Shell makes US $27 billion while Bajan farmers continue to suffer

The BBC is reporting today how Royal Dutch Shell has recorded a whopping profit of $27.56 billion. Cat Piss and Pepper wonders if any of these blenzers will trickle down to the long-suffering Bajan farmers at Gibbons Boggs.

Not only have they been given a frustrating runaround by Shell, but they have also recently been exploited by people like British hotelier Adrian Loveridge who was quick to rush over from his hotel in Inch Marlowe for a photo-op with them just a week or so before the last elections. What I observed since then indicates to me that those gullible farmers were being seriously deceived by a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and they should not be surprised if they never see nor hear from Adrian Loveridge again now that the government has changed.

Getting back to the original plight of the farmers, we have great sympathy for them, and hope that their problems will soon be resolved. But we only need to look across the Atlantic to Nigeria and see how the people of Ogoniland and other Niger Delta communities have endured much worse (and for far longer) than anything anyone in Barbados has ever seen.

We can only hope and pray that Shell will fork up some money to shell out to both the Bajan farmers and their Nigerian counterparts.

Cat Piss

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7219148.stm

Thursday, 31 January 2008, 08:09 GMT

Shell sets new UK profits record

Shell has broken its own record of profits for a UK firm

The Anglo-Dutch oil firm Royal Dutch Shell has reported annual profits of $27.56bn (£13.9bn), a record for a UK-listed company. Much of the rise in profits has been attributed to rising oil prices, which currently stand at about $91 a barrel compared with $57 this time last year.

But there is concern among analysts that Shell has delayed publishing figures showing its oil reserves.

Profits, measured by current cost of supply, beat a 2006 record of £12.9bn.

Suspicious traders

The oil reserves figure, which shows whether Shell found enough oil in the ground to replace the amount it was taking out, will not be published until the spring.

“The market really has taken this to imply that the figures aren’t going to be great,” said Nick MacGregor, an oil analyst from Redmayne Bentley.

“If they were that good Shell would be telling the world about it now.”

‘Satisfactory results’

Shell shares are listed in the UK and the Netherlands and its headquarters are in The Hague.

It reports its profits figures in dollars because oil is priced in the US currency.

In dollar terms its earnings are up 9% on the previous year.

It has set its dividend at $0.36 per share for the last three months of 2007, which is up 11% on the same period of 2006.

“Overall these are satisfactory results,” said Shell’s chief executive Jeroen van der Veer.

“We made good progress in 2007, launched new projects upstream and downstream, and achieved exploration successes.”

Windfall tax

Some unions have objected to the level of Shell’s profits at a time when consumers and businesses are having to cope with the effects of high oil prices.

Unite’s joint general secretary Tony Woodley described the level of profits in the oil industry as, “quite frankly obscene”.

“Shell shareholders are doing very nicely whilst the rest of us, the stakeholders, are paying the price and struggling.”

Mr Woodley is calling for a windfall tax on oil companies similar to the one imposed on privatised utilities when the Labour government came to power.

The oil companies have stressed that little of their profits come from petrol forecourts, with the majority of the price paid at the pump already going straight to the government.

The North Sea tax on energy companies was set at 10% in 2002 and then increased to 20% in 2005.

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/85676?save_prefs=true

Ogoni Day remembered as Shell fail to honour promise to halt gas flaring

Friday January 04, 2008 01:23

Company will continue to degrade environment

Today is January 4th 2008.

On this day in 1993, 300,000 people in Nigeria marked the United Nations Year of Indigenous Peoples by protesting against Shell’s activities and the environmental destruction of Ogoniland in the Niger Delta.

2008 was supposed to be the deadline for the ending of gas flaring by Shell in Nigeria, but the company now says that this deadline will not be met.

Gas Flaring is simply the releasing of excess gas and liquids associated with oil and gas production pipelines and refineries into the atmosphere. The main purpose of gas flaring is to protect pipelines and infrastructure from over-pressuring

The released gases are burned off, releasing any by-products into the air. These include nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds like xylene and hydrogen sulfide. Carcinogens such as benzapyrene are also released. People exposed to these substances can suffer from a variety of respiratory problems, which have been reported amongst many children in the Niger Delta but have but have never been systemically investigated. These chemicals can also aggravate asthma, cause breathing difficulties and pain, as well as chronic bronchitis.

