OBA Responds: Furbert’s “Secret Troops” Allegation
The One Bermuda Alliance has responded to Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert’s allegation that they have “secret troops” who post on Bernews and The Royal Gazette’s websites, saying that instead of taking responsibility for the terrible tourism results, the Minister is “trying to lay the blame for his Government’s failure on secret troops”.
The Minister’s “secret troops” accusation came just prior to his recently released press statement saying that he feels the OBA, the media and the anonymous commenters on websites “spit upon Bermuda.”
In one of his recent complaints on the social network he said: “There are those who write via RG, Bernews mainly for political reasons to attack the Government. Have those in the OBA ever thought that they are doing more damage to the people of Bermuda than the Government.”
“Here is an email that was sent me: After some discussion and monitoring the newspaper from Bermuda we have decided to pass on vacating [sic] there next spring. The environment on the island seems to be negative”
Minister Furbert then ‘tagged’ Senator Michael Dunkley, and said he should “tell your secret troops they are hurting this island.”
Responding to the Minister’s allegation, an OBA spokesperson said: “This is disappointing stuff from Mr. Furbert. He is Tourism Minister at a time of persistent Government failure to effectively manage this important industry – an industry that has real potential to create hundreds of new jobs for Bermudians.
“The reported FaceBook posting came within hours of a press conference at which he reported more bad tourism numbers, with second quarter air arrivals down 6.5%, business travelers down 12.3% and convention visitor down 61.7%. Hotelier forecasts for the Fall anticipate an even worse performance.
“Instead of taking responsibility for the terrible result, the Minister is trying to lay the blame for his Government’s failure on “secret troops”. This from a Minister whose Government had been operating without a tourism strategy for years,” continued the OBA spokesperson.
“The kind of thinking reflected in Mr. Furbert’s FaceBook post is exactly why this country needs a change in government. Bermuda needs people in government willing to be accountable for their performance, willing to take responsibility for what happens.
“This Government has been in charge for 14 years and they continue to blame everyone and anyone but themselves for what’s gone wrong. It’s time to look in the mirror,” the OBA concluded.
Typical paranoia by the PLP.?
u said it lol for anyone that is wonderin where all that —– has been going………….LOL….isnt paranoia a major side effect of zee herbs??? um just sayin!!!!!
PLP has has 14 years to implement the 100 day tourism recovery plan touted by Dave Allen. And you blame anonymous bloggers for the failure? This is one of the lamest PLP claims ever.
Incidentally, one of the reasons there are so many anonymous posters is that PLP has systematically attacked several named individuals over the years and labelled them as – you guessed it – racists. Unfair practice for sure – but it is PLP standard procedure: Shoot the messenger and call the race card. Forget taking responsibility.
PLP directly caused this situation – LIVE WITH IT! I, and many others are going NOWHERE until you losers are voted out on your A***S.
@Cedar Beams (Original): You say ‘The PLP has systematically attacked several named individuals over the years and labelled them as – you guessed it – racists’??? At least that’s better than what the UBP did to get back at people when they were in power…they were very nasty in trying to get revenge against people who spoke up against them-with most of the repercussions being financial.
I’ll never forget how before the UBP was kicked to the curb, a young lady confronted the then Housing Minister, Quinton Edness, at a rally for tenants of a Government Housing complex. This young, black lady was very vocal in her criticism of Government and really stood up to the minister. A couple of days later it was revealed that this lady wasn’t even a tenant of the complex and had no right to speak up, with all kinds of nasty things being said about her.
Then, day after day this lady was dragged through the mud in an obvious attempt to humiliate her in public. It was even revealed that she had debts to the tune of almost $30,000-something that the public didn’t need to know, and which had NOTHING to do with her speaking up at the rally. Her personal business was splattered all over the radio and newspapers with negative comment after negative comment about her coming from the UBP. She was the fodder for the daily talk shows for days on end. The UBP made sure they taught her a lesson she would never forget, and sent a message to others about speaking up.
