News, Politics

Opposition MPs Cite Cost Concerns

CASTRIES North MP, Stephenson King and Castries Central MP, Richard Frederick
CASTRIES North MP, Stephenson King and Castries Central MP, Richard Frederick

CASTRIES North MP, Stephenson King and Castries Central MP, Richard Frederick, say that while they embrace the need for the realignment of the island’s constituencies, they cannot ignore the added costs to taxpayers.

Speaking to reporters outside the House of Assembly Tuesday morning before Parliament met to discuss the proposed changes to the island’s constituencies, King and Frederick shared key concerns on the latest move.

At issue is the splitting of the Gros Islet constituency into three and the creation of the Castries North-East constituency, increasing the island’s constituencies from 17 to 21.

The changes came as a result of the “Report of the Constituency Boundaries Commission for Saint Lucia”, which was presented in December last year, in which concerns were raised that some constituencies had significantly larger populations than others. As a result of the new changes, Gros Islet now becomes Gros Islet North, Gros Islet South and Gros Islet Central, while sections of Babonneau and Castries North will form Castries North-East. Sections of Castries South and Castries South-East will form Castries South-West.

King said the boundary review became necessary as per the Constitution, and as such “there’s nothing wrong with it.” However, he hastily made the point that the added costs to the country need to be taken into consideration.

“When you look at the financial implications, it ranges between $200,000 and $500,000 a year,” King said. “So it’s really being able to justify the review that is being done now: how it is done (and) the constituencies that are being affected,” King said.

King said the affected constituencies, particularly Gros Islet, Babonneau, Castries East, Castries South-East and Castries North, were way more populated compared to other constituencies, necessitating the boundary review. The dollar factor, he said, must not be discounted from the equation, even though there should be some level of parity in representation.

“In principle, I support it. It is whether it is timely in a situation where the country is going through some economic times. However, what you are attempting to do with these realignments is to allow parliamentarians to have a more effective representation for the people they represent. You cannot have one parliamentarian representing 23,000 people and another one representing 4,000. In terms of economies of scale, it just doesn’t work. When you look at the land mass, the density, the terrain that you’ve got to travel, it needs some consideration,” King explained.

King also pointed to the pros and cons of the exercise, saying that both the government and opposition stand to either win or lose via the changes. Nevertheless, he hinted that the government would have proceeded with the review so as to favour their chances of contesting those seats.

“When you look at it in terms of the manner in which the cuts have been made, there are advantages and disadvantages for both the government and the opposition. One would anticipate that the government has done a tremendous amount of work in proposing those changes which eventually, I assume, will benefit them,” King said.

Frederick, however, was categorical in his non-support of the changes. He cited high unemployment and government’s limited fiscal space as reasons. Frederick, who was expelled from the United Workers Party’s last August, said that by increasing the number of constituencies, central government has now placed its coffers under more pressure over a long-term basis.

“I’m actually against this at this point, (especially) when unemployment is rising and our revenue is inadequate to essentially take care of our expenses,” Frederick said. “I wouldn’t mind if it was a one-off expense. But it will be a perpetual expenditure. You’re talking about salaries of parliamentarians and/or ministers, other office space to rent, constituency offices, and support staff. I mean, the list goes on and on and I don’t think we can fully appreciate the financial impact of such a decision.”

Frederick suggested that government cuts down on the number of constituencies so as “to permit local government to function more effectively”, effectively scaling back on the number of parliamentarians. At least in the interim, he will be against the latest move until the country’s coffers show signs of improvement, he said.

“At the end of the day, once a parliamentarian has been elected for two terms, then he/she has to be paid a pension for the rest of his/her life. So we’re looking at this just superficially. Like I said, the financial impact cannot be fully appreciated…At the end of the day, if we’re trying to close on the deficit gap, we cannot be operating in a way that would widen (it),” Frederick explained.

In his presentation to Parliament last Tuesday, Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony said that while the cost factor for the new constituency changes remains a concern for many, the additional cost to the State for each new constituency’s representative and office is $89,440.92. In total, the additional four constituencies would cost the State $357,763.68, a 12% increase of current cost of parliamentarians, or a 0.07% increase in total recurrent wages and salaries.

Stan Bishop began his career in journalism in March 2008 writing freelance for The VOICE newspaper for six weeks before being hired as a part-time journalist there when one of the company’s journalists was overseas on assignment.

