By Patrick Ferrari
Vincentians do not usually get a straight story. That’s because the stories themselves are usually not straight. The latest is that a local company bought — or leased — a jumbo jet to, er, service, an Argyle Dubai nonstop route. Seriously? Gee whiz. That’s a hair-brained scheme if ever there was one. Don’t look at me, I got it from the media. And rest assured, the media didn’t invent it. Churchill, more diplomatically, would have said, as he did on a different matter, it is a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma.
And if the orange racist, you know, the blithering oaf in the White House? If he saw the 747-400 sitting at Argyle in the forlorn hope of flying a whole 500 or so passengers at a pop — nonstop — from Argyle to, well, anywhere, he’d say, as he said about another thing, What you are seeing and what you are reading is not what’s happening. Only this time it would be true. A Trumpian rarity, indeed.
I am not well enough acquainted with Churchillology to put the pieces of his gem together on this one. I don’t feel bad, though, because what I see and read about this SVD DXB nonstop hoax would confuse Churchill more now than what confused him back then.
Things like these. I’m sure he’d ponder: (a) what does One Caribbean, a 2-year-old one-plane, a 19- seater, charter service, know that other airlines don’t? (b) He’d ponder too, magnifying glass in hand, the size of the barely discernible “One Caribbean” logo. Huh, what logo? But it is (c), the task, rich in difficulty, of getting the albatross registered. Man, I believe it have the lot of them in a powerful stump. It is a subplot so discombobulating and convoluting that it seemed to have required a manoeuvre of influence-peddling intervention, which is entitled to no respect.
On (a), I grant that One Caribbean owners are made up of experienced, otherwise sober-minded pilots. But a jumbo plane to service a nonstop Argyle to Anywhere is a bit of a stretch. It is more mania that sober-minded, clear. And (b), if your taxi service consisted of a two-seater moped, yesterday, and today you added a stretched limo to your fleet, tell me how big and flashy you go make your logo? It would reflect your confidence and zeal for the venture and pride in your shiny new limo. One Caribbean’s Lilliputian logo is testament that they don’t feel too brash about neither.
The hangdog logo came before the onerous task of registration, so, perhaps the experienced pilots anticipated the impossibleness of registering their conundrum — in St. Vincent — and designed the logo for easy removal when time came. Watch, the FAA done have the ECCAA on tender hooks with a previous cunning scheme; now the 747 have the ECCAA on the verge of seeing a 90s redux it have themnervous and faint of heart. It go learn some of them good.
Whatever, One Caribbean and their wingman are looking for the ECCAA “to move expeditiously” on the matter of registration. But “expeditiously” have two meanings: one belonging to One Caribbean and other to the ECCAA. And never the twain shall meet.
We’ve seen the MO before. A grand entrance — a communal baptism in the case of the 747 — followed by fifteen minutes of fame, then, gone; like the wind.
Do you remember the obsequious windbag from Guyana? Gerald Gouveia? He came with the same kind of homage as the 747 did. Was given a soapbox to feed us his let them eat s—t crap while stroking our (not mine) egos at the same time. He bragged how his revered entrepreneurial noseled him here to kick-start Argyle. Peddling false hopes to desperate people, he promised a Valentine’s Day gift of a planeload of Cuban shopperson opening day. That his rich Cuban shoppers would spend “2 or 3,000 U.S. dollars”. Apiece. It was the most ignorantest kind of words. Then, puff, he was gone; like a thief in the night. We haven’t seen hide nor hair from him since. Thank Jah.
And Stanley Too? The obnoxious Malaysian grifter who came under the auspices of Rene Baptiste? He came gaslighting the constabulary like a pompous jackass and bearing suspiciously contrived red-coloured gifts with promises of more. Ay, but he stipulated that the recipiency must kowtow to him to get the more. Talk about obnoxious, and pompous and jackass. Then, like Gouveia, he was gone. Like a thief in the night.
These flimflammers lie with impunity and are as deceptive as their audience would allow. No motive, no moral higher than enfeebling the enfeebled are involved. Would we be not rid of them? With the latest, the flying machine and a route straight out of a science fiction writer’s fantasy, it is not my bet.
Still, don’t doubt that Gouveia and the 747 sitting for six weeks at Argyle would have served a purpose. And Stanley Too? Well, you go have to ask Rene bout the fleeting hustler who just grazed our shores.
