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Shooting Advisory – A Time to ACT

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The blogmaster thought long and hard about posting the following incident which occurred on the weekend at the Charles Rowe Bridge gas station in St. George. In a nutshell two youngsters got into an argument inside the gas station and the video captures the the decision to resolve.

Again the shooting incidents in recent months by our young men expose our society on many fronts. As a society we have failed to inculcate the right values in some of our young people. Whatever the reason we can theorize, we have reached the tipping point. A short term strategy must be put in place to deal with the situation. Obviously the youngsters have no regard for lives. No regard for collateral damage caused by an ability to shoot straight. No capacity to exercise reasonableness.

The blogmaster with reluctance recommends uncompromising enforcement measures. The government MUST impose an emergency plan to arrest increasing gun violence on the island. The youngsters committing these crimes have passed the point of no return, fire power must be met with fire power. The namby pamby approach currently be adopted will not work.

As a society we must fight back. NOW.

The bad boys must be taken out!

 

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181 responses to “Shooting Advisory – A Time to ACT”

  1. Redguard Avatar
    Redguard

    A labourer makes $100/day if he is lucky
    Construction work is sporadic these days
    With no other skills these young men are easy prey for gangs and drug dealers

    An important effect of a construction sector often overlooked is its effect on young men who leave school with no certificates. With a vibrant sector, a young man may enter as a labourer but in a few years develop other skills; masonry, carpentry, plumbing and safe working practices. They also learnt how to be men.

    During the Arthur housing boom, we saw the rise of many reputable construction artisans
    After the housing boom ended, these artisans’ share of the sector decreased and their influence on younger men also as they were no longer able to provide them with steady work and mentorship.
    Further exacerbating it was most of the construction work during the DLP years went to Maloney, Jada et. al (e.g Coverley). These guys cared nothing about mentorship and saw young men as replaceable parts (they also had a disregard for occupational safety).

    The full effects are now being seen, young men with poor job prospects, no mentorship and a lack of basic safety awareness, do not see much value in their own lives or the lives of others.

  2. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ Silly Woman January 29, 2020 11:18 AM
    “I speak of young men with good decent fathers.”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Then you are referring to a ‘minority’ of men.

    What you ought to premise is that boys who are raised by ‘decent’ parent(s) generally tend to emulate the same social responsibilities as their parent(s).

    Can you imagine what would happen to the size of the ‘manpower’ numbers needed for the police, judiciary, prisons and army if the majority of boys/men were to behave like their mothers and sisters?

    Where would the redundant numbers find work, if not in the army of occupation? In the same cane fields from where many arrived, according to Freundel?

    BTW, “Silly Woman”, which parent is responsible for girls engaging in prostitution, gambling, drug taking and shoplifting?

    Their unknown or absent papas too; as in the case of the boys?

    Are you going to put the blame squarely in the lap of their “un-castrated” baby faddas?

  3. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ WURA at 11:24 AM

    True! True! True! As night follow day.

  4. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Redguard

    Some time ago there was some building work in St Lawrence Gap, I think it was the Rostrevor hotel, and the labourers working on it were women, mainly Guyanese. Where were the unemployed young Bajan men then?

  5. Redguard Avatar
    Redguard

    @Hal

    The banks are moving away from construction mortgages, too much risk and not enough return (Scotia apparently does not do them anymore). Who has the cash to build a house out of pocket, other than the bajan whites only the Muslim community. The Muslim community is mainly Guyanese, guess who they hire.

  6. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Redguard

    What about the demolishing risks? Who are financing these?

  7. Redguard Avatar
    Redguard

    @Vincent

    Sorry I’m a little confused. Are you presenting a reason for why a bank would not want to finance a project that involves demolition?

  8. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Redguard,

    You are telling a sorry story. Canadian banks do not want to lend money for construction; the New Barbadians step in and do so, and the people they employ are other New Barbadians – all this in Barbados.
    First, you speak to the failure of the Barbadian financial sector; second, are these Guyanese Muslims using the local banking system? Where is their money coming from? And, to employ only ‘their kind’, as some people say, is discriminatory, which is against the law.

  9. Redguard Avatar
    Redguard

    @Hal

    are these Guyanese Muslims using the local banking system?
    Why should they, they don’t need to unless they need to do wire transfers

    Where is their money coming from?
    Your guess is as good as mine. What I can say is they keep a low profile, live in modest housing and don’t invite many into their circle. Make your inferences, I have made mine.

    In June last year I met a Guyanese contractor (black man) who pretty much confirmed the demolition of the NIS building. He said he was hoping to get the job and expected it to come through early 2020. I laughed it off to myself, a non-national with early knowledge of this, I wrote him off as a liar.

