Click Here to read posts randomly
Additionally, please feel free to submit ideas, observations or any information of a random nature which maybe of interest to furthering the cause of humanity. Note that your submissions will be seen by the public and open to comments from visitors to BU. Confidential information should be submitted to barbadosunderground@gmail.com.
Here’s a story that may be of interest to bloggers in Barbados as newspapers and bloggers in Canada got a Xmas present via a Supreme Court of Canada ruling. Journalists ( and bloggers) can use the defence of “ responsible communication on matters of public interest” as a defence against libel. Interestingly the story that the Toronto Star was sued for was about a friend of the then Premier who allegedly got preferred treatment over a land development deal involving a golf course. If I can relate it to something local e.g if a friend of a PM in Barbados acquired rights to property that was zoned for one purpose and after he acquired it the zoning was changed to allow for luxury development including a golf course do you think the Nation would print a story about the subject?
Your answer? Of course not there would be no story because everybody knows that no such thing could occur in Barbados.
David & BU Family,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I look forward to next year’s submissions…
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” – T.S. Eliot
@Sarge
This defence already exists in Barbados, at least so long as the courts are willing to apply it. It has its origins in the case of Reynolds v Times Newspapers (1992) and has been applied in Jamaica in the cases of Bonnick v Gleaner Newspapers (successfully) and Seaga v Harper (unsuccessfully).
Thank you MME and all the others who have made BU the wonderful journey it has been so far. Please enjoy the holidays!
Spotting-Prejudice // December 3, 2009 at 7:27 PM
The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP)
write a letter to the US state department asking for help in elections? Shite man any political party that could be that stupid and trusting deserves to remain in opposition…fah ever!
Why should the Principal of Cave Hill be worried about UWI-Mona establishing a Faculty of Law.
Has not UWI- Cave Hill recently established a full Facuty of Medicine.
Did not UWI- St Augustine also establish a full Facuty of Medicine in the late 80’s?
Why should the establishment of a law faculty in Jamaica mean signal a fracture of anything?
I would like to take the Jamaican stance one step further, and have their Law Faculty replace completely the one that we have here. The building in Barbados could be much much better ustillised…! Haha
Happy pagan Yuletide and Winter Solstice to ALL
For the New Year, we can look back with pride of things done, of things even tried.
We can reminisce of times past, with thanks and some sadness even.
The Almighty has brought us this far in our souls experience and for that we must give thanks.
Some of us may have differing views, in fact, it is natural. We should however, welcome constructive criticism and know at least, that bloggers here, except for a few, blog because of genuine interest in the future of us and our children.
The fact that we blog, also indicates that we at least still have hope that we can contribute to positive change.
At least we have such an outlook and approach in common.
I truly hope that each and all of you have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year and future.
I leave you with a quote I have mentioned before, but think it is still worth remembering.
…………..
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Robert Kennedy
……………………
Peace
Interesting article
The Nine Chinese Men Who Control the Fate of America
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud
Nine politicians in China control the fate of the United States of America.
I’m not kidding. The implications are scary. Let me explain…
These nine men are the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China. They control the value of China’s currency.
What more can we say? Since launch, the Geiger Index has made 20 picks and ALL of them were winners. Zero losses. Here’s how you can get in on the next pick.
Fortunately, it’s easy to forecast what a politician will do… He will do whatever it takes to keep his job.
The story is remarkably simple…
In China, the goal of these nine politicians is to keep the Communist Party in power. The way to accomplish that goal is for the masses to stay employed. Right now, China keeps the people working by exporting cheap goods. In order to make sure those Chinese goods stay cheap, the Standing Committee sets the currency exchange rate artificially low. And that is the crucial part of the story…
How do these nine politicians keep the exchange rate low? They buy U.S. dollars. Importantly, these nine men don’t just sit on stacks of dollar bills… They invest those dollars in U.S. Treasury bonds.
It’s gotten out of hand. China owns nearly $1 trillion worth of U.S. debt. China’s holdings have increased dramatically every year… They’ve grown nearly tenfold since the end of 2000:
China* Treasury Bond Holdings
2000 $99 billion
2001 $127 billion
2002 $166 billion
2003 $209 billion
2004 $267 billion
2005 $350 billion
2006 $451 billion
2007 $529 billion
2008 $804 billion
2009 $941 billion
*includes Hong Kong
And China’s soon-to-be trillion dollars of U.S. government debt is not the end of the story. It’s the beginning…
In order for other Asian countries to compete with China, they have to artificially keep their own exchange rates low. And that’s exactly what they’re doing. They’re doing it the same way China does… They’re buying mountains of U.S. Treasury bonds, too.
