Last Friday, veteran journalist David Ellis gave a chilling insight into how media players in Barbados may be compromising the integrity of the profession in pursuit of greater earnings. It was a sobering reminder that although the Fourth Estate plays a pivotal role to ensure it keeps us informed, and to hold everyone accountable: It is unable to pay media practitioners a competitive salary.It explains a alot!
Listen to the 4 minute clip.
Here is the full Brasstacks program.
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Small states, big principles
Advancing the right to Information
By Eric Falt
Each year on September 28, the global community marks the International Day for Universal Access to Information. This is not a symbolic date. It is a powerful reminder that democracy demands daylight and that citizens have a right to know how decisions are made, how public money is spent, and how those in power are held to account.
Nowhere is this principle more vital, or more promising, than in the Caribbean. The small states of the region, often overlooked on the global stage, have consistently punched above their weight when it comes to defending democratic ideals.
From Jamaica’s early adoption of universal adult suffrage in 1944, to the steadfast commitment across the region to peaceful transfers of power and constitutional governance, Caribbean states have long shown that democratic leadership is not a function of size, but of will.
The right to access public information is the next frontier in that tradition, and one that urgently demands attention.
Trinidad and Tobago led the way by passing a Freedom of Information Act in 1999 that came into full effect by 2001. Jamaica followed with its Access to Information Act in 2002, making it one of the earlier adopters in CARICOM. The Cayman Islands Freedom of Information law became operational in January 2009 and has been highly ranked in the international comparisons.
These are not mere bureaucratic reforms. They are foundational shifts that allow citizens to demand clarity, expose inefficiency, and participate meaningfully in governance.
But laws on paper are only part of the story. Implementation across the region remains uneven. In too many cases, public authorities lack the training, resources, or political will to respond to information requests within mandated time frames. Appeals mechanisms are slow or inaccessible. And public awareness of these rights remains low. In some Caribbean countries, ATI laws are still absent entirely, leaving citizens in the dark and critical public records beyond reach.
This is not a trivial gap. Access to information is not just a legal nicety; it is a driver of development, equity, and accountability. It empowers a parent to understand how a school’s budget is allocated. It allows an investigative journalist to expose procurement irregularities. It enables an environmental activist to track government permits for large-scale projects that impact fragile ecosystems. And it gives a young entrepreneur a fighting chance to access data on government tenders, grants, and investment incentives.
The evidence is clear: when citizens can access information, trust in institutions improves. Corruption decreases. Public services perform better. The state becomes a servant, not a gatekeeper.
Globally, access to information is recognised as a cornerstone of sustainable development. Target 16.10 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals calls on all states to “ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms”. Caribbean states have committed to this target, but commitment must be matched with action.
To support this effort, UNESCO has developed a Model Law on Access to Information for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This framework is tailored to the unique realities of small administrations. It reduces the legislative burden by offering language aligned with international best practice, while remaining realistic for countries with limited staff and budgets. It is not an abstract tool but a practical road map that can fast-track reform without reinventing the wheel.
Access to information is also a factor in global transparency and anti-corruption rankings.
These scores affect everything from foreign direct investment to development assistance to international credit ratings. In a region that must compete globally and diversify economically, strengthening ATI frameworks is not just good governance. It is good economics.
Take the Cayman Islands, for example. Its office of the Ombudsman, which has responsibility for ATI matters, regularly publishes data on compliance, appeal decisions, and public authority performance. This level of transparency has helped bolster investor confidence and has become a hallmark of institutional maturity. On the other hand, in states where ATI legislation is missing or dormant, public frustration grows, and cynicism follows.
The time for hesitancy has passed. Caribbean governments should no longer view access to information as a bureaucratic burden. It is a strategic asset. Strengthening ATI frameworks builds more resilient, inclusive, and competitive democracies. It is a lever for citizen empowerment, institutional trust, and regional credibility.
On this International Day for Universal Access to Information, Caribbean states should act decisively. Where laws exist, strengthen implementation, allocate resources, and promote public awareness. Where laws do not exist, adopt them. The tools are ready, the models are tested, and the global benchmarks are clear.
