We briefly visited this show today, hosted by the Harry Goulding Chapter of the American Hibiscus Society.

The flowers were incredible! It was fascinating to view the hundreds of exotic varieties of hibiscus flowers on display. It was even more fascinating to be able to buy the actual plants, although many varieties had sold out. You cannot buy these plants in a store. They are very exotic.

Click here to see a video of last year’s show. I’ll try to update if I can locate this year’s.

Here is a quote:

It is the first Victoria Cross to be earned by a British Army soldier - and it comes with a macabre accessory.

The medal awarded to Major John Simpson Knox is being auctioned with the cannonball that took his left arm during the Crimean War.

The Telegraph also had an article: First ever Victoria Cross medal to be sold at auction

During the battle of Alma, Knox took part in the storming and capture of a heavily guarded sandbag battery, single-handedly fighting off a party of enemy soldiers.

But he lost his arm at the battle of Sebastopol a year later while leading the charge over the trenches, storming the enemy lines.

How did this name “Alma” get to Barbados?

Broad Daylight

It was Thursday, April 19th, another peaceful day in the country. Around one thirty in the afternoon, John K. casually drove into the front yard of Old Hanson House in the parish of St. George, Barbados. He stuck his key into the lock of the front door, totally unaware that he was being watched.

John went inside and picked up what he had come for. He called his sister  on his cell phone. As he chatted, he walked out of the front door. He put the key in the lock one more time.

“DROP THAT PHONE!” A loud gruff shout shattered the tranquil scene. John turned to see a hooded face, with only two intense eyes visible. As his gaze dropped he saw something more scary.

Gunpoint

John was facing the muzzle of a rifle. John’s heart was beating so fast, he thought he was having a heart attack. He kept talking on the phone to Jane.

Beaten with a 2 x 4

The masked intruder kept the rifle pointed at John with one arm, while he searched for a weapon with the other. He took up a tyre iron, but then discarded that for a 2×4 plank. He swung the 2×4 but John parried the blow with his hand.

John ran to the side yard where the dogs were. Desperately he struggled to release the latch to the gate, but it was jammed.

John felt a searing smash to the back of his head … he went down.

Tied Up

Upon regaining his senses, John realized his feet were tied together and a vicious criminal was fumbling with his belt. A pool of his fresh blood was on the floor … his head was bleeding … his mouth was bleeding … hit during the fall perhaps? The robber decided against using the belt to tie up his stunned victim.  John was able to free his legs.

Entering the house

Next, his attacker forced John to open the front door, and put him to sit in a chair inside the house.

Chilling Words

Suddenly both men heard the sound of a vehicle rolling in on the gravel gap. John cockily asked his assailant:

“What are you going to do now?”

“Wait and see!” was his sinister reply.

Rescue

The owner of the house and his eldest son had arrived, only to find themselves staring down the barrel of a rifle. The robber took their cash and cell phones. John had every key taken, including car keys, and house keys.

At this point another of the owner’s sons arrived. He drove his vehicle at the robber as he  fled the crime scene towards St. David’s Village.

Later the police came in force and did their investigation. They brought a German Shepherd who was able to follow the trail of the masked assailant back to St. David’s.

The Damage

There was property loss, but property can be replaced. The real damage was the blow to John’s head. While being interviewed by the police, blood started to pour from John’s nose. He went to the emergency room. Afterwards a clear liquid started to drain from the same location, his nose. The fluid was identified as cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid circulates around the brain and spinal cord  – John’s brain was leaking.

Just a little more force on the knockout blow, and this bloodthirsty thug could be facing a murder charge. John is not out of the woods yet – the blow may yet lead to fatal complications.

Execution of Violent Threats

In the past simply reporting on the Kingsland litigation drove some criminals to make violent threats against my family.

Many know about the widely-publicised call to stalk my family at their vacation home, Hutto, located at Cattlewash. Many know about the violent Hutto robbery, the threat to smash my mother’s head with a rock, and the threat to slit my throat as I slept in my bed here in Miami.

