Notes From a Native Son: For Whom the Bell Tolls, If Not for Thee?

Introduction:

Hal Austin

Hal Austin

The natives are getting restless as the dark clouds descend, it is as if there is  an expectation of bad news. While ministers and their advisers, clearly out of their policy-making depths, struggle with a patchwork of policies initiatives, mainly around the exhausted tourism sector, the rest of government and the private sector is in lock down. People are talking as in a Tower of Babel, but the noise is not making any sense, often lacking in coherence and simple logic, while in the meantime nothing is happening. Even so, what passes for policy is usually a further waste of taxpayers’ money: Four Seasons, Almond Village, Sandals, Transport Board, Gems, the chaos at the central bank – we all know the score. Absent from this roll call are any new and persuasive ideas from parliamentarians, technocrats or policy advisers. It is as if there are no answers to the nation’s problems, that the millions we have spend on education since 1966 has all been in vain, that together as a people we cannot put country before party or ego and come up with viable solutions to our problems.

Entrepreneurial State:
Recently I received a review copy of a book, The Entrepreneurial State, by Mariana Mazzucato, professor of economics at the University of Sussex, and it is a wonderful read. If I though it would have been appreciated, I would send a copy to every member of parliament – government and opposition – so that they can get new ideas on the pioneering role of government in economic development. Prof Mazzucato gives a long list of the new technologies and sectors, from the internet to Apple, Google, pharmaceuticals, and numerous others developments that would not have seen the light of day had not for early State support and intervention. It was State funding – government, military, health service, universities – that funded the early stages of most of these developments before they were transferred to the private sector.
It is a development that we have seen with the global banking crisis and the subsequent sovereign debt meltdown: a crisis that started with Bill Clinton’s removal of the Glass/Steagall barrier, which led eventually to banks over-dosing on cheap credit and, inevitably, the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Then the language of big business changed, from calls for minimum government to one of systemically important banks which had to be bailed out by taxpayers, removing huge unprecedented debt from the balance sheets of private banks to that of the State, ordinary taxpayers. Then calls for a solution, led by academics with access to policy-making, with one set calling for austerity, while the others lined up behind the so-called Australian School, calling for lighter government. But, as Prof Mazzucato has shown, there is room for State intervention, provided it is sensible and prudent and the outcomes are measured and productive.

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CL Financial bailout – Really learning from the past

It seems Barbadians have forgotten about CLICO and all the promises but what have we learned from the collapse? How have we sought to strengthen institutional capacity as a response? Is the Financial Services Commission (FSC) doing a job? Should Barbadians be privy to the sealed judicial report? What about those who were involved with CLICO Barbados and continue business as usual?

Afra Raymond’s journey in Trinidad covering CL Financial matters should serve to inspire others. This piece is recommended reading.

Did Johnson Kill Kennedy?

Submitted by Pachamama
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) was assassinated in Dallas, USA on November 22nd 1963

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) was assassinated in Dallas, USA on November 22nd 1963

For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” – JFK

Everybody seems to remember a gloomy day on November 22nd 1963 when a volley of bullets rang out in Dallas killing John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK), POTUS, and injuring Texas governor Connolly. Despite 50 years of propaganda by the conspirators to cover up the murder of the most powerful man in the world, the truth has emerged. In the last 50 years 2000 books have been written about these events, dozens of movies, many more documentaries, hundreds of unofficial investigations and several official investigations. Some of these official investigations were indeed conducted or controlled by the very people who were part of the criminal conspiracy, to as they said, ‘rid the world of Communism’.

As part of the basic conspiracy related persons and possible witnesses were killed, including one JFK’s lovers. More importantly, there was a larger conspiracy by government agencies to kill Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), the US Attorney General in 1963 and brother of the slain JFK and the FBI supported program called “Cointelpro’’ to prevent the rise of a Black messianic figure in the USA. Of course, there were other security operations like ‘zipper’ and so on. We will argue that there are many critical links between, among and within the forces that committed the murder of JFK.  It is now clear that a coalition of forces within the FBI, the CIA, Naval Intelligence and the Pentagon not only killed JFK, but more importantly, had the means, opportunity and motives to kill and cover up this assassination. These events have changed the very nature of the US Presidency and government from a democracy to the variant of oligarchy and fascism which we have today.

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Government MUST be Transparent About the Waste to Energy Plant

Minister of the Environment, Denis Lowe,

Minister of the Environment, Denis Lowe,

Where is the transparency? Two letters to the Minister of Environment Denis Lowe and a full page in September have not even garnered a response from the government. Is this government serious about open government?

Thus can you post the above article from Dr David Suzuki who the Future Centre Trust is hoping along with Nature Conservancy and Greenpeace to  ask for support? Thanks in advance on behalf of the other Environmental NGO’s

Kammie Holder, Advocacy Director, Future Centre Trust

Many urban areas have built or are considering building waste-incineration facilities to generate energy. At first glance, it seems like a win-win. You get rid of “garbage” and acquire a new energy source with fuel that’s almost free. But it’s a problematic solution, and a complicated issue.

Metro Vancouver has a facility in Burnaby and is planning to build another, and Toronto is also looking at the technology, which has been used elsewhere in the region, with a plant in Brampton and another under construction in Clarington. The practice is especially popular in the European Union, where countries including Sweden and Germany now have to import waste to fuel their generators.

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DLP: Bajans Not Good Enough – Neither Can They Reach Jamaicans High Standards – Work Permits Therefore Necessary

Henderson Bovell

Henderson Bovell

You can excuse the DLP if it did not care to read the ‘National Strategic Plan 2005-2025. But Goal #6 of that document speaks, in part, to: “Branding Barbados Globally.” When you read it, you begin to understand why the demise of a Barbadian brand like Almond, is a national scandal. I suppose the same can be said about the DLP’ reluctance to spend a puny US$500,000 to save a $80m Rum Industry, which will result in “a-310-year-old-company” leaving Barbadian hands for the first time in its history.

