Adrian Loveridge is an IDIOT!

The stupidity of Adrian Loveridge is amazing. Following on the heels of his idiotic statement about 25 hotels in Barbados closing over the past 15 years (while failing to mention that new hotels have opened and others have added more rooms), he now comes out with the following crap posted by the shallow-minded cretins at Barbados Free Press and Barbados Underground:

Problems With Barbados Hotel Registry and Tourism Statistics – Adrian Loveridge

Barbados Hotel Room Stock

While visiting the offices of the Barbados Tourism Authority recently, I collected a copy of what I assume is the latest list of all registered accommodation on Barbados.

The brochure is entitled Rates – Hotels, Guest Houses and Apartments – Winter 2007 -2008 December 16th 2007-2008 To April 15th 2008 and Summer 2008 April 16th, 2008 to December 15th, 2008.

Adrian Loveridge’s comments show that he is a brainless idiot. Why should he ASSUME that the brochure is a list of ALL registered accommodation in Barbados when the brochure itself makes no such claim?

He then goes on to make all other sorts of unintelligent assumptions about visitor numbers to Barbados based on figures which clearly exist only in his scatter-brained head.

What’s that popular saying again about mad dogs and Englishmen? We suggest that Adrian Loveridge should report to the Psyschiatric Hospital bright and early first thing tomorrow morning.

What an idiot!

De Standpipe Crew

Mia Mottley on first 100 days: DLP has not kept a single promise!

We agree with Mia Mottley. This useless DLP government has not kept a single one of its promises of what it would do in the first 100 days of coming to power.

De Standpipe Crew

http://www.nationnews.com/story/326099964326301.php

ALL GAS
Published on: 4/27/08.

NOT A SINGLE PROMISE kept!

That’s the charge from Opposition Leader Mia Mottley as she accused the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) yesterday of unrealistic promises during the heat of the January election campaign.

The DLP Government marked 100 days in office last Wednesday.

Those promises were made “purely for the sake of winning that election”, according to Mottley in a statement issued to the Press yesterday.

“The major achievements of the Government in its first 100 days in office are the increase in the cost of living and an increase in apathy and cynicism among the voting population,” Mottley said.

She said the making of unrealistic promises during the campaign were in its simplest form “irresponsible, and reckless when taken to extremes”.

“For the Democratic Labour Party to have raised public expectation by setting a 100-day benchmark as the agents of change, is either a mark of incompetence, recklessness or both. Having created a false framework on which to build their policies, their performance for the remainder of this parliamentary term will indicate which one it was,” she said.

Mottley said the DLP was a party with considerable experience in Government, and thus could not claim ignorance of the complexities of Government or of the international situation.

In their own manifesto, she said, the DLP stated: “The price of crude oil consistently hovers around [US] $100 per barrel. Reliable forecasts suggest that oil prices are likely to remain in this range for the foreseeable future.”

“Oil is now at [US] $115 a barrel and their most recent action of passing on the full weight of the increase to Barbadians is only one example of the Government availing itself of options that do not allow it to appropriately protect the average consumer in Barbados.”

The Opposition Leader said Barbadians were still waiting for the Government to do some real work that would have a positive impact on their lives.

In a statement last night Prime Minister David Thompson said his new Government was grappling with the challenging realities it inherited and those that surfaced thereafter.

“We are supremely confident that with the continued trust, cooperation and reasoned thinking of the people of Barbados, we will deliver meaningfully to the people of Barbados, notwithstanding the deteriorating global energy and food supply environment,”
he said.

He said since the January 15 election, he and his team of ministers and support staff have been working assiduously to move the process of development of Barbados forward.

Liz Thompson to receive award today

Well done, Liz!

http://www.lizblp.com/

Congrats from De Standpipe Crew!

http://www.nationnews.com/story/323862743517742.php

Thompson to receive green award today
Published on: 4/22/08.

BARBADOS AND THE CARIBBEAN will have their first recipient of the United Nations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP) Champion Of The Earth Award when the awards ceremony takes place in Singapore today, Earth Day.

Barbadian Senator and former Minister of Energy and Environment Liz Thompson will be among those receiving this award which has been described by the United Nations as the “premier international environmental award”.

The award has resulted in a tremendous amount of marketing and publicity for Barbados since the event has been publicised worldwide by the United Nations and promoted in a number of top international publications, including the prestigious Time Magazine which featured the awardees.

