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Solutions Barbados – Playing With Fire

The unemployment situation in St George North is dreadful.  Disappointing voters with false promises is not an option in this by-election.  Candidates must offer workable plans, to effectively address the mass unemployment problems in St George North.

There are six candidates seeking to work for the people of St George North, for the next 30 months.   It is important that none of us follow the bad examples of those who have gone before us.

Candidates who plan to use the desperate unemployed people of St George North as pawns, just to secure a seat in the House of Assembly for their party, are doing the unconscionable.  They are ensuring that the people continue to suffer, during these exceptionally difficult times.  The present suffering is compounded by an unnecessary IMF austerity program, and a global COVID-19 pandemic.

Candidates who make promises that they know they cannot keep, are deceiving voters’ families.  Candidates who know that they have no capacity to implement their party’s plans, push that deceit beyond tolerable levels.

Career politicians have repeatedly broken their promises to previous generations of voters.  Those voters had the patience to tolerate and forgive those, who repeatedly deceived them with empty promises.
The current generation of young voters are different – they will not forgive that type of deceit.  Candidates without any workable economic plans for the families of St George North, are playing with fire.

Audio Version

Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer, and the Solutions Barbados’ candidate for St George North.  He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

545 responses to “Solutions Barbados – Playing With Fire”

  1. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    https://www.facebook.com/NationBarbados/videos/dlp-no-debate/342766183647234/

    i thought Reifer handled himself quite well here

  2. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    “He acknowledged that he was a proponent of the debt reprofiling plan while on the 2018 campaign trail, but understood it to mean a lengthening of the repayment time rather than denying investors a significant portion of what was owed.
    “A clown like me believing that was what debt reprofiling meant, I went and sell that to all sorts of Barbadians on platform after platform. These people then changed their tune and they shaved off the value in a most unilateral way. So millions of dollars got shaved off . . . and a lot of people have gone to their grave getting no redress whatsoever because the Government did it in a unilateral fashion,” he lamented.[Quote]

    Clearly NOT a potential candidate for any Ministry within the Finance or Economics realm.

  3. David Avatar
    David

    @Northern Observer

    Wood is touted as a learned economist. What are you suggesting?

  4. David Avatar
    David

    @Greene

    Your opinion is solid based on a 1:20 minute clip on which he was one of two people who spoke? What are you smoking?

  5. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    @David,

    you think he would fall apart from relentless pressure from David Ellis about the efficacy of BERT, BOSS or BEST? whether the $300 mil should be given to Hoteliers or directly to workers laid off as a result of hotels closing? whether MAM was being self serving when she introduced same sex civil unions but denied bajans the right to choose being a republic via a referendum? or why after 26 years under the BLP grass and bushes is now being cleared in Flat Rock etc?

    like Reifer said come face the people of SGN and debate their issues

  6. David Avatar
    David

    @Greene

    The issues Reifer highlighting were present during the last government. Every thing was at a standstill. Can see Moore brushing aside that issue quite easily. The government was focused on the first 18 months on stabilizing the economy. In recent months the focus was rebuilding a crumbling infrastructure and there was COVID 19.

  7. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    @ David BU

    If you’re suggesting debates play an integral role in people determining who they would vote for, then, if there was a debate in St. Michael North West between Chris Sinckler and Neil Rowe during the 2018 election campaign, Sinckler would be the parliamentary representative for that constituency. Rowe struggles in parliament and a few nights ago I heard him on the CBC TV8 evening news struggling to explain the benefits to be derived from government’s plans to refurbish the Pile Bay Fishing Facility, by the fishing community in Pile Bay and by extension, the constituency.

    Reifer has never been a member of parliament, nor is he a politician. Unless there is evidence to indicate otherwise, he has been thrown into the political fray at ‘short notice,’ by a somewhat ‘rejuvenated’ DLP, hoping he would win the by-election, simply because he is a ‘home-town boy.’ It is interesting to note, ‘home-towns boys,’ Desmond Browne and Colin Spencer both received 1,447 votes in the 2003 and 2008 general elections respectively.

    Additionally, David, if we’re honest, we would admit that, during the past 2½ years, the DEMS have been in ‘attack mode.’ We haven’t heard what is Verla Depeiza’s and the DLP’s vision for Barbados, nor has she offered any solutions to the socioeconomic problems confronting island. (Perhaps we may have to wait until the announcement of the 2023 general elections to read about their policies in their manifesto). As such, against what background would Reifer go into a debate to discuss, for example, issues related to the economy at the national level and translate them to the constituency level?