The Caribbean has long demonstrated that small states can stand tall on the world stage by defending big principles. It is time to do so again, by making the right to know a lived reality for all.
Eric Falt is the UNESCO representative and regional director, UNESCO Regional Office for the Caribbean.
Source: Nation
Well, we’ll leave Bushie to listen to this “lotta shiiite” as he would sometimes say.
But based on the monologue alone, can be seen a pregnantcy of contradictions.
That it took the suspension of a Kimmel to get Ellis so see the centrality of fascism within the USA, under the vessel of a Trump, leads one to wonder which rock he’s been under all this time. “Fascism” our word, not his!
In a place, by his own admission, which he looks to as a point of reference, at least, exposes long dead issues of national mirror image, parallels recent incidences of local governmental over-reach and should lead to a broader, more fundamental, critique of all considered reality under the dominant governance systems.
For the very forces, including media, and Ellis’s group in particular, which created the conditions for the rise of a local dictator, that is Mottley, also created the circumstances for the rise of an Adolf Drumpf in America. That these forces are delivering the same or similar results across the Western world speak to systemology.
Such a logic must lead to the unavoidable conclusion that capitalism, a highly dysfunctional system, can do no better than to lead us, once more, to the same end which the Third Reich imposed, even as the furnaces of Gaza are fired by American fascism and Zionist blood lust.
This week all senior American generals are being called to Washington for a church meeting held by the Secretary of War.
For security reasons no military ever does this, for obvious reasons. America has always been at war and an adversary may elect to do the kinds of decapitation strikes which America has done against its perceived enemies.
A church meeting because the war secretary has been often seen leading evangelical prayers at the head of a vicious circle of soldiers.
During WW2, German generals too, were called to Berlin. Called to Berlin because it was decided that their prior oaths to Germany was then quaint.
Instead, they were now to make a new, sacred oath to Adolf Hitler himself.
Is it possible that history, which never precisely repeats itself, is about to rhyme?
Given all we’ve seen from Drumpf, this possibility cannot be discounted. And if it rhymes, an old an escalation somewhere is likely.
Btw, the German generals did exactly what we estimate the hienas, who are just waiting to get plush directorships on the boards of leading companies, take an oath to Herr Drumpf!
This story, if proven, will further demonstrate the circle of fascism, the conjoining of political, military and corporate elites.
https://www.youtube.com/live/2o3fkdDXOTE?si=jPrMLbFis2aizKRZ
George Galloway, former British parliamentarian over 50 years and social media commentator, detained by “terrorist” police at Gatwick Airport.
https://youtu.be/R3tFhnaJ8z0?si=3am8hRM-bPzFDQ9d
https://youtu.be/_u0kiV4m7Xg?si=Q1LF_9PY3dfwLqjw
Do people really understand the enormity of the problems that genius, or geni-ass, has sunk America into?
And yes, things have long been bad and getting worse. Weee have to see the forecasts every day.
Where are his Christianized assholes, supporters, like John, or Georgie Porgie to defend their religion and backing for this, their Great White Hope.
Tom Adams once said of a tourism manager that he did more damage to the industry than a hurricane.
He will be glad not to be here to see Drumpf.
Much more madness to come too. That brainiac thinks that the 37 trillion dollar national debt could be magically wished away by some Ponzi scheme of a fintech variety.
Lord! This writer wanted badly to get this hegemon off the backs of the peoples of the world, by any means necessary. However, never was it imagined that an insider would have delivered better than expected outcomes post haste.
Given lag times, it’s just a matter of time before the cold of these horizons reach Bridgetown.
LOL
Shiite Pacha, like you is a prophet now too…?
Recall Bushie’s warning…?
“Quos Deus vult perdere prius dementat”
Those demons are OVERDUE for major karmic justice, and on a scale like this, it actually makes sense to have raving madness entrenched at the HEAD of the demon.
…thus Drumpf.
Clearly, powerful forces UNSEEN are at work as we BBs watch on in awe…
Again you are right as shiite…re
1 – This is only the BEGINNING of sorrows… we ain’t see NOTHING yet.