Although he was initially told that the job would last only two weeks, he was able to demonstrate such high quality work that the company offered him a permanent job before that fortnight was over. Read full bio...

34 Comments

  1. “King said the boundary review became necessary as per the Constitution, and as such “there’s nothing wrong with it.” However, he hastily made the point that the added costs to the country need to be taken into consideration.”
    ——————————————————————————————————————————-
    From one side of the mouth: “there’s nothing wrong with it.”
    From the other side of the mouth: .” However … the added costs to the country need to be taken into consideration.”

    Stop the double talk. Are you for it or against it?

  2. Richard Frederick is perhaps the most sober-minded and pratical politician in this island of idiots, with the unelectable Prime Minster Allen Chastanet and the other stupid politicians. How could SLP sanction the increased expenditure arising from paying the additional expenses associated with the offices, salaries, and other cost of four additional MPs at a time when the Government is requesting the workers take a Pay-cut ? Simply stupid, or intoxication.

    Now to the lame brain-damaged product of white supremacy, incapable of adding 1 + 1 + 1 ≠ 1, Uncle TOM TOM, there is nothing paradoxical about something being legal yet unwise or stupid. Therefore on behalf of this mentally dead slave Uncle TOM TOM , I apologize to the Hon. Stephenson King for his enigmatic accusation of double-talk.

    1. A few weeks ago, I had to walk you through 3rd grade math; remember this? “If gasoline is selling @ $15.50 a gallon, and there’s a 1 % increase, the new price will be $15.65 a gallon. This is 3rd gade math SON-OF-MAN. Shame on you.”

      And suddenly you want to lecture me on adding? You idiot, this is what I do on a daily basis in the South Tower of the World Financial Center in New York. I work for a big brokerage firm and numbers is my game, you fool.

    2. Uncle TOM TOM:

      Now, if you are so thick in your cranium, so as to be incapable of understanding that the Constitution required constituency boundary reviews periodical, and the financial parameters of a cash-strapped economy, while you parade as a Wall Street financial broker totally oblivious to the concept of the idea of the Absolute Value in Al-gebra, I rest my case that you are comatose.

      These illogical exhibits you continue to demonstrate with your fanatic subservience to the imbecile Allen Chastanet who calls you NIGGER, should raise a red flag to all Lucians, that praying to that Naked Caucasian nailed to a post, dripping blood into the mouths of his kamikaze adherents, results in the destruction of the faculty of Reason; I may couple this statement to include common sense, lol.

      1. Dear Hon. Stephenson King:

        Sir,

        It is too often when individuals subservient to the reincarnated Willie Lynch in the person of Allen Chastanet exhibit their mettle with such clarity, as was demonstrated when Willie Lynch Chastanet led a march to show objection to the decreasing price of fuel with a placard labeling Lucians as NIGGERS.

        Therefore I present another deranged follower of this international imbecile Allen Chastanet, a Zombie who goes by the pseudonym UNCLE TOM TOM who perceives this national embarrassment as his lord and savior. I quote him here to give the true meaning of DOUBLE-TALK; here’s Allen’s minion UNCLE TOM TOM two days ago,

        “When your rhetoric and your logic fail to persuade, you resort to name calling? What’s next, bodily harm such as burning me alive in a cage? Thank God I am many miles away from you; for you are one angry, dangerous, racist, stupid and confused negro. But then again, you are following the Quran.”

        Your Honor, Mr. King, this is the same deranged minion of Allen in the above blog, calling me,

        “SON-OF-AN ASS:

        Stop making an ass of yourself.”

        in the above statement at 4:03pm. His resorting to epithets, was his natural reaction to being schooled that there was nothing contradictory in your statement cautioning fiscal prudence. Now sir, there is an example of double-talk, if not outright derangement.

  3. Mr King’s statement kept stride with prudent parliamentarian oratory ” on the one hand I agree with the legality or precedence of such and such but on the other hand I reserve or disfavor it for this reason (s)..

    Tommy your Bren gun to the MP was a shallow put down with all the CONTRIVED negativity of grammar school BULLY!. The MP is an elected official (honorable precedes his name in official communiques), therefore, you ought to exercise care (personalismo – a Puerto Rican cultural requirement) in your discussion. Try staying close to the issue instead of the person.
    You are actually disrespecting STLUCIA in your false accusation if not CONFABULATION.
    Consequently, the need for SOM to disrobe/dissect/dispatch your disrespect is warranted.

