage boo boo.
@ Vincent Haynes
A few things to note.
THe example that you use regarding the United States is a poor one since, (i) theirs is a contiguous land mass without the logistical issues of our Caribbean land mass positively compounded (an oxymoron) by the fact that (ii) theirs is a “common” history of rebellion from England and (iii) they were not, those who drafted their constitution, were not slaves or descendants of slaves.
Observe Samuels, interviewed during a well deserved win, in the face of the world, with your effing feet up on a table!!!
That arrogance and buffoonery and lack of understanding of the niceties of diplomacy is emblematic of the mentalities that we are dealing with at the level of integration,
Buffoons who truthfully reflect the white supremacy mouthings that we are just out of the trees.
What Bush Tea and others here exasperate over is that, in the face of all your seemingly wise advice per where we should be going as a region, we cant even get the simple mechanism that permits us to travel between the countries, by air, LIAT, working after all these years!!
Let us not go into the realm of virtual encounters by radio waves since, as you and I see daily, the Fear Trading Commission, of late, led by Jeff Cumberbatch, fails miserably to understand all the fancy talk that you are talking bout per “strength in unity”
Integration WILL NOT HAPPEN with the impoverished mentalities of small dicked men like Cameron and Mitchell leading field nigger mentalities who give interviews with their feet on a table!!
Unless and until this generation, and their calcified progeny, pass away, with their anachronistic thoughts/mentalities, we will continue to grovel in our respective islands.
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pieceuhderockyeahright April 5, 2016 at 4:27 AM #
I agree with your last sentence and hope that the new breed will use the points in your notes to their advantage…
1)Many archipelagoes exist as a united entity e.g. Japan,Pacific,Indonesia,etc,etc,all we need is some boats like the days of the federal ships Palm&Maple
2)Ours is a common history of being oppressed by all and sundry,so time to turn the tables.
3)We have a common history of slavery/indentureship that should be enough to bind us together with the determination take on all comers.
As a Caribbean person I fully understand the frustration all of us experience with the narrow mendicant,lapdog,taking crumbs from the table attitude that is exhibited by the leadership class of the Region……I equally know that it has to crash some time coming soon…..and like the phoenix will arise again with leaders honed by adversity that we have never experienced……both of us will be long gone by the time this comes to pass but we should see the crash.
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“These are just a few of the many underlying issues that must be solved before we can have a serious discussion about integration.”
Yes it is indeed a serious dilemma fostered by the politricians who travel without harassment at the peoples expense to meaningless conferences imposing restrictions and making vitriolic comments which only serve to fuel mistrust among us.I do not know the answer but we have to unite,
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Oh my, @Pieces April 5, 2016 at 4:27 AM …I had also mentioned the US as an example of solid integration so I was moved to respond to your quite excellent post but @Vincent preempted me quite well.
You write with significant high-level analysis wonderfully grounded in simple everyday perspectives (“… the impoverished mentalities of small dicked men”) LOL.
But Mr Pieces I know that you know that for the Caribbean to have realistically integrated beyond all the words from Chaguaramas would have required a series of incremental steps built on the clear premise that all the islands would rise on the strengths of the powerful and not be drowned or beached due to the travails of the weak and puny.
So just as the oil booms in Texas, the big Wall St financiers and California IT buoyed the entire US economy and of course the various struggles like devastating hurricanes in the Gulf states or droughts in agriculture areas caused major pain…. the strong kept things afloat.
The Caribbean region were absolutely unwilling to move to that level of major social, monetary and fiscal economic policy foundations needed to bind all of that (single currency, federal overall policy making power and all the other integral items).
However, that heavy lifting aside, from your piece above Pieces I totally loved “Observe Samuels, interviewed during a well deserved win, in the face of the world, with your effing feet up on a table!!!” ROFLLLOL.
I wrote a brief remark on the blogmaster’s Sports section after I saw that interview. I so badly wanted to speak directly to that but den said …’self, the brother just stitched together the finest finals batsman-ship ever in this format so how can you get all ‘broughtupsy’ on the lad’.
