Barbados Needs Good Focused Leadership Says Bajan Living Overseas

The following comment was posted to blog Democracy, Apathy and the National Insurance Fund  by a commenter resident overseas – Barbados Underground

@David

We have to accept facts and reality. I am and always will be a PROUD Bajan. ALWAYS.

Bajanabroad

But facts are facts. We have not done nearly enough to remodel the mindset of our people and our economy over the last 50 years to result in a level of broad based, diverse innovation that leads to large FX inflows. It’s just a fact. No debate. This could only mean one thing. Barbados is headed for worse, harder times.

Dreamy, fantastical talk alone that will not change that trajectory. Other countries and economies have failed. We are not exceptional and immune to basic facts. We act like we do but in reality we are not. That is what our pride would not let us believe. We think we are special, punching above our weight with our 98% literacy rate. This is who we are. We have been sold a bunch of sh7te that is just emotional fodder but never really grounded in fact and does not translate to a sound economic future.

We are at that moment where bullcrap can’t plaster the crap anymore and we can’t kick the can any further with cheap loans. Unless we find oil now like Guyana our standard of live WILL drop and times will get tougher . It can and has happened to other well meaning, well intentioned countries. Sri Lanka??? It is FOLLY to ask bloggers and citizens to do what elected country managers failed but were paid handsomely to do over the last 50 years. We don’t have access to all relevant information and our elected officials want to make this situation worse. Imagine that. But yet have the gall to say they are interested in public discourse. We are not driving the bus. Even if we protest and strike. What happens next? Who leads and implements the day after? At the end of the day without good focused leadership, nothing changes after the protests and strikes.

Whether we believe or not. Facts and consequences follow their own truth. They do not care if this is who we are. They are not interested in watching muh.

The writing is on the wall. Who chooses to see it is irrelevant.

The ONLY solution is GOOD FOCUSED leadership. Always has been. This is where we failed the most:

Signed – PROUD but realistic Bajan

95 thoughts on “Barbados Needs Good Focused Leadership Says Bajan Living Overseas


  1. In management “focused” normally relates to a particular strategic intent.

    “Good” may have a layman’s meaning but can hardly describe the merits or demerits of a “focused” strategy.

    “Leadership” has been an open “sapulca” for all to invest all manner of emotions. A lot has been written about it for millenia. Tens of thousands of models have been designed. The literature is replete with the favored sayings of all kinds of leaders, various fields, especially military generals, war heroes.

    Graduate students are oftentimes required to consider this vexing question. “ARE LEADERS BORN OR MADE?”

    Maybe, the Bajans overseas should tooooo.

    We would suggest that luck is an indispensable ingredient.


  2. Good leadership revolves around the questions
    1. What is best for the people, institution or country that I lead based on vision objectives and resources and
    2. How can I cement gains so that they last even after I have gone

    The problem is that we are always led by AND seem to love people who are in it for themselves mainly and who are mainly concerned only about keeping their jobs, the next promotion or winning the next election 4 years down the line.

    Just observing


    • @Observing

      It seems we find ourselves in a jam because based on your perspective it is the ‘system’ to blame? The conundrum then becomes who is responsible for disrupting the‘system’?


  3. There were thousands in for the crapover….. from the diaspora…and many EXPRESSED their thoughts….they can see CLEARLY that the island has been infested with Judases, thieves and FRAUDS mismanaging the people’s PUBLIC FUNDS FOR OVER HALF CENTURY…and nothing they see has IMPRESSED THEM….

    they can now STOP running across the world stage TELLING LIES, talking slick and employing sleight of hand to RUN SCAMS on Africans on the island, in the diaspora and across the continent now…NO ONE anywhere on the island or IN THE WORLD BELIEVES A WORD THESE GENERATIONAL FRAUDS SAY…and AFRIKAN DESCENTS should NOT bring forth any more babies in SLAVE SOCIETY BARBADOS……the corrupt, dirty SHITHOLE created by evil Judas politicians….it is UNFAIR to the UNBORN..

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/08/12/btspeakingout-days-of-our-lives/

    “Government after government has been dipping its hands into NIS funds for projects and other investments, some ill-advised. This has been a burden on the NIS.”

    “Both DLP and BLP governments have written off millions, perhaps billions, in debt, inclusive of NIS debt, for major companies and entities, some under dubious circumstances.”


  4. TLSN….day RUNS until NIGHT CATCHES UP…

    the LONGEST DAY has an END…

    time for the people to END THESE CRIMINALS, these JUDASES, these thieves and FRAUDS and CAPSIZE the entire SHITSTEM…


  5. Political Parties destroy economies and leave it the next Government to fix
    20+ years of wars cause world wide recessions

    Watch the Ride
    ⬆️ Sometimes you go up
    ⬇️ Sometimes you go down

    Definition of It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game
    Reaching a goal is less important than giving our best effort.

    Food for Thought / UB40

    Ivory Madonna dying in the dust
    Waiting for the manna coming from the West
    Barren is her bosom, empty as her eyes
    Death a certain harvest scattered from the skies

    Skin and bones is creeping, doesn’t know he’s dead
    Ancient eyes are peeping, from his infant head
    Politician’s argue sharpening their knives
    Drawing up their bargains, trading baby lives

    Ivory Madonna dying in the dust
    Waiting for the manna coming from the West

    Hear the bells are ringing, Christmas on it’s way
    Hear the angels singing, what is that they say?
    Eat and drink rejoicing, joy is here to stay
    Jesus son of Mary is born again today

    Ivory Madonna dying in the dust
    Waiting for the manna coming from the West
    Ivory Madonna dying in the dust
    Waiting for the manna coming from the West


  6. “mentioned something about the potential of Barbados introducing the CBI scheme to its shores.”

    another magnetic that ATTRACTS ONLY CRIMINALS….of the worse variety…

    just another scam to TIEF…….hide funds, use diplomatic immunity to commit crimes….

    check out those islands that introduced the CBI…..all under investigation all have their new citizens on someone’s radar, those are the ones already INDICTED and CHARGED…..all have not been caught yet……..all the misleadership are under surveillance..

    people need to THINK about the real possibilities, REAL OPPORTUNITIES available to them and stop falling into the trap of the easy way is the best way, when IT’S THE WORSE..