When the plane left for greener, or more practical, pastures, One Caribbean took from us more than a plane. St Vincent’s First Boeing 747-400 Now Registered In Barbados, put us in the familiar position of, “also ran”. Ugh. So, it is registered in Barbados. Now what? BGI DXB nonstop? Try that dead end, non-starter claptrap on the Bajan people nuh.
The reasons for the leaving — as told — is the art of subterfuge, an act of self-abasement and a lesson from a professor on the use of the non sequitur. We were told that the ECCAA was taking too long to register the difficulty. Really? Must be too long for One Caribbean’s haste. But register where? St. Vincent or Barbados? Which really, really was the original plan? If it was St. Vincent, it would take, like, forever. And yes, forever is too bleeding long.
Then, in the same breath we were given comfort in One Caribbean’s application to register a Saab 30-seater. But whoa, dread. Except on a non sequitur on steroids, how did we get from a Boeing 747-400 to a Saab 30-seater? Lordy, who pun what page? And when?
Make no mistake, these second-hand scam artists do not stand on their own. Gouveia did not come withan agenda. He came onan agenda. He did not walk with his soapbox. He was given one — his own à la carte carpe diem box. Too, too: the colour of his gifts, red, was not a coincidence. But it backfired. “Let them eat s—t” is a theme; it is encouraged and celebrated — and probably choreographed.
It was sheer lunacy to think the 747 was ever going to be registered here. It was bicycle to fish. If I thought I’d get an honest answer close, I’d ask: why did the 747 come here in the first place?
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Just jargon
As much as I really like the writing of Patrick Ferrari, and he mentions how misleading the news can be, he himself is misleading in this writing.
Trump is certainly making many big mistakes and I cannot say that I like him as a president anymore than I liked Obama or Bush. However there is no evidence that Trump is a racist. In fact he has done far more for Blacks than Obama. Trump, in his first year, has allocated 10-times more money to African American Secondary education than Obama did in 8 years. Trump has been trying to push legislation for nearly 1 Billion for renovation in grants and no-interest loans to renovate the inner cities that are predominantly black. Obama did essentially nothing for blacks accept starting the destruction of Africa building over 120 US Military bases on the continent after destroying Libya.
Contrarily, although Churchill was a good writer, he did advocate the extermination of entire races from the face of the earth, to include the Japanese. See his writings! When the reader researches these facts they will be surprised that even Patrick can get it wrong by assuming Trump is a racist, based only on what the fake news tells us, and then glorify Churchill, based on what fake and accepted History does not tell us.
i like the fact that Patrick calls it as he sees it but please! Do not let the heavily biased fake news, or history indoctrinate you. You would be shocked to find out that the Democratic party in the USA, the same party that founded the KKK and blocked equal rights a the right to vote for blacks is the same party that causes blacks to feel inferior today. Also do not be surprised when you read (a republican) Abraham Lincoln’s writings and find he was also a racist and maintained that blacks were inferior beings.
The reader should, instead of reading and believing people’s opinion, instead look for facts and evidence and you will be surprised on what we are led to believe.
Patrick my boy, its all smoke and mirrors! Master strokes from master magicians, all make believe and let’s pretend! In a way like making movies. One learns not to be too involved in what one sees but nevertheless to appreciate the skills employed.
As Scott Adkins would put it; “I personally think a fight scene is the most cinematic thing you can witness because all the elements of filmmaking come together, you know, with the camera speed changes, editing, make up effects and general smoke and mirrors of trying to make it look like you are hitting someone when you’re not. It’s filmmaking in its purest form, I think”.
By the way you forgot David Ames chairman of the Harlequin Group!
https://www.internationalinvestment.net/news/4001520/gbp125m-paid-harlequin-resort-investors
James H, You mean the naturalized Vincentian, the “people are mobile” (Ralph) weasel who, dressed in his Giorgio Armani suit and Bally shoes and who once enjoyed protection-by-Black Squad, absconded via pirogue at Chateaubelair after receiving a summons to appear in court to answer criminal charges? The crook who “wasn’t allowed to leave the state” but “actually left legitimately” (both quotes by Ralph). That’s the one you mean? Crikey, yes, I did forget. That’s what age and rum does to the memory.
“He wasn’t allowed to leave the state” is an oblique way of saying he wasn’t aided and abetted. But he was.
Given all that was going on – and there was much and all not good – with the Englishman, it was to look the other way (aid and abet) by not putting a watch on him at every port. The slimeball, after all, was summoned to answer a criminal charge.
By inaction, Dave Ames was allowed to leave the state. And he did, like a criminal in broad daylight.
And has not come back to answer the charge against him. Least we forget.