So I did the Bushie pronounced ‘lukewarm’ – because my principles still had me quite peeved. I settled for calling him “arrogant” and sarcastically the even more warmed over “self confident”. But you did a Brathwaite and knocked that boy (ball) outta the damn park…Proper. … LOLLL
By the way, your follow on statement re Samuels sweetly extols the nexus of cricket and our political leaders and why real Pan-Carib integration is elusive when you said “That arrogance and buffoonery and lack of understanding … is emblematic of the mentalities that we are dealing with at the level of integration,”
Your point about ‘mentalities’ says it well… if we cuss integration today which is called mergers or buyouts is there any real lack of understanding why the egos of earlier leaders led to 10 – 1 = 0.
Integration comes in different guises — How many have railed when the Trinis partner (buy) our local companies —so evidently it’s still a bitter pill now to the average Joe as it was then to the leaders.
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pieceuhderockyeahright April 5, 2016 at 4:27 AM #
“The example that you use regarding the United States is a poor one since, (i) theirs is a contiguous land mass without the logistical issues of our Caribbean land mass positively compounded (an oxymoron) by the fact that (ii) theirs is a “common” history of rebellion from England and (iii) they were not, those who drafted their constitution, were not slaves or descendants of slaves.”
@PUDRYR
Excellent contribution, PUDRYR… de ole man shoting….. showing dat de area up north (brain) wukking….. effing only he did shoting in southern areas…. hahahaha
There are a number of factors that will ultimately create some difficulties in allowing the region to integrate any time in the near future.
Although our “core cultures” may be similar, each island has its “unique main culture,” which seems to be quickly disappearing as the Caribbean readily embraces the negative characteristics of American culture.
When I wrote “core culture,” as I travelled through the Caribbean there are certain things that are synonymous with each island. For example, I was in St. Vincent this weekend and enjoyed a Friday lime in Kingstown similar to what is done here, Antigua, St. Lucia, Dominica, Martinique, Saba, Montserrat or Trinidad.
The each island has a carnival (with Stephen Lashley seemingly going in the direction of a Trinidadian influenced Crop Over Festival). We celebrate “Emancipation Day,” “Heroes Day” and name every shiite after politicians, which seems to be the defining factor used as the basis for integration.
However, “main culture” comes to the fore when you examine each island’s history and how their “mother countries” played an important role in shaping that culture. This is when the differences becomes evident.
St. Lucia and Dominica, for example, were influenced by the English and French, however, these islands have embraced French culture more so than English culture. This is evident in their festivals, patois and the main religion is Catholic. There are a number of St. Lucians living in rural areas who cannot speak English.
Dominica has many similarities with St. Lucia; however, there are Caribs residing in Carib Teritory. They have a Chief and Carib Council, with a council member representing them in the Dominican parliament. It is interesting to note that the Caribs have not integrated with Dominicans, which should be a simple task since they live on the same island.
Montserrat is influenced by Irish culture…… they even celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
These issues must also be taken into consideration.
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Forget the effing integration talk. It’s useless! The problem with Barbados is this: if Bill Gates came from say Grazzettes and had attended UWI and then developed “windows”, today he would be a civil servant in some Government ministry or employee in the IT department of Sagicor. Fortunately for him (and the world) he came from Seattle, Washington state, USA. If Rihanna wasn’t introduced to American producer Evan Rogers, she would probably be selling cosmetics at Cave Shepherd today. However there is hope, in the example of say Usain Bolt thanks to Fitz Coleman and Glen Mills. The intellectuals (if they can) should be advising how to produce more Bolts, Marleys, Rihannas, Sobers, Laras, Derek Walcotts and John Redman Bovells to name a few!
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Do the intellectuals remind us about Grapefruit (check Wikipedia for its origin), Sea Island cotton, steelpan, Black belly sheep, Jamaica Red Poll, Buffalypso, Reggae, Dub, Dancehall, Calypso, mahogany furniture, Tia Maria, Mount Gay rum, Falernum, Angostura, cocoa, sugar cane breeding, manjak, Bajan pepper sauce, mauby, the best cuisine in the world (because it is derived from every continent in the world) and on and on?
If we are not watchful and diligent our bounty and our future will be like the Anthuriums being grown by Mr Hinds at Naniki in St Joseph. Those varieties are owned by the Dutch!! A people from a country where the plant cannot grow naturally. I may yet live to eat Texan Black Belly mutton and read stories to my yet to be born grandchildren about Anansi, a clever superhero from the Bronx.