    Moreover, you have embraced a seedy side (or the worm in the apple) of the world’s greatest city , i.e, all bombastic ATTITUDE SANS substance!. You do not represent NYC in good form!

    Even the FOXY jamettes strutting and on West 42nd street are more convincing to an episcopal pastor than your 1984 (the novel) style DOUBLE SPEAK.

    1. “Double Entry Ledgering PRECLUDES the same accountant who does ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE from also doing ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE”
      ——————————————————————————————————————————-
      Dear Mr Dassault Mirage: I personally think that you would be better served taking a refresher’s course in principles of accounting 101 than lecturing me on acceptable New York behavior; after all, this part of the world has been home to me since Friday October 21, 1977. So as a ‘Johnny Come Lately’, I think I am in a position to teach you a thing or two about 42nd Street.

      And considering you are the only blogger on this vine who agrees with the angry, dangerous, racist, stupid and confused SOM, tells me a lot about your character. Remember what they say about birds of a feather…….

  4. Dassault Mirage: As I read the comments by this strange Tommy fellow, I too found it difficult to allocate his presence to the metropolis of NYC, with a progressive mayor and the constant struggle of the black citizen where giants like Malclom X left their legacy.

    “If you can control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his action. When you determine what a man shall think you do not have to concern yourself about what he will do. If you make a man feel that he is inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status, for he will seek it himself. If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told; and if there is no back door, his very nature will demand one.”
    ― Carter G. Woodson, The Mis-Education of the Negro

  5. Yesterday, this is what Son-of-man had to say about Tom-Tom: “That’s the reason I enjoy reading your opinions in these blog. Who can rebuttal such poignant and deliberate argument so magnificently presented by you?”
    “… And again I must agree with you that the imposition of VAT upon medicines is unconscionable, and should be repealed forthwith; this is the meaning of oppression.”

    Today, with the moon entering a new phase, this is what that same Son-of-man has to say about Tom-Tom: “… A Zombie who goes by the pseudonym UNCLE TOM TOM….”
    “… The lame brain-damaged product of white supremacy, incapable of adding 1 + 1 + 1 ≠ 1, Uncle TOM TOM.”

    Now, let’s be honest; doesn’t this deranged Muslim character, who calls himself Son-of-man, reminds us of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886?
    And by the way, he loves the 2 billion Muslims of the world except the 56 million of European origin. Talking about a split personality; God, please save this man from himself.

  6. Naughty and knotty Tom Tom
    I did correct the double entry labels to read Payable versus Receivable-
    and even if I did not -one as distinguished in “Brokerage routines” would have filled in my TYPO automatically?

    Tommy -you wanna be a pinball wizard BUT you lack a few refining virtues.
    So you do not like a certain religious persuasion or point of view- however , there is always something on the served dish (even crumbs can be converted into salad croutons, oui?) fit for intellectual discourse n’est pas?

    But Tommy ole boy you offer nothing but sabre rattling! SOM on the other hand challenges our “crystallized” thoughts on a variety of subjects. He shakes things up and when he does we are challenged to “THINK”. Thinking is akin to evaluation – a very high order mental function -way above the knee jerk reactions of liking or hating a point of view!

    TO THINK is not a bad thing , nest pas? Your penance: The protocol of disagreeing -respectfully.

    Now when some entity comes on blog with a Negativity towards St Lucia – and is SPANKED by SOM or others (in SOM style or with the proverbial rattan cane) well of course I may second said consequence of your national disrespect with cat-o-nines – si !

    So you tried your primitive defense mechanism ” displacement” by copying my typo disregarding the evidence that I corrected it and that your expertise in accts would note it as obvious TYPO.

    I was generous in suggesting the West side of 42nd street, garcon you do not merit the pimpdom of Herkimer St, Brooklyn, nor the wharf dens of Red Hook.. Like them you rely on trickery. Nonetheless, your starchy haughtiness and pithy arrogance is well suited to your extremely “anal’ disposition- great for selling “Junk Bonds” and “Hostile Takeovers” of those “down on their luck”

    You are a Great White Shark -in pin stripes n’est pas?
    Why not use your SUPERIOR brokerage skills to enlighten discussions
    But then you do support those who would rather see the ship of state aground BEFORE making POSITIVE contributions to her posterity.

    PIRATES, PRIVATEERS and GREAT WHITE SHARKS share the same common trait -oui?