2 – It is just a matter of time for Brassbados too, SINCE WE HAVE CHOSEN SIDES – and we have chosen the A/C path of money, greed, selfishness and false pride.
Don’t ask how Bushie knows this without your mandated ‘research evidence’…
LOL
What a world!
Quos Deus vult perdere prius dementat=Whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-pete-hegseth-generals-military-meeting-rcna234216
At 12:56 PM Atlantic Standard Time NBC reported that:
“President Donald Trump in an interview with NBC News Sunday, confirmed that he plans to attend an unusual meeting organized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that will gather hundreds of senior military officers near Washington on Tuesday. “It’s really just a very nice meeting talking about how well we’re doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things. It’s just a good message,” Trump told NBC News in a phone call. “We have some great people coming in and it’s just an ‘esprit de corps.’ You know the expression ‘esprit de corps’? That’s all it’s about. We’re talking about what we’re doing, what they’re doing, and how we’re doing.”
https://www.youtube.com/live/oedI6GYCwnA?si=vzG3rf8EG7cV0ofr
This is the same oakey dokey trick which America is trying to pull, one more time.
If successful, it will have massive devaluation of treasuries or reserves held by Barbados
Nobody trust these people. It is time to run for the hills, away from the dollar. Buy gold.
What about the Financial Desk of local media?
Eyes on spending
BERT watchdog wants deeper analysis of new trends
THE SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP WATCHDOG established to monitor Barbados’ economic reform programme is recommending a deeper analysis of how Government’s spending patterns have changed.
With the authorities preparing the third Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme, the BERT Monitoring Committee (BERT MC) is also calling for a review of how more than 30 structural benchmarks, including some major reforms, were effectively implemented under BERT I and II.
The BERT MC offered this advice in its fifth and final report under Government’s 36-month arrangements with the International Monetary Fund’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
These programmes were intended to maintain and strengthen macroeconomic stability, support the structural reform agenda, and increase resilience to climate change.
The report covered the financial results and structural benchmarks for the six months ended March 31, noting that all quantitative performance and indicative targets for that period were achieved.
Benchmarks met
The report, which is the 19th overall since BERT was started in 2018, stated: “In terms of the achievement of the quantitative performance criteria under the new arrangements, the good progress augured well for Barbados’ economy which has rebounded to the extent the Government has ended the programme.
“All structural benchmarks for the period were met, including an assessment of human resources needs – by competency and position – at the Barbados Customs and Excise Department.”
In addition, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs prepared a Public Private Partnership Framework and set up a daily liquidity forecasting framework.
While Government met its several targets, the BERT MC, in noting Government’s intention to launch BERT 2025, advised in this regard “that a thorough review of the effectiveness of the over 30 structural benchmark initiatives that were implemented under BERT 1.0 and 2.0 be conducted prior to the 2025 transition”.
It also urged that “of interest would be a deeper analysis of changes in the Government’s spending patterns, particularly as seen this year in goods and services, capital expenditure and grants to public institutions”.
Positive achievement
Commenting on progress to date, the BERT MC said that the economy “has continued to record positive performance metrics and for this period there has been real growth in GDP estimated at two per cent at the end of March”. It noted that “given global circumstances, this is regarded as a positive achievement”.
The report said there was “a significant increase in total revenue earned by the Government in the period under review”.
“Total revenue exceeded the prior year period by $578 million, driven primarily by additional collection of tax revenue of $529.6 million,” it stated. “This increase was primarily driven by a combination of corporation taxes for fiscal year 2024-25 due to higher tax rates and improved cash flow from the new monthly prepayments regime.
“During this period, current expenditure increased by $203 million, primarily attributed to transfers to individuals, goods and services purchases and additional interest expenditure.”
The BERT MC added that “capital expenditure also saw a significant increase, growing by $255 million during the year to reach $613 million, with heavy expenditure on the geriatric facility, the innovation hub and land acquisitions”.
“As a result of the extremely strong revenue performance, despite the expenditure increases, the primary balance at the end of April was $621 million or about 4.3 per cent of GDP. This performance was significantly above the target.” (SC)
Source: Nation
https://youtu.be/enUgDZ4ULCc?si=pgyH0dp9Jpp4g-wm
From the horse’s mouth!