Of all people, the BLP, which is responsible for the “National Strategic Plan Document,” should understand that the issue of “Sandals” – is more than the quantum of concessions or what is contained in some MOU, especially since the same National Strategic Plan sought “to continue consolidating the country’s international image, particularly on account of political stability, educational quality, democratic governance and good leadership.”

I do not know that the present Barbados Cabinet and Government – are showing good leadership on tourism right now” because “Almond” is a Barbadian-home-grown-international-families-brand,” which was on par (in the view of many) with Sandals, which is nothing more than a Jamaican home-grown-international-families-brand. That makes Ralph Taylor, the equivalent of the Jamaican Butch Stewart.

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Notes From a Native Son: Unless We Create an Equal Society We Will Have Serious Social Problems

Hal Austin

Hal Austin

Introduction:
Lawyers and public commentators in Barbados have now discovered the concept of human rights, but missing from public political and economic discourse is any reference to inequality, the moral foundation of a fair and just society. The nearest we come to any mention of inequality in public space is the flawed reference to so-called free education, which disciples of the late Errol Barrow hold as the mark of his great contribution to post-war Barbados. But, after dominating public discussions since the Black Power era and the student rebellion of the 1960s, both Left and Right have returned to look at the relevance of equality in modern society. Some people have even intimated that in the post-Obama world the battle over equality has been won and we should move on. It is disingenuous. Even someone as radical as Roberto Mangabeira Unger, the Harvard professor and former minister of strategic affairs in Brazil, has called on progressives to abandon equality and replace it with something called deep freedom.

The posing of equality against freedom and human rights is a false dichotomy. What do we mean by freedom? Freedom from what? What do we mean by human rights? The idea of ‘freedom’ is a vacuous philosophical concept that has no grounding in the day-to-day lives of people living in a liberal democracy, despite its imperfections. A minority in control of an oppressive police force or military can understandably talk of freedoms, but that is a misinterpretation of the illegal behaviour of a powerful institution. A good example of this is the stop-and-frisk in New York or its equivalent stop and search in Britain, which has replaced the old Sus law, under the 1824 Vagrancy Act, introduced to control begging by deformed soldiers who had returned from the Napoleanic Warts. But the concept of equality has a firmer philosophical meaning, since it does not mean equality of outcomes, but of opportunities. It is also superior to the concept of human rights since embodied in equality are all the rights under the portmanteau term human rights.

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Nuff Respect for the Grammarian

Submitted by islandgal
Understanding standard English

Standard English is hot!

As we go about our daily tasks criticizing and making lots of noise about this and that, many of us have made typo errors while posting. Typos is one thing but when it comes to grammar how many of us need to go back to school or check our First Aid in English? I am not speaking about writing in dialect called Bajan, I am referring to the standard English we  were taught at school.  The standard English we use officially when speaking, writing a letter manually or electronically.

Folks I am no Grammarian and I will make a mistake or two from time to time. But when Newspapers and periodicals publish news and current events I expect that standard English to be used. This is not the case with the fourth estate in Barbados. Many of the editors and proof readers they employ don’t know the difference  between simple words like their, there and they’re. The difference between hear, here and hair and the list continues. Yes there are times I am stumped grammatically when writing, but I always try to find a simpler way of expressing myself so that I don’t expose too much of my behind.

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The Fear of Death or the Joys of Life

Submitted by Charles Knighton
Understanding life and death

Understanding the joys of life

Mac Fingall’s No Laughing Matter column of November 3, “The fear of dying” essentially posits that trauma is not just the result of major disasters. It does not happen to only some people. Evidently an undercurrent of trauma runs through ordinary life, shot through as it is with the poignancy of impermanence. Instead of post-traumatic stress disorder, we suffer from pre-traumatic stress disorder. Seemingly, there is no way to be alive without being conscious of the potential for disaster. One way or another, death (and its cousins: old age, illness, accidents, separation and loss) hangs over all of us. Nobody is immune. Our world is unstable and unpredictable, and operates, to a great degree and despite incredible scientific advancement, outside our ability to control it.

As with all things, one’s perspective is key, and there is a cure for this disorder. We can live our lives with a fear of dying, or we can develop a philosophy which holds that the purpose of mortality is to teach us, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy ourselves and live. Life’s journey leads us all to the same destination. Whether our sojourn is one of fear or exuberance is all we have the power to control.

Goodness Gracious CBC, Time to Get Doug Some New Suits

Submitted by Napolean Bonaparte
Doug Hoyte, CBC Morning Barbados host

Doug Hoyte, CBC Morning Barbados host

Don’t say it, and we are not being picky, but one cannot help but notice Morning Barbados’ lead anchor Doug Hoyte is in need of a couple of new suits. Good grief man, hasn’t the Board noticed Doug’s futile attempt at hiding the fact that he has out grown his current wardrobe and now has resorted to hiding this embarrassment ?

Viewers cannot help but notice the first button is unduly stressed and barely able to maintain its confines. Doug on the other hand, being a true professional, has resorted  to placing his coffee mug (snugly in front of him) to camouflage the obvious.

We the viewers have begun to wonder why Doug would always be seen hands crisscrossed on his coffee mug positioned strategically, in a rather perplexing position. Much to our dismay, on closer examination, it has become most obvious that the good man, like many Bajans,  has been caught at the counter of overly indulgence once, twice, too often.

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LIAT Update

Click image to sign the PETITION!