As much as the PLP makes mistakes, Bermuda cannot go back to the days where this kind of stuff happened. The UBP used its connections to severely penalize those who crossed them, and their supporters had that mentality as well. White Bermudians, when confronted with things they don’t like, are quick to call people they know to fix the situation in their favour-e.g. if you get into an argument with someone and they know a manager where you work, they’re quick to call up and try to get you terminated. They’ve done this kind of stuff for years, but cut back some with the PLP in charge. Should the OBA get into power, I can see them nicely going back into those old, spiteful ways. You’ll all deny it, but that’s the way you operate and we all know it-that’s why you’re so quick to accuse the PLP of doing that exact same thing. Black Bermudians will quickly go back to being treated like trash and living in fear and that is something that can’t be allowed to happen, so I hope the OBA NEVER gets in… whether you all like it or not!!!
Sorry, I’m confused. What is your point? From what you are saying the lady you use as an example had some financial problems. Was Quinton Edness white and using his profile to denigate the lady? Is Quinton Edness one of the old white Bermuda families? Very confusing and how does this fit into the article?
In case youy haven’t noticed, HSBC is not the Bank of Bermuda and is not controlled by Bermudians, nor is BNTB a Bermuda company. Bermuda is now owned by foreign banks thanks to the PLP.
@Shaking the Head: I’m calling Cedar Beams out on his claim that the PLP calls people racists…that is in no way comparable to the things that the UBP did. No, Mr. Edness isn’t white but the people behind him in the UBP are, and they decided to humiliate this woman for standing up to the Government on how they were treating people. This was something the UBP regularly did, so if the worst thing that people can say about the PLP is that they merely call their opposers ‘racists’, that isn’t so bad at all-you know, the whole ‘sticks-and-stones’ thing.
As for you, what are you babbling on about with HSBC…now who’s confused???
God u need to come out off the stone ages. Once again the white man is being blamed. It really is sad. Grow up, Cold as ice
@Bermuda Love: I’m not blaming anyone for anything, I am stating facts. What is so immature about my statement? “Grow up’ is something people like you say when they can’t think of a proper response. You’re the one too lazy to write out the word ‘you’ and your post looks like it was written by a teenager texting, and I’m the one who needs to grow up?
When you can think of a proper response and aren’t too lazy to write out words in full, then we can talk. You clearly lack the brain capacity to engage in meaningful dialogue so I suggest YOU (see, that’s how you spell it) grow up.
You aren’t by chance that lady are you? Guess what I’m white and have no such connections that you speak of in fact I can tell you of many examples of the PLP supporters calling radio shows in the same manner as you describe, which inevitably force in one instance a family off the island possible permanently. Just ask LV how she deals with them evil whites. You’re a joke and you comment boils down to they did it so get use to it happening to you evil white. As a white person people like you should never be given any power at all as you are “the new boss same as the old one”. Bermuda will never move forward until you kind pass away. Just for your clarity “your kind” means old prejudice people just so happens that from where I’m sitting seems like most on this island are black people who support the PLP…. Must be a numbers thing.
LOL I’m not a supporter of any extreme pro group but I can see that with people like you around there might be a need for the OBA to “fornicate in the trees”. How much you wanta bet the PLP will suggest measures like whites can only have one child per house hold. Can’t wait till my people (Bermuda) will never vote in any racist group. This is why men like Dr. Brown and those that think like him white or black will always be remembered as a virus furthering the gap to attaining harmony. In the mean time it feels good to f’ with the white people don’t it.
@LOL (original TM*): Your comment made zero sense and is really ridiculous. You whites don’t want us lumping you all in together, yet you’re so quick to lump all blacks in together and assume we all share a brain. So one person mentioning ‘fornicating in trees’ and that’s supposed to speak for all blacks?
As for the one child per white family, get real. That could never happen and you know it. You sound stupid to even mention it. If the PLP Government wanted to f**k with white people, there are already a lot of better ways to do it. I for one wish they’d right the wrongs of the past and take back form some of you what was stolen from us..this was the things that TERRIFIED you all when the PLP came to power, isn’t it?
In any case, we already outnumber you so we don’t need to take any drastic measure against you so go ahead and have all the babies you want.
Sorry I reacted to what I preceived as a hash tone coming from you but please read again. I even clarified that I was not lumping all anyone together.”for your clarity “your kind” means old prejudice people ” again read if your not in that number (but clearly you are)you should not have been insulted.