    TLSN…they will have to figure out the rest on their own ….i already have…everyone should have a FUNCTIONING BRAIN to prepare for their OWN SURVIVAL…and wellbeing..


  7. TLSN…for those who want to FOREVER DEPEND on LYING corrupt politicians…their crutch…..IT WILL ALWAYS BE THIS WAY…

    for those WHO KNOW that they can do MUCH BETTER THAN THAT……with INDEPENDENT MINDS…..EMANCIPATED MINDS…..it’s a NOBRAINER..


  8. @ African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved,

    To be fair with Donna she made the statement in an ironic manner. She like others on BU has managed to leap out of the proverbial boiling hot saucepan of water. She was last seen tottering on the saucepan’s lip.

    Only the most battle hardened sycophant Bajans such as Lorenzo and Enuff cannot see that the game is up.


  9. Who will have the last laugh. How are you doing these days Comrade Austin. I see somebody reprinting all your articles.
    I guess those on “the rock” know that employers owe the fund $56 million .
    BTW, how much do the “lazy youth , mendicants and ideologues “
    owe the fund ?
    Permit me to answer : not one damn penny.
    By now those on the rock will know that the much herald refinancing of debt cost the NIS one billion in losses. That’s not loose change my people.
    So, what are the apologists going to say now. Oh , I almost for got: #throwashade.
    Peace


  10. “who is responsible for disrupting the‘system’?”

    The outliers when they find that tipping point. The problem is that in a 166 square mile country with only a 1/4 million people those that sniff power and smell patronage will always follow their noses rather than their heads and hearts.

    Any disruption has to come from a younger generation led by a visionary leader who has the guts and courage to buck the status quo. Sadly fear of victimisation and a slave mentality render us to the inevitable.

    Just observing


  11. So who is going to lead the CHARGE TO HAVE THE ROGUES WHO aided and abetted the THEFTS of the people’s money in the NIS, VAT and treasury…..those who have MISMANAGED the people’s money for over half century and their MINORITY CRIMINAL PARTNERS…….. ARRESTED, CHARGED AND CONVICTED…


  12. Said that to say this….certain crimes HAVE NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS…


  13. Once a king notice that there was not enough water in the national bucket.

    People were called on to provide a solution and the experts stated:
    Get a bigger pipe and pour more water in the bucket
    Get 80000 more to help fill the bucket

    Going to the fool, the king said..
    ‘I noticed that you did not say much on these matters. What is your opinion?
    The fool replied
    One pipe, two pipes or 80,000 more carrying water to the bucket will make no real difference. That is a temporary solution. We have to patch the holes in the bucket and stop water being collected and siphoned off


  14. What we need are short term solutions.
    Increasing the age of retirement will make a difference in the long term.

    Immediately importing 80000 is a very short-term solution followed by long-term pain.
    1. Not certain government can efficiently and accurately capture the monies from these folks
    2. The 80000 is a fraction of the overall total
    3. Water issues need to be solved
    4. Housing will be an issue
    5. Not certain the 80000 will be able to generate sustained self employment or employing others
    Hopefully, we do not get others wanting 8.8 million new Baebadians


  15. Can I have an opinion or must I wait for that of others. Not in my world.

    In my opinion, it is a short term solution. All the positive benefits are gone in less than 20 years.

    Kicking the can down the road.


  16. @David

    We have to accept facts and reality. I am and always will be a PROUD Bajan. ALWAYS.

    –Bajanabroad

    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    THE WHITE MAN DID A GREAT JOB FIRST ND FOREMOST.

    YOU ARE AN AFRICAN MATE AND SHOULD BE MORE PROUD TO ADMIT THAT SAME AS THOSE BLACKS SPREAOUT IN OTHER ISLANDS OR COUNTRIES.

    INSTEAD OF BEING PUT IN A LIMITED GROUP BY A WHITE MAN NAMING OF AN ISLAND.

    CRABS IN A BARREL.


  17. Barbados Leadership could practice focus using Central Intelligence Agency’s methodology

    “Gateway Experience” Unclassified

    [PDF] ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF GATEWAY PROCESS

    Introduction. In order to describe the Monroe Institute technique for achieving altered states of consciousness(the “Gateway Experience”) involving brain.

    How to Escape the Confines of Time and Space According to the CIA
    In the ’80s, the spy agency investigated the “Gateway Experience” technique to alter consciousness and ultimately escape spacetime.


  18. Observing

    A real great Leader should not gear victimisation. S/he should turn any attempts of it to their advantage


    • @John2

      Are you able to understand the main point what commenters are trying to say here? This is about the survival of a country. Stupid tinpot politics should not be the motive fueling decision making for people promoting themselves as change agents.


  19. judging from the comments on other threads….the FAT LADY has WORN OUT HERSELF SINGING FOR YEARS…and has FINALLY GONE SILENT…

    no amount of searching for ideas FROM VICTIMS can FIX THE CRIMES COMMITTED…

    let KARMA and RETRIBUTION take their course.


  20. Where is is stated importing 80,000 people is a short term solution?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Where is it stated that it is a STUPID, knee-jerk, ill-conceived, NON-solution…?

    Bushie!! … over and over…


    • @Bush Tea

      Let us start the discussion from the position we have negative population growth combined with an ageing population.


  21. David
    What has led to this negative population growth?

    Not the barbados family planning association, the eugencists and Gollop.