At this point, foreigners now own half of the U.S. Treasuries outstanding (of the ones that are not held by the U.S. government). And they’re buying more… Most importantly, there’s enough demand for U.S. debt from foreigners that the U.S. government can finance its deficits for years to come… all by simply selling Treasury bonds to foreigners.
Would you lend money to the U.S. government at 3.5% interest for 10 years? I sure wouldn’t. I really can’t name anyone who thinks 3.5% in government bonds is a good deal. The foreigners aren’t buying to earn 3.5% interest. They’re buying to keep the value of their currencies down.
India is an interesting example… Earlier this year, when India spent $6.7 billion buying gold from the IMF, it was all over the news. What WASN’T reported was that India bought far more U.S. Treasury bonds than gold. India has increased its stake in Treasuries by over $22 billion since last summer – increasing its Treasury bond holdings more than 200%.
So, yes, there’s a mountain of demand for U.S. dollars – Treasury bonds – from all over the developing world. The important thing is demand will last. It will last as long as the nine men on China’s Standing Committee don’t change their minds.
So what does all this mean?
It means the U.S. dollar will not crash right now.
A Major Uptrend Is Just Getting Started in This Hated Asset
The Euro Is Going on Sale
Most investors believe the U.S. dollar is about to crash. But the facts are clear… The dollar has ready buyers of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Treasuries. While the dollar might lose ground against gold, the reality is, no other paper currency has a tailwind of hundreds of billions of dollars of buying waiting in the wings like the U.S. dollar does.
Eventually, the dollar bears will be right. The U.S. will have to face all its debt one day. But that story is not in my True Wealth Script for 2010.
———-
As the story unfolds, as a Caribbean citizen, I thank the United States of America, for its efforts in Haiti relief, along with those efforts of the international aid agencies.
Good deeds will be rewarded.
Crusoe please…! Who the f#ck do you think contributed in large measure, in very large measure to the disgusting circumstance of Haitians before the quake? Why wait for disaster to strike to show this generosity, and which part of the planet were gullible people like you born? You see the good but chose to ignore the malice…!
@BAFBFP
behave yuh self man .No need to get yuh self all worked up .This is a natural disaster and it doesn’t matter who help.
sweetie save the fireworks fuh me.
Thought this was very interesting!!!
How to Lock Your Car and Why
I locked my car. As I walked away I heard my car door unlock. I went back and locked my car again
three times . Each time, as soon as I started to walk away, I would hear it unlock again!! Naturally alarmed, I
looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. They were obviously
watching me intently, and there was no doubt they were somehow involved in this very weird situation. I
quickly chucked the errand I was on, jumped in my car and sped away. I went straight t o the police
station, told them what had happened, and found out I was part of a new, and very successful, scheme
being used to gain entry into cars.
Two weeks later, my friend’s son had a similar happening…..
While traveling, my friend’s son stopped at a roadside rest to use the bathroom. When he came out to his car
less than 4-5 minutes later, someone had gotten into his car and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator,
briefcase……y ou name it. He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into, the
police told him he had been a victim of the latest robbery tactic — there is a device that robbers are using now to
clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device..
They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or
bathroom and that they now have a few minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to manually lock your car
door-by hitting the lock button inside the car — that way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for
their next victim, it will not be you.
When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting, it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and
use the door lock on your key chain, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be instantly stolen.
This is very real.
Be wisely aware of what you just read and please pass this note on. Look how many times we all lock our doors
with our remote just to be sure we remembered to lock them — and bingo, someone has our code…and whatever was in our
car.
Snopes Approved –.Please share with everyone you know!!
BAFBFP.
USA could just have done nothing, instead of mobilisation.
At least they are acting.
Let us be real. Even if Haiti were THE most developed country in the world, it would not have prevented nor helped much in this circumstance.
How exactly can the USA avert a natural catastrophe?
Yes, I tend to look for good, nothing wrong with that, in fact we need more of it instead of whiners.
