#also george....did you not have an affair with a man in his 30s QUITE RECENTLY which you now regret and say fucked you up???

[bethanyactually]

this is, imo, some of the most hilariously teenaged conversation on this show

[sweatygardencollectorblr]

A majority of Seattle’s City Council on Wednesday voted down a proposal to slash the police department’s remaining 2020 budget by 50 percent. But the council did pass a slew of other defunding efforts, including ones that would cut 100 officers from the agency this year through layoffs and attrition.The vote by the budget committee—which came one day after the city’s mayor and police chief held a press conference to criticize the proposal—signaled some progress for Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality advocates who’ve pushed to defund departments across the U.S. and reallocate funds to community services, including housing and youth programs.The budget-cut plan, proposed by council member Kshama Sawant, would have cut $54 million from the Seattle PD immediately through layoffs and reallocated it to programs, including $34 million for affordable housing. Sawant was the only member to vote in favor of the proposal, while another council member abstained and the remaining seven voted against it.While the council’s budget committee voted on a variety of amendments related to police funding, activists marched from a King County juvenile detention facility to City Hall. One reporter on scene captured demonstrators chanting, “Bad boys. Bad boys. Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when we defund you?”Shootings Rise in Big Cities Along With Calls to Defund the PoliceSeattle’s vote comes on the heels of other local governments, including the Washington D.C. Council, passing legislation to dismantle or cut the budgets of police departments. In late June, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a proposal to disband the city’s police department—and replace it with a new Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention—following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed May 25 by a Minneapolis cop who kneeled on his neck during an arrest.Minneapolis’ charter commission voted 10-5 against the city council’s proposal on Wednesday, saying they needed more time to review it. The decision meant voters won't get to decide on the amendment on a November ballot. The Seattle council’s budget committee unanimously passed a series of amendments, including adding $4 million to the Human Services Department for a community safety initiative which would be an “alternative to traditional policing.” The funding for that effort would come from a loan authorized by separate legislation.They also voted to cut $886,000 from the Seattle PD and reallocate it to a proposal that would add $10 million for community-led organizations “to increase public safety.” (The remaining $9.1 million would come from interfund loan to be addressed in separate legislation.) The cuts approved included $36,000 from the police department’s remaining 2020 budget for implicit bias training; $50,000 from SPD’s 2020 travel budget; and $800,000 from the department’s recruitment and retention activities. > Protesters gathering near the youth jail for today’s march to City Hall. Saw a handful of bike cops on my way over, though they seem to be around the block now. pic.twitter.com/8vf6r3EW9W> > — Heidi Groover (@heidigroover) August 5, 2020The committee also unanimously approved a “consent package” which includes ordering the police chief to eliminate the mounted unit and public affairs unit, each of which has four officers; lay off five members of the community outreach unit; lay off two members of the 29-officer SWAT team; and let go of 30 officers through attrition. All told, the council approved a reduction of 54 officers from the department.This package also included $50,000 in funding to contract with a community-based organization to create a non-police 911 response system.On Monday, KOMO News revealed the proposal to slash the Seattle Police Department’s budget by 50 percent appeared to be “losing steam” among the nine council members. The remainder of the Seattle PD’s unspent budget is an estimated $188 million, the outlet reported.Council member Sawant slammed her colleagues in an interview with the TV outlet and on Twitter, where she claimed Democrats on the budget committee “ganged up against our movement’s proposals to Defund the police...”> To see Democratic Party politicians in their real role, watch today's Seattle City Council Budget Committe, where they ganged up against our movement's proposals to Defund the police by at least 50%, fund community programs, and increase significant funds for affordable housing.> > — Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) August 4, 2020“I’m not surprised,” Sawant told KOMO News, “but it’s quite interesting to see how council members are now displaying how they actually stand and I hope members of the public are watching.”Last month, protesters targeted the homes of two council members who supported reducing the police budget but wouldn’t commit to slashing it by 50 percent, the Seattle Times reported. The demonstrations allegedly included making noise outside one councilor’s home at night and leaving notes on his door warning, “Don’t be racist trash.”In June, another group visited Mayor Jenny Durkan’s residence, which was tagged with spray paint, according to the Times. Durkan asked the council to probe Sawant for taking part in that protest but council president Lorena González declined. Meanwhile, Police Chief Carmen Best said her neighbors had to stop a “large group of aggressive protestors” from trespassing at her home on Saturday. One of the demonstrators, Nicole Gitaka, told King 5, a local news station: “All we were doing was walking and they met us with guns, I don’t know who the aggressor is at that point, but I don't think it’s us.”> Crowd gathers across from the site for the new youth jail for a march and rally pertaining to the city council’s vote today on defunding the SPD seattleprotest seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/MuTzTIU74h> > — Elizabeth Turnbull (@LizTurnbull5) August 5, 2020This summer, Seattle police swept through an autonomous protest zone known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest Area (CHOP) with blast balls and pepper spray, arresting at least two dozen people after Durkan issued an executive order to clear the area.Previously called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), the six-block stretch near downtown was occupied by demonstrators in the wake of Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter protests. But the site also brought multiple shootings, including the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy, and injuries to both cops and protesters. One Tacoma man was charged with arson for torching the police department's East Precinct building during the CHOP protest.Last week, the head of Seattle’s police union warned defunding cops would bring higher crime rates and make CHOP or CHAZ “look like child’s play.”Was Seattle’s Notorious Protest Zone Doomed by Recent Shootings?On Tuesday, Durkan and Best held a press conference to ask council members to hold off on deep cuts to the police budget until 2021.Durkan said the city shouldn’t make “hasty decisions” when it comes to defunding the police department. “We should make right decisions,” Durkan told reporters. “That doesn’t mean slow; it just means thoughtful.”“The chief and I, again, we are absolutely committed, committed to reimagining how policing works in the city, to having a better community-based response, to have a public health and harm reduction based response,” Durkan added. “But we also know that policing is complicated and that sometimes you do need a police officer to respond.”For her part, Best said “there are some good approaches” in the council’s proposals and that “some of the ideas SPD already had and has raised before.”“But what is problematic is these are approaches without any clarity on how they will become reality. What is the plan? “ Best asked. “The push from Council and some of our community is to do these large-scale changes in 2020 with no practical plan for community safety. And I believe wholeheartedly that is completely reckless.“Council has directed me to lay off 70 or more officers basically overnight,” the chief added. “And I cannot do that in good faith knowing there are no systems in place to bridge the gap.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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[beautytipsfor]

Seattle City Council Won’t Slash Police Budget, but OKs Cop Layoffs

A majority of Seattle’s City Council on Wednesday voted down a proposal to slash the police department’s remaining 2020 budget by 50 percent. But the council did pass a slew of other defunding efforts, including ones that would cut 100 officers from the agency this year through layoffs and attrition.The vote by the budget committee—which came one day after the city’s mayor and police chief held a press conference to criticize the proposal—signaled some progress for Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality advocates who’ve pushed to defund departments across the U.S. and reallocate funds to community services, including housing and youth programs.The budget-cut plan, proposed by council member Kshama Sawant, would have cut $54 million from the Seattle PD immediately through layoffs and reallocated it to programs, including $34 million for affordable housing. Sawant was the only member to vote in favor of the proposal, while another council member abstained and the remaining seven voted against it.While the council’s budget committee voted on a variety of amendments related to police funding, activists marched from a King County juvenile detention facility to City Hall. One reporter on scene captured demonstrators chanting, “Bad boys. Bad boys. Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when we defund you?”Shootings Rise in Big Cities Along With Calls to Defund the PoliceSeattle’s vote comes on the heels of other local governments, including the Washington D.C. Council, passing legislation to dismantle or cut the budgets of police departments. In late June, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a proposal to disband the city’s police department—and replace it with a new Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention—following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed May 25 by a Minneapolis cop who kneeled on his neck during an arrest.Minneapolis’ charter commission voted 10-5 against the city council’s proposal on Wednesday, saying they needed more time to review it. The decision meant voters won't get to decide on the amendment on a November ballot. The Seattle council’s budget committee unanimously passed a series of amendments, including adding $4 million to the Human Services Department for a community safety initiative which would be an “alternative to traditional policing.” The funding for that effort would come from a loan authorized by separate legislation.They also voted to cut $886,000 from the Seattle PD and reallocate it to a proposal that would add $10 million for community-led organizations “to increase public safety.” (The remaining $9.1 million would come from interfund loan to be addressed in separate legislation.) The cuts approved included $36,000 from the police department’s remaining 2020 budget for implicit bias training; $50,000 from SPD’s 2020 travel budget; and $800,000 from the department’s recruitment and retention activities. > Protesters gathering near the youth jail for today’s march to City Hall. Saw a handful of bike cops on my way over, though they seem to be around the block now. pic.twitter.com/8vf6r3EW9W> > — Heidi Groover (@heidigroover) August 5, 2020The committee also unanimously approved a “consent package” which includes ordering the police chief to eliminate the mounted unit and public affairs unit, each of which has four officers; lay off five members of the community outreach unit; lay off two members of the 29-officer SWAT team; and let go of 30 officers through attrition. All told, the council approved a reduction of 54 officers from the department.This package also included $50,000 in funding to contract with a community-based organization to create a non-police 911 response system.On Monday, KOMO News revealed the proposal to slash the Seattle Police Department’s budget by 50 percent appeared to be “losing steam” among the nine council members. The remainder of the Seattle PD’s unspent budget is an estimated $188 million, the outlet reported.Council member Sawant slammed her colleagues in an interview with the TV outlet and on Twitter, where she claimed Democrats on the budget committee “ganged up against our movement’s proposals to Defund the police...”> To see Democratic Party politicians in their real role, watch today's Seattle City Council Budget Committe, where they ganged up against our movement's proposals to Defund the police by at least 50%, fund community programs, and increase significant funds for affordable housing.> > — Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) August 4, 2020“I’m not surprised,” Sawant told KOMO News, “but it’s quite interesting to see how council members are now displaying how they actually stand and I hope members of the public are watching.”Last month, protesters targeted the homes of two council members who supported reducing the police budget but wouldn’t commit to slashing it by 50 percent, the Seattle Times reported. The demonstrations allegedly included making noise outside one councilor’s home at night and leaving notes on his door warning, “Don’t be racist trash.”In June, another group visited Mayor Jenny Durkan’s residence, which was tagged with spray paint, according to the Times. Durkan asked the council to probe Sawant for taking part in that protest but council president Lorena González declined. Meanwhile, Police Chief Carmen Best said her neighbors had to stop a “large group of aggressive protestors” from trespassing at her home on Saturday. One of the demonstrators, Nicole Gitaka, told King 5, a local news station: “All we were doing was walking and they met us with guns, I don’t know who the aggressor is at that point, but I don't think it’s us.”> Crowd gathers across from the site for the new youth jail for a march and rally pertaining to the city council’s vote today on defunding the SPD seattleprotest seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/MuTzTIU74h> > — Elizabeth Turnbull (@LizTurnbull5) August 5, 2020This summer, Seattle police swept through an autonomous protest zone known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest Area (CHOP) with blast balls and pepper spray, arresting at least two dozen people after Durkan issued an executive order to clear the area.Previously called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), the six-block stretch near downtown was occupied by demonstrators in the wake of Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter protests. But the site also brought multiple shootings, including the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy, and injuries to both cops and protesters. One Tacoma man was charged with arson for torching the police department's East Precinct building during the CHOP protest.Last week, the head of Seattle’s police union warned defunding cops would bring higher crime rates and make CHOP or CHAZ “look like child’s play.”Was Seattle’s Notorious Protest Zone Doomed by Recent Shootings?On Tuesday, Durkan and Best held a press conference to ask council members to hold off on deep cuts to the police budget until 2021.Durkan said the city shouldn’t make “hasty decisions” when it comes to defunding the police department. “We should make right decisions,” Durkan told reporters. “That doesn’t mean slow; it just means thoughtful.”“The chief and I, again, we are absolutely committed, committed to reimagining how policing works in the city, to having a better community-based response, to have a public health and harm reduction based response,” Durkan added. “But we also know that policing is complicated and that sometimes you do need a police officer to respond.”For her part, Best said “there are some good approaches” in the council’s proposals and that “some of the ideas SPD already had and has raised before.”“But what is problematic is these are approaches without any clarity on how they will become reality. What is the plan? “ Best asked. “The push from Council and some of our community is to do these large-scale changes in 2020 with no practical plan for community safety. And I believe wholeheartedly that is completely reckless.“Council has directed me to lay off 70 or more officers basically overnight,” the chief added. “And I cannot do that in good faith knowing there are no systems in place to bridge the gap.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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[meraenthusiast]