Click image to sign the PETITION!

The following was circulated to those who signed the petition by James Lynch, PETITION FROM THE TRAVELLING PUBLIC TO THE OWNERS OF THE CARIBBEAN AIRLINE LIAT.

You need to know that LIAT are about to have another huge meltdown. Yes, it’s probably going to happen again, and maybe even worse.

All the ATR Pilots trained at the beginning before the aircraft were delivered are now due for re-currency training, and many of the senior pilots are going on their usual booked holiday in December. That’s the start of it.

So, unless somebody comes up with a small (large?) miracle, LIAT are going to have to park many of their planes and cancel/reschedule/ delay many of their flights.

LIAT management were warned by both the ECCAA (the Civil Aviation Authority) and the LIAT Pilots Association LIALPA that this was going to happen unless they made alternate plans (LIALPA also warned Brunton before the first meltdown), so the many shortages which came to a head in August are going to be dwarfed by what is about to happen again at LIAT approaching and during the Christmas Season.

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Pure Confusion from MAM

Submitted by Douglas
Can the two major political parties work together for the good of country?

Can the two major political parties work together for the good of country?

Pure Confusion From her first day on the job the Leader of the Opposition had promised to raise hell in Barbados. On the day she was sworn in she had sworn that she would be “sparing no punches”. So indeed Ms. Mottley came out of her corner fighting. She indicated that, “the Opposition was prepared to let Government introduce its new programmes free from ‘advice’ from the BLP, but once it was divulged her team would voice its concerns.” This indicates that the Leader of the Opposition never had any intention to work with the Government to take this country forward. Now what is all of this talk about, “For love of Country”? Opposition Leader Mia Mottley has sought every opportunity to paint the worse picture of Barbados possible. One would recall her use of the term, “Economic Terrorism”, in her response to the Estimates debate on March 18th 2013.

Before the world and for ever recorded in the most prestigious record of a country’s history the Leader of the Opposition chose to make political mileage from an unfortunate incident which had occurred the day before involving visitors to the country. Whenever she gets an opportunity to speak she speaks of a Barbados filled with suffering people and on the brink of collapse. One must agree with our Honourable Prime Minister that the BLP led by Opposition Leader Mia Mottley is out of touch with reality. “The Barbados filled with suffering people and on the brink of collapse is a figment of the opposition BLP’s imagination.”

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Remembering George Whitehead, aka Gandhi – Barbadian

Submitted by Rickford Burke

It is with deep sorrow that I convey to our Caribbean Community that our good friend George Whitehead, aka Gandhi, of Barbados – proprietor of “Slope Auto Sounds” on Utica Ave, has died. Gandhi was an avid cricket fan, committed community and social activist, member of the Progressive Democratic Political Association and a humanitarian. We will miss his entrepreneurial spirit, kindness and activism. His funeral will be held on Monday, October 28, from 6 p.m to 9 p.m at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, Hawthorne St. (between Nostrand and New York Avenues).

I extend my sincere condolences to his wife Emily and to the rest of his family and friends May his soul RIP!

Child Online Protection Program Against Cyber Bullying Launched

Notes from a Native Son returns on October 31, 2013.

Submitted by James Bynoe (CEO, Caribbean Cyber Security Center)
Cyber-bullying on the rise

Cyber-bullying on the rise

Just this week a (12) year old girl in the U.S committed suicide due to cyber bullying from a 12 and 14 year old who were subsequently arrested and charged by police.  This cyber-crime not only took the life of a beautiful young girl it also has significantly impacted the many lives in all three families involved and their community, for years to come.

Like so many of our kids this cyber bullying victim’s mobile phone was the window to her virtual world, but also the door to her cyber-torment.  On her last morning alive, the 12-year old girl used her mobile device for a final time, changing her identity on a message sharing application to “That Dead Girl” before sending a farewell note to two friends. Then, instead of going to school, she made her way to an abandoned cement works facility, climbed a tower and jumped to her death.

This young girl’s death should unleashed a wave of awareness about the threat of cyber bullying in the  often unruly terrain called the internet, where many children now live out so much of their lives here in Barbados and across the region.  She is among the youngest victims driven by the debilitating scourge of online cyber bullying to take their own lives. That those sending her hate-filled messages were equally fresh-faced girls is also all the more shocking.

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Political Messiah Needed to Infuse Confidence

Fisher, managing director of Institutional Emerging Markets Sales at Oppenheimer & Company

Fisher, managing director of Institutional Emerging Markets Sales at Oppenheimer & Company

“The likes of Aruba, The Bahamas, Bermuda and Trinidad are the most attractive issuers from the Caribbean, he said, while Panama and El Salvador are popular markets in Central America. Barbados, at one time, was among the list of most attractive issuers, but its economy has faltered since the 2008 world financial crisis.”

Read the full article in the  The Gleaner

The quote is attributed to Gregory Fisher, Managing Director of Institutional Emerging Markets Sales at Oppenheimer & Company. Oppenheimer for those who want to be assured of their credentials, is one of the leading investment banks in the world and has been around for 125 years.

And why have we focused on the Fisher comment?

Less than a week after the Caribbean Court of Justice delivered the Shanique Myrie decision which went against Barbados, we have a leading player in the global investment market making a comment which has made another big withdrawal from Barbados’ reputational capital. The fact the comment followed the withdrawal of a Tender Offer by the Barbados government less than two weeks ago because it was undersubscribed gives heavy credence to Fisher’s assessment.