Further, I do send brickbats on many an occasion, so you are picking on the good I comment on, but ignoring the brickbats.
Strange that hmmmm?
‘Gullible people like me’, tend to look for good as we can, knowing that therein lies hope for mankind.
Whiners always look for negative and will always reap what they desire.
On last night’s Business at TV 8 – Are you aware Roy Morris plans to start a Newspaper with old Nation staff? Will he have sections on rape or sexual harassment?
Crusoe
‘Gullible people like me’, tend to look for good as we can, knowing that therein lies hope for mankind.”
The source of the “hope for mankind” is the one that is plotting and giving effect to its destruction…! If someone forced me to beg and in my ultimate time of need offered me something (so as to exploit the situation by grabbing as much media attention as possible) I would die of starvation first.
Please Crusoe, believe me, you are NOT helping…!
Fidel Castro refused entrance into the OAS for every good reason imaginable.
ac
I working out somet’ing. I know you gun like wah I come up wid…!
NSO
Roy Morris, whether guilty of rape or not, is an “EFFECTIVE” leader, orders of magnitude better than the present crop on show at OCM. I will buy his news paper
ANTIGUA SUN NEWSPAPER ARTICLE!
Man who confessed to infecting over 90 men with HIV dies
Daily Features – Our Health
Written by Rawle Nelson
Wednesday, 06 January 2010
He passed away in the early hours of the morning at the Mount St. John Hospital. He had requested that this interview using his real name be only made public after his death.
As such, we grant his wish, while withholding the names and details of individuals he mentioned.
Some five months ago, after several requests, I decided to begin a series of article which chronicle the lives of people living with HIV in an effort to reduce stigma and discrimination.
Shortly after, I was informed by the Triple H network in Antigua that the MSM (men have sex with men) community was growing rapidly with a number of MSM living underground. I was then introduced to the deceased.
Who am I?
He was 22 at the time and he wasn’t afraid to let me know of his perceived gender.
“I was a gal since I was seven and no man or gal out dey carn hold me down,” a smiling he said.
He revealed that by the time he was 12, he had already had sex with about four men, noting he “is a woman who was strapped in a man’s body.
“Nobody believed me when I told them that I had strange and uncontrollable feelings for men but every time I tried telling someone that I trusted I was rebuked and even beaten up,” he revealed.
By age 16, he had multiple sex partners and was fully involved in living a life of a gay. He noted that his mother showed him unconditional love throughout his years despite several family members expressing their disgust at his lifestyle.
“Yuh see I had to live my life so no one would find out what was really happening and even to some guys who I thought was ‘straight’ and I trusted to tell them my situation (they) took sexual advantage of me as well,” he said.
He related that stigma and discrimination against gays begin at home as he experienced it first- hand after some of his relatives and siblings chased him suggesting that he was possessed with demons and needed deliverance.
He said he had only the desire to be comforted by another man while noting that despite his many efforts to be attracted to women it felt wrong and unclean.
“Despite what I tried, nothing was working as each day my feelings increased for them (other men),” he said.
Life in prison
At 17, he was arrested after he and his ‘boyfriend’ had pulled off a daring robbery in Antigua on a tourist.
He said he dressed like a woman and his “boyfriend” pretended that they were out on their way to transact some business and after sourcing their victim they robbed two tourists at gunpoint.
“I really didn’t want to do it, but I went along wid he as he was me man and therefore I needed to be loyal and show some love,” he argued.
The duo were convicted and he was given seven years imprisonment at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP). While he had no problem in going to jail he said that he learnt the harsh reality of the sex trade in prison.
“Sex goes on day ah Antigua jail everyday and even some of dem guards are involved,” he claimed.
“…you see no one could ah resist me and once they see that you soft or like other men you became a target,” he said.
He spent a total of five years at HMP as he got out early due to his good conduct. He noted that while he considered himself a “woman” he is a very tough individual and needed the toughness so as to survive while in prison adding that prison life thought him the kind of toughness he needed to survive while incarcerated.
Of condoms and one night flings
After his release from prison he has had a number of sexual partners. He noted that most of his partners are from Dominica, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and homeland Antigua and Barbuda.