    In other words, supposed one of the debate questions was on unemployment. Could Reifer articulate the DLP’s policies on creating an environment leading to creating jobs and how he would ‘personalized’ them into the constituency?

    Toni Moore’s experience in the Senate would be advantageous to her, because she is familiar with ‘government’s’ policies, having debated Bills ‘government’ sent to the upper house.

    Also, in my opinion, the only political party that has presented a national policy and translated it into the constituency, is Solutions Barbados. If a debate was held, where candidates would stick to the issues instead of baiting each other, I believe Grenville would be ‘clear cut’ winner.

    I’ve heard people have approached candidates of the political parties contesting the by-election and encouraging them to boycott the debates.

    However, I agree with Reifer’s decision not to participate in the debate and preferring to remain focused on his campaign strategy.

  8. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    @David,

    mate, you are cracking me up here with laughter. bottom line Reifer isnt participating. Toni will more or less have the others to show off her debating skills against. Grenville, Toni and Ambrose from Cawmere, all representing different eras, should be good theatre.

  9. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Good poke the lion in the eye
    Cant wait to hear Mia respond
    Hear she doesnt take well to the word No which in this case is Hell No

  10. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    @David,

    can you post that defence of Braddie by MAM in today’s nation and the one in rebuttal to Braddie by Rudi Webster? i think William Skinner posted part of it but there is much more

  11. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Jerome Walcott spreading lies about Reifer
    Not good
    BlP setting itself up for a 30 foot fall

  12. David Avatar
    David

    @Greene

    This blogmaster could care less if he participates or not. We are in it for the learnings, analysis and in small measure trying to shift old ways of doing things. The fact the DLP after 36 months have to be scrambling to find a candidate sums it up.

  13. David Avatar
    David

    @Artax

    See comment to Greene. We have to find ways to get the candidates to expose themselves to the public. It is not enough to to talk about building pavilions, clearing bush and filling potholes. We have to demand more from those who offer themselves to public service.