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Caribbean Cyber Security Awareness Month: “Be Aware, Be Proactive”

Submitted by James Bynoe (Caribbean Cyber Security Center)
Stay safe Onnline

Stay safe on the Internet

October is Global Cyber Security Awareness Month and it remains critically important to engage all Barbados public and private sector stakeholders – especially the general public – to becoming more aware of the many internet risks, threats and vulnerabilities facing us daily at home, school and work.  Based on regional cyber security incidents within the last 18 months “EVERYONE” in Barbados has a role to play in promoting effective cyber security as cyber criminals and predators have targeted Barbados and the overall Caribbean region. Constantly evolving cyber threats also require the engagement of all Barbadians in following international cyber security best practices and standards — from government and law enforcement to the private sector and most importantly, the public.

Cyberspace is woven into the fabric of our daily lives and the world is more interconnected today than ever before. We enjoy the benefits and convenience that cyberspace provides as we shop from home online, bank using our smart phones, and interact with friends from around the Caribbean and world. However while the benefits of the internet outweigh the negatives, the negatives from cybercrime and online sex predators must be addressed.  To address the internet negatives the Caribbean Cyber Security Center is   committed to raising cyber security awareness in Barbados and to working across all levels of government, the private sector, and internationally to protect against network compromises, and child internet exploitation.

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Notes From a Native Son : Digital Poverty is the Worst form of Poverty in a Technological Age

Hal Austin

Hal Austin

Introduction:
Today, Friday, is the 15th birthday of Google – Happy Birthday. It is hard to imagine that the new technology which drives our lives has only been around since the early 1990s. Almost everything we do, every activity we undertake, is now driven by some form of technology, in a way that was unimaginable all those years ago. It is only when we get in to silly conversations about having learned to type on a typewriter that we realise that not many young people in our offices even know what a typewriter is. When you tell them that, as late as the 1970s, to make an overseas call one had to book the call through the telephone exchange and the operator would call back hours later to put you through to friends and relatives in Barbados, people think you are making it up. Now our lives are dominated by smart phones, which are not just mobile (cell) phones, but are mini computers capable of doing everything that a personal computer can do. Land lines are now the reserve of the massive amounts of data that flow around the globe every second, doubling three years. It is only when you come to a society such as Barbados that you fully realise the hidden dimensions of digital poverty, and what this will mean for the next generation if the government and private enterprise do not make an urgent attempt to drag Barbados kicking and screaming in to the modern age.

Technological Efficiencies:
One of the great disappointments was that as the global and regional banking and economic crises impacted that a radical programme of digitisation did not take place across government. The initial cost may have been prohibitive, but the savings over the next five to ten years would more than have paid for any such spending. New technology would not only make government department with synergies work more efficiently together, but it would have transformed the entirety of government, reducing transaction costs, straight through processing for basic services, and improving the quality of service to the public in ways they have never experienced. I will give only two examples of these synergies and how technology could improve the quality of service: by linking the land registration department with the land tax office, staff and customers would have a service that in many ways would be reduced to seconds, rather than the system we have at present. By allowing staff and customers such facilities as read-only, to make only basic changes such as correct spelling of names and addresses, and with certain managers having appropriate permissions to alter data, would result in a massive improvement. Or, by linking the registry if births, marriages and deaths files with the Archives department (for older certificates) could mean a same day, or even an hourly service, for customers. Why should they have to make a special journey to a department in Black Rock, two miles from the Court buildings, to get hold of a certificate that could be accessed online and printed out within seconds?

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Energy in Renewable Energy

Brynn O'Reilley, a second year student in the Energy Systems Engineering Technology at St. Lawrence College plugs in an electric vehicle at the launch of the college's new charging station. (Elliot Ferguson The Whig-Standard)

Brynn O’Reilley, a second year student in the Energy Systems Engineering Technology at St. Lawrence College plugs in an electric vehicle at the launch of the college’s new charging station. (Elliot Ferguson The Whig-Standard)

Now that the outcry over government’s decision to make UWI students pay tuition cost has abated, there is the opportunity to debate the issue unhinged from political rhetoric. Let us keep hope alive!

At  a recent address to the CARILEC Renewable Energy Conference Minister of Energy Darcy Boyce stated that although he understands the industry is of national importance, government will not rush policy decisions to impact the stability of the grid. Many have come to appreciate that ‘rushing’ is not a quality which is associated with the Stuart led government.  At the same CARILEC conference Caricom Ambassador expressed the view that Barbados has reached a juncture where important decisions have to be made concerning energy production and there was a ‘certain urgency’ required.

Commonsense dictates that government and the regulator should not take decisions to destabilize the EMERA owned sole electric company in Barbados. BU must question whether the minister with responsibility for energy should be the one quoted. Minister Boyce must be perceived by his utterances to be the champion of government’s renewable energy program (RE). There must be no doubt in the minds of members of the public that he is part of a decision making process to rollout RE which is calibrated to the urgency of the times. All Barbadians must feel the weight of importance which the RE program has for Barbados. We must feel his energy!

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The Resting Membrane Potential

resting_membrane

Submitted by Dr. Georgie Porgie

The provocative Bush Tea posted the following comment on the 22/09/2013 under the blog – Are These Banned Foods for Real?:

There is a CLEAR indication that the increased use of shoes has led to significant increases in human health issues because of the electrical disconnect that most shoes cause in isolating us electrically from the grounding effect of the earth. Try an walk bout barefooted hear…? Ha Ha muh belly!”

In response Dr. Georgie Porgie the scientist on BU asked:

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Counterfeit Avastin Drug Kingpin Now Living In Canada

Submitted by M.N.Saunders
Tom Haughton

Tom Haughton

I am requesting the help of the general public in finding any pertinent information regarding Mr. Tom Haughton, Mrs. Maryanne Thorkelson (Haughton) and Mr. Kris Thorkelson owners and operators of numerous internet drug companies (All working under the main company called Canada Drugs) with web sites scattered worldwide.