There was no need for this violent man to confront John. He could have waited two more minutes and John would have been driving away down the gap. This confrontation was clearly intentional.

This monster cold-bloodedly stalked John, as he cooly executed his plan to terrorize the family. John was put in a chair, as this sadistic criminal waited. Who was he waiting for and what did he have in mind?

This was an attack to terrorise a family, more than it was an armed burglary. This was terrorism following violent threats.

Help!

If you have any information on this violent intimidation, we would be most grateful if you would let us know. You may comment anonymously or send us an email. Let’s get this perpetrator. Next time he may be watching you as you turn the key to your own front door!

Some questions haunt me. Why was this attacker so cool? How come he was able to confidently and cooly control his hostages? Why was he wearing army boots?

I searched for more information and found this:

Source - BC Government Online News Source

The Queen’s counsel designation is an honour conferred on members of the legal profession to recognize exceptional merit and contribution. Successful candidates demonstrate professional integrity and good character and must be members of the British Columbia bar for at least five years.

Later in the same article, I see that Mr. Allard heads the list of those receiving this prestigious award!

BACKGROUNDERDec. 22, 2011 Ministry of Attorney General

B.C.’s 2011 Queen’s counsel appointees

Peter Andrew Allard of Vancouver practiced real estate and business law for 20 years, founding Allard and Company in 1978. Allard has been a supporter of and donor to the UBC faculty of law. He has been active in legal and ethical education for young lawyers. He established the philanthropic Highbury Foundation in 1993.

We offer Mr. Allard our hearty congratulations on a well deserved honour!

Belfast, Northern Ireland (CNN) — Pop superstar Rihanna has been ordered to cover up by a Christian farmer who took exception to her “inappropriate behavior” while filming a music video on his land.

It appears that the Irish Protestant farmer objected to Rihanna wearing a bikini top. I imagine that he will not get paid for the filming!

Incredible!

I recently came across a report from  Transparency International that stretched my credulity way beyond its breaking point!

According to this report, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Barbados is less corrupt than the UK or the US! Hard to believe, but Barbados scored a 7.8 compared to 7.6 for the UK and 7.1 for the US!

Human Trafficking in Barbados

Yes, this is the same Barbados that the US State Department reprimanded by placing it on the Tier 2 Watch List for Human Trafficking! Here is a quote from the US report:

Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor.

A previous blog has links to the original report, or you may go directly to the source: Trafficking in Persons Report 2011

Barbados Government Minister’s International Porn Connections

This is the same Barbados where a prominent government minister is heavily involved in a major international pornographic business! Barbados Free Press (BFP) has run several articles on this gentleman, and here is a sample relating to the topic of teen pornography. BFP appears to have unearthed an impressive array of irrefutable evidence linking the Minister of Health to this disgusting industry. In addition many Barbadians have expressed the opinion that this individual is deep into this sordid business.

Why has the mainstream media assiduously avoided this issue? In Barbados, journalists have been fired after criticizing the government, and this may be the reason for the kid gloves. Why get fired for mere principles in these times?

Money Laundering in Barbados

This is the same Barbados where the previous Barbadian Prime Minister, the late David Thompson made some serious allegations: Source Keltruth Corp.’s BMLA

Prime Minister Thompson publicly accused “operatives” of the previous Barbados Labour Party (BLP) government which was in power for thirteen consecutive years, of illegally removing “millions and millions” of dollars from Barbados to secret bank accounts in other countries. More recently he stated in the press that “hundreds of millions of dollars” are unaccounted for.

It is notable that there was not a single charge filed against any of the BLP operatives! I don’t think there was ever any real investigation.

Is Barbados Twice as Good as Trinidad?

Barbados scored an impressive 7.8 on the TI Corruption Index, qualifying it for stately sainthood, while Trinidad and Tobago limped in with a paltry 3.6! Less than half of Bim’s score! Jamaica did not even rise to T&T’s level, with their embarrassing 3.3, while Guyana was in the dog house with a 2.7!