  14. David Avatar
    David

    Shame on you, politician

    I WATCHED A VIDEO of a former politician in Barbados making disparaging remarks about the intelligence of a sportsman who was a West Indies player, West Indies captain and West Indies coach. Although the remarks were disturbing, they were not surprising.
    In 1983, I did a fantastic interview with Sir Garfield Sobers in Australia, in which I was able to learn about the mental aspects of his game, and the other factors that were responsible for his greatness.
    A few weeks ago, I wrote a series of articles about that interview. In response, I received feedback from several readers who doubted the authenticity of comments attributed to Sir Garfield. They said that he was too articulate. It is sad that in 2020, some people in the Caribbean still share the perception that our best sportsmen are uneducated, unintelligent and poor thinkers.
    Anyone can win
    It is particularly ironic that a politician should think that way because in politics anyone can win a seat and become a Member of Parliament. And if his party wins power, he can become a minister in areas of governance in which he has no training, competence or qualifications. It is not difficult to understand substandard leadership and substandard performance at ministerial levels.
    I believe that similar disparaging comments were made by a former president of Cricket West Indies about the capacity of former players to govern – even though Jeffrey Stollmeyer, Alan Rae and Sir Wesley Hall performed competently as presidents of the West Indies Cricket Board before he came on to the scene.
    Sport is about action and results and, unlike politics, the rhetoric/ reality/honesty gap is extremely narrow. Moreover, the sportsman conducts his business in full view of the public. With the advent of high definition TV and videos, every emotion he shows, every action he takes, every mistake he makes and every success he has can be seen, analysed and evaluated by every Tom, Dick and Harry. There is nowhere for him to hide. I can’t think of any other profession that conducts its business in that fashion.
    Academic intelligence, sports intelligence and survival intelligence are not the same things. We should remember that God made man before God made books.
    The purpose of thinking is to reach a better understanding, decision or course of action, not to prove that you are smarter than someone else. A sensible politician should be able to appreciate an idea from a sportsman as he might appreciate a beautiful flower, no matter in whose garden it is growing.
    We should be more concerned with the type of thinking and intelligence that focuses on wisdom rather than cleverness. If you become wise, it is not so difficult to become clever as well. But, if you focus on being clever, you might have little chance of ever becoming wise. Someone once said that the true measure of wisdom is the capacity to see and understand things from different perspectives.
    The thinking and intelligence needed to pass examinations in schools and universities are different from those required for success in sport and business. The skills of numeracy and literacy are very different from the skills of operacy or doing.
    According to Dr Edward de Bono, education today is essentially about the past, that is, information that is already in existence. It is a matter of learning, sorting, reviewing, combining and describing existing knowledge and information. If students learn how to regurgitate that information to pass their examinations, they are considered to be bright and intelligent. But if they fail in that venture they are considered to be slow and dull.
    Wrong assumption
    Examinations only reflect what you have learned and have been, not what you can learn and become. Many university graduates wrongly assume that once they have knowledge, action will be easy and automatic.
    Rather than awakening the imagination and enhancing the gifts of curiosity, creativity, and innovation in our young people, today’s education system too often inhibits and limits the students. Unfortunately, cricket coaches and administrators are now making the same mistake. Some observers claim that cricket education and development have become too academic. That might be one of the reasons why our cricket teams are performing so poorly.
    In sport, knowledge and experience are important, but successful performance demands much more.
    It requires creative and innovative thinking about goals, strategies, tactics, priorities, motivation, discipline, consequences, team building, teamwork, leadership, setbacks and failures, physical and psychological battles with opponents and psychological battles with self.
    Clive Lloyd, our most successful captain, once said to me: “What people don’t understand is that you don’t have to be bright academically to be a good captain or good player. Captaincy is about vision, good judgement and common sense, and about motivating, managing and leading players.”
    He added: “To be a good cricketer you must be able to think well, particularly when you are under pressure. You have to out-think, outplan and out-perform your opponents. Just because someone might use a few ‘green’ verbs or might not be well versed in grammar does not mean he is not a good thinker. My players won two World Cups and should have won a third, and they were world champions for about 15 years. Not many of them went to university or to any great schools. Nevertheless, they could think and play like champions and that is what is important in sport.”
    Sir Garfield Sobers said: “To perform well, you must identify the challenges and demands in the situations you are about to face; think calmly and sensibly about them; and then tailor your skills, resources and strategies to meet and capitalise on them.”
    He added that situations, challenges and demands are constantly changing and the process of FIT must be carefully monitored and adjusted.
    In the Caribbean, giving our sportsmen and sportswomen the respect and appreciation they deserve is long overdue. It is time for people like that politician to change their perception, not just of our cricketers but also of themselves, and in the process acquire a proper insight into reality.
    We must remember that arrogance is the greatest sin of thinking. We must also remember that we see things not as they are, but as we are.
    Unfortunately, we often judge and try to change others before first judging and changing ourselves.

    – DR RUDI V. WEBSTER

  15. David Avatar
    David

    PM explains Bradshaw statement

    PRIME MINISTER MIA AMOR MOTTLEY on Sunday night explained what former minister Delisle Bradshaw meant to say in a platform speech when he uttered the words “any idiot can play cricket”.
    Days later, the public outcry by cricket-loving Barbadians remained, but Mottley, speaking at a public meeting in Market Hill, St George, said Bradshaw was attempting to show that electing someone for Parliament was different from selecting someone for a team.
    Bradshaw’s statement has been condemned in many quarters.
    He was speaking last Thursday at a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) meeting at Golden Ridge in the constituency of St George North, which is the focus of a by-election following the September 30 resignation of Member of Parliament Gline Clarke.
    There are six candidates in the race but the trading of political blows has been mainly between traditional rivals the BLP, whose candidate is Toni Moore, general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, and the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) Floyd Reifer, a cricket coach and former West Indies captain.
    Bradshaw, 79, the father of Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw, issued a statement days later saying that his comments were “not the best or most respectful way to make my point”, and that he had the greatest admiration for cricketers and sportspeople. In reaction to the firestorm created, Mottley said: . . . . Let’s get it clear that what Delisle Bradshaw was speaking about was not about ridiculing any class of person in this country. “So to be able to jump and say he’s attacking Sir Garfield Sobers and everyone else is nonsense. Understand that what Delisle was doing was pointing out to you that fundamentally the choice of electing someone to Parliament is not about whether they are going to be good on a cricket field.”
    She added: “We are proud of our cricketers, have always been, but that does not make them the right person for election to a job in Parliament which has a different set of skills to representation,” Mottley said.
    She then went on to make a jab of her own, saying that the DLP, rather than hearing “d-e-b-a-t-e”, had heard “d-e-b-a-t”.
    She went on to lambaste the DLP, accusing it of failing to complete projects in the constituency after the BLP lost power from 2008 to 2018.
    Mottley said that while DLP president Verla De
    Peiza was saying the by-election was a referendum on her, it was an opportunity for St George North get representation and business completed. ( AC)