Of course, weeee would not find this on Western media.
Did anyone hear the news clip by the Regional Director of UNESCO about what is the essence of a democracy?
The Global State of Democracy 2025.
We have fault lines that are widening.
https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/html/global-state-democracy-2025-democracy-move
Is BERT MC going to tell us when the audited financials for the NISSS will be brought up to date and published, or for that matter all the other institutions of the state that are outstanding?
@John A
If we cannot demand accountability for basic tenets of governance to be implemented as a key stakeholder in civil society, what is the point?
That we includes the media delivering on its mandate.
The media has failed us so miserably its sad. They dig into nothing and act more as a propaganda service than a source of factual enlighten on where this island stands.
Then again maybe they are not enough of us that want the facts anyhow.
@ David
Did you read Julian Roger’s article, “October 1st: Bajans! Nothing to Fear…… A Moment to Lead: Why This Is Our Barbadian Future?”
I used to regularily write for (and be published by) a local business newspaper.
Then I said something a little over the top… Everything I said was true.
C&W were not amused. I, and the newspaper, received very serious letters from very serious lawyers. I retained very serious lawyers in response.
The newspaper would never publish another word from me. They were too afraid of the costs of being sued.
Cowards.
Thing is I do not want to see the day the day the 4th estate becomes an extension of the PR unit for any party. What I would like to see though is a balanced and factual break down of facts and numbers by the press. So much has occured where no attempt has been made by the press to try and at least appear to be getting to the meat of it.
For example have you see any attempt by them to get to the bottom of the true fiscal state of the NISSS?
What about the net cost to the state of the debt restructuring inclusive of extended credit periods, even if at lower interest rates? Is the answer ” it save the country money” a good enough response for the 4th estate? Clearly we have no investigative journalist, or ones with financial training, if so why have they not pursued these issues? Is there even a market for this knowledge here, or is the Bajan more concerned about who get lock up and who got AIDS?
What is needed is the ventilation of issues that matter here in a NON BIAS POLITCAL WAY. Forget which party do what and let’s focus on our current situation and discuss the hurdles we see in our road to progress.
Dat ain’t asking too much ney?
The Press of Brassbados are either foreign owned – and hence mostly focused on profits to be exported to their shareholders, and assigning senior jobs for their kith and kin from back home…
…OR are either owned or directly / indirectly controlled by whatever government is in power.
Effective press comes when PATRIOTIC, dedicated, competent staff are able to exercise their LOVE of country in doing their various roles.
The local ‘reporters’ that are hired to keep their owners in good standing with government – are then mostly low-paid, barely literate, shit-scared debutants – who are over-awed by public figures, easily swayed by sweet talk, and PARTICULARLY susceptible to ‘gifts’ and promises.
Were it not for BU, and social media, we would mostly be as dumb as brass bowls.
@Bush Tea et al…
I was told by my “handler” at the newspaper that the editor would only read the first two paragraphs before signing off on publication.
That was how he managed to get my articles approved.
Believe it or not, I later worked with the woman who threatened me with the lawsuit.
It’s all fun and games, until someone loses an eye.
@Artax
This article? Missed it to be honest. You have a view? Barbados has been burned several times on this integration journey going back to the Caribbean Multilateral Facility days and of recent LIAT. Your thoughts?
October 1st: Bajans! Nothing to Fear
A Moment to Lead: Why This Is Our Barbadian FutureJulian Rogers
Sep 25, 2025My fellow Barbadians, even at the risk of sounding like your leader, I must address you on a significant development in our Caribbean family.
In a few short days, on the first of October, we will take a bold and historic step forward with our brothers and sisters in Belize, Dominica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I hear the conversations on the airwaves and in our communities. I hear the questions, and I understand the concerns that come with any momentous change.
A Road We Have Always Travelled
I want to be clear, this is not a leap into the unknown. This is the next logical step in a journey we have been on for generations.For decades, we have been a beacon in the Caribbean, and our people have been its builders. Ask the leaders of any nation in our region, and they will tell you of the Bajan teacher who educated their parents, the Bajan police chief who structured their force, those who worked in oil and agriculture sharing distinct knowledge and skills, or the Bajan artist who inspired their culture.