In the two months since the announcement was made by UNEP, Thompson has had to take part in a number of media events. UNEP sent a team to Barbados to take footage of the country which will be shown at the gala dinner ceremony at which the award will be presented.

Barbados is expected to get significant publicity from the event since some of the footage will be carried by the international media invited to the event because of the high level recipients of the award. The senator has also had to provide comments for and respond to questions from various media houses which are tracking the event because of winners from their own country.

Thompson is already in Singapore where she is being accompanied by her husband. The gala awards ceremony is one of a number of social activities being hosted for the awardees.

Others include a day trip to Indonesia at the invitation of the government, a global business summit which will be attended by world leaders and businessmen, at which Thompson is scheduled to participate in a round-table discussion with the other awardees and to speak at the gala dinner. A number of cultural events, tours and receptions are also planned.

Prince Albert II of Monaco; former United States Senator Timothy E. Wirth and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark; Dr Balgis Osman-Elasha, a senior researcher at Sudan’s Higher Council for Environment & Natural Resources; Atiq Rahman, the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies; and Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal, the Secretary-General of the Yemen People’s General Congress are the other awardees. Previous awardees have included former United Staes Vice-President Al Gore and South African President Thabo Mbeki.

The award is given for exceptional work in the area of the environment and Thompson, who was Minister of Environment of Barbados for 11 years, was lauded for the progressive policies she put in place and for her leadership role in the Caribbean.

According to Achim Steiner, UNEP’s Executive Director: “Senator Thompson has become one of the recognised leaders on environmental issues of the Small Island Developing States.

“During her time as Minister of Energy and the Environment of Barbados, she enacted a range of progressive policies for sustainable development and environmental protection.

“She also became a key voice to raise awareness of global warming in Barbados – a country where the challenges of climate change and conservation are of particular relevance.”

Thompson has also played a role in environmental awareness and protection across the Caribbean. She has encouraged small island states to diversify their economies, undertake sustainability assessments, and promote community-based programmes that have positive environmental impacts.

The celebratory events for the “Champions” are expected to last a week. (PR)

Colin Spencer puts money before national service. Irene Sandiford-Garner complains about losses.

DLP candidate Colin Spencer has jumped ship from his new post as deputy chairman of the National Cultural Foundation. Spencer has put money before national service, and who can blame him, since (under his very own DLP government) gas gone up, chicken gone up, fish gone up, and Lord knows what else will rise in the days and months ahead. Indeed his resignation speaks volumes about his confidence in the DLP.

At the same, Irene Sandiford-Garner complains about being “forced” to give up a management contract. Her use of the word “forced” reveals that it was relinquished against her will, which tells us that she would have been happier to keep the contract while still maintaining her position in the Ministry of Culture and Community Development. Well Irene darling, you can’t have it both ways.

De Standpipe Crew

http://www.nationnews.com/story/323861800343092.php

Spencer quits
Published on: 4/22/08.

COLIN SPENCER, deputy chairman of the board of the National Cultural Foundation, has resigned from that post less than two months after being appointed.

Chairman Ken Knight confirmed the resignation yesterday, stating that the entertainer/calypsonian wanted to participate in this year’s Crop-Over Festival and it would be a conflict of interest if he continued as a member of the board.

Knight, however, commended Spencer on his brief stint with the board, saying that he would be missed.

He added that the announcement of the new deputy chairman would be made, possibly by the end of the week.

THE DAILY NATION also spoke to Senator Irene Sandiford-Garner, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Community Development, who pointed out that Spencer had indicated that being on the board would hamper his entertainment opportunities.

“That is how he makes his money – entertainment is his business so it would be a conflict of interest,” she said.

She also pointed out that her husband’s company, Garner and Garner Associates Inc. which managed the Spirit Of The Nation show was forced to give up that contract because of her position in the ministry.

Spencer, who unsuccessfully contested the St George North Seat for the Democratic Labour Party last election, said he would make a statement tomorrow.

For the last three years, Spencer has been singing with the Hennessy Hit Parade tent. He also performs on the hotel circuit. (MB)

David Thompson takes cost of living to rasshole up!

De Standpipe Crew overheard a conversation last night between some taxi drivers who were lambasting the DLP government. One on them remarked: “Time for change? Thompson say he gine bring down de cost o living. He cah um tuh rasshole up!”

