est. 2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

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Barbados Economic Recovery and the Falling Pound

Benidorm in Spain was a small fishing village, then the big boy’s moved in the Spanish Govt rubbed their hands €€€€€€€€/ now look at it. Barbados a wonderful little golden island in the sun and the big boys are wanting to move in, Gov’t is the $$$$$/ €€€€€€or ££££££so important that you become the concrete Benidorm of the Caribbean, LET US HOPE NOT! – Gavin Dawson

There are significant trends unfolding in the global financial markets that will impact Barbados. The perilous condition of the local economy – vulnerable to exogenous shocks –  demands that the government and citizenry demonstrate an alertness to ensure there constructive dialogue. We allow the politicians and talking heads vested in the ‘system’ to lead a narrative that is decoupled from national imperatives.   It explains why we are in the deep hole we find ourselves.

The commitment of successive governments the Barbados dollar pegged to the US dollar  has attracted criticism and support. The decision by the Federal Reserve Chairman to reduced interest rates by 25 basis points will spur the debate.

Of greater concern is the trending of the GBP/USD currency rate.  The currency rate has experienced a 2-year low of 1.21603 as at closed of trading. The political uncertainty in the UK over BREXIT and the flavour of politics practised by new prime minister Boris Johnson could see the pound free fall to a parity with the US dollar. This is what leading market analyst Morgan Stanley and others have speculated.

Screenshot 2019-07-31 at 19.56.25
XE.com

If the forecast is proved correct the immediate concern for Barbados given how the tourism sector is positioned- it contributes the most to GDP both direct and indirect – should be a matter of concern. In simple terms the average UK tourist travelling to Barbados will see a reduced spending power in such a scenario. The statistics read that the UK tourist spends more and vacations longer than those coming from other countries. There is also the investment factor. The wealthy Brits have always targeted Barbados as a preferred country to invest in a second home especially on the West coast of the island.

Relevant links:

Why is the conversation important some will ask?

If we listen to Prime Minister Mia Mottley and members of her government, Barbados economic recovery and growth plan is being placed mainly on tourism.  Barbadians are being conditioned to expect a hotel corridor to be built along the Bay Street area. With the slide of the pound to USD and UK being our most important tourist and investment market should we have a plan B? The blogmaster recalls when the global economy went south in 2007/8 so too did Cinnamon 88 and the Four Seasons project to cite this example to expose the fickleness of a tourism investment pipeline of 1 billion dollars?

One gets the impression we have hitched our hope of recovery to an economic model whose shelf life has expired.

Thanks to John A for prompting this blog.

206 responses to “Barbados Economic Recovery and the Falling Pound”

  1. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    PS I’m not blaming Britain for our own post colonial failures; I am blaming then for the crimes against humanity they perpetrated during the colonial era. The two are quite distinct.(Quote)

    Since there is no limitation on crimes against humanity, plse detail these crimes and who committed them? Evidence to meet the standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

  2. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    I agreed with you that the “poverty of ideas, poverty of ambition and poverty of achievements” were failures of the “post colonial period…”; there was no misrepresentation. I charged the British colonial administration with much more grievous crimes against humanity.

    I left out the 50s because I was only a tiny babe at that point and my Dad was away studying for most of that decade, so cannot point to direct personal or family experience of this era. However the early 60s were an improvement on the 50s, when I know from my research, for example, that early childhood protein energy malnutrition (the polite words for starving babies) was widespread in Barbados of that era, with devastating consequences for the socioeconomic prospects of these people over their entire lives https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3382923/. This is a direct result of the racism of Barbados in the 50s. So that’s an emphatic NO! Barbados in 2019 is in a MUCH better place than it was in the 1950s.

    For “… mimicry of the colonial mentality…” as a developmental handicap see Franz Fanon or C. L. R. James.

  3. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    You read Lowdown?