And in turn, think of the countless contributions made to our own society by the CARICOM citizens who chose to call Barbados home. Our history is not one of isolation, but of proud and powerful exchange.
Free movement is not a new policy, it is the name we are finally giving to a road our families have travelled for a century.
The Prime Minister’s Math
Today, this journey is more critical than ever. Our own Prime Minister has wisely told us that for our economy to grow, ‘the math ain’t mathing.’ With an ageing population, the simple reality is that we need more ambitious, working-age people to contribute to our economy and secure our National Insurance Scheme. This is not a burden, it is our lifeline.An Opportunity for Barbadian Growth
And this is a two-way street to prosperity. For the first time, Bajan entrepreneurs have a clear path to invest in the rich farmland of Dominica or the vast potential of Belize, a nation sixty times our size. This is our chance to finally tackle our national food security, led by Bajan vision. It is our opportunity to expand our wealth and our horizons.A Secure and Safe Family
I want to assure you, this step is taken with the utmost seriousness for our security. Since 2007, a robust, high-tech regional security system has vetted every person travelling between our countries, ensuring that our Caribbean family remains safe.October the first is not a day to fear. It is a day to embrace our legacy of leadership. It is the day we choose a future of growth over stagnation, of opportunity over isolation, and of family over fear.
Let’s not just witness this historic moment, let’s lead it, together.
Julian Rogers, from my home in Belize. Drop me a line at julian@caribbeanbridges.com
David the freedom of movement if we look at what has happened throughout Europe and the USA has major challenges.
The problem will always be for the islands with the stronger economies, as those from the weaker economies will gravitate there. What will happen to our construction workers for example? When you get people from the islands coming here and staying six in a house and working for $70 bds each a day while catching bus, do you expect the Bajan worker with a home and rent, light bill, water bill, NISS and maybe a car loan to compete with them for the same $70 a day? It is OK for construction magnates to talk about shortage of labour, but is that the whole picture? Is what they want to pay a livable wage for the Bajan living here for example? Is it right to reduce the Bajans pay in an environment of rising prices, so as to ensure developers make large profits? One can’t help but ask who God wunna serving ?
This in my view has not been carefully thought out in terms of the long term effect on the Bajan artisan and by extension the broader local economy, where all should benefit from a financial gain. With the EC dollar at roughly 70 cents to the Bajan dollar, one can hardly say we starting with a level playing field.
Mass migration not expected, says expert
By:Nationnews Desk
Date: September 29, 2025
Dr Olivia Smith, migration expert and former lead consultant, CARICOM-IOM Migration Policy Framework (2024), does not anticipate a mass migration of citizens from Belize, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines into Barbados.
Come Wednesday, those citizens, as well as Barbadians, will be free to enter, work and remain indefinitely in each other’s member states without the need for residency or a work permit. They will also be able to access emergency and primary health care, and education, within the means of the receiving member state.
Smith, who was also deputy programme manager, Free Movement and Labour, CARICOM Secretariat, said fears that there would be movement en masse was not supported by empirical evidence.
“Having worked inside the CARICOM Secretariat as deputy programme manager for Free Movement of Labour, and as the consultant who led the drafting of the CARICOM-IOM Migration Policy Framework in 2024, I can assert that the evidence is conclusive – we are not anticipating mass migration,” she said, as she stressed that: “Most citizens remain rooted in their home countries, and movement typically follows specific economic opportunities. The data also demonstrates that Barbados benefits more than it loses, as skilled labour fills high-demand gaps, rather than displacing the national workforce.”
Emphasising that free movement was reciprocal, Smith said: “This opportunity is not theoretical. Barbadian financial consultants are leveraging their expertise in the thriving services sector of Trinidad and Tobago and Barbadian construction management firms are winning contracts in Guyana’s rapidly expanding oil and gas infrastructure development.
“This allows Barbadians to live, work and invest across 14 CARICOM states, providing a vital economic safety net and opening new markets for our professionals and entrepreneurs.