The 7 Best Books To Become Rich In 2020 And Beyond

The 7 Best Books To Become Rich In 2020 And Beyond

If you’ve been an avid reader of the Debt Free Dr. site, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve written a few articles highlighting millionaires such as:

The #1 Reason Why The First Million Is The Hardest

7 Unexpected Habits Of A Frugal Millionaire

Research shows that the majority of millionaires and billionaires read at least 3-5 or more books a month. They accomplish this by devoting at least 30 minutes a day to reading.

If rich people read more and you want to become rich, then don’t you think you should start doing the same?

Have you ever heard the phrase, “What you focus on expands.” I’m a firm believer that we attract that which we give our energy (thought) to.

A perfect example of this is somebody that has a scarcity mindset.

Here’s the late author Stephen Covey’s take on it:

“Most people are deeply scripted in what I call the Scarcity Mentality. They see life as having only so much, as though there were only one pie out there. And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else.”

  “The Scarcity Mentality is the zero-sum paradigm of life. People with a Scarcity Mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit – even with those who help in the production. They also have a very hard time being genuinely happy for the success of other people.”

If you’re constantly focusing on what you “lack” such as money, then you’ll never obtain true wealth.

Maybe that’s why so many people have a FEAR of spending money!

The single greatest freedom we have is to choose our own thoughts. And that’s why we must choose them very carefully.

Financial Plan

After someone signs up for the Doctors Investors Circle (you’ve signed up, right?), I have a brief call with them to discuss their financial plan that they have in place.

Unfortunately, most don’t even have one.

If you have some where you want to go, then you’ve got to have a plan to get there, right?

I interviewed 38 year old Lue Chen, recently retired computer programmer, who’s living up the fatFIRE life. He definitely had a plan to accomplish his goals of walking away from the keyboard so early.

Ever since I was a teenager mowing yards, I have always had interest in reading books about money, finance and investing.

This spurred me to create a financial plan that I must say has changed quite a bit since I first started.

A financial plan will guide you on:

How you spend your money

How much you need to save

How much to invest

Getting rid of that nasty four-letter word – DEBT

How much money you need to retire

These are questions that every person must answer.

If you’re ready for a change and mindset shift towards wealth, here are the 7 best books to become rich (in no particular order).

7 Best Books To Become Rich

1) Book of Proverbs

I bet you didn’t expect the Bible on the list did ya? Whether you’re a believer or not, King Solomon’s Book of Proverbs is packed with ideas about how to live right with money.

A few concepts are:

Wealth is obtained by hard work, frugality and saving.

Sorry, no get rich quick schemes here!

“Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.” – Proverbs 13:11.

    “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” – Proverbs 14:23.

Save during rich times for poor times.

“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.” – Proverbs 21:20

“The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.” – Proverbs 10:15-16

2) “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill’s 1937 best seller was one of the first financial books I read. If you are searching for a major shift in your mindset when it comes to building wealth, look no further.

Not only was Hill a former adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt but he also interviewed over 500 self-made millionaires to discover the keys to their fortune.

Some interviewees include:

Andrew Carnegie

Henry Ford

Charles M. Schwab

This personal fiance classic will help you understand that getting rich is more about mentality above anything else. Hence the word “Think” in the title.

He discusses the psychological barriers that hold many people back from obtaining wealth and how to start thinking your way to success.

3) “The Richest Man In Babylon” by George S. Clason

In 1926, George Clason published a series of pamphlets written in parables that took place in the ancient city of Babylon.

These stories eventually turned into a financial classic known as The Richest Man in Babylon.

Even though it was written almost a century ago, the book is still well known because of its timeless principles on wealth creation such as:

Pay yourself first

Live below your means

Make your money work for you (he was already talking about passive income in 1926!)

Invest in yourself

4) “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki

Robert Kiyosaki originally learned about money from two dads: his real dad and a friend’s dad.

His “poor dad” held a Ph.D in education, and like many educated people, struggled with finances while his “rich dad” only had an eighth grade education.

Maybe I should have skipped high school and college!

In “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, Kiyosaki shares  important lessons that he learned over a thirty year period from his rich dad such as:

It’s now what you make, it’s what you keep

The poor and middle class work for money whereas the rich have their money work for them.

5) “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover” book has probably had the most profound effect on my financial life. Once I completed dental school and a residency, I followed his 7 Baby Steps to become debt-free and start the process of building wealth.

The book encourages you to challenge yourself to getting your financial affairs in order.

He goes as far as telling you to, “find a mirror” and realize that the real challenge is the person in the mirror, “you!”

You’re the problem with your money.

Buying “get rich quick” programs aren’t the answer; you are.

6) “The Millionaire Next Door” by Drs. Thomas Stanley and William Danko

The Millionaire Next Door is a classic written in 1996 and I vaguely remember reading it my final year in college.

Both Drs. Stanley and Danko interviewed thousands of millionaires to learn their “secrets.”

What they found is the opposite of what most people think about someone that’s a millionaire…those in the book were extremely frugal and avid savers.

Chris Hogan’s recently published book, “Everyday Millionaires” also interviewed thousands of millionaires and found the same characteristics as they were back in 1996. It seems that nothing changes month when one wants to become successful.

7) “Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind” by T. Harv Eker

T. Harv Eker’s “Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind” finishes off our list of best books to become rich for your reading pleasure.

As someone who has shifted towards being a passive real estate investor in multifamily syndications, I’ve loaded this list with books that deal with changing your mindset.

This is one of the keys to making a change whether you’re wanting to get out of debt or replace your expenses with passive income.

This book teaches you how to “get your mind right” with what he calls “Wealth Files.” These include:

Rich people think big whereas the poor think small.

Rich people are committed to being rich whereas poor people WANT to be rich.

Honorable Mention

There are so many more books that I wanted to add to my Top 7 Best Books To Become Rich list but I wanted to keep it short and concise to keep you focused on making big changes this year.

There are three other books that I’d like to briefly mention that have also had a major impact in my financial life.

The three books are:

“How To Think About Money” by Jonathan Clements

“The Automatic Millionaire” by David Bach

“A Simple Path To Wealth” by JL Collins

Do you have other best books to become rich that you’d like to add to this list?

Comment below….

The post The 7 Best Books To Become Rich In 2020 And Beyond appeared first on Debt Free Dr..

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[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 5/4/2019

Good MORNING  #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Saturday 4th May 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) OR by purchasing by purchasing a Saturday Sun Nation Newspaper (SS).

DLP DEFENCE – The man who led the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) campaign in the last elections, which ended in a disastrous 30-0 defeat at the hands of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), says his party does not owe the people of Barbados an apology for their ten-year stewardship of the country. As a matter of fact, former ambassador to CARICOM, Robert Bobby Morris is adamant, despite the resounding rejection at the polls, that the DLP should be lauded for miraculously keeping the Barbados economy afloat. His comments came a week after former Minister of Culture and Sports Stephen Lashley called on the party to humble itself before the people of Barbados and openly acknowledge its mistakes. “I don’t take these things personally; the people have spoken, and they are the voice of God. My one thing is this, I don’t think we have to apologize to anybody because I am not buying the other people’s narrative. There is one narrative that I have, which is that the economy was so bad that holding it together was a miracle, but the cost would have been heavy and therefore we got beaten,” said Morris, who was delivering the Astor B Watts’ Lecture at the DLP’s George Street headquarters. Noting that previous election results across the region suggested that the tide was against the DLP regaining the Government in 2018, Morris gave the assurance this afternoon that the “Dems will rise again”. “The Dems will soar again and all you have to do is keep united. Don’t go in public criticizing other people in the party. If you have a difference of opinion there are places where you can take that difference of opinion. You are looking for sympathy, I am not looking for sympathy from anybody,” said Morris. From the same podium last week, Lashley said the DLP administration was at times guilty of arrogance. He also expressed regret over the manner in which the party conducted the 2018 campaign, noting that it smacked of negativity and therefore urged the new party leadership to devise and publicise a code of conduct to govern future campaigns. When asked to reconcile his stance with the position put forward by the former minister, Morris made it clear that he failed to see the arrogance and suggested that Lashley’s analysis may have been driven by emotion. “Our perspectives may differ; it does not matter because we all have a right to be honest. We also have a second right to be clear that we are analytical, and analysis is not something that is driven by emotion. It is something that you have to be very dispassionate about. Where was the arrogance? That is something I would have to go through chapter and verse because sometimes people mistake arrogance for confidence, and confidence in what you believe in can smack of arrogance,” said Morris. The former DLP Member of Parliament made it clear that Lashley was not speaking for the party and even questioned if he had discussed the subject of his lecture with the party administration before taking the podium last Friday. “Lashley has a position in relation to this party and I don’t think he was speaking for the party. Quite frankly I think those were his personal views. I don’t know if he had any mandate from the party before he spoke. I know I spoke to the officials and told them what I had to say because I don’t want to disrespect my officials,” he said.  (BT)