“I must confess that I have add over 90 sexual partners and the truth is that I have had unprotected sex as while I dislike having sex with condoms they hated it and in many cases (they) refused to used a condom,” he said.
He admitted though that he has lied on many occasions about his sexual status telling many of his sexual partners that he was “clean” and not infected, adding that he said what they wanted to hear.
“I was wrongfully infected while I was in prison so I do not see anything wrong with persons being infected by me.
“I want to stress that I do not stop anyone from wearing their condoms I just express that I do not like it and on many occasions they just go ahead and fail to use it; I can’t be responsible for their act of stupidity,” he declared.
The drag queen who boasted that at one time he was the hottest sought after gay, noted that many of his sexual partners are one night flings as he enjoyed variety.
He said he has kept record of most of his sexual partners as he strongly believes that someday he would have to confront them should they become infected.
“There are a lot of wives and girlfriends who are infected as a result of their unfaithful husbands and boyfriends.
“Many times people cuss us gays off but there is an important point to note and that is gays are not promiscuous but the ‘straight’ looking guys are the ones who brings home the disease,” he declared.
“Women today got to understand that HIV is real and like I have told you that I already had sex with over 90 men so you can understand what to expect in the coming months and years.
“I have friends out there who are doing the same so… women today got to be more conscious and understand that HIV is real,” he stressed.
That dreadful year
The year 2008 is one he remembered clearly. That was the year he was released from prison and also the year he found out he was HIV positive. He admitted that when the doctor revealed the dreaded news to him, he was completely shocked as he found out that it was some years that he was living with the virus.
He recalled being sad as he knew that while he had contracted it in prison he also knew that several other young men had contracted it from him also.
“I was very devastated it is not that I was afraid of dying but to know that the many negative things that me family and others had told me was coming to truth as dey did say that me ah go get AIDS,” he said.
Recently, he returned from Dominica where he had spent some weeks. He noted that he had taken the trip in an effort to “free up his body and mind” but while there he engaged in unprotected sex.
However, shortly after returning from Dominica, he learnt that once again he got re-infected with the disease after one of his sexual partners who is HIV positive had unprotected sex.
This is his second re-infection as he had gotten re-infected last year and almost died after his visit to St. Lucia. He had hope to visit St. Kitts later this year for Carnival noting that he has had sexual partners from St. Kitts and was planning to make the trip to see the federation’s “cute guys”.
The inevitable
He stressed that he has accepted the reality that he will soon die noting that he doesn’t take his medication as he is still angry and disappointed over his situation. He said that while he doesn’t blame the legal system for sentencing him to prison, he feels that they have some responsibility for his AIDS situation.
“Had I not gone to Jamaica maybe I would not have been infecting guys out there, but I got infected in jail and now a number of guys are being infected because of what I suffered in prison. The legal system contributed to this,” he related in a recent interview.
He said although death is inevitable, he planned to enjoy his life to the fullest regardless of the circumstances.
“I got to enjoy me life as when I gone no body going enjoy it fu me,” he said.
He noted that despite the criticisms that he would face for his actions, he should not be held accountable for the transmission of the disease as we all have a right to protect ourselves.
Look out for part II of this interview.
RIP Teddy
RIP Teddy
@BAFBFP
Can”t wait!LOL.mon amour
ac
We got to communicate. ac
We got to have a communion. Set the date and the thread… Tonight I tryin’ to reflect on Pendagrass…
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home
in North Platte , Nebraska , it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions,
they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the
staff that copies were made and distributed to every
nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Missouri .
The old man’s sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in
the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association
for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been
made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.
And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world,
is now the author of this ‘anonymous’ poem winging across the Internet.
Crabby Old Man
What do you see nurses? . . . .. .What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . . When you’re looking at me?
A crabby old man . . . . . Not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . .. . . With faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food . . . .. . And makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . .. . ‘I do wish you’d try!’
Who seems not to notice . . . . .. The things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . . . Lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to fill?
Is that what you’re thinking? . . . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . . You’re not looking at me.
I’ll tell you who I am. . . .. . . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, . . . .. . As I eat at your will.
I’m a small child of Ten . .. . .. . With a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . .. . . Who love one another.
A young boy of Sixteen . .. . . With wings on his feet..
Dreaming that soon now . . .. . . A lover he’ll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . .. . . . My heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . … That I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . . . With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons . . . . . Have grown and are gone,
But my woman’s beside me . . . .. . To see I don’t mourn.