Benzene, which is known to be emitted from gas flares in undocumented quantities, is acknowledged as being a causative agent for leukemia.

Gas flaring of course, also contributes to global warming and climate change.

Together with oil spills, gas flaring is seen as a major cause of environmental degradation. In Nigeria, the practice is supposed to be illegal, but there is no sign of the Nigerian government being able to enforce this law. Here in Ireland we know all about how Shell can manipulate the world of politics and the legal process to suit the needs of the company’s shareholders.

In Nigeria in 1995 however, it appears that Shell’s PR people slowly realised that their part in the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other activists was a public relations disaster, and in the aftermath the company made various concessions to its critics, in a vain attempt to undue some of the damage it felt had been done to its brand. One of the promises made was the announcement of an end to gas flaring.

Shell of course, is not well known for living up to its promises, and so flaring is still going on today. In the year 2000, Shell formally announced that it would stop gas flaring by 2008. Interestingly, since 2000, gas flaring in the Niger Delta has actually increased (according to the 2005 Shell Sustainability Report).

In November 2005, the Federal High Court of Nigeria stated that Shell and other oil companies
should end gas flaring in the Niger Delta. In a case brought against Shell, the court ruled that the damaging and wasteful practice of flaring could not lawfully continue and must stop. Shell appealed against the decision.

At the demonstration on January 4th 1993, an Ogoni elder said:
“We have woken up to find our lands devastated by agents of death called oil companies. Our atmosphere has been totally polluted, our lands degraded, our waters contaminated, our trees poisoned, so much so that our flora and fauna have virtually disappeared”.

January 4th became known as Ogoni Day.

Photographs courtesy of Friends of the Earth (used by permission)

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/

For more information see:

www.remembersarowiwa.com

Will the next DLP cost overrun step forward please!

Is this DLP government for real?

One of the stupidest things ANY government could do, is come to power and start office by mouthing off about cost overruns. Apart from multi-million dollar public projects, thousands of ordinary Bajans experience cost overruns every week, whether it is in the supermarket, shopping in Bridgetown, repairing our vehicles, or doing construction work on our own homes. The new Attorney-General and Minister of Home Affairs, Freundel Stuart, would do better to let wisdom prevail and avoid making such unguarded (and arguably arrogant) utterances about cost overruns, especially given his party’s past history with Sherbourne Conference Center and the St. Joseph Hospital. The DLP has only just started a five year term, and unless they don’t plan to build anything at all, they should be very careful that they do not set themselves up for major embarrassment further down the line. No-one can foretell the future, so what would Freundel Stuart open his mouth and say when the next cost overrun comes along?

Cat Piss

http://www.nationnews.com/story/18553006724417.php 

‘No place for cost overruns’
Published on: 1/29/08.

THE NEW Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government has signalled a no-nonsense policy regarding cost overruns on its construction projects.

Yesterday morning, when Attorney-General and Minister of Home Affairs, Freundel Stuart, toured what will be the new Crab Hill, St Lucy police station, he warned: “. . . The Government does not intend to condone that kind of behaviour and, certainly, I don’t intend to condone it either.”

He was addressing the cost overruns on the project which are above $2.5 million, Stuart said.

Work first began on transforming the dilapidated station more than three years ago, with the José y José construction company handling the contract.

But by July 2006 work was halted and later the Government announced a new contract had been awarded to Steve’s Building Works to finish the project.

“I was horrified and shocked at the history of that project at Crab Hill,” Stuart said.

“I don’t think that the highest standards were pursued initially and it has landed us with that huge cost overrun which is ultimately inimical to the best interests of the taxpayers of Barbados. . . .”

Earlier, Stuart had referred to the project as having been “bedevilled” by some delays.

“I believe this site was taken over some time in December, 2004,” he recalled. “Three years and two contractors later, we are now trying to meet a deadline of 2008.

Deadline

“And what I’ve seen this morning and, based on assurances given, it seems as though the deadline (February 29) will be met.

“But in terms of costs, it seems to me as though we are upwards of $2.5 million in overruns because a lot of work that was done initially had to be undone and that has been the result.

“But I think, generally speaking, the facilities, when completed, will be much more commodious and, of course, the surroundings much more convenient and that the officers who have to work here will be able to enjoy a higher level of performance and comfort once this whole thing is over,” he said.