  10. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @Redguard

    At a time when money laundering is in the news this is rather interesting. I also suggest you look at the number of homes repossessed by the banks and other lenders and how thy are sold at auctions. Is an organised racket.
    First, we have lawyers acting as auctioneers (are they qualified?), then they do not communicate with all would-be buyers. I know of one instance when someone put a bid in by writing and gave specific instructions to be consulted if his bid was not the accepted one. He did not hear a word and the property was sold.

  11. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ Redguard January 29, 2020 1:53 PM
    “In June last year I met a Guyanese contractor (black man) who pretty much confirmed the demolition of the NIS building. He said he was hoping to get the job and expected it to come through early 2020. I laughed it off to myself, a non-national with early knowledge of this, I wrote him off as a liar.”
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Some kind of building/construction activity has to take place in order to pay out the dividends from the Treasury to those who invested heavily in the last general elections during which a few tens of millions were spent to exchange horses in the great Hobson’s choice race.

    There are no more CLICO types around to bankroll campaigns purely out of personal love and ‘Friendship’.

  12. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Redguard

    It was a straight forward question.But you partially answered it lower down the blog.

    Scotia Bank ,as you are aware, mainly financed house building for the middle income groups. With the down turn in the economy and low employment housing mortgages are high risk. You may also note that Republic Bank has closed its Mortgage Finance branch.
    Most of the future work in the construction sector seem to be in hotels , demolitions and off shore islands?. Who are financing these and why? Is this sustainable?

  13. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    If a bank declines to lend to borrowers, then what is it in business for? Residential homes is the foundation of household wealth. Why is our government tolerating this? They appear to be caught like rabbits in oncoming head lights.
    This is a major issue and should be debated publicly. Where is the DLP? Where is Solutions? Where is the president? Where are our media? Does this make us world class and punching above our weight?

  14. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Hal

    Banks always had the freedom and good sense to decline high risk loans. There is no justification for government’s intervention. That is prudent lending of depositors funds.
    What GoB should do is create the environment for economic growth and employment. Micro management ,especially where there is a paucity of understanding and skills, is dangerous.

  15. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Hal

    Less you misunderstand ,they are lending to genuine borrowers; those that can repay. The practice is the same in the UK. Most of us took your your professional banking exams.

  16. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Vincent

    That is what I am worried about. Which professional banking exams are they? The test for lending is affordability, what do you mean by genuine and high risk? In some societies being black or working class is high risk. My first mortgage was a local authority mortgage; I could not even get through the doors of the banks.
    By the way, government intervention in residential mortgage lending is not micro-managing. That is called good regulation. That is a world class policy.

  17. Redguard Avatar
    Redguard

    Banks always had the freedom and good sense to decline high risk loans

    @Vincent
    Is a civil servant who is waiting in line for appointment but has been employed for many years considered high risk. I ask this because I know of some who were unofficially told stay away until they were appointed.

  18. John Avatar
    John

    Agriculture is the key!!

    Construction is a dead end activity.

    No water.

    Cane survives drought.

    How do we link Agriculture and tourism?

  19. David Avatar
    David

    @Redguard

    What Vincent maybe suggesting is that there are macro considerations to lending. In the current environment banks with a responsible to protect depositors money will tighten credit policy.

  20. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @Redguard

    What is high risk? The test is affordability. Don’t make excuses for banks operating like bandits and a regulator that is clueless. I ask again, is being black and poor high risk?

  21. John A Avatar
    John A

    All this talk about construction spurring the economy will not be the case in 2020, as it was in 2007 and for one simple reason.

    The bulk of the construction going forwArd will be done by prefab slabs and cranes, with only a few people needed to pin the slabs together. Did any of you past when the additional houses at Coverley were being built and see all this in progress? House there were being erected in days with only a handful of workmen on the site.

    Construction projects going forward for commercial entities like hotels will no long have on site 40 masons and 80 labourers, along with 20 carpenters. Those days are gone. Block work structures will basically only be used in domestic homes and small commercial projects going forward.

    The days therefore of construction driving the economy as a result of mass employment are over.

  22. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @JohnA
    but the wall sections/exterior panels still have to be prefabbed somewhere? There is work involved in making them? They have to be transported to site? There are jobs, only in a different location.

  23. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ John A January 29, 2020 3:57 PM
    “The days therefore of construction driving the economy as a result of mass employment are over.”

    Well said! That former potent multiplier effect needed to filter income down to the buying masses is no longer that effective.