LOL come on you need thinker skin than that. PS I’ don’t care if blacks take back what was theirs if in fact they can prove it. I know I’m in the clear my family never had anything to do with the situation in Bermuda or in Portugal so bring it, might even help again if proven but it’s 2012 -13 I’m not saying get over it but we need to do what ever we need to do in order to move on but that’s does not seem to be your thing as seen by your comments here:
“At least that’s better than what the UBP did to get back at people when they were in power…”
here: “White Bermudians, when confronted with things they don’t like, are quick to call people they know to fix the situation in their favour-e.g. if you get into an argument with someone and they know a manager where you work, they’re quick to call up and try to get you terminated. They’ve done this kind of stuff for years” talk about lumping people together.
here:” Black Bermudians will quickly go back to being treated like trash and living in fear and that is something that can’t be allowed to happen” just a baseless attack for you motive in writing and by the way is not provable.
here: “Should the OBA get into power, I can see them nicely going back into those old, spiteful ways.” Just more of the same type of generic comment. But might as well read white Bermudian instead of OBA right?
Not even going on the tone of your writing you offer no solutions you logic in even posting your story (which maybe a valid story and may have happened)really is only reaching here in this thread it would have been better posted in the Curb thread. This thread deals with the propaganda machines that in reality both parties employ with varying intentions.
Again take back what you think you’re owed or in your words what was stolen but if we do that are you prepared to go back all the way. My family is originally from Portugal right in the areas of the African Muslim invasion and occupations. When should it stop? The point is when do “we” as a people now far disconnected from some of these things get as bent out of shape as “we” did here. I want a better Bermuda for all do you?
You must be slipping up mr cold as ice . In your self pitying story of delusion and bs you completely forgot to include the two biggest myths of all.
White privilege
The pulling of mortgages (from mortgage holders who were completely paid up and current nonetheless)
Anyway , do you feel a little better now ?
@Dry Ice: The only problem with that is that they aren’t myths. These aren’t fables or urban legends-they are things that have actually happened to blacks; things they pass on to their children and grandchildren, not to badmouth whites but just a part of history.
My own grandmother has some horrible stories to tell. Back in the day you’d deposit money by taking little personal banks into the bank. You left them with the tellers-ALL WHITE-and would see the money go into your account after the tellers-ALL WHITE-counted the money in your personal bank. My grandmother’s deposit would regularly be short. She made a complaint to the bank manager who said he would look into it. Later on, she was notified that her mortgage was being called in despite the fact that her payments were always made on time. That is a method whites used on a regular basis to keep blacks who were becoming too ‘upppity’ in their place.
I won’t even go into how Tucker’s Town was stolen from blacks…is that a myth, too? Are the descendants of those original property owners supposed to ‘just get over it’? Whites always want blacks to ‘just get over it’ when it works to your advantage.
I won’t even go into how blacks were regularly cheated out of property by cunning and deceitful whites.
If you’re from the younger generation, maybe you don’t know, but these things DID happen, as much as you’d like to convince yourself they didn’t. Whites admit they did bad things in the past…so what exactly do you think those things are?
If slavery hadn’t been abolished, blacks would still be your slaves and you’d still be treating them like dirt and thinking nothing of it because that is just who you all are. You plunder and take advantage as long as you come out on top and to hell with anyone else-THAT is a fact.
So I guess the whites in England that lobbied the British Government to abolish slavary where?… How about the Bermuda Government who freed the salves headed to the US gave them land and money?….. The White members of Curb?….. Looking at the bigger picture you must realize you are what you are saying about others…… Again forget it I can see you suffering and are in to much pain to actually talk about the race issue in Bermuda. Cause what infact you are doing is lecturing or talking at others not to them a common mistake in trying to further your point which inevitable shuts the conversation down.
LOL I thought it was whites who did not want to talk guess I was wrong.
Yea lots of grammar mistakes gotta re read before I post.
LOL
@Dry Ice: Whites never realize the evil things they do until it is pointed out to them and their victims stand up for themselves. Whites have gone the world over and invaded and preyed on weaker races…that is a fact.