  16. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    @David,

    i understand that you crave change but this is not the route for that. when we come to the lead up to the general election then we can discuss. or rather see what the parties have done or havent done.

    i am pleased that the DLP has craved out a bit of social media presence and hope they grow that.

    i am also hopeful that Verla follow some of the suggestions on the blog if she or anyone from the DLP follows it. there is a particular good one from Hal and i think i mentioned it in one of my Reform or Die pieces.

    and that is to get some economic and financial professionals to lecture and provide some quick learning aids to potentials candidates who need it.

    in fact she should do that for good governance, public speaking, and public and performance management too. dont have to be long courses or lectures. could be discussed via bullet points with explanations.

    and this is where she should tap into the knowledge bank of returning nationals or retired local bajan professionals

    even if the DLP struggled to find a candidate for this constituency they seemed to have lucked into a seemingly competitive one. thank God for small mercies

  17. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    thanks David.

    always had a lot of time for Rudi. that was a particularly enlightened piece. i have tried explaining this to young professionals including my children. what i tell them, not withstanding De Bono and others like him, that experience is the greatest teacher and book learning (doctus cum libros) is just that – theory. it could mean a lot if aptly applied or it could mean nothing if applied without due regard to the practical and is only a very limited hint at or of intelligence. there are many other kinds like street smarts and instincts. well done Rudi.

    MAM’s defence was rather flippant, for want of a better epithet, and very disappointing to say the least. i really dont know what to make of it.

  18. David Avatar
    David

    @Greene

    Change must be advanced at every opportunity. There is no perfect/good time. All political candidates should be competent to speak on issues of national interest which will impact parochial. We have to send a message to prospective candidates thatwe as citizens want to have the bar set higher. Too much mediocrity in the place.

  19. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    All the government ministers, PMs, lawyers from 1966 have been FAILURES, most have been CORRUPT, ALL have been mere overseers of a SLAVE SOCIETY…..ALL have been SELL OUTS…and since the scam started to get reparations off our ANCESTORS BACKS 20 years ago….ALL have been TOO STUPID TO KNOW…that EU/UK would have to ROB AFRICA TO GET THE BILLIONS THEY WANT IN REPARATIONS ….

    any IDIOT can be a ruler/jailer/sell out/thief/oppressor/exploiter/wannabe slave master in Barbados’ parliament….so what’s the point of the explanation..

  20. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    @ David BU

    I fully agree with your comments re: “It is not enough to to talk about building pavilions, clearing bush and filling potholes. We have to demand more from those who offer themselves to public service.” It’s ridiculous a community center that remained unfinished under both BLP and DLP administrations, has become a focal point of this by-election.

    However, rather than a debate, I believe those objectives could be achieved through a ‘town hall’ meeting, where candidates are given the opportunity to introduce themselves and articulate their proposed policies, while answering questions from the people who matters most……… constituents.

  21. David Avatar
    David

    In a covid time Town Hall style forum is affected by timing.

  22. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

    A generation or more ago schoolboys used to make fun of Sir Gary’s choice of words when interviewed, one would have thought he was the second coming of Ossie Moore, judging from Rudi webster’s article things haven’t changed in the intervening years.
    So Mottley is womansplaning for Bradshaw? Was Bradshaw tongue tied and his words were so mangled that they came out the way they did? Bradshaw didn’t even apologize the statement that I read in the newspaper didn’t come close to an opology.

    Long after this election is over people won’t forget “Any idiot could play cricket”.

  23. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    Wunna know Floyd can’t talk and have nothing new even on paper to say. Stop the dishonesty, ah beg wunna!! Verla supported the UWI fees and gotta keep running from the Dems’ record. Come next election she won’t be able to run. How in a 1×2 island SGN issues could be different to SGS, SJoh, SJos, SMNE, ST, Barbados? And we got so called rational people promoting shiite bout SGN issues. Go on tv or a townhall like Artax suggests and talk. Stupse! The people are not foolish.