COMMON ENTRANCE EXAM NEXT TUESDAY – Thousands of primary school students are expected to write the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) next Tuesday, May 7. A total of 3,382 students will sit this year’s examination, also known as the 11- Plus or Common Entrance Exam. That figure is down 44 students compared to last year. According to the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, this number comprises 1,766 males and 1,616 females, who are registered to write the examination at 22 secondary schools across the island. This year, 14 students have requested permission to write the examination at an early age (that is at 10 years). The ministry has also reported that 103 students have made requests to be deferred from writing the BSSEE until 2020. Of those, 84 were granted permission to defer. Forty students have also been granted exemptions from writing the examination. Additionally, there have been 106 special requests made by parents on behalf of their children. These were mainly for extra time, enlarged print and breaks for snacks. The BSSEE will also be taken by 142 non-nationals, who have met the immigration requirements. As a result of the May 7 exam, the Ministry of Education has advised that there will be no classes for students who attend secondary schools on that day, as these facilities will be used as examination centres. The BSSEE will begin at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 1:00 p.m. (BGIS)

RE-OPEN ALMA PARRIS – Government Minister Cynthia Forde says it was a “stupid” idea to close off Alma Parris Memorial Secondary School and pump the students who developed late into other secondary schools where there are no properly-designed programmes targeting their needs. Forde who is asking her Government to act with haste to resume classes at the Speightstown, St Peter institution, closed in 2017, said there was diagnostic testing at the institution and students benefited from smaller classes. “It was constructed, or developed, because we had children in those six or seven composite schools who were moving all over the place like a wave, no sense of direction. That school was purpose built and established for those late developers to find a niche, and the principal was there at the inception for more than ten years. “And other principals who were there would tell you that more than 200 of those students who passed out have become their own entrepreneurs, managing their businesses, doing things with leather craft, painting, are into cultural activities, and so on, but they are not criminals today,” she said. Forde, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, added her voice to the call for Alma Parris to be reopened, as she delivered remarks during the recent launch of Child Month 2019 at Divi Southwinds Resort, Christ Church, where she also made the point that the school was critical for Barbados going forward. Forde said there was no point in schools, including Princess Margaret Memorial, St George Secondary, or Grantley Adams Memorial, bursting at the seams, because they were now required to take in additional students that should have been allocated to Alma Parris which was established on September 25, 1995. “Those were schools that were scaled down to 500 children the most at a point because Alma Parris pulled off the ones who would have scored under 30 per cent when they reached the 11-plus. And they were put into training specifically in the summer holiday of that year that they would have an extra year in school, and probably do the examination at 12 years old. “The history of Barbados must be piloted and chronicled so that people understand the background for Alma Parris. It didn’t just come out the sky, and the lady after whom it was named was one of the best Scout leaders in this country. I was trained under her, so I knew the lady as well. If it works well for us, why did you close it off?” (BT)

CHILD CARE BOARD APPEALS FOR MORE FOSTER PARENTS – Child Care Board chair Catherine Jordan wants more Barbadians to become foster parents in a bid to boost the numbers of registered foster parents by one-third. Jordan said although the Board holds the state responsibility to care for the nation’s children, every child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a normal environment. She made the call at the recent launch of Child Month at Divi Southwinds Beach Resort, Christ Church. “We want all Barbadians to assist our efforts to ensure the well-being of our nation’s children. So we invite you to partner with us in adopting or fostering a child to ensure that our children benefit from a loving, nurturing home. “Before you ask me what will happen to child care officers if we do too much adopting and fostering. The child care officer, instead of going into the homes, he would go into the community to see those children. Because we want to ensure that our children live in a normal environment as possible,” she said. Foster care offers family-based care for children who cannot stay in their original homes because they have been harmed or are at risk. In a partnership between the Child Care Board and an approved individual or couple, the board provides supervision and ongoing support to the child and foster parents. The child may receive short-term, long-term or emergency care. Foster parents may have to acquire additional parenting skills that will assist them in providing the care their ward may need. Senior Child Care Officer in charge of the Board’s adoption and foster care programme Colin St Hill told the launch that the board was hoping to move from 14 to 20 approved foster parents by the end of the year. “At present we have only 14 approved foster parents and obviously that is not enough,” St Hill said. “So we are looking to increase these numbers. I am hoping that by the end of the year we would have at least 20 foster parents. Residential care is really not the ideal place for children because it is a group setting. Children benefit more from individual attention.” The theme of this year’s Child Month is: Celebrating the Champion in You. Jordan said that throughout the month, all Barbadian children, not only those who are wards of the board, would be celebrated. She said she hoped that during this month, parents, teachers, the church and other organisations, redouble their efforts to ensure the total development of all children. “We all have an obligation to ensure that all children are raised in a nurturing environment. In an environment which sees them being developed in a holistic way; being developed physically, socio-emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. We must note though, that neglect of any one area will contribute to the development of an unbalanced child,” she said. Among several activities planned to commemorate the month are a National Children’s Service on May 10 at the New Dimensions Ministries, Barbarees Hill, St Michael. (BT)

MINISTER TOUTS ‘BUILDING BLOCKS SUCCESS – Declaring the first phase of the new Building Blocks youth entrepreneurship programme a success, Minister of Youth and Community Empowerment Adrian Forde has announced that work will soon begin on the project’s infrastructure. Once the approval process is finalized with the relevant regulatory agencies, Forde promised that communities known for negative behaviours will be transformed into attractive areas of business managed by young people making positive contributions to their personal, family and community development. Forde was speaking at the closing and awards ceremony of the Building Blocks Entrepreneurship and Life Skills Development Training course at the Parkinson Resource Centre, The Pine. Building Blocks is the youth ministry’s community-based social intervention that seeks to address rising youth unemployment with entrepreneurship training and technical assistance. The programme is intended to spur new venture creation among potential ‘blockenpreneurs’ from Bonnett’s, Ivy and The Pine, St Michael, and Silver Hill, Christ Church. The Minister noted that in a programme that was designed to accommodate an average of 25 people at each of its four locations, the fact that the project was able to attract over 145 participants, speaks volumes of the participants interest and in so doing, and dispels the myth that youth who congregate on blocks have no interest in development. “Let me assure you that we are moving steadfastly to expand the Building Blocks Project and as early as Wednesday next week, I will be joined by technocrats from my Ministry and other stakeholder agencies to examine additional locations where the project can be developed. “This process will continue until we have identified suitable locations in every constituency in Barbados. We will replicate the training model that was applied to the first four blocks and similar training will be provided to prospective beneficiaries at other locations.” Participation in the entrepreneurial and life skills development training is not restricted to youth who congregate on blocks, but is also opened to youth who have successfully completed training programmes offered by the Youth Development Programme and the Community Development Department and other agencies, he said. He stressed that the idea was to expose as many young people as possible to the opportunities afforded through self-employment and entrepreneurship, as to assist them in their personal development. “Indeed youth in this country will be seeing a resurgence of opportunities, a greater participation in national development initiatives, a renewed acceptance of their central position in the evolution of a new and caring society, access to resources to realise their dreams and ultimately a better quality of life themselves and their families,” Forde declared. Acknowledging that unemployment was the most pervasive feature of the youth experience, he said his ministry intends to work with the Ministry of Labour to identify skills gaps and target training in strategic areas.  (BT)

NOT SO FAST, BEC – The recent suggestion by the Barbados Employers’ Confederation (BEC) that the four public holidays over the last two weeks resulted in major losses to the Barbados economy, has attracted a major backlash from the labour movement. Opposition Senator Caswell Franklyn and head of the Unity Trade Union told Barbados TODAY that over the years, the business community has continually sought to encroach on the respite allocated to workers. He made it clear that at this stage the workers have no more to give. “This is exactly what is happening, they are throwing out scare tactics because they want the laws to change. Did they now all of a sudden realise that this is the case? Every business that is set up in Barbados knows that they have to make provisions for these holidays” said Franklyn, who charged that similar tactics were employed in the push for 24-hour work days. Recently, Sheena Mayers-Granville, Executive Director of the BEC suggested that the public holidays of Good Friday, National Heroes Day, Easter Monday and May Day had amounted in $48 million in losses to the economy of Barbados. She called for rationalization of public holidays, arguing that in some years business productivity would be hampered for seven days in the first five months of that year as a result of public holidays. However, Franklyn called on the BEC Executive Director to demonstrate how she would have arrived at these losses. “I want to know how they computed these losses because it seems to me that they are just pulling a number out of the blue,” he said while also asking the BEC to quantify the losses suffered by workers, who are not allowed adequate time with their families. Additionally, the outspoken Opposition senator dared the BEC to name which of the public holidays they would want to see dropped from the calendar, as the majority of them are religious while the others are major national hallmarks. “Look at the holidays that we have in Barbados. We have four holidays that are not religious. So which one of the four will the employers want to get rid of? This afternoon Democratic Labour Party (DLP) stalwart and longstanding trade unionist, Robert ‘Bobby’ Morris also expressed similar concerns, noting that a likely target would be Errol Barrow Day, which falls on January 21. He argued that given the fact that trade unions have made it clear that May Day is not to be touched, the day designated for the father of Barbados’ independence could be at risk. “I don’t think anybody in Barbados would even begin to think about getting rid of May Day but there is a strategy going on here and that is they want to move Errol Barrow[Day] as a national holiday and put him with Heroes’ Day. This is a kite flying exercise that we are watching right now to see how the wind is blowing,” he charged during the Astor B Watts’ Lunchtime Lecture. The issue has also attracted the attention of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), who maintain that while financial losses will be suffered, “there can be no alterations to the observance of the annual religious holidays and such important national holidays as May Day, Independence Day and Kadooment Day.” However, in a media release this afternoon, the umbrella trade union body stated that “against the backdrop of our ailing economy, CTUSAB recognizes the importance of putting measures in place towards keeping persons employed, and in maintaining production levels and productivity.”  (BT)