Stuart said the project would create “a modern police station”, with “proper facilities” for female officers, “a highly sophisticated interview room”, viewing facilities and scope for video recording of statements taken from accused people.

He said plans for the station were part of Government’s blueprint for improving the Royal Barbados Police Force.

“We believe that the police render a quality of service that is highly indispensable to the comfort of Barbadians and the provision of facilities of this kind conduce to that kind of objective. . .,” he stated.

Stuart was accompanied by Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin, Deputy Commissioner Bertie Hinds, other high-ranking officers and members of the Police Association, as well as Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Attorney-General, Sonja Welch, when he toured the station under construction and the temporary police quarters in Crab Hill.

It was the first broad formal contact the new Attorney-General had with the police force after initial talks he and Prime Minister David Thompson had with the Police Commissioner. (TY)

So, Exactly Who Finances Political Parties in Barbados?

Bajan Free Press has just published a very detailed article on the need to have laws in Barbados requiring political parties to publicly declare both their donations and their expenses, and they have supported it nicely by adding some information on the Singapore Political Donations Act of 2000.

http://bajanfreepress.wordpress.com/2008/01/27/laws-needed-for-declaration-of-political-donations-and-expenses/ 

All this causes us to ask the question: Who finances political parties in Barbados? And what, if anything, do they get in return?

Cat Piss

Why is it that Barbados Free Press does not promote BLACK Entertainers?

Saturday, 26 January 2008, 1:36 pm

After reading De Standpipe Crew’s tribute to Ronnie Morris and Timeless Entertainment for giving this country the Barbados Music Awards, I have to speak out about something I have noticed about Barbados Free Press and its promotion of people in the entertainment industry.

Why is it that after two years of existence Barbados Free Press has never promoted or featured any of the leading calypsonians and entertainers in Barbados? Is it because our calypsonians are black?

Yet the same Barbados Free Press regularly favours and promotes singers who are overwhelmingly either light-skinned or white, and especially if they are foreigners. All the observations I have made over the months have caused me to conclude that Barbados Free Press is a racist publication.

I found one article mentioning the Barbados Music Awards posted on BFP last year, and given my suspicions I was not surprised when I observed that the article itself was very brief. It mentioned Rihanna and Magnet Man but made no mention whatsoever of Ronnie Morris, the founder of the Barbados Music Awards. Ian Bourne, however, was quick to come out and make a torrent of disparaging comments attacking the Barbados Music Awards, and we all know what colour he is.

I wish the very best for Ronnie Morris.

We must never allow Barbados to become a place where only those who are light-skinned or white feel that because of their colour they alone have any special privilege or right to the spotlight and that black Bajans have no business being in the spotlight unless they are being attacked, ridiculed and maligned by that filthy stinking blog called Barbados Free Press.

http://standpipe.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/barbados-music-awards-well-done-ronnie-morris/

http://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2007/01/05/barbados-music-awards-concert-yes/

Cat Piss.

Vandalism of 14 Transport Board Buses: Post Election Sabotage?

So who vandalised those 14 Transport Board buses parked in Roebuck St. last night?

This sort of behaviour can never be tolerated in Barbados. It must never be allowed to happen again. Get some barbed wire, fence off the area and keep it locked securely at night. This country also needs more security cameras at ALL government premises where state assets are vulnerable to vandalism and theft. It is we taxes dat pay fuh dem.

This is not the sort of Barbados that we want. This sort of violent destruction and sabotage has never been the norm in Barbados, whether it is during the heat of an election campaign or after the installation of a new government. There is a small possibility that it could have had nothing to do with politics, but buses have been parking there without incident since last year at least. And coming a week after elections we cannot ignore the likelihood that we are witnessing a gradual slide into the realm of election violence in Barbados, heading in the direction of what we are seeing in Kenya today.

If this vandalism was indeed politically motivated, and that is something we may never find out, then the most likely suspects would be people who are unhappy about the recent DLP election win. Again, the people most likely to be unhappy about the DLP election victory are supporters of the BLP whose headquarters are just a stone’s throw away on the same Roebuck St.

We in this country sometimes have the habit of not saying and not speaking in times such as this, but that culture of silence can sometimes work against us. This act of vandalism is a problem which must be nipped in the bud. The new DLP government needs to say something to show that it will not tolerate this act of lawlessness and that it will do everything possible to hunt down the perpetrators of this or any other acts of lawlessness. And the opposition BLP (for whom this incident strikes close to home) also needs to come out and make a public statement against the act of vandalism so that they can never be accused of lending encouragement by saying nothing.