    Maybe if the authorities can get the likes of Mal(m)oney to spread their wealth by shopping on Bush Hill and Bay Street near to the coming Lighthouse we might just see the money multiplier in full bloom of the economic moon.

    What Barbados requires is a massive injection of foreign investment in the tourism industry (leisure and wellness) including the building of hotels like the Hyatt.

    The building of the Hyatt out of Barbados forex resources would cripple the country and lead to imminent devaluation of its Mickey mouse currency; pure and simple!

  24. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Northern at 4 :25 PM

    I think John A’s point is that there would be reduced artisan jobs. Prefab is a new labour reducing,capital intensive technique,soon to be robotized. Did you read the section of the press that described the robotized demolishing process at the NIS building?

  25. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Northern

    The slabs come finished with even the electrical conduits and plumbing in them. All that is needed is no more than 6 workers on site after that. External painting in and out and tiling. Most of these even come with the prefab kitchens included now and Windows already installed. You talking about a massive drop in labour using this process! Labour may get a little pick as we say ” dressing it up” but that’s it. Once this is done what’s left a little land scaping?

    I can tell you for a fact that when some west coast homes were being built in 2006 and 2007 they were in excess of 200 workers on that one houses! You will never see the need for that volume of workers using precast.

    The saving virtue is the wealthy west coast home owner will not consider using slabs, but will insist on block work still. Likewise the Bajan home owner too will prefer block work. The problem is with all our focus on Hotels and tourism, that is where the bulk of construction will be occurring. The domestic economy will just have to limp along on its own for now until a real growth plan is devised to replace BERT.

  26. John A Avatar
    John A

    @Miller

    That is exactly it the politicians are pinning their growth on a form of construction that no longer Is used in the type of projects they want to support.

  27. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Northern

    Actually one west coast private home in 2007 had in excess of 400 men on it at one stage. I doubt the whole prefab company even employs 400 people in total, including the guy that might wash the duty free Mercedes daily!

  28. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Miller at 4:28 PM

    As usual, two excellent points :

    (1)reduced multiplier effects of employment in Construction Sector
    and
    (2) the reduced income distribution effects.The return to capital increases and that to labour is reduced.

  29. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Redguard at 3:23 PM

    In the hypothetical case you described the judgement call is that of the loans officer and his supervisor. As David BU pointed out, macro factors like BERT and the performance of the economy are deciding factors in credit risk management.
    Bajans do have short memories in truth. Do you recall the LIFO principles that were applied in the Public Service less than 12 months ago?

  30. robert lucas Avatar
    robert lucas

    @ John A January 29, 2020 3:57 PM

    “The bulk of the construction going forward will be done by prefab slabs and cranes, with only a few people needed to pin the slabs together.”

    You are one-hundred percent correct. On a previous blog referring to the sanitation workers refusal to take any five days as the working week This is roughly what I said. The workers were playing the ass and that in the next two decades there would be no need for drivers or workers as the whole system would be operated by robots. The problem with Barbados is that, the political elite have no vision. People aren’t hired based on ability but on who their know. This new century is going to be highly technological. People in Barbados are considered to be brilliant if they are lawyers, medical doctors, accountants, economists, political scientists and sociologists.

    As regards where the local Muslim get their funding, one is referred to hawala: is an alternative remittance channel that exists outside of traditional banking systems. It is a popular and informal value transfer system based not on the movement of cash, or on telegraph or computer network wire transfers. Hawala works by transferring money without actually moving it. In a Hawala transaction , no physical movement of cash occurs. Hawala system works with a network of operators called Hawaldars or Hawala Dealers. A person willing to transfer money, contacts a Hawala operator at the source location. In the local example the origin of the funds most likely is Saudi Arabia( the British have published data showing that the Saudis are among the major practitioners of this method of money transfer).
    .

  31. robert lucas Avatar
    robert lucas

    Correction ‘ who their know should be “who they know”

  32. John A Avatar
    John A

    @Robert

    Yes that is so true ” Its the money that moves without ever going anywhere.”

    That is why I laugh when I here people speak of economic recovery from A B or C, when neither A or B exist anymore in real life market activity. The Muslims use one of the oldest forms of payment, which when broken down is the tried and proven Barter system, dating back to before currency even existed. They use a system that makes them immune to currency movement or other external forces.

    In other words ” I will swap you my car rental business in Barbados for your shop in Miami. Or I will pay your child’s university cost here in Canada and You will pay my Mortgage in BIM. ” You have to respect these guys for their discipline and trust among each other if nothing else though, plus seldom is anything even put in writing just witnessed by a senior member in the community.

  33. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    Wuh Loss !

    @ Robert Lucas,

    I would like to add to your list of Barbadians considered to be brilliant, micro biologists and food scientists. Do I have your permission?