$40 MILLION SCANNERS IN TWO MONTHS – The first of two new scanners for the Bridgetown Port will be in Barbados in two months. Attorney General Dale Marshall gave this update this morning while reminding Barbadians that Government will be beefing up security with the addition of the two new container scanners. Delivering remarks at the opening of the Caribbean Security Basin Initiative Commission meeting at Radisson Hotel, this morning, the AG said it was not good enough that only one scanner has been working at the Bridgetown Port over the last two years. The Attorney General said “In order to make sure that our environment is not compromised, we have decided to commit the sum of $40 million, to acquire two new scanners, the first of which would be delivered within the next six to eight weeks. The second will be delivered certainly before the end of this year to ensure that we can target as great a percentage of container traffic coming into Barbados for scanning. “And therefore the Advanced Cargo Information System (ACIS) is one that lends itself to Barbados, and it is one that would see our support. “A lot of what we are doing now though, had its genesis over ten years ago. It is ironic that the occasion for a lot of our security initiatives had to do with the sport that Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean enjoy so much, that being cricket. One would think that the cricketing environment is an occasion of festivity and laughter and revelry and celebration,” he said. The Attorney General noted that at the time when the Caribbean won the bid to host the largest cricket tournament in the world, CARICOM nations recognized that it in order to be a safe environment for visitors, security measures needed to be transformed.” In February this year, Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy Kirk Humphrey while addressing Barbados Labour Party (BLP), St Joseph constituency branch meeting, indicated that an alarming number of shipping containers has been entering the country through the Bridgetown Port without being scanned by customs officer, leaving a gaping opening for the importation of illegal firearms. Humphrey said then that less than six per cent of the cargo leaving the port was being scanned.  (BT)

MORE KIOSKS COMING – Government is to triple the number of immigration kiosks at the Grantley Adams International Airport as the pilot project has yielded limited success in speeding up the border entry process, Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson has told Barbados TODAY. Declaring that the 16 kiosks in the arrivals hall are far from adequate, he said 32 more stations were on order. “This is an ongoing process. The kiosks were bought in 2016 and were never used until last year August when we started the project. You could appreciate that 16 kiosks are not enough, and the airport has ordered 32 more and when those arrive, we would have sufficient. This process had teething problems in all of the countries where they are now functioning fully and we will get there as well. “With only 16 kiosks and five planes on the ground from Britain and North America, especially on a Saturday and a Sunday, this is where we begin to see the problems because of the insufficiency of kiosks,” he said. The Minister added that while the plan is to phase out the immigration entry/departure forms, the current digital platform does not allow for the input of all necessary information, limit the garnering of requisite information on non-Barbadian arrivals and important tourism data. He said: “ Not all of the information that is on the front of the form is keyed into the kiosk. This is all right for Barbadians because as I have been telling Immigration for a long time, as a citizen you don’t need to know my address because the state has all that information already.” The Home Affairs Minister expressed confidence that with the additional kiosks, coming legislation and plans to expand the digital platform to allow for the input of more data, the airport’s efficiency will be vastly improved. “Right now, Barbadians can safely use these kiosks without filling out any E/D forms. The problem right now is that we need statistical information for our tourism, so we are in the process of getting that platform to continue after the removal of the E/D cards. “The last challenge relates to legislation because the European Union has strict laws as it relates to privacy for their citizens. Therefore, we will be bringing to Parliament very shortly the Data Protection Bill.” Hinkson urged Barbadians to be patient throughout the process, noting that Government is fully cognisant of the importance of getting this component of travel fully in place. “It is a process and as the Prime Minister [Mia Mottley] has said as recently as Monday, this is not an ‘abracadabra’ type of thing. We will fix it, there are no miracles involved here and we ask for patience because we will get there,” he stressed. (BT)

BWA BEGINS NIGHTLY SHUT OFFS - The Barbados Water Authority started nightly shut-offs from tonight in an effort to relive the customers in St Joseph. In a media release yesterday the BWA said the nightly shut-offs on the transmission mains between Bowmanston and Golden Ridge, as well as from Applewhaites to Golden Ridge in order to effect the recharge of the Golden Ridge Reservoirs. It is anticipated that this intermediate measure will allow the Golden Ridge Reservoirs to recover overnight to allow for longer hours of pumping to Castle Grant during the daytime. It advised its customers that the cut off will start from 9:00 p.m until 4:00 a.m until further notice.  (SS)

CHERRY RELIEF PLAN – Anderson Fat Child Cherry is assuring residents of Lower Estate, St George he is working on having a swift resolution to finally end the landfill impasse. Speaking to Barbados TODAY Cherry said he was in the process of removing scrap metal from the dump. That metal has to be cut and this is taking longer than anticipated. “We are still actively removing the metals. Most of the recyclables have been taken out and it is only metals that are still out there at the top of the quarry floor,” he said. The businessman said he was more concerned about the health and safety of residents as opposed to counting his losses with the closure of the landfill. “The loss of revenue is not important to me. It is the health and safety of the residents that are more important to me. I am concerned about the residents,” he said. However, spokesperson of the St George North Western Community Group Roger Craigg suggested that nothing has changed since the abatement notice was issued by the Ministry of Health in December 2017. He further noted that a few weeks ago residents in the Lower Estate Palms area complained they were having a foul odour emanating from the dump. Thus, Craigg wants to see the area restored to its former beauty. “We want our environment to return to a state of normalcy and that was established in our very first meeting when we had asked him to pick up his stuff, clean the quarry and go. That was our intention from the beginning. We need to have back our community the way it was,” he said. Craigg also noted his displeasure with the way in which the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Ministry of the Environment handled the residents’ complaints. Referencing a letter dated November 27, 2017 which was sent to the Chief Environmental Officer and which to date has had no response, the spokesman offered this as evidence that the concerns of the residents of St George have fallen on deaf ears. “We have been crying out for a while and we are not getting the response from the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of the Environment as we think we should. They should make sure the quarry is cleaned up and that is the ultimate goal for all of us,” he said. Outspoken resident Ian Proverbs believed Cherry tried his best but needed assistance to properly handle the ongoing situation which has been plaguing the residents since 2017. “I am not going to say he has not tried because I would be misleading you if I said that because he has tried. The issue is beyond Mr Cherry and it needs further expert input and I think it is time the Government looks towards bringing some expertise into the area,” he said. Multiple calls to the Chief Town Planner at the Town and Country Planning Department remain unanswered.  (BT)

FIRE VICTIMS MAKE MATERIALS APPEAL – A member of the family of 12, whose St Philip wood and wall house was destroyed by fire on Monday, is asking for donations of building materials. Thirty-year-old Andre Howard, told Barbados TODAY that his family was struggling to come to grips with the massive loss, but noted that members of their Lucas Street, St Philip community were offering to lend a hand in the rebuilding process. He said the family would gladly accept building material to assist with rebuilding the house where he, his parents, siblings and their children, lived. “We are trying to rebuild at some point. But right now friends and other family members are trying to do some fundraising events to try to raise a bit of funds so we could get some material to rebuild. “Hopefully that goes well and hopefully before the end of the year we would start rebuilding. Everyone saying they would pitch in to see what they could do. “Truthfully, if we could get some assistance with building materials that would be grately appreciated. I am now working closely with some contractors who are willing to provide labour and some material. So getting building material is a major concern for us at this point,” Howard said. The young man explained that the house was uninsured because it was still under construction. “We were expanding it from what it was and it wasn’t finished so we never got it insured,” he said. Howard, who is staying with a family member, said though it was difficult not to look back at his beloved home where he lived most of his life before it was gutted by fire, he was trying to be positive and was looking forward to what it would be like when it is rebuilt. He was asleep when the fire started and was awakened by his niece who informed him that the flames were taking over their home. “When I do sit and think about it, it just gives me a headache. So I just try to look forward to getting back on my feet at some point. We lost pretty much everything. Yes I know that the clothes and those things are material things that can be replaced, but you know, I was pretty much born and raised in that house. “Usually when I leave home I have that feeling I am going to return to that home, but knowing now there is no home to go back to is a hard one.”  (BT)

PEDESTRIAN WHO DIED AFTER ACCIDENT IDENTIFIED – The man who succumbed to injuries after an accident along Vauxhall Road, St James has been identified. He is Shawn Anderson Blackman, 43 years, of Fairview, Christ Church. Blackman, a pedestrian, was involved in a collision with a minibus on May Day around 6:05 p.m. Police were not aware of his identity at the time because he said his name was Michael Blackman, Shawn Blackman and Charles Blackman. A public appeal was made to identify him. He was listed in critical condition at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but passed away on Friday.  (SS)

CAR REQUESTED – Lead attorney of former calypso monarch Aziza Kebret Tsgaye Clarke has made an application in the Magistrates’ Court for her vehicle to be returned to her. Queen’s Counsel Michael Lashley made the submission before Magistrate Elwood Watts in the Oistins Magistrates’ Court today on the grounds that the vehicle MC92 was no longer of any use to law enforcement officers as they had already taken photographic evidence. After hearing Lashley’s arguments the matter was adjourned until May 16 when prosecutor Station Sergeant Rudolph Burnett will respond to the submissions. Magistrate Watts is also expected to deliver his decision on that date. The 23-year-old Clarke, of Unit 4 Bonnetts, Brittons Hill, St Michael, remains on $20,000 bail. Her substantive cases will continue in the Oistins Magistrates’ Court on August 13. Clarke is facing a number of charges which allegedly occurred on March 21 in Graeme Hall, Christ Church, including an indictable charge of assisting murder accused Hakeem Roberto Stuart, who was charged for the brazen daylight shooting of Damian Trotman at Sheraton Mall. Clarke is also accused of assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty; resisting arrest and committing criminal damage. She pleaded not guilty to these three offences. Additionally, she was charged with failing to stop at the sound of the police siren; failing to register motor vehicle MC92 and using a vehicle without having it insured to which she also pleaded not guilty. (BT)

ADDICT HEADS BACK TO PRISON – Well-known offender Peter Sean Harding today admitted that his crimes over the years have been escalating due to his cocaine addiction. The 49-year-old of 1stAvenue, Jackson, St Michael gave a candid explanation of his situation in an address before Magistrate Douglas Frederick after pleading guilty to theft and apparatus possession charges. He admitted that he stole a laptop, an electronic scale rule, a laptop bag and a flash drive worth $3,000 belonging to Michael Brathwaite. He also acknowledged having cocaine paraphernalia – a small bottle used to smoke – in his possession between April 3 and May 1. “My history shows that most of my convictions are for apparatus and theft. Little crimes that do not have the potential for murder or aggravated burglary. Over the years I have seen that my crimes have been escalating because of the use of drugs . . . cocaine,” Harding explained. He went on to inform the District ‘A’ Magistrate that he had been good since his last prison stint but relapsed a month ago. “I got a chance at Verdun House but I got into a fight and that is on my file. I have been doing a concerted effort to change but I don’t think prison is the only way I can change me life, give me an opportunity at Psychiatric Hospital,” he added. The magistrate however informed him that he had been given opportunities to reform on many occasions. Harding was sentenced to nine months at Dodds on the theft charge and three months on the apparatus. The sentences will run consecutively. (BT)