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Ping Pong
Cann’t wait to pick (and eat) one of those “Forbidden Fruit” when next in Barbados.
Seventh Wonder????????????
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Shiite man Ping Pong…
Wuh you like you got a bigga whacker than Bushie’s yuh….. and um pushing NUFF watts too…
…and so to-the-point and precise…
Boss, if you continue on this vein Bushie hanging up the ‘four-stroke’ and going and cool out by de pool…..
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As ping pong intimates, wunna feel that if BHL had invested in LOCAL BAJAN creations like coconut water, mauby (mauby beer?), dunks wine (with a fancy sounding name) and other UNIQUE, CREATIVE, HIGH QUALITY products ….that any outsider could come and take them over just so …for a damn song?
(NOTE WELL that the damn local directors were VERY WILLING to sell for $4)
If our major businesses are going to simply go to North America, and buy lock stock and barrel other people’s technology and equipment … bring it back and install it in Barbados; bring foreigners to set it up and train operators……
wuh cud shiite …. that is like dragging the damn Trojan Horse into Bridgetown….
A Country without creativity, ingenuity and productivity is really just a bunch of slaves awaiting masters…. EVEN IF BLESSED WITH SUCH GLOBALLY UNIQUE things as black belly sheep, Sea Island Cotton, Barbados Cherry, and David Weekes.
With all due respect to the author, (and any others among the BU family) Barbados’ biggest curse right now is its ‘intellectuals’….
…a bunch of jokers – fortunate to be blessed with academic talents that allows them to read and understand. …and therefore to copy other people’s documented ideas, but who seem to be associated with a predisposition to detest creativity and innovation.
Worse yet, ‘intellectuals and academics’ tend to make excellent ‘house niggers’…..
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Bush Tea
right now some Taiwanese, Korean or Chinese ship trawling the Caribbean sea taking away the fish. Do you remember the shrimp boat fleet that Barbados once had? Do you remember the clothing factories that once employed many women. The experts all say “our labour costs too high”, “our energy costs too high” this and that too high well will somebody tell me what can we do that our labour, energy, transport costs etc are not too high?!! We are a people who can negotiate trade deals while having nothing to trade. We are pathetic.
Barrow and his generation arranged Independence to FREE UP the people to create, innovate and produce and TO BENEFIT from such production and creativity. Fifty years later, Nationhood and Independence is a prison for our people, an excuse for low or no production and an occasion to wax effing “eloquent” about things that do not matter. We are led by people who can’t organise a piss up in a brewery, have never and will never have the trouble of making the payroll, holiday pay and pension contributions for employees, cannot make something that anyone wants and considers letting the toilet paper hang under the roll an original and profound idea.
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Bushie gone by the pool….
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Wasn’t it Sinckler as Foreign Affairs and External trade Minister that agreed to the European Economic Partnership agreement? What was the value of that exercise? Has that “experience” been utilised in fashioning an economic growth strategy for Barbados?
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What is so frustrating is that nothing is new under the sun. In the late 1700’s Joshua Steele was put in charge of a committee to come up with ideas to diversify the economy of Barbados away from sugar. The remit of the committee was to introduce new production capable of employing 10 000 persons!!! The committee did give its report to the governor but it was not acted on as sugar prices rebounded.
Read about Steele here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Steele
note some of the operational changes he introduced back in the 1700’s!!
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Ping Pong U serving up some serious slams and nasty loops today or wha?
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@ Bush Tea April 5, 2016 at 4:27 PM,
You said:
With all due respect to the author, (and any others among the BU family) Barbados’ biggest curse right now is its ‘intellectuals’….
…a bunch of jokers – fortunate to be blessed with academic talents that allows them to read and understand. …and therefore to copy other people’s documented ideas, but who seem to be associated with a predisposition to detest creativity and innovation.
Those last six words are damming towards this group of whom you speak. Intellectuals by nature are creative types. At least those in the rest of the world are. It speaks volumes of your education system in BIM: it has become obsolete – surplus to the country’s requirements.
By the way have you seen the reaction of the Icelanders towards their Prime Minister (ex!). Could such an event pass in BIM? Highly unlikely.