At Fifty, once more, babies play ’round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . . Shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . . Young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . . . And the love that I’ve known.
I’m now an old man . . . . . And nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age . . . .. .. Look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . . Grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . .. . . Where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . . . .. . A young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . My battered heart swells.
I remember the joys . . . . .. I remember the pain.
And I’m loving and living . . . … . Life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . . . . Gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . .. . That nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people . . . . .. Open and see.
Not a crabby old man . . . Look closer . . .. See ME!!
This really touched me.
Remember this poem when you next meet
An older person who you might brush aside
Without looking at the young soul within.
We will all, one day, be there, too!
PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM
According to Barbados Free Press, many of their followers fled to BU. The reason? BU is supposed to be a DLP supporting blog. Really? Well, how come a recent headline asked the question, “Is The Ship Sinking, Captain Thompson?” Now where is the logic in that? Oh, I forgot – BFP are not logical. Their “logic” boils down to the fact that if you don’t bash the DLP EVERY DAY over the ITAL issue, then you’re pro-DLP. Well, I suppose it would be stretching the imagination somewhat to think that Bourne Senior (BFP) could ever be logical.
By the way, the latest BFP banner invites people to visit their “friends” at Bajan Reporter. Shouldn’t that read, “Visit my son …”???!
http://www.nationnews.com/news/local/sinckler-on-const–councils-copy-for-web
Does anyone know why or how the constituency councils have already spent 2.5 to 3 million dollars before they have even become official??
Tell your political representative what you think about his or her level of representation grading on a scale of 1 to 5. Due to overwhelming reSponse we have decided to increase the grades to 10.
1) Disappointing
2) Poor Rakey
3) Elusive
4) Tries
5) Hardworking
6) Arrogant
7) Clueless
8) Does not deserve a second Term
9) Deserves a second Term
10) Should save the Treasury some money and resign.
Here is how it goes, my grade for George Hutson is #1 as simple as that. Lets have some fun and provide feedback to the 30 representatives!
Please speak your mind but be respectful!
Just thought that I’d get in a word edgewise among the bickering, today is the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison.
God Lives Under The Bed
I think this is perhaps one of the BEST email ‘forwards’ I have ever read. I hope you will enjoy it half as much as I have!!
Don’t start reading this one until you’ve got more than a minute to just ‘scan’ over it. It deserves some time for reflection.
GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED
I envy Kevin. My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed. At least that’s what I heard him say one night.
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, ‘Are you there, God?’ he said. ‘Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed…’
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin’s unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.
He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he’s 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult.
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?
Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.
He does not seem dissatisfied.
He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.
He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day’s laundry chores.
And Saturdays – oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That’s the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. ‘That one’s goin’ to Chi-car-go! ‘ Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.
He doesn’t know what it means to be discontent. His life is simple.
He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax.
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God.
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child. Kevin seems to know God – to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an ‘educated’ person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion.
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances – they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God’s care.
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God.
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I’ll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
Kevin won’t be surprised at all!
When you readthis, say a prayer. That’s all you have to do. There is nothing attached. This is powerful.
To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine…
and those who don’t.
As Ben Franklin said:
In wine there is wisdom,
in beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria.
In a number of carefully controlled trials,
scientists have demonstrated that if we drink
1 liter of water each day,
at the end of the year we would have absorbed
more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) – bacteria
found in feces.
In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop..
However,
we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer
(or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor)
because alcohol has to go through a purification process
of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember:
Water = Poop,
Wine = Health.
Therefore, it’s better to drink wine and talk stupid,
than to drink water and be full of shit.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information:
I’m doing it as a public service!
THE DOLL & THE WHITE ROSE
I was walking around in a Wal Mart store, when I saw a cashier
hand this little boy some money back.
The boy couldn’t have been
more than 5 or 6 years old..
The Cashier said, ‘I’msorry, but you don’t have
enough money to buy this doll..’
Then the little boy turned to the
old woman next to him: ”Granny, are you sure I
don’t have enough money?”
The old lady replied:
”You know that you don’t have enough money to
buy this doll, my dear.”
Then she asked him to stay there
for just 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left
quickly..
The little boy was still holding
the doll in his hand..