King pleads not guilty - A 40-year-old man secured $3,000 bail today after a successful application in a Bridgetown Court. Antoine Mark King of Mountview Drive, St Lucy is accused of using the threatening words “I will blow up all of wanna. You see you Indian woman, I gine damage you,” towards Angela Clarke on March 5 and for also sending the threatening message “I will kill you and I will damage you” towards Clarke via a telecommunications network on March 15. He pleaded not guilty to both charges. Sergeant St Clair Phillips objected to bail based on the accused’s criminal record and the nature and seriousness of the charges and fears that King would re-offend. Attorney-at-law Shelly-Ann Seecharan who was holding a watch and brief in the matter also informed the court that King had antecedents under the name Antoine Niles. She further submitted that the complainants were volunteers at an organisation, which has had to close temporarily due to King’s threats. “The organisation is situated on the compound of a church and school . . . the threats extend not only to the complainant but to other persons,” Seechran said. However, in his application King, who stated that he had legally changed his name some ten years  ago told the magistrate it was easy for “anyone to say he threatened me.” “If I wanted to blow up something I would not be here today. It would be done blow up,” King said. From the lengthy application Magistrate Douglas Frederick summarised that the accused wanted to find out why it had taken a long time to charge him with the offences given the situation. However, the prosecutor was unable to give a satisfactory response, as he was unable reach the substantive investigator on the case. King was granted bail to return to the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on September 25. In the meantime he was been warned to stay away from the complainant as well as the organisation. (BT)

CLOSER TO HOME – A Latin American man stranded here for months no longer appears to be stateless and is one step closer to returning to his reputed homeland. But Juan Abrahan Ramirez Rijo remains in custody at HMP Dodds as immigration officials seek to secure him a valid Dominican Republic travel document to repatriate him. The Immigration Department today revealed that it was now in possession of Ramirez’s birth certificate following in-depth investigations through local and international entities of his identity. The Dominican Republic has so far refused to accept his return without documentary evidence of his nationality. Speaking through an interpreter, Immigration Officer Terry Simmons told the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court: “We have in our possession a birth certificate for Mr Ramirez Rijo. Through the efforts and assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we have submitted the documents through the Dominican Republic Ambassador for Trinidad. “Yesterday we, that is, the Chief Immigration Officer, myself, along with a representative from an international organisation visited Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds. “We had a conversation with the Ambassador and his assistant [and] the Ambassador and his assistant also communicated with Mr Ramirez Rijo,” The 35-year-old construction worker, whose address is listed as Calle Sanches, Casa 112, San Pedro, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has been on remand at Dodds for the past 28 days after pleading guilty to criminal damage. He admitted to criminal damage at the Grantley Adams International Airport detention centre where he was being held initially. An external door, two door locks and hardware, a washroom doorframe and drywall were damaged as the stranded man became belligerent, the court had learned. Sergeant St Clair Phillips told the court that when the accused first appeared in court on April 6, an immigration department supervisor was informed that Ramirez had defecated in the room and placed some of the faeces inside a Styrofoam container and pushed it under the door.  He also held onto the door and shook it until it was damaged. His actions were caught on CCTV camera. Ramirez was one of 13 people rescued by the crew of a cruise ship en route to Barbados on December 20 from a small vessel, which was adrift 47 nautical miles from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The 13, including a pregnant woman, were medically examined, found to be in good health, and were housed here “in a secure location” until they were identified. They were also allowed to contact family and friends in an effort to return home. After being held here for two weeks, all but Rijo were returned to their homeland. But Simmons reported to Magistrate Douglas Frederick that his department had made progress with their repatriation efforts. The immigration officer said: “We had a conversation with the Ambassador and his assistant [and] they have given an undertaking to seek authorisation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Dominican Republic in order to prepare a travel document in order to facilitate Mr Ramirez Rijo’s repatriation to the Dominican Republic. “They have given us their commitment in bringing this matter to a resolution as quickly as possible. They have apologised for the delay. “The Immigration Department is optimistic that we should be able to have a resolution to this matter and we are hoping that this could be done within the next two weeks or so. “We have resubmitted a photograph of Mr Ramirez Rijo in order to assist in the preparation of the document. So we are awaiting a response from the Dominican Republic and we hope to have this matter resolve very quickly.” Through the interpreter, Ramirez told the magistrate that he understood what was happening even as he made a request to be sent back to the same airport facility that he had damaged. He submitted: “Since there is a solution so that I could get back to my country all I am asking you, sir, I don’t want to be in prison anymore. This prison is very, very bad… that is a death sentence. I promise you that within these two weeks I am going to behave well at the airport. The food can kill you over there [at Dodds], with the highest respects sir I am asking if you can help me in this regard.” But Magistrate Frederick denied his request, saying: “You were at a facility that was more accommodating and the persons there have reported that they are afraid of [you] and in the circumstances I have no choice but to keep [you] at [HMP Dodds] for this short period.” Ramirez responded: “Again in the prison is more suffering, all the time I am in prison it is sending me crazy and I have not even committed any crime. Your honour, no more prison, please! No more prison, please! But the stranded man’s plea fell on deaf ears  as he was again remanded to prison until May 20.  (BT)

ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN MEDIA WORKERS WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY MESSAGE – The Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) has called on journalists across the region to “embrace the tenets of good journalism by giving verified facts without the taint of bias.” In a message yesterday to mark world Press Freedom Day, being observed under the theme “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation”, ACM President Anika Kentish noted that media remains the  cornerstone of any democratic society. “We bring governance issues to the forefront, expose flaws in the justice system, we are the whistle blowers when corruption looms and we are the window into the electoral process.  For us to continue to be that key player in the democratic process, we must ensure that information is relevant, timely and, most importantly, accurate.” She added that if  elections are to be free and fair, journalists must understand that the coverage of elections is not like a regular beat. “It is tracking a complex system with several moving parts and many opportunities for operatives to pervert the process in hopes of swaying the results in their favour. Disinformation poses a very real threat to the electoral process, so verification of facts is paramount to a free and fair electoral system.” The ACM President recognised there is a global trend of foreign interference in the electoral process “and while this kind of meddling may seem like a distant reality, we must recognise that we in the region are not immune from similar intrusions by geopolitical or commercial interests.” “The challenge is that despite having more access to information than ever before, disinformation is more rampant than ever,” she said. Meanwhile  Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris  of St Kitts Nevis, has reaffirmed his  support and respect for the free press, which he says  is “an enduring and unshakeable institution that is essential to maintaining a strong democracy here in St Kitts and Nevis and, indeed, everywhere.”“Here in St Kitts and Nevis, my Administration and I take our responsibility to inform the public very seriously.  The Government frequently shares important information with the press and public, providing an open environment in which they can present and debate effectively the issues and concerns that matter most to voters – and to the future of this great country – and also assess the performance of their elected representatives,” the Prime Minister said. (SS)

MOE: FREE AND RESPONSIBLE PRESS – Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Public Affairs, Senator Lucille Moe, has called for society to use social media for good and not abuse it. In a statement to mark World Press Freedom Day 2019 today, Moe acknowledged social media had allowed credible journalists to share their stories and for “diverse voices to have their issues heard”. It had also given rise to citizens journalism with internet-ready devices, but cautioned:  “. . . the hard fought right to exercise journalistic freedom in a fair and democratic society is in some ways devalued by those who, because the internet and social media are still largely unregulated, escape controls pertaining to libel, decency and  good order”. Moe called for us to “find ways to maximize the constructive features of this phenomenon while reducing scope for it to be abused and misused”. (SS)

US EMBASSY MARKS WORLD PRESS DAY – The United States Embassy in Barbados marked this year's World Press Freedom Day by hosting an interactive webchat event on Thursday entitled Reporting for Democracy: The Role of a Free Press in Elections.  The worldwide event, organised by the US Department of State, focused on the essential role that media plays in supporting elections and democracy, especially in the face of the increasing challenges of disinformation, declining trust in news media and intimidation and violence against journalists.  In keeping with the theme of World Press Freedom Day 2019, panel members Lucinda Fleeson and Peter Clottey discussed several topics including how the digital transformation of media is affecting election reporting and how increasing pressures on a free press undermine democracy. Several members of the local media joined Embassy staff in participating in the global discussion. (SS)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 241 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

[gta-5-cheats]

In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up facts in meeting with Justin Trudeau

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In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up facts in meeting with Justin Trudeau

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President Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion on tax policy at the Boeing Company on Wednesday, March 14, 2018, in St. Louis. From left: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Trump, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, and Boeing employee Hazel Jean Mims. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Trump boasted in a fundraising speech Wednesday that he made up facts in a meeting with the leader of a top U.S ally, saying he insisted to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the United States runs a trade deficit with its neighbor to the north without knowing whether or not that was the case.

“Trudeau came to see me. He’s a good guy. Justin. He said ‘No, no, we have no trade deficit with you, we have none. Donald, please’” Trump said, mimicking Trudeau, according to audio obtained by The Washington Post. “Nice guy, good looking guy, comes in – ‘Donald we have no trade deficit.’ He’s very proud because everybody else, you know, we’re getting killed. …

“So he’s proud. I said, ‘Wrong Justin, you do.’ I didn’t even know. … I had no idea. I just said ‘You’re wrong.’ You know why? Because we’re so stupid. … And I thought they were smart. I said, ‘You’re wrong Justin.’ He said, ‘Nope we have no trade deficit.’ I said, ‘Well in that case I feel differently,’ I said ‘but I don’t believe it.’ I sent one of our guys out, his guy, my  guy, they went out,  I said ‘check because I can’t  believe it.’

‘Well sir you’re actually right. We have no deficit but that doesn’t include energy and  timber … And when you do we lose $17 billion a year.’ It’s incredible.”

The United States trade representative office says the United States has a trade surplus with Canada.

Trump launched a blistering attack against major U.S. allies and global economies, accusing the European Union, China, Japan and South Korea of ripping off the United States for decades and pillaging the American workforce. He also described the North American Free Trade Agreement as a disaster and heaped blame on the World Trade Organization for allowing other countries to box the United States in on trade.

He also seemed to threaten to pull U.S. troops stationed in South Korea if he didn’t get what he wanted on trade with Seoul, an ally. He said the country had gotten rich but United States politicians never negotiated better deals. “We have a very big trade deficit with them, and we protect them,” Trump said. “We lose money on trade, and we lose money on the military. We have right now 32,000 soldiers between North and South Korea. Let’s see what happens.”

“Our allies care about themselves,” he said. “They don’t care about us.”

Trump’s rare comments that laid bare his approach to arguing trade facts with foreign leaders show how he might try to engage with numerous other heads of state in the coming weeks. Trump has said he will impose tariffs on steel and trade imports as soon as next week, a steep increase in duties that could impact some of the U.S. government’s biggest trading partners.

Trump said countries can request exemption from these tariffs but only after direct negotiations with him. And the audio from the fundraiser shows how difficult these discussions might prove.