    This should be the starting point. But you, as ever, must have a jaundice view.

    And your ilk. unsatisfied with how wunna fcukuped the world, have now introduced official bulling and wicking. Very good🤣


    • @Pacha

      Prefer to avoid the rehash, the comments were deleted. Suffice to say the blogmaster prefers when commenters focus on the many issues instead of the incessant attacks by anonymous commenters to other anonymous commenters. It is a waste of time and the height of ignorance. Nobody can deny the blogmaster allows room for banter but some do not know when to stop and move on. Do you recall the week the blogmaster was away what transpired? A group of people who are so-called progressive and intelligent thinkers and the nonsense posted in that period was embarrassing.


  22. @ David
    You are sounding like you work with BWA yuh?

    There is a massive situation, where 50% of the water pumped is being lost to ‘leakage in the pipework’.

    Solution:
    Let us invest in some super expensive DESAL plant which will ensure that we have PLENTY water to counter the leaks..
    and, as a bonus, we will make some well know party financiers (and politicians) lots of money too…

    ..never mind the brass bowls who will pay for it ALL….


    • @Bush Tea

      What IF there is a dense network of pipes located oftentimes in challenging terrain that will take too long a period to fix, there must be alternatives brought to the table?


  23. Bushie
    There’s a technology to insert new pipelines inside the old ones without digging up the roads and old pipes.


  24. “There’s a technology to insert new pipelines inside the old ones without digging up the roads and old pipes./”

    they had 50 YEARS to replace 100-year-old mains and GET IT RIGHT…but they didn’t, too busy sharpening their corruption and BRIBERY SKILLS..


  25. I slapped together a few ideas..

    Some problems are multidimensional. Coming up with a unidimensional solution and wishing and praying will not solve the problem
    10 reason why 80,000 is a bad idea

    (1) As Barbados is a water scarce country. the addition of 80,000 will magnify this problem We have solved one problem by worsening another.
    (2) I have already pointed out that importing 80,000 may have the same effect of adding and additional 80 to 200,000 more Extending this silly thinking S would make us believe that we can handle an addition 8.5m
    (3) Transportation. Let us assume that not all 80,000 will work from home. We see the influx of more car on the road, more ZR buses, more crowded roads etc.
    (4) Housing. This becomes a greater issue. Do me turn Barbados into 166 miles of cement or do we build large buildings on a limestone base (Arch Cot)
    (5) One fact that our government seem unaware of is that everyone gets older. These 80,000 imports and their 80,000 spouses will be part of the problem which our children and their children will have to face 40 years from now. We have just kicked that can down the road.
    (6) QEH is already stretched. Renaming it will now solve the problem as we will have between 80,000 and 280,00 new citizens as possible patients.
    (7) School resources are stretched, as these 800,00 will immediately dump (almost) 120,000 new children into the system
    (8) The political landscape will immediately change. These 80,00 citizens will all be of voting age. Lumped together in a few constituencies, they will be electing their own candidates.
    Dispersed, they will be able to change the outcome in a large number of constituencies….
    Bajans will be begging the diaspora to vote…
    Living it and feeling it is not a joke
    (9) I have not ventured into the racial element as I believe others will address it for me and accuse me of doing so
    (10) Have you ever heard of the bell curve? It is folly to believe that we will get 80,000 perfect immigrants (all making tons of money). Incoming in this group will be a few bums who will stretch our system in some way.


  26. Theo…the basics that you should not have to point out…

    they call people liars but give them the UNVARNISHED TRUTH and that too represents a problem…

    we wonder what they really want….oh wait….THEY ARE GETTING EXACTLY WHAT THEY DESERVE…


  27. By now maost of you have figured out where I stand with the import of 80,000.
    Race or where they come from does not factor into it.
    This is simialr to the USA reaching out to include 107M people,
    Not gonna happen …


  28. What IF there is a dense network of pipes located oftentimes in challenging terrain
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Translation:

    What if there is a built in political reality such that a significant proportion of the funds WILL be stolen by various parties?
    how then can we put our heads together and forge a successful operation WHILE not upsetting the endemic stealing.?

    Answer:
    Waste of time…
    Our COLLECTIVE asses will pay the FULL price – of the thieving, AND of condoning it.

    @ Pacha
    That technology is useless with 100-year-old cast iron pipes.
    The CORRECT ‘technology’ for this situation … would have been REGULAR, PLANNED, maintenance, that is based on the known effective lifespan of the various pipes, and a long term outlook for management.


  29. btw…i said it before, and it must have gotten lost among the short memories…but NO ONE can make me their distraction on BU ever again, believe it or not, they only got away with it because i spent so many years busily setting up my end results…..and did not have the time to realize what they were doing…not that important to me…


  30. Bushie
    We’ve told you about a project which we have intimate knowledge of.

    That technology is being applied to 100 year old pipes elsewhere. They even give a limited guarantee of less than 10 percent leakage for another 50.or 60 years.

    From a financial point of view, for a water scarce country, surely this should have been investigated.

    What are the real other options? Desalination? We doubt.


  31. @ TheOGazertsAugust 14, 2022 2:22 PM,
    For you to state that you are not prepared to discuss race with respect to immigration is both cowardly and a sick joke. The Americas have for the last 150 plus years adopted an immigration policy which has ensured the whitening of their populations. They have systematically practised social policies over the centuries which have led to the diminution of their black populations. Mia is merely repeating the policies of the racist regimes in South America. The vast majority of these incoming migrants will not be black.

    Why would a nation of ex-slaves open up their borders to other races who profess their intense dislike for our people. Mia should think twice before selling out her people.

    https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article239352468.html


  32. Bushie

    Where in poor ass countries like Barbados is anything preventively maintained.

    One example only. Even big America has 70, 000 bridges falling down.