Whites have done HORRIBLE things to minorities in the past. Now they say they see the error of their ways and want to atone-yet they’d still be doing them if the minorities didn’t start fighting back.
Have you not heard of ‘The Trail of Tears’ which relates to the forced relocation of Native Americans in the U.S.? Never mind that the Native Americans helped save the white man’s azz…the white man, in a bid to ease whatever small bit of conscience he had, convinced himself that they were murdering savages to justify their bad treatment of these people. I won’t even get into how they intentionally infected the Natives with smallpox-only people with truly wicked minds would even think to do such a thing, never mind carry it out. Whites invented biological warfare and had no qualms about using it-and then want to believe blacks are bad?
Have you not heard of ‘The Stolen Children’-the children of Australian Aboriginal natives who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal Government and placed in homes with the poor families not having a say and not knowing where their children were? This program went on until the 70′s…the white man, in a bid to ease whatever small bit of conscience he had, convinced himself that the parents were ignorant savages incapable of raising their kids, all to justify their bad treatment of these people.
There are MANY examples of the evils whites have done in every country and all over the world to weaker races. Again, they saw nothing wrong with it and only stopped once the ‘weaker’ races started fighting back and the white man saw they weren’t so ‘weak’ after all.
So now we’re supposed to believe whites in Bermuda have changed, and that this re-branded UBP is sorry for the bad treatment of blacks in Bermuda and care so, so much about us. I can tell from the comments on here just how racist most white Bermudians are. You wish so, so badly that you could put us ‘uppity’ blacks back in our place and know you can only do it if you regain control of Government. So, my wish is that this doesn’t happen…so keep on being the nasty, evil people I know you to be and keep sitting on the outside looking in because we run things whether your egos like it or not-got it?
You will never see the light must be hard to be so bitter. We will just agree to disagree where race relations in today should go. My first comment was correct and hit the nail on the head as far as your attitude towards your fellow man in concerned. Face it if you could you would try to visit upon those you see as your oppresser every evil you could muster. Sad really maybe hevean will be segragated for you, how ever I’m thinking you’re not in a believer in God or any higher standard.
LOL “Peace”
Heaven is what I should have spelled typin on the fly.
LOL
@LOL (original TM*): I’m not bitter nor do I hate white people-I have had white people marry into my family and get along with them just fine. I’ve actually heard stories from them about what whites say about us when we’re not around and some of it is downright nasty. However, I don’t condemn ALL whites because of what some do.
I make these posts because I get so annoyed when whites try and act like their hostility towards us is a figment of our imagination. I get annoyed when they say that the evils in the past didn’t happen or were exaggerated. I get annoyed when they say we should just get over what happened to us because it happened in the past.
The past affects our present. Our people worked for you for free and were treated like cattle-they were left to others in wills like a piece of furniture or something…I can’t imagine how a human being could see this as right. There must be something inherently wrong with a race of people who all saw nothing wrong with what they did. They didn’t see it as evil at all-that does not bode well in my impression of you as a race. Again, if slavery wasn’t abolished whites would still be treating us the same way and still seeing nothing wrong with it. Why would they-they had been doing it for generations.
I’m not going to get into the Heaven thing because none of us knows what it is like, and I personally believe in reincarnation. All the nasty people doing bad things will come back and experience life on the opposite end of what they experienced before. This keeps happening until we learn what we need to learn before reaching Heaven-so anyone who gets there would be beyond any issues such as race. Racist whites will come back as a minority and experience what those they hated go through, and once they learn what they need to learn they can then reach Nirvana-but not before.
Wayne
Please leave you are a pathetic flip flop
you should have taken the criticism of the 1% drop on your chin and kept working, now we will all want Parliamentary Questions answered on the many wasteful trips you have been on since being appointed as minister and who travelled in your entourage to see if taxpayers money has been well spent for this decline in arrivals + no new jobs.
you dont even know when you are on to a good thing, you tricked the PLP and now you are flip flopping on your former UBP cronies…….mate its like you have had too much time flying Business Class on BA you may be suffering from airsickness
do see Dr for a prescription, to reinvigorate you after your marathon trips to china
Bermuda is too expensive and small to compete with the rest of Carribean. We all have trouble accepting reality at certain points in our lives. There are countless things that could make our tourism product better but at the end of the day, I truly think it is the expense combined with lack of things to do that will continue to do tourism in.