JB what does your comment mean exactly?
Thanks for that Patrick, overall this is a very strange story to say the least. I have been following it for weeks.
It makes people very suspicious when such things are cloaked in secrecy and intrigue. Why are they handling the matter of this aircraft in such a way? What’s sad is when people misrepresent facts when there is no apparent need if it’s an honest and above board matter.
The 747 400 flew out unannounced late at night under the cloak of darkness, unlike when it arrived to a fanfare and announced golden opportunity for SVG.
They couldn’t leave secretly because those enormous Pratt and Witney engines scream as they gobble up about 5000 lbs of jet fuel on take-off. Impossible to simply slink away, unseen perhaps, but certainly not unheard.
https://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/2019/06/03/letter-a-747-aircraft-operated-by-vincentians/
https://aviation.travel/why-is-boeing-747-400-being-registered-under-barbados-colors-and-moved-at-night/
Bwahaha… rest assured, comrades, that the Vincy-connection and subterfuge have not abandoned this particular flying white elephant, even in such far-flung shores as Bim. Maybe it’ll sit here for weeks as well, before the true nature of the beast emerges from the cavernous belly (cue scenes from “Troy”). Oh, as a matter of interest, were the parking fees for the time occupying real estate at Argyle paid, or waived by executive decree?
Thanks Jolly for that information, we found it very informative. Oh’ by the way Patrick we cannot not forget too that Canadian lawyer, William Wise, 64, who once operated the Millennium Bank here and who has since been sentenced to 22 years in prison by California judge for his part in the Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 1,200 people out of more than 75 million US dollars.
https://www.iwnsvg.com/2015/02/18/william-wise-jailed-any-vincentians-next/
And here is another thing to be noted of a recent interesting incident. The news wire report is that of an incident that had taken place in the U.K in May 2019. The reason for my bringing it to notice here is, because of the debacle that we had experience here not so long ago, that is yet to be settled.
In short, the headline on the news wire report read; “Poll with more votes than voters: Residents win their fight for a recount after ‘clear error’ in Wiltshire council election.” Because, “Angry residents won the fight for a recount after ten council candidates received thousands more votes than people who turned out.”
And that “The borough council returning officer handling the count in May had conceded that there had ‘clearly’ been an error but told residents of Highworth, Wilts., that because the result had been declared, there was nothing she could legally do about it. They formed a ‘Democracy for Highworth’ protest group, with people donating £100 each to raise more than £3,500 to cover the cost and hire a solicitor before lodging a legal petition in the High Court.
The Result: “the votes were re-counted at a special convening of Swindon Magistrates Court which confirmed there had been a mathematical blunder in Highworth in the local elections”. See:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7343285/Residents-win-fight-recount-clear-error-Wiltshire-council-election.html
What does this incident say of our recent experience and what is to become of us in the circumstance?
That is very shocking information James and, although it happened overseas, it is probably not fake news. Most all news in SVG is also NOT fake from most reporters such as Kenton. Because authorities sometimes cannot and many times will not rectify these mistakes or corruption, and, as we have seen here in SVG the people usually cannot do anything about this corruption no matter how loud we protest because it will be ignored. We saw how fast our former GG approved the last election result even though the evidence in court indicated that clearly something(s) went wrong. All that is left for us people to do is wait, try to remember all these incidents of corruption and vote accordingly but, in the last election we end up getting the same application of the murdering communist dictator Joseph Stalin,(Also known in The former Soviet Union as as “The comrade” and “Papa”): He said:
“It does not matter or count on how you vote, It is WHO counts the vote that matters and counts.”
Our comrade may just practice what the comrade of the Soviet Union practiced.
No Democratic country on earth would approve of an election when such evidence is presented as what was presented here in SVG, but when justices here and in the region are well known to have a bias….
I wonder who wrote the business plan for this ludicrous venture, if indeed there ever was a plan. Consider that the maintenance requirements for this aircraft would be beyond the scope of local engineers, so costly returns to the owners with the attendant downtime would play havoc with any schedule. Most of the major airlines are moving away from large, inefficient aircraft like the 747s, what do these local entrepreneurs know that BA and others do not, to think that this would be a viable venture. Large aircraft can work if you have the passenger load, where are these consistently large passenger volume coming from, or would the business model have an expectation that subsidies would be available to offset the poor load factor. If I am wrong, and the market for such a route exists locally in the Caribbean, wouldn’t we need an upgrade to medical, and emergency services to cater for the increased risks engendered by the greater amount of passengers that would be carried.