  24. Lorenzo Avatar
    Lorenzo

    Baje i do not give two fks if you were a tutor and Donna teacher.I deal woth your commentd on here whivh tells me neither of you are too bright.You are behaving like an old whore blocking everyday.You do not know me or what i do.Stick to ranting and cussing everyday it will noy help you or the dems.Let me repeat just for youMS MOTTLEY AND GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON OFFICE UNTIL 2023 LIFE NE SPAREF AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU OR YOUR BELLYACHERS CAN DO ABOUT IT.

  25. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    For twenty six damn years both the BLP and DLP were in office in SGN and you here talking about “ eighteen months” stabilizing the economy? Let us admit that both parties failed in delivering the frigging pavilion and move on.
    We were once told in a rum shop that if we “fuhget Braddie“ he ( Tom Adams) will “ fuhget Valerie.” This nonsense has been going on fuh donkey years and to read this partisan piffle is pure evidence that the politics of the BLPDLP stinks to the heavens. We used to play football and cricket on Valerie and we were threatened that houses will be built on the pasture if we didn’t vote right.
    The apologists, partisans and obstructionists are nothing but political hypocrites.
    It seems that many who contribute to BU were never involved in community work because everybody who has been active in their community know that it’s all politics even at that level. I know of a representative who got things done even in opposition but that’s another story.
    @ WARU is right about these political miscreants.

  26. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    “Let us admit that both parties failed in delivering the frigging pavilion and move on.”

    A perfect example of teaspoon-level depth of thought that comes from the BU intelligentsia. Was the Glebe pavillion the only project in SGN during the period 1994-2008? Stupse!

  27. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    as to the matter of university fees-

    which party built Cave Hill
    which party made the uni free at point of service
    why
    which party empaneled a committee to examine whether Bim students should pay or not
    why did that party so do
    what were the recommendations
    why were the recommendations not accepted
    which party put in place partial uni fees
    why
    do all Caribbean islands offer free uni to its students
    why should uni be free
    what are the returns for free uni
    should Bim continue to offer uni free at point of service

  28. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ Enuff October 20, 2020 7:41 PM
    “Wunna know Floyd can’t talk and have nothing new even on paper to say. Stop the dishonesty, ah beg wunna!”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    You mean can’t talk patented bullshit, ‘right’?

    “Any idiot” can understand what the ex-cricketer says; just like the ‘ordinary’ people understood Sir Garry.

    If talking ‘political sweet nothings’ was the main requirement to be elected as an MP then many from the current cohort of MPs would not have qualified in 2018; including those two elected to represent the people of St. George.

    This is not the time of major challenges facing Bim to put talkers of bullshit at the forefront but people of action and who are results-oriented.

    Any dummy can be programmed to talk a load of bull for entertainment purposes.

    Stop disrespecting the memory and outstanding contribution of Lloyd ‘Boy child’ Smith.

  29. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “should Bim continue to offer uni free at point of service/”

    dummy, nothing is free, if the students are not paying school fees or taxes, their parents are paying the taxes, TAXPAYERS PAY FOR EVERYTHING, not the slimy liars for ministers NOR YARDFOWLS.

  30. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Wicked politicians used that deception for decades against the populace because they had kept them so POORLY EDUCATED. lacking the knowledge that they themselves PAID FOR EVERYTHING on the island, that is why the people kept believing everything those LIARS said..

    ..nothing is free, someone has to pay and without the people’s taxes and pension input, government would not have a DIME TO TIEF…or pay for anything..

    up to 16 years ago a big hard back man was telling me he did not believe that the money came from the people paying taxes, that it came from the government…a lot of those lying politicians need to really suffer long and hard before they die…scum.

  31. Lest we forget Avatar
    Lest we forget

    Enuff
    You are displaying the behaviour that Anthony Wood spoke of.That is the elitist behaviour of the BLP.You have been doing worst than Bradshaw by insulting the man from the time he was nominated. You are dishonest if you believe the man cannot speak without reading from a script but was the Captain and Coach of the West Indies team. All coaches have to speak to their teams in the language of the game.I will bet you that he is good at that.He was not into politics and therefore is not a fraud who learn public speaking during the five years being trained as a lawyer.He will practice as many persons have done and learn the art. I have seen professionals buckle at staff meetings when asked to give a 2 minute presentation of themselves before people that they know.

  32. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Fowl slaves are dishonest by NATURE.