“Here is an email that was sent me: After some discussion and monitoring the newspaper from Bermuda we have decided to pass on vacating [sic] there next spring. The environment on the island seems to be negative”
Probably sent by a PLP secret troop member.
I thought all of you knew this…….Secret Troops, Goblins, the Tooth Ferry and Santa Claus or all real. Didn’t you know that?
Gee, Wayne and I must be the only ones that believe!
You forgot the Easter Bunny.
It’s the Tooth FAIRY, not ferry-a ferry is a boat, genius. If you want to be a smartazz, at least learn about homophones-I learned this stuff way back in grade school…
Sure your not white you got the I’m smarter than you sh#! down to a tee.
LOL
LOL — You seem really spiteful and bitter yourself, you attack the person and not their message because you have no rebuttal. It’s best to maybe stop replying until you have something of substance to say.
Just tired for people saying they want a better island and not doing anything to help achieve it. If that’s being spiteful………………….
LOL then book me Dano..oh and see how easy it is to attack the messenger after all you didn’t adress anything in anyone else’s posts either. Tisk tisk
I’m saying you are spiteful because after your initial argument with Cold As Ice you found another of their comments to reply to just to be nasty and attack them because they clearly won the debate with you. You had no real response or argument.
Clearly I didn’t address the story or anyones comments because well I didn’t want to and Cold As Ice made all greats points already, the debate was over. The point is if you are going to engage in debate, at least attack the opinion and not the person. That’s pretty obvious as I only replied to inform you of your hypocrisy and spiteful ways. Doesn’t change that fact at all.
“they clearly won the debate with you. You had no real response or argument.”
Best comment I’ve read all day thanks for the laugh try reading again in fact the last comment proves exactly what I’m saying……
LOL world history is a fascinating subject as Cold suggest history shapes what goes after it. The problem is when you only cherry pick what YOU think is significant.
The first rule of Secret Troop club is not to speak about Secret Troop Club.
Correct. Rule 247743642 says that all Secret Troop communications must be written in invisible ink and delivered by carrier pigeons only during full moons.
You both just broke the first rule!! Thats it, your out!!! LOL
Here we go again….last few elections it was “The Combined Opposition” the UBP and the RG and now we have The Secret Troops….Wayne you have “The PLP Central Comittee” so don’t talk about spitting on Bermuda for we have had 14 years of it….
Is there a denial of the allegation in the OBA’s statement? I think I missed it. Hmmmmmmm.
Internet Rule 14 …
Wayne fails to realize that failure is not an option . For one , he has always been up his own ash .
As a matter of interest, were are the PLP supporters? A count not one blog in support. Does this mean the OBA will walk into power or are the PLP solid in their base and no performance, no matter how bad, will change the vote and the elections outcome?
Wayne.
A reminder,
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Galations 6: 7-8.
Wayne,
In the event that you do not understand my previous post,I am saying that you are suffering from self inflicted wounds!
Wayne remember the song “God is wathing you” and so are we.
How come Smoking Gun has so many alias.
Living on Vesey Street can be a bitch.
Anyway, off to BIWA where Blankman (BC) will keep us up to date.
Good Job OBA you didn’t have to do anything….silent as a Church mouse, yet you still get mocked and you still fight for what is right! Thank you for being our Loyal Opposition, Lord knows we need you to help us with this horrible check and balance problem we have inevitably inherited from the bad PEE EL PEE!
Soon the Island will prosper again, under new management we will advertise. They will understand and we will be able to move into the next decade (the one we seem to be missing now) and the PEE EL PEE will be the Opposition with there broken down values and ofcourse, ZERO CREDIT!