  34. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ John A

    @ Robert Lucas

    Thanks for adding another cashless means of value transmission to our store of knowledge.

  35. robert lucas Avatar
    robert lucas

    @ Vincent Codrington January 29, 2020 5:36 PM

    I take it that you are an economist based on your postings. I sorry to discover that you are considered to be a pariah by the powers that be ,hence the failure to recognize your brilliance.

  36. robert lucas Avatar
    robert lucas

    @ John A January 29, 2020 5:33 PM

    You need to educate Barbadians. They are too gullible and accept everything at face value with out analyzing facts

  37. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Robert
    @ Vincent.

    Many bajans have no interest in exploring matters like alternate finance methods. If David opened a blog like that I doubt it would gather 20 comments. Of course open one about Trump and you would get 500.

    One can only therefore assume we have alot of talk for things we have no control over, but little on what we can in fact improve on.

  38. David Avatar
    David

    @Robert

    What you have stated has been practiced b6 the Indians (continent ) in Barbados for years.

  39. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Robert Lucas at 5:46 PM

    Yes . I consider myself an economist. Hopefully a competent one. You should know from my interventions on this blog that I need no validation as far as my brilliance or lack there of is concerned. I am always in a learning mode.

  40. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David.

    If you go back and research why this system was introduced it was out of necessity. The banks did not want to lend to these people when they arrived in the USA and here too for that matter. What happened then is wealthy relatives and respected persons at home, decided to put their money to work for their own people around the world.

    So I would pay for say toothbrushes by sending money from India to the US distributor and he would ship the toothbrushes to the family in Barbados for sale. Once sold they would then repay the Indian lender as he sees fit. It could be in anything from sugar cakes to property for that matter.

    The goal was to remove cash from the transaction and replace it with commodities of a similar value. This removed currency fluctuation and the cost of buying money from the equation. This has now ballooned into one of the most amazing systems of global finance among these countries as Robert has mentioned. Because their is no money changing hands on either the buyers or sellers side, no one can begin to value the volume of this business globally.

    It calls for trust and a clear understanding of the value of commodities as opposed to the value of the USD. We ain’t talking bout sou sou money here either, but probably billions yearly in a global market place.

  41. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ John A

    Many Bajans have no interest in exploring matters like alternate finance methods. (Quote)

    We have now had over 20 months of the Mottley government, with its top economic consultants, including an IMF expert, a UK professor and a former leader of the DLP, along with White Oaks.
    Yet, in all that time, all we have heard is about the flawed policy of BERT and We Gatherin’, in which overseas Barbadians are being seduced to ‘invest’ in Barbados. Invest is what is never stated. But they would be crazy to take their money out of the US, Canada or the UK to invest in an environment in which one of the first things the government did was to default on its debt obligations. Madness.
    Where are the investment vehicles? What are the great plans, apart from a corridor of hotels and a fantasy development plan?
    Th only proposals we are getting are the silly suggestion from Dr Worrell that we should abandon the Bajan and use the Greenback as our sovereign currency and become like Canada and/or Singapore. More madness.
    There must be an explanation, but no one is saying.

    .

  42. John A Avatar
    John A

    @Hal

    They are living in the LP and 8 track era while the economy is operating in the live streaming era.

    We are talking about using tools that are bordering on obsolete in today’s world. Why haven’t we developed a plan to expand the AIR B&B business as well? Wouldn’t doing this help enrich many of the local guest house and small hotels, along with home owners? Or are we still banking on the ” Travel Agents” who are quickly becoming the dinosaurs of the travel Industry, to promote growth for us?

    Pity no one stopped to ask the travelling public under 40 how they plan their holiday and where they prefer to stay. In the meantime we continue to discount our product so as to maintain our numbers.

  43. Silly Woman Avatar
    Silly Woman

    @Vincent Codrington January 29, 2020 2:56 PM “Banks always had the freedom and good sense to decline high risk loans.”

    But what is high risk?

    Scotia Bank declined my mortgage application in 1988. At the time I had $44,600 in cash savings (saved over a period of 17 years) and i had a piece of land that I had paid for over a 3 1/2 year period. I had an approved building plan. I had paid the draftsman. I had a well paid job. Except for the first 8 1/2 years of my working life i’ve always had and kept well paid jobs. I needed to borrow $110,000 BDS which was about 3 times my annual salary. I had one healthy child. I was living with my parents so I was paying no rent, who says that black people don’t help out each other. I had wonderful parents.

    I was and am black, working class, female, parent, unmarried.

    I got a 25 year mortgage from another bank and paid off the 25 year mortgage loan in 19 years and 8 months.

