Domestic Abuse and Violence In Barbados

"I know this is a subject most bajans don't like to talk about, but while watching the Rihanna interview the other night, I was surprised to hear her talk about domestic abuse in her home while growing up in Barbados. according to her, she used to watch her parents fight all the time, and would sometimes hold on to her father's leg and try to get between them to stop the physical abuse endured by her mother. and because of that, she used to say she would never date a man like her father...."

The Breadfruit Tree Lime • View topic - Domestic Abuse and Violence

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Who Needs Sex Anyway

"Human eggs and sperm have been grown in the laboratory in research which could change the face of parenthood.

It paves the way for a cure for infertility and could help those left sterile by cancer treatment to have children who are biologically their own..."

The Breadfruit Tree Lime • View topic - Who Needs Sex Anyway

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Diasporas Knock Bajan Hospitality At Home

"You have become a typical bajan now! dem does come up here to your house and spend not one week but weeks at a time and don't contribute a thing (not that they should) does take all their money and buy up de whole uh North America but when you go to bdos, they don't even invite yuh over to breadfast, lunch or dinner..."

The Breadfruit Tree Lime Forum • View topic - "Hi Wunna"

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The Disconnect Between Black Bajans And The Beach

"I have to say though (and this is something I’ve observed over the years and raised elsewhere on the Internet) that there does seem to be a disconnect between blacks and the beach/sea here in Barbados that did not exist when I was a kid, at least not to the extent that it does today. And, I am saying this as a black man myself. The beach/sea is seen as something they probably did as kids, is best left up to the tourists, but not necessarily something to make time for as adults..."

Click here for entire comment on Barbados Underground

S&P Downgrades Barbados 1 1/2 Yrs. Into Thompson Adminsitration

S&P cuts Barbados rating to BBB as economy shrinks | Markets | Bonds News | Reuters

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Tale of Two Islands

"Stanford University economists Peter Blair Henry and Conrad Miller recently published an interesting NBER Working Paper in which they compare economic policy and economic performance between Jamaica and Barbados.
Henry and Miller point out that in Jamaica, the People's National Party rose to power in the 1970s with the promise of "democratic socialism." Unfortunately, the PNP delivered, nationalizing companies, taxing trade, and imposing exchange controls. The PNP also distributed income through job-creation programs, schemes for housing development, and subsidies on food. Government spending rose from 23 percent of GDP in 1972 to 45 percent in 1978. The government financed much of its huge deficit by printing money, leading to 27 percent inflation by 1980.
The government of Barbados, by contrast, avoided nationalization and opened the country to trade. It also kept government spending under control although, unfortunately, Henry and Miller don't present data on government spending as a percent of GDP.
The economic results: between 1960 and 2002, real GDP per capita grew by an annual average of 2.2 percent in Barbados but only by 0.8 percent in Jamaica.
Henry and Miller pitch their study as a critique of the Douglass North view that institutions are crucial for economic growth. They point out that both countries were British colonies until the 1960s and, therefore, had a two-party political system, a free press, constitutional protection of property rights, and the English common law. The difference in performance, they say, was not due to different institutions but to different macro policy. But aren't such big differences in macro policy--nationalization and distribution of wealth in one case and not in the other--themselves a difference in institutions?"

Source: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2009/03/tale_of_two_isl.html

Juls At Obama's Inauguration

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(Our) Rihanna does it for Royalty!

"I just watched our lil bajan girl Rihanna perfom live at the Royal variety Performance at the London Palladium. Man I telling wunnuh..among the galaxy of stars present, she shone as brightly as anyone else!!
My mouth did fall open a bit when after the show, she and the rest of the performers got to meet Prince Charles and his Camilla Parker Bowles.....
I ain care whuh nuhbody else say.. we have a proper genuine Bajan star... and I say, all the best to her."

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Juls Offers Her Suburban DC McMansion For Obama Inauguration

"The first person to sign up with their family can get my master suite, however, you can bring your sleeping bags and blankets for the floor. Breakfast on Inauguration Day is included..."

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Hiking Barbados

"While Barbados can be enjoyed without ever leaving West Coast Highway 1, which is fringed with beaches and hotels, a local passion for walking has created opportunities to explore more than 800 miles of roads at little or no cost. Our trek was one of 45 rambles offered free by Hike Barbados, a program of the Barbados National Trust. No reservations are necessary: Simply meet Sunday morning or afternoon at the designated location, break into groups according to pace, and experience a 6-to-14-mile slice of the island that you might not otherwise see..."

Click here for entire Boston Globe article.