1 percent wayne. surrender now. give bermuda back the money the plp have —–. long live the secret troops, onward to victory bermuda
can we just march on parliament and overthrow the PLP yet? seriously is that possible, this is ridiculous!! secret troops awaaaaaaay! who actually wants/thinks the PLP should be able to continue governing… it is soooo clear that they are terrible at managing/governing/having any sort of big picture ideas for improvement. and yes we need more to do on the island for tourists… serrrrrriously its not that hard to have special dinners, flame dancers and afternoon performances, beach limbo…. and what the hell happened to the steel drum players at the airport! are you kidding me plp… you let that go between the cracks! the steel drummers were a keyyyy part of the welcome to bermuda experience!!!
signed,
secret troop member
The PLP could be thrown out next week but it would take a protest of people who look like them to do it, i.e. their own former supporters. Any other group or mixure of Bermudians would immediatly be labeled a racist linch mob even though the motives for protesting have nothing to do with race. Pulling the race excuse is an easy deflection on anything to keep the PLP diehards whipped up.
I’ll tell you what, the OBA’s secret troops are doing a helluva job, making the Pee el Pee overpay for all those construction contracts, —- bus tires and sabotaging ferries. We are good, us OBA Secret Troops are! The OST as we are known are trained in clandestine operations under the cover of night and in broad daylight! We are everywhere and we are nowhere, making the Pee El Pee hire all those consultants. What many people don’t know is the OST single handedly created work permit term limits while no one (not even you, and you know who YOU are) was looking, forcing IB to leave, we are particularly proud of that mission! Now we don’t have to worry about those big spending conferences coming to town. Perhaps our best work to date since we started operating on the fringes of society is plunging the country into 1.5 billion dollars of debt in a matter of years that we gave the it a name, The Platinum Period. We don’t seek recognition for what we do and prefer to remain unknown, we are happy with our results and that is the only reward we want.
Desperatlon. The PLP house of cards is falling down. They will say anything, blame anyone for their own inflicted demise. Most are
quietly hiding under their rocks hoping that this
too shall pass.
Comrades, we have been found out! We must regroup and change our strategy.
Perhaps if we built a large wooden badger?
Are we all going to congregate at the secret meeting place tomorrow? How will we recognise each other? Should we all wear red carnations? What’s the secret password this time? Will the leprechauns and space aliens that Wayne also thinks exist be there too?
naw just change our name…………..
LOL
Secret Troops?… seriously? Paranoia anyone?
Prognosis: A severe case of mental constipation coupled with a dose of verbal diarrhea.
I just got over a case of alien Mind control and now THIS!
Secret troopers invading Tweety tweet tweet chirp chirp coo coo spin spin beep…
I need my lead hat to keep out the OBA Ray Gun wibrations.
Luckily Super Fruit is on dee job to take em down boingo boingo…
Make space for me up there in heaven soon as they release me from mental wellness zup st Brendands i’m leaving Planet Earth on my super crusier for Paradise..
It’s ridiculous – Furbert’s statement that commenters are causing damage…in reality it is the people in power who are causing damage, we are just making them accountable!
Cox should remove this man forthwith, travel agents etc. must be rolling in the aisles with laughter, and looking at other destinations for their clients.
Rockfish #1 suggests he should simply resign, while he has a little dignity left!
This inept,reckless —- plp will day,do and brainwash its supporters with lies and their regular BS to stay alive politic..
They are worthless and incompentent and the whole world should know..They destroyed a once envious place on planet now its a third world slum with their feral suppporters…
there is NOTHING for tourist to do here…they have use our prime land to build cheap condo Atlantic apts to house their slum supporters and give permission to the —- to build a gass station on our Gold coast—-.The island is reeking with corruption and racism.
furbert is just a BIG FOOl the man doesnt know how to throw a party in ‘brewery’..all he is doing is singing for his supper and put a bunch of back of town ppl to man the tourism …was there at the Horseshoe fest ask one of the ppl at the hospitality tent for basic info..the person was so rude and was blatantly giving away the ‘swizzle and other stuff for the tourists to his back of town buddies inclu.the woman who was install to help out..she never answer me ..coz dont look like her..THESE PPL GOT THEIR JOBS BECAUSE THEY KNOW SOMEBODY INSIDE these dept..they cant even talk proper english…this is the way how things are running at the DEPT OF TOURISM…shameful and despecable..
More like some terrible ministers crappy singing voice scare off any buzzards lol