  4. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @PLT

    The wonder of history is that you do not have to personally experience an era to know about it. The 1950s were just yesterday. Your measure of the state of the 1950s, child mortality, is not an accurate measure. What were the improvements in the early 1960s on the 1950s, give examples?
    I was there and as a society we moved smoothly from the 50s to the early 60s, unless I got it wrong. Plse say exactly what you mean. You talk about starving babies, where is the evidence. Under-nourished babies is different to starving. I know the Bajan Condition is myth-making, making up our history as we go along.
    But Barbadians were relatively healthy; even the polio epidemic affected Barbados much less than it did in many other places. For example, have a look at the Bengali famine, for which many Indians would not forgive Churchill. Tell me about racism n Barbados in the 1950s; you say your Dad was out of the country, so you obviously did your research. Read about how the government coped with hurricane Janet on Sept 22, 1955. We can all look back with 20/20 vison, but Barbados had a richly deserved reputation then.
    @PLT, I have said to you in the past, do not make it up as you go along. What do Frantz Fanon and CLR James had to say about the colonial mentality? I must tell you, I used to visit Nello’s home at 20 Staverton Road, in Willesden, relatively often and am familiar with his works. I not only studied Fanon, but campaigned on him in the 1960s – the Black Power era.
    Plse point me to where I should look that was specific to the Barbadian colonial mentality. CLR James was more than familiar with the Bajan colonial mentality, afterall he grew up in a Trinidadian/Bajan family, so that should not be difficult.

  5. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “Explain how the British ‘stole’ billions of pounds sterling from your ancestors.”
    ++++++++++++++++
    I am surprised that you need this explained.

    I am relying on the valuations given by slaveholders during the apprenticeship period… after all, you can’t run a plantation without being good at bookkeeping, so these valuations should be beyond dispute.

    During apprenticeship an enslaved person could pay the enslaver the value of their labour the period remaining in the apprenticeship… in Barbados this was 10 pounds sterling per year on average, according to Emancipation in the West Indies : a six months’ tour in Antigua, Barbadoes, and Jamaica, in the Year 1837 by Jas A. Thome & J. Horace Kimball.

    There were about 70,000 enslaved people in Barbados in 1834, but we need to integrate the enslaved population all the way back to 1625. A reasonable first order estimate is that there were about 242,000 enslaved people from whom the British stole a lifetime of labour. If we estimate the average working lifetime at 30 years ( working life began at six, but was brutally short for many), then that is 7,260,000 work years. At 10 pounds per year valuation that is over 72 million pounds of stolen wages.

    The value of 72 million pounds in 1834 is about 990 Billion pounds sterling in 2019. That is how much Britain owes in back wages.

    Notice that there is nothing in this calculation to account for pain and suffering. No amount of money can compensate for that.

  6. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    Read Fanon again. Particularly Black Skins White Masks. Either you did not comprehend what he wrote or you are being deliberately obtuse. In either case I’m unable to help you.

  7. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @ Hal
    Child mortality and childhood malnutrition are the very BEST indicators of the state of a society. After all, the care of its children is the very first responsibility of any society. If you are not prepared to learn from the science then I cannot help you. The pioneer of the science of childhood malnutrition in Barbados was Dr. Frank Ramsey, my Dad’s close friend. I first knew of children dying of malnutrition in the early 60s when I was in primary school… and I knew that it had been worse in the 50s.

    “Under-nourished babies” is NOT different to starving when the outcome is death. “Under-nourished babies” is NOT different to starving when the outcome is permanent mental damage. Read the science!

  8. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ PLT

    Yes if we can combine your points with some value added we can make a pro-active stand.

    On the plus we have Virign no longer going Into St Lucia so we need to grab at the business before Antigua takes it

  9. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “Since there is no limitation on crimes against humanity, plse detail these crimes and who committed them?”
    +++++++++++
    I’m tired of being asked to prove the well known, documented and patently obvious. I have better things to do with my time.
    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/29/slavery-abolition-compensation-when-will-britain-face-up-to-its-crimes-against-humanity

  10. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David.

    No haven’t read Lowdown yet as been on the road. What was he focusing on?

  11. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    He raked Persaud over the coals about the ‘‘statement’ he made.