    1. Dassault, I have read many of your comments over the past several weeks, some of which make sense and some I consider nonsense, but never have I responded to any of them; so it is somewhat shocking to have you attacking my comments just to please your master SOM; so in order to keep you off of my shit-list, I’ll just let everything slide.

      Try to be independent; be your own man, and keep up the good works.

  7. TT (A literary reduction of the nom de plume Tom Tom).

    By the bye my log of flight simulator hours are valid for assorted metal birds with real armor piercing talons, oui; but to insinuate ‘birds of a feather” is tres juvenile delinquency on your part.

    As an avid evaluative reader I do validate the ability of The SOM to “dance” or “rumble” with any. He does not need a flight of “feathers” to bolster his abilities.

    Think “Hans Solo” of Star Wars when you refer to my free lance nomadic preferences.
    I do choose my own battles. Currently, my self ordained role is as a consummate vanguard of the 238 sq ml of my ancestral heritage. Furthermore, I shall TAG TEAM with any -regardless of their core dogma- in the joint defense of the survival of St. Lucia.
    Moreover, this spiritual quest is totally altruistic- a concept that eludes your for profit margins and bankrupt moral funds!
    Therefore, TT as long as the holistic respect of St.Lucia is threatened – The Banshee flies at Mach speed- solo or in formation –
    As you rush past Trinity Church and cemetery on your way to that brokerage firm: Take a deep introspective listen you may hear my sonic booms across yonder Hudson.
    I kid you not!

    I

    1. “As you rush past Trinity Church and cemetery on your way to that brokerage firm….”
      ———————————————————————————————————————————-
      I come down the West Side Highway from Bergen County and pull into the WFC. I avoid the cemetery at all cost because I might run into that zombie by the name of Son-of-man. lol

      1. Among the numerous stratagems by which pride endeavors to recommend folly to regard, scarcely one meets with less success than affectation, which is a perpetual disguise of the real character by false appearances

  8. Well, well, well, there really exist lower sewer rats than son-of-man! Looks like a zoo expelled some more incorrigible toads on this blog.

  9. Show me a suit and a wrist watch (daily work wear ) and I can tell that person’s wardrobe expense acct and other life style pursuits.
    I have seen high finance workers sporting suits from Barneys s and upscale tailor made stores, wearing watches that can be traded for the cost of a brand new custom made harley motor bike- yet they commute to the financial district via NJIT rail.
    Many live in Tuxedo Junction (now thats the kind of real estate I could enjoy (a nature lovers dream amidst the urban sprawl)

    Enter NWN Bergen County eons past its early designation as a pretentious suburban alternative (it aint Long Island NY 🙂
    A top notch pretender immigrant who perseveres only to be as opulent as a “Gatsby”- by any means foul or filthy DRIVES into Manhattan for his daily commute (I would not be surprised if his vehicle is a GAS GUZZLER with a Mega CARBON Drive track .
    Folks who live in Manhattan multi Million dollar condos or 5000 per month studio as in shoebox apartments (DO NOT BUY CARS)
    PARKING IN MANHATTAN IS A NIGHTMARE at near $30 an hour
    Your vehicle will be towed from the streets of this city -in a blink costing another $ 350 to retrieve it.
    And guys like you want to be idea mongers for a humble frugal St. Lucian economy 🙁
    Let’s review your commute ledger thus far:
    – You drive daily in the most CONGESTED county-state-metro are this side of Saturn and neptune .
    – Once upon the big national auto insurance companies banned themselves from insuring cars in NJersey.
    -The driving risk in New Jersey is rated as TAZMANIAN DEVIL on steroids.
    -The risk of accident from reckless driving is a national (USA) ranking that is legendary -even Bruce Springsten croons on one of Jersey songs (they get in their SUICIDE MACHINES)
    You probably use parts of the following highways on your daily commute : The I-95 – The US !-
    the 17- the 4) GOD forbid , you live dangerously. Commuting by bus or rail is so much cheaper and just as fast (the traffic tie ups / back ups are not worth the drive in)
    I have driven in every major Metro area of the USA except Houston and LA was a breeze, New Orleans a bit hyper, Boston was quirky BUT I remain truly respectful -if not dread any of the roads in NEW JERSEY -the closer to New York the more death defying the required driving skills.

    Well TOMMY ole boy, you finally got one that I shall not challenge: Commuting from Bergen County ?
    Thou art a HammerHead shark with the determination of a spirited Piranha , oui !