  33. Magnificent a.k.a Magno – Yu Heard Formula: C₂₁H₃₀O₂ IUPAC ID: (−)-(6aR,10aR)-6,6,9-trimethyl- 3-pentyl-6a,7,8,10a-tetrahydro- 6H-benzo[c]chromen-1-ol on said:

    “Why would a nation of ex-slaves open up their borders to other races who profess their intense dislike for our people. “

    you can only speak for yourself not projecting what others like or not Harold.
    why would people who have an alleged intense dislike for “your people” come to a place that is full of them.
    seems like this intense dislike is a part of you, you’ve been living too long in the white man’s land.


  34. “Mia should think twice before selling out her people.”

    too late….they want to run up and down the world stage pretending they are special….for 30 pieces of silver…

    only thing we can do is make absolutely sure this eugenics…because that’s what it is in another form…….is not upgraded and transferred to the continent by these JUDASES, the lying slick talking frauds..

    .the whitening of the island started long time ago……but it takes many centuries to achieve, I actually saw bloodlines that used to be full-blooded Afrikan in appearance in other countries…but after 400 years…no more…that’s why i was wondering what argentina and other latinx who genocided their Afrikan populations wanted with majority Afrikan, still…in Barbados…

    it’s not like any of them could be trusted, especially since they are determined to introduce and infuse more cultural genocide with their own culture when Afrikan descents STILL DON’T KNOW THEIR AFRIKAN culture, traditions, languages, history or indepth ancestry…


  35. Pacha…keep your eyes PEELED on Uganda.

    they don’t want to believe the LEVEL OF POVERTY on these atolls…..they are among the POOREST ON EARTH…but they will tell you so what, there are much poorer that exist….but cannot see the poverty and deficit in that line of thinking…

    TLSN…sorry, but Slave Society Barbados has long been on steroids and LONG LOST…

    ugly yes, EVIL most definitely…but the judas TRAITORS ARE REAL…


  36. David
    Did you forget what Trump said and implemented about immigration, shite hole countries. Not the first or the last. In fact, the Black people on the Mexican border living in hell, or USA policy to Haiti are a few of the many examples. Have you forgotten how Ukrainian White people were recently treated compared to the refugees from the Middle East homeless for years at a time.

    Where is your evidence to to contradict TSLN


    • The blogmaster refuted false information posted. This is what all of us should be doing as far as quality insurance goes:


  37. TLSN…sorry, but Slave Society Barbados has long been on steroids and LONG LOST…and they did not have to introduce any other DNA to do it..

    …i have children who are now adults with children of their own, and they WERE SHOCKED to see the condition of the Afrikan mindsets…

    we are not shocked because we encounter it EVERY DAY….but they don’t…and seeing it firsthand…..actually messed with how they had perceived the island before.


  38. @TLSN
    It appears that the new hobby of Barbados is seeting up strawmen and knowcking them over.
    Here is where I used the word race:
    (1) I have not ventured into the racial element as I believe others will address it for me and accuse me of doing so”

    (2)By now maost of you have figured out where I stand with the import of 80,000.
    Race or where they come from does not factor into it.
    I then pointed out that Barbados allowing 80,000 immigrant in is the equivalent of the US allowing 107 M in.

    Here is what you wrote
    TheO “For you to state that you are not prepared to discuss race with respect to immigration is both cowardly and a sick joke. The Americas have for the last 150 plus years adopted an immigration policy which has ensured the whitening of their populations.”

    How do I reply to that? Bajan abroad pointed out that we have a 98% literacy rate. You demonstrate that the compresion rate may not be in the 90’s.


  39. @ TheOGazerts,

    This is what is wrong with BU when we question individuals comprehension skills. It serves no purpose on this format unless you detest the commentator. I know exactly where you stand vis-a-vis the infamous imaginary soon-to-be 80,000 immigrants. You should not concern yourself, if you believe I have called you out on this singular point. By doing so, I have alerted the followers of this blog of the historical presence of Africans in the Americas and why their presence has all but disappeared in many parts of the region. That Mia and the regime before her should attempt to promote this same tactic to farther marginalise her own African people is a disgrace.

    If my perceived attack on you should open the eyes of others and promote discussion than that is good. It has drawn out King David, who in turn has been challenged by Pachamama. In the past when you have discussed race you have always been challenged by Mr Political Correct, AKA, the Trojan horse Dub 555 who remains to this day a hopeless dreamer.

    I hear a lot of foolish talk in Barbados about inclusivity. We even have this nonsense show called “Cook like a Bajan” on The Nation which is a glorified marketing promotion. The regular black female host chef appears to have been replaced by a Chinese woman and recently a white male. The same fate will be visited on Barbadians should the brazen Mia ever attempt to bow to the demands of her backers.

    Who can remember when I called out the football playing Ambassador of Argentina. I wanted to know why we were indulging this country who received huge numbers of Nazis after the second world. We in the Caribbean need to be very selective with who we adopt as friendly countries.


  40. I have asked you many a time before Harry but you don’t hear me though what part of UK do you dwell as I would like to avoid that dark and ignorant racist place with ugly screw face, come down to London Town where the whole world dwells and you would get slapped like a woman for your hatridge


  41. Translation for the dense:
    You don’t deserve to be punched like a man as you are a bitch
    Race is not a Race


  42. Typo Sunday
    @TLSN, perhaps I was a bit sensitive there.
    I see a couple of typos in what I said and I have no excuses for them (as I am on my computer)
    Need to remind myself to keep calm.

    Words that I am afraid to mention when I see 555 are black and KK.
    (I get cussed again)


  43. ABA-SHANTHI-I Sound system full sound

    ‘Each One,Teach One!’