Mr. Tomas Haughton had set up shop in Barbados utilizing their lax laws and reputation of skirting international regulations especially when those with deep pockets and plenty of graft monies to flaunt. Mr. Haughton was able, through his political and legal connections, escape prosecution in Barbados and hide out in Canada where he was able to sanitize any and all records of his existence (there is no public records of his existence and even with a physical search I could not find anything that even showed that he existed…..even his school records, his marriage records and those of his children have somehow disappeared from public view….what money will buy when it is spread around the right sources) thus hiding from public view.

Over the past two years I have been actively investigating the goings-on of Canada Drugs and those who operated this company distributing bogus counterfeit drugs to the unsuspecting public.

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Notes From a Native Son: As a Retail Investor It is Important to Take Cautious Steps when Investing

Hal Austin

Hal Austin

Introduction

Recently I received an email from a desperate retail investor raising serious questions about her investment in a well-known Caribbean fund manager. I know the feeling. The world is still trapped in an acute financial crisis which experts are only now beginning to understand and which is concentrating minds when it comes to where to invest your hard-earned money. One widely shared view, even by leading central bankers, is that the 2008/9 crisis was the worst since the 1930s depression. But there is a growing body of work that suggests that the 1980s recession was far worse as far as businesses were concerned than the 2008/9 crisis. It is a thesis that Professor Chris Higson and his colleagues at the London Business School are doing some empirical work on, and colleagues in the US are doing similar work and their conclusions will help us to see the bigger picture. The important question on the micro level is: how do companies respond to financial crises? What happens to their balance sheets and to profitability? Modern portfolio theory makes a number of assumptions, one of which is that investors are informed; that they are rational; and that they know what they want. We know that customers, including investors, quite often do not know much about the enterprises that they invest in; that they are not rational, often investing at the top of a bull market and sell at the bottom of a bear market. Few appreciate that equity investments are for the long haul, a minimum of five years. Obviously, this is not a Quick MBA in corporate finance, but just to give an idea of what is involved in retail investing and some precautionary steps to take.

The Environment:

Before looking at the firm you intend to invest in, have a deep look at the sector and how rival firms are performing. What are the long-term prospects? Where does the firm fit in the wider landscape? Is it growing, if so, is it organic or growth by acquisitions? Few firms separate organic growth from acquisitions in their financial reports. Then there is the inflation illusion: a firm that claims to be growing through sales must adjust for inflation, once this is done, quite often real sales growth is negative. In fact, even in good years, few firms have real growth. This flows in to what Joseph Schumpeter called ‘creative destruction’ – the death and birth of new firms.

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Barbados Sports In Crisis

Submitted by Wayne Cadogan (unedited)

Five years ago, I wanted to write this article giving an in depth analysis of the various sports programs on the island and my opinion on why I thought that we were being stagnated and not going forward, and this goes for most things in Barbados. Barbados sports has been going through a metamorphosis for more than thirty years now and there is clearly no evidence of it not been stymied.

I left the island in the late sixties and Barbados had a very strong sports program where they did well at the international level. I do not have to speak about the cricket, because that speaks for its self. A Barbados football team of the 50’s and 60’s was a power house against the likes of Trinidad, Jamaica, Air France team and visiting teams from England. None of the other islands in the Caribbean were capable of beating Barbados in any sport, whether it was Netball, Athletics, Football, Cricket or even pitching marbles. I returned to live in Barbados in the early 80’s and the very week of my arrival, I ventured to the what is called the National Stadium (I always refer to it as a cow pen, because I have seen high school stadiums far superior, furthermore Universities and International Stadiums, it is disgraceful.) to watch Barbados and St. Lucia play a football match. Barbados lost to St. Lucia 1-0 and tears came to my eyes, as a result of that defeat I have never watched any form of football on the island since then. I could not believe that some twenty years later that the standard of Barbados football had deteriorated so badly that St. Lucia could have beaten them. Since then, I hear or read in the press of some of the smaller islands defeating them from time to time. We were once a football power house against the likes of Trinidad and Jamaica, but now no more. Further into the article, I will state my thoughts and the reasons why Barbados is at cross roads in all sports.

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Barbados, ‘Perhaps’ the GEM of the Caribbean

Adrian Loveridge - Owner of Peach & Quiet Hotel

Adrian Loveridge – Owner of Peach & Quiet Hotel

This week marks column number 156, or three years, and I applaud those of you who have remained loyal and focused on the message, rather than the messenger. While I may have offended a few people along the way, that was never the intention.

From my very first visit in the late nineteen sixties, I always felt that Barbados was a special place. At least in the early days, I had this great utopian dream, that at some stage, within my lifetime, the island could easily become from a tourism perspective, the Switzerland of the Caribbean.

Easily has become perhaps, an almost unreasonable objective, as most of us know, very little success is achieved without considerable and consistent effort, careful planning, attracting passionate and committed persons who can implement coherent policies and maintaining high standards. Sadly, unless those key components are in place, and working together, there is precious little hope of what must be conspicuously needed and necessary change is brought about in the foreseeable future.

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How to Change Education – from the ground up

You are invited to watch the video delivered by Sir Ken Robinson. He “addresses the fundamental economic, cultural, social and personal purposes of education. He argues that education should be personalized to every student talent, passion, and learning styles, and that creativity should be embedded in the culture of every single school.”