    1. You saw right through his padded résumé, LOL. I attended NJIT New Jersey Institute of Technology, and I kept thinking yes, the city of Paterson is in Bergen County, LOL – anyway he drives over the George Washington Bridge, another exorbitant toll added daily –

      “And guys like you want to be idea mongers for a humble frugal St. Lucian economy 🙁
      Let’s review your commute ledger thus far:” LOL

      Dassault Mirage, you saw right through this fraudster, from Apt 3-BB, Martin L. King Boulevard, Paterson, Bergen County, NJ, U.S.A. – haven’t had a belly laugh like this “LONG TIME”

    2. Piranha, word of the day, as in devoured to the bone, stripped of all all flesh and covering, exposed, wow, I feel pity for this Tommy fellow.

    3. “A top notch pretender immigrant who perseveres only to be as opulent as a “Gatsby”- by any means foul or filthy DRIVES into Manhattan for his daily commute….”
      A lowly St.Lucian living in Bergen County; driving to a brokerage house in Lower Manhattan is too much for some people to accept; so, they have embarked on their own piece of investigative journalism to poke holes in my story.

      Dassault, let me help you in your quest to prove me wrong. I arrived in the United States of America as a young man on Friday October 21, 1977 at 3:25pm; the temperature at Kennedy Airport was 63 degrees. My first 21 years were spent in the borough of Brooklyn; I first lived at 525 Lafayette Ave in Bed-Stuy; then on Eastern Parkway close to New York Avenue; and a few years later on Beverly Rd in Flatbush.

      During those 21 years, I finished high school; earned an Associates degree in accounting; then a Bachelor’s degree, all, while working as a waiter at Juniors’ restaurant in downtown Brooklyn. But in 1985, during my final year in college, I landed a part-time job in the tax department of a mid-town Manhattan accounting firm; and upon graduation, and passing the CPA; I was offered a full-time position which lasted until 1992.

      Then, I took a year off; went down to St. Lucia and did all the things I had missed. Upon my return, a year later, I answered an ad in the Wall Street Journal and landed a tax/accounting job with a brokerage firm in lower Manhattan. By this time, I had moved to Bergen County where my sister owns a house; and I have been here ever since.

      When the WTC came down on 9/11 and the PATH train from New Jersey became an issue, I resorted to driving to work as often as I could; and yes, parking is expensive; but a monthly pass is way cheaper than paying daily. And by the way, I drive a Honda accord; not the fancy GAS GUZZLER you envisioned. And my commute is just a short 20 minute drive on route 46 east; onto the GW Bridge, and down the Henry-Hudson Parkway onto the west side of Manhattan; and I am there.

      Dassault, you should never question nor underestimate the accomplishments of some of your fellow-countrymen here in the Metropolitan area; for I have accomplished nothing compare to what some St. Lucians have accomplished.
      And if you ever happen to be in the Lower Manhattan area, look me up; I’m on the 14th floor of the South Tower of the WFC. You will buy me lunch; you are a pilot aren’t you?

      Oh! Don’t bring SOM with you.

    4. “A top notch pretender immigrant who perseveres only to be as opulent as a “Gatsby”- by any means foul or filthy DRIVES into Manhattan for his daily commute….”
      ———————————————————————————————————————————

      A lowly St. Lucian living in Bergen County; driving to a brokerage house in Lower Manhattan is too much for some people to accept; so, they have embarked on their own piece of investigative journalism to poke holes in my story.

      Dassault, let me help you in your quest to prove me wrong. I arrived in the United States of America as a young man on Friday October 21, 1977 at 3:25pm; the temperature at Kennedy Airport was 63 degrees. My first 21 years were spent in the borough of Brooklyn; I first lived at 525 Lafayette Ave in Bed-Stuy; then on Eastern Parkway close to New York Avenue; and a few years later on Beverly Rd in Flatbush.

      During those 21 years, I finished high school; earned an Associates degree in accounting; then a Bachelor’s degree, all, while working as a waiter at Juniors’ restaurant in downtown Brooklyn. But in 1985, during my final year in college, I landed a part-time job in the tax department of a mid-town Manhattan accounting firm; and upon graduation, and passing the CPA; I was offered a full-time position which lasted until 1992.