In his 30-minute speech to donors in Missouri, Trump heaped praise on himself while ticking through a list of U.S. allies that he said were actually taking advantage of the United States.

The president did not mention his abrupt firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by tweet, or the personnel turmoil that is swirling in Washington, or special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian meddling, or reports of his affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels – and his lawyer paying her off.

While his White House picked up the pieces after a Republican lost a special election in a western Pennsylvania congressional district that Trump won by 20 percent in 2016, and pollsters said the results showed how Trump was dragging down the Republican party, Trump took none of the blame. He said that the candidate, Rick Saccone, would have lost even bigger without him. And he said the Democrat, Conor Lamb, won the seat because he was “like Trump” but that he would vote with Pelosi.

Trump was in Missouri to fundraise for Josh Hawley, who is taking on incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. He called McCaskill “bad for Missouri, and bad for the country.” But he barely spoke about Hawley. Instead, he talked about Trump – even bragging about his 2016 election win.

Trump described his decision to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un through the prism of making history and besting his predecessors while lamenting his media coverage, questioning the United States allies and labeling his presidency as “virgin territory.”

“They couldn’t have met” with Kim, he said, after mocking former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. “Nobody would have done what I did.”

“It’s called appeasement, please don’t do anything,” he said of other presidents.

“They say, maybe he’s not the one to negotiate,” he said, mocking a voice of a news anchor. “He’s got very little knowledge of the Korean Peninsula. Maybe he’s not the one… Maybe we should send in the people that have been playing games and didn’t know what the hell they’ve been doing for 25 years.”

Shop On SecondCovers

The thru-lines of his meandering speech were simple: Trump was tougher than all the rest, and that the United States was not going to be laughed at or taken advantage of.

He accused Japan of using gimmicks to deny U.S. auto companies access to their consumers, said South Korea was taking advantage of outdated trade rules even though its economy was strong, and said China had single-handedly rebuilt itself in the back of its trade surplus with the United States.

“It’s the bowling ball test. They take a bowling ball from 20 feet up in the air and drop it on the hood of the car,” Trump said of Japan. “If the hood dents, the car doesn’t qualify. It’s horrible,” he said. It was unclear what he was talking about.

He said he didn’t even want Japan to pay the tariffs but to build more automobiles in the United States, which he said Japan would do if tariffs were imposed. There is no evidence of such a possibility as of now.

His comments were among his most protectionist to date and didn’t identify a single benefit the United States receives from its trading relationships.

The so-called free-trade globalists, he said, are against his trade moves because “they’re worldly people, they have stuff on the other side.” Gary Cohn, the president’s top economic adviser, recently quit over the tariffs and was derisively labeled by his critics as a “globalist.”

Trump mocked other politicians for wanting to keep the NAFTA, calling Mexico “spoiled” and saying that Canada had outsmarted the United States. “The best deal is to terminate it and make a new deal,” he said.

Above all, he cast his presidency in historic proportions, saying he was attracting so much media criticism because he was doing so well. He seemed fixated on his media coverage, with much of his story-time about North Korea focused on how the media covered it, even talking about a specific CNN segment with Erin Burnett.

He said the news media was criticizing him for “conceding” a meeting with Kim.

“They were afraid of being blown up. Then all of a sudden, they say, let’s not meet,” he said of reporters.

While Trump said some decry his rhetoric and think his bellicose and mercurial tendencies could bring the United States into a war, Trump explained why he taunted the North Korean president as “Little Rocket Man.” He said the South Koreans told him Kim Jong-Un was agreeing to meet because of the tough United States sanctions and that they promised to not do any nuclear tests or missile launches until a meeting occurred. That comment could not be verified.

“He’s going to get us in a war,” he said, again mocking a news anchor. “You know what’s going to get us in a war? Weakness.”

He said Republicans needed to run on their tax bill this year, but he was determined to not call it “tax reform,” as many other Republicans have done. He said Democrats would not appoint judges that Republicans like while reversing tax cuts and taking away guns, an unproven claim.

He implicitly rebuked Senate Majority Leader for not changing the rules of the Senate where only 51 votes were needed on all legislation, saying more Republicans were needed because the current leadership would not act and no one could explain why the current status quo made sense.

Trump criticized judges in the Ninth Circuit, saying that his presidency would reshape the judiciary and change courts such as that one. He said he planned to pick 145 judges and gave a “thanks” to Obama for leaving so many vacancies.

At the end of the day, the event, like it usually is with Trump, was about marketing. He said Republicans needed to run on tax cuts because they were very “popular.”

“Do me a favor, don’t call it tax reform, it hasn’t worked in 45 years,” Trump said he told others. “You say, you’re reforming taxes, that means taxes could go up.”

“I actually said, let’s call it the Tax Cut Cut Cut plan,” Trump said. “I actually did.”

He added: “They thought it sounded a little hoaky and called it something else. I liked the first one better.”

[jewishmuseumldn]

Fragments of Childhood – Then and Now

by Jemima Jarman, Assistant Curator

The Jewish Museum London recently received a generous donation of 14 charming oil paintings, depicting East Ham, Ilford in the 1930s. The artist, A. David Crown, M.D., (1924-2016), created these paintings after retiring from a medical career in Rochester, New York; drawing upon memories of his early childhood and the neighbourhood he grew up in. Each painting is accompanied with written memories of the place he depicts.  

The subjects of his paintings include street scenes, shop fronts, cinemas, synagogues and London buses. Each painting is full of warmth and character in which Crown’s childhood memories are depicted in bright colours and where each scene bursts with nostalgic detail. Dr. Crown wrote in his opening statement: “The paintings do not exactly depict the places, nor are they to scale…but they show what cannot be said. And the accompanying brief recollections have said what cannot be shown.”

Both the series of paintings and the written memoirs were entrusted to the Jewish Museum London by Dr. David Crown’s widow, Deborah Cohen-Crown; who has enabled these stories and images of a Jewish childhood in 1930’s Britain to be shared with future generations.

Of the 14 oils, 6 have been selected to feature in this blog post with Crown’s own (edited) text accompanying them.

King’s Dairy

“King's Dairy was across High Street North, beside a short road to the Salisbury Elementary School. It was, I was told, the last actual dairy with cows in Greater London. Indeed, there were cows behind the store front - I went past them and smelled them every school day till I was nearly eleven.  

Behind it was my school (not that colour of course). The stairs are where Ivor Good, Saul Cohen, David Miller, Dennis Morris and I nightly fought Gerald Cox and his Jew hating friends many many nights when we came out from classes to go home. Ivor was not Jewish but as we were outnumbered and he adored ideas of chivalry and was taller than us and a good fighter, he was very welcome.

My memories of that school are prolific - of Miss Lindsell who encouraged me to write and in whose classroom at my suggestion we created a lending library which failed dismally - the books were stolen. She's the one who, when I used words like "ichthyology" and "Jewfish" denied they existed. Also that darned anti-Semitic Mr. James who caned me and threatened me with his Luger on the last day before Christmas vacation, when I was ten, because of my response to Dennis William Davis's crude note depicting a "wandering Jew." My drawing was better! So was my reply but James intercepted it, caned me, and as a result the four Jews in the class were segregated in the far back corner and told to be silent throughout the festivities or he would shoot us.”

Fire Engine Fanny

“The bridge over the railway where the Manor Park Station was located was ideal for roller skating. The game required that you waddled up the hill like a person wearing skis and then come whizzing down, turning the corner at the bottom or else you would shoot off the curb and into the road, possibly into the path of oncoming vehicles - potentially dangerous. In the painting there are only two of us whereas usually there were many more, even 5 or 6.

The first house round the corner, with its hinged gate and gravel path, led to the door of Fire Engine Fanny, so named for her bright red nose. At night, usually frosty and cold, we would silently (except for suppressed giggles) unlatch the gate and shuffle with our skates on to the front door...then we would bang loudly on her door, yell insults through her letter box and flee.

In the painting the coalman's dray horse is coming over the crest with his sacks of coal. But on the way up the other side the horses would often slip slide and stumble to their knees. Their steel shoes on the cobbles would throw up comet-like showers of sparks. I was fascinated when these horses would urinate, a torrent of steaming splashing yellow pee. And I would watch when they lifted their tails to deposit mounds of steaming straw-filled poop on the road. The sparrows loved it. I have left some of it on the road in the picture!”

Cheder

“Carlisle Street was a very ordinary street, gray with rowhouses on both sides. About two hundred yards down on the south side was the synagogue. The rabbi, actually a chazen, was Mr. Miller. The front cement yard was quite small and on religious holidays it was packed with men taking a breather. It was enclosed by 6 foot walls except for the entrance. Then came the huge double wooden doors and once inside it was suddenly dark till ones eyes adjusted.

There was a room off to the side with rows of desks for our cheder. The teacher, a short man with an agitated shiny bald head and a few strands of greasy hair, mustard-coloured stains down his front and smelling of stale sweat and pickled herring, would stride up and down the aisles very excited. He carried a black ruler and if he came up behind you and found you were inattentive (like having your book open at the wrong page) he would crack you across your knuckles with that ruler. I did not like him. I did not like being pent in. I played truant, cricket or soccer or street games being preferable. I missed class as often as I could but I had to attend one day each month. That was the day dad gave me 2/6 to pay for my lessons. I knew that if I did not show up that day with the money, questions would be asked, and the truth would come out.

The last time I saw the synagogue a few years ago, it was disused, locked up, derelict with barbed wire along the walls.”

Barber’s Bakery

“The bakery was a family run affair - rather "low life" types. The toy miniature loaves of Hovis, 1d (1 penny each) were my favourite. I would have it all to myself. I spent a lot of time in the back room where the ovens were, swatting numerous flies for Mr. Barber. But I stopped helping him this way when I encountered a corpse in my slice of raisin bread!

The bakery was very 2nd rate, 3rd, 4th even. Behind the shop the family of 6 or 7 lived and they bought their potatoes by the sack - I'd never seen that before or for that matter, since. One Christmas when we had all of our family and friends for dinner, dad bought a 30+lb turkey which wouldn't fit our oven but he arranged with Mr. Barber to cook it in his bread oven- along with some neighbour’s turkeys. I went with him on that cold day, to carry it home on a wooden board from the bakery...very slowly along the slippery alley and home by the back gate.”