PURE BEACH RESORT & SPA: The Second Coming of Harlequin

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite (right), (from left) Sang Park (Ecoterra), Mark Purai (Pure Beach Resort), Gary Wallker (Ecoterra), Dr. Assad Altouhr (representative of Middle East partners) and Anwar Rabah (partly hidden) a founding partner

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite (right), (from left) Sang Park (Ecoterra), Mark Purai (Pure Beach Resort), Gary Wallker (Ecoterra), Dr. Assad Altouhr (representative of Middle East partners) and Anwar Rabah (partly hidden) a founding partner

The following was submitted on May 15, 2013 by Due Diligence, we apologize to the author for the late update. The local press has since highlighted this matter.

The Harlequin – Merricks scheme appears to be winding down with the investors accepting the inevitable. However before one can shout – Prime Minister Stuart with responsibility for Town Planning and Attorney General featured speaker at the ground breaking –  we observe another investment heading South,  it is called the Ecoterra – PURE Beach scheme.

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Fortress Caribbean Property Fund: Do We See Rats Jumping Ship?

Geoffrey Cave, Chairman of Fortress Fund

Geoffrey Cave, Chairman of Fortress Fund

There is the old saying that one should always follow the money. In the case of Barbados one can say that when the money-class in Barbados begins certain machinations others less positioned should sit up and take careful note.

A report which appears in the Barbados Today makes for interesting reading – Fortress Fund initiates major move to safeguard investors as property market sags. While the newspaper has done a good job of reportage, it is unfortunate the dearth of financial analysis by the Barbados media. Another indicator one can use to measure the quality of our education system and media fraternity, another blog perhaps.

Barbadians have always been spoiled by the idea that property value and rental income will never decline. The fact that the report by Barbados Today acknowledges that principals at Fortress Fund are warning about negative impact on the real estate market is interesting for many reasons.

PROPERTY FUND PROPOSAL

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The Other Side from Alma Parris

Submitted by Bood Sam (unedited)
Pedro Shepherd, Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT)

Pedro Shepherd, Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT)

Pedro is part of the indiscipline at Alma. He and he left hand men went to de school one day and keep the teachers near half hour after the lunch time. Dah is how the children get unruly without supervision. Shame on you Pedro.

De trained teacher wid de degree in English who ain’t want to teach English should give back the money  because she is paid for qualification. This is wastage MOF or she in competemnt?

The woman in de board office advertise wha she want although the principal gi she the right ting. Now dah ganging upon de principal because he take a position on principle. Ask de Ministry if dah true?

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Obama’s America is Hitler’s Germany of 2013

Submitted by Pachamama

Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive(Sir) Walter Scott

President Barack Obama seeking the approval of Congress to strike Syria.

President Barack Obama seeks approval of Congress to strike Syria

Even in the face of clear evidence that the Syrian government had nothing to do with the alleged use of chemical weapons (CW) in Ghouta around the 21th August 2013, the war party advances. Indeed, the evidence now points clearly at the Western backed, Takfiri, Al-Qaeda, heart eating, hand chopping, head severing terrorists supported by America and her allies that include Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, UAE, France, UK and Qatar. Terrorists, who used CW in Syria 14 separate times, some of whom were caught with CW in Turkey, were responsible for the CW attack in Aleppo where 28 died and who have projected themselves on an endless number of YouTube videos testing chemical weapons. The feign moral pretense by John Kerry, Barrack Obama and their acolytes must be accompanied by a massive propaganda war to hide the lack of morality or truth in their pack of lies. The United States and its allies are indeed the ones who most often used CW or supplied them to belligerents in times of war and peace. Indeed, the USA has vast stockpiles of all kinds of chemical, biological, conventional and nuclear weapons waiting to be used on humanity. Not even Gorbachev could persuade the American to destroy its nuclear weapons.  And whereas, there were many times in the recent past where chemical and other banned weapons were use by America, Israel and other belligerents supported by the West. And whereas, the United States of America has, from its establishment, used false flag operations or ‘national security events’ as reasons for engagement in foreign wars in order to achieve political objectives or even change political calculations at home. And whereas, the determination by Obama and the military-industrial-security apparatus is just another bald-faced lie by this administration, to pimp Obama out as a war criminal to achieve corporate objectives, we must conclude that this here war is premeditated.

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Incredulous DLP Policy Options: Selling Citizenship, Paying for Visas, and Confusing Barbadians

Submitted by George C. Brathwaite
George C. Brathwaite, founder and interim president of BAJE

George C. Brathwaite, founder and interim president of BAJE

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and his hand-picked DLP Cabinet never cease to amaze me. Their twists and turns often prompt me to dig deeper in relation to the flimsy policy options taken by an administration clearly evasive of reality. More often than not, decisions classically appear to be ironic signs of either the idiomatic factors of a heavy blanket or camouflage.

In governance, politicians will sometimes use the heavy blanket to douse fires that are usually started from within. This tactic has been repeatedly used by the DLP Cabinet to cover the fire already blazing from the cowardly caprice which pays more attention to self-image and making excuses than to measures for pragmatic and national development.

In an unending quest to silence most criticism, the DLP Cabinet has found itself on the short side of effective alternatives and solutions. Hence, resorting to camouflage becomes convenient as the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, clueless for the most part, become daring in their giveaways and maintenance of social entitlements when the country can least afford to give away anything as clearly demonstrated in the 35 million dollars cutbacks proposed for the health sector.

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Some RBC Employees Feeling the Squeeze

Chief executive, Caribbean Banking at RBC, Suresh Sookoo in an interview on the sixth floor of his St Clair, Port of Spain office last week. —Photo: Mark Bassant

Chief executive, Caribbean Banking at RBC, Suresh Sookoo in an interview on the sixth floor of his St Clair, Port of Spain office last week. —Photo: Mark Bassant

The media across the Caribbean has been highlighting the matter of whether Royal Bank/RBTT employees are being marginalized. According to our source employees are disappointed about the deafening silence of the local media – see Trinidad Express article.  Our source opines that in local banking circles RBC has become a laughing stock, the merger has done nothing except hurled the bank to the doldrums.