      Then, I took a year off; went down to St. Lucia and did all the things I had missed. Upon my return, a year later, I answered an ad in the Wall Street Journal and landed a tax/accounting job with a brokerage firm in lower Manhattan. By this time, I had moved to Bergen County where my sister owns a house; and I have been here ever since.

      When the WTC came down on 9/11 and the PATH train from New Jersey became an issue, I resorted to driving to work as often as I could; and yes, parking is expensive; but a monthly pass is way cheaper than paying daily. And by the way, I drive a Honda accord; not the fancy GAS GUZZLER you envisioned. And my commute is just a short 20 minute drive on route 46 east; onto the GW Bridge, and down the Henry-Hudson Parkway onto the west side of Manhattan; and I am there.

      Dassault, you should never question nor underestimate the accomplishments of some of your fellow-countrymen here in the Metropolitan area; for I have accomplished nothing compare to what some St. Lucians have accomplished.
      And if you ever happen to be in the Lower Manhattan area, look me up; I’m on the 14th floor of the South Tower of the WFC. You will buy me lunch; you are a pilot aren’t you?

      Oh! Don’t bring SOM with you.

  10. Juniors on Flatbush Ave. downtown Brooklyn? selling cheesecake, lol, and now the pettifogger completes the racial quota for H&R Block – lol. “Yes! I’m the ONLY black uncle Tom working there, because these white people love me so much, I am not like the rest of these Blacks, they even gave me a white woman, that’s why I love Jesus, my white Lord and Savior”. What a frigging Monkey living in his sister’s basement apartment Apt 3-BB, Martin L. King Boulevard, Paterson, Bergen County, NJ, U.S.A. , lol

    1. “What a frigging Monkey living in his sister’s basement apartment Apt 3-BB, Martin L. King Boulevard, Paterson, Bergen County, NJ….”
      ————————————————————————————————————————–
      Can you ever be pleased? I don’t think so. A young man comes to America on his own back in 1977; worked in a restaurant while getting an education, and you make fun of him. Honestly, you are very, very stupid; so stupid that you don’t even know that Paterson is in Passaic County; not Bergen.
      And jackass, I own a home here plus one in St.Lucia; so there’s no need to live in my sister’s basement.

    2. See TOM TOM,

      You own nothing in Hohocus, Bergen County. You mean you’re paying the bank to allow you to stay in the house Chase Bank owns, now if you think you “OWN” the bank’s house stop paying them for the next three months and see how delusional you are, I have some cardboard shacks under the CDC Block DS, you can walk strait to the Market and bath right there next to the highway. See, now there:

      “And guys like you want to be idea mongers for a humble frugal St. Lucian economy 🙁
      Let’s review your commute ledger thus far:” add a mortgage, Bergen County Tax, Municipal Tax and let’s see that ledger? when is the next payment/rent due ? Own ? sak wey Kooyon.

      I heard the price of George Washington Bridge just went up to 40 dollars, lol, and you want to advice us on how to build some new bridges to Maria Islet?? Your name must be Bernie Maddof? lol

      1. “… add a mortgage, Bergen County Tax, Municipal Tax and let’s see that ledger? when is the next payment/rent due ? Own ? sak wey Kooyon.”
        ———————————————————————-
        Maybe Tom-Tom was smart enough to have taken a 15 year mortgage when he purchased his three-family home in 1995; and smart enough to rent out the top and bottom floors.
        Now, who is the sak wey Kooyon?

        Son-of-man, I think you are proud of me; but you just don’t know how to come out and say so. It’s alright; I understand.

  11. The Wisconsin Clipper is near gale force in our metro area more like the leading edge of a Siberian express. Well, it’s rather cold and St Lucia is represented in frozen Minnesota and even across the border in Saskatchewan. May God bless St Lucian immigrants everywhere.

    Tom-Tom (circa ’77) your brief vignette is solemn reminder of the journey we MUST endure in order to participate effectively in the unique cultural-economic-political miliew that is the USA.

    As much as i love St Lucia I do respect New York. I have come to realize that no place (Canada is a close second -my opinion of course) provides the volume and variety of economic opportunity for folks of color and tolerance of faiths.

    Although this is a virtual forum, I actually thought about our exchanges and realized that some “winter cabin fever” may have egged on a touch of “horse play”.

    We are tough with each other although we share the common self sacrifices to master school and career. We’ve come a long way.

    I do believe you have expertise -scholastic- career- and life experience .