Spare a Copper

“I go to the movies almost every Saturday afternoon. The Coronation Cinema was probably opened at the beginning of the reign of George V and Mary.  For 3 pence you saw two features, assorted shorts (Pathe Gazette, a couple of gay fellows in tennis togs or evening dress, one playing the piano while the other leans languorously against it and sings daft stuff, and several animated cartoons). And there's an interval when the lights come on for a while and the theatre organ mysteriously rises from profound depths for a recital. All organists seem to be named Reginald. All for three pence. Of course, when the lights are down and the scant audience's cigarette smoke curls up through the flickering beams of the movie, I sneak down to the front sixpenny seats. I might stay on to see the movie, or part of it twice, moving to a different seat believing the usher won't catch me- he doesn't care. The biggest problem was getting into the theatre because sometimes the film was Adult rated. Kids not allowed in except accompanied by an adult. So you hung around the entrance and kept running up to people who were going in and asked them to take you in with them. It never failed. "I've got me thruppence mister...will you take me in?" “The last time I saw the Coronation it was a bingo hall.”

Eels

“The fishmonger was about 8 houses north of 484. The shop was an add-on in front of a rather singular row house. The proprietor was a very friendly man and I would go into his shop and ask him for some oil-paper which was a heavy tracing paper. The fish was wrapped in this and then the package was wrapped in newspaper. I wanted the tracing paper to trace magazine pictures which I would subsequently show to my mother, “Chops”, and claim they were original drawings. No one was fooled. But I developed many variations such as placing the drawing face down on a white piece of paper and rubbing the back to create a reverse image. And I discovered how to enlarge pictures to scale, portraits too, by drawing a grid and transferring it another piece of paper larger than the original. I loved to draw and water colour. When I stated I wanted to grow up to be an artist Leon (my brother) told me it was forbidden for Jews to make a graven image, especially a Cohen. Till my mid-teens I believed there were no Jewish artists! ”

[amazingviralinfo]

The White House Correspondents Dinner is an opportunity for comedians to make a name for themselves and for presidents to show a sense of humor provided they decide to show up.

The WHCD has had performers since its initiation in 1921, including musicians and entertainers. In the 1980s, it became typical for comedians to host the affair.

Since then, the dinners have grown into broadcast events filled with an odd array of celebrities brought as guests of the media.

Hosts over the years have included everyone from young Conan OBrien and Jon Stewart in the 90s to Wanda Sykes and Cecily Strong in the Obama era.

The White House Correspondents Dinner is a show of goodwill between the president and the press and that tense relationship requires quite a bit of laughter to survive.

By the end of the night, everyone from the president to media personalities to politicians to reality TV show hosts is insulted.

Here are some of the best jokes and roasts from the past few decades:

1. Stephen Colbert goes off on George W. Bush in 2006.

This speech goes down as one of the most damn. performances of all time. Standingto Bush, Colbert bashed him for 16 minutes straight.

In one of the toughest moments (around 7:20 in the video), Colbert says about Bush,

I stand by this man, because he stands for things.

Not only for things, he stands on things, things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares.

And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo-ops in the world.

2. Obama shows up Jay Leno in 2010.

Its not always the comedians roasting the presidents. Sometimes its the opposite.

Over the years, Obama showed true comedic skill at the White House Correspondents Dinner, giving us all one more reason to love him.

In 2010, Leno hosted in the midst of that whole controversy between him and Conan OBrien.

After going on about his own lowered approval rating, Obama said (around 2:30 in the video),

I am glad that the only person whose ratings fell more than mine last year is here tonight.

Great to see you, Jay!

Im also glad that Im speaking first, because weve all seen what happens when somebody takes the time slot after Lenos.

3. Conan OBrien does a Bill Clinton impression in 1995.

Way back in 1995, OBrien hosted the White House Correspondents Dinner.

At one point (around 34 minutes), OBrien puts an edited version of Clinton up on the big screen and does an interview with an outlandish versionof the southerners big personality.

Clinton could not stop laughing.

4. Craig Ferguson bashes Dick Cheney in 2008.

Cheney, if you dont recall, was vice president under Bush from 2001 to 2009. So in 2008, the administration was getting ready to leave the White House.

So Ferguson (around 19:30 in the video), said,

The vice president is already moving out of his residency.

It takes longer than you think to pack up an entire dungeon.

5. Seth Meyers makes fun of Obama for not knowing where Osama bin Laden is, but the joke was on Meyers in 2011.

People think bin Laden is hiding in the Hindu Kush, but did you know that every day from four to five, he hosts a show on C-Span? Meyers joked.

Obama laughed gamely.

Little did anyone know, Obama knew exactly where bin Laden was. Hours later Obama would be watching the raid that would kill bin Laden.

6. Laura Bush interrupts her husband in 2005.

George is up there about to start a yarn when Laura walks up and takes over the microphone.

Not that old joke, the First Lady said (1:00). Not again.

The audience got up on their feet to applaud her. Bush continued,

Ladies and gentlemen, Ive been attending these dinners for years, and just quietly sitting there. Well, Ive got a few things I want to say for a change.

She showed off her own jokes, even getting some timely Desperate Housewives references in there.

7. Keegan-Michael Key plays Obamas anger translator in 2015.

President Obama is known for his composed demeanor. SoKey jumped in to show what was going on underneath that calm surface.

Between this and the 2011 dinner, we should all know to never play poker with Obama.

I mean, damn, thats some poker face.

8. Cedric the Entertainer jokes about Condoleezza Rice in 2005.

Cedric said Secretary of State Rices name is soulful and contains two people. He said,

Theres the Condi thats the person you see on television with, you know, the nice hair and very professional. Then theres the Leezza.

She the one with her hair wrapped up on the phone with her girlfriend watching BET

9. Obamaslams Donald Trumpand accidentally inspires him to run for president in 2011.

I know, I know, I know, Obama again. But hes so good!

So back in 2011, Obama went on a long stream about Trump and his racist birther movement.

Now, I know that hes taken some flak lately, but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate to rest than the Donald, Obama said. Now he can get to focusing on the issues that matter. Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened at Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?

Obama went on to say about Trump,

All kidding aside, obviously we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience.

Just recently in an episode of Celebrity Apprentice, at the steakhouse, the mens cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha steaks, and there was a lot of blame to go around.

But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership, so ultimately you didnt blame Lil Jon or Meat Loaf. You fired Gary Busey.

These are the kinds of decisions that would keep me up at night.

Well handled, sir. Well handled.

Obama made more jokes about what Trump would be like as president.

According to legend, it was this public humiliation that led Trump to actually run for president (although Trump has denied that).

And so here we are, in 2017, with Trump as president, not going to the White House Correspondents Dinner.

[jordancat]

The flower-filled world of Jeff Leatham

November 17, 2009 Elaine Bergstrom

Jeff Leatham is a busy man. The day we spoke, he’d recently finished doing a floral display around a line of jewelry at Tiffany’s, then scattered 7,000 roses on the streets of New York City for Fashion’s Night Out. After he spoke with me, he was scheduled to fly to Europe to confer on the floral arrangements for the first ever party to be held in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. His clientele includes the Dalai Lama, Tina Turner, Eva Longoria Parker and former President Clinton. But he wasn’t too busy to take a bit of time out to discuss his new series, Flowers Uncut, airing Wednesdays on TLC (HD), and the strange path that has led to his being the florist to the stars.

Tell me a bit about your upbringing and how your passion for flowers began?

Jeff Leatham: I was born and raised on Ogden, Utah. My father was a city boy and my mother was a country girl from a cattle ranch. I grew up in the city but spent summers on a ranch. Both of my parents are in education. My father was a biology professor and high-school principal and won Teacher of the Year in Utah. My mother was a business teacher. School was always really important for them but I was just going to school for the social aspects.

My father always had amazing, beautiful gardens. I think that’s where I got my out-of-the-box thinking. My father cut the flowerbeds into interesting shapes and installed fountains in the middle of the yard.

In Ogden, I wanted nothing to do with flowers; it was a big ordeal to get me to mow the lawn. I started working a lot in design in retail stores when I was 17 and 18. At 18, I worked in management for The Gap. I was very energetic and enthusiastic and I worked my way up the corporate ladder. I was one of their youngest store managers at the ripe age of 19. That’s what brought me to L.A. at 19. The Gap transferred me from Utah to Los Angeles to open one of their most important stores, one on Melrose Avenue.

That’s a lot of responsibility for so young a person, isn’t it?

I’m this crazy double Virgo who has to have everything perfect. Everything had to do with color and design and making the store look great.

Then I turned to modeling at 22. I started traveling back and forth to Europe for two-and-a-half years, doing print and runway shows in Milan. Then I would come back and work retail again. I worked as a men’s manager at Urban Outfitters. Then I was back in Europe and then came back and was a barista at Starbucks. That only lasted one summer because they were screaming at me that I wasn’t steaming the milk fast enough. And one day, I said, “If you can steam milk faster than me, you can do it.” Then I put down my rag and walked out. After the Starbucks incident, I went back to Italy for six months of modeling.

When I came back to L.A., I didn’t have a job. A friend told me about an opening at the flower shop in the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. The day before the interview, I walked in that hotel and I was knocked off my feet. I’ve always loved art and design and for the first time I saw that with flowers you can create not just arrangements but installations of art, so to speak.

[I had] an interview with Paige Dixon. She’s this sassy redhead Australian Scorpio, and we kind of hit it off, but she knew I had no idea what I was talking about. … So she told me to come down to her office. She put a vase in front of me and said, “Here, work with these flowers.” And she left. All the girls came over and began helping me and 10 minutes later Paige came back and I had done this beautiful arrangement with the help of all these women. They were lovely, but I think [the girls] just wanted a guy there to pick on.

Paige gave me the job as a part-time employee to do little things like clean the flower shop, but as time went on, I felt like a child again at 23 or 24, because they would be making these beautiful flower arrangements. And I said, “Teach me to do that. I want to learn how to do that. Why are you using these colors?” It expanded my mind and my love affair and passion for flowers started there. I really feel like I started at the right time, because I had done so many other things.

What has it been like working with a camera crew? Has it created any problems with your clients?

There have been a couple of instances where the client has not wanted their face on camera [but] we can shoot around them, because mostly it’s about me working with the flowers and my team and making the client’s dream come true and obviously the beauty reveal of the thing.

I wanted this show to be, first of all, beautiful, and that people would learn from the show and it would be funny. I didn’t want it to be a design show where people are all serious with “this is how it has to be” because I am kind of the anti-Martha Stewart. Even though I know Martha and love her, I am the anti-Martha, because with her everything is so proper. The end result is our flowers are beautiful, but the way we get to our result is not how anyone else would do it. Everyone else would be cutting their flowers properly while we are cutting them and ripping them with our hands. That’s why my nickname is the “rock ‘n’ roll florist,” because we do everything with flowers you are not supposed to do.

I involve people in the episodes that have really helped me along my journey. I’m a true believer that no one gets where they are, especially in design, just because they’re fabulous. You get where you are because people love you and support you and help you on your journey. That’s why it’s important for me to give back to people who have helped me or people who are starting out. You only flourish as an artist if you help others and share your gift. … I love to share what I do with others and hopefully it will make their process easier and make flower arranging a fun process for them.