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Exclaimer
Please juxtapose the reaction of Icelanders towards to their PM and his resignation with that of the President of South Africa who was found guilty of breaching the constitution by the South African Constitutional court but who refused to resign and was supported by his party. But wait what about PM Cameron’s father with his Bahamian offshore company?
White people wicked eh?!!
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@ Pin Pong,
Everyone who believes in democracy should be delighted at what has taken place in Iceland. With reference to the corrupt Zuma, I am disappointed that he remains; however, let’s not forget that a serious debate took place in South Africa. Would such a debate have taken place in Barbados? Absolutely not!
Cameron’s father has passed away. The British press are demanding if Cameron himself has money stashed away in some tax haven. If they smell a scent the press will be on him like a rash. http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-5f9b-Tip-of-the-tax-dodging-iceberg
Any way I need to catch up on my sleep.
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Our economies are riddled with debt all, it is a systemic and structural matter not to be located to political party. It speaks to a failing of our education system. Those who continue to give a myopic spin of BLP this and DLP are demonstrating the failing of our education system.
Be reminded we have different categories of junk.
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“Were it not for this legalised robbery of the poor, African countries in particular could dispense with the often patronising aid programmes advanced by the developed world.
Cameron talks the talk over tax avoidance havens, but he won’t do anything meaningful to offend the class, of which he is part, that benefits from them.”
That is what the criminals do…..corruption and money laundering is robbing the poor.
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David April 6, 2016 at 5:52 AM #
Historically the tribes of Africa only united by vi et armis a bit like the historical European tribes…..as I will not be around in 2063 I wish them luck.
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@Vincent
Fuh real!
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Can someone please explain this Bitt Shit?
Overstock.com makes investment in Caribbean FinTech firm Bitt
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 01, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) announced a strategic investment in Bitt.com, a Caribbean-based financial technology firm working to move island nations in that region to adopt digital national currencies. Overstock.com is investing $4 million in Bitt initially.
http://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/overstockcom-makes-investment-in-caribbean-fintech-firm-bitt-20160401-00643
INVEST BARBADOS LAUDED FOR INVOLVEMENT IN DEAL
Tue, 04/05/2016 – 12:00am Barbados1
INVEST Barbados, this country’s leading investment promotion agency, has been given high marks for helping to broker a new investment deal between BITT, a Barbados based financial technology company, and Overstock Incorporated, an American retail-based firm.
http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/news/invest-barbados-lauded-involvement-deal
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@Ping pong
You made some very serious statements above. Call it a dose of reality or showing cold water on a sleeping person , they should wake up a few people.
Some solid postings.
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@ DD
Bushie concurs with that request for explanation.
It appears to the Bushman that this is similar to a ‘Traveler’s Check’ system -except that the currency is called Bitt Coin and the ‘check’ is kept on somebody’s computer somewhere in the world …and is accessible via a supposedly ‘private’ key code that validates the owner’s transactions…
In sum, as far as Bushie is concerned … alotta shiite.
Paypal for the Bushman.
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Curious…. Read it as $4M US on US sites and as $32M BDS in The Advocate. Trying to reconcile the two amounts couldn’t be 1:8… unless
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On Overstock
“It was the fourth straight profitable year the closeout specialist reported, but while revenue increased 2% in the quarter, contribution profit from its retail segment fell by 4% to $47 million. Earnings per share was also down from $0.06 in the quarter a year ago, a deficit CEO Patrick Byrne blamed on the company’s investments in blockchain, or the same technology used by Bitcoin.
What seemed to lift the stock was the CEO’s comments about potentially separating its blockchain investment from the core retail business. CEO Patrick Byrne said, “I am exploring a possible synergy between these two wings of our business (retail and our capital markets innovation), but if it does not prove out they will be separated . Given our comfortable cash position, strong cash flow and consistent profitability, I would describe my approach to this as, brisk but not scrambling.”
In December, Byrne announced that the SEC had granted him permission to issue stock through the blockchain.
You can google blockchain. So this about technology and likely about merging it with other technologies. Not retail operations.
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@DD
I have been following Bitcoins for quite some time and cannot get my head around the concept. Read a story about Mt. Gox and I stopped trying to understand it.
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@Bush Tea
You need to ease into the 21st century. Block chain technology and contactless payment is the future. You will use your mobile phone to pay. Don’t come back with no lotta shit because BU will beat you down on this one too!