Finally, I walked toward him and
I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.
‘It’s the doll that my
sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas.
She was sure that Santa Claus
would bring it to her.’
I replied to him that maybe Santa
Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.
But he replied to me sadly.
‘No, Santa Claus can’t bring it to her where she is
now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can
give it to my sister when she goes there.’
His eyes were so sad while saying
this.. ‘My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says
that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought
that she could take the doll with her to give it to my
sister.”
My heart nearly stopped..
The little boy looked up at me
and said: ‘I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I
need her to wait until I come back from the mall.’
Then he showed me a very nice
photo of himself. He was laughing.. He then told me ‘I
want mommy to take my picture with her so she won’t
forget me.’
‘I love my mommy and I wish
she didn’t have to leave me, but daddy says that she has
to go to be with my little sister.’
Then he looked again at the doll
with sad eyes, very quietly.
I quickly reached for my wallet
and said to the boy. ‘Suppose we check again, just in
Case you do have enough money for the doll!”
OK’ he said, ‘I hope I do
have enough.’ I added some of my money to his without
him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for
the doll and even some spare money..
The little boy said: ‘Thank
you God for giving me enough money!’
Then he looked at me and added,
‘I asked last night
before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough
money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give it to my
sister. He heard me!”
‘I also wanted to have enough
money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn’t
dare to ask God for too much.. But He gave me enough to buy
the doll and a white rose.”
‘My mommy loves white
roses.’
A few minutes later, the old lady
returned and I left with my basket.
I finished my shopping in a
totally different state of mind from when I started.
I couldn’t get the little boy out
of my mind.
Then I remembered a local news
paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a
truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little
girl.
The little girl died right away,
and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had
to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining
machine, because the young woman would not be able to
recover from the coma.
Was this the family of the little
boy?
Two days after this encounter
with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young
woman had
passed away.
I couldn’t stop myself as I
bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home
where the body of the young woman was for people to see and
make last wishes before her burial.
She was there, in her coffin,
holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of
the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.
I left the place, teary-eyed,
feeling that my life had been changed for ever… The love
that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is
still, to this day, hard to imagine.
And in a fraction of a second, a
drunk driver had taken all
this away from him.
The quote of the month is by Jay
Leno: ‘With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control,
mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the
country from one end to the other, and with the threat of
swine flu and terrorist attacks, ‘Are we sure this is a
good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?’
On the issues of political maturity, it’s worth looking at the public in-fighting going on in Britain’s ruling Labour Party between the Chancellor and the PM, http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/24/gordon-brown-alistair-darling?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter.
Obama’s administration is now getting at each other as the heat mounts after the MA defeat and health issue struggles, see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/19/AR2010021904298.html?hpid=opinionsbox1.
Also, crossing various streams of thought and commentary, see one way that UWI Cave Hill can take lessons from Mona on trying to facilitate debate on key issues: The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) will tomorrow hold a joint seminar presentation on the Jamaican economy and the implications of the International Monetary Fund Agreement, http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100224/business/business5.html
This may be of passing interest to some
Passions starting to flare between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands or as the Argentines call them Las Malvinas. The latest flare up is over the Brits exploring for oil off the coast of the islands which Argentina still claims. During the 1982 war Britain was led by a female PM Margaret Thatcher, now Argentina is led by a female President Christina Kirchner (who was last in the news when she declared that pork is better than Viagra).
Chavez was also on his radio program telling the Queen to get out of Argentina, however my interest was piqued when I read that Argentina had secured the unanimous support of 32 Latin American and Caribbean countries during a meeting on Tuesday. Which Caribbean countries? Was Barbados or any English speaking Caribbean countries included? Are these countries wearing their Commonwealth Caps or their OAS caps? If the Caribbean countries are supporting Argentina, what happens when Chavez and Venezuela makes their claim to part of Guyana?
The leaders of Britain and Argentina are having their problems. Gordon Brown is suffering from low polls and bad Press and Kirchner is facing a tough time due to Argentina’s economic problems one wonders if a military escalation would help restore their popularity.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/feb/24/argentina-falkland-islands-un
Careful out there!
Folks are becoming more and cruel daily. But this is just the
beginning of pangs of distress. With the decline in economy and job
losses, we can expect anything. Just can’t be too careful these days.