When the show started, TLC bought two pilots, and we were so excited. We went to Korea then did an episode from Victoria’s Secret for their store on Lexington. So I said to a couple of people from the network, “Why don’t you come on set and see what goes on?” We have such a good time when we work and we involve everyone. And the people left the set thinking, “This guy is out-of-control fun,” and we went right to series.

What do you look for in your staff?

I like having a couple of talented people around now and then, but I love hiring people that have no experience with flowers at all. You’ll find different employees in every episode because I love giving people who love flowers a chance to touch and work with flowers in a different way and it actually works quite well.

Did spending that time as a model in Paris influence you?

Definitely. I remember just looking at these gardens and I think that influenced me a lot because if you look at my work, it’s very architectural, with very clean strong lines. So I was definitely influenced by the architecture in the buildings and in the gardens. … And I would not be where I am today if I had not had that experience at the Four Seasons in Paris (note: he is now the artistic director for the Four Seasons chain, based in the George V hotel in Paris). I’ve been with the Four Seasons for 16 years; it’s one of the longest relationships of my life. It works because we’re honest with each other. I support them and they support me.

What has been your most stressful event to date as well as your favorite ones?

The episode in the Waldorf Astoria was pretty stressful because there were literally five different parties going on at the same time. I had to hire a crew of 35, and we had over 25,000 stems of flowers coming in. … One room was on the sixth floor, one was on the second floor. [The camera crew] got their exercise that day.

Every time I have these huge events, I always say, “I picked the wrong profession. I’m retiring.” And then I’m the first one to show up for a meeting for the next job because I just love the whole process and challenge. You can be as relaxed as you want, but there is always that last 45 minutes before an event where it literally goes through my head, “We are never going to finish on time, it is going to be catastrophic.” But in the end, we always pull it off. That’s why it makes for good TV. Plus the personalities on the show are so funny, and I don’t edit what comes out of my mouth, so it is a circus of my tongue at the same time. I think that’s why it airs after 10pm.

How stressful was it to do Eva Longoria Parker’s wedding?

I met with Eva and we started planning it about eight months prior. I knew it was going to be a well-covered event, press-wise, but I had no idea that [we] would be chased by paparazzi. And we came out of the church all sweaty and panting and there were 400 photographers and we couldn’t get our van through and we were in a rush to get to the castle an hour-and-a-half away.

What will people take home for watching “Flowers Uncut”?

I didn’t want this show to be all centered on the celebrities. The last thing I wanted to do is call my celebrity friends and say, “Hi! Want to do a tea party and be on my show?” I really want people to watch the show, not because we have their favorite pop star arranging flowers, but to watch because, first of all, they can learn new things. Second, they are seeing something they have never seen before and, third, because they think it’s fun to watch. … It really is a show about living your life with flowers and designing with flowers and having fun. … Hopefully people will start to learn that they can do flowers on their own and don’t have to pay thousands of dollars for someone to do it for them.

I’m also really happy that it’s a 30-minute show instead of an hour, because on those hourlong design shows, you start to think, “It’s enough already, let’s get to the reveal.”

When decorating on a budget, what sort of flowers should people choose for their own homes?

You should always make friends with your hometown florist, because you can always make deals. Every florist will have older flowers, and if you ask what kind of deals you can get from florists you can get them to use as petals. That’s the perfect accent for me. You don’t always need a huge arrangement on a table. If there’s a hint of flowers, fine.

I’m an advocate that before you send thousands of dollars on flowers you should spend thousand of dollars, or hundreds of dollars or twenty dollars on vases. The vase is the most important aspect because it creates the structure of the floral design.

Since your series is premiering in November, a lot of people will have Thanksgiving on their minds. What sort of floral hostess gifts would you recommend for the season?

You are putting me on the spot, I love this! A floral hostess gift is hard during the Thanksgiving season because that is a tough time of the year for flowers. A lot of people bring roses, but it’s always nice to bring a mixed arrangement or just some branches or maybe bring a vase instead of a bouquet, because you help someone start their vase collection.

I can’t tell you how many times people have brought flowers to my home and I say “you shouldn’t have.” That’s because flowers are such a personal thing. … I don’t know how many times I’ve received bouquets and the last person who leaves the house leaves with that bouquet.

If the flowers were to suddenly vanish and you could save only four types, what would they be?

Hydrangea, calla lilies, roses and orchids — those are actually my top four flowers.

And when do you take time to smell the roses?

Usually in the morning I have a 45-minute period where I try to sit down and have a cup of coffee and take it all in before 25 people knock on my door. Flowers are my family and now my crew is my family and I have a new family at TLC and that’s OK.

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A majority of Seattle’s City Council on Wednesday voted down a proposal to slash the police department’s remaining 2020 budget by 50 percent. But the council did pass a slew of other defunding efforts, including ones that would cut 100 officers from the agency this year through layoffs and attrition.The vote by the budget committee—which came one day after the city’s mayor and police chief held a press conference to criticize the proposal—signaled some progress for Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality advocates who’ve pushed to defund departments across the U.S. and reallocate funds to community services, including housing and youth programs.The budget-cut plan, proposed by council member Kshama Sawant, would have cut $54 million from the Seattle PD immediately through layoffs and reallocated it to programs, including $34 million for affordable housing. Sawant was the only member to vote in favor of the proposal, while another council member abstained and the remaining seven voted against it.While the council’s budget committee voted on a variety of amendments related to police funding, activists marched from a King County juvenile detention facility to City Hall. One reporter on scene captured demonstrators chanting, “Bad boys. Bad boys. Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when we defund you?”Shootings Rise in Big Cities Along With Calls to Defund the PoliceSeattle’s vote comes on the heels of other local governments, including the Washington D.C. Council, passing legislation to dismantle or cut the budgets of police departments. In late June, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a proposal to disband the city’s police department—and replace it with a new Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention—following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed May 25 by a Minneapolis cop who kneeled on his neck during an arrest.Minneapolis’ charter commission voted 10-5 against the city council’s proposal on Wednesday, saying they needed more time to review it. The decision meant voters won't get to decide on the amendment on a November ballot. The Seattle council’s budget committee unanimously passed a series of amendments, including adding $4 million to the Human Services Department for a community safety initiative which would be an “alternative to traditional policing.” The funding for that effort would come from a loan authorized by separate legislation.They also voted to cut $886,000 from the Seattle PD and reallocate it to a proposal that would add $10 million for community-led organizations “to increase public safety.” (The remaining $9.1 million would come from interfund loan to be addressed in separate legislation.) The cuts approved included $36,000 from the police department’s remaining 2020 budget for implicit bias training; $50,000 from SPD’s 2020 travel budget; and $800,000 from the department’s recruitment and retention activities. > Protesters gathering near the youth jail for today’s march to City Hall. Saw a handful of bike cops on my way over, though they seem to be around the block now. pic.twitter.com/8vf6r3EW9W> > — Heidi Groover (@heidigroover) August 5, 2020The committee also unanimously approved a “consent package” which includes ordering the police chief to eliminate the mounted unit and public affairs unit, each of which has four officers; lay off five members of the community outreach unit; lay off two members of the 29-officer SWAT team; and let go of 30 officers through attrition. All told, the council approved a reduction of 54 officers from the department.This package also included $50,000 in funding to contract with a community-based organization to create a non-police 911 response system.On Monday, KOMO News revealed the proposal to slash the Seattle Police Department’s budget by 50 percent appeared to be “losing steam” among the nine council members. The remainder of the Seattle PD’s unspent budget is an estimated $188 million, the outlet reported.Council member Sawant slammed her colleagues in an interview with the TV outlet and on Twitter, where she claimed Democrats on the budget committee “ganged up against our movement’s proposals to Defund the police...”> To see Democratic Party politicians in their real role, watch today's Seattle City Council Budget Committe, where they ganged up against our movement's proposals to Defund the police by at least 50%, fund community programs, and increase significant funds for affordable housing.> > — Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) August 4, 2020“I’m not surprised,” Sawant told KOMO News, “but it’s quite interesting to see how council members are now displaying how they actually stand and I hope members of the public are watching.”Last month, protesters targeted the homes of two council members who supported reducing the police budget but wouldn’t commit to slashing it by 50 percent, the Seattle Times reported. The demonstrations allegedly included making noise outside one councilor’s home at night and leaving notes on his door warning, “Don’t be racist trash.”In June, another group visited Mayor Jenny Durkan’s residence, which was tagged with spray paint, according to the Times. Durkan asked the council to probe Sawant for taking part in that protest but council president Lorena González declined. Meanwhile, Police Chief Carmen Best said her neighbors had to stop a “large group of aggressive protestors” from trespassing at her home on Saturday. One of the demonstrators, Nicole Gitaka, told King 5, a local news station: “All we were doing was walking and they met us with guns, I don’t know who the aggressor is at that point, but I don't think it’s us.”> Crowd gathers across from the site for the new youth jail for a march and rally pertaining to the city council’s vote today on defunding the SPD seattleprotest seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/MuTzTIU74h> > — Elizabeth Turnbull (@LizTurnbull5) August 5, 2020This summer, Seattle police swept through an autonomous protest zone known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest Area (CHOP) with blast balls and pepper spray, arresting at least two dozen people after Durkan issued an executive order to clear the area.Previously called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), the six-block stretch near downtown was occupied by demonstrators in the wake of Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter protests. But the site also brought multiple shootings, including the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy, and injuries to both cops and protesters. One Tacoma man was charged with arson for torching the police department's East Precinct building during the CHOP protest.Last week, the head of Seattle’s police union warned defunding cops would bring higher crime rates and make CHOP or CHAZ “look like child’s play.”Was Seattle’s Notorious Protest Zone Doomed by Recent Shootings?On Tuesday, Durkan and Best held a press conference to ask council members to hold off on deep cuts to the police budget until 2021.Durkan said the city shouldn’t make “hasty decisions” when it comes to defunding the police department. “We should make right decisions,” Durkan told reporters. “That doesn’t mean slow; it just means thoughtful.”“The chief and I, again, we are absolutely committed, committed to reimagining how policing works in the city, to having a better community-based response, to have a public health and harm reduction based response,” Durkan added. “But we also know that policing is complicated and that sometimes you do need a police officer to respond.”For her part, Best said “there are some good approaches” in the council’s proposals and that “some of the ideas SPD already had and has raised before.”“But what is problematic is these are approaches without any clarity on how they will become reality. What is the plan? “ Best asked. “The push from Council and some of our community is to do these large-scale changes in 2020 with no practical plan for community safety. And I believe wholeheartedly that is completely reckless.“Council has directed me to lay off 70 or more officers basically overnight,” the chief added. “And I cannot do that in good faith knowing there are no systems in place to bridge the gap.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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