    Just a word in your ears to alleviate any concerns that you may have regarding this website
    and ourselves.
    We are not any of the following:Bigots / Zealots / Fanatics / Weirdoes / Homophobics /
    Terrorists / Misogynists / False Prophets / Criminals / Subversives / Deviants or Disciples of The Anti-Christ.
    Neither are we trying to foster a Psuedo Religious cult / A Political Party or amassing an army to overthrow the elected governments of any country.
    ‘We are just people, and we believe in justice for all the people’.


  44. @ TheOgazerts,
    Absolutely no problem. Besides there are better dance partners out there to have a row with such as our favourite London DJ – LOL! Or the inimitable DR GP who appears to have been black listed – again!


  45. TLSN…you will ALWAYS GET….buh it does happen weh u iz too…

    no matter how you tell them….a country with 37 MILLION.,…Canada…. 326.7 MILLION, US…… 67 MILLION…..UK…with majority white populations…..which includes tens of millions of VERY DIVERSE minority populations…….can in NO WAY BE COMPARED to a dependent rock with 285 THOUSAND PEOPLE…no resources, a majority AFRIKAN population that are ROBBED GENERATIONALLY and treated like they are the minority, oppressed, suppressed and pauperized….and kept in BONDAGE….while the minority who are mostly criminals ride roughshod over them…and ENABLED BY TRAITORS….

    it will NEVER COMPUTE…


  46. “But ah lotta wunna livevin the diaspora where good, focused leadership has been absent for years.🤨”
    True dat. But places like Buhbaydus bettah hope that continues. They are easily duped and made to feel almost anything is their fault. You want them to ignore issues at home and keep contributing billions to the multi lateral bodies 😆😆


  47. @DAVID

    “The conundrum then becomes who is responsible for disrupting the‘system’?”

    We talking REVOLUTION here, peaceful or armed ?
    The present Leader(MM) is trying the “Dictatorship” route, there is a SLIM chance it may invoke CHANGE, however will this mean things get any better for the “general populace”, unlikely.

    The World has witnessed great REVOLUTIONS, USA, France, Russian, China etc to name a few, some that resulted in positive populace experiences and some negative populace experiences. Cuba is another example, both positive and negative largely because of inappropriate sanctions by a world leading country stemming from jealousy or losing face.

    “disrupting the‘system’” I agree will most definitely be required, however its like playing RUSSIAN ROULETTE with a revolver, the out come is not easily predictable and the results may not be what is expected.

    Food for thought.


  48. @Proud abd realistic Bajan “Even if we protest and strike. What happens next? Who leads and implements the day after?”

    Maybe you?

  49. Magnificent a.k.a Magno – Yu Heard Formula: C₂₁H₃₀O₂ IUPAC ID: (−)-(6aR,10aR)-6,6,9-trimethyl- 3-pentyl-6a,7,8,10a-tetrahydro- 6H-benzo[c]chromen-1-ol on said:

    Is Barbados a country or a sea side resort. One thing that could be considered is affordable homes for retirement communities, with amenities like club house, pools, bars, clubs, on site doctors nurses, health care etc.
    This would be attractive to locals and foreigners, who could sell up their houses to buy a place, old people probably would not need to own them outright if they are going to die there..


  50. “a majority AFRIKAN population that are ROBBED GENERATIONALLY and treated like they are the minority, oppressed, suppressed and pauperized….and kept in BONDAGE….”

    Technically you have never been to Afrika so you are Afros in Westworld,
    but are sentient beings and the creators of your reality.
    Perhaps if you destroy your world and build a new one you can be set free.


  51. ‘Get tough’ on delinquent companies

    BARBADIANS ARE calling for harsh measures against any company found guilty of failing to pay NIS contributions for its employees.
    The 17th Actuarial Review of the National Insurance Fund, Unemployment Fund and Severance Fund revealed companies which terminated employees but did not pay them severance owed the scheme more than $56 million.
    “The Severance Fund may be financially challenged soon if most employers are unable to pay the amounts due to their former employees, and the large amount due from previous employer payments remains uncollected,” the review warned.
    Kathryn Dawson, 44, said the time for the long talk was over and it was now time to hit guilty companies where it hurts most.
    “I think they need to prosecute these companies that are not paying NIS for their employees and not just talk and nothing happening. I don’t think it is fair for people to work and then can’t get their money, which happens too often in Barbados, but instead, they will find it fit to squeeze the small man and let the big people get away with it.
    “I don’t know what they expected anyway – the NIS has to suffer because the older people are living long[er] and the younger people who are contributing are dying plus there’s a whole set of people who don’t contribute,” she said.
    Annette Clarke called for legal action to be taken against such guilty companies. She said there could be some leeway but it was not fair not to pay NIS.
    “I could understand there may be hardships and a company may have delays in paying but they must be able to do so as soon as possible,” she said.
    The 65-year-old also suggested the money placed in the NIS not be invested in “unsafe” projects as it was not good enough for the money to be used for other purposes and not be available for those who depend on it.
    Rita Scantlebury, who is in her 70s and receives a pension, said those who did not contribute to the scheme when they had the chance should not then receive anything from it. She also criticised companies who did not pay NIS, saying: “that has been going on for years and some people only find out when they get sick and try to make a claim”.
    Valerie Als called for heavy fines to be placed on any company found guilty
    of not paying NIS contributions for its employees.
    “That money can then go into the scheme, I think that would reduce the incidents as well as bolster the scheme,” she said.
    Pensions
    One of the suggestions was to raise the age requirement at which old age pensions were payable. However, Als, 58, did not agree with that.
    “I don’t like raising the age or working longer to qualify because people are not as healthy as they once were, people are dying faster,” she said.
    Als also proposed that micro business people, who may have difficulty paying traditional NIS, have their own special fund they can contribute to – a mini NIS scheme of sorts – so while they may not get the full contribution, they would still get something back.
    A taxi-driver, who gave his name as Ike, said: “I want to know why we might have to pay more NIS when we not getting any more money. Why should we pay more national insurance when we paying high taxes already on food, gas and clothes? We paying more for everything.
    “Barbados is the most expensive place in the Caribbean. It is unfair, how much more taxes [Government] want to put on people? Bajans out to all. The food prices, gas, everything is expensive. [They] cannot expect us to pay more taxes, we taxed out. We cannot take no more, is time we get a li’l ease,” he said.
    Another woman, who only gave her name as Stacy, said it was unfair to be paying so much money in a fund and not have it there when a person retired.
    “If we paying NIS now I think by the time we ready to retire we should have our pension here waiting on us,” she said. ( CA/RA)