So, Mr. Prime Minister, what do you have to say to those taxi drivers and to the people of Barbados?

Those of us who were foolish enough to waste our votes on promises of change are now starting to see it all around us. We can’t wait for the next election to come so we can get rid of these DLP liars. Five years is a long time and a lot can happen both within the DLP and also with the BLP and the risingly vocal PEP, but if elections were to be held today we are sure that Thompson would be kicked to hell out.

De Standpipe Crew

http://www.nationnews.com/story/322858781748635.php

BEEFED UP LIST
Published on: 4/20/08.

by RICKY JORDAN

LOOK FOR PRICE INCREASES in beef, lamb, pork, eggs and possibly chicken by next month – along with major challenges for small farmers – since the price of animal feed has just gone up by 25 per cent.

This warning has come from chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul, who called it the biggest price increase ever for farmers.

“Never in the history of price increases have you had such a major one affecting farmers across the board in one fell swoop,” he told the SUNDAY SUN in an interview just days after the island’s lone feed manufacturer Pinnacle Feeds announced the April 16 increase.

The price, according to Pinnacle, has been “adjusted upward by 28 cents per kilogramme [12 cents per pound]“, which means that, for example, a pound of broiler starter priced at 47 cents last week now costs 59 cents, while finisher is up from 45 to 57 cents per pound.

This follows a recent $1.3 million Government subsidy which allowed Pinnacle to sell at the old price between February 18 and March 31.

This, according to BAS president Wendell Clarke, will see “a ten to 15 per cent increase” in the “farmgate price” [from farmers to supermarkets and individuals] of meat, obviously resulting in an even higher increase for shoppers.

In fact, the impact of the rise in feed prices is already showing in the price of live birds, with a circular from Gale’s Agroproducts notifying poultry farmers on Friday that from May 1, broiler chicks would cost an additional 15 cents and layer chicks an additional 35 cents per bird.

“Right now, an egg costs about 60 cents, but is expected to rise to about 75. We have to pass on the costs to somebody,” said farmer and feed distributor Sylvester Cutting, who also predicted a rise in the current turkey price of $7.50 per pound and the price of pork from $6 to about $7 per pound.

“It can get out of control, but if Government really wants to do something, it can subsidise the farmers and not the distributors, or the manufacturer.

“In that case, the market would be a fair one,” said Cutting, who owns Sar’J Services Inc. that imports feed from St Vincent for the local market.

As far as “doing something” is concerned, Paul, a Government backbencher, said the BAS was discussing with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Commerce the current control price on chicken [$7.43 per kg], since poultry farmers would be the hardest hit by this increase.

“I’m hoping a resolution comes to this as soon as possible,” he said. “The Minister of Agriculture is out of the island at the moment, so I’m hoping that by Monday [tomorrow] we can resolve this.”

rickyjordan@

nationnews.com

DLP Manifesto Promises: 13 Days Left (and 1 Promise already broken)

Only 13 more days to go!

The Democratic Labour Party 2008 Manifesto made a number of promises to the people of Barbados should that party be voted into government. Three of them were promised “within 100 days” and five of them were promised “immediately”. The first official day of work for the new government was Tuesday 22 January 2008. It is now the night of Wednesday 17 April 2008 and there are 13 days left until the deadline of 30 April 2008.

One of the promises which was to happen “immediately” has already been broken.

The promises are:

PROMISED WITHIN 100 DAYS

Page 9. In the first 100 days of the new DLP administration remove VAT from building materials on houses valued up to $400,000.

Page 12. To this end and within the first 100 days of our administration the Democratic Labour Party government will convene a National Consultation on Education…

Page 42. The DLP Government will therefore: In the first 100 days introduce the Agriculture Protection Act that will require a 2/3 majority of both houses of parliament for a change of use of land from agriculture. We will reserve 30, 000 acres for agricultural use.

PROMISED IMMEDIATELY

Page 11. A new DLP Government will immediately embark on a health promotion campaign to sensitize the public to the dangers of unhealthy lifestyles;

Page 24. Immediately review the current Central Bank procedures for approving capital account transactions with a view to simplifying and speeding up the approval (or denial) process for restricted transactions.