I would not rate these countries this harshly. These countries recognize that corruption exists, and they do take action against corrupt politicians. Some get stiff sentences. These countries may well be better than Barbados.

Barbados is Different

Barbados is very different. While I am puzzled that an external agency like Transparency International was unable to detect the widespread corruption in Barbados, I am mindful that Barbadians fear reprisals and are therefore extremely timid about confronting this problem. I have been following local politics for over forty years, yet I have never heard of a Bajan politician being officially charged with corruption.

Barbados is a small community physically confined to a 21 mile by 14 mile island. Many Barbadians are blood relatives, and family ties are very important. Every Barbadian is extremely aware that any type of confrontation can have dire consequences. The best policy for individual survival in a small community is to adopt the mantra “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”. Ironically the best policy for individual survival is also the worst policy for the individual’s community, as corruption spreads unchecked.

Morality

Not far removed from the legality of corruption, lies the problem of moral decay. Barbados Free Press appears to have made a watertight case that the Barbados Minister of Health is deeply involved with the hard-core pornographic industry.

Why would the Bajan lawmakers deliberately ignore this moral dilemma? Why would they close their eyes to flagrant violations of the core values of this God-fearing nation? What pressing reasons would persuade the Honourable Members of Parliament to avoid tackling this issue?

Could the cash flow of the porn industry have anything to do with it? Or could it be that the Bajan lawmakers are too busy watching the cinematic artistry of their own Honourable Minister of Health?

Conclusion

Keltruth Corp. holds the opinion that corruption in Barbados is  at a similar abysmal level to the other countries in the region, like Trinidad and Jamaica. However the situation in Barbados is different, as corruption is seldom if ever investigated. To compound matters, the mainstream media, judging from the record, is unlikely to show any initiative in tackling corruption.

• The Honourable Minister of Health of Barbados
• The Government of Barbados
• The mainstream media of Barbados
• anyone who cares to comment!

(I realize that most people are too scared to make a comment, but if 100% censorship is a allowed to remain the norm, Barbados will become a nation of political yardfowls. Free thinkers will seek asylum elsewhere. This blog is hosted in America, where free speech is legally protected by the First Amendment to the  Constitution.)

• Barbados Health Minister silent on US global child porn arrests
• Barbados news media covers up Health Minister’s teen porn connections
• MP Lashley – Sex and homosexuality on TV: bad. Fellow government Minister’s internet porn business: No Problem!
• Colman Commission ignoring the smell of dirty money?
• No charges or jail for Barbados diplomats who stole US$69,000 – transferred to Miami personal bank account!
• OECD: Barbados fails tax transparency standards
• Why Barbados is now on Trafficking in Persons watch list – same rating as Bangladesh, Guyana, Philippines, Yemen… and below Cambodia!
• What happened with the Caribbean Child Sex Trafficking Ring mentioned online by BANGO Secretary General, Roosevelt O. King?
• The Day the BDF Seized Nitin Amersey’s Company

Words pop in and out of our language as social conditions change. The American gangster, which is still with us, has been around as a noun and a reality since 1896 according to my Shorter Oxford, but it seems to have dropped another Americanism from the 1930s and I think now is the time to revive it.

The word is bankster, derived by a marriage of banker and gangster.

Why is this word again popular? There is even a BankstersUSA site!

“Is Your Senator a Bankster?”

Forget about liberal or conservative, in this 2010 Huffington Post article, Dylan Ratigan classifies certain US senators as “banksters” because they voted against a bill to break up major Wall Street banks.

Money talks, and the banking industry does have lobbyists. Ratigan may be suggesting that certain politicians have been receptive to the lobbying efforts of the industry.

Bailing Out Private Banks with Public Money

Governments collect money, mostly as taxes, from the public. Should these same governments use tax money to bailout private banks? Should the tax-paying public have a say?

Iceland Rejects Bankster Shakedown, Prison Planet, April 2011

Unlike Americans, the people of Iceland were allowed to vote on bailing out the banksters. They voted overwhelmingly against the proposal on Saturday despite the intimidation tactics of the globalist loan sharking operation, the International Monetary Fund.

