Tag Archives: Barbados Press

Response to JAMAICA GLEANER: EDITORIAL – Barbadian Press Blunder

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Submitted by Fair Play
The Gleaner said to have "fraternal relations" with the Nation newspaper.

The Gleaner said to have “fraternal relations” with the Nation newspaper.

Yesterday, The Jamaica Gleaner newspaper rushed to the defence and support of the Nation newspaper, with which, by its own admission, it has “fraternal relations”. However, right thinking Barbadians, as well as those knowledgeable Jamaicans living here, should point out to the Gleaner that, unlike some other countries – that will remain nameless – the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Barbados is a strictly independent one. So, to raise the bogeyman of political interference is total poppycock, and does not befit a reputable newspaper as The Gleaner. Wrong is wrong, regardless of who does it. Enough said on that score.

Now, the same Gleaner newspaper ought to remember that, just a few decades ago, one of its outstanding editors, the late J C Proute, warned its readers against such lecherous and off-colour reporting.  In one of his weekly columns, and subsequently during a guest lecture at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) in 1980, JC termed such acts “journalistic gaucherie”.

The Gleaner’s spurious argument that “the faces of the minors engaged in the sexual act (were) blurred and unrecognisable”, hence it was ok to publish the picture, is nonsensical. The salient point is that photo was accompanied by (juxtaposed against) the most graphic, detailed and explicit account of the sex act. Nothing was left to the imagination. PLAIN PORNOGRAPHY!

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Barbados.org is that You?

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Submitted by Due Diligence
Adrian Elcock, Chairman of the BTA

Adrian Elcock, Chairman of the BTA

When I Googled “Barbados All Inclusive” yesterday [17 November 2013] I clicked on the barbados.org link, then http://www.barbados.org/allinclusive_vacations.php#.UoohrxaSKRY,There I found a list of 8 all-inclusive resorts, I then printed pages 1 to 3 of the 5 pages. On the printed page 2 of 5, the same two pictures of the two kids and the two adults which appeared on the website were printed – and, unbelievably,  under those pictures there is an ad for Transat Holidays for – SAINT LUCIA!. A copy of the printed page is attached. When I revisited the same page this morning, and printed page 2 of 5, the Transat/Saint Lucia ad was replaced with an Air Canada/CIBC ad.  Copy also attached. Apparently barbdos.org sells ad space to travel organizations which rotate and appear only in the printed material.

I suggest it might be timely for those who control barbados.org, the “Official Website of the Barbados Tourism Authority“, to do a bit of due diligence into the workings of its website.

Police Service Commission Should Have Passed Darwin Dottin’s File to the Director of Public Prosecutions to Seek His Arrest

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Former Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin

Former Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin

The top story of the week stoked by the local media is that a newspaper snagged a video which was circulating on Facebook for over a month and posted a blurred image of two teens having sex in a classroom full in the knowledge they were being video recorded. BU has no doubt the public outcry provoked by this incident like all the others before will pass with nothing material done to address the factors at the root of juvenile and parental delinquency in our society. It must be said that the newspaper at the centre of the incident must have experienced a spike in sales.

This is one week  since the Police Service Commission Report to Retire Commissioner Darwin Dottin was released by BU and ignored by traditional media. How can anyone take the local media and the bevy of talk show hosts seriously when in one breath they pontificate about the moral issue emanating from the sex video, and rightly so, but ignore an issue which attacks a key plank in our governance system.  What separates Barbados from the rest has been our ability to maintain law and order on our little island. Despite all of our challenges Barbadians have always prided themselves in being a peaceful and law abiding nation.

While Barbados was consumed this week by the sex video saga the global media reacted to news that the USA (Big Brother) hacked the phones of prominent persons across the globe. All part of adhering to national security. And in Britain there was the news that the long awaited trial of Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson is set to begin, a case where two journalists are alleged to have hacked the phone records of members of parliament, members of the royal family and others – Phone hacking: Court told of tabloids’ ‘decade of deceit.

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Nation Newspaper Exploits Children in Need of Help

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Submitted by The Mahogany Coconut Think Tank/Watchdog Group
Vivian Anne Gittens: Publisher of the Nation Newspaper

Vivian Anne Gittens: Publisher of the Nation Newspaper

The publishing by the Nation Newspaper of Barbados, of two minors engaging in sexual activity, is a violent violation of the Convention of Rights of Children (CRC) as outlined by UNICEF of which the country of Barbados is a signatory. It is clearly pointed out within the CRC, that children have rights and privileges of adults. They are not the property of their parents or their schools but are equal to adults.