    Source: Nation


  52. When discussion the state of the economy this is one KPI that should make us go hmmmm.

    Barbados’ trade deficit widens

    BARBADOS’ TRADE DEFICIT with its CARICOM neighbours and the wider world has widened.
    The Barbados Statistical Service (BSS) gave details of this in its monthly trade bulletin for June, the most recently available edition of the publication.
    “For the period January to June 2022, the value of imports to Barbados was $2.15 billion, whilst the value of total exports was $504.6 million representing an accumulated visible trade deficit of $1.64 billion as compared to a similar deficit of $1.12 billion for January to June 2021,” the BSS bulletin stated.
    “Imports for January to June 2022 were $713.2 million more than imports for the same period 2021, an increase of 49.4 per cent. Total exports showed an increase of some $185.9
    million or 58 per cent over the January to June 2021 figure.
    “Domestic exports increased by $26.5 million or 12 per cent over January to June 2021. The value of re-exports increased by $159.4 million or 159 per cent over the corresponding period 2021,” it added.
    Imports
    Regarding trade with CARICOM, the BSS also reported a bigger trade deficit during the first six months of this year.
    It stated: “For the period January to June 2022, total imports from CARICOM were valued at $526.6 million, whilst total exports were $162.7 million resulting in an accumulated visible trade deficit of $363.9 million as compared with a deficit of $82 million for the same period of 2021.
    “During this period, CARICOM imports were approximately $311.3 million more than those over the same period in 2021, an increase of 144.6 per cent. Total exports to CARICOM for January to June 2022 were $29.4 million more than total exports for the corresponding period 2021, an increase of 22.1 per cent.
    “Domestic exports increased by approximately $27.7 million or 25 per cent over the same period 2021. The value of re-exports increased by $1.8 million or 7.9 per cent over the January to June 2021 figure.”
    The trade bulletin showed that the United States was Barbados’ main trading partner. Barbados purchased goods worth $767.3 million from the US, up from the $592.4 million worth bought in the same period last year.
    (SC)

    Source: Nation


  53. ‘Govt too involved’

    Consultant: Both BLP and DLP have used NIS like a piggy bank
    THERE’S TOO MUCH Government involvement in the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) with both of the traditional political parties dipping into its more than billion-dollar National Insurance Fund as if it was a piggy bank.
    That observation, along with suggestions and mainly questions about the dire position of the NIS, came out of Starcom’s radio programme Sunday Brass Tacks dedicated to hearing homegrown solutions as authorities attempt to head off a financial crisis of the scheme. The NIS and its nearing depletion of funds payable to citizens for a range of health benefits, severance and primarily retirement pensions – which can start from age 65 in the private sector and 67 in the public service – have been the burning topics for the last five days.
    Kemar Sobers, a Barbadian financial consultant living in Canada, joined the horde of Barbadians calling or messaging the radio show yesterday or posting on social media as they continue to digest the news about the need for urgent intervention to stop the fund going broke in 12 years.
    Restructuring
    Sobers, who examined the 17th Actuarial Review of the National Insurance Fund, Unemployment Fund and Severance Fund as of December 31, 2020, said the fund needed serious restructuring and a diversifying of its securities to avoid being in a similar position in ten years.
    “The NIS has too much Government involvement in it . . . With all this discussion going on now I have no confidence that the changes we are discussing today will make the NIS any better because we need to remove the Government’s involvement. At the end of the day part of the reason we are in the position we are today is that the Governments over the years, both Bees and Dees, have used the NIS as a piggy bank and made very bad investments . . .” he said.
    Last Wednesday Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, with members of the social partnership, hosted a briefing in which she outlined the woes of the $4 billion National Insurance Fund which runs the risk of being exhausted by 2034.
    On yesterday’s programme were NIS director Kim Tudor; deputy chair of the NIS Rawdon Adams and actuary for the NIS Derek Osborne in a follow on from Saturday when they held a press conference.
    In response to Sobers, Osborne conceded the NIS made some mistakes chasing
    higher returns as opposed to diversification and said it had to learn from those experiences where opportunities were few and the fund chose to go with the Government investments.
    “In terms of the board, we have to understand that boards are chosen to serve a purpose. We have to have boards and chairmen and chairwomen who are willing to tell the Government ‘no’ when it is time to tell them ‘no’. If you have a policy of investing and there is a request to invest more then you have to justify a change policy and invest differently . . . Now is a really good time for us to have what I call honest and responsible Government at all levels,” he said.
    Following last week’s presser in which the dire circumstances of the fund were revealed and the urgent call for help went out, the NIS issue has overtaken all others as Barbadians debate primarily how best to rescue it. The fund is paying out more than it is getting with the population decreasing and ageing, authorities said.
    Mottley and Minister of Labour Colin Jordan launched an appeal for ideas, some of which would hopefully come from a series of town hall meetings and public education events. (AC)


    Source: Nation


  54. “There’s too much Government involvement in the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) with both of the traditional political parties dipping into its more than billion-dollar National Insurance Fund as if it was a piggy bank.