Did the US bailout help the public? In March 2011, a Congress Watchdog said it “helped avert” a depression. It also said:

The Congressional Oversight Panel said the controversial $700 billion dollar bailout, launched in 2008, provided “critical” support for financial markets at a key time and will cost $25 billion — a fraction of the original estimate.

Some believe America is in a depression right now!

“Inside Job”

While writing this post, I happened to see the above documentary, which I picked up at the Pinecrest Library. It had been recommended to me by a person knowledgeable about international banking practices. Here is a plot summary from IMBd:

‘Inside Job’ provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China.

This documentary displays a great body of evidence that brings the term “bankster” to mind! The film mentions that both Moody’s and Fitch gave high ratings to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc up to when it declared bankruptcy! How did these big rating companies miss the problems?

Caribbean Banksters?

I am not talking about a bank manager who tells you to take out a slightly larger loan so that he can get his cut, gets fired and then goes on to bigger things. I am talking about the big “money men” in the Caribbean. Are they “lobbying” the local governments? Is the Caribbean following the American example of giving public taxpayers money to private companies?

Think of the insurance giant, CLICO, its parent CL Financial and CL’s subsidiaries. Did these private companies donate money to the politicians? Payback? The details of the bailout may never be known, as it is hard to get this information.

One journalist, Afra Raymond, is pushing hard to get the facts.  He has had some limited success, like obtaining this letter from Leroy Parris, CEO of CL Financial, but he has a long way to go.

Was the public bailout of private companies in the Caribbean good for the public? Could some people lose their pensions or have benefits reduced due to the risky activities of the major financial houses? Can the large financial figures in the region be regarded as banksters? Afra has a whole section devoted to CLICO. There may be enough information there for you to draw your own conclusions!

According to Barbados Today, Barry gave this advice:

“Anyone who finds themselves in a similar position should co-operate fully with the person robbing them and give them what they want. Try your best to relieve the tension of the moment by cooling things down,” Gale said.

The attorney believes it was this thinking that saved him and his friends from what could have been an ugly end on Friday night.

“I told the man repeatedly we would co-operate. I told him he could have our cash but just don’t hurt anybody,” Gale said.

The robber took the car Gale was renting and abandoned it in Hanson Gap, on land belonging to Kingsland Estates Ltd., company that Gale is well acquainted with.

Repeat Offender?

On July 8th, Gale was robbed,  again! Possibly by the same man! Gale’s advice of giving robbers whatever they want was published. Did the robber read it?

Barbados Today, Thieves strike again 2011-07-13

Robbers have again made off with cash after holding prominent attorney Barry Gale and friends at gunpoint last Friday.

This occurred less than a month after the attorney was first robbed at gunpoint on June 17, and after he acted on his own advice to install greater security measures at his Hastings, Christ Church beach apartment.

What’s worse is that he strongly believes Friday’s attack was carried out by the same man who held them at gunpoint on June 22.

Apparently this time Barry Gale did not repeat his advice about cooperating with robbers.

Different Opinion

I agree that if someone sticks a gun in your face that you have few options, but I disagree that you should give robbers whatever they want. I believe that people should stick up for their rights and vigourously oppose all robbers and thieves.

• Company Breaks Law - Barbados High Court Judge Involved
• Spotlight on … PwC’s Attorney Barry Louis Valence Gale

Unraveling the web of Spain’s sweatshops

On this page there is a slide show titled, Spanish Raids Free Slave Labor, and a video, Inside a Slavery Raid.

Here are  a few random quotes:

Large-scale criminal organizations from Eastern Europe, Africa and China are setting up shop - bringing people into Spain under the guise of giving them jobs, then keeping their passports and forcing them to work in nightmarish conditions, either in prostitution or labor exploitation.

“To investigate criminal organizations, what one cannot do is solve the crime. You have to locate and dismantle the organization… You get to know who the members are, how they live, how they interact, and how the organization is organized. Where the money comes from and where it goes - all this from many, many hours of analysis and operative work.”