Finally and most important of all, it takes a little time to smash the windscreens of 14 buses, so if anyone witnessed anything suspicious last night or knows anything about it, you know who you have to report it to. It might start with the windscreens of buses now… and it could end up with the windows to your own house by the time the next election comes around.

Cat Piss

http://www.cbc.bb/content/view/13918/10/

One night of destruction causes over $18,000 in damage
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Vandals have hit the transport board service forcing them to take 14 buses out of service

And the company is now faced with a bill of over 18 thousand dollars to repair the vehicles.

The situation prevented the board from providing normal service to commuters Wednesday morning and could affect their operations for a few days.

The buses were parked in an area referred to as the Weymouth Annex, the former home of Lowe’s Laundry.

Officials say they were forced to move them because of a lack of space in the main complex.

The area is lit after dark and monitored by in-house security until 11p.m with periodic checks made after that.

It was sometime between two of these checks that the vandal or vandals appeared to have made the move, smashing the windscreens of the vehicles forcing them out of service.

Some commuters who use the service particularly those in the northern part of the island had to endure long waits because of the incident.

General Manager of the Transport Board Ian Jessamy has apologised for the situation and is assuring the public the board has already moved to have some of the buses repaired and returned to service.

“We would need to see if we can obtain additional windscreens from our local Mercedes-Benz supplier in the event that we don’t have enough to cover the damage to the Marco Polos but the Buscar should be returned to service as early as tomorrow.”

Mr. Jessamy is asking the public to be patient while they fix the problem.

“We anticipate we should resume a normal service within a matter of days and not weeks and as management we would be looking to put additional security measures in place for this particular area to reduce the incidence of this circumstance recurring in the future”

Meantime Corporate and Communications Officer Linda Holder says the costs to repair the buses could rise to over 18 thousand dollars.

“Material costs alone are going to be in the region between eighteen and $20,000.00 to repair the windscreens. The loss of revenue factor must also be taken into account.”

Ms. Holder says while the board has had to make some major adjustments she doesn’t expect the disruptions to last past this week.

Time For Change: Rising Anger in St. Lucy

The first official working day of the new DLP government was marked with rising anger from people in the northern constituency of St. Lucy after their DLP member of parliament Denis Kellman was not given any position in the cabinet of Prime Minister David Thompson.

Several callers to the radio call-in program Brass Tacks aired their views on the matter between 11:00 am and 1:15 pm, but it was later in the day that a Voice of Barbados 5:30 pm news report told of sending a team into St. Lucy and went on to broadcast on radio the loud and angry voices of several St. Lucy residents who condemned the prime minister’s exclusion of Kellman from the cabinet.

Cat Piss and Pepper has been unable so far to locate any audio clip of the news report, but will continue to look out for one.

There was also a letter published in todays Daily Nation newspaper from a St. Lucy resident which cautioned the prime minister not to “allow pettiness to cast a shadow over your tenure and precipitate your hasty departure from the House.” (See full text below.)

It will be interesting to see how the new DLP government handles this rising anger in St. Lucy in the days ahead.

Despite the protests of some in St. Lucy, and despite past norms, practices, trends and expectations, there is no requirement for a prime minister to reward any member of parliament with a cabinet position. He is free to pick and choose as he pleases.

These are also many of the same people who voted for the DLP because it was “time for change”, so if the new prime minister wants to do things differently now, they really have no right to complain. They asked for change and now they are getting it.

Cat Piss.

http://www.nationnews.com/editorial/341719375969983.php

St Lucy folk want answers on Kellman, Mr PM
Published on: 1/22/08.

IT IS WITH EXTREME TREPIDATION that I watched you, Mr Thompson, announce your new Cabinet and hoped against hope that you would not get so lost in the degrees that you would forget the importance of know-how, experience and good old-fashioned common sense.

Your Cabinet is staffed with many who have had little or no political experience and whose value in the rough and tumble of governance is yet to be proved.

Therefore, it stands to reason that high office should have been given to the only longstanding politician with as many years in Opposition as you, Denis Kellman.

Why then has he not been given a significant ministry? We of the parish of St Lucy would like to know.

I would suggest that now, when the eyes of all are watching you and the Opposition is looking for any sign of weakness, that you would not allow pettiness to cast a shadow over your tenure and precipitate your hasty departure from the House.