    The major sticky wicket for us is separating the issues from the players in politics. To help St Lucia grow political acumen we need to discuss issues 360
    Tolerance of religious differences is perhaps the greatest hard sell the world has known. Remarkably, New York City or New Amsterdam (under Dutch colonial) rule was the premier continental location for Religious Freedom.

    We should approach all religious discussions with sensitivity and beware of coming across like an “Archie Bunker” or even a “George Jefferson”.

    Extreme actions in the world can fuel bigotry and hatred for the rest who actually believe that only Divine GOD holds the power of Alpha and Omega over all.

    Our two party system forces an either or . flip of the coin choice in our debates . There is a dire need for the isle to return to a greener prominence (literally & figuratively).

    Therefore, we expats need to debate earnestly, but each of us needs to be a gentleman sport as we disagree and push the agenda that we support.
    I thank you for the stewed fresh Cod in light cream sauce and blanched spinach leaves with mashed plantains and garbanzo beans (Puerto Rican style). For desert Pineapple upside down cake and to wash it all down Ginger Sorrell
    Yes the tab is on me and I do pray that you and the illustrious SOM shall someday build a sturdy bridge of communication protocols so that this forum does not lapse into all or nothingness.

  12. There will always be negroes like Hayward who attempted to inform the slave masters in Harper’s Ferry the night of the slave rebellion led be the Caucasian John Brown. Today we have Tom Tom, willing to die for his white woman. DASSAULT refence to our incorrigible Negro brother TOM TOM is a Quranic instruction. I will elaborate when I return home. I am in a hotel suite in Columbus Ohio where it is snowing and temps are like four degrees Fahrenheit. I may visit Tom in his sister’s basement at apt 3 B. Typing on a n iPhone is tedious. This screen keeps jumping around??

  13. I stopped reading the above half way through. Do grown up men really act and say these things in 2015. Really. The bloggers are all porting to be intelligent men with logic and reasons to their voice……yet all I read is third grade school playground child like words, and back chat.

  14. John Peters:

    Lighten up and don’t take yourself too seriously. You are an individual who with your supposedly impeccable “grown-up” and college-school, walk around in this month of lent, even though you’re not Catholic like the other arrogant idiot-stripper Ricky Wayne the Roman – yes walk around praying to a white man as your God almighty, and have the audacity to lecture individuals about being intellectually challenged?

    Calculus – 3 deals with three dimensional calculations, and one would think that after completing a course that I found difficult, you as a science major would not go around here like Tom Tom thinking that God sold his soul to Satan as a price for retrieving mankind from “Satan’s power”. Even the first semester of Newtonian Physics should have shocked you into reality. Instead you will soon celebrate God’s suicide, called Good Friday and the Pagan celebration of the Fertility Goddess Estore/Easter. So look Saint Peter, don’t come in here telling people who perceive you as another Rick Wayne Roman, how to discuss any subject pertaining to reality.

    Tom Tom I am in a hotel lobby in Columbus Ohio using the guest computer even as I write this, where the sun finally came out after snowing all morning, and will be checking out tomorrow. Please send me your sister’s address so I can visit you in your basement apt. on Martin Luther King Boulevard, Hohocus, NJ; I know the apt. # is 3-BB, but I don’t have the house number. If you’d be so kind to supply the required information I will bring you a copy of “TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE” WHICH i VIEWED LAST NIGHT on HBO, bringing tears to my eyes, and the slave Tom to mind; or was his name Plat??

  15. Tom

    It’s morning of Thursday? where’s the address for your sister’s house? anyway, Lucians have no idea how lucky and blessed they are. Tonight the temp. in Columbus, Ohio will be a negative 11 deg. F., and the wind chill will be neg. 20 deg. F. in the morning of Friday.

    You people in Saint Lucia, don’t listen to the Lucian-exiles being tortured by this hostile environment. How does one spell COLD ? Fwet? – 20 ? ki sa sa yeh? owwaa.

  16. Wow….for starters.

    The topic is about Opposition MPs cost concerns over the realignment of the island’s constituencies boundaries and instead of commenting relevantly on this subject, we have supposedly grown men selfishly ranting on and on about their life achievements and their perceived knowledge of a concrete jungle! How more stupid could this get? Can’t they comment respectfully even if they disagree with each other and stick to the subject?

    Reminds me of this quote: in the abundance of water; the fool is thirsty.

    And remember Jesus Christ refers to himself as the Son of Man.
    Also Psalm 14.1 (KJV) sums it all up

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