  12. WURA-WAR-on-U Avatar
    WURA-WAR-on-U

    “So the NIS invested Bd$19 million in Apes Hill and that investment is now worth Bd$5.7 million. ”

    PLT..you will have to REFER to the Auditor General’s report to see the EXACT amount they ripped off the NIS pensioners and gave to Cow…the figures keep changing, depending on who is LYING……if ya ask Justin Robinson, you will get a different figure.

    ….but the auditor general’s report outlines HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS BORROWED AND WENT INTO APES HILL…never to be repaid…one of those accounting firms was involved in that move to separate pensioner’s from their money….with this elaborate business plan

    As a matter of fact, that report from the accounting firm, as well as the auditor geeral’s report were posted on this blog some time back, maybe 2 years ago.

  13. WURA-WAR-on-U Avatar
    WURA-WAR-on-U

    ……sometimes it’s best to leave Hal to his musings of madness…lol

  14. WURA-WAR-on-U Avatar
    WURA-WAR-on-U

    Maybe he will see OR NOT……that HIS TAXES, what he has paid in UK in the last 40 years or more…..as recently as the last few years…ALSO HELPED REPAY THE LOAN the British government took out to TO PAY SLAVE MASTERS…..even the Windrush generation…especially them, their labor and taxes also went to pay the loan to these stains on the earth…

    …..sometime ya gotta wonder about black Caribbean people and why these things seem to escape MOST of them, am sure the money from sugar cane…also went to help pay this loan, adding INSULT TO INJURY.

    ..but all of that would escape at least 1 in 5 black people…who do not know their history and UNDERSTAND THE SLAVE TRADE EVEN LESS.

  15. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “Explain how the British ‘stole’ billions of pounds sterling from your ancestors.”
    ++++++++++++++++
    My mistake, I should have said the British stole HUNDREDS of billions of pounds from OUR ancestors. My apologies.

  16. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David.

    Look like Lowdown was reading BU. Good for him to publish as the Nation was quietly hoping to sweep that under the rug to please their Masters and Mistresses.

    I refuse on principal to buy that paper as it does nothing to enlighten the public on things that really matter. Thankfully their monopoly on the media has been broken so their shortfalls have been others gains.

  17. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ david.

    Why doesn’t the learned Professor share with us his advise to the minister of tourism on how we should approach the fall of sterling to 1 to 1 against the USD?

    Or is his advice limited to how not to pay the people you owe only?

  18. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ PLT

    Nothing in Black Skin, White Masks speaks specifically to Barbados and Barbadian colonial mentality, the original question, unless, of course, you have made an ignored discovery.
    @PLT, I understand slavery, but we can all become terribly wise with 20/20 vison. But the concept of crimes against humanity is a post-second world war concept. Crimes are not retroactive. Since the creation of the concept of crime against humanity, how have the British committed such crimes against Barbadians?
    You said the early 1960s were an improvement on the 1950s, I asked for examples, you give none. You talk about child mortality and in the absence of evidence talk about your father’s friends. Nice to know your father had friends. There was widespread under-nourishment, but child mortality has been reduced through advances in medical science and domestic hygiene, not directly with poverty, and medical science improves every day.
    There is still widespread relative and abject poverty in Barbados, but child poverty has been greatly reduced. I know political hysteria can make us popular with some people, but quoting the Guardian newspaper as evidence would make any self-respecting British journalist laugh.
    When was slavery abolished in Cuba? Do the Spanish and white Americans owe a proportionate sum in reparations too? I chaired a meeting in London sometime ago on reparations (which was streamed) and compounded figures were given then, but not hundreds of billions. Plse detail how you arrived at your figures – from £72m in 1834 to £990bn in 2019. Get real. Do indentured servants count in all of this?
    As I have told you before, @PLT, do not wing it; it may impress some people but not me. You take me back to Thomas Piketty, a discussion we had previously.
    To return to the substantive argument, our decline since 1966 ass a nation is OUR fault, all to do with us and not external forces. We have failed; our bright young things do not have any answers. We can blame our parents, the zodiac, our former colonial masters, capitalism, the church, whatever. We must look at ourselves for the answers. At least we owe that to young people who read this blog.