BU is being told personal lending has all but dried as a result of increasing delinquency. It is alleged the lenders at the bank are being told to move away from the mass market and to concentrate on the professionals groups like doctors, lawyers for example.

Workers continue to await the outcome of union and management of the bank but it appears to be a ‘Mexican Standoff’.  During the stalled talks employees are being severed, ‘final warning’ letters are given to those especially in  lending who have gotten a ‘low performance’ appraisal for the last two years, with the ultimate action being termination if improvement is not shown.

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Cash Strapped Caribbean Governments Selling Citizenships

Submitted by Mahogany Coconut Think Tank and Watchdog Group
Citizenship a commodity

Citizenship a commodity

As the economic crisis lengthens, Caribbean governments strapped for foreign exchange and foreign investments have decided to sell citizenship in order to plug holes within their economies. We have already stated that we are being drawn into a whirlpool of global proportions that may very well, forever, change the image and direction of our island states.

There are those who will argue and quite correctly that bigger and more economically powerful countries, including the United States of America, are already involved in such activity. Once again we are forced to ask: Why are we following others?

Many of our people, who live in the Diaspora, have given up on returning home because of what they consider to be the high cost of living. While we do not support such positions, we are fully aware that those who have planted roots in other countries have many factors to consider when contemplating a return to our island states.

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Stop the Filth, Protect the Vagina

Daggering Jamaican style

Daggering Jamaican style

There is a very disturbing trend which is gathering momentum in Barbados. If BU were to follow our sense of where it has its origin, all indicators point to Jamaica.

There must be a good reason why the Creator designed a woman’s vagina to be secreted away behind the protective lips of the vulva with additional protection between the legs. It seems the height of ignorance that any ‘woman’ would want to bend over (6:30 or not), to expose her vagina to violent humping – usually administered by a but not always the case.

BU agrees with those who believe that the wholesale adoption by Barbadian youth mostly of this silly and irrelevant sub culture, reflects poorly on our ability to effectively educate our young people. Why would any man want to bang that part of the woman’s ‘sweet spot’? In the name of freedom of expression it seems we are clueless as a society about how to arrest the rising popularity of this base behaviour. BU believes when the Democratic Labour Party government essays that it wants to build a society, curbing the unholy practice of bumping an unprotected vagina MUST be treated as abuse of a high priority. We must protect the ignorant from themselves.

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Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy and Parliamentary Secretary Irene Sandiford-Garner Please Drag Barbados Tourism Website into the 21st Century Please!

Adrian Loveridge - Owner of Peach & Quiet Hotel

Adrian Loveridge – Owner of Peach & Quiet Hotel

While our small hotel is currently on the market with the objective of re-opening for the up-coming winter season, I have been looking back 25 years to when we purchased, a then derelict Arawak Inn, and trying to evaluate exactly how much the investment climate has changed. Does it need to be revised to help take our tourism industry out of the current malaise? Attempting to look through the eyes of a new investor’s perspective it is clear to see, that many of the institutions who have been empowered to entice such interest are dismally failing in their stated mandate.  At least to a level that modern-day investors reasonably expect.

Sadly, it’s almost pitiful.

Initially, without knowing all the possible agencies involved, the natural first source of decision making facts is the national Ministry of Tourism (MOT) website, where the very latest statistics can be sourced.

We can all understand, at this time, that Government is under extreme fiscal pressure. But does this excuse their existing employees or managers, who have yet to to suffer any detrimental effects of what is referred to as the ‘global recession’ not updating existing posted data in a timely manner. Why, for instance, should the last visitor arrival figures show August 2012?

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Political Scientist Eric X. Li Exposes a Tale of two Political Systems

It’s a standard assumption in the West: As a society progresses, it eventually becomes a capitalist, multi-party democracy. Right? Eric X. Li, a Chinese investor and political scientist, begs to differ. In this provocative, boundary-pushing talk, he asks his audience to consider that there’s more than one way to run a successful modern nation. A venture capitalist and political scientist, Eric X Li argues that the universality claim of Western democratic systems is going to be “morally challenged” by China. Full bio »

Notes From a Native Son: The Notting Hill Carnival Remains a Yardstick of Caribbean Progress in the UK

Hal Austin

Hal Austin

Introduction:
This year’s world famous Notting Hill Carnival, the biggest and most successful popular cultural event introduced to Britain by its Empire Windrush generation, the 49th, was historic for a number of sociological and political reasons. First, it visually marked a passing of the baton, from traditional mas players to a younger, more raucous generation who just had its own ideas of celebrating black culture. It was also more integrative, in the sense that there were as many other minority (and majority) ethnic participants as young African-Caribbean people who took part, many arguably for the first time. But the event still brings out the contradictions in most Britons, and new communities, if not in Londoners.

Street Theatre:
In the main, middle class Britain has no intention of ever understanding carnival; it does not fit with their interpretation of ‘culture’, therefore it plays second fiddle to the Edinburgh Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Edinburgh Tattoo, the Reading Festival and the much earlier Glastonbury Festival, even if it attracts many more people. Above all else, carnival is street theatre, it is a celebration of music, costumes, dance, which, unlike its more mature cousins in Brazil, Trinidad and Southern Europe, is disconnected from religious meaning but was invented by Trinidadian Claudia Jones simply to cool passions, to temper the racial hostility that scarred that part of Ladbroke Grove in the mid-1960s.