If you are driving at night and eggs are thrown at your windshield. Do
not operate the wiper and spray any water because eggs mixed with water
become milky and block your vision up to 92.5% so you are forced to stop
at the roadside and become a victim of robbers.
This is a new technique used by robbers.
Please inform your friends and relatives.
Things that make one go hmmmnnnn….
Further signs of the economic malaise facing the Caribbean is the report of the CIBC’s first quarter profit. Although the Bank did better than expected the following is an excerpt from the attached article:
The amount of money the bank has set aside for troubled loans rose to $365-million, from $278-million a year ago, as a result of higher losses in its personal lending business at FirstCaribbean International Bank.
First Caribbean is in 18 Caribbean territories and the Regional Head Office is located in Barbados but it would be interesting to know where the bulk of those losses occurred.
I read recently that the local Head of the Bank in Barbados had left his position for other ventures.
Hmmmnnn, Hmmmnnnn
The paragraph starting with “The” … and ending with “Bank” is the only excerpt from the article
FISH THAT LIVES IN TREES FOUND IN BELIZE
A species of killifish related to the Kryptolebias marmoratus (Photo: Britannica)
Many years ago, explorers of the Amazon reported that they had come across fish that were “cooling out” in trees. Their story was viewed with some skepticism and some scientists regarded the story as an outright lie designed to attract attention to their sojourn in South America. Now this year reports are coming in of fish that live in trees. See story below:
BELMOPAN, Belize, October 19, 2007 – Scientists have found one of the oddest fish known to mankind in abundance in Belize.
The killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus) have been found living in mangrove trees according to research published in The American Naturalist and reported in the New Scientist magazine.
The small colorful fish (about two-inches long) found in mangrove swamps can survive several months living inside pathways carved by insects in rotting logs.
In surveys in Belize scientists found “hundreds of killifish lined up end to end, like peas in a pod,” writes Elie Dolgin in New Scientist Magazine.
The fish survive by “[remodeling] their gills to retain water and nutrients, and [adding] new proteins to their skin to excrete nitrogen waste.” These changes are reversed as soon as they return to the water. The species is also the only known hermaphrodite vertebrate that is capable of self-fertilization.
As scientists wake up to the possibility that fish can live in trees, the DAILY MAIL on 31st October 2007 reports:
It”s one of the golden rules of the natural world – birds live in trees, fish live in water. The trouble is, no one bothered to tell the mangrove killifish.
Scientists have discovered that it spends several months of every year out of the water and living inside trees.
Hidden away inside rotten branches and trunks, the remarkable creatures temporarily alter their biological makeup so they can breathe air. Biologists studying the killifish say they are astonished it can cope for so long out of its natural habitat.
The discovery, along with its ability to breed without a mate, must make the mangrove killifish, Rivulus marmoratus Poey, one of the oddest fish known to man.
Around two inches long, they normally live in muddy pools and the flooded burrows of crabs in the mangrove swamps of Florida, Latin American and Caribbean.
The latest discovery was made by biologists wading through swamps in Belize and Florida who found hundreds of killifish hiding out of the water in the rotting branches and trunks of trees. The fish had flopped their way to their new homes when their pools of water around the roots of mangroves dried up. Inside the logs, they were lined up end to end along tracks carved out by insects.
Dr Scott Taylor of the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Programme in Florida admitted the creatures were a little odd.
“They really don”t meet standard behavioural criteria for fish,” he told New Scientist magazine.
Although the cracks inside logs make a perfect hiding place, conditions can be cramped. The fish – which are usually fiercely territorial – are forced to curb their aggression.
Previously their biggest claim to fame was that they are the only known vertebrate – animal with a backbone – to reproduce without the need for a mate.
Killifish can develop both female and male sexual organs, and fertilise their eggs while they are still in the body, laying tiny embryos into the water.
They are not the only fish able to breathe air. The walking catfish of South-east Asia has gills that allow it to breathe in air and in water.
The climbing perch of India can suffocate in water unless it can also gulp in air.
@GP,
Fish making the transition to land… hmm…. where have I heard that before? LOL
David
Don’t know if you are finished with your tweaking of the blog, but a time stamp indicating when posts are published and the highlighting of submissions that individuals have already viewed would be appreciated.. Apart from those two small points the makeover is refreshing.