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DD feels better now.
In February of 2016, Bitt launched a digitized Barbadian dollar on the bitcoin blockchain, backed by the Central Bank of Barbados.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-overstock-com-investment-fintech-idUSKCN0WY5HI
I think I will stick with my VISA card
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Blockchain is beginning to get a lot of attention from some big players.
http://www.ibtimes.com/ibm-combines-blockchain-technology-artificial-intelligence-virtually-turn-back-time-2349130
http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2016-04-05/bnp-provides-blockchain-tech-for-secondary-market-initiative?mod=article-morefrom
http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/04/04/microsoft-signs-r3-blockchain-consortium-up-for-azure/
Some explanations
http://www.coindesk.com/clearing-and-settlement-blockchain-double-edged-sword/
Type of stuff Mr.weekes likely undestands
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@DD
this is FINTECH….big time stuff….IBM, Microsoft, Google, all the banks etc are all over this technology.
Some of visions
http://www.coindesk.com/clearing-and-settlement-blockchain-double-edged-sword/
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DUE D….stick with the devil you know, there will always be master hackers breaking any code.
I have a young relative does that stuff worldwide for the largest companies, they come with the landscape, as long as Caribbeam people dont let these newly minted business people, just out of diapers, control their financial future…all is cool.
Everyone one is all over it until it come crashing down, leaving victims…the currency is too unstable.
It’s like buying stocks and hoping more people invest in it….someone had hacked into one of their systems and stole about 600 million of the anonymous currency.
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@Bushie
Technology is converging, stay with us man. It is called advancement.
>
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LOL @ David
Boss, it is allright for you to talk pretty with your couple Grantleys at stake… Can you imagine a simple thing like a Solar flare burning up some shiite computer in Azerbaijan or Timbuktu..? …and Bushie’s fortune burn-up just so….?
…Not stinking Bushie….
Look sharp…. if Froon and Adriel don’t do some shiite about those Ukrainians who coming here for Sea, Sand and ATM games, ….Bushie will be soon making a BIG withdrawal and investing in a BIG-donkeyed bed …. with extra space underneath…
This gotta be some kinda BACKUP David today bozie … cause the David that Bushie knows is MUCH too smart to put his wife’s money into a system controlled by sLIME /Flow
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More on Bitcoin/blockchain
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has granted an electronic money license to Circle, a firm that uses the virtual currency to enable P2P payments using a mobile app, or what the business calls “social payments.” The authorization makes it possible for Circle to establish a banking relationship with Barclays (NYSE:BCS), marking the first time a large global bank has agreed to work directly with a Bitcoin (COIN, OTCQB:BTCS) company.
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Just another alternative means to wash dirty money within the Caribbean. This medium of exchange will suit our domestic and foreign criminals. It probably suits this grubby government as somewhere along the line they will be making a “commission”.
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Oh come on people. This technology is already up and running around the world. Heck! I even use it here in Europe. It is a convenience and quite reliable. I even pay for groceries using my cell phone. Imagine such a system in all the major paying services across the island. Won’t be no more long lines in banks or the licensing authority, if they can get their renewal service online. However, the Caribbean has always been a place ripe for exploitation and cons. So I can understand Bush Tea’s concerns. You never know really what plot is cooking to make some people richer.
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I am referring to the payment system called Bit Coin.
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Three things.
Bitcoin technology is not new. The entities running the technology however, well that is a different thing and yes, while a few of you hinted at it, Bush Tea’s remark hits it best, insofar as to you are playing 3card shark games with an entity in Aberjadan somewhere and, unlike PayPal etc., the ability for your assets to disappear overnight, is so much greater.
Two. If we thing that the Fanny Mae scams were big, and the Panama Papers are huge, when the Bitcoin scams hit us, we going weep. It is virtually impossible to track Bitcoin currency sources and destinations, notwithstanding its current security.
To be warned is to be forearmed and, given that they did say that BIDC was part of the due diligence process, one that was endorsed by the minister of fine ants, well it does not need a brainiac to see where that will end up
Flashlight apps.
Most every phone in Barbados the region and world now has a flashlight app.