  19. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “But the concept of crimes against humanity is a post-second world war concept. Crimes are not retroactive.”
    +++++++++++++++
    You just contradicted yourself. The concept was indeed a post WW2 concept, invented specifically to be applied retroactively to NAZI crimes.

  20. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “…child poverty has been greatly reduced…”
    +++++++++++++
    That’s exactly what I’ve been saying. This makes 2019 Barbados far better than 1950s Barbados.

  21. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    There has been no decline since 1966 as I have definitively proven. There has simply been regrettable incompetence in making the most of opportunities. Claims that Barbados has declined are baseless, racially motivated lies that I am surprised that you would traffic in. There was no golden age of colonial happiness in Barbados. The colonial era was an uninterrupted tragedy whenever id did not descend into pathetic farce.

  22. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “We have failed; our bright young things do not have any answers.”
    ++++++++++++++
    I agree with you wholeheartedly. We have failed… through both incompetence and greed.
    But our Colonial predecessors failed much worse… through evil intent, greed, and incompetence.

  23. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ PLT

    No, it was not retroactive. The Nuremburg trials were not retroactive charges. Nuremburg was about mass murder and all murder trials are post-event. The concept of crime against humanity was to PREVENT similar things happening again – future events. Good thing you are not a historian or teacher.
    But @PLT, you should have been a lawyer. I did not say child poverty has been reduced, here is what I said:
    “…….but child mortality has been reduced through advances in medical science and domestic hygiene….” and this will continue because medical science is advancing every day.
    @PLT, our post-1966 failure as a nation is self-inflicted. Deal with that. But keep flying your kites and walking away when challenged.

  24. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “Plse detail how you arrived at your figures – from £72m in 1834 to £990bn in 2019…”
    ++++++++++++++++++++
    Come on Hal; it’s dead simple. Surely you can do this most basic of calculations yourself. I used the UK Inflation Rate according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index in 1834 to 2019. There are lots of other competing methodologies; choose your favorite and do the calculation yourself. The one Hillary Beckles uses concludes that 20 million pounds in 1834 is worth 77 billion pounds in 2017.

  25. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    Fer Christ’s sake Hal, the civilized world INVENTED THE CHARGE of crimes against humanity after all the Nazi crimes had been committed. It was absolutely retroactive.

  26. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal Austin August 2, 2019 12:34 PM
    “There is still widespread relative and abject poverty in Barbados, but child poverty has been greatly reduced.” (my italics)
    +++++++++++
    Honestly Hal, do you even read what you’ve just written? I always take care to quote you to yourself accurately.

  27. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    I give up Hal. You have proven my argument, not your own.

  28. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “… in the absence of evidence talk about your father’s friends.”
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    I posted a link to the scientific evidence and invited you to educate yourself. Yes it so happens that a fiend of my Dad’s was one of the seminal researchers in the area… that is to explain why I was familiar with that reality from the time I was in primary school.

  29. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    “Nothing in Black Skin, White Masks speaks specifically to Barbados and Barbadian colonial mentality, the original question, unless, of course, you have made an ignored discovery.”
    ++++++++++++++++
    Of course Hal. I have made no ignored discovery because every single one of the people that I’ve ever spoken to, save one, about Fanon’s work understands that he was writing about a generalized colonial condition that applied across European colonial enterprises in Africa and the Caribbean over the past few centuries. You seem to be the only one who has not noticed this. Perhaps it is you who have made an ignored discovery and everyone else is wrong.