Mr Prime Minister, an entire parish is waiting and watching to see what will happen. There is no doubt that Kellman has political and business savvy. He should have had first call.

St Lucy is measuring its importance to this party by the esteem in which it is held for its loyalty all these years and we would wish not to be disappointed.

We also note that the post of Deputy Prime Minister has not been announced. You can do no less than accord him the honour. He is capable.

– PATRICIA HARVEY

Minister Ronald Jones needs to tone down the hollering

Cat Piss and Pepper heard newly appointed Minister of Sports Ronald Jones speaking on the Voice of Barbados news this morning. Sir, who you tink you fighting wid? You is a whole government minister now, not some “wild boy” from de “goon squad” attending a football game where your team is one down with just two minutes more to go. It is good to see a young black man like you attain such a position of prestige and authority in this country, and there are many in this land who wish you well, but PLEASE cut out de hollering on national radio and start to behave with the sort of decorum and quiet dignity which is expected from a minister of government. It is too early in the game for you to be getting a red card like this. Place your abundance of energy and enthusiasm into your actions, not into your words on-air. Hope to hear you cool, calm and collected next time. Thank you.

Cat Piss.

Denis Kellman Speaks Out, Exposes Blog Liars

Denis Kellman, speaking in todays Daily Nation newspaper, has quashed misinformation appearing on the Barbados Free Press and Barbados Underground blogs which claimed that he had declined offers of a ministry and the position of Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Read below what the man himself has to say. He has certainly exposed some blog commentators (particularly the annoyingly loudmouthed and ignorant yardfowl called “Wishing in Vain”) to be blow-hard liars who mouth off about things they know nothing about.

Cat Piss.

http://www.nationnews.com/story/11070785842182.php

KELLMAN: I FEEL GOOD
Published on: 1/21/08.

Reach Out To Them: Part of the congregation offering a word of prayer for the new Cabinet, during yesterday’s national ecumenical and thanksgiving service. (Picture by Sandy Pitt.)

by Ricky Jordan

Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Denis Kellman was not included in the new Cabinet under Prime Minister David Thompson.

This development, which has created much talk across Barbados since Thompson announced his Cabinet Saturday night, will see the St Lucy representative sitting on the back bench of the House of Assembly.

Kellman, from his St Thomas home Saturday night however said he was not offended by the Prime Minister’s decision.

“A Prime Minister has the prerogative to do whatever he feels. He is free to choose his senators, ministers and staff. That is his right under the Constitution and I cannot be offended,” he told the DAILY NATION.

Kellman, who has had four general election victories and was the lone Opposition MP alongside Thompson when the DLP suffered its massive 26-2 defeat in 1994, was for the past 14 years seen as a senior Opposition member and a possible deputy to Thompson.

Asked whether his omission from the Cabinet was expected, Kellman said he preferred not to comment. He added, however, that as far as the public was concerned, “it’s not for me to worry about how it goes down with the public; it’s for him to worry”.

“I feel good, man. I have peace of mind,” added Kellman, who in 2003 sided with the then Government refusing to support a private member’s resolution brought by Thompson in Parliament to reduce the quorum of the Public Accounts Committee from four MPs to two.

And just last month, he was the sole Opposition MP to turn up in the House following a boycott by his party colleagues to register their protest against a ruling by the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Kellman dismissed rumours he had been offered a ministry and the position of Speaker, but said he would continue to pursue his constituency objectives in Parliament.

“I have goals for St Lucy; that’s why I came to Parliament, and I think I’ve done well in Opposition.”

As to the view that he is seen as a maverick, he added: “Political parties need mavericks to show them where they’re wrong. I believe if the Barbados Labour Party had one, they would be in Government today.”

Kellman attended yesterday’s historic public swearing-in ceremony for the new Cabinet at Kensington Oval.

Welcome to Cat Piss and Pepper!

Welcome to Cat Piss and Pepper!

This blog is dedicated to Bajan politics and news. Feel free to add your comments and air your views.

As you can probably guess, this is NOT a blog for the cultured or the faint-hearted… this is cyberspace for the “commonest of the common people” from Barbados. If this does not sound like a place for you, please visit Bajan Free Press or De Standpipe instead.

Happy Errol Barrow Day and please enjoy your stay!

Cat Piss.