It. Has been determined that these free apps are Trojan horses that China, Russia and India are putting into the Google and Apple stores and once you use the app it takes you name, email address, telephone info, location, email, and all the other sexting messages that wunna does send to your outside women, men and in betweeners
And since the apps can call other components of your smartphone it not only accesses you photos and bank card info if you use it on the phone, but knows where you are WHEN IT WANTS TO and can take pictures and listen to you at will.
But wunna doan gots to listen to ole menses like me cause we dottish en ting
Not all technology is helpful to its adopters
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One more thing.
About 7 years ago there was another project locate in the Plantations Building? that had secured IDB funding in the same sector and I wonder what happened with that?
The more sinister matter here is what one calls virtual succession or the cyberspace gravy train.
What is the name of the sitting minister of the BIDC again?
Besides all the so called technological advancement of the Bitcoin what is the endgame here?
What is the capitalization for the Bajan Entity? $4m US?
And what is the current and projected revenues of the parent company in Murica?
How long has the US company been listed?
What is the model proposed by a Bitcom offering?
Is it inflows of Forex?
Or is it ultimately outflows? for money siphoned off of local deals that a fleeing DLP administration needs to hide from the prying public?
Whu none uh we can understand a Wall Street listing on the Stock Exchange can we?
“Hidden right before our very effing eyes, and not one of us shyte are seeing it!!!
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What are you saying Piece, collusion?
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Overstock.com….is one of the new names on the block for a couple years..
As long as there are people who have the gift of writing codes, these same people are equally gifted at breaking those codes……any codes.
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@ David [BU]
Honourable Blogmaster.
De ole man still up so a next day hath broken and at 5.48 a.m. I still heah, so I gine type with a hope dat I going finish dis sentence.
The objective of spycraft, irrespective of its milieu of operations, is endgame I.e. what is your desired outcome.
Operation Mincemeat
Operation Mincemeat, launched in 1943, was one of the most successful wartime deceptions ever attempted. Masterminded by Charles Cholmondeley and Ewen Montagu, the plan involved the dead body of a tramp and a plethora of faked documents. By convincing the Germans that the Allies planned to attack Greece instead of Sicily, they helped change the course of World War Two.
So I therefore look at two things regarding this matter like I would look at the credentials of the Dean of the American University in Christ Church Sam Suhail, and review overlaps, oddities and inconsistencies in timelines.
Any idiot can do this David, it is just that these guys are brass bowls
What is BIDC? It is a facilitator for these initiatives and is therefore a bonafide intervenor in this cycle and announcement. Minister Inniss is a logical intervenor, the Ministry of Finance is not AND SHOULD NOT BE given the maturity, NOT OF THE BITCOM PRODUCT, but the entity.
So you have the absence of the substantive minister and the insertion of a macro ministry, and, barring speaking about inner sanctum info, one should wonder about this incongruity.
More importantly Blogmaster is the net position of the entity that has been infused with the capital and WHERE WILL ITS TRANSACTIONS RESIDE, Barbados, America Panama? the objective of any business is to incur the least taxation possible so, unless an American company, with the know how and assets to be listed on the NASDAQ, is so much in love with Barbados, we have an outflow construct telegraphed for us all to see.
Then de ole man who is not a registered securities exchange advisor as Jester Ince claims to be reads that in 2014 California Judge Rules Slaps Overstock.com With a $6.8 Million Fine For Defrauding Consumers
That thar googlable article reads “It’s now official: Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) defrauded consumers. Late Friday afternoon, a California Judge issued a tentative ruling in favor of district attorneys from eight California Counties who had sued Overstock.com for engaging in fraudulent comparative pricing practices.
The Judge imposed a civil penalty in the amount of $6.819 million and approved issuance of an injunction to prevent Overstock.com from continuing its deceptive practices. To make matters worse, Overstock.com will have to reimburse the State of California possibly millions of dollars for legal fees, investigative costs, and other costs.”
Maybe I am a stupid old man but somehow simple due diligence seems to elude these Democratic Labour Party clowns.
Errol Barrow got to have prayed for them!!!
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Thanks PUDRYR
Look forward to read other contributions to give meat to your perspective.
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Lol……Piece, I cant wait for the fallout from all of that…lol
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@ Piece
You mind David?