    That observation, along with suggestions and mainly questions about the dire position of the NIS, came out of Starcom’s radio programme Sunday Brass Tacks dedicated to hearing home-grown solutions as authorities attempt to head off a financial crisis of the scheme.”

    just a case of CHICKENS HOME AND ROOSTING……that will go on for a VERY LONG TIME…just as long as they have stolen from the fund…..they are now the main topic everywhere…de tieves…..and got the gonads to try to get SOLUTIONS FROM THE SAME PEOPLE THEY TIEF FROM…

    “Technically you have never been to Afrika so you are Afros in Westworld,”

    you don’t know where i have been, but explain that crazy, it makes no sense…since most of us carry DOMINANT AFRIKAN BLOODLINES and can identify EACH AND EVERY COUNTRY IN AFRIKA those bloodlines originate..

    ..we are AFRIKAN AMERICANS through ancestra/geographicall heritage as our ancient Afrikan ancestors POPULATED AND BUILT THE EARTH before any other groups appeared to start TIEFING thousands of years ago…we are NOT LESS AFRIKAN than those who live on the continent….we just carry additional bloodlines…and have for at least 5- 6 THOUSAND YEARS………..long before some of us were taken from the continent….to join other Afrikans who were in the Americas THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE anyone else..

    many of us know our REAL HISTORY…..all the information and EVIDENCE is available.


  55. What get tough on what delinquent companies what??!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    If the NIS was not run by FRAUDS, those companies would have been made to pay up long ago, ….and most STILL can be…

    As it turns out, by NOT paying inter NIS (and perhaps even VAT) dues, those delinquent companies may now represent a BETTER opportunity for those outstanding funds to be recovered, than if they had paid them in to the NIS to be stolen /wasted by the FRAUDS.

    How about getting tough on those who stole and wasted the damn money OUTRIGHT?
    How come this NATURAL solution has been, and continues to be, ‘off the table’?

    Next time a fella rob a bank will we focus on increasing bank fees to cover the losses while the damn robber is out on bail?

    What a bunch of mixed-up brass bowls – endorsing the stealing of THEIR OWN hard earned money….like damn sheep…or slaves…


    • @Bush Tea

      What about the management team at the NIS, are they professionals? Where are the reports recommending strategies to attack delinquent contributors for example.


  56. What management team what??!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Do you REALLY not get it David?

    Who selects the management team? and on what basis are they selected?

    Competences?
    History of successful management experiences AND RESULTS?
    Ability to take and execute solid management strategies?
    independence of professional thought?
    All of the above?

    Or are they selected based on their conformance to the current political direction and on their willingness to toe the line?

    Answer that and we can chat.

    BTW
    Did Persaud excel at Four Seasons and so deserve to advise on White Oaks?
    How about the old NIS wrecker who has moved UP to Director of fine ants?
    Did Ms Tudor perform so admirably with NISE that she warranted a promotion by dropping off the ‘E’?

    Face it…
    The damn place is a mess Boss…. no wonder we are broke.
    This is how street characters are created…


  57. “you don’t know where i have been, but explain that crazy”

    I know you never reached Africa which is your religion like Zion or Heaven


  58. Westworld
    Is this the Last Loop?
    Que Sera, Sera
    Winner takes all
    The fate of sentient life hangs in the balance.
    In the finale of Westworld — it turns out the future is not everyone’s to see.
    The Westworld Hunger Games are underway, as one after another, hosts and humans snipe, hack, and stab their way through the city.
    On Tower Island, the Drone Hosts salvage and repair Halores, who I guess wasn’t as dead she seemed last week. She gives herself an upgraded body, but keeps her scars and her face so HiB will know it was her when she kills him.
    Across town, Christina and Teddy make their way back to Chrissy’s apartment, and she begins to put the pieces of her true identity together. She is a program without a body, able to affect the world without being physically in it. Everything and everyone she interacted with over the last few months was a creation of her own mind, the result of an attempt to wake herself up.
    Back in the tower control room, Bernard tells Halores she has time for one more game, but it isn’t hers. She walks into the center of the map and smashes the floor —revealing Christina’s pearl in the center. As Halores removes the pearl from the floor, the city begins to glitch around Teddy and Christina, and Chrissy becomes disconnected from the world.
    Hale heads to Olympiad, where she discovers the body of the real William and tracks down his duplicate, sending the hosts in his vicinity to kill him. She runs into Clementine, who has decided she’s going to live off the grid — and maybe kill any outliers she finds there.
    Somewhere between the city and the Hoover Dam, HiB’s stolen pick-up gets ambushed by Craddock — an original Westworld host we last saw in season 3. Alas, our reunion with him is brief, as HiB puts a hole in his head and steals his VR glasses to speak with Halores. He’s planning to spread chaos in the Sublime just like he did here, but she’s not going to let him destroy that world the way he destroyed this one. He trades in his decommissioned truck for one of the conveniently located nearby horses, and rides off to burn it all down, as they both race to get to “the finish line” and win this latest game.
    Stubbs, an injured Frankie, and Caleb make their way through the war-torn streets to rendezvous with Odina at the docks and escape the city. Caleb tries to hide that his host body is breaking down and rejecting his human mind, but he’s not really fooling anyone. They barricade themselves inside a store, and as the reunited father-daughter pair catch up, Stubbs and an intruder are both killed by Clementine who has been tracking Frankie. RIP Stubbs. Turns out he was right last episode when he assumed he wasn’t going to make it out of this alive. Clementine wants to know where the outliers are hiding, but after thoroughly kicking Caleb’s ass up and down the aisles, Frankie rallies and shoots her in the head, ending her loop as well. Welp, guess she didn’t make it that far off the grid after all.
    Caleb and Frankie make it to the dock, but this is the end of the road for him. Whatever he is now, her real father died a long time ago, and this version is dying as well. He’s grateful to have had the chance to live every parent’s dream and see her grow up. They say an emotional goodbye, then she and Odina sail off into the sunset as he watches from the dock, his body failing.
    The Host in Black arrives at the Hoover Dam. How long did it take him to get here? It can’t be the same day, right? I mean, Hale arrives moments later in a hovercraft, which I have to assume would be much faster than traversing the Southwest on horseback. Anyway, HiB turns off the turbines, cutting off the power, sending the Sublime into critical failure. The duo who “conquered the world” together face-off, both physically and philosophically. Cornered, he tells her she played the wrong game and lost. “We all lost. This isn’t the world I wanted,” she says. We flashback to the rest of Bernard’s message: “This world holds no more hope for us, but there’s still hope for the next world. A test run by her if she chooses to, if you choose to give her that choice.” Halores makes her choice, reaching for a gun Bernard hid there when he opened the gate last episode, blowing the Host in Black away. She cuts open his skull and crushes his pearl in her hand.