  30. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ PLT

    I think we should give up. Relative poverty will always be with us. By definition, if you have a nation of billionaires and one family are millionaires, then they are relatively poorer. Abject poverty has been greatly reduced not relative. The yardsticks are different.
    That is why trying to judge a previous generation from the yardstick of the current generation is so silly. Child mortality is different, and the reduction has been because of advances in medical science and domestic hygiene NOT a reduction in poverty. Poverty is related to under-nourishment..
    Again @PLT, crimes against humanity was meant to PREVENT any future mass murder; the Nuremburg trials were to do with 1939-45. All murder trials are post-event, in other words, there must be a murder before there is a trial.
    With crimes against humanity there can be early intervention. (Without diverting the discussion, why do you think the US refuses to recognise the International Criminal Court? Are you saying the US does not recognise crimes against humanity?)
    Although I am still waiting for examples of how life improved for Barbadians between the 1950s and early 60s, may be 1966-2019 has been a golden age. I think we should end the discussion here.

  31. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @PLT

    Plse point me to where I should look that was specific to the Barbadian colonial mentality….(Quote)

    Nothing in Black Skin, White Masks speaks specifically to Barbados and Barbadian colonial mentality, the original question, unless, of course, you have made an ignored discovery.”(Quote)

    Of course Hal. I have made no ignored discovery because every single one of the people that I’ve ever spoken to, save one, about Fanon’s work understands that he was writing about a generalized colonial condition that applied across European colonial enterprises in Africa and the Caribbean over the past few centuries. (Quote)

    So, there is nothing specific to the situation in Barbados? Your scatter gun approach won’t work. The substantive issue is that the halt, decline even, of social and economic developments in Barbados must rest at our door; it is not because of our colonial mentality, mimicking the former colonial masters, going to church on Sundays, because of the heat from the sun, none of those excuses.
    It is because our ruling elite do not know what they are doing. Full stop. A Poverty of ideas; a poverty of ambition. It is why we are a failed state.
    By the way, if you want to reference Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth is a better book and is more applicable to the Bajan Condition..

  32. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David.

    On Monday it was reported in The Indpendant that Michael O’ Leary CEO of Ryanair had this to say on the effect of the pound on tourism in the short to medium term.

    ” I believe some weaker European carriers will collapse in the next few months. We expect high fuel costs and overcapacity to lead to further airlines failures this winter.”

    In the meantime the UK is preparing for an increase in Japanese visitors as result of the falling pound.

    As you know Branson already has made some changes with you now having to fly to Barbados, then take Liat to St Lucia if you want to fly VIRGIN out the UK.

    Those that understand what is coming are already preparing. Of course we will wait to the rain starts to pour to search for an umbrella.

  33. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David

    Here is another reality for you out of the Guardian of July 30th 2019.

    ” At Heathrow customers walking up to Travelex desks on Tuesday morning were being given 0.91 Euro for a pound. WHILE IF THEY WANTED USD THE RATE COLLAPSED TO $1.01 FOR EACH POUND.

    Remember a few days ago I told you it would not surprise me to see the pound fetching between 1 to 1.05 to the dollar? Well Travelex were not that positive they settled at offering just 1.01 USD per £.

    If that don’t open our eyes God knows what will!

  34. peterlawrencethompson Avatar
    peterlawrencethompson

    @Hal
    sigh…
    “The substantive issue is that the halt, decline even, of social and economic developments in Barbados must rest at our door; […] It is because our ruling elite do not know what they are doing. Full stop. A Poverty of ideas; a poverty of ambition.”
    +++++++++++++
    The blatant lie here is that there has been no “… halt, decline even, of social and economic developments in Barbados…” This is a racist fabrication which does not survive even its first skirmish with the facts.

    Of course it is obvious that our ruling elite do not know what they are doing. The question is why?? I have showed you why… colonial mentality and mimicry of the former colonial masters is exactly why their performance is almost as bad as their former colonial masters.

  35. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    Read the Ryanair report yesterday, thousands of employees about to be sent home.

  36. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    The blatant lie here is that there has been no “… halt, decline even, of social and economic developments in Barbados…” This is a racist fabrication which does not survive even its first skirmish with the facts.(Quote)

    What are the facts? Who are the racists who fabricated this lie?