There is NO WAY that he did not smell that shiite rat from the get go…
Some things stink out at you from the initial fart….
One of Caswell’s strengths is his natural propensity to define EVERYONE (apparently including himself) as a fraud, a crook …and definitely as UNTRUSTWORTHY. It is a very self-limiting characteristic, but it is a strength …because IT IS LARGELY TRUE.
If most people understood the dastardly potentialities of modern software technologies, we would all go back to the black rotary dial telephone and the chalk board.
For every ‘good’ use of technology there are 100 hidden, unsavory uses.
The only good thing about it all – is that , as with the Panama leaks, eventually it will all come to public light – ALL THE GORY, UNSAVORY DETAILS….but by then we may all be like the CLICO policy holders…
Apart from which…
Technology has become modern civilization’s Achilles heel…
Currently, we are exposed …to the extent that even a natural event like a solar flare could potentially put us all back by 50 years…. even further, when one considers the CHAOS that will result after such a setback…
……AND ALL FOR WHAT…???
more ‘convenience’? more leisure time? more social contacts?
SURELY it is high time for us to sit down SERIOUSLY and reflect on the PURPOSE and strategic objectives of this phenomenon called “Life on Earth…”
We may well find that these things are all VANITY….
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@PUDRYR
Looks like Obama will slam the door on the loophole fueling the practice of inversions.
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PUDRYR, David et al
WOW
I thought I was asking a simple question when I asked
Can someone please explain this Bitt Shit?
Wonder if BIDC, MOF, Guv of CBB et al asked the same question?
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double oh lawd @pieceuhderockyeahright April 7, 2016 at 3:22 AM….I had not come back to this blog for a few days so when I popped in and started to read all this stuff about bitcoin and contactless tech and then ‘block-chain’ I thought I had dropped into some alternate universe..
… then I read your comment “Bitcoin technology is not new…” and said ‘phew, ok still on planet earth’!
Like you said above anyone who is enamored with ‘bit-coin’ and does not do the due diligence of which you spoke to ferret details are quite delinquent…the stories on the folks who have already been convicted re this tech seamy side; its sordid use as a means of money laundering; its use as a pay system for criminal activity and too of course connections to dark-web and things like that us average dribblers do NOT understand.
Surely like any new tech it may evolve in something awesome but at the moment it has more potential to cause a tsunami that craters the world monetary system than anything overarchingly positive.
Anyhow, you said it absolutely well above…this is a mere coda of my pedantic dribbling….
I gone
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Bushie/ David
How can anyone be so naive/ stupid to TRUST Panama with major quantities of their $$$???
If some powerful person teeffss your money, who would U complain to? I save some TAX say 25c on the $ BUT lost my $!
These Corrupt Bastards in the Govts and Corp World need some serious DISCIPLINE! Lock dem up and give them a course wid the Tamarind Rod or Birch! The World has become FAR TOO EASY pun criminals, they must pay wid the skin pun their backs when they transgress, it makes the correct Impact! Mental and physical!
Regarding inversions, the Obama Admin should have negotiated a comprehensive deal to bring onshore the over US$2TRILLION of Corp $ residing Offshore. The concept should include much lower Tax rates eg 10%, with agreement regarding TRAINING current and potential employees especially with Tech jobs where their HS Math skills are totally inadequate. The US requires an Apprenticeship System similar to Germany. US also needs to revamp the Education system, adopting Computer based learning for Math and other Science subjects that are critical to the Tech World. It is laughable that Singapore, Taiwan, Sth Korea, China, India and many more are superior in this respect. All the Presidents in the last 40 years have FAILED miserably to engender this type of thinking!
Inversions in and of themselves are difficult to control as the top Tax Lawyers will develop a very sophisticated alternative system, that is why they make mucho $$$. Either way the Pols will find a method of “assisting their pals” regrets I meant masters! Where are the Big Buckaroos going to come from for the next election/ exotic vacation etc?
The US also urgently needs to revamp this ridiculouly long, expensive electoral season. The Westminster system is better, the internal Party members choose the leader as they are in a better (if not perfect position) to know the prospects. (In Canada, the Ont Provincial Conservatives have managed to select the wrong Leader for 12 yrs BUT the Fed Liberals cleverly selected the Prince of Waste, Trudeau)
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Just to add to my earlier remarks above: contact-less techology is very OLD, very!