    Scotia Bank’s loss not mine.

    Contrary to popular opinion some of us black, working class, unmarried, female parents are extremely disciplined, the people of Singapore have nothing on us.

    Don’t drink, don’t smoke (anything), took cooked meals from home virtually everyday.

    Then put the children through university. 3 degrees between them.

    No car. My last car loan was in 1973. Who needs a car or a car loan when the bus stop is 8 minutes walk away? Good advice from a wonderful dad. Buy a house spot away from the main roads, less pollution, but near enough to a bus stop on a good bus route.

    Will NEVER again buy a car or take a car loan.

  44. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Hal
    @ John A
    According to the Central Bank, the economy declined last year and is now projected to grow by 1.5 this year. With no growth last year and very little projected this year, we may need to revisit current economic policy.
    As you both are saying: we continue to warm over cold soup. I have stated repeatedly that without an educational system that is in concord with national economic policy, we would not progress.
    The question to be asked is whether the sacrifices placed on the working class , to achieve such poor growth is worth it.
    Our environment stands to be irreversibly ruined because we have convinced ourselves that we alone have sea , sun and sand.
    We have collectively entered , what appears to be a prolonged period of economic barrenness.

  45. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ William

    Don’t get caught up in the window dressing here is the reality.

    Economic growth 1.5% (maybe)
    Inflation. 3%

    Net real growth. – 1.5%

    That is reality and not window dressing my friend. That is the net effect on our economy and our savings in relation to actual real buying power for 2020.

  46. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Simple Simon at 7 :18 PM

    Your experience with said bank mirrored mine 10 years earlier and with similar results. As I tried to point out the judgement call is always that of the banks’ lending officers. Credit analysis is not an exact/perfect science. In my case I changed job, a perk of which was a staff mortgage loan. I have no regrets.
    Congratulations on your good personal financial management. I wish all of my acquaintances were that disciplined.
    Yes. For the most part, we are good stewards of God’s beneficence. We need to pass those skills onto the next generation.

  47. Silly Woman Avatar
    Silly Woman

    @Vincent Codrington January 29, 2020 7:46 PM “Your experience with said bank mirrored mine 10 years earlier and with similar results. As I tried to point out the judgement call is always that of the banks’ lending officers. Credit analysis is not an exact/perfect science. In my case I changed job, a perk of which was a staff mortgage loan. I have no regrets.”

    Who says that poor black people are crabs in the barrel? We must stop believing other people’s negative stereotypes of us. In my case the other bank asked if I had a co-signer. I did. I asked an a sibling 8 years older, she said “sure” and was in the bank next day to sign. She trusted me to repay and I did.

    Another sibling co-signed Little Johnnie’s student’s loan some years later, so that Little Johnnie could earn the first degree before the 21st birthday, and the second by age 24.

    Why says that black families don’t love each other? Not me.

  48. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ Silly Woman
    Thanks. We tend to believe a lot of crap. If blacks didn’t support each other, we would all be dead since slavery. We must dismiss all those who peddle such nonsense.
    We believe that support only means buying a pair of shoes from a black store. We need to see support in a broader light as you have noted.

  49. Silly Woman Avatar
    Silly Woman

    And sometimes a friend, a black friend, white ones sometimes too, just gives you a good idea and precise instructions on how to carry it out, for example I wanted to fix-up a 40 year old kitchen on a small budget a black MALE (that is for Miller:-)) suggested that I buy plain unfinished pine cupboard doors, sand them myself after work and on weekends, Littlest Johnnie then a teenager helped, then apply three coats of water based water varnish to the doors. Let the varnish dry for 24 hours between each coat. With three coats of varnish even in a area that gets as many hard knocks as a kitchen the finish will hold up for maybe 40 years. That was 14 years ago the doors are still look as good as new at nowhere the price of the fanciest custom installed kitchens.

    Of course there is a market for custom installed kitchens, but that demographic is not poor working class black women, unless they permit themselves to be deceived.

  50. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @JohnA

    “They are living in the LP and 8 track era while the economy is operating in the live streaming era. We are talking about using tools that are bordering on obsolete in today’s world”

    You seem to get advancement well. Similarly, the days of 200 work people on a house site are gone, for all but the custom mansion. As are 100 people in a sugar cane field cutting and loading cane. Yet Hyatt, or whatever they end up calling it, will have a bunch. There is still much work in building, prefab or not The roofers, plumbers, electricians, multiple finishing trades, doors/hardware, elevators etc etc etc

    @VC
    I did not see the article, but I am familiar with the technology. Isn’t all that it is made up to be.

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