Yes the paint job looks nice, but it seems to take a bit longer for comments to be posted after you submit, then again it might be my connection. The last time this reply thing caused havoc so I will have to investigate a long thread to see how it behaves this time around.
The MTFS and MTDS have been on Business Barbados since Tuesday and I saw it on the BGIS site for a while under Press Releases.
http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=business&NewsID=9359
Parliament to review new legislation including budget measure from 2008
3/9/2010
“The other measure which will be dealt with in Parliament is the Environmental levy act.
This is an act already in place but the government is replacing the old one with a new one which includes significant new provisions for the charging of the levy on locally manufactured goods.
In his 2008 Budget, Prime Minister David Thompson had said that one of the major underpinnings of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas is that any taxation introduced by regional member states should not distort competition by discriminating against products from member states.
Additionally, he said that a call had been made by other Treaty partners for Barbados to make its Environmental Levy legislation consistent with the rules of the Revised Treaty.
As such, he revealed that the levy will be applied on local production as well as on imports. However, those manufacturers who export will qualify for a rebate on the levy on the imports. There will now be a two per cent levy on such goods.
It is understood that all manufacturers have to apply to be registered before the commencement date of April 1, 2010.”
**********************************************************************************************
How does one reconcile the fact that, while the government is asking employers to retain staff, even if they are not making profits; it is now proposing to inflict an additional burden on manufacturers, currently struggling to compete with regional imports?
Can manufacturers afford to pass on this levy to a dwindling customer base, wary of the slightest increase?
The attempt to encourage exports, by offering a rebate, will not achieve much, unless a way is found to make Barbadian products competitive within the region.
We are not exactly over-flowing with innovative products waiting to be exported in markets that had been carefully cultivated and nurtured over the years.
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them
Fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit
Was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The
Two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit
With all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop,
That they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took
Heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down
And died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again,
The crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He
Jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the
Other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?” The frog explained to
Them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the
Entire time.
This story teaches two lessons:
1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging
Word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it
Through the day.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes
To kill them.
Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your
Path. The power of words… It is sometimes hard to understand
That an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak
Words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in
Difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time
To encourage another.
Hartley Henry’s article in the Advocate is a good read today. Quite right too! Opposition leaders must bring something to the table, other than criticism with no substance.
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2009/03/13/inequality.pdf
check this link out. it is about inequality and its direct link to social ills. its a poster, great stuff!!!!
Virgin Manager Flouting Immigration Rules – No work permit yet working over 6 months in Barbados!
How is it that certain companies and certain ethnicities can behave how they want in Barbados and get away from it?
Virgin Atlantic, a company with a traditionally healthy respect for the ways of the Caribbean, has chosen to send down a new Regional Manager without a work permit first being issued!
What makes it worse is that this new regional manager, Nick Parker, appears to suffer from a considerable “Massa” complex and has been openly abusive and condescending to his, primarily black, staff.
So much so that many who had not previously done so are rushing to join the union in order to stop his bullying.
What I wonder is….had he been a Guyanese or Nigerian how fast would he have been thrown out?
Apparently the situation has been reported to the Immigration Department but it appears that there are some rules for you and I and others for the Massa Whiteman from Virgin…
Apparently he has reduced some of his staff to tears daily and many are considering leaving the company even in this difficult economic climate.
Can we get the Immigration Department to correct this bad situation? I doubt it.
More whining. You know what? If I had invested millions of dollars in Barbados and the Bajan economy, I would damn well make sure I had a head office representative there protecting the companies interests. Who better to oversee the running of a multi-million dollar operation than one of the companies head guys. Knowing what I know about Bajan workers and their never-ending whinging and whining about something rather than actually doing the work they are paid to do, somebody with experience needs to be there. The sad fact of the matter is that Bajans could never cut it in the North American or European work market, they are too accustomed to a slow easy pace where too much time is frittered away and not very much work getting done. Oh, and of course, the unions support them in this malingering attitude.
@David,
Re the closing of the “Reconstruction of Haiti blog.”
I see the “BU trinity” has forced you into action once again. I commend you most highly for your timely action. I wonder if they have learnt anything from their actions as yet.
I can’t help but note that this is the 2nd blog in a row within the last month that that they have helped to have closed down.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.