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Some Barbados Postal Services Maybe an Option for Privatization

BPS services an option for privatization

BPS services an option for privatization

The news breaking today that 40 temporary workers will be sent home from the Barbados Post Office as a result of the recent budget cuts is beginning to paint a reality which BU family members have espoused for a few years.  It is unfortunate that there has to be uncertainty around how decisions are being made to reduce public service numbers.

During the last general election campaign the Barbados Labour Party (government in waiting) proposed a strategy of privatization as a partial solution to the economic quagmire Barbados now finds itself wallowing. There is an inevitability to the fact that  government will eventually have to put agencies/services owned and delivered by the Crown on the auction block, read privatize.  BU is on record that government funding day to day expenditure from NIS funds is an unsustainable arrangement.

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Barbados Government Begged Facebook to REVEAL Three Users

Submitted by St.George’s Dragon
Facebook is the largest social network site.

Facebook is the largest social networking site.

According to an article in the Jamaica Observer, the Barbados Government is the only one in the Caribbean to have asked Facebook for information on its Bajan users. Apparently the Government has made three requests for information in the last six months. It’s not a high number of requests but why are we the only ones to be making them?

The original of the article can be found here: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Barbados-govt-asks-Facebook-for-info-on-users–data and the Facebook report is here https://www.facebook.com/about/government_requests. Interestingly, Facebook denied information in all 3 cases.

The Christian Way: A Time for Posterity, a Time to Share

Submitted by Charles Knighton
...kind of philanthropy most practice is little more than the sharing of leftovers...

…kind of philanthropy most practice is little more than the sharing of leftovers…

“Durant pleaded with individuals to reach out to those in need, and to those who are vulnerable and/or elderly. He said that outreach is an act of mercy, compassion, love and care and that Barbadians need to return this nation to the village way.” “Give; be your brother’s keeper” Aug. 27 Advocate, page 9

For some time articles in both sections of the press have implored Barbadians to emulate the good Samaritan of Bible lore. I have always been struck by the selfish attitude of many in the middle and upper class, many of whom can trace their present condition to some extent to the largesse of government, their communities or their friends and neighbours. Alas, the concept of giving back seems as foreign as does the concept of proper attire and proper decorum during Crop Over.

Utilitarian philosophy demands that the better off give away almost all their wealth, since the loss of well-being for one person who gives up a high-earning lifestyle is far outweighed by the gains of those who could move from extreme poverty to minimal comfort. While I am sure such a philosophy strikes most of us as excessively severe, it is no more than is commanded by the founder of the religion that is the moral basis of western society, who told those with two cloaks to keep just one and give the other to those who have none.

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Will a Western Led Coalition Attack Syria: What Will be the Likely Consequences?

Submitted by Yardbroom
 Allegations continue to swirl that Syria used chemical weapons against its own people

Allegations continue to swirl that Syria used chemical weapons against its own people

It would appear that the United States of America will lead a coalition, which will attack Syria because of allegations that Syria used chemical weapons against its own people.  US Secretary of State John Kerry in an emotional speech has said it is undeniable that there was large scale indiscriminate use of chemical weapons in Syria by the Assad regime and for this there must be accountability.

As I write a definite decision has not been taken or if it has the public has not been told – we can no doubt expect President Obama to have his say in a matter of days.  However, if I have read the mood music correctly, the record is now playing to a logical conclusion.

How will Russia, China and most importantly Iran, allies of Syria in this “situation” up to now, respond?

This action if taken has the potential to launch a fire-ball in the Middle East and we should also note that this action is not dependent on a UN sanction.

How will this action play out and where will it lead?  On BU (Barbados Underground) we are often ahead of the game.  On this one at least when it blows,  it will be in our sights.

Sinckler's Honest Election Return

The following is authored by CASWELL FRANKLYN and was submitted as his bi-weekly commitment to the Nation newspaper. BU understands it was NOT published.

Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler

Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler

During his speech to wrap up the debate on the 2013 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals in the House of Assembly, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Chris Sinckler, was quoted in another section of the media as saying:

“I don’t steal, I don’t rob anyone, I don’t do anything illegal or underhanded so they could listen as they like, it don’t bother me; so wunna could do what ever wunna like but the truth is going to come out in this country, oh yes it’s going to come out.”

He was speaking about his belief, paranoid or otherwise, that his phone had been tapped and his emails accessed. I must confess that he lost me when he claimed that he explained to the other party on the line that the click they heard would have been someone changing the tape. That suggests to me that he is far less technologically savvy as would be expected of someone in his position. Nobody uses tapes anymore: one little device the size of two fingers can record twenty-five hours of conversations if the battery does not run out of juice.

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Computer Glitched Layoffs?

Submitted by Napolean Bonaparte
Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo, Minister of Labour and Social Security blames a computer glitch for the chaos surrounding payroll of temporary workers.

Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo, Minister of Labour and Social Security blames a computer glitch for the chaos surrounding payroll of temporary workers.

What the Houdini, did I hear correct? Now they are blaming the removal of peoples’ names on binary malfunctions ****0101001011 glitch***? The computer does not ask anybody questions anymore nowadays. Was the reason given for why the 1,000 or so temporary workers were this week taken off the payroll list? So wait, just so Apple wid a bite decided to axe them off and for no apparent reason. Goat rolls I say, but sounds oh too familiar.  Recall the CLICO Deloitte report? Just so again, documents and all friendly copies (I still got mine) vanished into thin air with no logical explanation whatsoever.

Shifting mirror states we encouraging when we choose to play with peoples’ livelihood’s by offering scapegoat-isms and computer hoodlum- hoods. Why was it not Sir Roy who said he supported the call for austerity measures but asked for transparency? So what is so big about owning up to the truth anyway? Could it be to do with a now tired electioneered sound byte that continues to be repeated by some who would rather remain as ambiguous?

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