Bitcoin is much newer as a comparative technology but frankly it is old enough that I was quite surprised that folks here were unfamiliar.
@David, unfortunately the treasury Dept will never really slam the door on inversions. As others have pointed out its a game of bending the rules to gain the greatest profits…like the fair-ground game ‘whack-a-mole’.
This Pfizer-Allergan deal or rather the sanctions to stop it are but the latest over the years in a series of similar actions (by Treasury) to curtail the process of US companies ‘going’ overseas to avoid taxes – inversion; as its now the new buzz word.
So companies will regroup and examine the rules to see how they can work around…now its more difficult and this particular deal may be history but more will be tried in different guises of that we can be assured.
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ONLY a bloody idiot would trust anything to do with the intersection of $$$$ and Cybernetics!
Far too many geniuses in Russia, China et al that will gladly infiltrate at the opportune moment. I dont even feel comfortable in the Cnd and other Banks farless.
The Govts could conduct Bail INS and take ownership of significant percentage of one’s cash a la Cyprus, provisions have been made in recent Nation’s Budgets. It is an unprecedented Financial World in which we live.
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@Dee Word
Flight of capital to the South has slowed and will continue to do so for many reasons. Look to see significant changes in US laws affecting this business in the near future, the Panama Leaks…
Contact less technology is not new however given the increase and ubiquitous mobile phone (and converging technologies) there is now cost effective implementation and higher adoption.
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MoneyB…you talk about the geniuses in China etc, there are many tech geniuses from the Caribbean who not only went to university in North America but interact with the same Asian and South East Asian geniuses on a daily basis, they have their own closely knit world and tech environment.
Caribbean people need to stay the hell away from yhe Bitcoin scam. There are encryption specialists would make you dizzy with what they know, codes they can write and codes they can break.
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WW
Well aware of Cbean Tech geniuses like Alan Emtage who developed the first internet thingy, a graduate of HC and Bdos Scholar. They dont tend to have a reputation for criminal activity to my knowledge but the Russians especially are very active. Who says that here are not some very crooked, nasty Whiteys? Not I!
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MoneyB…was not talking about Emtage, he should be oldish now…the new batch of Caribbean geniuses just graduated in the last 5 years, none are criminals, all brilliant and well capable…just highlighting what they can do, dont need to resort to criminal acts, they command the best salaries around the world and have cornered the tech job market…but very low profile…they definitely dont need to participate in any bitcoin scam.
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MoneyB. ..because of my close relation to one of these techies, believe it or not, I have met some young white Russians who are not into criminal enterprises re tech world, maybe it’s the older ones, younger folk are developing their own wsy forward without the criminal element, a whole new frontier.
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Caribbean countries should integrate eh.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/JLP-serious-about-suspending-relations-with-Caricom—Holness_14658376
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buh wait ????? “eh”? David you is a Canadian ? lol
On a serious note Caribbean integration is not likely to happen in our lifetime.
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@ David,
Have you seen this story published in the Jamaica Observer. Unbelievable!
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Union-wants-Antigua-gov-t-to-rescind-decision-to-establish-embassy-in-Iraq
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Locating in Iraq makes Passport sales easier!
Who cares when some “immigrant” blows up the Cbean and Tourist trade????????????
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how come Trinidad always refusing entry to Jamaican nationals and jamaica never take them to the CCJ, Remember in the Shanique Myrie case whether rich or poorCarribbean govts cannot stop Caricom nationals from entering a country that has signed on to the Caricom agreements
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@Exclaimer
Incredible, it is all about accessing funds from non traditional sources. You should recall Guyana already has a relationshiop.
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One wonders how Barbados came out in this survey . as the Government has Millions tied up in new homes that remain unoccupied for various reasons, yet almost daily we see in the press, Bajans living in conditions almost as bad as in Haiti. And the pipsqueak Minister of Housing is planning on building more high rise apartment blocks in Church Village, the City.
http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/general/caribbean-countries-need-billions-to-deal-with-housing/
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@Exclaimer
Thanks for providing that link about Antigua wanting an embassy in Iraq.
I can only conclude that the location was identified by throwing darts at a map of the world.
It defies logic.
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http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2016/04/09/clico-pain/
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