“Furthermore, the public worry about wage suppression often rests on a flawed economic premise,” she said, as she explained that under the existing CARICOM Skills Certificate regime and in most formal sectors, workers must be paid at or above the national minimum wage and sector-specific rates.
“The highest demand is frequently for specialised skills – plumbers, electricians and certified technicians who command competitive, high-level salaries – that local businesses are currently struggling to fill. A properly implemented Labour Market Impact Assessment is precisely the tool needed to ensure that new workers complement, rather than compete with, the existing workforce, thereby upholding, not depressing, local wage standards.”
However, Smith believes that Government should guard against xenophobia, pointing out that these fears demand attention.
“Unchecked apprehension can quickly transition into xenophobia. Alarmist reporting and inflammatory rhetoric risk framing regional workers as antagonists rather than partners capable of filling critical labour gaps. History shows that scapegoating migrants does not solve chronic labour shortages; it only deepens social tension and obstructs rational economic planning. Barbados must ensure that public debate remains anchored in verifiable facts and mutual respect for all CARICOM citizens.
“For the average Barbadian worker, the anxiety is intensely personal. Imagine a skilled carpenter earning a standard wage, facing high costs for imported food and gasoline. When they read headlines about an impending ‘flood’ of regional workers, they are not thinking about macroeconomic growth; they are thinking about their next rent payment.
“Their worry is that while the island enjoys a record low unemployment rate, their individual job security is fragile. They fear the arrival of large numbers of workers willing to accept less, which could jeopardise their ability to maintain a decent standard of living on an expensive island.
“This fear is compounded by visibly stretched social services, where pressure on housing, health care and education systems is already evident. Past rollouts of free movement only exacerbated this, lacking clear communication and breeding distrust.”
She stated that it was imperative Government protect local workers through legislation.
“Government must ensure that local workers are not displaced or disadvantaged by upholding existing labour laws, particularly minimum wage standards, across all sectors. The primary tool for this is the Labour Impact Study, which maps specific sectoral shortages.
“This allows the Government to focus the recruitment of regional workers exclusively on areas of genuine and critical deficit – such as specialised construction trades or health care, while launching complementary national training programmes for local workers to fill future high-demand roles. By requiring all employers to adhere to the principle of ‘national treatment’ in wages and conditions, regional workers fill labour market holes, rather than undercutting local standards.”
She said stakeholder engagement and communication was also crucial, involving employers, unions and civil society and must be transparent and structured.
@Artax
Just another opinion. This is an issue across the globe. Hopefully our planners have the nous to pivot based on the evidence and not sentiments.
Julian Rogers is seen as a successful journalist.
We know how they roll.
One does NOT get regional consultancy appointments by being analytical, but by being politically correct.
What else would he say – but some appeasement to the powers that be…
Someone who WORKED for CARICOM on ‘migration’ – and who will need another pick on crime management in the near future, is NOT a reliable source of common sense analysis.
The WHOLE migration fiasco is COLLAPSING globally in the pioneer areas such as the EU, USA and even Africa.
Only a fully confirmed, brass-bowl jackass would expect the Caribbean (who cannot manage a ferry, or even fix their potholes without Chinese help) to succeed with it.
If we had ANY doubt, our West Indies cricket team just used Nepal to demonstrate the ‘STRENGTH’ of our togetherness.
Nepal could barely make the BCA division 1, but easily made the “most successful” ‘CARICOM’ project look like jobby…
Pick sense from that…!!
CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME…
If you CANNOT get your own home to run smoothly, only a Jackass (or Trump supporter) would expect that you could run the world – except into chaos.
What a (stupid) place!!
Bushie
While you’re right about the collapse of migration structures you should also be careful too because this is one of the leading planks of the fascists in the West and an irrational xenophobia elsewhere. Foreigners are too conveniently blamed to serve other agendas, the failures of majority populations.
The contradictions are that these same people who ordered the world in a way to make migration everywhere seen as the only possibility to achieve a decent life.
From capitalism to slavery to neoliberalism to globalization these all came from the same spring and waterered migrationary patterns for centuries.