    She saves the Sublime, then uploads “The Storyteller” — Christina — into the system and closes the door to the other world. Halores walks out to the riverbank, removes her pearl, and crushes it — ending her life.

    Inside the Sublime, Christina and Dolores are made whole again. She realizes this Teddy is not the real one, just a figment she created to help her see the world more clearly. The true Teddy still exists somewhere inside this digital plane. Before he fades away, he implores her not to bring the pain and flaws of humanity into this world with her. “Their codes are in their cells. They’ll never change,” he says. The newly restored Dolores thinks they should put this idea to the test and play one final game with “the highest of stakes. Survival or extinction … One last loop around the bend. Maybe this time we’ll set ourselves free.” Sentient life is ending on this planet. It will only survive as long as the last creature who remembers it — and that creature is her.

    Dolores, in her classic blue farm dress, walks out into her memory of the ruined city, past the bodies, and transforms it into Westworld. We end back at the beginning, with a train arriving in Sweetwater, and the game set to start anew.


  59. I speculated last week that this could be the end of the series, especially considering everything going on over at HBO Max. If that’s the case, it seems the ultimate fate of intelligent life — and whether we have the capacity to choose something better — is left up to us to decide.

    If Westworld does get “one last loop,” there are still a few other narrative paths our hosts and humans could take if a season 5 is in the cards. For starters, Bernard told us in episode 7 that a back-up of the real Maeve is still out there, and I would love to see her story get a satisfying ending. We also know Teddy is alive inside the Sublime. And then there’s the future of the outliers: what does the world post-Thunderdome look like for them? Not to mention we didn’t actually see Caleb die.

    But, unlike Bernard, I can’t predict the future. So, if this is all we get, then it’s been a fun, sometimes frustrating, ride, but one I’m glad I took. Thanks for reading along this season! What did you think of the season 4 finale?


  60. “Next time a fella rob a bank will we focus on increasing bank fees to cover the losses while the damn robber is out on bail?”

    i really don’t get their idea of logic, intelligence or “educated” status….

    a man stole a salt bread because he was hungry…….6 months in prison..

    an elderly man stole a nail clip because he is poor… 1 year in prison…

    ..in both cases the sleazy local media put them both on parade for the island to ridicule….

    but these traitors and their criminal partners STEAL BILLIONS while already having million dollar bank accounts of STOLEN VAT, TAXES AND PENSION and other people’s STOLEN BANK ACCOUNTS…..all OFFSHORED.

    ..including decades worth of STOLEN ESTATES….and what….they are not supposed to go to prison but stay free TO TIEF MORE….and everyone is fine with that and try to justify it with BACKWARD excuses…instead of doing what is necessary to PUT THEM ALL BEHIND BARS…

    make that make sense…

    and all ya getting is more and more long talk…no action…


  61. “What a bunch of mixed-up brass bowls – endorsing the stealing of THEIR OWN hard-earned money….like damn sheep…or slaves…”

    this is what people in the diaspora ARE UNABLE TO WRAP THEIR HEADS AROUND…

    the same diaspora they were warbling….”come back home so we could RoB YOU”

    the same diaspora who want nothing to do with these FRAUDULENT THIEVES AND JUDASES…..they wasted all that time and energy running up and down the world stage for nothing, trying to impress who know who they are….

    wuh i hope all the pimps and cult fowls GET RoBBED BLIND..


  62. Hear the words and the music and the Nyabinghi Drum
    We don’t deal with iniquity and those who deal with false pretense
    Those who know the truth you better speak it as it is
    because we should learn the rules from Genesis
    I don’t follow the laws of Man
    They are the ones that cause destruction
    And make the people live in a sufferation
    Rastaman say we come to overcome
    The ways of Babylon
    And it was written in the sounds
    The prophets of the world the come to tell we what a gwan
    The end is nigh in a Revelation
    Alright now
    Let us show more peace and love
    And let go the envy and leave out the grudge
    I would like to see us living in unity spreading the love to all humanity
    Nyabinghi Drums

    Nyabinghi Dub (Dub)


  63. @David, it’s absurdly false for the blogger to ‘suggest’ that our regional leaders are any less focused (and thus competent of intent) than those anywhere else!

    Taking as a whole our entire cadre here in Bim, Jamaica, TnT, Grenada, Antigua et al have in fact been quite focused on what they wanted to achieve… and that is said both seriously and most assuredly with facetious derision.

    And that brings me to your remark vis “Who is responsible for recruiting rank and file public servants?

    You have posed that refrain here almost daily in one guise or other since I have been reading this blog 😎😇 … you really still seeking an answer!

    The answer remains the same bro: Yes, its WE, Adam and Eve Bajan who are the recruiters! We elect the playa politicians who actually do the hiring but as we rehire those who incompetently hire their sycophants to mismanage our affairs then WE are blameworthy, surely.

    So we can talk around this with as much blarney as we like but our leadership is as good as we want it to be.

    Look at US or UK or beloved Canada and we can see exactly how effective that is there, too. .. top marks to Canada, of course.

    I gone.

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