Page 33. Additionally a new DLP administration will: Re-examine the Port charges with a view to significantly reducing these to manufacturers. Tonnage dues are charged twice – on raw materials when imported and again on finished products when being exported. This needs to be addressed immediately since it is a burdensome cost. Free along side charges (FAS) continue to be out of proportion with our competitors.

BROKEN PROMISE!

Page 36. Conversely, a new DLP government will move to immediately enact a comprehensive national Labour Rights legislative compendium which will include the following:

• A Full Employment Rights Act

• An Alternative Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Committee

• A Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act

• National minimum wages legislation

• Legislation fully recognizing Trade Unions.

Page 48. The Democratic Labour Party will also:

Immediately introduce integrity legislation requiring

• a declaration of assets by public officials,

• a Code of Conduct for Ministers,

• a new Freedom of Information law,

• amendments to the Defamation laws and

• new constitutional provisions to rationalise the powers of the Prime Minister.

SOURCE: http://www.barbadosvotes.org/pdf/2008_DLP_Manifesto.pdf

The people of this country have been watching and waiting (like vultures) to see how many of these “within-100-days” manifesto promises will be fulfilled by the new DLP government. With less than two weeks to go we can expect all sorts of diversionary tactics and crap-talk pouring out of the mouth of David Thompson. As far as we are concerned, he LIED to the people of Barbados in order to win the elections and gain “POWA“… but we have no-one to blame but ourselves, because we the people voted for them and we the people are stuck with them for the next five years (or less).

87 gone, 13 to go.

De Standpipe Crew

Citi Foundation US $25,000 boost for young Barbadian entrepreneurs

De Standpipe Crew is always supportive of every effort to foster the entrepreneurial spirit in the minds of young Bajans. We therefore welcome this initiative of the Citi Foundation (who have generously provided a US $25,000 grant) and encourage our young readers to spread the word about this opportunity for our youth.

Bless!

De Standpipe Crew

http://barbadosadvocate.com/NewViewNewsleft.cfm?Record=35216

CITI boost for young Barbadian entrepreneurs
Web Posted – Fri Mar 28 2008
THE Citi Foundation has granted US$25 000.00 to the Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT) to help young Barbadian nationals with starting their own businesses. The grant for this programme will be used to provide start-up capital and assist with business support and operational costs for five young nationals of Barbados between the ages of 18 and 35, with starting their own business. The aim is to help young unemployed men and women in this age group, who have viable business ideas, to create their own business. This will help them to achieve economic independence, fulfil their ambitions, and contribute to their community through sustainable self-employment.

BYBT celebrates twelve years in youth entrepreneurship development this year, and is an accredited member of Youth Business International (YBI), and one of the oldest members of its 39 countries network.

This Non Governmental Organisation supports and encourages the advancement of education of young people in Barbados. This is achieved by their provision of education, instruction or training in professions, vocations, industries and/or crafts and trades and/or skills needed in employment. In fostering the concepts of self-employment and entrepreneurship among the Nation’s youth, BYBT is using this very non-traditional approach to help relieve youth unemployment and ultimately reduce youth poverty.

For more than a century, Citi has been part of the fabric of thousands of communities around the world. With this presence comes a responsibility to create a positive impact in those communities through community and small business development, microfinance, and non-profit capacity building. Working with BYBT to support five new entrepreneurs is a partnership which makes perfect Citi sense.

The Citi Foundation is committed to enhancing economic opportunities for underserved individuals and families in the communities where they work throughout the world.

To achieve this goal, the Citi Foundation is focusing its giving on Microfinance and Microentrepreneurship which help individuals become economically self-sufficient; Small and Growing Businesses leading to economic expansion and job creation;

Education including basic education for youth and financial education; and the Environment with a focus on sustainable enterprises that generate jobs and stimulate economic growth while preserving the environment. Additional information can be found at www.citigroupfoundation.org.

Photos and History of the Barbados Fishing Industry, 1937 to 2006

The late Mr. Ralph Jones, the Barbados Fisheries Division, the Ministry of Agriculture and all others who contributed are all to be commended for maintaining and presenting this very educational archive of delightful old photos and history of the Barbados fishing industry from 1937 to 2006.

http://www.agriculture.gov.bb/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=1130

It is quite a joy to see those old photos and compare them with where Barbados is today.

Well done!

De Standpipe Crew