  37. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    Heard David Ellis saying on Brasstacks to a caller today that Barbados Underground, had highlighted the mystery plane issue. He actually said Barbados Underground.
    “ These day are funny nights”
    ( a quote attributed to somebody during the 1937 riots)

  38. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Yeah William…and i got cussed for it when there is obviously something ugly going on under the surface that they are trying to hide about that plane , just like with the corruption, no one wants to address it.

    “colonial mentality and mimicry of the former colonial masters is exactly why their performance is almost as bad as their former colonial masters.”

    Well said…..every one of those black faced colonialist who have stepped into that parliament in the last 70 years…. mimicked every cruel, brutal act they saw the british practiced and continued practicing it on the black masses, to this day…cause they have those confounded FAKE TITLES given them by the british to help delude them into believing that they have arrived and they have wielded that mental delusion with impunity……WITH NO COMMONSENSE….with nothing to benefit the people…..of course they added their own twisted, warped version of being black massas tiefing everything in sight……an ugly post slavery residue still clinging to the island….AND STILL ALIVE because of these british trained black colonialists.

    They are clueless.
    They are useless.
    They do not belong to this new era of enlightenment.

  39. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    The new Hindu overlords from Guyana will more than make up for the loss of British tourists.

    Great Guyana is the future of Barbados. We will learn to love Vishnu and Kali.

  40. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David

    Read today Spain is putting in place Super Saver Packages to offer the UK tourist from this month.

    The Spanish tourism minister has advised the country of the seriousness of the falling sterling and has promised to keep the people informed of developments as they unfold.

  41. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    Thanks

  42. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    David

    Is the Brit tourist to Barbados the same profile as that to Spain? I think comparing the two is a gross misunderstanding of what a trip to Barbados means to a Brit. #aspirationaldestination#apples&oranges

  43. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Sir William

    What’s so remarkable about Ellis saying ‘ Barbados Underground’?

    Or, what do you find as remarkable?

  44. John A Avatar
    John A

    Our summer traffic is taken from the same pool as Spain’s. Our winter trade is a different matter.

    For persons willing to have booked at the beginning of the year for arrival here in August for example, BAs package was 14 night’s accommodation and return airfare for basically $2300 bds. The accommodation would have been for South coast accommodation like Coconut Court etc.

  45. John A Avatar
    John A

    For sake of comparison 2 weeks in Barcelona at a comparable hotel like a Holiday Inn is now on offer at Expedia for around £960 inclusive of accommodation and return air fare from Heathrow.

    So yes a summer trip to Spain from UK is roughly the same for a 2 week package inclusive of air fare and accommodation as to Barbados.

    Difference being to get a good package to here one needs to book more in advance than one would need to for Spain. The package I referred to on Expedia is book today and fly Monday for that deal, so one does not require as much forward booking as coming here.

    Similar priced packages are also available for Antigua as well for summer travel.

  46. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    @ Scott August 1, 2019 11:34 PM

    My dear Brit!

    The many British diplomats I know in Barbados have either resigned or are scared to death.

    Industrial production in Britain? A bad joke. Just take a look at the poor workmanship of the Mini brand and compare it to a real BMW 1 Series. You won’t find taps or washing machines from the UK in any decent villa in Barbados.

    Even Mr Dyson has now fled to Asia. Have fun with your Dyson vacuum cleaner from Singapore!

  47. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Pacha
    They never give BU any exposure. Was quite surprised . First time I ever heard them say it. They usually say blogs or it is out there.
    Maybe others have heard them
    say it but it was a first for me.

  48. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    You might have read the Iranians captured another ship. Let us hope things settle in that area of the world. It will have implications for us in this region as well.

  49. Freedom Crier Avatar
    Freedom Crier

    • Scott August 1, 2019 11:34 PM

    RE…With regards to Brexit, a couple of pointers to put the record straight. The EU is a corrupt, over indulgent and incredibly wasteful monolith. No accounting firm has ever signed off the audit of accounts (or will not to be precise). The CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) is possibly the greatest abuse of funds and decimated the UK farming industry though the 70s and 80s –… The EU intention is to establish a United States of Europe, They are undemocratic and believe they should have ultimate governance over all member states.