  33. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    Would it therefore be correct to state that “ any idiot”, myself included, can submit a post/ article to Barbados Underground?
    Would it therefore be correct to say that “ any idiot “ can be a Blogmaster ?
    The simple truth is that I can’t recall anybody asking any candidate to prove they know about everything and the gold standard is a debate. I never knew you had to be an accomplished public speaker to
    enter public life.
    But then again any idiot can write what I just wrote.
    The silly season is now the ignorant season.
    This is what the BLPDLP has planted and now the season of reaping is with us.
    Anyway my niece say she garbage getting tek up and she drive in one of the new electrick buses. She got water twice last week and all is well. Things real good.

  34. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    Do not be silly. The blogmaster was responding to Greene about how the BLP would have possibly countered DLP position.

  35. David Avatar
    David

    Steuspe

  36. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    This is not about you and @ Greene. Your bias is obvious. You want to suggest that Reifer will be a weak debater. You are also trying to pretend that we need to have candidates who are articulate in all matters. We are now witnessing the most inarticulate cabinet since independence. Let’s be honest. Almost every policy decision has been either back pedaled or the PM is working overtime to shelter and correct the nonsense.
    All the talk about heavy lifting and many hands make light work has come to nought.
    On the other hand the Democratic Labour Party seems incapable of finding candidates to present to the public. They have not presented any serious policies in the last two years. Although even the most partisan will admit that Reifer is a good selection under the circumstances.
    Both parties are adrift. They have no plans for combatting the turmoil that COVID has tossed the economy into. In any truly progressive state, there would have been a government for national reconstruction involving all the political parties and interest groups even the virtually useless so-called Social Partnership. The only creative or innovative idea is the one they stole from @PLT and he is not happy with how they are messing it up.
    Let’s get real . All the excellent debaters were described by Owen Arthur as “poor rakey”.Where were the debates during the General Election?
    Why weren’t we calling all parties about debating in the general election? This is a planned circus. And you know it.
    That’s the problem here ; we simply can’t frame a discussion without showing our blatant partisanship.
    Perhaps @ Pacha was correct when he opined we should have gone back to the polls. Quite frankly any economic policy based on tourism at this point is nothing more than wishful thinking. As Professor Howard has said unless tourism achieves at least sixty percent of what it did pre- COVID all bets are off.
    Certainly we don’t need a debate with Phillips; More, Reifer, Atherley or UPP and Bajan Free Party to tell us that. And that is the most pressing issue at this time.
    Going bet my last dollar that if Reifer were a lawyer, doctor or some academic , we would not be reading this nonsense. I don’t have a dog in this fight and those who read BU would know that when More and McDowall took over the leadership of the unions, I thought that these two young and obviously intelligent young persons, would have ushered in a new period of union development and they ended up just like many of the others safely in the arms of the decadent BLPDLP. But that’s exactly who we are.

  37. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “never knew you had to be an accomplished public speaker to
    enter public life.”

    that’s the point right there, none of them are TRAINED POLITICANS, none of them from 1966 were ever trained to lead, they started off being SELECTED by colonizers as rulers and JAILERS OF AFRICAN PEOPLE to keep the population CONTAINED, they carry a certain mindset and colonial paper degrees which has nothing to do with efficiently or competently managing a country and an economy, it merely makes them COLONIAL AGENTS, that is the only training they have, they don’t even know they are stool pigeons…..and all they have succeeded in doing is being destructive FAILURES for 60 years….no one needs to train to be an opportunitic enableer of racism, oppression, exploitation fraud, liar, thief and failure damaging to Black people…any idiot can do it…

    and ah too love this one, they will hear about it for a VERY LONG TIME……and make sure Africa knows too…lol

    ALL have been TOO STUPID TO KNOW…that EU/UK would have to ROB AFRICA TO GET THE BILLIONS THEY WANT IN REPARATIONS ….😂🤣😂🤣

    the first ones chosen by UK had a real good excuse, they didn’t know shit and were Federation of Fools, these have no excuse, they claim to be educated and know everything about everything….lol…except for THAT….lol

  38. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ William

    CoVid did not toss the economy in to turmoil, it exacerbated it. The economy was in turmoil since November 1966.

  39. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Actually, it sounds to me that Ms. Mottley ENDORCED Bradshaw’s statements.

    “Debate” vs. “De bat” is another jab at the intellectual abilities of cricketers.