And yes, Barbados has more than its fair share of foreign super citizens from elsewhere. We judge this largely to be the result of criminals in Customs, Immigration and politics.
Foreign super citizens ……….
Sometimes a video can speak a thousand words. The mass migration model does not work for the recipient county’s population. It both undermines and hollows out their very existence.
I have never heard of a government express their desire to grow their population by 30% through immigration whilst at the same time actively encouraged their own citizens to search for greener pastures abroad.
I believe Terence Blackett stated that he arrived in the UK in the late eighties. For those of us who were the true members of the Windrush generation. We have a collective memory of a different UK. There were swathes of pockets in UK cities that were run down. Post war, British cities witnessed a huge decline in their population as the strategic cities were heavenly bombed by the Germans during the second world war. We witnessed the rise of suburbs, the development of new towns and a number of Britains who migrated to Australia. They were called ten pound pommies.
Those of us who lived in London and the other big cities remember vividly the huge numbers of rats that plagued our lives. There were huge numbers of derelict properties and streets that were encased with galvanised fencing that indicated they were due to be demolished. These were my early “playing fields”. To explore and scale a disused building was very exciting.
Fast forward the early eighties. The country witnessed a steady influx of African “students”. This same population now outnumbers Caribbeans by 2.5 fold. When the UK became a member of the EU we welcomed the influx of new arrivals. Then, the iron curtain came down and a number of Eastern European countries were allowed to work and live in the UK. This was a disaster. The doors have remained opened ever since.
For those of us who have a shared collectiive memories of the fifties, sixties and seventies the UK has become a scarred landscape. The last time I visited my old London hood, it was an eye opener.
There are many of us who have memories of the great British High Streets. These have now become the equivalent of underdeveloped roadside merchant street outlets. These great High Streets have become desecrated.
Mia has been told by her backers and those who offer her loans to open up her country to mass immigration at all levels.
I hope Mia’s will watch the links below.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlod_2qX91I
Poor ole, naive Sweden.
Agreed!
These demons build straw men, use them for as long as they can see material benefits, then burn the very same straw men to energize their hasty retreat.
Globalization is the particular example that you cited.
But why do we ALWAYS seek to copy their albino-centric shiite????
Integration is actually a beautiful thing.
BUT it will ONLY work when we have sorted OUR OWN HOME first.
Like LOVE, (as great as it is…) it begins at home.
If you do NOT love yourself, then it is IMPOSSIBLE to love others – and it is RIDICULOUS to even talk about loving God.
These ‘legends in their own minds’, who seek global acclaim as a shortcut – when they are DISMAL failures in their own homes, communities, and countries
…are only fooling THEMSELVES
…and those BBs clueless Enuff to envy them.
What a thing!
JohnA
“For example have you see any attempt by them to get to the bottom of the true fiscal state of the NISSS?”
Listen, the Boss lady at the NIS, awoke from her 3 year slumber in June ’25, to tell stakeholders, the NIS will pay out nearly a Billion dollars this year.
Wha yuh want? De people getting money.
And the fourth estate tried…
“The head of the NISSS, referring to an appeal by one media house to make her organisation’s reports/annual reports more accessible to the public, admitted this was being actively worked on.”
Wha yuh want? Actively worked on.
The onliest time you hear from her or the Minister in charge, is begging the self employed to participate…it has devolved into “gimme anyting you can spare”. We will wuk with you. The largest untapped revenue source. But de self employed aren’t stupid?
“What will happen to our construction workers for example?”
I invite you to drive around to the big construction sites, and report on how many Bajans you can find. Go up Apes Hill and you’d think Spanish was our national language.
@ Northern
Boss that Is the tip of the iceberg. They will be ENTITLED to free health care and their children free education at all levels. I say at all levels because no where have I read there is a cap by level on the free education they will be entitled to. So here are a few questions.
Will these people be issued with a NISSS number at the point of entry ?
Will they be asked to present a certificate of character from their local police at point of entry?
Who will be paying for their FREE health care and children’s education?