The photo carried on the back page of the Sunday Sun, was a very voracious grab at sensationalism and the public is correct in its outrage. Whether we condone under aged children having sex is irrelevant and the nation must know that in a small country such as Barbados, the children’s identities cannot be hidden.

The Mahogany Coconut Group calls on the greedy predators at the Nation Newspaper to desist from exploiting our Caribbean children with immediate effect .

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Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler Reacts to Criticism on the Eve of No Confidence Motion

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Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler

Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler

Yesterday [21/10/2013] David Ellis of Voice of Barbados shared audio of Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler [MoF] and Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley. BU finds the audio interesting because of the comments which the MoF directed at David Ellis, Dennis Johnson, Corey Layne and Netafari Caddle in their role as talk show hosts. Listen and be the judge, justified you think?

Although the focus today [22/10/2013] is expected to be on a motion of No Confidence brought by the Opposition against the MoF the broadside by the MoF on the media should be of concern. At a time when the country should be fixated on finding ways to surmount the economic challenges this is where we find ourselves. Is it not interesting both political parties eventually become confrontational with the media?

Listen to the MoF’s comment followed by the Leader of the Opposition

Roy Morris ME

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Roy Morris

Roy Morris

BU understands from a reliable source that former Associate Editor Roy Morris will be returning to the Nation newspaper in mid-September to take up the BIG job. The murky circumstances which led to his departure from Barbados’ leading newspaper appear to have dissipated with time.

Our source has confirmed that the coming of Morris was announced at a staff meeting yesterday by the Editor Emeritus. If the management and staff are welcoming of the man who developed a reputation of an expositor of the minibus sector, then BU joins them to welcome the return of Roy.

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Cable & Wireless: When is a LIME not Local?

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Send info to BU by using the contact form at the bottom of this blog

Send info to BU by using the contact form at the bottom of this blog

The following was received from a trusted source and BU adds its voice to the query.

– Barbados Underground

“It is alleged that a Canadian who has Barbados citizenship is living in Barbados and being paid out of Cayman and not paying a cent of taxes to the Barbados Government. Her name is apparently J*****er M*******son from Cable and Wireless and all the Executives know and is pushing it under the carpet. Maybe this is why our economy is how it is.

Please let this email address remain anonymous. But do some investigating around it. It was reported to the tax department and no one seem to have followed up on it and this individual would owe hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

If there information out there to clarify this matter please send to the BU confidential comment box below which can only be read by BU personnel. Continue reading →

Are We to See the Second Coming of Roy Part II

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Submitted by Nomen Nescio
Roy Morris

Roy Morris

Well guess who, it is Nomen Nescio again. I found it interesting reading the comments to my post that perverted Roy Morris will be returning to the self-dubbed family newspaper or Nation Newspaper. Thank you David for your comments against those doubting Thomases such as, in particular, Plantation Deeds and BAFBPF or Baffy.  I will respond to them at the end of this update.

Since the posting of the article more cutting edge information was received which I felt compelled to share with the BU family. As I first suspected and was confirmed by impeccable sources, the resurrection of Roy Morris was triggered by the Board of the Nation Publishing Company, which as I said before is chaired by that hypocritical Harold Hoyte. We going get to the salacious on him after we deal with the facts of the matter.  And I’m going to be fair to all.

See Related Link: Are We to See the Second Coming of Roy?

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Are We to See the Second Coming of Roy?

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Submitted by  Nomen Nescio
Roy Morris

Roy Morris

Word in the journalistic fraternity is that Roy Morris will be returning to the Nation Newspaper come 5 September. Ever since a week-and-a-half ago when the Newspaper advertised for an Editor-in-Chief the phones have been buzzing in Fontabelle about the imminent return of the PERVERT Morris, who at present is the Editor-in-Chief at the fledging on-line Newspaper Barbados Today.

Well for those suffering from short memory it was back in July 2007 that Morris, the then Managing Editor of the Nation Publishing Company, was fired after he invited a 16 year old girl he met whilst the girl was visiting the Nation, on a night ride in his jeep. As the story unfolded, after making his play for sex and was turned down by the teenager, Morris placed his licensed firearm on the dashboard, the sight of which persuaded the young lass not to resist.

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Is Big Brother Listening to YOU?

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Submitted by St George’s Dragon
What happened to the surveillance equipment used by CWC?

What happened to the surveillance equipment used by CWC?

The big news in the USA and UK is about their Governments tapping into the internet service providers and having access to all the emails, Skype calls, photos etc., that go through Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and the other technology companies.

What about Barbados?