    Though I do enjoy a good debate, I prefer to look at a person’s ability to get the best out of people and mobilise a team to get things done. One does not need to be a great debater to be an effective political leader. One simply needs to be able to listen to a “debate” among advisors and pick the winner.

    As a person who has often found great wisdom in the “unlikeliest” of places, often from persons who went to “primer standard” and worked all their lives in the fields (not the cricket fields) I object to this “elitist” view.

    AND…..I would advise those who exalt themselves by virtue of having “debated” in the House of Parliament, that the debates have steadily declined in quality since the days of Tom and Dipper until we can hardly bear to listen. In fact, I have tried to make it through and failed.

    I have heard better debates in the rumshop opposite my grandparent’s house long, long ago.

  40. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    waru,

    what do you think “at point of service” means?

  41. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    in what context are u using “point of service?

    not to be confused with the point of sale VAT that Mia wrote off to the tune of 1 billion dollars for minority thieves….instead of JAILING THE CROOKS…just saying…

    i remember a few years ago Blogmaster put out a thread on reparations and the two renowned BU racists Black John and Moneybrain came out cussing everybody that even dared comment about reparations for Black people in Barbados etc….don’t know why those two even bother being racists, seeing as they are just as STUPID as the reparations committee and DID NOT KNOW EITHER that any reparations in billions of dollars will have to be stolen from Africa…they must be kicking themselves now that they LEARNED THE REALITY about WHERE UK/EU get their resources…, out of about 1200 comments…those two vomited at least 900 between them…….. 😂😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😍

  42. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    I notice Black John is unusally quiet…he must think that i forgot all that toxic vomit from him and MoneyB.

  43. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    you havent answered- what do you think “at point of service” means?

  44. Lorenzo Avatar
    Lorenzo

    Skinner David BU might ne suggesting Mr Reifer is a weak debater to appear fair but o am telling you Mr Reifer IS a weak debater in my opinion .Greene , Lest we forget and you can pretty it up all you like.This is why he is running from the debate and the political nightwatchman is making excuses for him.Ms Moore would wipe the floor with Mr Reifer in a debate and damage what little chance he had of winning that is obvious.Skinner for someone who do npt have a fog in the fight why are you on here defending Mr Reifer? I think the answer is obvious.

  45. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    quote]
    #BTColumn – Resignation letter
    Barbados Today Traffic
    Published on October 20, 2020
    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

    by Dr Derek Alleyne

    Following relentless calls for the resignation or termination of the employment tenure of the former Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, for what the current AG Dale Marshall argued was a disregard for the safety of Barbadians, people have been calling, with justification, for the axing of Mr Marshall as the level of violent crimes continues to increase.

    I have argued that with Kerry Symmonds, George Payne and Ralph Thorne almost certain not to receive the confidence of MAM as Attorney General, the other options within the elected members of the House being Abrahams and Hinkson, Marshall has held on to his job by default.

    However, the recent disclosure by Marshall that he saw a confidential letter addressed to the Governor General would have placed any other PM in a tangle.

    Unless Mr Marshall was advising Ms Moore (a General Secretary of the largest trade union in Barbados) how to write the letter, then his statement, at best, is regrettable and at worst, unworthy of the holder of the chief legal adviser to the Government.

    I checked the Collins dictionary for the meaning of “confidential” and it explained “spoken, written or given in confidence; secret, private; suggestive of or denoting intimacy”.

    Marshall had no right being privy to a confidential letter written to the Governor General unless Ms Moore cannot write a letter, or he was her legal adviser in which he ought not to have disclosed the existence of the letter unless Moore was unable to do so.

    That she spoke at the meeting created doubt in my mind about the letter writing episode. If the letter made the resignation from the senate effective on October 1st, why could Moore not have told Barbadians that she had written to the Governor General and offered a resignation?

    What compounds the matter, in my view, is that the learned AG told Barbadians that he would read the letter if the Governor General gave him permission so to do. He has disclosed that the letter is confidential and that the resignation took effect on October 1st 2020. Something is not right at all!

    Any other Prime Minister would have been checking the Constitution to see if it is possible to invite Senator Taitt and promote her to the post of Attorney General. But we should not expect Ms Mottley to be so concerned with procedural niceties, norms or values.

    Ms Mottley has set her bar at the base. How else could Indar Weir be still serving as Minister of Agriculture in the face of the charges levelled by a former campaign manager in 2018 and minister in a BLP Government? How else could he be still facing her every cabinet meeting if the charges levelled by Anthony Wood are true? Are we to believe that Wood is lying?