Cortes says he has seen women seven months pregnant, forced to stand and prostitute themselves for 10 to 12 hours on the side of the road with no access to sanitation.

I saw that Barbados Free Press had something up about pornography involving pregnant women. I have also heard numerous unconfirmed reports about the poor working and housing conditions of Chinese labourers in Barbados.  The similarities between Barbados and Spain are disconcerting.

Barbados 1652:

“That no taxes, customs, imports, loans or excise shall be laid, nor levy made on any the inhabitants of this island, without their consent in a General Assembly.”

America 1776:

There shall be no taxation without representation. (See Barbados Forum)

Barbados Connection with the Signers

Arthur Middleton (1742 - 1787)

(Source DSDI)

Arthur Middleton’s great-grandfather, Edward Middleton, was born in 1620 and emigrated with his brother, Arthur Middleton, on the Dorset to Barbados in 1635.  Several decades later, in 1768, Edward Middleton emigrated to the low country of South Carolina, where he became Lord Proprietor’s deputy and assistant justice of the Grand Council, 1768-1684.  He received large grants of land on Goose Creek on which he proceeded to establish a plantation which he named the Oaks.

Lewis Morris (1726-1798)

Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 — January 22, 1798) was an American landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress for New York.

This Morris was the third to be named Lewis Morris, and was born on the family estate of Morrisania. He was the son of Lewis and Katrintje or Catherine (Staats) Moris. His great grandfather (Richard, died 1672) had immigrated to New York through Barbados after being part of Oliver Cromwell’s army in the English Civil War of 1648. He purchased the first tract of land in the Bronx that became the basis for the Morrisania manor. When Richard and his young wife died, leaving behind an infant son named Lewis, it was Richard’s brother, Colonel Lewis Morris, also of Barbados, who came to Morrisania to help manage the estate formerly belonging to his late-brother and now his infant nephew.

Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814)

Upon graduation Elbridge entered his father’s counting house.  The Gerrys owned their own vessels and shipped dried codfish to the Barbados and Spanish Ports, and returned with bills of exchange and goods.

Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794) and his
brother Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797)

May have had a Barbados connection Source

Two signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Richard Henry Lee and Arthur Middleton, were from Barbados,

… but it appears to be way back: Lee Lineage, Stories & History (1945)

About 1650 or later three Lee brothers came from England to the Barbados. (These islands still belong to England). After staying there some time they also went to Virginia. Their names were Francis, Timothy, and Joseph. The climate being too severe, they went back to the Barbados, where they married. Francis had a son Thomas who had a very large family. From this father and sons we had seventy men who served in the Civil War. General Stephen D. Lee of S. C., Col. Charles Lee, of North Carolina; Col. P. Lynch Lee of 20th Arkansas; Major Hutton Lee, Chief Quarter-Master Dept. of S. C., Georgia and Florida and many other officers of lower rank as well as several surgeons.

Presidential Connection

George Washington was the President of the US when it declared its independence. George Washington had visited Barbados in 1751 with his older brother Lawrence, who was sorely afflicted with tuberculosis. He stayed at Bush Hill House.

Unfortunately the Barbados trip did not cure Lawrence. He returned to the States and died there from TB. George developed smallpox in Barbados, and his face was badly scarred. (Source: The Health and Medical History of President George Washington)

At age 19 Washington and his half-brother Lawrence spent time on the island of Barbados, hoping the climate would benefit Lawrence. Lawrence was ill with tuberculosis. Around this time George developed a severe case of smallpox, which ultimately left his skin scarred for life. [3e] [7a].

How Strong are the Connections?

There is a long list of influential Americans with Barbadian connections, so it is not a surprise to see that the Declaration of Independence had some Barbadian influence.

George Washington not only visited  Barbados, but had connections with Barbadians as well. The Middletons and Morrises were well connected with Barbados too, but there is not much evidence to show that the two Lee signers were connected.

Happy 4th of July, everyone!