Will our Government tell us what access it has to our private data? No, of course not. Will our press seek out the truth as happened in the USA and UK? I don’t think so. So it is left to us, the public, to piece together the facts about what goes on behind the scenes in Barbados. Here is my starter for ten.

There have been rumours in the past of phone tapping relating to Jeff Broomes, Hal Gollop and a senior officer in the BPF. Although the Hal Gollop case was referred to the police, unsurprisingly I don’t remember seeing any conclusion to this or the other cases.

It is fairly common knowledge that some security systems were put in place at the time of the World Cup Cricket in 2007 although the headline was focused on a “blimp” which apparently no longer works. It is also known that there is a Command and Control centre in the District A Police Station grounds although what it does is not clear. One of the floors was rumoured to have been fitted out by or for an Israeli company. An Israeli company was also linked to the cameras which appeared on the south coast a while ago. Whether that is the same company is not clear, although the odds are that it is likely to be.

So is Big Brother listening in? What other information do you know?

Nation Editorial, Classic Example of ‘Pussy Cat Journalism’

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Submitted by Douglas
Eric Smith, Editor in Chief of Nation Newspaper

Eric Smith, Editor in Chief of Nation Newspaper

Monday’s Nation Editorial is a classic example of what my Mass Com professor used to call ‘Pussy Cat Journalism’. From the accusing headline to the first few paragraphs and the  general drift and body of the story, a reader is sure to deduce that Government was at fault for the delay in the Bushy Park Development.

But, read on, and you would see who is responsible for the delay. In fact, no application has been submitted to Town Planning as yet.  So, a reasonable person is tempted to ask: why such an editorial? Why even state that “in light of the number of Government Ministries and Departments that would be involved in carrying out an assessment …….. of the application”; and “We are sure that once the application seeking permission has been duly submitted, the Town Planning Department would, as speedily as possible, process the paperwork for a developmental project that would greatly assist our starved economy, while ensuring that the public’s long-term interests are respected and protected.”

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Update: Leroy Parris v BLP, Nation and Barbados Advocate

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Marston Gibson, Chief Justice of Barbados Designate

Marston Gibson, Chief Justice

In the interest of sharing all information received about any matters which BU has reported on, we have been advised and updated on the issue of the Parris v BLP and Nation and Barbados Advocate as follows:

Mr Hal Gollop QC filed an action for defamation against the Nation which pre-dates the Parris action. The law firm of Carrington and Sealy acts for the Nation and Mr Vernon Smith QC is acting for Mr Gollop.

The essence of the complaint is that on January 07, 2013, the Nation captured and published the photograph which is the subject of dispute. Reasonable conclusion, the Nation was the author and the holder of copyright of the photograph. The BLP subsequently used the photograph and caption in their campaign. Thus, Mr Gollop has also advanced a claim of conspiracy against the Nation and the BLP.

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Leroy Parris v BLP, Nation and Barbados Advocate: Chief Justice Gibson Produces a What the Hell Moment

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Marston Gibson, Chief Justice
Leroy Parris

Barbadians were treated recently to the news that the enigmatic Chairman of CLICO Holdings Barbados Leroy Parris who was deposed when the bottom fell out of the CLICO parent company in Trinidad has filed a legal action against the Nation, Barbados Advocate and Barbados Labour Party (BLP). Parris would not have made the top 200,000th popular person list in Barbados prior to his recent court action. Now that he has filed the action his position is likely to slide to 250,000th.

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A Case of Massaging News

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Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica - photo credit Dominica News

Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica – photo credit: Dominica News

On 27 April 2013 Barbados Underground (BU) posted the blog Who Are the Local Partners in Cost-U-Less?. Although the Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit has denied the word making the rounds that he is a local shareholder, BU defends our right to ask questions of Skerrit or anyone in the interest of providing clarification.

In the interest of providing further clarification it should be noted that the Companies Act Cap 308 places sole responsibility of managing the company in the hands of the Directors. What this means is that unless a shareholder choses to be a Director the public is left to speculate who are the shareholders. The Act is drafted to protect the Shareholder who  – if not a Director – has no say in the conduct of the company.

BU reiterates our position taken in the original blog, in the interest of transparency the other names mentioned (Hartley Henry, the Estate of David Thompson and Leroy Parris) should state publicly whether they have an interest in Cost U Less (CUL).  The government has approved significant concessions to CUL and given the names mentioned the public has a right to know. It should be noted that Pricesmart has since denied receiving similar concessions. Also at the time of launch it was widely reported that David Staples represented local shareholder interest. Perhaps in the interest of protecting its goodwill CUL should make a public statement stating who are the local shareholders.

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