    This spectacle at last Sunday’s meeting is yet another example of a Government elected on the argued bad performance of the outgoing without any consideration about skills, experience, capacity or knowledge of anything by the incoming.

    Out of the cabinet for whatever they were worth are the most experienced (outside of Toppin and no one knows what he does) members of the MAM administration, Prescod, Clarke and Payne. That is not by error, but is seemingly designed to give unquestionable power to MAM.

    In the process, every standard, procedure, value and norm has been thrown into the wind in the words of the Minister of Education as “archaic”. But Barbados sails on. Where we are heading seems as though no one knows.

    Dr Derek Alleyne is a trade unionist, social commentator and member of the Democratic Labour Party. [unquote

    very interesting observations. when it comes to legal procedure the AG and the Party have been a failure.

  46. David Avatar
    David

    @Greene

    Down the path of allowing political talking heads to shape the narrative on gun crime in Barbados. At the ROOt of our problem is parental delinquency and lack of opportunities for our people to sustain themselves. The AG and COP have an important role in the enforcement aspect but the time has come to stop politicizing the issue. We have to get Rh serious. We have to fight the scourge of crime by committee.

  47. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    this is from Dwight Sutherland, a former Lodge student, who when he started out in politics was a bumbler and could hardly get his thoughts across. maybe due to a stuttering issue but Dwight was not good at de- bates or at de- bat but he tried in both areas. i must say now that he is a very confident if not effective speaker. Dwight, you have come a long way Dwight

    quote] In a statement, Dwight Sutherland, campaign manager for the BLP’s candidate, Toni Moore, said while he was disappointed he was not surprised by Reifer’s decision to opt out.

    He suggested that the DLP had chosen not to participate because of its candidate’s “weakness” in debating, among other things.

    “We believe that the DLP is refusing to debate so as not to expose the weaknesses of their candidate, the fractures in the party, the lack of credibility of its leadership and that party’s total lack of any capacity to deal with the issues confronting the people of St George North and Barbados,” Sutherland said.

    “The DLP is arguing that having strong debating skills is not important. That is far from the truth. I know what it is to come to Parliament as an Opposition MP and to have to be ready to stand up in Parliament, not in your constituency where you can read a speech someone else writes for you, not in a shop or in a community setting where you might feel more comfortable and could say anything, but stand up in Parliament within minutes of a Minister speaking and put a case for the country and the constituency. Can the DLP candidate do that? Is that why he is ducking this debate?” he questioned. [unquote

  48. David Avatar
    David

    @Greene

    See if you can align with what some of us want to see going forward. We want to lift the bar.

  49. Greene Avatar
    Greene

    @Greene,

    where do you think the resolve to fight crime will come from?

    this BLP scoffed at crime as a political issue when David Thompson brought it up in an election. now we are reaping the world wind.

    this is the party that invited known drug leaders, much to the chagrin of the police, to the opening of parliament. what does that tell you?

    this is the party that made much of investigating the so called stealing that went on in the so called lost decade, only to do nothing about it.

    and this is the party that said the IBCL bribe issue should be investigated by the Bim police but failed to provide a govt or SOE employee to make an official complaint, notwithstanding whether a complaint was necessary or not

    this is a party that hired Darwin Dottin, a failed COP, as a crime consultant. why has he produced so far?

    this is a party that continue to blame the former DLP for not fighting crime even after 3 or so years as a govt.

    the only admirable thing they have done in that regard is to hire more judges to deal with the back log of cases.

    that tells you how serious this party is about fighting crime

    they must get their finger out and start dealing with this issue.

    like all issues that confront us we talk and talk and hope they disappear

  50. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “what do you think “at point of service” mean”

    i don’t just THINK of what something means, we don’t live in a bubble/vacuum, i always need to UNDERSTAND how these formats are CURRENTLY being used in today’s world, these things change and evolve and i like to be ARMED with useful information…so this is what i know personally…..

    this is one use for the term, there are several other uses which you can google….the one am familiar with is while working for a healthcare provider corportion in NYC>..that is why i asked in what CONTEXT are u using the term…

    “A point of service plan is a type of managed care health insurance plan in the United States. It combines characteristics of the health maintenance organization (HMO) and the preferred provider organization (PPO). The POS is based on a managed care foundation—lower medical costs in exchange for more limited choice”

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