Look we could not even deal with introducing a tint law, an Airbandb weedout, a licensing policy for proof of insurance, addressing current crime and on and on I could go, but wunna want to deal with free movement ??? STUPES
So wait how come I ain’t hear the unions on this? After all them construction workers going be high on the hit list. Well with St Vincent there at least the fellas should pay less for weed! LOL
@John A
The benefits to Caricom citizens migrating was always detailed in the RTOC/CSME.
@ David
And to that David I say fact vs fiction.
David dig up some of the reports that were done on the advantages of free movement for Europe prior to its introduction there. They read like copies of what is now being claimed by our leaders here. Also fact worth more than fiction, look at what free movement has done to the said Europe and what they are facing there now. You think any report 30 years or more old could of envisaged that? Even countries with the wealth of Germany and Switzerland are now saying ” boss the party over head home we cant afford the freeness no more.”
There is an interesting debate going on with black Americans who are delineating themselves from black citizens who migrated to the USA from the mid-sixties.
This group has rebranded themselves using the term Foundational Black Americans ( FBA’s). Recently arrived blacks from the diaspora (Africa, Caribbean, etc.) are being called “Tethers”. This means people who flee. The Nigerians use the term “to Japa”.
FBA’s believe that these groups are parasitical and are riding on the coat tails of foundational black Americans in order to progress economically.
I have no problem with Barbados opening up her doors to migrants. However, these numbers must be severely limited.
@Bush Tea: “Integration is actually a beautiful thing.
I completely agree.
To share, I was retained by a Canadian Company for a couple of years recently as their CTO.
I implemented calculus in hardware (integration; area under the curve) and software. It passed the CSA review on the first pass. OpAmps are quite amazing. A few resisters and capacitors and inductors, and you’re good to go.
I was invited to UWI to talk about developing and teaching a course. I drew a simple diagram on the whiteboard.
All three Professors said “None of our students would understand what you just drew there.
I was a little dispondant. But heard their message.
World leaders need to be bold
THE ANNUAL PARADE of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly is over.
While many question the value of this spectacle of world leaders presenting brief speeches to a captive diplomatic audience, it cannot be doubted that it provides an indispensable platform for world leaders to speak directly to each other.
It also offers observers the opportunity to gauge the mood of world leaders, to assess their stances on key global developments, and more importantly, to ascertain who among them feel empowered to speak boldly on world events, without having to mumble half-positions, and fearful of calling by name the main perpetrators of global threats, instability and atrocities.
While it is impossible to capture the full range of the perspectives offered in General Assembly 2025, the main issues confronting the world can be broadly summarised as involving Israel’s genocidal war on Palestine; the Russia-Ukraine War; the ongoing US dismantling of the post-War global multilateral frameworks and US President Trump’s peculiar role in this project; US military aggression in the Caribbean; and unresolved demands for restructuring to reflect the economic and political interests of the global South.
It was clear that what separated a global leader like Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, from the rest was his ability to offer a comprehensive analysis of current weaknesses of the global order and the UN system and to offer clear technical alternatives. Similarly given the rare, unorthodox and unsophisticated nature of the current US and Israeli leadership, the moment called for clear and direct rebuke of these offending leaders.
Leaders who disdain educated “niceties” cannot be treated like noble statesmen. In this regard the leaders and spokespersons from Venezuela, China, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia and Columbia stood out for being unafraid to call offenders by name. The mass walkout on Benjamin Netanyahu also sent a direct message.
In contrast, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago appeared totally out-of-synch with reality for using a global platform to offer obeisance to US President Donald Trump, who himself became a global laughing stock after his UN performance.
Finally, there were those, like Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley who did not assert a position relevant to the times. Her praising of Kenya for its paid militarism in Haiti, and her blaming of “both sides” for US militarism in the Caribbean and her resort to soundbites meant that her message would never reach the ears of the unsophisticated “main offenders”.
There is no doubt, that by 2026 global deterioration will be so well advanced that the sly and “cautious” approach will be replaced by the bold, brave and direct. It may, by then, be too late.
Tennyson Joseph is Associate Professor of Political Science at North Carolina Central University. Email tjoe2008@live.com
Source: Nation
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