    SCOTT THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP AND TO ADD TO WHAT YOU HAVE TRUTHFULLY SAID, THIS IS SO REVEALING… A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GLOBALIST COMMUNIST ELITIST EU!!!

    I have realised the remoaners have been right all along when they say I did not know all the true facts before voting to leave the EU, so I decided to do a little research. I just voted to leave because I thought our sovereignty was being compromised by foreign unelected masters, and that we were compelled to have unlimited uncontrolled immigration, our laws and export agreements dictated by Brussels bureaucrats, and had to pay eye-watering amounts for the privilege.

    I did not know more than 10,000 EU officials get paid more than our prime minister.
    I did not know that unlike the UK, 18 countries get more back from the EU than they put in.
    I did not know that the EU occupies over 45 buildings 2 of which were purpose built monuments of grandeur and are the largest buildings in Europe.
    I did not know that the EU parliament spends 150million Euros a year moving to Strasbourg every month for 4 days committee meetings, any attempt to stop this stupidity is vetoed by France.
    I did not know that the EU has had a huge luxury shopping Mall built in Brussels for the exclusive use of EU employees.
    I did not know that every day queues of chauffeur driven cars with their engines running, wait outside EU establishments while their occupants go in, sign in for their attendance allowance and expenses, then come straight back out and are driven away.
    I did not know that many of them (like the Kinnocks) end up as millionaires as a reward for looking the other way.
    I did not know that Clegg was lying when he mocked Nigel Farage for saying that an EU army was being planned.
    I did not know that the EU had been financing the mass movement of industries from UK to mainland Europe.
    I could go on and on but suffice it to say that I have never for a moment doubted the correctness of my decision,
    I am so glad that the remoaners prompted me to look deeper into the bureaucratic absurdity of being in the EU.

    APART FROM ALL THAT, EVERYTHING IS FINE! NOT QUITE!!!

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/70/f7/c8/70f7c8aa8959408b854de1e98fd2f2d4.jpg

    https://youtu.be/MD4ay9-14Hs

  50. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Why is it that every time we try to discuss Barbadian politics, even in the context of Brexit, we get some people dragging the old Soviet Union in to the discussion? I can understand how some ethnic and religious minorities had a hard time in the Soviet Union, but they can best keep that to themselves.
    As to @Scott, his diatribe about the European Union is absolute nonsense. Those of us who are black and in the UK are used to these rural blinkered nationalists creeping out of the works and criticising the EU. Although as a group we have most to lose from a deepening of the EU, we largely support it.
    The farmers have been the biggest exploiters of EU largesse in the UK. A good example are the greedy Welsh farmers, who got £300m every year in handouts from the EU, part from selling 40 per cent of their sheep meat to the EU, then queued up to vote to leave. How ungrateful. Now they want the UK government to replace the £300m handout, so they can continue to enjoy the lifestyle they do not deserve.
    We only have to deconstruct the voting pattern during the Referendum and the European elections. We badly need a United States of Europe, complete with its own military and setting the legal framework for ALL EU nations. The City-State of London voted to remain.
    As to the EU exploiting farmers in the 1970s and 80s, balderdash. The EU in the 70s and 80s paid farmers to leave acres of land out of production.
    Many of the greedy buggers in the Home Counties turned their acres in to golf courses; at one time the Home Counties were littered with these empty golf courses (the theory at the time was that Japanese businesspeople liked playing golf). I spent a day as a young Daily Mail reporter driving around the home counties to write a story about the waste of farmland. @Scott has no case. His hostility to the EU is fake.
    It is interesting that the Boris Johnson government now has to depend on the Democratic Unionist Party to keep it in power. The DUP is the party of the late Rev Ian Paisley, the pathological anti-Catholic ranter, that the Brexiteers have now normalised.
    Black people ought to know these are the very people who formed the backbone of the Irish-Scots in the Southern USA, the people who formed the KKK. Nothing has changed.

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